SALAMANCA

Chapter 1: Stars Aligned

It was a balmy afternoon in the old town of Salamanca when Kyle Vega Cruz reached the plaza where the marble structure of St. Raphael Vega slaying a dark wolf stood at the center. He is Kyle's ancestor who was born in the 1500's. It was the century of magic and lore before the people of the town converted to a different faith the years that followed. It was a picturesque town bordered by the mountains in the north, the great blue sea at the west, a lush forest at the east and a majestic volcano at the south.

According to the stories Kyle heard from his mother, St. Raphael was the man who defeated the vicious beast that ravaged the town of Salamanca and drove away the great evil that almost reigned in those old days.

His family migrated to the city in 1920s and lived there for decades. The only reason why he came back to this town was the disturbing dreams he was having since he turned 21 years old.

Kyle looked up to the statue and noticed their resemblance. He absentmindely touched the talisman carved into a man in meditative state. It was a heirloom piece handed to every generation in their family. His mom told him that it originally belonged to St. Raphael and was believed to contain his magical essence. No one else in the family was interested with it made from a piece of rock they forgot the name of.

Years passed and no one can tell if it has magical properties for it has not exhibited anything miraculous or mystical.

Just a few steps from where Kyle stood, a stocky guy with thick wavy hair was engrossed on the compass he was holding. It has a metal cover with embossed image of a bear.

The guy is Jacob Terra from a family of miners from the north. The compass he was holding was said to be charmed and helped his ancestors find hidden treasures and other magical objects.

Right now the small green dial of the compass is pointing towards the tall guy with short hair looking up at the statue of St. Raphael.

Jacob looked curiously at Kyle's back, thinking about getting close to him to see how the compass would react.

The plaza was crowded that day because of the Festival of Lights. It was a merry atmosphere and everyone was excited to try everything the festival has to offer that year.

A band was singing an indie music on stage on the right side of the saint's monument. It's lead singer Mark Viento got wavy dark hair and lean. He wears earrings that shaped like eagles and a piercing on his lower lip. Many girls swoon over his sweet deep voice and gorgeous face.

Behind the statue lies an array of some food stalls and stores offering all sorts of goods. One of the sellers is Edmund Fuego. He is a metal smith and he crafts all sorts of things from daggers to jewelries. He wears a brass bangle with a carved dragon swirling around it. He's got wild red hair and wears an impish grin.

On the left side was a parked car. Inside it sat the lovely yet sad Shelly Del Mar. She looked outside the window wishing she could step out and join the festivities. However, she is forbidden to be exposed to many people. Her psychic ability is too strong that being in a crowd could flood her with too much energy than she could handle.

Jacob decided to approach Kyle, when suddenly the compass dial turned around 360 degrees swiftly.

"It's going crazy!" He talked to the compass as if expecting it to respond, "Are you sensing a lot of magic here?"

On the other hand, Kyle felt the talisman vibrating and seemed to glow.

Suddenly the earth shook and the people in the plaza started to panic as the trees and other structures seemed to tremble. Some felt dizzy while others tried to duck while others held on something to keep their balance.

A crack started to form on the ground between Kyle's feet and crawled to the statue of St. Raphael, almost splitting it into half vertically. The ground stop shaking in a few seconds but the earthquake left a big gush on the image.

From where Kyle stood, he can see something glowed from the crack in the statue as if reflecting the light coming from his talisman.

In a few seconds, a horrific scene unfolded before his eyes as the plaza faded. He saw St. Raphael battling a giant dark wolf with swirling shadows surrounding it like tentacles. It was a moonless night and the stars were scattered in the sky.

Kyle looked around but the people in the plaza were petrified in mid-action as if time got suspended. He seemed to be the sole witness to the fight happening before him.

But he was not really alone. Four other people were looking at that scene that seemed to have been pulled from another point in time.

Edmund, Jacob, Mark and Shelly were also witnessing Raphael slaying the wolf and pinning it to its death by his spear to the ground where it now laid to rest.

Raphael looked to the five of them and spoke in their minds:

'Gather all the talismans and end this evil.'

That was all they heard and the scene faded back to the present time when the Festival of Lights was marred by a brief earthquake that afternoon and the statue of St. Raphael destroyed in front of them. People check on one another while others decided to go home or call their families.

Shelly retreated back to the car she did not realize she stepped out from. Edmund returned to his stall as Mark went back to his band mates and left after a few minutes.

Only Jacob remained, smiling awkwardly at Kyle who stared at him. He was wondering what they just witnessed.