Garagos

Garagos, known as Targus in the times of ancient Netheril, is an Astoran demigod of war and exarch of Tempus, focused more on the aspect of destruction and plundering than the strategy or logistics. Seemingly existing only to destroy, The Reaver is a whirlwind of slaughter linked to the savage bloodlust that leads to horrific carnage.

Description

Garagos preferred to appear as a scarred, rugged, 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall humanoid; he could grow arms out of his massive shoulders at will, never having fewer than five but unable to keep more than ten. He wielded a different weapon in each of his hands, from which streamed out a cloud of bloody mist. This mist surrounded him, and within it could be heard a faint, continuous wailing, said by his priests to be "the lament of the lost as their essences flow out of them into the blood sea of battle." Garagos was usually half-naked and shunned the use of armor, though portrayed in religious art wearing a scarlet cloak said to be made from the blood of his enemies.

Personality

Garagos is a bloodthirsty and single-minded god with a love for violence and admiration for those that give into merciless battle frenzy, destroying everything standing in their way. He is a practically elemental force of destruction, his mindless rage uncontrolled by nature, and in contrast to his short temper, he takes a long time to cool down from an emotional boil. In older times, Garagos was more composed and less likely to burst into violence, but his loss at the hands of Tempus sees his fuse shorten and his new self is utterly devoid of the craftiness he once had.

Just as Garagos loses his wiliness, so too does he lose any sense of lenience or restraint when he is caught up in the heat of battle. While still chaotic neutral, the debased and insane deity teeters on the brink of evil. Some claim that his heart has hardened because he has lost all hope for attaining his secret love, but this idea is dismissed by others who themselves speculate that this is just the logical conclusion of the course he is on, and that he is finally going over the edge to outright evil he has long been standing on the brink of.

Activities

When Garagos manifests his avatar, legends say he wanders Godswalk Keep in the Barony of Great Oak in the Border Kingdoms, killing every creature he can find. There, he rails against the manifestations of Jergal and Sharess, whom he cannot harm. His vehement frustration during these times, known to sages as the Meeting of the Three, spawns a different name for the event: the Howling.

Worshippers

The faithful of Garagos were organized into individual churches that had their own hierachies. Rivalries were common among those within close proximity to each other.

The oldest church was found in Westgate and suffered splits into warring cults. Garagos claiming and rebuilding a new temple in Gosra in Chondath spurred all of the other churches to send representatives to the new location.

Garagos' shamans were found outside of the organized churches where berserker raiding was practiced.

Titles among the faithful included Bloodbrother, Bloodsister, Supplicat, Priest/Priestess of the Blood, Reaver Lord/Lady, and Favored.

Dogma

Followers of Garagos sought battle to help spread strife and satiate their bloodlust.

Garagathans believed peace was for the weak. War and battle made them strong, particularly in head to head clashes. A warrior's word was their bond and your shield companion was your most trusted ally. They were expected to challenge, and defeat, a foe greater than themselves on a yearly basis.

Clergy

The Church of Garagos was a collection of clerics, crusaders, shamans, and specialty priests called bloodreavers devoted to Garagos, the Reaver.

The crusaders of Garagos were grouped into the Brothers of Blood whose sole mission was to destroy the Enemies of Garagos, most often followers of Tempus, wherever they could find them.

Rituals

Seven or more priests could host a Blood Festival, celebrating Garagos and consuming part of their meal bloody and undercooked. Also occurring during a Blood Festival was the Full Blood–an initiation of a novice priest into the priesthood where they painted their faces with the blood of a dangerous creature that they slew alone.

Relationships

Garagos was the only enemy of Tempus whom the latter actually acknowledged. When he was merely a young demigod, Tempus managed to defeat Garagos, purportedly winning a century long battle by using the Reaver's own berserker fury against him and taking the position of the god of war as the spoils from their duel. Garagos still harbored deep resentment towards Tempus over this, but unless his destructive abilities could someday surpass his tactical weakness, he would suffer if they met on the battlefield.

For some reason Garagos was still tolerated by Tempus and allowed to dwell in Warrior's Rest despite being hostile to everyone else there. Some sages speculated that Tempus kept Garagos around to act as bait, preferring to let the Bloodreaver lure out potential challengers. Others, meanwhile, suggested that there was one aspect of war that even Tempus found personally distasteful, the rabid rage of a mindless, murderous frenzy, and that he deliberately left it behind with Garagos when he became Faerun's main god of war.

The Red Knight disliked Garagos based on what Tempus had told her of him, but the two never personally came to blows. Some said that Tempus had uplifted the pragmatic and strategic goddess so that she could to act as his natural counterbalance.

History

During the age of Netheril, Garagos, known then as Targus, was part of the Netherese pantheon. Some time around or shortly after the fall of Netheril, the interloper deity Tempus managed to slay Garagos. Survived by die-hard followers in several regions surrounding the Sea of Fallen Stars and a church in Westgate, Garagos mysteriously and unexpectedly reappeared in Westgate's harbor during the Time of Troubles. Much quicker to anger and slower to show mercy than he was before his death, Garagos found most of his followers in brigands, bandits, and priests of the Deities of Fury who paid him lip service in battle.

Garagos

Demigod

Basic Information

Titles

Lord of War
Master of All Weapons
The Reaver

Adjectives

Garagathan

Pantheons

Astoran
Netherese

Serves

Tempus

Attributes

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Symbol

A counterclockwise circle of five arms clutching swords

Realm

Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo/Warrior's Rest/Battle Garde

Portfolio

Destruction, Plunder, Skill-At-Arms, War

Favored Weapon

The Tentacus (a pinwheel of five black snaky arms, each ending in a Longsword)

Following

Worshippers

Barbarians
Fighters
Rangers
Soldiers
Spies

Alignments

CG, CN, CE

Domains

Destruction (Rage)
War (Blood, Duels)

Favored Aspects

Animals/Plants

Wolverines
Weasels
Dire wolves

Monsters

Worgs

Minerals

Red or black gems

Colors

Red
Black

Manifest- ations

Blood of the God

Sound of clashing weapons

Frenzies