Mistress of Catkind

Creation, as the Bastet know, is a woman. From mad Mother Nala to the endless birth-death of Ahu and the comforting hands of Seline and Gaia, the cats recognize the female essence that gave them form. The Mistress of Catkind is that essence in spades, the embodiment of fierce maternity, nurture and passion. Through her many faces, the Bastet recognize the greater power she represents. Freyja, Durga, Hecate, Sekhmet -- all these names and more personify the Mistress to human eyes. The Bastet themselves echo her most obvious manifestation, Bast, in their racial name. Even so, the Mistress is a personable spirit. Like the King of Cats, she channels her divinity behind an accessible face. Let other boastful Jamak rival her for power; those who embody All need not make displays. The Mistress appears in a variety of forms; sometimes she comes in the form of a great white cat, sometimes a woman clad in moonlight, a goddess in robes of war, a white buffalo or a tiny blue kitten. Unless she's angry, her voice is soft and her touch, and all sounds fade as she approaches. This spirit teaches all the skills of survival, from hunting to magical Gifts, and often appears when her followers need her, not before. Sometimes she takes human guise for fun, or becomes a white tiger on the Siberian cliffs. Whatever face she wears, the Mistress' followers recognize her instinctively. While she never expects them to bow to her, this Jamak deserves respect, and has no trouble getting it. As gentle as she seems, the Mistress can be fierce and unpredictable. In defense of her children or of nature, she lashes out like a cornered lion. Doting mother, passionate lover, goddess of war, mystery-walker -- the Mistress of Cats is all those and more.