Eros Ka'Rinah

Eros Ka'Rinah (Demons of Eros) were a contemporary group to the Allied Sovereign Nations. They consisted of genetically revived Lusari, a gelatinous species capable of shifting to appear as an ideal mate which they would then use to lure its victim to devour them alive. During the era of the Allied Sovereign Nations, there was an ongoing paranoia that almost anyone could be a Lusari. Their increase in number and difficulty to tell apart from the species they were imitating often lead to false accusations and witch hunts.

Characteristics

Thousands of years prior, even though the Sinister Hegemony and all of its members were all extinct, the Drallan Federal Monarchy had preserved the DNA of these species in an attempt to study them. With the fall of the DFM, roaming space pirates discovered the location of these DNA samples and took special interest in the Lusari. These pirates known as the nation of Sadur set up a base on the planet Nerisuc - the Lusari's original homeworld - and used cloning technology to recreate the Lusari as they were 5,000 years ago. Sadur eventually molded the Lusari into becoming assassins, increasing their intelligence and extending their lifespan to 25 years. These Lusari became known as the Eros Ka'Rinah.

Eros Ka'Rinah would receive no monetary reward as the meal itself was considered compensation. The body often contained valuable nutrients usually enough to heal any injuries they may have sustained in the assassination attempt.

Methods

The Eros Ka'Rinah, though they were assassins, were still considered to be slaves. They were often sold to nobles who wanted to either get rid of anyone suspected of cheating on them or to simply limit rival bloodlines - anything from firstborns to illegitimate children were possible targets. The Lusari would often disguise themselves in a way that allowed them to get close to a target taking a variety of roles from caretakers to prostitutes. They would carefully plan out their attacks, using their persuasion skills to lure the victim and entrance them. When the target was vulnerable, the Lusari would engulf and consume them through shapeshifting, digesting their body and absorbing any DNA they could for themselves to be used later for their own asexual reproduction. If the victim had any valuables on them, they would be regurgitated and confiscated by the Lusari’s owner to be either melted down or sold off.

Maintaining a disguised form immediately after consumption was extremely difficult. Not only would a Lusari tend to be slower due to the digestion process, but they would also be carrying extra organic material from their victim. As such, most Eros Ka'Rinah opted for turning back into their gelatinous form to slither away into air vents or pipes. If this was not possible, they would go back to their disguised form though a careful eye may notice a much fuller appearance than before. Some crime lords occasionally told their assassins to deliberately leave behind bones or blood as a calling card of their work. This also was an advantage in that the Lusari would be able to get away much more quickly by discarding the weight. If the goal was to make someone completely vanish rather than make their death apparent, the Lusari would need to consume the victim entirely and carry the extra matter elsehere.

Even the legendary crime lord and founder of the Allied Sovereign Nations, Sokeja Skaista was confirmed to have used at least one among her network of spies when she suspected a traitor in her ranks. However, when one of her own children was eaten by an Eros Ka’Rinah used by an enemy faction, she swore to never use them again, euthanizing all the Lusari she owned.

Extinction

When the sterility plague afflicted the Vaikan, their society collapsed resulting in many of their former masters abandoning the Lusari. Their short life spans coupled with the Vaikan species collectively reduced libido meant that their primary hunting method became effectively unviable. Their potential prey would not produce the necessary pheromones for them to mimic and attempts to attack on sight made them easily dispatchable.

Since then, there have been no attempts to resurrect the Lusari as the original preserved samples from the era of the DFM are no longer viable for cloning.

Known individuals

• Jelira - Favored method of killing was to infiltrate community baths. A target that would step into the bath and find themselves very quickly dissolving. Jelira would then escape via the bath's drain.
• Yoiku - The Ka'Rinah that notoriously murdered one of Sokeja Skaista's children, Bevil Skaista. Yoiku disguised herself as a longtime friend of Bevil and engaged in a romantic relationship for five years, eventually proposing marriage. When Yoiku consumed Bevil, it was said that Bevil's bones were rearranged to spell a mocking message directly to Sokeja. Yoiku was eventually caught and subsequently boiled alive as revenge.
• Le'anna - An Eros Ka'Rinah that worked for Sokeja Skaista. She operated at the waterfronts in Smibrann, often disguising herself as a prostitute. She was euthanized by Sokeja after Bevil's death when Sokeja swore to never use an Eros Ka'Rinah again.
• Riebus - A grossly overweight Eros Ka'Rinah used for cleaning out prison populations by the Sadur. Ironically enough, executions done by Riebus were considered humane as due to Riebus' skilled use of pheremones, victims would experience intense, overwhelming pleasure even as they were being consumed. It became so notorious as many of Sadur's prisoners would beg to be executed this way as opposed to far more gruesome, more painful alternatives. Riebus also lived much longer than most Eros Ka'Rinah, though she eventually starved to death after getting stuck in the plumbing system while traveling between prison cells.