The Church of Tempus

The church of Tempus is perhaps the most widely known in battle-stricken Arteria. Countless centuries of warfare have unfolded on the battlefields of the world, and followers of the Foehammer have fought ably and honorably for all sides in nearly every such conflict. The independence of the Lord of Battles and his followers has ensured that his church is widely respected by members of all faiths, and none doubt that they too might prevail in the next battle if only the Foehammer’s fickle nature smiles their way again. Nearly every combatant has fought alongside a cleric of Tempus at some point or the other, and just as many have also fought against a cleric of Tempus. Only the church of Eldath truly wishes there was another way.

Worship

Tempus’s clerics pray for spells just before high sun. The eves and anniversaries of great battles are the holy days of the church of Tempus, and as such vary from place to place. The Feast of the Moon, honoring the dead, is the most important fixed date in the religious calendar. Each temple holds a Feast of Heroes at high sun and a Song of the Fallen at sunset, and most also have a Song of the Sword ceremony after dark for lay folk. It is also expected that at least once a tenday worshipers of Tempus spill a few drops of blood (preferably their own or a worthy foe’s) and sing the Song of the Sword in Tempus’s honor. The ritual performed by most of the faithful is a prayer for valiant performance and survival in the fray ahead, made to the war deity over the weapon the praying being most often fights with. If a new weapon comes into the believer’s possession before a battle--particularly in the form of hard-won booty--it is taken as a sign of Tempus’s favor, and this weapon is the one used in worship. Tempus’s clerics usually multiclass as barbarians, divine champions, or fighters. Most tend to be battle-minded male humans, although others are also welcome.

Priesthood

Clerics of the war deity are charged to keep warfare a thing of rules, respected reputation, and professional behavior, minimizing uncontrolled bloodshed and working to eradicate feuding that extends beyond a single dispute or set of foes. At the same time, training and readiness for battle must be promoted if civilized human holdings are to survive in Faerun in the face of monster raids and orc hordes--and the power of Tempus to aid those he favors in battle must also be promoted. Warriors who employ poison or taint wells, sow fields with salt, kill noncombatants, indulge in torture or the wanton slaughter of innocent folk when they are not at war, or commit similar sins against fair battle are to be denied the favor of the deity, their crimes are to be publicized far and wide, and they are to be made to atone for their deeds or perish. War clerics must preserve the names of the honored battle-fallen, both on gravestones and other such memorials, in their prayers to Tempus, and in an annual chant at the March of the Dead, wherein clerics of the war deity go through the streets to call all folk, worshipers and nonbelievers alike, to the local Feast of the Moon hosted by their temple. Clerics are also charged to collect and venerate the weapons and armor of famous and respected warriors, even if these are broken or have deteriorated, for they retain something of the battle lust and energy associated with the deeds they participated in.