Hellhounds are demon wolves that were made to be companions and guard Hell. In modern times, they’re raised to be killers and drag the souls of those who have to pay a price. They often search graveyards and burial grounds for souls to drag to Hell, hunt lost souls, or eat. If they catch a lost soul, they drag it to Hell, eat it (destroying it), or rarely place it back in its body (Only if they’re really nice). They spend most of their life training, and young ones strive to make the first kill. After they make the first kill, they’re recognized as adults. It also shows they are not weak and can kill on sight. Any soft behavior will be punished. Their souls are tainted and shattered. They are more prone to going feral and destroying everything in their path.
Hellhounds go uncontrollably feral on blood moons. They kill everything in sight. On full moons, they’re incredibly moody. Wounds hellhounds inflict upon themselves or others do not heal nicely. These wounds stay as hypertrophic scars and cannot be healed even with holy magic. These pups can use a command ability to bend the will of others. They blend into the shadows really well and use the shadows to teleport. A hellhound-centric weapon is an umbra blade, a dagger, knife, or sword with a shadow-forged blade. (More on these weapons: Umbra blades are solidified shadows and cannot be wiped out by light)
Hellhounds live in packs, and the atrocity pack is the most respected of the hellhound packs. Pack hierarchy is that of a normal wolf pack. You have the alpha, betas, deltas, omegas, and “pups”. To become alpha, you need to be beta, murder the old alpha, and then receive the mark of the alpha. A branding knife comes in handy. They are notorious for being negligent parents. Also per annually, these pups go into a rut. Usually early spring. When reproducing, they’re more likely to have twins or triplets. Weak pups get killed off.
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More on the atrocity pack and hellhound hierarchy:
Hellhound hierarchy is not like that of demon hierarchy. The highest it can go is noble. Each pack as its own alpha and beta, that is pack hierarchy. Although, if you lump all hellhound together, there is a group that are stronger and way more powerful than other hellhounds. These are called the nobles. All nobles belong in the Atrocity pack. This pack is close to demons the most and work for them. The leader of this pack was the late Cerberus and now his nephew, Osiris. These hounds have power over the others. However, leaving will make you lose your nobility.
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A hellhound's diet is limited. They mostly eat human flesh and blood, for it is easier to share with demons. Another exception is animal flesh and blood. They are mainly the hunters for both. Human medicine is toxic to them, and they have a higher concentration of stomach acid. They hunt down lost souls before any angel can find them for personal gain. Their personal gain is food. They starve because demons don't leave them that many scraps, so tearing apart a soul and destroying it is extra food. Also, in that fact, they earn praise from demons if they drag it to hell. And if they steal it from someone's living body, extra food, and praise (Because that means the soul made a deal with a demon and paid for it. Fetching it is like a bounty or a wanted poster)
They can take the form of a human through shapeshifting. Their human form still has inhuman features: fangs, pointed ears, and retractable claws. They have a marking on their bodies called a hellhound mark. This mark helps recognize a person as a hellhound. These hounds, however, like their demon counterparts, can use human disguise. Their human bodies mostly have strong builds and are resilient. Their eyes turn red when mad or feral. A hellhound's physical body stops aging because they are semi-immortal.
Their mature wolf form is as big as an Irish wolfhound. They have lengthy, shaggy fur around their neck. The rest is short fur. Their tails are wolf-like. The muzzle is long, and they have pointy ears. They have red eyes. Hellhound senses have a power greater than a bloodhound. Most of their abilities are a hybrid of canine and demonic.
These demons dogs have many weaknesses. Their major weaknesses are cold silver and white magic, as it burns their skin and kills them. Cold iron also affects them. They have canine weaknesses (ex: chocolate and dog whistles) and some human weaknesses (Ex: illness and bad or fatal injury). Wolfsbane is a deadly plant that can be eaten or used in powder form. The wound will grow infected and inhibit the ability to turn into a wolf or back from a wolf. It kills the person slowly (in small doses. In large doses, it kills quickly) and leads to delusions. In death, their souls slowly fade.
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(Note: Demons also control them using command (Makes people do one's bidding no matter how they think or feel) like how humans control dogs through commands (Verbal).
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Bane’s Hellhound tips and tricks:
Never wake a sleeping Hellhound
Never piss off a moody Hellhound
Never comment on a hellhounds technical breed (A half-breed of demon and wolf)
Never try to fool a Hellhound
Never tease a Hellhound. It will get you killed