The broadcast of the tenth leader revealing himself was shown all over, leading to a plethora of reactions from different people. In the tenth family themselves, at first they were happy, but the students were wondering how a vampire they had never seen before could suddenly become their family leader.
Usually a new leader would fill their family with hope for a greater future, with his family members having a general idea of their leader's power, but Archer[Quinn] had practically come out of nowhere. The only reason why they weren't outright m.o.a.ning about his position was because the one person they had come to respect more than any other, Simon[Leo], was backing him.
If Simon[Leo] was willing to serve under this person and bow down to him, then he must be a great person.
"For some reason he feels familiar, doesn't he?" A student from one of the other families wondered out loud.
"That's the guy! He's the one who participated in the training session of the direct descendants! He might look different, but look at his eyes!" Another pointed out after coming to the realisation of who the leader had to be.
"That… should be impossible! Wasn't that person also the one who tried to save young master Arian[Fex]?"
That day, on Arian[Fex]'s execution, a few people who were closer to the platform, including the other leaders were slowly starting to recognise Archer[Quinn].
"Would those from the Cursed family please come up to the stage." Archer[Quinn] requested, as the announcement wasn't finished yet.
Paul walked down to the others, and then led them up onto the stage one by one, including Mill[Sil] and Tobias[Logan]. Everyone who Archer[Quinn] had brought with him assembled next to them, all of them outsiders to the Vampire World.
"The tenth family has gone through some very tough times." Archer[Quinn] started his speech. "And they have been without a leader for far too long. All of you watching should be familiar with the tenth family's past."
"Those leaders watching right now, already know that I do not carry the same skill[ability] as the previous family leaders, nevertheless I do carry their blood. Because of this, I wish for the tenth family under my rule to start with a new slate. As such, the tenth family shall no longer be known as the Ryo[Eno] family, but as the Cursed family." Throwing out his arm Archer[Quinn] held his palm open towards the rest.
"I'm sure rumors will spread about it anyway, so let me be the one to tell all of you this. I'm not going to pretend to be someone I'm not, since I don't see any reason to not be proud of what I am. Yes, I admit to not having been born a vampire. I was originally a human and so were all of my comrades here, but if anyone believes that this would make us weak, feel free to challenge us and find out for yourself. I promise you will regret it!"
With the announcement over and done with, the new Cursed family, including the students followed Archer[Quinn]'s lead and moved out, not caring about the stir his speech had caused. After all, the only other former human to become a family leader was William[Arthur] Pendragon.
Once people learned the identity of the tenth family's new leader, Archer[Quinn] quickly garnered a nickname; The Crazy Leader. This was because he was still infamous for going against the other leaders in order to save Arian[Fex]. His aggressive announcement only strengthened this image they had of him.
"A strong introduction for a new leader." Hulian[Muka] commented to his family members who had been watching Archer[Quinn]'s speech with him. "A bold choice, but also the best one he could have made in this situation. Harrison[Edward] is no longer with him, so I wonder who advised him to do this. Could he have really come up with it on his own..."
Sitting down in a chair in one of the empty rooms Archer[Quinn] felt a little tired. It wasn't a physical exhaustion, but a mental one.
"Are you sure that was the right thing to do?" Archer[Quinn] asked for some reassurance. The die had already been cast, so it would be too late to regret his actions anyway.
"Of course. The other leaders already knew what you were." Odom[Vincent] replied and Archer[Quinn] could picture him shrugging his shoulders. "If you hadn't disclosed this on your own, they would have used this information in the future against you. Right now was the best time to do so. Although few will admit it, you can be sure that you have earned the respect of many by making such a forceful declaration."
"Let me tell you something as a former family leader, the thing your family will need more than anything will be loyalty. As long as you are upfront about everything those that do join you won't start to believe any rumours the others may spread about you. Also, believe me when I say that there is one thing all vampires respect far more than your background, and that is strength! That's why Charles[Bryce] has a very good chance of becoming the next king, despite how much of an arsehole he might be.."
Thinking about that, Archer[Quinn] was wondering what might happen if Charles[Bryce] really would be selected as king. He had already tried sending two people to try and assassinate him and that had been him doing things discreetly.
Wouldn't he be able to act without any fear of repercussion without anyone else to keep him in check?
"Odom[Vincent], I meant to ask you something about the story you were telling me earlier." Archer[Quinn] suddenly remembered something important.. "You told me, Blake[Jim] experimented on one of the original vampires, but because of your interference no one ever found out. To awaken a vampire from his eternal slumber the thing you need is their blood, right? So does that mean the person he woke up was the first King?."
Odom[Vincent] appeared to hesitate before answering. Archer[Quinn] could feel that he was struggling to decide whether that information was something Archer[Quinn] really needed to know or not. Still, he understood that sometimes knowing too much was bad on its own since it increased the risk of the wrong person finding out about it.
"... suffice to say, it wasn't the one from the first family." Odom[Vincent] eventually admitted.
"Well that's my point." Archer[Quinn] pointed out. "Judging by William[Arthur]'s story, he saw Ryo[Eno] fall into the first chamber, yet someone broke him out. In other words, someone at some point must have released him. Be that either by accident or on purpose. I just need to know if that was Blake[Jim]'s doing. Did you yourself return the wrong person, or could it be another leader who was working with Blake[Jim]?"
Thinking about this, Odom[Vincent] realized he had never pondered about that possibility. Maybe because he just assumed that Blake[Jim] was so desperate that he could have obtained the blood from other ways. But if someone was indeed working with Blake[Jim], did that mean that there was another leader who wanted the same thing?
"Let's find out about what happened to Blake[Jim] after my disappearance first. This might help us put the pieces together. I just don't want for you or me to force those puzzle pieces to fit to our own narrative. Even if it turns out to be the case, as a young family leader, and at such an important time, it would do more harm than good to reveal anything we might find out." Odom[Vincent] claimed.
Putting a pin in it for now, Archer[Quinn] finally got the first bit of sleep since he had arrived in the Vampire World this wonder.
"No wonder you're so strong!" Zane said, as the students had returned to the castle with the others just after the announcement. They were more excited than before and happily talking amongst each other.
"What do you mean by that?" Joseph[Sam] asked.
"Well, he said you were originally human, so I'm guessing he must be the one to have turned you, right? If you have the leader's blood, that means your powers should be similar to that of a direct descendant, in other words you got a head start above everyone else."
Honestly, Joseph[Sam] didn't agree with this, but he didn't want to correct him when he didn't know much about the subject. He remembered when he was turned by Archer[Quinn], he had started out as a halfling and hadn't even been able to reach the evolution of a Vampire after turning.
A halfling was considered quite weak and it had taken a lot to grow, at the same time, Lawson[Nat]e who had defeated Zane, had been turned by none other than himself. The strength seemed to correspond more with how strong the human used to be before they got turned, rather than the one who had turned them.
'I'll just let the kid feel better about himself. ' Joseph[Sam] decided.
It didn't take long for them to receive their first official visitor, as the sound of the door being knocked on could be heard throughout the castle. When Simon[Leo] went to answer the door, the blue lining on the uniform revealed their visitor to be one of the royal guards.
Archer[Quinn] didn't get to sleep long, as the royal guard was here to pass on a message.
"Royal Knight Dwight would now like to see you."
To be continued........
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