Chapter Text
Narrative Arc: The Mystery Has Arrived in Gravesfield
Episode 1: Luz Noceda's new friend (I)
Chapter 1: It all started with a dream and a car accident
XXX
POV Narratore
In a corner of the universe, there is a place that can be considered outside of time and space.
This place is a dark, empty space that seems to go on forever.
Suddenly, as if an electrician had finished installing the equipment, a "spotlight" came on, illuminating the "stage."
A small part of this unknown location was revealed to the "public", showing three "props".
A huge clock with an archaic and mystical appearance hanging on the wall, a comfortable wooden chair and a small bookcase divided into four levels, each with its own quantity of books.
The stage is set, but the man who should go on stage and start the show is missing.
Soon the solemn silence of this place was broken by the sound of footsteps.
An individual stepped onto the stage, standing under the spotlight and looking at the audience, as if waiting for the right moment to start the show.
This person wears a faded gray jacket with off-white cuffs, silver buttons, black pants and strappy leather boots, and a gray-purple scarf.
He also wears a hood, which is part of the tunic, with which he covers his face as well as his hair, but his mouth and nose are visible, albeit barely.
The person dressed in gray looks towards an invisible audience that only he is able to perceive and interact with.
"Greetings, dear readers, I am Woz, the scribe and chronicler of the King in Black, the greatest ruler who ever lived in the past, present and future." Woz declares, with a proud tone, before lowering his hood, revealing his slicked back black hair and gray eyes.
"Today, I am here to tell you about the beginning of a long epic that in the future will be known by all the inhabitants of Earth-2126 and the worlds near it." Woz said, a smile on his face.
Woz shifts his gaze from the "audience" towards the bookcase full of books, passing his hand with tenderness and attention over the books as if they were sacred texts, he takes the first book on the first floor.
The book Woz took has a white cover, the title is at the top and says: The Celestial House - The Beginning: The Hero, The Witch and The Owl.
"Dear readers, this could be our first meeting or you have already met me before, my role sometimes does not allow me to respect the chronological line." Woz said, before sitting down in his chair and making himself comfortable for this reading.
Finally, Woz opens the book to the first page and begins to read.
"Our story takes place on Earth-2126, in the country known as SUA (United States of America), in the state of Connecticut, in the city of Gravesfield." Woz said, presenting where the narrative story takes place.
" It all began on the night of January 6, 2013, with a car accident.
Camila Noceda couldn't imagine that hitting someone with her car would be the second most wonderful accident of her life or have repercussions on a global scale." Woz said, turning the page and starting to read his manuscript in earnest.
XXX
POV Narratore
Gravesfield is a medium-sized town that doesn't have much to boast about, except a gruesome story of how the two founders disappeared under mysterious circumstances and the occasional presence of a woman named Marilyn, who produces misdeeds and petty thefts in inexplicable ways.
For better or worse, this quiet town is about to be revitalized in strange and paranormal ways.
Over the years, Gravesfield will be considered the sister city of Gravity Falls or Salem on the East Coast of the United States.
The beginning of this change will have two causes, the dream of a thirteen year old girl and an accident that will happen soon on a suburban road near the forest.
XXX
The sun has long since set and the new moon has risen to rule the night sky.
Most of the inhabitants of Gravesfield at this time are in their homes, lying in their beds, under the covers and dreaming.
One of these people is Luz Noceda,
Luz is a 13-year-old girl, 147 centimeters tall, with shoulder-length brown hair.
She wears pajamas consisting of a long-sleeved shirt and light purple trousers, decorated with star-shaped designs.
Luz is having a dream, which is at the same time common for a little girl like her who is fascinated by the fantasy genre, but this dream has something special that distinguishes it from the others.
XXX
In her dream, Luz finds herself on top of the roof of a large building in front of Big Ben, the largest bell in the St. Stephen clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, in London.
The Luz inside the dream is slightly different from the Luz present in reality.
This Luz is slightly older and appears to be more confident and capable, her hair is kept in a sleek bun.
Luz, instead of her usual clothes, wears a fantastic costume that seems to have come out of a mahou shoujo or majokko manga.
The main focal point of this costume is the purple cape.
The cape is a basic, a light purple full cut with the inside of the cape.
The cape overlaps the bodysuit, which forms a collar and is joined together by a yellow bow tie with very long tails.
The tails are finished with two yellow pompoms.
Under the cloak is a short, white and light yellow bodysuit with two seams running along the edge.
The sleeves of the bodysuit are very long and a pair of white gloves overlaps them.
The legs of the bodysuit are light yellow and consist of a double puff of fabric, which ends the bodysuit.
The high socks are purple and are used to make sure Luz is warm and comfortable.
