The Sphynx

**The Sphynx** is a character in Book 1. A member of the mysterious Alley Cats, the Sphynx is never seen without his mask, shaped like the face of a cat. He is the chief torturer of the Alley Cats, but his knowledge about human anatomy also qualifies him as their main healer. He shares a long and complicated history with his leader, The Tom and often finds himself in a key role in the man's schemes.

## Backstory

Like with most members of the Alley Cats, not much is known about the Sphynx' backstory, not even where he comes from or how he looks. He was born with the name of Rodrik, though few people refer to him by this name today. Under currently unknown circumstances, he joined the Alley Cats and quickly proved his skill as a torturer, when he worked under the previous Sphynx, Lupin Frostborn and where he quickly managed to impress his new leader, the Tom.

His time to shine came when Lupin left the Alley Cats over a dispute, shortly after their arrival in Oldtown and the beginning of their work for Maron Mullendore. The Tom, knowing of the young man's gift for torture, named him as the new Sphynx, a position he held ever since, with brutal efficiency. Quite often, people consider him to be the most terrifying member of the Alley Cats.

The Sphynx has also taken Lupin's younger brother, Connor Frostborn as his apprentice, teaching the disturbed young boy his art as a torturer. Together, they have formed a fearsome team and the Sphynx has become an important member of Maron's organisation, taking care of everything related to getting information out of prisoners. He deserves credit for some of the most sadistic forms of torture taking place in the labyrinth beneath the Hightower.

## Book 1

### The Iron Price

The Sphynx is introduced to the story as the chief interrogator of Lucas Flowers. During their first session, he politely introduced himself, together with his apprentice Connor. Initially polite, the Sphynx quickly shows his true colours, when he starts to torture Lucas after the knight refused to answer the questions. During the initial torture, the Sphynx started to sing "This little piggy", a children's nursery rhyme, as he started to partially remove the skin on Lucas' fingers.

The torture itself did not yield the results the Sphynx hoped for, so he went for a change of strategy and tried to break Lucas mentally, by telling him that he had successfully broken Leonard Constanine, Lucas' friend, who had actually managed to escape from Maron's men. Once again, Lucas managed to resist this stage of the torture.

His refusal to answer finally enraged Maron Mullendore, who returned after a while and decided to personally interrogate Lucas. During this, he did not hold back in the slightest, beating him so severely that even the Sphynx was afraid he would just kill the already weakened knight. However, Maron quickly continued to mutilate Lucas, removing three finger, an eye and an ear, which was finally enough for Lucas to break. It can be guessed that the Sphynx was impressed with Maron's harsh, but effective methods.

### Masquerade

Though not physically appearing in this chapter, the Sphynx is noted to have been the one in charge of the torture of Himani Sand, a child working for the Burned Man. The young boy quickly broke under the Sphynx' brutal torture and confessed, telling him everything he wished to know. This resulted in the Ambush of Tanner's Alley.

He also appeared in a hallucination Lucas had during his return to Raylansfair. In it, the Sphynx taunted him over his wounds and his failure, promising him that a part of him would forever remain in Oldtown. From Lucas' reaction to this hallucination, it can be deduced that it hasn't been the first time the Sphynx appeared to him after his escape.

### Valar Morghulis

After the ambush, a heavily wounded Maron Mullendore was brought to the Sphynx, with orders to heal him. The Sphynx and many others were surprised with these orders and though he followed them, he openly questioned them, especially during a talk with the Tom later on. Unbeknownst to both of them, Jaron and his group were listening to their conversation.

Listening to the Tom's reasons to help Butterfly, the Sphynx revealed that he did not agree. At the same time, he also promised to follow the orders faithfully, knowing fully well what would happen to those who disappoint the Tom. He revealed that Maron was in a stable condition and that he would likely be able to helo him recover almost completely.

## Appearance

Similar to the Tom, it is not know how the Sphynx looks like underneath his mask, although it is rumoured that he has no nose. His eyes have been noted to be very dark and unnervingly cold and his clothes are even more covering than the Tom's, showing nothing of his skin. He is constantly wearing a mask, shaped like the face of a cat, in the colours black and red. The rest of his clothes, including a long cloak and a hood, is completely white, though often stained with the blood of his victims. As a torturer, the Sphynx often carries a large number of crudely formed knives with him. However, he is not skilled with weapons in the way the other Alley Cats are, so he is usually technically unarmed. The Sphynx is also noted to have a very calm, emotionless voice, which he never really has to raise to be heard.

## Personality

Even by the standards of the Alley Cats, the Sphynx is a sadist. His unfailing politeness is merely a mask, with which he thinly veils his cruelty. He doesn't show much emotion, but one of the few things he typically shows is a sickening enthusiasm whenever he gets a chance to inflict pain in others. He is quite creative when developing new ways to torture his victims and there are absolutely no lines he would not cross. It is hard, almost impossible to anger the Sphynx and even then, he is easily able to control himself, which means that he almost never acts out of passion, but always logically and cold. This also means that he is a voice of reason among more hot-headed and aggressive men, like Maron Mullendore.

## Relationships

### The Tom

The Sphynx is the person that probably knows the most about the Tom, including his real name. This is a detail they share, as the Tom is also one of the few people to know the Sphynx' real name. Though not always agreeing with him, the Sphynx is unquestionably loyal to his leader and follows his orders. In return, the Tom knows how useful the Sphynx can be and the two men share a mutual respect for each other. The Tom also trusts the Sphynx a great deal and gives him tasks that are absolutely vital for the survival of the Alley Cats.

### Connor Frostborn

The Sphynx took the boy in as his apprentice, after Connor's older brother Lupin left the Alley Cats. In his own way and as much as he is even capable of doing so, the Sphynx is fond of his apprentice, noticing his talent and enthusiasm. In return, Connor is fascinated by the Sphynx and his methods, eagerly learning from him. It can be assumed that there is no genuine friendship between the two, but both spend a lot of time near each other and get along quite well.

### Maron Mullendore

The Sphynx is more distanced from Maron than the Tom and only follows his orders because of the loyalty his group has to him. He is still glad over the constant opportunities to perfect his craft, but he is quite annoyed by Maron's uncontrollable anger and short fuse, which costed him several intriguing subjects in the past. Maron himself sees the Sphynx as yet another freak, but a very useful one at that and he trusts the Sphynx with hard cases, where his own torturers are unlikely to succeed.

### Lucas Flowers

Even though they only interacted for a short time, the Sphynx left a lasting impact on Lucas' life. It was his torture that eventually broke the once proud knight and it is shown to have lasting consequences on his psyche. Lucas is deeply afraid of the Sphynx, to the point where he suffers from nightmares. In turn, he is also the person that came the closest to actually angering the Sphynx, with his stubborn refusal to break.

## Appearances

 Butterfly
 **Valar Morghulis** | What Is Dead May Never Die

 River Crossing