Kimenhul

Among the strongest of their kind aside from the sahkil tormentors, kimenhuls work their craft to foment despair in those who fear failure, forming cycles of self-loathing. These powerful sahkils focus their attention on mortals who are seemingly at the peak of their ability yet harbor secret fears of inadequacy. A kimenhul's predations can leave an indelible mark on its victims. The kimenhul whispers threats and sends fears of crushing failure to its prey, seemingly originating from their own minds, a trauma that can be difficult to bear without help. These sahkils torment their prey as long as the hapless victims live, using their Eternal Fear ability every day to psychically remind their previous victims of their failings.

Some unique kimenhuls find themselves in a position of leadership in Xibalba, where they carve out their own small kingdoms and direct groups of sahkils to help them find mortals to torment. They rule these nightmare kingdoms through terror, often delighting in tormenting new petitioners or scheming ways to work against their immortal foes.

Ages ago, when this cycle of the multiverse was still adolescent, a cabal of psychopomps who already felt bored and restrained in their role of ushering souls to their ultimate resting place rebelled against their station. It was this corruption of the cycle of souls that spawned the first sahkils.

Ambivalent to the prescribed order of the multiverse and spiteful of mortals, sahkils delight in spreading fear and unease to all beings, clogging up the metaphysical cycle with anxiety-ridden mortals too scared to achieve their potential. These fiends have drastically changed from their dedicated psychopomp predecessors. They are creatures of spite and torment, fear and disgust. They exploit the most common and rare fears for their own perverse satisfaction, and they want nothing more than to frighten mortals and make them question their reason for existence.

Most sahkils lurk on the Ethereal Plane, but they frequently invade the Material Plane to torment mortals and spread terror. They use their innate ability to slip between the veils of the Ethereal and Material effortlessly, often stalking their targets for days or weeks before enacting their devious plots.