The differences between the districts were distinctly visible right from the jump, as for one, the sidewalks were actually clean. The lighting was deliberate, as there were dedicated street lights to illuminate the area. Yes, there were neon lit storefronts, however they weren't the sole source of light. There were also people on the streets who were actually busy doing things like commuting to work, grabbing breakfast, exercising, going home after night shifts, and so on. There were also other cars on the roads, and these cars weren't so heavily modified, which meant that the P.M.C pair, as well as their contemporaries, all stuck out like sore thumbs with their loud exhausts, raised suspensions and more often than not, crudely bolted on armour plating. As they drove through regular traffic, Cory sighed and shook his head.
"What I would give to move my kids out here, man."
"You say that every time we come to the district."
"Yeah, well excuse me for wanting my kids to be safe. Well, safer than they are right now."
"You know how the Beast Race is treated by these high society types, Cory. The TD might be dangerous, but at least they're free there."
As if to illustrate the point, the pair drove past a car which had parked in front of a boutique, with a collared Wolfkin chauffer opening the door for a human female to disembark from said car. This was something so common place, that not a single soul so much as batted an eye at this, and carried on with their lives. The conversation stopped after that, and the remainder of the trip was made in silence. They eventually arrived at their destination – the Church of Everlasting Grace. Its patron Deity was Dihena, the Goddess of Tranquility, and they navigated their way to the staff parking at the back of the building. They parked their car in a section of the lot where other vehicles like Cory's were parked. It was known that preparations for the upcoming Convocation were up and running, so the Church Warriors were far less troublesome than they usually were. The two mercenaries made their way towards the front steps where they were confronted by more guards. The guard armour was a combination of robes and plated clothing underneath, with them all wearing helmets that completely covered their heads. The armour was Church's colours of white and blue, and these colours were also visible in every corner of the building.
"Mercenaries." One of the guards at the door remarked before gesturing with head for them to do something.
Drake removed both his pistol and mace from their holsters and set them down on a table that another guard was seated at. She logged the weapons before placing gesturing at them. The weapons were then enveloped in a blue energy and rose up off the table, before wafting into an open cabinet, which then slid shut. The mercenaries then walked through a large screening device, which did not go off as they did.
"No bionics." The guard stationed at the screen mumbled to himself as he logged that information.
"Cool." Cory said with a nod before they both walked off, knowing exactly where they were going.
The Church building was positively massive, and was more of a Headquarters than it was a house of worship. There were dedicated 'Rooms of Worship' where mass would be held, there were dorms, offices, a cafeteria, academy – everything the Church provided was all housed under the same roof. The mercs were heading towards a room which had been designated as a debriefing room for all of the mercenaries and as they arrived at the doorway, the already gathered mercs looked at them. Mercenary groups consisting of Humans, Half-Elves, various Beast Races, Gnomes, and even a few with Merefolk blood in them. After a round of cursory nods and grunts, the pair found some seats and sat down.
"Something about this prep is strange." Drake said as he looked at Cory.
"You think so, too? There's way too many of these mercenary motherfuckers in here. It's probably the same at all the other Psych churches."
"And you just know there are just as many mercs gathered at the Bionic churches."
"Man, I hope we don't square up against them later. Dwarves are a pain in the ass to deal with."
"Says the Lionkin Spirit Shaman. I don't think you realise how much of a pain YOU are."
"Come on man, I can't be that bad."
"The scar you gave me aches every time I see your face in the morning."
Drake's deadpan delivery made the Lionkin throw his head back and laugh so loud, the ground almost shook. The other mercs looked at Cory, with the Half-Elves in particular grimacing and covering their ears. They could do little else besides grumble however, because rather surprisingly, a Priest entered the room with an assistant, and not only drew everybody's attention, but silenced the room as well.
"I greet you all in the name of the Goddess. May her tranquil Waters soothe your souls."
"May her tranquil Waters soothe our souls." A few of the gathered mercenaries replied in unison, clearly believers.
