Queen of Beasts
CE Nether Lord of Carnality, Carnage, and Feral Beasts
Domains: Animal, Charm, Evil, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Scimitar
The evasive Khamnala was once a powerful rakshasa who ascended to nether lord status by becoming betrothed, and then supplanting her demonic husband in a staggering display of sensual carnage. This act of wanton violence stripped the orderly nature from Khamnala, and in blood she evolved into a greater form of existence. Since then she has been courted by dozens of other nether lords, and warred over by dozens more. Each would seek to tame the Queen of Beasts, and each would fail in their own right.
She was instrumental in assisting Kaynus to ascendancy of the Hand of the Nether Realms, who promised her a place forever at his side in return. The King of Thralls returned her favor by subjecting her to centuries of bondage and torment in an effort to break her will. To this day she remains the only creature who has escaped from Kaynus’s clutches and resisted his attempts to enslave her soul. The experience only intensified her wild nature and enkindled a burning hatred for Kaynus and all of his minions.
Though she is capable of assuming any form of either beast or humanoid, Khamnala’s natural form is that of a comely fox-headed woman with abnormally large claws. She is thought to be responsible for creating, or directly birthing, a great variety of magical beasts and monstrous humanoids that plague Zenith and Penumbra alike. Though she shows no particular favor to any of her supposed offspring, often reveling in their wholesale slaughter just as she would anything else.
Among civilized mortals Khamnala’s presence is weak, but her worship thrives in more rural environments where villages offer a sacrifice of livestock in her name in an effort to placate the wild beasts around them. Lone evangelists, particularly druids, often roam the wilds ensuring that the encroachment of society does not spread to their realms. These priests can be surprisingly pleasant to those that come to them with respect and deference, but fight with astounding ferocity when threatened.
Khamnala’s realm is called The Paganwood, a thick and wild jungle filled with dangerous beasts and terrifying predators. There is a subtle unbridled beauty to the place, although it is universally hostile to most visitors particularly those who come from urban environments. However if one is able to survive the dangers and prove themselves more violent than the natives, they can find a home amidst the monsters of the Paganwood. Villages abound in the depths of the jungles where the strong and like-minded thrive in the wild freedom of the wood, and only occasionally does their demonic hostess call upon them to sacrifice one of their numbers to her insatiable appetite.