Merry et Mellow

A misty Wednesday descends to greet ye, mortals! This Friday, Summersbane & I—eager for a moment of peace before holiday bustle—shall be both MERRY ET MELLOW! Let us gift ye some calm & contentment, will ye? No guests, & absolutely no villains nor interruptions, GUARANTEED. Stay awhile & ease thy weary burdens Friday at 8PT!

Now, on my Yuletide Adventure…

Need to catch up? Read all of this year’s Yuletide Adventure, or revisit last year’s, right here!

After my rousing success on Ærlinn, I sped to the next candidate world with the speed of Dasher. Only seven days remain for me to complete my quest to restore Santa’s faith in mortal-kind, but hope burns brightly. I travelled to a land known by its dwindling inhabitants as…AQUA-EARTH™.

On this Earth, the burning of fossil fuels led to devastating climate change. The seas rose—now covering 97% of the planet—& the survivors eke out moist livings. On barges, former cruise ships, & “offshore” oil rigs, the salt-soaked remnants of mankind still fall prey to their old sins of greed & violence. This may sound similar to the plot of the much-maligned film Waterworld, but I assure ye: Aqua-Earth™ is different in ev’ry way that a court would care about!

As Santa watched his precious North Pole succumb to rising sea levels, rather than fall to despair, he immersed himself in “The Great Work.” A mega-sleigh, pulled by eight thousand tiny reindeer; one large enough to become a mobile Workshop. He lives aboard it now, as do all his elves, & Mrs. Claus. Adapted to the new watery oceanic reality, the mega-sleigh features a small navy of land- & sea-craft. He delivers toys, food, & filtration systems to children all across Aqua-Earth™, including those scarce few on what were once mountain peaks.

Sometimes, too, this Santa must fight. For Aqua-Earth™ faces a dreadful foe, in the form of The Smoggers™—a sect of violent greedy extremists who still lust for the thrill of oil & exploitation. They strike out from their refineries in heavily-modified boats & personal water-craft, raiding peaceful settlements for supplies & for the sinister joys of inflicting pain. They are, in a way, not unlike Mad Max, but imagine it being slightly different from how Waterworld is also not unlike Mad Max.

This Claus of Aqua-Earth™, though hardly in love with the situation, seems to accept it. There are still children, & they are still in need, so a Claus must be there.

“Besides,” he tells me, his eyes twinkling, “I shall be here long after the seas recede again.”

He agrees to return to thine own Earth with me, to inspire thy Santa out of his misery. HUZZAH!

Onto the next…

“…And Be Merry.” shall continue on Saturday!

Thank ye for reading, mortals! & we thank humbly all those who can & do support our works here with coin!

I hope ye shall relax with us Friday 8PT, to be MERRY ET MELLOW! & I shall write ye Saturday with the next step on my Yuletide Adventure. ‘Til then—be safe, be well, be merry et mellow…

Cheers,
Amœnus Franco
Wizard, Writer, Frantically Attempting Mellowment