The whole group was whisked away from the dignitaries now that they had the footage of them in the background that they would need to dub into the official press releases, and everyone began to relax as they got further away from the site of the System stones.
“It was some distance until we could get clearance to land. They will be setting up magical barriers all over the area, and establishing a no-fly zone. Tell me, who is the regional Commander here? They will likely be getting a commendation.” The Chief Inquisitor asked Karl directly.
“This area is under the supervision of a High Priest on orders of the Judge Advocate General’s office, after the Base Commander was found negligent in his duties. My apologies, but I do not recall his name at the moment.” Karl replied.
The Inquisitor nodded. “That is fine, I will look it up once we are at the Cathedral. You are in for a treat, have you ever been to the Capital before?”
Karl chuckled and shook his head. “I was born in Lithium Mine City. I’ve only ever been there, the Academies, or on missions.”
Dana looked like she was in the same situation, awestruck by the chance to go to the Capital, though they likely wouldn’t see much of it other than the inside of the Cathedral while they answered endless questions about the situation that led to them finding the ruins.
Fortunately, there wasn’t going to be a lot to tell, and he had some notes to help him along. So perhaps their trip to the Capital wouldn’t be so bad.
Some of the soldiers didn’t look too convinced, though. Their level of nervousness was only increasing as they approached the pristine white spires of the city, with its millions of people working, living and visiting the shops all through the city.
It looked like something out of a fairy tale, a magical bastion that had stood since time immemorial, but the Capital’s spires were actually quite new. They had been started after the Serum was first made public, a revitalization of the Golden Dragon Nation’s image after the progress of the experimental Elites was made public.
Before that, the Capital city was a grim place, with barracks along all the walls and a rough mercenary culture that bled through to everyone from the sheer number of fighters that it took to defend such a large population centre.
But for their reborn Rogue, this was a much better place to be than some rural deployment. It was much more common to see other species here than anywhere else in the Golden Dragon Nation. Worgen might be looked down upon in the almost entirely human nation, but here in the Capital, a mercenary was a mercenary. They would recognize her for her strength even before finding out she was an Elite.
“Down below you is the Cathedral of the World Dragon. That is the site of the nation’s most Holy Relics, and the seat of the Archbishop. Normally, we would sell you on the opportunity to catch a glimpse of him when you’re here, but we all know where he is right now, and you’ve already gotten closer to him than anyone outside the church has in decades.
Once we land, your group will be split, with the military unit headed to the Church Guard barracks, including Sergeant Rita, who is being called to an official meeting with the senior administrators, separately from this matter.
Those not under military contract will be guests of the church, and we have prepared rooms for you.” The Head Inquisitor informed them as the helicopter prepared to land.
Karl looked down below him and saw not just the majesty of the Cathedral, but the dichotomy of a city that had advanced faster than its people could adapt.
Modern cars and ox carts full of goods both traversed cobblestone streets, many walked on the sidewalks, while those with superhuman strength used an elevated walkway and jumped across streets they wanted to cross.
The central areas of the city had traffic lights, but the areas further out had no such niceties, and traffic navigated intersections at its own whimsy.
Karl didn’t see many people who were visibly nonhuman, but there was an Elf in the window of a tower full of what looked like mages training, and a group of beastkin walking into one of the taverns near the gates.
Then, in the most rundown section of town, he spotted many more people who didn’t quite pass as human. Their features were just a bit off, not quite right, or sometimes just openly other, like the beastkin.
One of the inquisitors patted Karl on the shoulder when he noticed the direction of his gaze. “Many species of monsters can breed with humanity, to varying degrees of success. If they’re civilized, we welcome the offspring of such unions into the city, but the lineage comes with a stigma that’s far worse than being a foreigner like an Elf or a Beastkin.”
Karl nodded. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. Do you know what the schedule is when we get to the Cathedral?”
“Nothing too serious today. First up, you all get to do written reports, then an interview after you unwind. You’re still a young one, so you might not have noticed yet that after a bit in the field, Elites get a hard edge to them, and it scares the average citizen. We can’t have you all wandering around the Cathedral ready to fight at a moment’s notice. You would terrify the nuns and the visitors.” The Inquisitor chuckled.
Karl looked around a little and noticed that he had a point. There wasn’t anything different about their actual appearance, they had been eating well, so they didn’t have that slightly emaciated image of war survivors from the films about the integration wars, but everyone had a twitch to them, and a sharp gaze, on alert for threats at all times.
It was essential in the wilderness, and Karl thought that it probably was in the city as well, but you had to hide it better when you were around so many people. Nobody owned anything worth taking in the mines, but here in the Capital, Karl had heard horror stories of all sorts of crimes that would be unthinkable at home.
The helicopter landed on a large concrete circle in the courtyard of the Cathedral, and the Inquisitors led everyone out.
They passed by the doors where the visitors to the Cathedral came to pay their respects or pray, and Karl couldn’t help but notice the way that people were looking at him. Not so much the mages, but any of the higher rank warriors as well.
Their superhuman strength gave them a particularly effortless walking stride that he had first noticed with Overlord Drake. Combined with their mission packs on their backs and the weapons on their hips, they must be quite the sight, taking in the Cathedral with trained eyes and joking with each other.
It was a bit different to be observing the strangeness of the Elites from the inside. Karl hadn’t really noticed the changes as they happened, but now that he had people who weren’t Elites to compare himself to again, he could feel the differences that came from the power and confidence that had overcome all of them. Even the mages had a confidence in their attitudes that the average person did not.
The head of the Church Guard clicked his heel on the cobblestones to get everyone’s attention, a subtle gesture, but a distinct noise.
“Soldiers, you’re with me. The rest of the Elites are with the Lead Inquisitor.”
Karl found himself leading the group toward the inside of the Cathedral after Sergeant Rita left with the others, subconsciously taking his position on point as they travelled through the bright stone of the building.
The Cathedral was beautiful, and had a sense of ancient power to it, born of centuries of constant Holy Magic use in the same spot. He had to restrain his hand as Inquisitors stepped out of the shadows, joining the column as they walked down the halls and deeper into the building.
[That’s a pretty good trick. They didn’t even use a real skill, they just control their breathing and movement as they stand in an alcove out of sight, so you don’t notice them until they move.] Rae noted.
There were two for each group member now, plus the Lead Inquisitor, and Karl sighed at the familiar situation. It seemed that the questioning part was going to come first, then the unwinding and adapting back to civilization.
