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Beast Lords were powerful spirits created during the Age of Starbirth. Let’s learn about Bast, the Lord of the Cats.

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Transcript

Bast is the first of the Beast Lords given life during the Age of Starbirth. Let’s learn more about Bast, the Lord of the Cats.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Bast, Lord of the Cats. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing The History of Dragonlance - Being the Notes, Journals, and Memorabilia of Krynn and Holy Orders of the Stars sourcebooks. If I misspeak or skip over any information you would like highlighted, please leave a comment below.

Discussion

During the formation of Krynn, all of the gods came together and gave life to this newest of creations. The High God populated the planet with animals and plants and called forth powerful spirits, given birth by the formation of Krynn, to act in service of the gods from time to time. These spirits known as Beast Lords are able to take animal form, and can even polymorph into humanoid forms as well. They are not gods, nor are they technically demigods, but they are similar to the Aspects of both. Thus they are only temporarily inhabiting physical forms and cannot be killed, only temporarily banished. 

Their motives are left to the god providing them with direction, but there are some basic divine guidelines they are meant to follow. Their original intent as mandated by the High God was to aid the animals and lead them when the races of Krynn threatened their lives. They are not to interfere with the world at large. They are meant to ensure the safety and welfare of their dominions. Though they are not above being bribed by gods to act on behalf of their self interest.

The first Beast Lord was Bast, a Catlord. His history is one of legend. One tale says that he was taken from mortal life and bestowed the Mantle of Immortality, thereby elevated to Beast Lord. Others tell that he was brought from the essence of Krynn and inhabited mortal form as other Beast Lords. Not even he is aware of which is true, or whether he is even from Krynn originally. Thus the Beast Lord, Bast is known as Mereklar. He is incredibly handsome in human form. He has slanting blue eyes and skin as black as night. He is tall, strong, lithe, with his movements being fluid and graceful. He has long powerful nails at the ends of his fingers for attacking, and is able to leap great distances. He is traditionally dressed in tight black clothing, featuring a number of oval shaped jewels around his neckline. He conjures an image of the Black Panther from Marvel comics in my mind. 

His powers are truly magnificent. He is able to walk unseen through shadows, even evading the gods if desired. He can polymorph into any cat form, but will always have shining black fur. He heals from his wounds nearly as quickly as he can travel through his realm. He is mightier than your average dragon and more cunning than the wittiest mortal. Mereklar is believed to be able to be killed however. He is said to have nine lives,