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Personality
Ktinos’s personality is strongly affected by which spirit has the most influence over him on a given day (thus, when the Griffon is influencing him he will be more prideful and arrogant, when the Chimera is strongest he will be more violent and angry, etc.). Thus his own personality can be deduced largely from what is constant from day to day. Ktinos himself seems rather hesitant and uncertain at times, though when he reaches a decision he attacks it with a firm determination. He hates slavery and oppression of all forms, as well as other forms of the strong preying on the weak.
Background
Ktinos’s memories are always suspect--that happens when four other beings, none of whom like you, are sharing your mind. Even the name he gives is not truly his own--they were simply two of the words the natives of Iblydos would use when talking to him. Only later would he learn that he was literally calling himself “Beast Defender”.
From what he’s managed to piece together of the memories he’s fairly certain are his own, Ktinos grew up somewhere far from the islands, in a great jungle. He thinks the Mwangi is most likely, but fears he shall never know for certain. Even less certain is how he came to Iblydos, for here memories of washing ashore on rocky shores mingle with ancient recollections of prowling through ruined temples and furious battles on mountain slopes.
What is certain is that sometime, somehow, Ktinos became the vessel of four wrathful spirits of ancient monsters slain by Iblydos’s hero-gods: a Sphinx, a Chimera, a Lion, and a Griffon. These four spirits constantly struggle for control of his mind and body, and he fears they only fail because they fight amongst themselves as much as against him. Even so his life is a constant struggle to remain himself.
Another question that worries him is just how he learned to take advantage of the power of the spirits in him. Somehow he learned (or was taught or bargained for or was fooled into using) how to tap into the power of the Beasts to change his body or even cast minor magics. More worrisome is how they manifest some of their powers through him according to which is more dominant on a particular day--the Sphinx’s cunning, the Chimera’s vicious power, and so forth.
Ktinos has striven to turn these abilities against the monsters that plague Iblydos, finding a measure of darkly poetic appropriateness in using the power of the Beasts against other monsters. In doing so he fears he may be playing into their claws, however, for the more he does so, the more monstrous he himself becomes in appearance… and, he worries, the more influence the Beasts have over him.
Appearance
Ktinos takes after his name, looking like some terrible bipedal lion-beast. He is well over six feet tall, broad-shouldered and powerfully built. His face is leonine, framed by a wild, unkempt mane (the supernaturally tough hairs tend to break combs), though his snout seems a bit overly long. His body bulges with powerful muscles, and his fingers and toes end in massive, razor-keen claws. He has a long leonine tail.
Spirits:
Ktinos is afflicted by four spirits, each with their own motives and desires.
Sphinx
Alignment: ????
Spirit Type: Trickster
Goals: Enigmatic
Personality: The Sphinx spirit delights in riddles and outright lies, seeming to take special delight in keeping Ktinos guessing as to her true identity and motivations. She’s hinted at being killed by no less than five different hero-gods at different times, and alternately proclaimed a desire for vengeance on and protection for various cities of Iblydos. She mostly holds herself aloof from the squabbling of the other spirits, waiting for opportunities when they are distracted by their infighting to make her own attempts to influence or control Ktinos. Her actions while influencing Ktinos are likewise enigmatic, having no clear end goal.
Chimera
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Spirit Type: Champion
Goals: Destruction of humanoid cities, gluttony
Personality: The Chimera is a creature of wrath, swearing her vengeance on all civilization for her death. She rages constantly against Ktinos and humanoids in general, urging him to random acts of destruction and violence. The only thing that calms her rage for a moment is gorging herself on fresh meat, an impulse she tries to impart on her unwilling host whenever he makes a kill of something that looks at least vaguely edible. She seems to have a particular target to her rage, but who it is she will not reveal.
Lion (Nemean Lion)
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Spirit Type: Guardian
Goals: Torment humanoid civilization
Personality: The Lion seems far older than the other spirits. He also hungers for revenge, but his is a more gradual, more sadistic anger. All of the direct targets of his vengeance are long-dead, and so he instead wishes to torment humanoid civilization in general, sowing misery and poverty instead of death. While he calls himself a Lion, it is clear from his speech that he was far more than an ordinary animal in life, for he boasts of his impenetrable hide and razor-sharp claws and fangs. He refuses to speak of how he was slain if his hide could not be pierced.
Griffon
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Spirit Type: Marshal
Goals: Subjugate others, amass wealth
Personality: All of the spirits are proud, but the Griffon exceeds them all in arrogance. He desires revenge on the world by subjugating them to his will and hoarding their wealth, especially gold. Certain treasures seem to particularly attract his attention, though he will not explain why.
