Inside a vast conference room.
Bronze chandeliers hung from the high, vaulted ceiling, their flickering candlelight casting mottled shadows through stained-glass windows.
Directly beneath them, in the center of the room, sat a massive, long, black table.
On one side of the table, twelve carved oak chairs were arranged in a semicircle, each chairback branded with the crest of a different family.
A roaring black bear, entwined thorns, a silver eagle with wings unfurled...
These were the totems of noble houses, each with a lineage stretching back a thousand years.
Each one possessed a deep and storied history.
At this moment, figures began to take their seats one by one.
The group consisted of both men and women, though most of them appeared to be over thirty years of age.
Furthermore, if any Professional were present, they would have noticed the aura of Spirituality emanating from each of them.
