Gliding down the final steps, Robert entered into a charismatically strong speech. “My fellow Lords and Ladies, gathered from near or far, I and house Bohun welcome you all to my home on this auspicious night.”<br/><br/>A few acknowledged with a nod of their heads, some of those seated merely stared silently at his approach. They considered him too young for such a position clearly, and it would be down to him to correct that misjudgment.<br/><br/>With a graceful turn of his hand, he bowed and sat down to join them, signaling the proceedings open. The dark lords and ladies present were from all ethnicities and walks of life, a small few wore expensive suits of armor but many were dressed in clothes of nobility. The Byzantine and Asian Elders were the most oddly dressed, but a vampire of Robert’s age had seen sights far grander, witnessed things stories only dared let others dream about.<br/><br/>The debate soon got into full swing. It was an odd thing to watch minds many hundreds of years old, posture and twist other’s words to their advantage. All were predators here, and all sort the weaknesses of the man or woman next to him. Much of the talk ranged around old feuds they had all heard a hundred times before, and how they should be limited or contained. Little ground was ever gained here, as people didn’t give up hatreds easily.<br/><br/>It was mid way through the many arguments one particularly ancient vampire stood to his feet, his skin was almost pure white, the life long gone from his black eyes, if it was ever there at all. He had been silent till now, with only one purpose in coming here.  “And what of the order of the Night Owl, will we sit here and not speak of them?”<br/><br/>The room went quiet. It was John Deville speaking, a man few words usually, and perhaps the oldest one here. “I see, so you are happy to speak of old arguments, things you should of all left behind centuries ago, but a new threat is at our very door and not a word.”<br/><br/>“They are humans, humans don’t matter.”  One Elder snapped in response from the corner of the room.<br/><br/>“How many of your kindred have they put to the stake in the last century, or yours, or yours?” John Deville looked around the room, making sure to challenge the eyes of any who dared contest him.<br/><br/>Robert saw this opportunity, it was a gamble but he could claim it as his own gamble, a method of advancing his own position, so he also stood and raised a hand forward. “Honored guests, hunters of our kind are becoming more sophisticated. We should make it a matter of course to return the favor. I pledge house Bohun will not rest until we know more about their order, than they know themselves.” He paused and waited to see their response, it was on a knife edge, would they dismiss him as an upstart or back his call. “Who is with me?”