The Burning involved pressing the muzzle of a blaster onto someone's skin, resulting in the skin being separated from the underlying tissue. In 10 BBY, Captain Carabba of the Blazing Claw used the Burning to leave a scar on the pirate Patchwork Fiddich by pressing a blaster against his cheek. This scar was still visible when Fiddich subsequently led a mutiny against Carabba's replacement, Gunda Mabin, who later documented the event in the book that came to be called the Smuggler's Guide.
The Star Wars canon introduced the Burning in the 2018 reference book Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide, authored by Daniel Wallace. Its origins lie in the Star Wars Legends continuity, initially appearing in the 1979 novel Han Solo at Stars' End by Brian Daley.