Talos

Talos, also known long ago as Kozah, was the Faerûnian greater deity of storms and destruction. The Storm Lord's dogma was self-serving, demanding utter obedience from his priests and instructing them to spread destruction where they might. His followers were known as Talassans. After the Spellplague, many came to believe that Talos was, in fact, an aspect of the orcish god Gruumsh, but after the Second Sundering the two deities seemed more distinct.

Among the Bedine of Anauroch, who descended from the citizens of Netheril, Talos was still known as Kozah by the 14 century DR. In Calimshan, he was worshiped as Bhaelros and in that aspect he almost utterly destroyed Calimport. In the Underdark, he had an aspect with a small following as Malyk, a god of wild magic.

Description
Talos appeared as a broad-shouldered, bearded man with one good eye. He wore half-plate armor over black leather and black leather gloves. His empty eye socket was filled with whirling stars and covered with a dark eye patch. When he appeared in Calimshan, he often took the form of a dusky-skinned, turbaned genie rising out of a sandstorm.

Personality
Talos was violent, angry, short-tempered, impulsive, and frequently motivated by his fury. He could be roused to raging destruction by the smallest offences and hold onto a grudge for centuries after the slight. His actions often seemed petty and vengeful, and indeed they were. He reveled in chaos and exulted in unrestrained devastation, causing ruin for the pure joy of it.

Talos was in many ways a bully without boundaries, comparable to a malicious, spoiled child in his motivation. He was often driven to act out of the fear of looking weak or compromising to anyone, and reinforced his sense of self-worth time and time again by raining havoc and crushing beneath his might those too weak to stop him. He relished seeing what he or his followers could burn, flood, break, kill, or otherwise tear down. His entire reason for existing was to prove, to mortals, gods, and himself, that there was nothing that could be built that he couldn't destroy.

Divine Realm
Talos' divine realm was named the Towers of Ruin, the Screaming Towers, or the Towers at the Heart of the Winds, as it was always surrounded by a mighty howling whirlwind. It was located in Pandesmos, the topmost layer of Pandemonium in the Great Wheel cosmology.

Relationships
Talos was close with Auril, had a flirtatious rivalry with Umberlee, and a grudging alliance with Malar, who would kill him if he could. He also hated deities that promoted building, learning, nature, and the altering of weather. Chief among his enemies were Chauntea, Eldath, Lathander, Mystra, Sune, Deneir, Gond, Helm, Mielikki, Oghma, Shiallia, Silvanus, and Tyr.

Talos led the other Deities of Fury: Auril, Malar, and Umberlee.

Worshipers
The church of Talos was small by the standards of a greater deity, and his followers were fanatical in their love of destruction. The clergy had no formal hierarchy; obedience was enforced through might. Priests of Talos were fond of extorting sailors and farmers, threatening that Talos would bring destructive storms upon them if they did not placate the angry god. They were wont to pursue wealth and luxury with many indulging in acts of random or spiteful violence, pillage, and banditry. Talossan clerics were also committed evangelists who sought to gain converts through fear or the enticement of raw power.

Clerics of Talos wore black robes and cloaks shot through with teardrops and jagged lines of gold and silver while high clergy wore blue-white ceremonial robes streaked with crimson. All of them wore eye patches. Talassan clerics generally cross-trained as barbarians, sorcerers, wizards, or as stormlords.

Worship of Talos was outlawed in many countries. Most Talossan holy sites were secret because of the church's reputation. Public churches often took the form of castles or fortified strongholds that lay on earthquake fault lines or in the path of storms or lava; Talos ensured they remain unscathed.

Rituals
Clerics of Talos celebrated Talossan festivals with ceremonies that summoned lightning and storms.
 * Calling Down the Thunder: This ritual involved the sacrifice of an intelligent being by lightning.
 * The Fury: In this ceremony, the cleric prayed, made berserk attacks to wreak as much destruction as possible in a small amount of time, then prayed again.

Orders
The existence of religious orders affiliated with Talos was shrouded in mystery and rumor. Two speculated groups were:
 * Lords of the Tempest: A group of wizards that specialized in combining elemental magic.
 * Circle of Rust and the Worm: A cabal of insane sages and mystics of various disciplines with the aim of destroying the world.

History
The Stormlord was formed from the first battle between Selûne and Shar, near the dawn of the world. The people of ancient Netheril worshiped him as Kozah, and called him The Destroyer and The Raging One, among other titles.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad
 * The Parched Sea • The Siege
 * The Parched Sea • The Siege

Connections
Talos