Tempus

Tempus (pronounced TEM-pus ), also known as the Lord of Battles, is the god of war. His dogma is primarily concerned with honorable battle, forbidding cowardice and encouraging the use of force of arms to settle disputes.

Orders

 * Order of the Broken Blade : The Order of the Broken Blade honors those warriors and clergy who are injured in Tempus's service and can no longer fight in the front lines.


 * Order of the Steel Fang : The Order of the Steel Fang is an elite fighting order within the church of Tempus, whose members are often assigned to the most dangerous duties and led by battle-hardened clergymen. Many mercenary companies and knightly fighting orders of crusaders also avail themselves of a connection to the church. One badge of the god seen among his affiliated mercenaries is a rusty brown dagger, shown diagonally with its point to the upper right, dripping four drops of blood.

Dogma
Tempus' orders to all combatants are simple and direct:

1. Be fearless

2. Never turn away from a fight.

3. Obey the rules of war.

Ritual
The words "Tempus thanks you" are used by the deity's faithful in conjuction with the response "and I thank Tempus" to indicate the completion of a deed that will please Tempus.

Relationships
Tempus is served by the Red Knight, deity of strategy and war planning. He opposes and is opposed by Garagos, who was formerly known as Targus and worshipped as the god of war in the now-fallen empire of Netheril until Tempus defeated him and claimed his station, reducing the greater god of war to the demigod today known as Garagos. Tempus slew many other deities aspiring to be the god of war in the past, and it is not certain why he tolerates Garagos' continued existence, having already defeated him once. Some scholars in the Realms believe that Tempus' dislike of mindless slaughter and bloodlust prompted him to spare Garagos so that he could represent those more vicious aspects of war.

Sune sees Tempus as her enemy because of the destruction that wars wreak upon beautiful things and people, but Tempus does not consider her worth the conflict. Despite the fact that Tempus' dogma is diametrically opposed to that of Eldath and that he considers her naive for her pacifist outlook, he has commanded his followers to not harm those of the goddess of peace, seeing that war is meaningless without peace following.

History
Tempus was originally one of many potential war gods who emerged from the primordial clashes between Selune 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 Faerunian pantheon, having defeated and absorbed all of his competitors (with the notable exception of Garagos, whom he defeated but spared).

Church of Tempus Hierarchy
The hierarchy within the Church of Tempus. High Priest/Priestess. Guardian Priest/Priestess. Swordmaster of Tempus. Battle-Chaplain. Warrior-Priest/Priestess. Priest/Priestess. Acolyte.