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 that the raiders came, and Port Elizabeth sacked.

Their ships were long, and rowed by many people at once, they all carried great axes or spears, along with a large round shield. All except for their leader, a large man with red hair and a manic laugh, who carried a huge axe. With them came a little old man, dressed all in skins and beads, who carried a staff that shone with gold and jewels and carried the powers of the gods. The raiders went to the pyramid complex, killed the priests, slew the god and looted the pyramid, and there has not been a pyramid god in Port Elizabeth since.. Most 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 it was 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 as 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