They are cuffed at the top, which suggests that the socks are extremely long.
The hat is placed behind Lu's head, as usual, and is light purple.
On both sides of the hat there are two semicircles that fit into each other.
The sneakers are white with a purple trim and sole and have a yellow bow with pom pom at the end, attached to each shoe.
This Luz holds one in her hands
Purple wand with a bird's head.
A small creature that looks like a stuffed yellow lion with white wings is flying in place, staying close to Luz.
Cards flutter around her on a starry night lit by a full moon, and there is a strange winged creature flying beside her.
In addition to the mascot, there is another person who stands by Luz, a feminine boy or masculine girl with white hair, golden eyes, half-elf ears.
This character of ambiguous gender is dressed in black knight's armor and in his hands holds a sword colored dark black with a thin red edge.
A large number of tarot-like cards are flying around Luz, as if the cards are judging or encouraging Luz.
A few seconds later, wings appear on Luz's feet and she jumps off the building she is on.
XXX
In the real world Luz suddenly wakes up, her expression a mix of confusion and happiness.
"Why am I having the same dream lately?" Luz murmurs, climbing out of her bed, going to get a glass of warm milk so she can go back to sleep.
Walking towards the kitchen, Luz can't help but think about the details of her dream: Big Ben, the cute and adorable dress, the scepter, the magic cards, the little magical animal and the boy/girl dressed in black.
'Am I watching too many Anime or have I read Good Witch Azura too many times?' Luz thinks, stopping in front of the refrigerator, trying to figure out why she's doing the same thing over and over again.
' I can see why dreams of being some kind of magical girl would be the coolest thing ever.
Well, except getting an invitation letter to a magical school or making a magical friend.' Luz thinks, opening the fridge and taking out a half-empty bottle of milk.
Shifting her attention to a clock hanging on the wall, Luz notices that it is particularly late.
"Hasn't mother arrived home yet? Has something happened by any chance?" Luz murmurs, starting to worry about her mother.
XXX
Around the same time Luz is waking up from her dream, her mother is having a tough time.
Unlike most people, Camila cannot stay in her house to sleep at this late hour.
Camila, being a single mother, sometimes has to make sacrifices, such as working a double or triple shift to be able to take care of all her daughter's needs, not to mention pay the bills and taxes.
Camila is a Dominican woman in her mid-thirties, with tan skin, dark brown eyes and brown hair.
Camila looks like a bigger, older version of her daughter, even with a lot more stress wrinkles and tired dark circles.
The single mother wears her hair pulled back in a bun with two tufts facing outward.
Camila wears large red-rimmed glasses and a blue vet outfit.
"These night shifts are slowly killing me." Camila murmurs, in a tired voice, walking slowly across the parking lot.
Like Camila, there are other tired people in the area who have just finished their shift and are heading home to fall into their beds.
Luz's mother stopped in front of a small red car that has almost 15 years of service under the Noceda family.
"In less than half an hour, I'll be home, I hope Luz is." Camila mutters, taking out her keys and getting into her old car.
Adjusting the seat belt, Camila inserts the key into the ignition and starts the engine.
Camila's expression went from tired to surprised, for once, the old car started without a hitch.
"Good sign, maybe things will be easier in the next few days." Camila said, releasing the handbrake, putting the car into first gear and driving the car out of the parking lot.
The single mother has no idea that she has embarked on a path that is far from easy in a metaphorical way.
In an ideal world, where nothing extraordinary happens, Camila would have returned home in half an hour, unfortunately the world Camila lives in is not without extraordinary events and people.
Ordinary, prudent people, like Camila, try not to think about the out-of-the-ordinary stuff.
For example, a year ago, the Avengers fought in Washington against the terrorist organization HYDRA, which wanted to carry out a massacre using experimental weapons.
With each passing year, the world seems to become a smaller and more dangerous place, especially for normal people who can't defend you from crazy people in costumes or criminal organizations.
Camila like many other people just wants to have a peaceful and happy life for herself and her family, namely Luz.
Unfortunately, life rarely goes in the direction you want.
Sometimes, the universe decides to set in motion events that seem small at first, but later turn out to be crucial in unlikely ways.
Camila's life and, above all, Luz Noceda's life will not be peaceful at all.
XXX
About ten minutes after leaving the parking lot, Camila is driving on a back road that passes through the forest surrounding the town of Gravesfield.
Everything seems to follow the usual routine that Camila has learned to love over the years.
The car radio is turned on to a late-night podcast that Camila listens to every now and then, the noise helping her stay awake and focused.
The podcast is telling a science fiction horror story, stuff that Camila likes.
Few know, but Luz inherited other things from Camila besides her physical appearance, such as a nerdy streak and a taste for mysterious and dark things.
