As the evening drew closer and the sun sank further towards the horizon the world got colder. It wasn't quite sunset yet, but it would be within an hour or so. All of the people of both villages were now gathered together in the center of Doovlin and beginning the festivities: drinking and eating as they celebrated another solar year passing.

I was standing by the river past the crop fields. In winter it was reduced to a bubbling brook, the water's surface half frozen and coated in thick ice. Of course should one fall through that ice they would quickly find the river was flowing still underneath. Many deaths occurred due to the overestimation of the ice's thickness and resulting icy plunge.

The project I had planned was now finished and I smiled at the finished product. It was a large array of fireworks that had been set up around the edge of the riverbank with fuses connecting them all. As I had explained to Miya there was no way I'd tell the secrets of gunpowder to the people of this world yet, it was simply a box I didn't want to open.

For the moment I was alone out here, the humans happy to celebrate as they always had. This was the first year they had a goddess with them and all the fun might have made them forget about me for the moment. After all I was down on their level now. If I had still been two-hundred feet tall they wouldn't have had it slip their mind of course.

My goddess zone map was currently up in the back of my mind so I could monitor the people gathered in Doovlin. There were many more here than usual and their safety was a high priority of course. I was basically event planner and security at the same time. There was also the two special guests I had invited that I was keeping an eye out for.

Thankfully they were currently arriving on the outskirts of the village right now. There on the map coming through the forest from the east was a small group of men on horseback. It was the local lord Quarely and his entourage. The other members of that group being the mage Ferherlyn and a few knights there for security purposes.

I decided it would be fun to greet them myself. In an instant I took off in a full sprint, my movement leaving nothing but a streak of faint yellow light as I dashed through the village. Zooming through the houses and around the few people not in the square I went, the world standing still for me as I ran.

Within only seconds for those around me I had dashed through the village and arrived at the edge of the village clearing and the beginning of the forest. There I came to an instant stop, gusts of snow swirling around me as the displaced air returned to its normal flow. Directly in front of me the dirt road winded off into the woods.

There was a sudden whinny as the horses of the lord's group were startled by my sudden appearance on the road before them. The humans too were quite shocked and the knights reached for their swords out of instinct.

Quarely looked down at me in shock. "Goddess!"

He of course had only heard about my human size and hadn't seen me in this way before. It was probably quite the shock for him indeed. His head mage next to him was of course already used to this appearance.

This reaction only brought a smile to my face. I smiled innocently and waved up to them on their horses.

"Why hewwo Mr. Quarely and fwiends!" I said in a childish voice. "Welcome to our parwty!"

Quarely's brows furrowed and he looked down at me with a concerned look on his face. He gripped the reigns of his horse tighter as he did so.

"I'd beg you please not put on this innocent child act Goddess Jenna. It's quite disturbing."

This got a mischievous giggle out of me and I put my hands on my hips in fists.

"Very well! Come on get off your horse. You too Ferherlyn. I want to introduce you two to everyone." I then pointed to the other men. "Ya'll can take care of the horses while I carry these two."

"Carry us?" Quarely asked as he got down from his horse.

Both he and Ferherlyn were doing as I asked without protesting, they knew better than to do that. Once the mage had finished dismounting he brushed his robes to reajust them after the long ride.

"It appears the goddess wishes to carry us into town and show us off to the villagers my lord." Ferherlyn said. "This is the first time we've ever been to Doovlin I believe?"

Without further conversation I grew back up to my full size and smiled down at them. The horses were surprised at first but a wave of calming light from me helped calm them down. I then crouched down between the towering trees and scooped both men up into my left hand using telekinesis. Then once they were flopped into my palm I stood back up to full height.

"You two ready?" I asked down to my hand.

Both of them gave their confirmation. Even though my hand was pretty big for a human there was still a fear of falling out. Because of that both men stayed pretty close to each other in the middle of my palm.

Turning around I stepped back over to the village, stopping with my two feet between buildings right next to the village center where everyone was gathered. Of course the villagers all stopped what they were doing and looked up when my footsteps were felt and I loomed into the sky.

"Attention everyone!" I announced. "I'd like to introduce ya'll to two very special people!"

Because the crowd was already looking up at me there wasn't too many people left to get the attention of. However there were a few people too busy with their food or conversations to even turn towards me at first, however my voice did cause them too to turn and look.

Once I had everyone's attention I lowered my left hand down closer to my waist and shook it a little causing the two men in my hand to freak out a little.

"Come on! Stand up!"

Obeying my request Quarely and Ferherlyn stood up and became visible to the crowd below.

"These are two special guests of mine" I continued. "The lord of Voorhaul Quarely and his head mage Ferherlyn."

There was a hesitant round of applause from the villagers below. They probably thought having these two here would dampen the mood or cause problems with such high society types around. Quarely just waved down to the crowd as he was used to public appearances.

I lifted my right hand to my mouth and cleared my throat before dropping it again.

"Now I don't want anyone here to feel like they can't be themselves just because the lord of the province is here. I consider him my friend and he's totally cool with the country life so don't worry!"

