Celestial Lion

The old guardsman ran through the streets, ducking to dodge the goblin arrows whizzing by above his head. He had been disarmed by one of the raiders and had to make a run for it. He slipped on the snowy ground and fell to the floor, landing on his already bad knee. He screamed in pain and tried to crawl away. Directly behind him, he heard a goblinoid speaking in broken Common: "An enemy crawling on the ground is not worth taking prisoner!". Terrified, the man looked over his shoulder to the armored hobgoblin standing a few feet behind him, wielding a bloody scimitar. Suddenly, a silver flash filled the old guardsman's vision. The hobgoblin yelled out in pain, a crunch was heard and the hobgoblin fell silent. The guardsman stared at his savior, a large lion with a golden mane. The rest of its fur seemed whiter than the snow around him, irregular tiger-like golden stripes adorned its back. A pair of majestic silver wings sprung form the point where the golden stripes met, too beautiful for this world. The lion turned its bright purple eyes to the guardsman, staring directly into his heart. It roared with the vigor of a thousand men, its mane shining a rejuvenating golden light onto the village plaza. The pain in the man's knee vanished, as did his fear. He stood up, picking up the hobgoblins scimitar. He saw his fellow villagers coming out of their hiding places, wielding torches and improvised weaponry, and he knew that his home village would not fall this day.

Celestial protectors These lion-like celestials hail from the chaotic good plane of beasts, the Beastlands. There they serve a number of gods and demigods, most prominently among them Nobanion, the Lion King. Sometimes, when small villages that lived in relative harmony with the beasts of the lands fall onto hard times (especially if it involves violent skirmishes), celestial lions are sent by these deities to help them regain their fighting spirit. These villages often have statues devoted to the deities of the beastlands or even to the celestial lions themselves.

Fierce fighters. Opposing a celestial lion on the battlefield is seldom a good idea. Celestial lions are never found alone, always rallying more people to their cause. They are formidable on the front lines, but always returns to regroup with its allies when they get separated. While they don't seem to be very intelligent, they have an instinctive understanding of basic battle tactics and sometimes allow good aligned creatures to use it as a mount in combat.

Patient and kind. Even in non-violent crisis, celestial lions sometimes descend to help a village that feels hopeless and is on the verge of giving up their settlements or ways of life. The lions are not able to speak, but they try their best to teach the villagers in a non-verbal way. It has been known that the lions are able to form deep emotional bonds to those they are said to protect. In these regions, proverbs referring to a "celestial lions loyalty" or "friendship" are widespread.