What if Rudolph wasn’t the kind, cheerful Christmas reindeer from our favorite stories and cartoons?

The truth was far darker: he had been born from an ancient northern spirit and a simple woman who, to her misfortune, wandered into a blizzard.

Throughout the entire year, while Krampus had no need of him, Rudolph lived on the outskirts of the North Pole, among an abandoned sanctuary where the northern spirits once dwelled.

Being half-human, half-reindeer, he knew he was different from ordinary people, yet he enjoyed watching their lives through a snow globe — until one day he discovered a girl who liked to visit the forest near her village: picking berries, walking alone, and admiring the frost on the branches.

For some reason, she interested Rudolph more than anyone else, and he began watching her more closely — throughout the entire year, waiting for the next Christmas. Krampus had told him that everything on that night belonged to them, which meant he could take her as well.

On the magical night when everyone awaits gifts under the tree and leaves cookies and milk for Santa, something entirely different would enter the girl’s home — a creature coming to take her away in her sleep.

No one saw or heard the flash of red light or the eerie jingle of bells that echoed through the area — accompanied by giggles that could freeze blood. And then everything vanished, along with the girl.

Now she must survive, for this is not the enchanted land we are used to hearing about. Here Krampus rules, and the North Pole itself is ancient, grim, filled with icy creatures and forgotten temples.