Before killing Kathra's parents, Saal'Ku was on a mission for the Dro'Xaren Ephex, a mission concocted without the Dromi's knowledge by Sector Lord Arala Khatu. Saal'Ku assassinated Niana Knar, a great-grandneice to the Dromi's family, blaming it on Khite Cultists so that the Seekers would have an excuse to purge the Ephex of the cults. While this tactic served the Dromi's purposes, he grieved for Niana, and didn't know until the start of the Maternal Natures saga years later that the purpetrator of the scheme was Arala Khatu, and the move was part of an attempt at self-promotion gone awry. Sickened by his former Sector Lord, the Dromi went to Niana's sole surviving relation, her sister Dalia, whom he allied with previously alongside Kathra Noor against the tanu emissary Daera, and told her of the plot against her family. The two allied again, working to uncover Arala's deception. They finally found him beneath Karos' streets, the leader of a resurrected Black Fist, a group promoting the idea that the Dromi is a god and should be worshipped as such, being used by Khatu for his own ends. In the confrontation, Dalia saves the Dromi's life and assaults Arala mercilessly before he attempts to kill them both and she beheads him. The last schemer in the plot that caused the deaths of Dalia's sister and Kathra and Kiril's parents was brought to justice, though more than a few years late. Afterwards, Dalia became the Dromi's Blademaiden, serving him as bodyguard and personal assistant until his death (see Zartran vs Dalia pic for more info).