Phyx

Phyx was the ancestor of all sphinx - a creature descended from Typhon the shapeshifter and Echidna the nymph. She was said to have terrorized human villages by asking an impossible riddle.

Appearance
In sphinx tradition, Phyx is depicted with the golden body and tufted tail of a lion and the face of a beautiful yet intimidating-looking woman. She was said to have thick, dark, curly hair and almond-shaped gray eyes.

Some say that Phyx also had the wings of an eagle, but as none of her descendants were winged, it is more likely that these "wings" were the result of swirling desert sand, which has been known to distort vision.

Phyx's First Riddle
The first of Phyx's two riddles has become famous as "The Riddle of the Sphinx" all around the world. For many years, Phyx lived atop a high cliff, asking a near-impossible riddle to anyone who wished to pass through her territory. She would give the victim one chance to answer; however, if the unlucky human gave her the wrong answer, she would immediately attack and kill him. Her riddle was eventually solved by a very clever sighted human, and that is where the human version of the story ends.

The riddle is as follows:

"Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?"

The answer:

Man—who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then walks with a cane in old age.

Phyx's Second Riddle
In the human version of the story, once Phyx's riddle was guessed, she lost all her powers and threw herself off her cliff into the sea. In the traditional sphinx version of the tale, it is recognized that Phyx became more humanlike after her riddle was guessed. She became a poet (see below), guided lost travelers through the desert, and created her second riddle, which was solved by an unnamed wanderer, who was probably a thief:

"There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first."

The answer is "day and night," because both words are feminine in the sphinx language.

It is said that the unnamed guesser of Phyx's second riddle eventually became an ancestor of the modern sphinx race.

Known Contributions
In addition to her famous riddle, Phyx was known as one of the first poets in magical history. While only fragments of her work survive (and what remains has been translated hundreds of times), it has an abstract beauty that has been admired by generations of aspiring writers, including James Flint.

Many anonymous poems of ancient society might also be written by Phyx, but we will never know.

Importance to sphinx
Phyx is considered a guardian figure to the sphinx, who often call upon her for assistance. She is respected as their ancestor and has been dubbed "Lady of the Desert," referring to her guiding of travelers.