The Order Of The Heated Blade

You're telling me some asshole not only brought together some pain-bringers, some devils, and some demons they were able to unify them into one cult? And that cult is devoted to pain and fire? What sick fuck thought that was a good idea? 
-A devil in the devilish city of Inferno, on the seventh layer of Infernius. The devil who said this was sacrificed as a heretic a week later.

The Order of the Heated Blade (also known as the O.H.B.) is a largely extraplanar cult devoted to the dreadful god of empires and chaos named Althos. This cult worships the multiverse's last god as a god of pain and fire. Its adherents are mostly evil extraplanar beings, creatures like demons, devils, and pain-bringers. It is a popular faith among pain-bringers, for whom it is spreading like wildfire, and is a quickly growing cult in Infernius, the home of devil-kind, and in the Heart of Darkness, the home of demon-kind. 
The cult, like the god they worship, is pretty chaotic and there is no inter-dimensional hierarchy or supreme leader of the faith aside from the wicked god they worship. Some of the cult's most famous members are creatures who felt the touch of their god directly and were defeated by the infamous vestige, Morehammer. 
Adherents of this faith are among some of the most unhinged of Althos' dark servants. These malicious entities are often sadomasochistic and thus they get excited at the idea of coming across heroes who might try to strike them down, even if such heroes are ultimately successful. 
Authors note: This article, like every other article on this wiki, is a living article. Ideally, it will be updated with new information and contain spoilers. Eventually, it'll contain reference notes to which chapters in which the information was first established, in-universe, but for now, just remember that navigating this wiki comes with spoilers.

Structure

The O.H.B. largely exists in three dimensions: Infernius, the Heart of Darkness, and the mysterious home of the pain-bringers which is known to outsiders as Zenith. In each of the three dimensions where the cult can readily be found, there is a distinct organizational structure, or in one case a remarkable lack of structure. 
The devil who leads over the devilish sect of the cult is known as the pyro-pope. The first and only pyro-pope to date is a blitzkrieg devil named Argonaut. Argonaut is the ruler of a city named Inferno in one of the deeper and more mysterious layers of Infernius. His city is a theocracy which he has devoted to Althos. It is his fondest wish that his master one day visit Inferno and perhaps even chose a victim to personally immolate, something which would delight Argonaut even if the chosen victim is the devil himself or one of his own children. 
In the Heart of Darkness, demons lead individual branches of the cult. These chaotic creatures do not bother to give official titles to the leader of each branch of the cult. Demons who are Burners are often gluttonous or slothful demons who not only delight in hearing the screams of their foes but also enjoy being able to lazily watch an enemy burn alive and perish without much effort on their part. These demons often oversee crematoriums, in the mortal realm and in the Heart of Darkness. They may also be necromancers who command flaming spirits to search for new victims to burn in the name of their master. 
Zenith is where the O.H.B. is at its most popular. Pain-Bringers are flocking to the worship of Althos, and they are zealous adherents to the cult as it accepts them as they are. Pain-Bringers celebrate Althos and practice self-flagellation as well as torture others as acts of devotion to the one they view as their god. Adherents to the faith who are pain-bringers do not compete amongst themselves or try to rank themselves in some sort of hierarchy, instead choosing to practice their faith in joyous cooperation so as to maximize the focus on pain itself.

Culture

The three groups which make up the overwhelming majority of Arsonites are all incredibly distinct. Demons are creatures of chaos and thus quite spontaneous. Devils are lawful creatures who fixate on hierarchy and tradition. Pain-Bringers are sadomasochistic monsters who focus on pain solely for pain's sake. Thus each group worships Althos and views non-adherents quite distinctly. 
Demons are surprisingly tolerant of non-adherents and even those who blaspheme against Althos. They celebrate converts and proselytize to their fellow demons quite openly. Devils understand that this extremely new faith, one which has existed for less than a year, will need time to grow but they are quick to try and punish blasphemers who disparage their faith or Althos, whenever they can do so legally. Pain-Bringers

Public Agenda

This is where the different sects of the cult are unified. Their public agenda is to serve their god. The way they want to serve their god? Inflict pain and set the multiverse ablaze. They'd also quite like to turn their victims, neighbors, friends, enemies, family, and the entire multiverse into adherents of their twisted faith.

