Malar

Malar was the lesser deity of hunting, stalking, bloodlust, and bestial savagery in the Faerûnian pantheon. The Beastlord was the epitome of the dark, bloody side of nature though in his more favorable aspects was worshiped by those who identified with the wild natures, grace and amorality of predators. Despite being revered as the hunger and hunting instinct of beasts among druid circles, he despised The Balance of nature that druids and other nature deities sought to uphold.

In the past he was a member of the Gods of Fury led by Talos, becoming an exarch of Silvanus after the Spellplague.

It is ever the way of nature that the strongest should rule.

- Malar explaining his philosophy

Tenets of Faith

Malar was a minor deity not unique to Toril, a divine scavenger who foraged for worshipers among perhaps a hundred predatory races across an equally vast number of worlds. Malarites were generally frowned upon by civilization, as they tended to wreak havoc in their wake. One exception where the worship of Malar was allowed was in Cormyr.

Malarites believed that it was an honor to Malar to make one's killing bloody and long. His followers sometimes formed in bands, called "Hunts". While forbidden to slay the young or the pregnant, Hunts typically followed his dogma and evoked wanton slaughter in Malar's name.

Holidays

The High Hunt ritual was a vicious hunt in which a captured humanoid was released, and for the next day and night attempted to escape the prowling worshipers of the Beastlord. If they managed to survive, they won their freedom as well as, perhaps, other things.

The Feast of the Stags day made Malar's worship more tolerable in certain areas. For this event, all people were invited to partake of the bounty of the hunt, regardless of faith. At this time, priests of Malar chose some widows, orphans, elderly, or infirm citizens and promised to provide meat for their tables for the winter.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

At some point in the 1350s DR, Pasha Abon Duum of Manshaka had fortuitously been granted guardianship of the kittenlord, heir to the power of the cat lord, a minor power of felines. However, Duum desired to corrupt and dominate the child, and therefore made a deal with the mightier power Malar to keep the vengeful old Catlord off his back. Duum wished to use the cat lord's power of planar travel to journey into the Outer Planes and, using the Claw of Malar, even challenge Tyr, god of justice, and gain awesome power. In exchange, when he was done with the boy, Duum would give him to the Beastlord. Learning of Duum's wicked intentions for the boy, the Catlord came and rescued him, but Malar pounced upon the Catlord as he fled.

The Catlord handed over the boy to the rogue Conner (who'd been guided onto the scene by the goddess Selûne, and to buy time for him to carry the child away and hide him, fought Malar. The Catlord and Malar battled for three days and three nights, before the Catlord escaped, and it was a year before his wounds even healed. The scars would not. However, in the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR, Duum was tricked and thwarted and Tyr seized the Claw of Malar instead.

During the Time of Troubles in 1358 DR, Malar's avatar battled Sebek in the Adder Swamp in a titanic battle that destroyed large areas of the region.

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