Nobles

Several hours had passed since Aurik awoke in the Estate's Infirmary and he was currently being wheeled around in a wheelchair by Horace. The connection to his legs was still completely absent, but Horace explained that he would need at least two more days before any feeling returned, followed by another week before he was able to walk without risk of further injury.

'Growing back a piece of my spine is already amazing but to think it will only take about two weeks to make a full recovery...' Aurik was highly pleased with his body's healing capabilities and felt no need to complain about a two week wait when there were people out there who would commit a massacre to grow back a missing limb or regain the use of their legs.

Horace looked down at Aurik from behind with an expression of pity on his face. He had already been given a brief summary on what was about to happen but was ordered not to say anything.

'I'm sorry, Aurik, I wish things could have been different.'

The pair continued through the hallways until they reached a set of doors that they were both familiar with. Continuing forward, the two men entered the same room in which Aurik had been tested for his abilities, the large open room with the curved table near the back wall.

This time, however, there were almost twenty people present in the room, all of whom went silent the moment the doors were opened. The majority of the people were standing on the sides of the room, creating a sort of pathway to the curved table. Each and every one of those people had green eyes, identifying them as Vampire Knights.

Seated at the table were three figures that Aurik had never seen before, though he hadn't seen most of the people present either so it didn't come as a shock to him. All three of these figures were men who had the appearance of a human in their 40's to 50's and had stern looks on their faces.

The man on the left went by the name of Khan and had a large horizontal scar across his face that went over the bridge of his nose. His hair was a dull red colour and was so short that it would be difficult to grab onto with you figures, similar to how a newly recruited soldier would look.

He had a large frame and bulging muscles that made him look like a bodybuilder or power lifter and the expression on his face was especially serious compared to everyone else. He wore a set of tightly fitting black clothes that consisted of a T-shirt and shorts, not something you would expect to see in a meeting room.

In the middle seat was a man by the name of Charles. His hair was tied up in a neat ponytail and he had a goatee adorning his face, both of which were black with several strands of grey, giving him a slightly older vibe despite being of similar age to the two beside him. He wore a set of black robes with golden trimmings that covered his entire body and had sleeves long enough for him to hide his hands. The expression on his implied that he would rather be doing anything else right now, like such matters were beneath him.

The last of the three was a man named Yuval, who held a cheerful smile as he watched Aurik and Horace approach. He had curly brown hair that reached over his ears and passed his collar, with a full beard that matched. He had a few strands of grey poking through but not on the level of Charles in the seat to his side. He wore a sophisticated yet simple ash coloured suit with a deep blue bow tie that matched his eyes perfectly.

As a matter of fact, each of the three men had deep blue eyes which symbolized their ascension to the third evolution among Vampire kind wherein they are called Nobles. Aurik had received a brief summary of these men from Horace upon asking but nothing beyond their appearances and the fact that they were Nobles.

Aurik tried to pry further, specifically to get more information about the Nobles in general , but Horace wasn't able to stay for long and had to cut the conversation short.

'Knights are far more powerful than Soldiers, to the point where Jessie claimed it would take five Soldiers to defeat one. She also said that the difference in power gets larger the higher up in the evolutions you look... does that mean it would take ten Knights to defeat a Noble? Does the number differ depending on the clan the Noble is from? Now that I think about it, I don't even know what the different clan's abilities are...'

Aurik couldn't help but feel bitter about his lack of knowledge but what was he supposed to do? Everyone seemed too busy to answer his questions or were just outright uninterested in doing so. 

Horace pushed Aurik to the other end of the room and placed him an appropriate distance from the table so that he was partially encircled by it's edges. He then stepped away and joined the crowd on the right side of the room, remaining close enough to Aurik that he could walk out and move him again when needed.

"You are the young man named Aurik who was injured in the attack, correct?" Charles asked, still appearing annoyed to be here.

"Yes, Sir." Aurik replied respectfully.

Charles' expression suddenly became more serious and a great force started to bear down on Aurik's shoulders like someone was trying to press him into the ground.

"Let's get right to it then. Why were you at the blood storage when you are not one the guards!?"