Mast
Description
Wowzers, watch out! Mast is a creature over 10 feet long and close to 900 pounds in leonine shape and plenty of powerful muscles. His body resembles that closely of a large lion, with tawny, golden fur. A tufted tail extends from his rear, while great feathery wings, white as a dove's, extend from his back. His four paws each end with razor-sharp claws. Mast's mane is reddish-yellow and looks more like a wild mass of human hair than lion's fur. And that's due to the fact that this is no flying lion, but an androsphinx. The head is quite human in appearance, a handsome, maturing face with a stern expression and ancient wisdom withheld behind eyes as golden as the sun. His teeth are not sharp, and he speaks in a deep and rumbling voice tempered by eloquence and forethought. Mast carries few belongings indeed. A small diamond ring is imperceptibly slipped onto one toe of his forepaw while his other forepaw has a small stringed pouch tied about the wrist. Obviously intelligent and strange, Mast is a creature not to upset. Just deal with his pop quizzes and you'll be just fine.
History
Over 180 years ago, Mast was the only cub his gynosphinx mother birthed. She dwelled in hidden crevices of the Tinder Islands' volcanic mountains. Mast never knew his androsphinx father, and that was not uncommon of the species. His mother nursed him until he was old enough to survive on his own and then she urged him to leave, lest his sharing of her territory cue dangerous predators of the region (like red dragons). Mast flew north, settling for a time in the Aria Desert of Verdentia. There he satisfied his quizzical and curious nature among human and janni nomads. Mast studied with brass dragons, plotted the routines of blue dragons, and bemusedly observed the feeble attempts of kobolds to slay him for a fur blanket or some trophy. He sought out other sphinxes, including gynosphinxes when the urge to mate came, but the rest of his race were hostile or disinterested. Mast was disheartened for a time, but came to an epiphany. He realized he was so easily dismissed because he did not explore his theurgical nature enough! Mast began to research the god of all sphinxes, Zehut, eager for clues on how to better understand the greatest of all riddles. In time, his earnest interest manifested in higher learning and understanding. But that only piqued Mast to discover more, and he realized his quest could lead him overseas to the Burning Lands of Yadahn.
Personality
Mast is like most androsphinxes. He's a decent enough fellow with a superb mind for matters of contemplation and philosophy. Any riddle or enigma can ensnare his attention, though not to a self-endangering degree. He has too good a head on his shoulders for that. Mast comes across as gruff and fierce and even bad-tempered, as one would expect of a creature that seems mostly composed of lion. On that note, however, he also commands a noble heart, and he can be a bit shy, especially around creatures of similar wisdom (such as other andro- or gynosphinxes, or obvious holy men).
Goals
Mast will follow the cleric class until probably 10th level, then consider a Prestige Class such as loremaster.
Character Sheet