Catherine
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Background
Catherine likes to sleep. Sleeping feels good, and it doesn’t bother anyone, so she sleeps. Sometimes, people yell at her to get up and do something. These people are nothing but trouble. Eventually, one such person decided that Catherine shouldn’t lay around the house all day. Her father grabbed her while she was asleep and shipped her off to the Temple of Bastet in Per Bastet in a nice crate. Poor Catherine didn’t even wake up until she was halfway there.
The attached letter made it sound like Catherine was to enter some sort of monastic order. However, the temple at Per Bastet did not have such a thing. The priests were confused as you might expect. What were they supposed to do with this strange sleepy catgirl that appeared on their doorstep? Well, they did have an elderly monk on staff who could teach her a few basic things. Knowledge about their goddess, how to defend herself, and other such necessities required for proper monk training. Catherine was lazy by nature, but she was also motivated. Motivated to prove to her father that she could be more than he thought she was. Catherine took to the lessons with surprising enthusiasm, and quickly mastered the more martial among them. Pursuits of knowledge proved more troublesome for her, much to the ever increasing frustration of her teacher. In between lessons, she served as temple guard, putting those newly minted fighting skills to practical use once in a while.
But Catherine also found interest in the choir, in song, and in music in general. She took up the pan flute on a whim and began playing during temple events. Her natural talent became widely apparent to the congregation, and word of her masterful flute-playing spread throughout the city, making her something of a local celebrity. This in turn earned her some recognition among its more entertainment focused enterprises. Catherine received several offers to work in all sorts of establishments across Per Bastet… but she always turned them down. After years of temple life, her heart could be nowhere else but in the bountiful bosom of Bastet.
She wanted to do something for the temple, to return the favor she had received from them. Her flute playing was nice (and earned her no small amount of coin, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy her. Catherine decided that she would instead fulfill her original purpose. She was sent to become a monk of Bastet, and since such a tradition did not exist… why not establish one herself? She would become the first in what would be a new monastic tradition. The clerics were enthusiastic about the idea, but did not believe Catherine was ready to begin such an enormous undertaking. She was talented, but not to the level where she could teach others. Her own path in life was just beginning. She was just a neophyte herself!
A compromise was reached. Catherine would undergo a pilgrimage to improve herself. By undergoing challenges and performing good deeds she would hopefully reach a personal stage of enlightenment. When she was ready, she would return to Per Bastet and impart upon the clergy the wisdom she had gained from her journey. It is for this reason that she journeyed to Jokari, a place devoid of Bastet’s teachings. She would establish herself there and hopefully one day become the start of something great.
Future Husband?
Catherine thought she had finally met the one when she first encountered the wizard Agias. However, he lacked the virility and commitment expected of her mate and was gently rebuffed. The search continues....
