The Earthquake in Chile

The story starts off in Santiago, Chile in 1647 with the main character Jeronim Rugera where he is preparing to hang himself while he is in prison. Jeronimo was a tutor at the Don Asteron household in till it was discovered that Jeronimo was having an illicit relationship with Josephe, the daughter of Don Henrico Asteron, by her brother. Josephe was then promptly sent to the convent of Our Lady of the Mountain but she was still able to keep up the illicit relationship with Jeronimo in till Josephe gave birth on the steps of the cathedral during the feast of Corpus Christi. She was then taken straight to prison but was then taken to stand trial by order of the Bishop. She was sentenced to death for her actions and instead of being burnt alive she was sent to be decapitated and Jeronimo was thrown in prison. During the procession march towards the execution site for Josephe, Jeronimo prepares to hang himself in his cell. At that very moment a strong earthquake hit the city and destroyed most of it which also allowed Jeronimo to escape from his cell. Despite the fear that Josephe had been killed already, he began to search for her in the rubble of the destroyed city and after accepting the fact that he might never see her again he was later reunited with Josephe and their son, Philipp. On Josephe way to her execution the earthquake hit and was able to get away to go and rescue her son from the convent where she had entrusted her son with an abbess. When she arrived the convent was crumbling around her and the abbess was dead and so where most of the nuns. She then spent most of the day looking for Jeronimo and fearing that he was dead and that he would never see his son. Once they were reunited they made plans to travel to Concepcio...

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...hildren and leave. Don Fernando however refused and borrow Don Alonzo’s sword and with that the crowd allows them to leave. As the party is heading to the courtyard a man claims that he is Jeronimo’s Father and clubs Jeronime over the head. Donna Constanza sees this and runs to Don Alonzo but before she could get to him someone in the crowd mistook her for Josephe and was then clubbed to death. Josephe upon seeing this gives herself up to the crowd and is then clubbed by Master Pedrillo. Don Fernando stood his ground and defended the childr3en with his sword but eventually throw the fight his own son is torn from his arms and is bashed against a pillar. As the crowd disperse, Don Fernando is left with Phillpp who he and Donna Elvira adopts as their own sons. At the end of everything Don Fernando compares Juan and Philipp and thinks back on how everything started.