Abbas-Al-Morim
Sage
I'm stuck on a term for a specific type of soldier, employed by the church. So far, I've come up with the word "Contractor" because that's basically what they are, though not in the modern sense. And because of the modern implications (the term contractor is used almost exclusively in construction) I'd prefer to use another term.
These soldiers are tied to the church (or my equivalent of the church, which bears a different name) by a contract. They're basically mercenaries who have been given something akin to a Letter of Marque. This allows them to attack certain targets (decided upon by "church" officials) and it allows them to execute certain contracts (missions provided by the church, such as escort missions or guard missions or whatever). They're not an integral part of the Church (they're no holy order) but they are tied to the Church by their "Contract".
In effect, they're more like ruffians and bullies used by the Church to protect her assets and to intimidate rival organisations. They're not the most important military arm, they're used for smaller tasks. Again, you can compare them to privateers as opposed to the Royal British Navy. The slight difference being that the "Church" has a bit more control over these "Contractors".
These soldiers are tied to the church (or my equivalent of the church, which bears a different name) by a contract. They're basically mercenaries who have been given something akin to a Letter of Marque. This allows them to attack certain targets (decided upon by "church" officials) and it allows them to execute certain contracts (missions provided by the church, such as escort missions or guard missions or whatever). They're not an integral part of the Church (they're no holy order) but they are tied to the Church by their "Contract".
In effect, they're more like ruffians and bullies used by the Church to protect her assets and to intimidate rival organisations. They're not the most important military arm, they're used for smaller tasks. Again, you can compare them to privateers as opposed to the Royal British Navy. The slight difference being that the "Church" has a bit more control over these "Contractors".