Bastet Society
There is such a thing as Bastet Society, though it tends toward the loose and informal. There is no "Bastet Nation" -- All the tahla hinting at such a thing admit it was tenuous at best due to the cats' own inclinations, and banished beyond the pale by the War of Rage. But the werecats do share common spoken and glyphic languages, rites, and a common hierarchy. Contrary to what some claim, the Bastet are social animals--but they are social on their terms. Even when a pecking order establishes itself, cats have no kings.
The formative period of a Bastet's after their First Change is called the "First Year;" it a period of exactly one year spent under the tutelage of another Bastet, called Kuasha. Ideally the Kuasha is of the same tribe as their pupil, but in a pinch any Bastet may teach a cub of any other tribe. After the First Year, the cub is given his first Rank and sent out on his own with what his Kuasha has taught him. After this, the Bastet lives life on his own terms, expected only to accrue Renown and keep the Bastet's litany, called Karoush.
The Karoush: The Bastet Litany
- Honor Yourself
We hold magic within ourselves, within our hearts and minds and spirits. To dishonor ourselves is to disperse that magic and scatter our souls.
- We are to remain clean - To cleanse ourselves of filth, divest ourselves of our former lives, care for our own health and avoid the inbreeding sickness. Possession is unclean, and we must shake other spirits from our skins, lest they taint our own.
- When we fail - We must purify ourselves with washing, seek cures for our sickness, raise the deformed ones we bear and cleans our souls with ceremony. If the Unmaker's spawn ride us t destruction, we are obligated to take our own lives. If we do not, others will do it for us.
- Honor your Word
We are the wisest of the Changing Breeds, and come from places that respect the meaning of honor. Let the dogs and monkeys piss on trust; we are honest Folk - with each other, at least. It's acceptable to lie to other creatures; they are not of our blood and not bound by our laws.
- We are to remain truthful - To break no oaths before the Folk, and make no false witness against one of our kind. A promise made is a bond sworn to Seline; we will act on it as if the goddess Herself would punish us for our failure. We will flee to survive a fight, but will not run when others depend on our strength.
- When we fail - We must make restitution to those we deceive, in deeds, trade or money. We may be challenged to Hanshii or punished by rite. We may be exiled or branded. At the very least, we will be disgraced, and remembered as liars to all of the Folk.
- Honor your Kin and Kind
We remember the Kinfolk who keep our kind alive, and we respect our cousins in the other tribes. The great cats are more precious than our human lovers, but both of them are blood relations. All Bastet are sacred in the light of the moon, and our sternest oaths protect us in these twilight times. All our laws pertain to Kin and Kind, and we respect each other as siblings under the moon.
- We are to remain just - To quarrel not with each other without cause, to seek open restitution and honorable combat, to respect a challenge and the challenger, and to obey the lorespeaker and host of the Taghairm. When our Kin and Kind are in danger, we will aid them; when they cry, we will succor them.
- When we fail - We will take the judgement of our fellows, distance ourselves from our Kind, forsake the Taghairm and accept the brand of the oathbreaker. If we allow our Kin to come to harm, we will accept that their spirits will carry news of our cowardice, and we accept that label as just.
- Honor your Earth
We are the children of the moon and the earth together, shaped by the fathers, sired by the mother, and suckled by the teats of Seline and Gaia as one. When corruption eats at the heart of our world, when the Asura devour the spirit of the land, we will not stand by. Our weapons are many - secrets, claws, teeth, and allies - and we will not hesitate to employ them for our world's survival. Our people have walked too close to extinction for us to take such matters lightly.
- We are to remain fierce - To poison not the earth nor allow it to be ruined. We will inform others of plans to pollute the wild and hunt down poachers of game. We will stand beside the other Killi, even the hated dogs, if that means stopping the demons. We will not ally ourselves with shadow powers or drink corrupted wisdom. We will stand brave in the face of the unmaker's wrath and we will triumph.
- We do NOT fail our Earth and mother. - That path leads to death.
- Honor your Silence
We are the keepers of secrets, and our fates depend on silence. Each of us bears the hidden doom of our own people, and we know the cost of betraying that trust. We also know that we have what others want - or what they think they want - and it amuses us to make them squirm. Our knowledge is our concern. We will not share it unless we wish to.
- We are to remain quiet - Never let our Yava leave our lips, nor allow them to fall into other hands. Our mysteries are our own to dispense, and we will value them by Rank and title. We will hide ourselves from outsiders; they will think they know us, but we will delude them. We will wrap our lore in riddles and tales; let the clever ones puzzle out their meaning. We will act as if we know even more than we do, for it keeps outsiders from guessing. Let them wonder at our insight; they value us more highly when they do.
- When we fail - We will cover our tracks with misdirection, pretend to be other than we are, fill the air with idle rumors and hide messages in code. She who fails to keep the Yava will be killed - there is no better mercy - and he who acts upon it will be ripped apart by hunting cats. There is no forgiveness for this crime.
Ranks
Bastet do have a hierarchy of rank. It does not denote absolute authority as it would among the Garou, but rather polite deferment and acknowledgement of experience. Still, Bastet can pull rank and often do. A Bon Bhat's personal power and the weight of their renown so vastly eclipses a Tehkmet that in any disagreement, the Bon Bhat will get their way. Bastet titles always have a social meaning outside of their rank.
- Rank 1: Tekhmet: "Little One." A term of address (usually condescending) from elder cat to a youngster.
- Rank 2: Akaa: "Truthchaser." An honorific between Bastet of equal rank.
- Rank 3: Tilau: "Accomplished Friend." A respectful title of address denoting experience and accomplishment.
- Rank 4: Ilani: "Wonder Favored." A title used when flattering another Bastet.
- Rank 5 & 6: Bon Bhat: A respectful term for an elder, also used to greet the host when attending a Taghairm in a foreign land for the first time.
When Bastet meet, it is Taghairm, a neutral meeting ground sanctified by rituals and protected by the spirits. Taghairm is a way to settle disputes, share information, and brag.
Den Realm and Caerns
The last pillar of Bastet society is the Den Realm, a Bastet's personal sanctuary, where only a cat and his friends and lovers are welcome. Creating a Den Realm is a statement of achievement for the cats; they cannot build a Den Realm of their own, or inherit one from another Bastet, until they have become Tilau (achieved Rank 3).
Bastet rarely maintain Caerns. The Werecats' solitary natures make holding such desirable places difficult in the face of pressure from humans, let alone power-hungry Garou and Mages. Still, in places such as Central and South America and Africa, the Balam and Simba maintain ancient sacred sites; it is said that after the Silent Striders were banished from Egypt, the Bubasti took over some of their most powerful temples, saving them from desecration by the Followers of Set (intentional) and the Bone Gnawers (less intentional). Bastet refer to caerns as tona and those that remain in their claws are held tightly.
