The scramble to possess an Accord for an unsanctioned Vampire never failed to incite great excitement within the Vampire society and more than a modicum of interest in the non-Vampiric worlds. Demons visiting the human realm enjoyed taking in the local sights, but only a few were allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the Vampiric world, the auction.

Even fewer humans had attended an auction, for despite the fact that they might be on excellent terms with their Vampire hosts, the general Vampiric populace was uneasy at the prospect of private practices of their culture viewed by an outsider. The right to possess an Accord was vigorously contested by many Vampires as the contract ensured the companionship of a Tyro for a year and in a community plagued by the fragility of relationships this was the grail of companionship.

The procedural regulations of the auction were set down centuries ago when, alarmed by the high incidence of Revenants and Devs, the Ghuvk decided to put into place a tightly controlled method of organising the unsanctioned Vampires. A sudden influx of uneducated Tyros threatened The Veil, and while the initial focus was to rescue them in order to enforce the rules most were ultimately destroyed.

To create an auction was easy, but to prevent control by the wealthy, powerful Old World Houses was more difficult. It was soon recognised that wealth and status were not always a precursor to a good Kire, the owner of an Accord. So in order to allow those of different status and ensure a variety of influences on Tyros the auction became something of a lottery. Those interested in the auction would turn up to bid, but there was still the issue of wealth, so the auction process was reorganised.

The auctioneer now had three types of auctions to oversee; one was the standard highest-bidder win. Another was a predetermined time set by the Scriptors. Any bid made at this time was considered the final bid. The final method was to go through the entire process and then accept a bid closest to a predetermined price instead of the highest bid.

The method would be chosen by the Scriptors only minutes before the auction to prevent bribing of the auctioneer. Those attending had no idea which method would be used leaving the process to become as exciting to the spectator as the bidder. The auctions became more than the tending of business affairs, as they soon transformed into social events of great gossip, of settling old rivalries, and the instrument of meticulous revenge.

The information that an Accord was becoming available went viral in moments with the entire Vampire populace electric with the knowledge that an auction was about to occur. The Chambers were not set up to hold anyone for more than a few days, so an auction was usually held almost immediately upon finding a Tyro. Those interested in viewing the warring bids would dress in their best attire, for within a world cloaked in the elegant refinement of discretion this was the closest a Vampire came to spectacle.

The auction was held in a specially designed auditorium within the Chambers where the bidders were seated at the front holding number cards. Observers at the back enjoyed the titillating anticipation of soon to be observed passions in a society used to concealing their every motive.

Tempers would flare, sudden hatreds manifest, Houses competed against each other while the spoils of victory stood centre stage watching the passions with confused terror. Sometimes the spectators were given the luxury of viewing Old World Vampires fighting over possession of a contract with the air itself crackling from their lightning bids as the price rose to astronomical rates only an Old World House could afford. What started as a simple venue to solve a social problem soon became an outlet for spectators as the auction became a competition for all present.

The bidding was done in the Demon language of Giryg for the Ghuvk were cautious, and conducted their business far away from human ears. The fear of The Veil being penetrated by the human community, even accidentally, was controlled by the transgressor not fully understanding what they had discovered.

Once the final bid was placed the method of auction would be revealed and the winner announced before being given a grace period to pay the Council. Those who failed to fulfil their contractual obligations had their win rescinded and the Accord was passed to the next closest bid. If that bidder could not pay then the bid was once again transferred until a paying client was found. The winners who defaulted in paying were banned from ever bidding upon an Accord again and fined severely for wasting the time of the Ghuvk.

The auction, born from the necessity to control the deviant creations within the Vampiric world, soon transformed from a business enterprise into diversion for a spirited audience. That the auction also became a source of entertainment was not surprising considering the value of relationships within a world where time devolved relationships into transient encounters. These far-from-passive spectators watched the ongoing excitement and often raised the stakes by placing wagers or championing those bidding with a fervour usually reserved for human sporting events.