CONTENT WARNINGS: religious, emotional, and sexual abuse (including the abuse of children), victim-blaming, self-harm, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, fantasy racism, violence, and death
Ama Peccatricem is a project I have been developing since July 2024, but some characters for it have existed as far back as 2020.
As a queer person, I have always had a strained relationship with religion- specifically christianity, and I find it cathartic to explore this through fiction. However, this is a setting I have felt myself drawn to more and more as the resurgance of conservative "traditional values" in the USA has become a reality impossible to ignore.
The Church of the Holy Sanctum is the name of both a theocratic government and its state-sanctioned religion. The Church emerged after "The Great Revelation", an incident in which large chasms opened up in the earth. Immediately following, large sections of the population began succumbing to what looked to be an "epidemic" of spiritual possessions. Originally it was believed that Demons were the cause for these possessions, but with more scrutiny this hypothesis was disproved. The current church-sacntioned and most widely researched theory is that possessions are caused by the spirits of sinners who have escaped from Hell attempting to claim a physical form through force.
The Church of the Holy Sanctum rules over a vast landmass and large population. To rule more efficiently, The Church is split into many different smaller states called "Denominatins". Denominations largely govern themselves and can enact different laws and regulations on its people, but ultimately they must answer to their capital: The Basilica.
The Church has a strict hierarchy of power. At the top sits a single Pope who resides in The Basilica. Serving The Pope is a small cabinet of Cardinals, one from each Denomination. They advise the sitting Pope and elect a new one after the death or resignation of the previous.
Each Denomination is ruled by an Archbishop who sits in a Cathedral. Archbishops are assisted by various Bishops who, like Cardinals to The Pope, advise the Archbishop and are responsible for electing a new one when the time comes.
Priests are leaders of smaller, local chapels. They interact more directly with civilians and are responsible for enforcing the rules enacted by The Archbishop.
Deacons work under Priests. Their primary function is to assist and serve their community. They have no authority to make or change rules despite being the ones who do the vast majority of the heavy lifting on The Church's behalf.
Nuns serve a similar role to Deacons, but are considered seperate as they are the only role in The Church that women can take. They- like Deacons- directly serve the community as healers, teachers, etc. Unlike Deacons, Nuns answer directly to a Mother Superior- another Nun voted democratically into a position of leadership. Despite this, a Mother Superior still does not have any authority to make or change rules.
There are several other roles within The Church that do not slot neatly into this hierarchy, but still serve important roles. Exorcists, for example, have specialized training save possessed persons via exorcism. While possessions are their speciality, exorcists must also have some training in social services and generalized emergency response. Sometimes very mundane emergencies have been mistaken for or blamed on possession.
Another such role belongs to Crusaders, who serve as each Denomination's police force. An Officer leads the entirety of one Denomination's Crusader force, followed by Knights who take charge of smaller localities, and finally Soldiers make up the bulk of the force's muscle.
Everyday civilians who do not have a postion in The Church are referred to as The Congregation.
At the very lowest rung of The Church's social ladder are "Heretics"- those who reject The Church's teachings or are otherwise seen as unworthy of God's love. They are denied many of the social services that The Church provides and are largely shunned. Some Denominations have taken steps to be more welcoming of Heretics in the hopes of converting them, while others turn them into scapegoats who often become the victims of harassment and violence.
The Church has many rules and beliefs, many of which differ depending on each Denomination's interpretations of the holy book. However, there are several core values that remain constant: devoting oneself to God and spreading the word of his love, treating others with kindness, resisting the temptations of the material world to keep one's spirit pure, condemning violence, and never holding anything or anyone in higher esteem than God.
Unfortunately there are many in The Church, congregation and clergy alike, who only take to heart the lessons that serve to benefit them the most.
WIP
Alongside the spirits of the damned, another kind of being emerged following Hell's opening: its former residents who mankind dubbed "demons". Demons are mortal creatures of flesh who are like humans in every way but appearance. They are anthropomorphic beings with distinct animal features. Demons have been historically feared, shunned, and even hunted down for their association with the infernal. In the modern day it is accepted in law that demons have the same level of personhood as humans, but in practice demons are still subject to discrimination and live largely seperate from humans. In most cities, demons are grouped in with Heretics and are sequestered to slums dubbed "Perdition".
Some demons have attempted to join The Church to escape Perdition, but it is very rare that any of them find success working within The Church.
Sister Teresa Custo (she/her)
Growing up, Teresa never anticipated working for The Church. Her path once seemed so clear, but with time she would learn that being a mother was never a part of God's plan for her. Teresa threw herself into worship, determined to absolve herself of whatever sin made God see fit to punish her so. Over the years she rose up to the rank of Mother Superior, her hard work and no-nonsense nature impressing church higher-ups. Despite her success, Teresa felt dissatisfied with her achievements.
