[img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/268097504543899648/413726335404474369/tom4-600x688.png[/img] [b]Name:[/b] Henry Locke [b]Age:[/b] Mid-Thirties/Presumed at least as old as the continental US [b]Title:[/b] Previous owner of the Sunset Lounge. Now fulfills some unestablished role in the running of the Free State [b]Biography:[/b] Henry Locke was neither a particularly new, nor prominent name in the goings on of Los Angeles' 'night' life until very recent times. Most Kindred who knew the city for any great length of time might have encountered him, in some new minor project or the next, but he was usually gone before long, staying away from the city for greater stints than he remained. There seemed to be no real pattern to this, no riding in on the winds of change or storm of fury, simply a transient, something a little uncommon, but not unheard of, in the machinations of the Kindred. This all changed in the early 90s. After a spate of local gang activity, forest fires and the like left a particularly fancy new apartment overlooking Downtown LA stuck on the market, Henry Locke purchased the property that would become the Sunset Lounge. It remained his personal private sanctuary for some years while he ingratiated himself with the local kine and kindred forces that be, never enough to step near the rungs of influence, but enough to make sure he wasn't treading on toes. It was the late 90s before he set upon the idea of a bar, but after that it was swiftly designed and opened. Modern chic that was somewhat cutting edge for its time, it was a quick draw for Kindred seeking something a little more refined and calm than the usual Anarch haunts and dive bars. Henry never looked to be exclusive, and his manner of a fairly down-to-Earth British migrant never changed, but soon the Sunset Lounge became one of the more popular destinations for those in power, and those seeking to rub shoulders with them. The importance of the Lounge to the Kindred society of LA only increased as the Elder murders began. In a night of bloody violence, many of the cities most established Kindred were slain, or driven into hiding. Their factions crumbled around them, and retaliatory violence began. The Last Round, previous unofficial Elysium of the Anarch movement in the city was firebombed, along with many other 'safe zones' of the Kindred nights. But among all this, the Sunset Lounge stood. An oasis of calm in stormy seas, for whatever reason, Locke seemed able to keep the situation in hand. This did not sit well with some, looking for a figure to blame. During Christopher Houghton's brief and bloody period as the declared Baron of LA, one of his most dramatic acts was to pin much of the violence of that night, and which had followed, on Henry Locke, calling for a Blood Hunt. More than this, he accused Henry of working with the Sabbat and Camarilla to weaken the Free State, to leave LA open to outside take over. Whatever their true thoughts on Houghton's ability to rule, or evidence, most of LA's Kindred through their weight behind the Kid, if temporarily, he was a moth to the flame for all those looking the leadership following the deaths of their previous Elders and sanctuaries, and the hammer came down hard on Henry. The same night the Hunt was called for, the Sunset Lounge was destroyed in yet another devastating bombing. Brujah leader, Catlin Monroe, was said to be among those consumed in the blast, doing much to weaken their support for the Kid, early in his reign. Despite this, Henry survived, or previously escaped the blast, along with Catlin (now known to be Yanci). Through the mysterious Toreador in disguise, he was able to plan something of a reprisal against the Kid, with his errant Childe, Eva. While the Kindred Civil War began in earnest, Christopher never gave up on his search for Henry, committing resources that would have been best securing his rule, to hunting down his latest paranoid haunch. Eventually he got what he desired, Henry Locke brought to him in chains. Whatever happened that fateful night, the Kid came out the worse, a pincer movement, based on the false victory of capturing Henry, fully exposed him to Eva's gambit and sudden attack. Childe defeated Sire. Those limited few who were there recall a brief, but intense conversation between Henry and Eva, the last she would have before entering Torpor. One of Eva's Coterie, Nathaniel, a Nostferatu, took badly to her apparent abandonment of them, striking back at those he held responsible, namely the rest of Eva's Coteria, Yanci in particular. Henry's vengeance was swift, before the night was over, Nathaniel was dead, and Henry had joined Yanci in their current roles of running the Free State. Yanci is the obvious Baron for the Kindred to flock to, but Henry's role at large remains a mystery, simply that he is present, and watching. Some might call him a Sheriff to Yanci's Prince, enforcing her law, but those are not words heard from either party.