In a time almost lost, in the vibrant heart of ancient Egypt, during the flourishing 19th Dynasty, the goddess Bast took her sacred place in the city of Bubastis-modern-day Tell Basta. There, nestled along the life-giving Nile, her grand temple stood as a beacon of protection, fertility, and fierce grace. Bast was a cat goddess, with Bast and the Temple of Bubastis embodying a delicate balance between nurturing care and unyielding strength-a guardian who was gentle yet fierce, loving yet unrelenting. Her worshipers-from humble farmers to brave warriors-gathered in joyous celebration, honoring her with music, dance, and offerings. The Nile itself became a stage for devotion, as boats floated in vibrant procession, carrying praise along the water's shimmering path. Within her temples, priests and priestesses tended sacred cats, living symbols of Bast's spirit, while offering healing and protection to those who sought her aid. Through ritual and faith, they invoked her power to guard their homes, families, and communities-binding goddess, worshipers, and sacred beasts in a timeless bond. From this heart of divine strength and care, Bast forged her avatars-the Bastet. Born from her very essence, these champions were tasked with guarding the sacred temples and protecting the people who called upon the goddess's name. More than mere guardians, the Bastet were living extensions of Bast's will, embodying her strength, keen intelligence, and fierce loyalty. Silent and solitary, they moved through shadows with unmatched grace and power, vigilant against any threat that dared approach. Their presence was a living testament to Bast's watchful care, preserving the spiritual and physical sanctity of the land. A divine force manifested in flesh and fur, the Bastet stood forever loyal and unyielding in defense of all Bast held sacred. But time is a relentless tide. As centuries passed, the mighty Egyptian gods began to fade from memory. Their temples crumbled, their names whispered only in forgotten scrolls and ancient tales. The world transformed, new beliefs rising to replace the old. The Bastet, whose existence was deeply entwined with Bast's divine light, found themselves lost in a world that no longer remembered their origins. Though their strength and wisdom remained, isolation grew heavy upon them. They wandered their territories with quiet longing, gathering only rarely to share stories of a time when gods walked among mortals, and Bast's protection was a living force felt in every breeze. As ancient times gave way to new eras, the Bastet became strangers in lands that no longer revered them. Fear and suspicion painted them as dark creatures-wicked beings to be hunted and shunned. Forced from their sacred homes, they slipped into the shadows, scattering across distant forests, mountains, and cities, always alert and cautious. In the early Middle Ages, the Christian Church's fervent crusade against all beings not of Heaven sealed Bastet's fate further. Whispered legends reached the Vatican, stirring fear and condemnation. Declared abominations by the pope's decree, the Bastet were relentlessly pursued, driven deeper into secrecy, their survival fragile amid a world bent on erasing them utterly. Yet, through shadow and time, the spirit of Bast endures. Wherever a Bastet prowls silently in the dark, the fierce, watchful heart of the goddess still beats-a timeless guardian whose legacy no age can fully extinguish.