Lillin

“Most people blush when a Lillin finds them appetizing. I find it endearing. They never come for me, of course—I have no shame left for them to gnaw on. Every appetite I possess, I indulge without apology. Poor things. They starve in my presence.”

— Madame Soki Noles, On the Predictability of Other People’s Weaknesses

Description

Lillin are Tertia aligned with Lust, but not the warm sort—rather the Degenerate, compulsive, spiral-shaped lust that becomes self-loathing once exposed to daylight. They appear as blue-purple motes of shimmering light, like flecks of aurora borealis drifting through dark water. Their brilliance intensifies when they feed, dimming when deprived.

Lillin prefer to prey on sleeping minds, slipping into dreams with surgical precision and twisting desire into something shameful. They turn a harmless crush into a humiliating obsession, a passing fantasy into a nightmare of want. Awake victims must be deeply distracted—immersed in daydreams or narrow-focus tasks—for Lillin to sink their hooks in. They are ambush predators, never confronting a foe directly unless supported by overwhelming Tertia numbers.

Uniquely for their order, Lillin excel at full contamination. By manipulating desires and steering the host into cycles of indulgence followed by regret, they exploit cracks in the will with terrifying efficiency. Once fully embedded, a Lillin can push a host into increasingly self-destructive behaviors—sexual, violent, or both—until the host becomes numb, broken, and incapable of pleasure. These ruined vessels often go on to commit psychosexual atrocities, driven by compulsions implanted by their departed parasite.

Prophylactic

Lillin can be deterred by:

• Wakefulness and alertness – They cannot enter an active mind
• Emotional acceptance – Shame is their foothold; the unashamed are immune
• Companion presence – They avoid groups or guarded sleepers
• Pleasure-moderation drugs (Centauri-made)
• Meditative Techniques – Closing desire-loops before they widen

The best defense is brutal honesty:
You cannot be shamed by a desire you admit to yourself without fear.

Utility

Captured Lillin are highly valued by both kthonikers and the Criminal underworld.

They can be:

• Distilled into “love potions” — purple, glowing euphoriants banned by Starlight Pharmaceuticals
• Used to interrogate — force victims to relive humiliating fantasies until they break
• Employed in espionage — induce “harmless distractions” in enemy officers
• Bound into flesh-tech charms — such as Lillin Pearls used to weaken emotional discipline

Higher RAIs often keep Lillin in their courts as dream-pests or as punishers for disobedient minor entities.

Dreams of Desire

Regular; Resisted by Will

You direct a Lillin to cling to a target’s subspace shadow. While attached, the target becomes distractible and fidgety, unable to maintain composure or focus.

Effects:
• -3 to Concentration rolls
• Cannot Aim
• Must make a Will roll every minute or lose their next action

Duration: 10 minutes

Cost: 4 to cast; 2 to maintain

Lillin Assault

Regular; Resisted by Will

The Lillin manifests to attack a single target, sapping their Sanity and overwhelming them with a surge of unwanted fantasies.

Damage: 1d Sanity per second

Duration: 6 seconds or until dispersed

Cost: 5

Prerequisite: Dreams of Desire

Lillin’s Reversal

Self

Instead of sending the Lillin outward, the supplicant turns it inward, accepting its influence. The result is unnerving: pain becomes pleasurable, and shock becomes nearly meaningless.

Effects:
• Gain High Pain Threshold for the duration
• Gain Masochism (self-control 6) for the duration
• Immune to death by shock

Duration: 1 minute

Cost: 6

Prerequisite: Lillin Assault