From the information gained from written sources held in some of New York’s research libraries; Elias discovered references to the legends of the kharisiri: white-faced men who sucked the fat of innocent farmers and their families in the Peruvian highlands. While the historical information seemed to be mostly fanciful folklore, Elias found that these accounts gained credence when he found contemporary stories of murder and mutilation in the same locales.

Seeking a new direction for a new book, he believed he had enough reason to suppose that some form of pagan ritual was at the root of the tales of the kharisiri, and that in all likelihood, the attacks were perpetrated by humans, perhaps as some form of human sacrifice, which to his mind, could be evidence of death cult operating in Peru.

Thinking of the country’s history, he soon developed the hypothesis that the legends stemmed from the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Had a cult that had arrived with the Spanish survived to the modern-day? Elias now believes that the details of the myths indicate an all-too-real cult that practices murder as ritual practice.

While speaking with the locals, Elias was warned about a man named Luis de Mendoza; a person mentioned by some as a man to be feared. While no one was able to provide concrete proof of any wrongdoings, some referred to de Mendoza as a kharisiri.

Elias, ever the rationalist, took this as an indication that the man was a key figure in the death cult, rather than an actual monster. Making note of the name, Elias was surprised to encounter de Mendoza in Puno, although the two men did not actually meet there.

Instead, Elias followed him from a distance, making notes of his movements and contacts. In so doing, Elias learned of de Mendoza’s association with Augustus Larkin and, ultimately, Larkin’s plan to find and explore a lost pyramid. While no one has been able to confirm the fact, Elias believes that the pyramid and surrounding site are, somehow, linked to the kharisiri.