"Look at the number of Chalices that are on the lapel of his robes." Drake virtually whispered. "Why is such a high ranking Priest addressing lowly mercenaries like us?"
"I don't know, but I bet he's bald as fuck under that Chef's hat." Cory tried to whisper back.
Tried being the operative word, as he was still loud as hell – meaning everybody heard. The assistant failed at her attempt to stifle her giggle – something Cory picked up on. The Priest cleared his throat, and started speaking, seemingly not giving a shit about Cory's comment.
"Those among you who frequently participate in Convocation preparations may have noticed that we are gathering people of your stripe in much higher numbers than usual. Frankly, this is because the upcoming gathering will be no simple matter. We have been reliably informed that a Celestial Being, from the City of Epharim, shall be in attendance."
There was a sharp intake of breath from those who knew just what that meant, if it was true.
"Therefore…" The Priest continued without giving them time to be surprised. "…we must move quickly, and with extreme effectiveness. Normally, we just have you people monitor and essentially suppress criminal activity with our districts, but with one of the Exalted descending from the Golden City to grace us with his presence, we MUST deal a significant blow to the criminal element within our city. The filth must be targeted, removed, and ultimately cleansed in order for us to show that we are indeed adhering to the Tenets set by our Goddess, so that he may inform Her of our piety."
The particularly religious of the mercenaries exclaimed not only in disbelief, but also joy. The Priest quickly quietened them down with a single gesture, before continuing.
"Those Bionic HEATHENS who follow those Deities that not only allow, but encourage the bionic alterations to the perfect forms that the Psychic Gods gave us will no doubt also be thinking the same thing, therefore you all need to be steadfast and resolute in not only cleaning our city, but also protecting the honour of our Deities – whether you follow our Goddess, or her fellows. Our City Guards are already stretched thin as it is maintaining the status quo, which is why you will all be temporarily given the powers and privileges of War Priests, and allowed to enforce OUR laws not only on the criminals, but on regular citizens as well. They may not know why in the moment, but they will come to know once they are graced by the Celestial Energy. These temporary positions, as well as the authority they bring, will be valid until the Exalted and whomever they are traveling with have left the city. You are prohibited from mentioning anything regard the Celestial Being to anybody not participating in this, and those who break this rule, shall be punished."
The Priest's eyes had started glowing at some point during his address, and he had even raised an open hand while doing so. Said had was also glowing the same blue as was everywhere in the building, and all of the mercs suddenly clutched at their chests, feeling something around their hearts.
"Damn. He hit us with the Edict of Oaths on the sly." Cory successfully whispered.
"Vow of Silence, Cory." Drake corrected with a roll of the eyes. "You always say these things so confidently."
The Priest concluded his address by praying over, and blessing the mercenaries, before excusing himself and walking out, leaving his assistant to distribute sashes with the image of a chalice fashioned as a Warhammer, to denote their temporary War Priest statuses. Once she reached the pair of mercs from the P.M.C, Cory flashed her a smile and made lingering eye contact with her, resulting in a slight blush and fixing of hair.
"Be careful, miss." Drake said as he simply too his sash and began walking off. "He's immune to contraceptives. He'll leave you pregnant after the first night."
"Hey man!" Cory practically roared as his partner not only sold him out, but left him behind as well.
The now heavily blushing assistant handed Cory a datapad with a series of addresses and information relating to elements and establishments that needed to be shut down urgently. Despite all that, the Lionkin still managed to secure her contact information and he finally caught up with Drake as he was collecting his weapons from the guard at the entrance.
"Now that I'm a War Priest, does that mean I can enter with my weapons next time?"
"I believe that it does." The guard answered as she used Telepathy to give him his weapons back.
"Good to know." Drake said to himself as he holstered his weapons once again and walked off.
"Come on Drake, how could you do me like that?"
"You still got her information, didn't you?"
"I mean I did, but still!"
"These women need to know what they're getting themselves into. You aren't going to tell them about your success rate."
"Man, shut it."
The two got to the car, and while Drake tied the sash around his waist, Cory wrapped it around his wrist a few times, and with that, drove out of the church lot.