Hellaverse Headcanons: The Creation Myths of the Hellborn
A while back I was brainstorming with @prof-ramses and at some point or another we discussed the topic of potential background lore that would help to flesh out the mythos of the Hellborn. Well, during our talk I came up with the idea of the various Hellborn species having creation myths regarding how and why their respective Sin created them.
Imps: The imps as a whole have a pretty clear understanding of why their species was created, that being Satan desired a race of loyal servitors that could also double as a scale army. As for how the Sin of Wrath actually created them, the species is divided into two camps on the matter, those being “Scalekin” (imps that believe the species were born from the scales Satan lost during The Fall and the many battles that followed) and the “Rock Folk” (imps that insist Satan carved their forebears from rocks he hand picked from across Wrath’s vast desert). The two groups contentiously debate which interpretation of their species birth is the correct one, which has caused no shortage of conflicts that span well into the present.
Hellhounds: When it comes to matters of their creation, hellhounds unanimously attest that, as creatures of Gluttony, they were born through an act of Gluttony itself. That is to say, hellhounds as whole espouse that the first members of their species were born after Beelzebub undertook a massive eating binge that cut a swath through the Ring of Gluttony. It was after this massive undertaking that, wherever the scraps from Bee’s feast had landed, the ground was “seeded” and from the detritus of the leftovers the first hellhounds would later emerged. As far as the hellhounds can tell, their inception was predominantly a means to allow for Queen Bee to have a pack of her own that she could indulge in Gluttony alongside.
*Harlequins: The original denizens of Greed have a pretty clear understanding of their creation as Mammon has actually divulged it. As the Sin of Greed tells it, he created the Harlequins from skittering insects that naturally propagated across his the Ring of Greed along with a smattering of gold dust to mark them as his chosen people. Because of this clarity regarding their origins, the Harlequins have an acute sense of security in their place in the greater scheme of Hell.
Loan Sharks: Originally having been created by ▇▇▇, the Loan Sharks share a creation myth with the Infestors and instead have numerous myths regarding how they came to reside in Greed and venerate Mammon. While individual accounts vary, the general through line is that the Sin of Greed somehow managed to have conned them away from ▇▇▇’s service or otherwise having won them from their original master through a wager prior to ▇▇▇’s ▇▇▇.
Succubi/Incubi: Much like the imps, the denizens of Lust are split into to two schools of thought regarding the origins of their species. One school teaches that they were quite literally birthed by Asmodeus himself through what they describe as “the ultimate expression of self love”, whereas the other school of thought preaches that the original succubi and incubi were born from the ashes left behind after Asmodeus washed the Ring in “the fires of passion”. Whatever the case, succubi and incubi see themselves as the truest expression of the Sin of Lust’s unbridled passions and deepest lechery.
Infestors: As stated previously, the origins of the infestors is interwoven with that of the loan sharks. The way they tell it, Leviathan and ▇▇▇ gathered a great many materials from across the primordial sea of ice that makes up Envy. From there, the two entered a great dance that stirred the icy waters and collected materials into a fine resin. While half of the resin rose to the surface and became the loan sharks, the remaining half sank into the depths and became the infestors.
Candleheads: As a general rule, the candleheads are in agreement that the origins of their species can be traced all the way back to the chaotic age known as the Founding of Hell. It was during this time that the Rings had not fully formed/solidified and were thus more subject to the whims of the Sins that ruled them. Because of this, it is said that one day as Belphegor laid her head down to rest, she entered a deep and vivid dream, once she awoke, she found that she was surrounded by the first generation of candleheads. Content with their lot in life, the candleheads don’t really question what, if any, greater purpose they were created for.
*Dybukks: Amongst one of the youngest species of hellborn, the dybbuks actually have a recorded date when their species first came into existence. Furthermore, the species as a whole is aware they were created for the purpose of conducting the research and development (as well as the dirtier deeds) undertaken across the Ring, in fact, they are rather proud of the fact.
Other Hellborn: Generally speaking, the other unsorted and unaffiliated Hellborn that populate Hell widely accepted that their species simply came into existence at some point in the past, having been born from the cursed land of Hell itself.
(For context: Harlequins and Dybukks are what @prof-ramses and I call the insectile jesters from Greed and the plague doctors from Sloth respectively. All credit goes to @prof-ramses for coining those names.)