The Pierce Family
The Pierce family’s reputation in Massachusetts carries a peculiar duality,
celebrated as medical pioneers while whispered about in supernatural circles
for their unsettling research methods and the high concentration of demonborn
in their bloodline. Their story begins with Dr. Elijah Pierce, a Civil War
field surgeon whose battlefield innovations saved countless soldiers despite
his unorthodox approaches to pain management and experimental procedures.
What historical accounts fail to mention is that Elijah’s demonborn nature
gave him not just a tolerance for others’ suffering but a heightened
understanding of pain itself. Where others saw only agony to be alleviated, he
perceived pain’s mechanisms with supernatural clarity. This insight, coupled
with his natural demonborn sadism, created a paradoxical healer, one who could
inflict precise suffering to ultimately reduce it.
The family established Pierce Memorial Hospital in 1879, ostensibly as a
charitable institution but secretly designed with hidden facilities for
studying supernatural physiology. Over generations, the Pierces expanded their
medical empire to include research centers, pharmaceutical companies, and
specialized clinics, all while maintaining their clandestine studies of non-
human biology.
The demonborn trait has manifested consistently throughout the Pierce lineage,
creating generations of physicians with the same contradictory nature:
deriving satisfaction from pain while channeling that disturbing affinity
toward medical advancement. Family members without the demonborn trait
typically gravitate toward administration or research roles where their
normal, empathetic responses prove advantageous in managing public perception.
Pierce Pharmaceuticals, established in 1923, has become their most profitable
venture, producing medications derived partially from their supernatural
research. Their pain management drugs are particularly effective because they
target mechanisms understood only through the family’s unique perspective on
suffering. Several breakthrough treatments for previously untreatable
conditions have emerged from Pierce laboratories, creating a moral ambiguity
about their methods as to whether the ends justify the questionable means.
The family maintains a careful public image of philanthropy and medical
dedication while concealing their supernatural nature and more controversial
research. Their annual charity gala raises millions for public health
initiatives while secretly providing access to their supernatural medical
services for the non-human community.
Notable elder family members include:
Dr. Lawrence Pierce – In his early sixties, Lawrence combines his hereditary
demonborn sadism with genuine medical innovation. After a controversial military
career developing enhanced interrogation techniques, he redirected his
understanding of pain toward groundbreaking treatments for chronic conditions.
His leadership style is clinical and results-oriented, measuring success through
medical breakthroughs rather than profit. He maintains an uneasy alliance with
his more socially acceptable brother Nathan, who handles the family’s
corporate image while Lawrence pursues research others find disturbing.
Dr. Nathan Pierce – In his fifties, Nathan is the current CEO of Pierce
Pharmaceuticals. Though not demonborn himself, he has leveraged his “normal”
empathy to become the family’s public face while facilitating his relatives’
more questionable research.
Dr. Samantha Pierce – In her forties, Samantha is the family’s leading
researcher in supernatural physiology and Director of Special Projects at
Pierce Memorial Hospital. Her demonborn abilities assist her in understanding
how different supernatural species experience pain, making her
research particularly valuable for developing specialized treatments.
Dr. Marcus Pierce – In his late thirties, Marcus oversees the family’s network
of specialized clinics that secretly provide medical care to supernatural
entities. His demonborn nature makes him particularly effective at diagnosing
the severity of supernatural ailments by measuring the suffering of his
patients.