Her declaration that she wanted to pursue the path of the Exorcist came as a shock to all who knew her. It took some convincing for the bishops to approve of her new path. After all, she would be the first woman in Newhaven to become an exorcist if she completed her training, and they wanted to be sure her reasons for doing so were pure and not a pursuit of pride.
Ecasta DeLune (they/she/it)
Ecasta never wanted to work for the Church, but it was easy to choose the convent when the alternatives were destitution or being reduced to an incubator. While they were very gifted and could recall the holy book's verses on command, Ecasta never took the lessons to heart. They had a reputation for being a rabble-rouser, delighting in the scandalized reactions of the other nuns and priests. Ecasta seemed to have a particular fondness for trying to get a rise out of the stone-faced Sister Teresa Custo.
One day, however, Ecasta left. There were no farewells or proper resignation, she was simply there one day and gone the next. Nobody was sure why they left, but given their reputation most were thankful for their absence. It would be about five years before Teresa saw Ecasta again and discovered she had also pursued exorcism. Teresa's current mentor was neglectful at best, and Ecasta had become quite an effective exorcist in the years she had been gone- all without The Church's guidance. Teresa knew asking for Ecasta's help was ill-advised, but she was desperate for somebody, anybody, to be in her corner.
Father Nathaniel Ballardi (he/him)
The men of the Ballardi family have practiced exorcism since the day Hell first opened up. There was never a question as to whether or not Nathaniel would follow suit, it was as sure as the sun rising in dawn and setting in dusk. Nathaniel studied hard through his childhood, and once he was old enough his father began taking him out into the field. Despite knowing the theories and strategies by heart, Nathaniel struggled with exorcism in practice. He would lose sleep many nights worrying about disappointing his family, of being the weak link to break the chain of the Ballardi legacy. Nathaniel would eventually find the strength to fight, but only after having to watch his father die saving him.
Almost 30 years have passed since that night. Nathaniel became a well-respected exorcist, but he doesn't feel any of the "noble and glorious purpose" that the profession is supposed to bring. If it weren't for his expertise and family name, he probably would have been kicked from the church years ago for drinking more than his share of communion wine and sneaking off to Perdition to whoremonger. Even now, he neglects his duty to mentor Sister Custo. It's not that Nathaniel thinks she doesn't have what it takes to be a good exorcist, but if he can discourage the Sister from pursuing that line of work, he'll consider it doing her a favor.
Pasiphae Pfaff (she/her)
Pasiphae had been left in the custody of The Church as a baby, abandoned by a human mother ashamed to be seen raising a half-demon child. She prefers not to dwell on those days and goes out of her way to associate with The Church and its congregation as little as possible. All they had ever taught her was to hate herself and repent, repent for what she was and for daring to exist without shame. It took Pasiphae decades to unlearn that shame. Despite her difficult upbringing, Pasiphae worked hard to make something of herself. She became the first "secular" exorcist, entirely self-taught, and takes great pride in it. After all, those who lived in Perdition were still plagued by possessions from time to time, but The Church had never cared much for the well-being of demons and heretics.
About five years ago Pasiphae crossed paths with Ecasta who had recently left The Church, now adrift and looking for purpose. Pasiphae took the young woman under her wing and began training her in the practice of secular exorcism. Business relationship aside, the two have developed a deep fondness for eachother and are rarely seen apart. The one thing they don't see eye-to-eye on is the way Ecasta has taken it upon themself to mentor Sister Custo. Pasiphae knows her apprentice has good intentions, but she feels it's only inevitable that trying to have any kind of relationship with someone devoted to The Church will only end in heartache.
Father Cilice Pudeo (he/him)
The Church values faith and devotion to God above all, but even those who preach this the loudest bristle at the zealotry of Father Cilice Pudeo. He never had the charisma to lead a congregation nor the patience to be a teacher, but he found he was a natural at exorcism. Cilice is considered an incredible exorcist, rivaling even the Ballardi family. While he made a name for himself that would earn most a significant rank of power within The Church, Cilice's by-the-book devotion proved inconvenient for many church higher-ups as not even they were safe from invoking his ire for any perceived shortcoming or hypocrisy
Even with his reputation, few know just how deep Father Pudeo's fanaticism runs. He is so fearful of being corrupted by temptation that he vehemently denies himself anything that he would derive pleasure from: drinking, sex, decadent meals, etc. Even something as innocent as a thankful parent embracing him for saving their child feels too much to allow himself to enjoy. More troubling still, he takes part in the antiquated practice of self-flagellation behind closed doors.
Archbishop Pius Aikens (he/him)
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Bishop Gaius Devou (he/him)
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Knight Raphael Addorno (he/him)
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Felix Cantor (he/they/she)
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Viridia Richter (she/her)
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Bastien Leroux (he/him)
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Candide Moretti (he/him)
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Klyment Melnyk (he/him)
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Deacon Dewey Reed (he/him)
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Name (pr/ns)
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Name (pr/ns)
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Name (pr/ns)
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Name (pr/ns)
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Name (pr/ns)
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Name (pr/ns)
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Name (pr/ns)
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