Fiction:Ilyan, The Angel of Flame

The Angel of Flame is a figure of great prestige in the Solarian empire, as to become it one must put aside everything, even your own name. Ilyan was the name of the first Angel of Flame, and since then all of his inheritors have taken up his name as they take up his armour. The current Ilyan is believed to be the six hundredth Angel of Flame, as the Angels have been named since the very day the Solarians became sapient, and began to record their history. This number is held to be uttered in Ilyan's prophecies, and as the six-hundredth Angel of Flame was coronated, he was tasked with leading the Solarians into space.

Immortality
When the Angel of Flame dies, the armour he wears is taken to Solarus, where the next appointed inheritor of the armour is granted the name Ilyan and allowed to wear the armour. Thus the persona is lended a kind of immortality, and so the Angel of Flame has become the figurehead of the Empire of Solarus. It is also believed that those who die in the armour pour their soul into it when they die, and indeed everyone who wears the armour takes on the personality of the first and true Ilyan, and speak with a voice not of their own. As such, to look upon the Angel of Flame is to look upon the face of an ancient warrior hero reborn in new flesh.

The Angels of Flame all wielded some manner of blade, and in the modern era the current Angel of Flame bears an energy sword, but a recent addition to the Angel's armoury is the Sun's Gaze. This weapon can be dialed to any potency, allowing the Angel to burn whole squads or obliterate enemy tanks with ease. The current Angel also uses a backpack mounted mortar launcher that he fires as he is about to close with the enemy.