In my hand Quarely whispered to Ferherlyn.

"Did she just say that I-"

He was cut off as my booming voice overpowered his own.

"Why don't ya'll show my two friends here what a good time's actually like huh?"

As I spoke I lowered my left down further and crouched down to the ground. At the same time several holly vines grew up from the earth and reached out as my hand tipped to the side. The two men in my hand slid down my palm and right as they were going over the edge the vines all gently wrapped around them and lowered them the last bit of distance to the ground.

Both of my passengers were quite surprised by this turn of events as the normally sharp leaves were more muted and their winter clothing protected them easily. The red berries vibrant against the gray world. Their feet touched the ground gently and the vines retreated into the ground.

At the same time this was going on I had shrunk back down to my child size and stepped back as a small group of villagers gathered around the two newcomers. With the permission of the goddess it seemed the lord and mage really would be treated just like anyone else would here. That was good and made me nod in satisfaction.

While those two were swept away by their newfound friends another man approached me. It was Miya's father Duncan. The burly farmer was carrying a mug of some kind of alcohol and smiled as he walked over.

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"Great goddess! I see you've made some important friends. It makes my heart glad that you still have time for our humble village." He bowed. "Thank you also for taking care of my daughter."

I nodded and smiled at him. "You're welcome Duncan."

He looked at his mug and then to me. "Now that everyone is settling in to the celebration would you like something to drink?"

"Ehh..." I tilted my head to the right and put my left hand on my hip "I'm not really a drinker. Even if I'm technically old enough to."

This clearly caught him off guard and caused him to blush in embarrassment. The situation probably weirded him out and made him think he just offered alcohol to a child. What was he supposed to do as the alternative though? Offer a drink for children to a goddess?

Seeing his embarrassment I just chuckled and walked over to him, giving him a pat on the hand.

"Don't worry about me. I'll go get some tea."

After reassuring him I walked off into the festival grounds. He would probably go find his wife now.

My search for tea didn't take long. There were several large tables setup on one side of the town square that offered all sorts of beverages. Mainly of course beer and wine, it was a party after all. There were also options that were non-alcoholic like teas and a cider of some kind. All kinds of fires were lit everywhere now so you could even get the drinks warm from the cookfires at the tables.

I decided to get the cider and took a warm mug from the volunteer with a thank you and a nod. They were quite nervous and embarrassed to serve their goddess a drink but were convinced to take it as an honor they should treasure.

The drink was pretty decent I suppose. It wasn't anything fancy but it didn't need to be. While I took sips from it I decided to walk around and talk to a few people and check in on the city dwelling guests. While I walked everyone wanted to thank me or praise me which I took as courteously as possible.

At one point a couple of young children came up to me and wanted to play with their goddess, seeing as I was so much tinier now. They were disappointed when I explained I couldn't, having to crouch down to talk to them even at this size. However I gave them both a pat on the head and they seemed happy enough with that to send them off running into the crowd again.

After about an hour dusk was upon us now as the sun dipped down below the horizon. The light of the fires was now the only thing keeping the darkness of a winter night at bay. That however was about to change. There were all those Christmas lights all over the place that no one knew the purpose of.

They were all magical flame bulbs that I had basically enchanted to have various colored flames inside of that I could turn on and off. With a thought I turned them all on and the coming night was lit up with a dazzling spectacle.

The encroaching darkness was blasted to the edges of the forest as multicolored flames burst into life all across the village. The strings of lights shone with every color of the rainbow and networked between the rooftops like the stars in the sky. No corner was spared their entrancing glow, the despair of winter banished as the village was soaked in kaleidoscope.

Of course standing above it all in the center of the festivities was the big tree I had set up. All of the lights on it twinkled into life and culminated with the brightly glowing star at the very top. Even the glow of the fires that mixed with the colors below couldn't reach the star's dazzling light.

The reaction of the people was immediate and predictable. Gasps of awe and shock as people were immobilized by the splendor of the display around them. Villagers dropped their drinks and some even fell backwards onto the ground as they were overtaken. Some even had tears come to their eyes.

In the middle of all this I stood there practically bursting at the seams with happiness myself. Seeing all their reactions brought tears to my own eyes. The joy of seeing everyone enjoying it all so much made my hair glow brightly as my emotions grew. Seeing these colorful lights also brought back happy memories of my own of Christmas's past. While these memories weren't crystal clear I still remembered enough to re-experience the powerful emotions.

With a single leap I jumped to the edge of the festival and grew back to goddess size. My blazing hair adding my own golden light to the collected display, dazzling the village more than any star in the sky. The smile on my face was almost glowing in itself and my eyes were glowing bright like twin moons of violet light.

"Hello again everyone!" I said almost too loudly.

The booming impact of my feet settling in and sudden appearance of my glowing hair against the fading light had already shaken everyone out of their stupor. Now however they were all looking directly at me and giving me their full attention. My presence overpowered all the wonder around them as the very light I was giving off warmed the village like summer sun.

"You may have noticed the lights and whatnot? Well I'd like to tell you more about them if you'd like!"

