Sphinx
Sphinx
| Respawn: 6 hrs 45 min | |||||
| Level: 15 | Attack: 625 | ||||
| HP: 16950 | MP: 2109 | SP: 2109 | |||
Max Drop: 1610 gold, 2000 silver, 0 copper
- Sphinxes are enormous creatures, famed for having the bodies of lions but with human-like faces, and often with wings that enable them to fly despite their great size. Their physical strength is known to rival even all the most powerful dragons.
Their true power comes from their minds. Though they are most inscrutable, every recorded interaction with one has shown them to be possessed of an intelligence and breadth of knowledge far beyond what a person is capable. Is it luck or misfortune then, that they seem content to merely observe the time as it passes? While they have been known on occasion to offer guidance to a traveler who beseeches them, it is only after they pass their enigmatic tests of judgment. They may be in the form of a riddle, or a moral quandary; but some boons have been gifted by them unto supplicants with no clear rhyme or reason. The greatest of them is said to have a mind of such power and scope, that it is a realm unto itself, capable of being visited by mortals, for a price. Though it is one near impossible to pay, even if the supplicant is willing.
All of them are known to be infinitely wise and insightful, though their personalities vary between cold and unfeeling, to beings of great honor and compassion. Above all, they are known to be judgemental. Some sphinxes are said to have such good hearing that they can distinguish a truth or a lie just upon hearing it; and woe be to the one who is caught attempting to deceive a sphinx, for their wrath at being displeased may range from utter indifference, to annihilation. The latter may come from a heavy paw, a precise dismantling via ornate magic, or a roar so loud it cracks bone. Indeed, a particularly ill tempered sphinx may have a lair littered with headless skeletons beset with shards of skull strewn about. At least they departed quickly.
This leads some scholars to believe that they may be in place as agents of a particular God or Goddess, usually Xalious or Q'na or Hind, and merely maintain the laws that govern existence of physics and nature. The truth is, understanding them may be beyond what mortals are capable of.
The limits of their magical abilities can only be guessed at. While their aforementioned roar is almost certainly at least partially magical, they have also demonstrated a great affinity for various types of magic designed to compel smaller minded beings. Mind control is certainly within their capabilities. Ones who answer falsely may perish, while those who merely answer inadequately may find themselves taking a long walk back the way they came, whether they like it or not.
Also like dragons, many of them have lairs. Places that they've become so attuned to, that to sneak into one beneath their knowledge (and indeed, their permission), is nearly impossible. And what treasure may be found is hardly the riches of a dragons hoard, but is more likely to be one of prized knowledge; even a single secret, depending on its matter, may be worth more than a hundred hoards. Unlike dragons however, they do not often seem to be possessed of their own agency. Their lairs were not chosen by them out of desire, but purpose, to dispense their treasure to the worthy perhaps, or to guard knowledge, secrets, or artifacts which can't be or shouldn't be destroyed. While they and their lairs may be static, their geographic position need not be. That is to say that they may always reside in a temple of vaulted mithril columns and walls and ceilings, but it may be found today on the tallest peak in the Xalious Mountain range, and tomorrow behind a waterfall in Rynvale.
Their physiology seems to vary somewhat in size and shape, while usually maintaining the same basic form. The face of a person, the body of a great feline. The greatest have feathery wings that grant them flight no matter how improbable. Two things that have been relentlessly debated is how one comes into existence, and therefore, the prospect of them pairing (and here is also a third thing, assuming they do procreate as we do, and that is whether or not they might lay eggs.) They are known to be solitary creatures, often remaining in one place for hundreds if not thousands of years without being seen or heard.
Yet despite their great prowess, stories exist of ones who have cleverly gotten the better of them. There are numerous tales of one who has even been seen as an equal, and a partner. Though this particular story has been told a multitude of times in different cultures granting the hero a number of different monikers, scholars out of the Mage's Guild are naturally inclined toward one in particular.
Written by Lanlan