Avenger of Wrongs, Scarlet Lady, Mistress of Dread, Lady of Slaughter
Symbol: A gold-rimmed red sun disk
Home Plane: Beastlands
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio: Bloodlust, Diseases and healing them, Large Catfolk (Simbani especially), Revenge, Water (specifically that related to women), Women and their protection.
Worshipers: Catfolk, royalty, warriors of all types, women, rangers.
Cleric Alignments: Any non-lawful
Domains: Courage, Pestilence, Water
Favored Weapon: Khopesh (same stats as scimitar)
Sekhmet is the half-sister of Bast, and the daughter of Ra, and falls somewhere in between the two in her powers and profile. She is a bloody deity, but also one of great nobility and power, as befits the simbani female (lioness catfolk) she most resembles. She is also strongly associated with women, menstruation, and the ebb and flow of the body's inner self, the blood and breath, and because of her associations with the ways of women, she also is known to provide water and sanctuary to those in need, being a strong defender of the laws of hospitality, and is known for taking vengeance on those who break those laws, or who injure women.
Dogma
As a goddess of women and of vengeance, as well as the patron deity of Anubast, Sekhmet is a mix of almost tender protection, and savage, bloodthirsty slaughter. Reverence for females of all races is paramount in her worship, as is the pursuance of revenge, especially upon those who wrong females. Sekhmet is a counterpart to Bast, and while Bast might be worshiped alone, Sekhmet is seldom worshiped without Bast, as the Scarlet Lady's half-sister often acts as a calming influence upon her, and they are known to be lovers as well as sisters (something that is considered normal among the worshipers of both Bast and Sekhmet, and emulated). Sekhmet acts to remind males that there are consequences for their actions, a physical force that males can better understand than the more subtle entreaties of Bast.
Clergy
The clergy of Sekhmet recognize that their goddess is one that is at once beneficial and harmful, by degrees, all depending on how she is approached. Most of the clergy of Sekhmet are also royalty, members of the ruling house of Anubast, though this is hardly an uncommon thing, since the royalty of Anubast are noted for their fecundity. Female clergy are more common, but the king of Anubast is also the high priest of Sekhmet's worship (this is often a ceremonial position, however, and the king may or may not actually be a cleric). Sekhmet's clergy run a wide range of roles in society, including supporting and aiding warriors in battle, acting as midwives and local judges of disputes, and as bounty hunters, bringing down those worthy of vengeance. Sekhmet's clergy ensure that proper care is taken towards women and water, and also officiate at ceremonies intended to keep Sekhmet pleased, which includes worship before a series of statues of the goddess, one for each day of the year, and also great festivals where a great deal of alcohol is consumed by all those who participate, extreme drunkenness being thought, in legend, to have been the only thing that kept Sekhmet from turning on mortals and slaying them all in the mythic past.
