To begin with, do not use that name around Laurence or
Novalis. Neither Archangel likes it - or the concept
that it covers. Indeed, both of them decline to
officially recognize the group's existence: it isn't
precisely a condition that one would wish to
encourage.
However, neither Archangel gets to make the final call
on this one. You see, the problem with fighting an
enemy that is, well, vile, is that the aforementioned
enemy will seldom hesitate to fight dirty. Obscenely
dirty, if necessary ... and it's amazing what Hell can
rationalize as being 'necessary'. Most angels learn
to accept this as a matter of course, but it can come
to a surprise to many Soldiers. There's a reason why
so many human servants of the Host don't have much of
a social life, outside of their colleagues: Hell does
its damnedest to take it away, often messily. Some
Soldiers rise above this test. Some are broken by it.
Some become Hellburners.
There's only one 'requirement' to be a Hellburner (in
game terms, at least): a Will of 7. That's in game
terms. The background, however, is a different story:
Hellburners are invariably Soldiers who have seen
demonic cruelty up close and personal. They've
watched as their families or friends or lovers were
targeted, tortured or damned. Many times they
themselves were the unwitting agents of such
activities (Hellburners often get that way as a direct
result of Shedite machinations). The experience
drives them mad - but it's a functional madness,
really. They can still act effectively, after all.
Just don't expect them to ever again demonstrate a
full range of human emotions.
Contrary to popular belief, not all Hellburners are
combat monsters. For every zombie-like gunman,
there's a emotionless hacker that trashes entire
financial networks to target one demonic bank account:
for every chainsaw-wielding fanatic there's a silent
paramedic prepared to make sure that a suspected
Hellsworn never makes it to the hospital. What does
distinguish all Hellburners is their collective
willingness to not shrink from any activity that will
hurt Hell. Demon holed up in the abandoned building
with hostages? Break out gasoline and matches.
Evidence that a human is Hellsworn? Introduce him or
her to a tree shredder. Shedite possessing an
innocent? Pull out an ice pick. Shedite possessing a
colleague? Pull out an ice pick. Shedite possessing
you? Quickly pull out an ice pick.
As the above might suggest, Shedim and Hellburners
have a very, very interesting relationship.
Inexperienced Corrupters are drawn to them ... only to
discover that these half-broken Soldiers are usually
quite cognizant of what it feels like to be ridden,
and have no compulsion against forcing the demon out
by any and all means necessary. Some Hellburners have
even been known to use Force Catchers (or
Will-Shackles on themselves), then calmly sit in the
locus of a Tether and savor the screams. A more
experienced Shedite can overcome this kind of
conditioning, but it is still not a pleasant
experience at all.
Indeed, most of Hell's street-level operatives find an
encounter with Hellburners to be highly unpleasant.
Aside from their high Will, Hellburners have no
inherent added resistance to being affected by a
demonic resonance ... but they don't particularly
care. For example, an inexperienced Balseraph might
try to convince a foe that he or she isn't actually
attacking a demon, but no Hellburner will ever stop
using a chainsaw on someone simply because he cannot
remember why he chose to start doing so in the first
place. Lilim (and Calabim) will find that Hellburners
are indifferent to pain: they can feel it and be
physically affected by it, but it won't stop them.
Impudites are usually terminally shocked to discover
that a Hellburner will kill someone that he or she
'likes', if the situation calls for it. A powerful,
experienced demon can play a Hellburner like a violin,
of course - but the average demon would be well
advised to simply avoid finesse and either shoot to
kill, or run.
There is no formal Hellburner organization: it's more
of an epithet than anything else. 'Members' usually
work in groups of (at most) three or four. They tend
not to socialize with each other too much, but then
they never really socialize at all. Hellburners never
consider themselves off duty, after all. This fact,
coupled with their complete lack of self-preservation,
helps explain why so few Hellburners seem to last very
long. 95% of them are dead within a year of whatever
it was that half-broke them; none have lasted more
than a decade before full madness or death.
Nobody in Heaven likes the idea that humans are
capable of getting this bad, but there's a wide
difference of opinion about the appropriate response.
Every Archangel has his or her own method of dealing
with the situation (many would say 'problem'), ranging
from reassignment to involuntary care to a painless
death and intensive therapy in Heaven. Active, open
Hellburners serve War, Stone, Lightning or Creation -
Eli's walkabout has had some extremely unfortunate
consequences - but there are always rumors about most
of the other Archangels, and how they may have one or
two available, at need.
Any tool at hand, after all.
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