There was a thundering roar of applause and cheering as the villagers all cheered for me. It was honestly quite embarrassing. They also all cried out for me to explain it to them as well as their thanks for the magical display.

I waited for them all to calm down, holding my hands up to quiet them down. Once they were I began my explanation.

"Back where I come from there's two very important winter holidays: Christmas and New Years. Of course ya'll have a new year celebration here so there's not much to explain there. Christmas however is something you've never heard of."

With a great sigh I gestured to the tree.

"My father, well that Elohim I've mentioned, actually sent his son to the world I lived on. You could call him my brother I suppose. Anyway this tree is used to represent the moment of his birth. The star is like the one that appeared in the sky above the town he was born in."

I pointed to the star on top of the tree and then to the lights.

"All these lights all around the village are to represent the host of heavenly spirits that appeared in the sky to sing of his arrival."

While saying this I lifted my arms up to the sky above, then dropped them back down to my sides. I was happy everyone was letting me explain without issue. They seemed to be quite captivated by my story so far.

"The star is also important because it led three very rich and wise men to where this son of god was born into the world. They brought gifts to him to present even though he was just a baby at the time."

I put my left hand behind my head and rubbed it a little shyly.

"Its extremely complicated on the specifics of all this but the important thing for right now is the gifts. See there's a tradition in my world that people give gifts or presents to each other around this time of year in celebration and remembrance of that holy night. Minuit de Noël as some called it. "

Lifting my left hand up I summoned through telekinesis a large sack I had stashed near the river to my hand. It flew through the night sky and stopped only when I snatched it out of the air. It was about the size of a baseball as it contained a few hundred gifts inside it. Gifts I had prepared for the villagers. It wasn't anything fancy in my eyes, but I had spent a great deal of time and mana creating chess sets. The plan was to give one to each family in the two villages.

"It's with great honor that I give these gifts to you." I said with a smile. "Don't worry about giving me anything, your worship is enough."

Then I used my other hand to open up the sack. Hundreds of little rectangles floated out of it and spread out over the crowd, falling down slowly like snowflakes. Since I knew everyone that worshiped me due to the goddess zone I could pinpoint the heads of households and had the presents settle down into their hands.

The chess sets had a standard size lacquered wooden playing board that had about three inches of thickness to it. This was because they folded in half and had a large empty space inside to store all the pieces. All of the pieces were made of black and white polished marble and had a small paper that had instructions on how to play on it.

The reaction to these gifts were a mix between stunned silence and excited jubilation. Of course they all thanked me though they were eagerly examining the present. The very thought of getting something like this from a goddess blowing their minds all over again.

Of course Quarely and Ferherlyn both got one two despite not being original group village worshipers. This might have caused discontent normally, having outsiders elevated in such a way, but thankfully everyone was too excited to have such thoughts.

I continued my speech as they looked over the chess sets. As I spoke I crossed my arms across my chest.

"These are sets for a game called Chess. Its quite famous and ancient where I come from so I'm excited to be able to share it with this world as well. The pieces are made from marble so they're worth quite a lot I'm sure. Think of them like family heirlooms."

The darkness of night was upon us now and it was the perfect time to show off my last surprise. With a thought all the lights in the village dimmed as well as the star on top of the tree. I looked over my shoulder at the river and then back at the villagers gathered before me. Then with my arms on my hips I grinned wildly again.

"Oh and there's one last surprise for all ya'll! Please enjoy this final display of the old year. With this celebration we welcome a new year full of infinite possibilities! Let us advance into the bright light of the future together!"

With the final words of my speech complete I shrunk down to human size and instantly vanishing from the sight of everyone as I had been standing in the middle of some houses. As I finished downsizing I snapped my fingers, a bright orange flame appearing on the tip of my index finger.

Then turning towards the river I closed one eye and took aim, then flicked the tiny fire away. In only a couple seconds it flew across the distance like a tiny bullet and hit the end of the fuse I had lay out in the open. The fuse ignited with a hiss and quickly rushed along the ground to the fireworks setup along the riverbank.

Soon the loud scream of the first firework pierced the night as a blazing white streak of flame shot high into the sky. The villagers all ducked and cowered in fear from the startling sound and sight. This however changed as the shell burst in the air: a sparkling circle of yellow expanding and vanishing in an instant.

More fireworks went off one after another until a constant barrage of shrieks and streaks soared into the heavens. The pitch black of the night was already lit by the pale stars but now all kinds of miraculous colors scattered across it like ripples in a pond. The patterns and sequences forming a simple yet bombastic pyrotechnic show.

The people of this world had their fear replaced by awestruck wonder as they witnessed the fireworks display. It was like something they couldn't imagine come to life, their eyes glued to the sky and barely blinking. Yes it was loud and some covered their ears, but none could look away.

As for myself I just sat down on the cold earth at the edge of the village, resting near the fields as I watched the fireworks myself. I'd seen such shows many times throughout my previous life and while not being an expert on such shows I had tried my best to replicate one.

The future was here as a new year began with the coming sunrise. Infinite possibilities awaited, but what sort of craziness would the future hold?