also known as Bastet, Best or Beset, is a cat-headed deity whose portfolio includes protection (as a mother protects her children), punishment of wrongdoers, and cats

 
Sharess (pronounced: /ˈʃɑːrɛs/ SHAH-ress) known in the Mulhorandi Pantheon as Bast, was the Faerûnian goddess of festhalls, hedonism, and sensual fulfillment. Passionate and willful, The Dancing Lady had the independent and hedonistic temperament of a feline, and encouraged her followers to spread pleasure to all.
 

Description

Sharess was often depicted as a beautiful, voluptuous woman with the head of a cat, especially in Mulhorand. She was constantly grooming herself to ensure her appearance was always up to standards.
 

Appearance, Manifestations

Bast appears as a dark-skinned Human woman with the head of a cat, though she can use her Shift Form ability to appear as any feline of any size.
 
Bast typically carries an ancient percussion instrument, the sistrum, in her right hand; a so-called aegis, or breastplate (surmounted with the head of a lioness), in her left hand; and a small bag over her left arm. She also wears an elaborately ornamented dress.

 

Personality

Sharess was an innate flirt and loved toying around with beautiful mortals; once she had her fill, she swiftly moved on to other sources of pleasure.
 

Relationships

As Bast, she opposed the evil Set along with the other good-aligned gods of that nation. She had a close relationship with Nobanion, who shared her interest in felines, though Sharess did as much to annoy him as she did to entice him. She also had a romantic relationship with Anhur, though their opinion of each other varied wildly from absolute love to indifference depending on how many fights they had.
 
As Sharess, she was an ally of Selûne, Sune, Milil, Hanali Celanil, and Lliira, and she opposed both Loviatar and Shar, the latter of which never forgot that Sharess escaped from her clutches.
 

History

Sharess was originally known as Bast, a Mulhorandi power who was the patroness of cats, and Anhur's lieutenant. During the Second Mulhorandi Empire (beginning −1048 DR), she subsumed the portfolio of Felidae, a beast cult deity of felines, nomads, and sensual pleasure. Struck by wanderlust, Bast traveled across Faerûn leaving many cults in her wake. During these travels, she also subsumed the divinity of Zandilar the Dancer, a goddess of the Yuir elves, gaining that goddess' portfolio of intense passionate love.
 
After Myth Drannor fell, she began to experiment with the darker side of pleasure and fell under the sway of Shar, and became known as Sharess. During the Time of Troubles, Sune freed Sharess from Shar's influence, when the latter tried to assassinate Sharess, as she had Ibrandul due to her reluctance to be completely dominated by the goddess of shadow. Sune doused Sharess with a chalice filled with waters from Arvandor's Evergold that restored Sharess' beauty and willpower, giving her the will and the edge to rebel against her mistress.
 
After that, Sharess spent much of her time in Arvandor, frolicking and pursuing pleasure in all of its forms, despite the warnings of her deific allies and the offers made by Shar, and guarding herself from Loviatar.
 
After the Spellplague of 1385 DR, Sharess became an exarch of her ally Sune. However, she lost many of her temples and public veneration during the Second Sundering. After the Mulhorandi rebellion of 1486 DR, she gained many mulhorandi followers, who began to worship her as Bast once more.