Skin-Peeling Parasites

"I don't understand - why can't I think straight? All I did was grab onto a dagger, and now... now I'm like this. What's happened to me?" 
 

Merric, hours after being infected with skin-peelers. 

  Skin Peelers is a horrific condition, fatal unless immediately treated, caused by Skin-Peeling Parasites. Fiendish creatures, their entire purpose in life is to latch onto a host, and rip them apart, from the inside. Originating from The Thevagon Isles, an archipelago that rests near the Southern Pole border, the parasites reside in tropical locations, due to their affinity for heat. They are closely related to Mimics, due to their capacity to lure in adventurers and greedy people to an early death. The key difference being, however, is that mimics are predators, and don't rely on the host to survive. 
  Winter months causes these parasites to shrivel up and die, turning to ash. As the ash is met with soil, or stone, they warp and twist into the ground. Death is not the end for the Skin Peelers, as this is how they reproduce. Asexual reproduction is common for many parasites on Aitso, and the Skin-Peeling variety are no different. From the ash, they turn into larva. Small specks of gold, which eventually flatten out into a coin-like shape. From there, they slowly rise from the dirt, until they make contact with sunlight. The light from the sun causes the gold texture on their body to burn away, revealing a dark texture underneath. From there, they shift into the shape of a small weapon, typically a dagger, in order to be grasped at the handle. In this form, the handle is actually their mouth - and is where they latch onto their targets.