Tempus

Tempus, also known as the Lord of Battles, was the god of war. His dogma was primarily concerned with honorable battle, forbidding cowardice and encouraging the use of force of arms to settle disputes.

Description
Tempus appeared as a tall human in battered and bloodied plate mail, his face hidden by a giant war helm, though his gaze remained a palpable force. His arms and legs remained bare (although he did wear gauntlets) and were crisscrossed by wounds oozing with his smoking, wine-red blood, yet he remained unaffected by these injuries.

Personality
Tempus was a being of chaos, distributing his favor randomly. Such was the nature of war that he might side with one army one day and turn against them the next. He was not heartless, however, but exuberant, said to live only for excess, whether it be love for food, drink hunting, or his greatest passion, battle.

Despite his fickleness and what others might think of him because of it, Tempus was also not treacherous. Indeed, he was honorable in battle, and would hate to betray a confidence. The chaotic god simply answered to his own warrior code, carving out his own path and letting none stand in his way. Rather than switching sides, it would be more accurate to say that the Lord of Battle's chaotic nature was on all sides equally.

Realm
Tempus's realm of Warrior's Rest was anything but restful. Based in Limbo, the realm was even more violent than the plane of Asgard, defined by its endlessly raging battles. Like in Asgard, any that "died" would simply lie on the ground until their wounds healed, at which point they would fight for the one who defeated them. Permanent death was reserved as a punishment for those who showed cowardice on the battlefield, generally in the form of Tempus withholding regeneration immediately before a quick and final death.

Allies
Valkur was quiet and solitary towards the other gods of the Faerunian pantheon. This was partially because he pursued no alliances or dalliances for any length of time himself and partially because the others feared he'd turn on them at any given moment. The Foehammer did have a friendly relationship with Gond for his war machines and a casual friendship with Nobanion.

It was Tempus who sponsored the ascension of the Red Knight, he who encouraged her worship, and only he who knew her true name. She looked to him as a father figure and their relationship was akin to that of a fond and protective father with a brilliant daughter that worded hard and successfully in the family business, namely war. The two spent a great amount of time together, mostly looking into the battles of Faerun past and present, but they also simply hunted or shared stories in his feasting hall.

Tempus was the only ally of Uthgar, deity of the Uthgardt barbarians of the Sword Coast North and had sponsored his divinity as well, having admired his fighting spirit. It was under Tempus's counsel that he didn't rashly declare war against various other gods both good and evil; he would have not only have ended up fighting several of the Gods of Fury but also Helm and The Triad, which would have prompted a great deal of concerted retaliation. The Red Knight, and through her Tempus, had also tried to convince Valkur to take greater interest in naval conflicts. While he was more focused on protecting sailors, he did eventually move to Warriors Rest, although his realm of Safe Harbor was a placid expanse of ocean between the raging battles of land and sea. He enjoyed casual friendships with both Uthgar and Valkur.

Enemies
Strangely for a god of war, Tempus had very few actual enemies, although he was known to be derisively referred to as "the Butcher" by followers of Eilistraee. Sune considered him a foe for his destruction of beautiful things, but besides her very nature made it hard for others to stay mad at her for long, he considered her flighty and irrelevant, not worth getting into active conflict with or even of mutual dislike. One might think that of any deity Tempus would take issue with his diametric opposite Eldath, the goddess of peace, yet the two did not consider each other enemies. Though he considered her weak and naïve, he respected her deep conviction and so generally ignored her and punished followers who abused her priests. Perhaps the Lord of Battle felt that war had little meaning or definition without the existence of peace to contrast it.

The one being that deemed Tempus an enemy that he actual acknowledged was Garagos. Once the primary war god of West Faerûn, the young demigod Tempus managed to defeat him, purportedly winning a century long battle by using his own berserker fury against him, and taking the position of the god of war as the spoils from their duel. The Blood-Reaver's loss to Tempus had only shortened his fuse, and his new incarnation possessed none of his former craftiness or mercy. While Garagos still harbored deep resentment towards Tempus unless his destructive abilities could someday surpass his tactical weakness, he would suffer if they someday met on the battlefield.

The main mystery behind this ancient feud was why Tempus, who lacked any other enemy he cared about, continued to tolerate Garagos's existence. He allowed Garagos to dwell in Warrior's Rest despite him being hostile to everyone else there and some said that he had uplifted the pragmatic and strategic Red Knight so that she could to act as his natural counterbalance. Some sages speculated that Tempus kept him 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 the god of war.

Worshipers
Faerûn was a violent land, and thus from sheer number of worshipers Tempus was one of the mightiest deities in the Realms. Nearly everyone who drew a sword or nocked an arrow had fought alongside a cleric of the Foehammer, and just as many had fought against one.

Temples to the Lord of Battle looked more like military fortresses than the archetypal temple. They featured barracks, mess halls, armories, and training grounds.

Due to its tendency to have followers and priests on both sides of any engagement, the church of Tempus had no central authority that might support one side or the other exclusively. Within a given temple or order, however, there was a strict hierarchy and chain of command.

Orders

 * Order of the Broken Blade: The Order of the Broken Blade honored those warriors and clergy who could no longer fight at their best. They continued to serve Tempus by working at shrines and temples.
 * Order of the Steel Fang: The Order of the Steel Fang were an elite group that took on the most dangerous missions. Their leaders were battle-tested members of the clergy.

Hierarchy
All clergymen of Tempus were known as "Hammers". Each Hammer received their own ceremonial armor, depending on their rank. Hammers were broken down further into ranks:
 * Acolyte: The lowest in the hierarchy, they wore leather jackets and baldrics.
 * Stalwart: Priests, who wore chainmail.
 * Hardhar: Warrior-priests, who wore breastplates and bracers.
 * Arahar: Battle-chaplains, who wore splint mail.
 * Rauthat: Swordmasters, who wore plate mail with shoulder spikes.
 * Direhar: Guardian priests, who wore full plate.
 * Warlyon: High priests, who wore gilded magic plate mail that enabled flight.

Dogma
Tempus' orders to all combatants were simple and direct:
 * 1) Be fearless
 * 2) Never turn away from a fight.
 * 3) Obey the rules of war.

Rituals
The words "Tempus thanks you" were used by the deity's faithful in conjunction with the response "and I thank Tempus" to indicate the completion of a deed that would please Tempus.

History
Tempus was originally one of many potential war gods who emerged from the primordial clashes between Selûne and Shar. These gods fought constantly with each other, the victors absorbing the essence and power of the defeated. This continued until Tempus stood as the sole god of war in the Faerûnian pantheon, having defeated and absorbed all of his competitors (with the notable exception of Garagos, whom he defeated but spared). The barbarians of Icewind Dale claimed that Tempus' original name was "Tempos".

The Time of Troubles
In the Time of Troubles of the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, Tempus' avatar appeared in a ruined castle in Battledale, just over five miles southwest of Essembra. Immediately following the Godswar, Eldan Ambrose, an Amnian cleric of Tempus, saw Tempus during a battle in Swords Creek. After the fighting ended, Ambrose followed his god's trail back to Battledale, and found the castle (which originally belonged to Belarus, a long-dead Tempuran). In the ruins of the great hall, Ambrose had a vision confirming the site as sacred to the Foehammer. Ambrose and his allies rebuilt the castle, establishing the Abbey of the Sword.

Connections
Tempus