Gabriel de León

Template:Infobox character

> “There’s no misery so deep as one you face by yourself. No nights darker than ones you spend alone. But you can learn to live with any weight. Your scars grow thick enough, they become armour.”
>
>  *- Gabriel to Jean-François in Empire of the Vampire*

### Aliases

* The Black Lion
* The Last Son of Lorson
* Hero (by Dior)
* Peasant (by Aaron)
* Frailblood (by Talon)

### Relatives

* Auriél de León † (Mother)
* Raphael Castia † (Step-Father)
* Unknown Vampyr (Biological Father)
* Amélie Castia † (Half-Sister)
* Celene Castia (Half-Sister)
* Patience † (Daughter)
* Dior Lachance (Surrogate Daughter)

## Appearances

### Appears in

Empire of the Vampire

**Gabriel De León of House Esani** is the murderer of the Forever King and is the last Silversaint. He is also known as the Black Lion. He is the main viewpoint character of Empire of the Vampire.

## Biography

### Early Life

Gabriel De León was born to an unknown coldblood of the Esani bloodline and Auriél De León, in Lorson, Nordlund. He was raised by his mother and step-father, Raphael Castia, who was a blacksmith. His mother was the daughter of the local baron himself. However, upon learning that she was pregnant, the baron cast Auriél out. She, along with Raphael, moved to Lorson with nothing but their clothes. Gabriel was born in the village church. A year after he was born, his half-sister Amélie Castia was born. His half-sister Celene Castia was born later. As a child, Gabriel was abused by his step-father. Once, when Gabriel didn’t chop enough wood, Raphael broke an axe handle over his back. He pounded Gabriel's ribs until broken when he forgot the well water. The day after, Gabriel's mother would rage, Raphael would vow by God and all the Seven Martyrs that he'd change and they would be happy for a time, Raphael would take him hunting or fishing, drill him in the sword craft, the life of the wild or how to make a flame catch on wet wood, the knack of walking across dead leaves with no sound, the crafting of a snare that won’t kill what you catch. They slept under the stars in the mountains just like a real father and son would've done. But it always used to end. When he was eight, when Daysdeath occurred. When he was thirteen, he saw his first 'wretched', exactly 5 years after Daysdeath. It was during that time, in late summer, that his sister Amélie and their neighbor Julieta went missing. Everyone searched for them but couldn't find them. Ten days later, they returned, but as one of the wretched. Together, Julieta and Amélie fed on Julieta's mother. With an axe, Gabriel struck Julieta's skull, but Amélie overpowered him. At that moment, Gabriel felt a heat flood up his arm, tingling across every inch of skin, which burned Amélie's skin. By then, the rest of the village arrived upon the scene and torched the two girls.

After Amèlie's death, Gabriel's parents were never the same. His mother was consumed with grief and his stepfather sought refuge in a bottle and abused Gabriel more so than ever.

## Powers and Abilities

Strength: Gabriel is a paleblood which makes him stronger than the average human. He first discovered his strength as a child when he was able to toss full grown men bigger than him away with little effort.

Speed: Gabriel is faster than the average human able to dodge attacks from vampires.

Healing: Gabriel can heal from wounds faster than the average human. He broke his arm on one occasion and another his leg and both healed after half a day. He can also survive wounds that would normally kill a regular person.

Climbing: Gabriel can use his nails to dig into stone and climb and scall high walls.

Sword fighting: Gabriel was considered the greatest swordsman of the Silversaints. He started training as a swordsman as a child by his stepfather. Gabriel is capable of dual wielding.

Sanquimancy: Gabriel is a paleblood of the Esani line, so he is a bloodmage. When he makes skin contact with a vampire, he causes their blood to boil and their skin to burn, this is his strongest ability. Gabriel has discovered other abilities with sanquimancy such as using his blood as a tracking device.