Sahkil, Kimenhul

Three monstrous, misshapen skulls top a twisted trunk balanced on three leglike splinters of flesh and bone.

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Ethereal Plane)
Organization solitary
Treasure standard

Kimenhuls prey upon the fear of failure, and encourage self-loathing. While all sahkils delight in spreading fear, few can leave an indelible mark of terror on its victim like a kimenhul. Among the strongest of sahkils, kimenhuls rarely leave the Ethereal Plane. Aside from the sahkil tormentors, kimenhuls are the eldest of all sahkils, and some particularly powerful kimenhuls carve out territory in the Ethereal Plane and rule over legions of other sahkils in much the same manner. Kimenhuls that achieve long-term control are outliers among their kind, however, as the hierarchy among sahkils is more mutable and fluctuating than the rigid order of devils or kytons, or psychopomps’ strict adherence to the planar order.

A kimenhul appears as three enormous, fused humanoid skulls with mouths full of jagged fangs, sitting atop an ever-shifting mass of limbs and faces.

These latter manifestations constantly try to pull free of the kimenhul’s bulk, shrieking and wailing in fear.

Sometimes a creature gazing into this fluctuating horror sees a face all too familiar—a scolding parent, an old bully, or a lost lover. This may or may not be real, as the terrifying forms stretching out from a kimenhul’s body incorporate both images from the viewer’s mind and those creatures that have fallen prey to the kimenhul’s eternal fear ability. A typical kimenhul stands 25 feet tall and weighs roughly 10,000 pounds.

When a kimenhul telepathically communicates with those marked by its eternal fear, it constantly reminds them that they will never be good enough, and that they are utter failures in everything they do. These sahkils derive a perverse amount of pleasure from these brief mental interjections, and those that have made their horrific impression on large numbers of beings spend hours of each day engaged in this long-distance abuse.

This lingering torment often drives a kimenhul’s victims insane, or forces them into desperation as they attempt more and more drastic means to rid themselves of the sahkil’s influence and predation. Many of these victims end up in the care of others, as their paranoia overtakes any ability to care for themselves and they constantly worry over whether they can actually achieve anything on their own. Doubt and distrust seep into every thought. The victim can’t get the denigrating voice out of his head, and self-destruction seems the only thing that can keep it at bay.

Kimenhuls don’t bother with those they consider “lesser” minds, unless their intention is to cause havoc or rampant violence. They instead focus on instilling fear in the best and brightest they can find. Kimenhuls appreciate a challenge and even dedicate themselves to breaking down creatures that are immune to fear effects. Kimenhuls delight in tormenting the brave and confident. These cruel outsiders track down great heroes and famed generals—women and men known for courage and righteousness—and infect their otherwise strong minds with the static of constant fear. Kimenhuls share stories of their conquests with each other and any allied sahkils, bragging about the reduction of onceproud warriors to twitchy, frightened children who jump at the slightest noise.

In combat, kimenhuls combine the use of their spell-like abilities and their physical might. Enemies out of reach fall victim to a host of different effects meant to frighten or weaken, while those nearby are at risk of being trampled or snatched up by one of the kimenhul’s fanged mouths. Kimenhuls sometimes grab enemies with their bite attacks and then use their snatch between ability to bring their victims to the Ethereal Plane.

Once back on the Ethereal Plane, kimenhuls bring their kidnapped victims to their lairs, where they and their sahkil allies subject them to a host of frightening stimuli in hopes of driving them mad. Some of these victims linger in this prison of terror for decades, while others die from fright—or take their own lives to escape the torture of constant dread. Otherwise, kimenhuls do their best to keep their victims alive.

Kimenhuls generally linger near those places on the Ethereal Plane where a mortal peering into that realm might brief ly glance upon their horrific visages. Most viewers only catch a terrifying, half-remembered glimpse of the sahkil and go on their ways, shaken but unscathed.

Yet if the viewer looks too long into that hazy realm, a kimenhul doesn’t hesitate to expose the creature to its look of fear or eternal fear abilities, or to attempt to drag the victim back to its lair for a proper dose of terror.