Assets

The biggest asset of the O.H.B. is their collective attitude towards pain. By and large Arsonists are sadomasochists who aspire to be given commands by their master. They would fulfill any order, no matter how genocidal or life-threatening, provided it came from their god. And what's worse is that there are in totality perhaps hundreds of thousands of adherents of this faith throughout the universe of Althos' birth.
In terms of more tangible assets:
They control one city in Infernius, several cities in Zenith, and they possess scattered holdings throughout the mortal realm and the Heart of Darkness. They own an impossible number of weapons, and at any time they can spontaneously receive the blessing of their eldritch god of fire and pain which could improve their ability to shrug off pain or set their weapons ablaze, or both.

History

The O.H.B. is an extremely young cult, especially given its size. Months ago, in the world of Torus, Althos was safely ensconced in his tower and begun to practice conjuring magic. The god summoned pain-bringers, demons, and devils, and upon summoning them he learned about them and then thoroughly brainwashed them using pain and fire. 
These creatures were victims of the cruel touch of a god who sought nothing more than to learn about the nature of the universe of his birth, but his touch also broke their minds. Demons, devils, and pain-bringers are at best naturally at odds with each other and at worst are actively in conflict with each other and yet the young god was able to make over a dozen of them interact peacefully and even eagerly with each other. He did this through a gospel of pain, and in doing so acquired some of his first extra-dimensional worshipers. 
Mere weeks after its inception the cult would run afoul of the vestige, the echo of divine power and sapience left-behind when a god perishes, of the creator of dwarves; Morehammer. Morehammer defeated the cult, banishing its founders back to their respective dimensions and humiliating the founder and object of the faith, Althos himself. 
Ever since his defeat at the hands of Morehammer Althos has quietly worked towards exacting his revenge. In the absence of commands by their divine master, the defeated extraplanars have settled on devoting themselves to inflicting pain and advancing what they view as the divine agenda of their master by spreading word of their faith throughout the dimensions they call home.

Mythology & Lore

There are no universal myths in this faith, as of yet. Althos is interested in the creation of myths for this faith, but the god himself is more interested in allowing the faith's adherents to self-govern and to self-regulate.

Divine Origins

This religion was born in the divine tower of the god of empires, Althos. He created it in large part as an afterthought, and to this day regards it mostly as a cute toy with which to play. 
The faith itself is centered around pain and fire and Althos did that because it was the simplest way to control the adherents of the faith. What few teachings exist came into being during the downtime of the god, who has spoken both physically and magically with various members of the faith and is largely content to allow them to govern themselves, for now anyway.

Tenets of Faith

1: Inflict pain whenever you can, on whomever you can. Spare no one from pain, including yourself.  2: Delight in pain and in flames.  3: There is power in suffering, be it self-suffering or the suffering of others.  4: Channel fire and channel fury. Utilize both wisely and set the world ablaze.

Ethics

It is fair and accurate to call this faith a blight on communities where its adherents can be found. Members of the faith are violent extremists who recognize that the god they worship is an evil, dangerous presence and that is part of the appeal of the faith. 
The religion itself orders those who adhere to it to inflict pain and suffering on themselves and others. Especially pious members of the faith are extremely violent, incredibly powerful monsters who often lead armies of nearly equally devoted creatures who seek to inflict pain on others, especially ones that can naturally or magically set fires. The tenets of this faith all revolve around ways to spread pain and the proper maintenance of fires of all sorts. 
Some pious acts: 1: Self-flagellation  2: Mutilation of self or of others 3: Lighting a fire, especially one that inflicts pain on someone or something  4: Maintaining a fire
Some sins:  1: Acts of mercy 2: Application of medicine outside of using it to keep someone alive for further torture 3: Dowsing a fire 4: Praying for relief from pain, or for the extinguishment of a fire

