Sakhmet/Bast

**General Information**
 Type (Species, Race, etc.)
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## Backstory

##### **Historical Background**

The name Sakhmet derives from the words "powerful” or “mighty". While her name is usually interpreted as "The Female Powerful One", she also was given titles such as the "(One) Before Whom Evil Trembles", "Mistress of Dread", "Lady of Slaughter" and "She Who Mauls".

She was the queen consort of Ptah The Craftsman, who ruled Egypt from the old capital of Memphis, located in Lower Egypt (modern-day northern Egypt; Memphis itself is near Cairo).

Some stories associate Sakhmet with a more peaceful twin counterpart/alter ego known as Bast (alternate name: Bastet). Sakhmet is associated with Upper Egypt, Bast with Lower Egypt. With these two personas, she was traditionally viewed as the fierce protector of the king—and by extension, came to be understood as the symbolic protector of a unified Egypt (like a pharaoh).

##### **In Asgard’s Wrath 2**

Sakhmet serves as the primary villain of Saga 2, as one of Set’s generals entrusted with commanding his army to spread fear throughout Egypt. The split identities of Sakhmet and Bast are combined into one individual. She retains her historical relationship with Ptah as his queen and protector. By the time of Asgard's Wrath 2, Sakhmet/Bast's driving motivation is primarily power: the accumulation of power, the exercise of power, etc. However, the underlying motivation is the unrequited approval of Ra.

Although she was initially driven to enact justice—"Ra's will" that she protect the throne and destroy evil—this has distorted over time into self-preserving, self-righteous power. Power corrupts.

As a powerful ally of Set, Sakhmet's wrath is a tool to squash opposition, like the rebellion that Abraxas joined in his youth. Set has convinced Sakhmet that her wrath is justified—that her actions protect the throne (i.e., Set) and destroy evil (i.e., those who threaten Set's rule)—and that therefore, the purpose is "noble" rather than self-serving.

By the end of the saga, the realization that she has not "measured up" to Ra's will—that the message got lost amid years of bloodshed and abuse of power—is where the tragedy of the goddess' arc comes full circle.

## Personality

The goddess has a split personality and two key obsessions: bloodlust and more importantly, the fulfillment of a divine mission supposedly bestowed upon her by her father, Ra.

#### As Sakhmet

* Fierce, fervent, impetuous. She doesn’t like to give others a chance to get a word in edgewise.
* Blood lust excites her and she delights in watching those who oppose her cower.
* She feels no remorse for her actions and is loyal to Set.

#### As Bast

* Now rehabilitated, the fearsome warrior known as Sakhmet is revealed to be the goddess Bast.
* Although she is still fierce, like a cornered animal that lashes out in self-defense, she is broken, vulnerable—human. She wants so badly to be viewed as strong that she has shunned anything that could be considered weakness.
* She shows true remorse for the number of deaths she has caused, and has a hemophobic reaction to the blood on her hands.
* She wonders if she has misunderstood the great mission bestowed upon her by Ra.