Unfortunately, Luz is stuck in the fantasy genre and possesses a higher taste for the macabre.
While Camila has remained a fan of scifi, even if she tries to keep her old passions as a scifi nerd girl hidden.
When the podcast was at its best, something caused interference, interrupting the signal.
"What happened? I want to find out if Captain Skyfire escapes the Virus-X-infested space station alive." Camila said, turning her attention to the radio, trying to get it to start again.
After a couple of failed attempts, Camilla has given up on fixing the radio for now and shifts her attention to the road.
Without a warning or understanding what is happening…
FLASH!
A blinding blue and red light engulfed the entire street, as if someone had detonated a box full of flash bombs and fireworks.
"I can't see anything!" Camila shouts, unable to keep her eyes open, how she managed to keep her hands on the wheel is a mystery or a sign of her strong will.
Aware that a blind driver can cause a horrible accident, Camila abruptly hits the brake, wanting to stop the car as quickly as possible.
It's a shame that Camilla hasn't had a technical inspection of her car for a long time.
If Camila's car was newer or had at least received some more attention, he might have stopped in an instant.
Unfortunately, Camila's old car has quite a few problems, currently the biggest of all is that its brakes are quite worn, which makes it unreliable when it comes to stopping at high speeds.
The car continued to move quickly, barely slowing down, despite Camila's attempts to stop the car.
KA-BLAM !
Camila's car went through the two-tone light, hitting something in the middle.
At the moment of impact the light turned completely red, the blue light seemed to have vanished or gone in another direction.
Something or someone landed on the hood of the car, hitting the front window of the car so hard that it filled it with cracks.
At that moment Camila lost control of the steering wheel and the car left the road and entered the forest.
XXX
It all happened so fast that Camila's brain had trouble processing the event.
The car ran through some bushes and ended up hitting an old tree.
The good part, the car stopped, the airbag and seat belt did their jobs, keeping the damage to a minimum.
Not counting some scratches, bruises and the huge scare Camila is intact.
Camila still sits in the driver's seat, holding the steering wheel tightly, and her body is shaking with fear.
Taking a few deep breaths, Camila very carefully got out of the car.
Camila made a bad move for her health, her heart would be better if she had waited in the car and called emergency help right away.
Because once she got out of the car she was able to see the blood spatters on the bodywork and what exactly was on the hood of her car.
"DIOS MÍO! (Oh my God!)" Camila screams out loud, placing a hand over her chest.
Camila's heart is beating like crazy, all the tiredness and confusion from before has disappeared, the miracles of adrenaline.
Camila is a sweet and kind woman who loves animals very much, this is one of the reasons why she became a veterinarian.
The idea of accidentally killing a deer or fox fills her with enormous guilt and shame.
But not even the accidental deaths of a hundred dogs, kittens and bunnies can compare to the anxiety and self-loathing he is currently feeling.
"A child, I hit a child." Camilla said in an incredulous voice, using all her willpower not to cry or have a panic attack.
Lying on the hood of Camila's car is a teenager about Luz's age, his skull smashed in the front window.
The single mother is shocked as ever, due to a careless mistake, she could have fatally injured a child as big as her daughter.
"Expect baby, I'm calling an ambulance!" (Hold on, baby, I'm calling an ambulance!)" Camila shouts, grabbing the phone and calling an ambulance.
Once that was done, Camila didn't sit back and watch.
Maternal enrollees and medical expertise took over.
Camila came over to see how serious the child's physical condition is and if she can do something to help him.
Most of Camila's experience involves treating animals, but she knows enough about human biology to spot the bad signs.
First of all, the child is wearing strange clothing that seems to belong to a nobleman from the Victorian era, equipped with a long black cloak and several expensive accessories.
The boy's most important accessory is some sort of blue and yellow bracelet on his right wrist and three fancy rings on his right hand.
Camila looks carefully and notices that in addition to the head injury, her left arm is broken.
"Please hold on." Camila asks, immensely worried about the state of the baby, who is losing blood.
Before long, the ambulance would come to pick up the injured child and the single mother.
Camila's daily routine is becoming a distant memory.
XXX
In a distant but close place, we can notice the mysterious Woz who is in the middle of the road, exactly in the place where the accident occurred.
" Ladies and gentlemen, you have witnessed the brief beginning of our epic.
A girl woke up from a dream that promises a great adventure.
A boy who was in the right place at the right time was put to sleep." Woz said, showing the pages of his book, which depict a drawing of what Luz and the nameless boy are doing at the moment.
"The two of them haven't met yet, but their paths are already written." Woz said, disappearing into thin air, leaving the road clear for an ambulance and a local police car to pass.
Continues ...