Worship

The clergy of the god of pain and flames, or rather the god of everything in his aspect as a fiery god of pain, lead services to Althos daily in places where multiple priests and priestesses or other leaders of the faith exist. These clergypeople are tasked with overseeing all manner of things, from watching over rituals to addressing the concerns of the faithful about the nature of pain or the purpose of flames. 
Regular day-to-day worship of the molten god of the lash are largely private affairs. Althos does like public displays but he recognizes the chaotic and private nature of worship and faith and thus only rarely tries to encourage public displays of faith. He is far more interested in how worship furthers his own power, than in ordaining and codifying exact codes of conduct, unless for a lawful cult.

Priesthood

Clerics of the O.H.B. exist and they are appointed by Althos himself. He possesses the power to grant someone the cleric class, and he uses this power to mark someone as a worthy leader of a sect of the cult. Those who earn this honor must oversee services devoted to the god of pain and flames and this status is seen as an incredible honor in spaces and communities where the O.H.B. is a tolerated or even celebrated presence. 
Clerics of the O.H.B. are often left with a brand of sorts on their upper bodies, one that clearly marks them as leaders of the faith.

Granted Divine Powers

Althos has granted a select few adherents of this faith powers over fire, acid, and poison. Far more common than being given a power though is being gifted a weapon of some sort. Althos is fond of giving adherents of this faith tridents that are both on fire and drip deadly poison. 
The extremely rare witches, warlocks, and wards who devote themselves to this faith gain the power to cast spells related to fire and enchantment spells that cause their victims to experience biting pain. Althos is fond of giving such individuals blessings that are related to whichever school of magic they most enjoy using. 
It is extremely common for Althos to target adherents of the faith and use his power over minds and pain to twist worshipers into sadomasocists.

Political Influence & Intrigue

Demons are largely too unorganized for this faith to affect demonic society, for now anyway. 
For devils the existence and discovery of Althos has had a resounding effect: it has led to the spontaneous birth of other faiths such as the Tyrant's Hand, an extremely orderly cult that worships Althos as the emperor of emperors and seeks to ingratiate itself with the empire-building god before he finishes his conquest of Infernius. Members of the Tyrant's Hand are making efforts to connect with the O.H.B. and to learn more about the god both faiths worship, as well as secure the services of the O.H.B. as torturers and mercenaries. 
Some pain-bringers have been emboldened by the fact that Althos exists and wish to wage a crusade to unify Zenith and offer it to the youthful god of pain. Others are interested in forming new pain-centric cults that worship Althos as a god of pain and pleasure, or as a god of pain and minds.

Sects

There are three large and recognizable super-sects of the O.H.B. and unsurprisingly they are largely dimension-specific.
1: The first super-sect is the most amorphous and individualistic: that of demons. Demons are not much for faith, though they love inflicting pain and are fond of the usage of fire. Of the three collectives of individual species that form the vast majority of O.H.B. adherents demons are the least likely to be members and their traditions are the least structured and most individualistic. Demons enjoy the sheer appreciation of pain the Pain-Bringers have, and dislike the community-oriented views of both of their rival super-sects. 
2: The second super-sect of the O.H.B. are devils. Devils are super collectivistic and the O.H.B. is the second most popular of the Althonite faiths to infect Infernius. Arsonist devils can be found in many cities in most layers of Infernius and their traditions revolve around community, hierarchy, and the appeasement of the god they worship, and in many cases, fear. Devils can appreciate the popularity of the faith among pain-bringers and they dislike the individualistic view of pain held by demons.
3: The third super-sect of the O.H.B. are pain-bringers. Pain-Bringers are zealous, joyful worshipers of Althos and are proud adherents of this dark and sadistic faith. Pain-Bringers dislike the individualistic nature of the demonic version of the faith but can appreciate the relatively rare O.H.B. demon. They like the collective nature of devilish O.H.B. worship.

Burn the Blade, Burn the Soul!

Type

Religious, Cult

Alternative Names

Arsonites

Demonym

Burners