"And I say unto thee, lest not the darkness of thine hearts weight thy down! Nay, let the flames of thine sould burn brightly as the most holy stars! By the constellation of mercy, may lost find their way by the Saint Polaris, the guiding Star of the North! May the downtrodden find their faith by the Constellation of Hope! And may all those who are willing find a most holy sanctuary in the heavenly embraces of the Lord of Stars!"The Adept of Redemption had gathered a sizable crowd today with his sermons, it filled his heart seeing so many listening to the holy canon of the Order. He had been preaching since before dawn when the first merchant were setting up for the day and he had planned to only leave upon sundown for a short rest and then attending to his nightly duties of studying the cosmos. Standing atop his makeshift alter, he had managed to build up his tiny holy spot fairly nicely in the weeks since he had arrived in Melin. He had found the cloth to drape over several crates to form an alter, a worn rug he found by the side of the road was folded on itself and used as a spot to knee before the alter should any willing converts come forth. A pair of broken dressers was saved from being scrapped and was now used as a confessional booth; the Adept had heard many, many confessions from the townsfolk, some mundane, some scandalous and a few honestly a bit terrifying, but through his fait hand vows, Adept kept them close and told no one. Even though most only came to get something off their chests, the simple act of confession seemed to help them cope with their lives.
A brave soul stepped forth from the ringed crowd and kneed on to the moth-eaten rug in front of the alter. The man seemed pale and wasted, a long robe that had been torn and sewn back together more times than the man could probably count covered his frame. In his hands, he clutched a soft hat, likely the only article of value on his person and bowed to the Adept of Redemption,
"G-good sir! W-what does the S-star Lord say of a m-man such as m-myself?"One good look and Adept had already read him like a bool. The man of obviously poor and had been most of his life. The fact he did not cover his face agianst the winds with his hands spoke of how he likely slept outside, exposed to the elements for so long he got used to the gale. His pitiful excuse for shoes were little more than raw canvas strapped over his scarred and leathery feet with sinews of rope. A faint scent of alcohol spoke of a sad tale of bar tabs and tavern debts. In short, this was exactly the kind of man who needed some slim glimmer of faith and hope in his life - the glimmer, of a star.
"The stars speak of greatness for men such as thine self!" Adept softened his tone but kept his booming voice in the hopes that more would come forth,
"I see that you are such a man who, poor in body, is rich and great in soul! Through the blessings of the constellations, I can see unto the soul, beyond the mortal flesh and see that you have seen the light of the Stars yet you are chained by fear! Embrace the choir within your soul that seeks communion with powers greater than you, than me, than any before us! Join us! Confess thou faith and thou shant fear no demon, no foe, no evil!"The beggar man looked up at the Adept of Redemption and saw a holy light surround the priest, a golden glow of light shown off his brass accouterments and an aura of pious faith surrounded the white robes of the Adept. Silently he nodded and stood to his feet, Adept knew he was ready to embark on the great journey with the stars.
"Brothers! Sisters! Bear witness as this man join the God of the Stars for he has seen the rainbow bridge across the skies to the realms beyond!" The Adept took some of his water and sprinkled it over the man as he walked in circles, chanting the ritual words,
"May the Lord Solaris bless thee with courage! Amen! May the Lady Lunari bless thee with love! Amen! May the Astral Saints bless thee with righteousness! Amen! And may our Emperor Stellaris bless thee with his divine will! Good sir, what is your name!""I-its Leric...""Than Leric, do you confess your sins unto our lords?""Y-yes...""Do you wish to see the infinite wisdom of the cosmos?""Y-yes.""Do you accept the divine astral canon to be holy writ and blessed law?""Yes.""Then are you ready to form this most holy of bonds, this most sacred of covenants with the Stars!""Yes!""Then I pronounce you baptized in the holy radiance of a thousand stars! A hundred suns and a hundred moons! And the watchful vigilance of the Star God!" From the shadows in nearby stall, a pair of children bearing the sigil that the Adept had and tugged on the man's hands, playfully asking him to follow them and dancing around. Their exuberance brought on a faint crack of a smile on the man's face, the first he likely had in a long, long time. Together they made their way through the marked and towards an abandoned workshop that a number of previous converts were slowly being converted into a proper temple of the Star God, a Holy Observatory.
With the baptizing finished, Adept prepared to resume his preaching as he and his flock saw the airship finally coming into land. Although upset that his crowd was dispersing, Adept's eyes sparked when he saw the big man being escorted off the ship. He was huge and likely equally strong. The Order could always use strong guardians like him to protect the faithful, a warden against the abyss, a knight in only slightly rusted armor. Gathering his Astralnomicon, his staff and his censer, Adept parted the crowd as he made his way towards the airship, hoping that he would be able to spot where the man named Misha would betaken so that he may show the big man the vastness of the stars. Of course, that was the plan and that plan had gone out the window as soon as someone shouted a bounty on the ship's crew and gun fire broke out.
As the crowd either panicked or went wild, Adept simply slowed his pace down and began to ponder what could the Star God have meant through these events and if he had seen these in the constellations the night before or something, completely oblivious to the fact there was a very real chance of him getting trampled.
