Holy Water

"Issa hard world, when a man's persecuted just for doin' his job."

- a disgruntled Distiller coming into the breakroom, soaked from head to toe with Holy Water

When the Playful Orders charge that The Father isn't a real deity--because where are "His" divine realms?--the Priesthood of the Father fires back with Holy Water. After all, they argue, if The Father wasn't real, then why would water blessed by Him harm Demons?
They've learned, however, not to tell Academics things like this. Scientists aren't too good with "rhetorical" questions. Chemistry specialists happily explain that "Holy" water differs from regular water in a number of chemical characteristics. The leading theory is that it is infused with a salt, as the water tastes distinctly brackish. The salt's exact composition remains a mystery, as tests produce unreliable results. Not-at-all desperate Sons of the priesthood bluster that this clearly confirms the Water's miraculous properties and strongly discourage the scientists from conducting further trials. On moral grounds.

Manufacturing process

Ordained clergy of the Priesthood of the Father are the only ones currently able to create Holy Water. They produce it through an intensive process of simmering the water with various herbs in consecrated vessels while prayers are intoned. Scientific experimentation sugggests that the prayer and consecrated vessels have a distinct physical, chemical effect because simply replicating the herb compound and simmering water does not produce the same effect.

Significance

Holy Water was something of an ecclesiastical curiosity until the modern age and its industrial-scale production of The Demon Drink. Suddenly, there was a whole industry regularly exposing its workers to Demonic possession if they made an error. After a number of high-profile incidents involving even higher death tolls, the liquor industry began the now standard practice of installing Holy Water emergency showers, eye wash stations, and even power hoses in Summoner and Distiller workspaces.
Liquor industry anti-Burner taskforces have begun testing weaponized Holy Water for the personal defense of taskforce members and liquor industry leaders. Early trials seem to indicate that, while dousing a possessed Human kickstarts exorcism, directly dousing a Demonic Spirit "burns" the demon much like fire does a human. Unlike fire, Holy Water has the significant benefit of not harming bystanders or nearby property. As the Demonic Defense League clashes more and more openly with the liquor industry, it is expected that we will see more and more Holy Water weaponry developed for personal, street-level use.

Item type

Compound

Manufacturer

Priesthood of the Father

Rarity

Controlled substance, mostly produced for industrial use or in religious ceremonies

by ButNoCigar with assistance from Illustrator AI