Garagos

Garagos

Garagos (pronounced: /ˈgɑːrɑːgoʊs/ GAH-rah-gohs), the Lord of War, is a god of war and exarch of Tempus, though he focuses more on destruction than war itself.

History

During the age of Netheril, Garagos was part of the Netherese pantheon and was known as Targus. 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. In 1368 DR, Garagos appeared personally to slay a marilith named Glackzana who was building a temple to herself in his guise.

Relationships

Deities 

Tempus merely tolerated Garagos for reasons of his own, reasons that many scholars believe stemmed from the fact that Tempus disliked mindless slaughter and destruction, and would be obliged to take on that portfolio if he slew his rival. Though both were chaotic neutral in moral alignment, Garagos was far more heedless than Tempus in what war wrought, reveling in destruction and slaughter while the greater deity valued honorable combat; this distinction between the different modes of war they represent may be the reason that Lord Ao did not enforce his otherwise strict edict against portfolio sharing by stripping one or the other of his dominance over War.

Followers

Clerics of Garagos, known as Bloodreavers, spend their days fomenting strife throughout the continent, knowing that each conflict contributes to Garagos's continuing rebirth. They believe that Garagos will eventually regain his divine strength, unseating the hated Lord of Battles and reclaiming the mantle of Deity of War. They continually create and expand networks of spies, faithful warriors, and other agents to increase the power of the cult, and the leadership of a cult cell is usually determined by the result of power plays between the agents of rival clerics.

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 could not harm. His vehement frustration during these times, known to sages as the Meeting of the Three, spawned a different name for the event: the Howling.