Sunlion

Sunlions look like male lions, but with manes of wispy golden flame. They can breath jets of flame and are more intelligent than normal lions, but are still incapable of speech.

Some tribes or noble families make accords with prides of sunlions, paying them with tributes, gifts, or the extermination of encroaching monsters in exchange for protection. Sunlions are proud and refuse to be pets or otherwise subservient. They usually carve out a domain within the wild, ruling weaker animals and keeping herds of livestock.