They are tiger shapeshifters who originally lived in Asia but were forced out by humans. They are considered to be very wise and other tribes often come to them for advice in desperate situations. When Zane Cobriana chooses to finally arrange a meeting of the leaders of the serpiente and avians after his brother's death, the meeting was arranged to be held in Mistari lands.
The Mistari's female leader, the Disa, was the one who suggested the union of the two peoples by the joining of the royal families. They are the oldest of all the shapeshifters. They are mentioned again in Persistence of Memory (a novel by Atwater-Rhodes outside the Kiesha'ra series).