Double-Crested Panther

The Double-Crested Panther is one of the cosmic beasts that preceded the existence of the material world. It represents both notions of destruction and change. The Iskuzai, in particular, revere this mystic being and worshipped it long before they settled in Askedoria and adopted the faith of Twelve. The Double-Crested Panther plays a crucial role in the creation myth of many cultures. "The oldest myth of Askedoria is the one about the origin of the Universe. Poets sing that long before the Gods and everything else, the sacred beast called the Ophiotaurus laid quiet, alert and overflowing with abundant burning nectar. Its perfect eternity was shattered when the Double-Crested Panther killed the beast, as she was hungry for his brimming power. She decided to devour half of the Ophiotaurus to appease her appetite, leaving the other part of him intact, waiting for her craving to goad her again. From these rotting remains, from the bones, the cartilages and the humors that had not been consumed, all the things-that-are arose: from the Immortal Gods to every minute grain of sand."As a cosmic beast, the Double-Crested Panther is regarded as older and more powerful than the Twelve Gods. It represents an incarnation of abstract elemental forces, most importantly destruction and creation, death and rebirth, as well as transformation. This dualistic nature can be seen in the Panther‘s hunt and killing of the Ophiotaurus, another cosmic being, which results in the creation of the material world from an undefined primordial state of the cosmos.
Among all cultures, the Iskuzai are the most devoted to the Double-Crested Panther. They pray to it only in the most important or desperate moments; before going to war, when taking marriage vows, in times of crisis or imminent danger. However, they never dare to invoke its favour more than three time per year. For smaller occasions they usually pray to any of the other gods.