Quasi-Deity - Patron of the Market (LN) (F)

Note: Port Elizabeth was once a Sakar Trading town, and followed the religious lead of the Sakharan tradition of nurturing an Undead City God.

The people of Port Elizabeth Island will tell you that Azan once had a stall in the market, but she became a goddess on the day when Port Elizabeth sacked. The raiders went to the temple/pyramid complex, killed the priests, slew Port Elizabeth’s demi-god and looted the pyramid. Some returned to their vessels, but others began to sack the town and the marketplace – and that was their downfall.

No one is quite sure what she sold. Most say it was herbal remedies or carved trinkets, a few say fruit, but that changes, depending on who you talk to. Some say she was a wise-woman, others call her a witch, but a few say she was a Seer. However, they all agree that she had a pet cat called Bentclaw, who followed her everywhere, and that she was a woman to be treated with respect.

She and her cat, were both slain by the same sword blow but, although their bodies fell to the ground, their spirits remained. Intertwining, the spirits came together to form a single, incorporeal, thing … Part woman, part cat, the grey ghostly form advanced on the raiders, shaking a rattle menacingly and pronouncing curses on anyone who got in its way. The pirates withdrew before her, and eventually fled back to their ships and departed the town. Azan’s spirit, marched back through the market, glaring at the stallholders and made its way into the jungle, never to be seen again.

Almost immediately, the people of Port Elizabeth built a small shrine around the bodies of Azan and her cat, and declared then the city’s new patron deity. The original shanty has now been replaced with a permanent shrine that is still said to hold her relics. To this day the people of Port Elizabeth make regular gifts, in thanks of her support, and mumble quiet pleas for help when they need it.

Primarily a deity of the market, she is also seen as a protector of the small traders, craftsmen and farmers who use the market to sell their wares. Her priests are few and far between, and you are unlikely to find them in a temple. However, many carry her symbol, a small rattle, and occasionally touch it, as they ask her blessing. Her symbol is a cat - it doesn't matter if it is a silhouette, an outline or a lifelike depiction - just so long as it is a cat.