Talos

The Destroyer, the Storm Lord, The Stormstar (a.k.a. Aliases: Bhaelros (Calimshan), Kozah (Anauroch, among the Bedine), Malyk (the Underdark))

Talos (TAH-los) is the destructive force of nature. He is the god of storms, forest fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and general destruction. He attracts the destroyer, the raider, the looter, and the brigand among his followers. His actions often seem petty and vengeful and are frequently motivated by rage, anger, and the desire to not appear weak or compromising in any way to his followers or the other powers of Faerun. He exults in seeing what he or his followers can burn, break, flood, kill or otherwise utterly destroy. He is like a malicious and twisted child whose power and wrath know no bounds and who proves his self-worth and standing again and again by raining havoc and ruin down on those who can little oppose him. Under the alias of Malyk, Talos is trying to fold wild and destructive magic into his portfolio. Mystra is openly challenging the Storm Lord's ploy, and it is likely to fail quickly in the face of her open opposition.
When Talos is portrayed in religious art, he looks similar to his avatar (see below). His home, the Towers of Ruin, is also known as the Screaming Towers and the Towers at the Heart of the Winds because of the howling winds that curl eternally around it in a helix. He is served by Auril, Malar, and Umberlee. Collectively, the four are known as the Gods of Fury. The storm god's relationship with Auril is said to be close and cordial, though he has no compunction about attempting to erode and usurp her portfolio and power base whenever possible. His relationship with Umberlee is flirtatious and filled with rivalry. Talos and Malar only grudgingly work together, and Malar would happily kill Talos if he only had the power to do so. Talos has recently sponsored the once-mortal Velsharoon the Vaunted to demipower status, but Velsharoon is not likely to survive long with the sort of "aid" Talos seems to be providing powers in his service.
Aside from his divine foes listed above, Talos counts among his enemies all those who dare to work magic to try to control the winds and weather in an ongoing or wide-ranging fashion, including the mortal wizards of Netheril and Myth Drannor in the past and the wizards of Halruaa and Thay currently.

Divine Domains

Tempest

Divine Symbols & Sigils

An explosive lightning strike

Tenets of Faith

Talos the Destroyer is the dark side of nature, the uncaring and destructive force that lies waiting to strike at any time. Talassans are taught that life is a combination of random effects and chaos, so the devout should grab what they can, when they can, as who can say when Talos will strike and bring them into the afterlife?
Talassan clergy are to preach to all of the might of Talos, warning them always of the forces only he can command—the fury of all Faerun. They are never to cease in such speech, so that everyone may know that Talos is to be worshiped by all, and that in time to come he must be, or he will destroy all life with the forces at his command. His clergy should walk unafraid in all storms, forest fires, earthquakes, and other disasters, for the power of Talos protects them. They should let others see this whenever possible, so that unbelievers will come to believe in the true power of almighty Talos.
Talassan clergy should make all fear Talos by showing the destruction that he and all of his servants can cause. To avoid tasting his fury, they are to pray to him energetically and tell all folk that such observances—and only such observances—can protect them from the furies of gales, hailstorms, winds, floods, droughts, blizzards, hurricanes, and other natural dooms. Such forces can also be hurled at one's foes—an advancing ore horde, for instance—if Talos deems a place or a person worth defending. So one cannot afford to ignore Talos, but must bow down and worship him. The clergy of Talos are to proclaim this message to all and show everyone the destruction even the slightest of the servants of Talos can cause.

Holidays

Talassans mark all of the annual festivals (Greengrass, Midsummer, and so on) with rituals that call down lightning or call up storms. Calling Down the Thunder is the most sacred of these rituals and involves the slaying of an intelligent being by lightning in return for the Storm Lord granting a special boon. This boon is usually the bestowal of a spell normally beyond a Talassan priest's ability to receive and wield, but it is sometimes a deed such as the sending of a storm down on a particular locale or being named by the priest.
A more frequently seen ritual is the Fury, which is simply a berserk attack on folk and items made while howling the name of Talos repeatedly. It begins and ends with a prayer (if the priest survives) and usually involves the hurling of spells and of lit, carried torches, in an effort to visit considerable destruction on a place or encampment within a short time. It is considered most holy when performed by a lone Talassan priest—but against formidable foes, clergy of Talos usually attack together or draw off defenders by creating illusory attackers in one direction and mounting their own real attack from another.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Day-to-Day Activities

Talos always has too few worshipers for his liking, so his clergy are sent out into the world to spread word of his might and to try to recruit others to his worship—either out of fear or because such people enjoy the wielding of raw power. As examples to all, the fatalistic priests of Talos tend to indulge in acts of random or spiteful destruction as they travel and to make examples of all folk who stand up to them or try to prevent them from entering a community or passing along a road.
Some priests pillage, burn, and steal as enthusiastically as any brigand, and hamlets that fight them off tend to be visited a season or so later by a gathering of Talassan priests who try to slaughter everyone and lay waste to the place. This practice had led to some settlements fearfully hiring "adventuring bands in residence" to ward off a similar fate after one or more citizens have had hostile dealings with any Talassan clergy. Few priests of Talos seem to have the patience to simply drown a community out by fixing endless, stationary storms above it.
Talos does not seem to mind priests who indulge in fulfilling personal desires for wealth, food, luxury items, and wanton behavior so long as they call up a storm or engage in random, spectacular acts of violence once every tenday or so (toppling towers is always effective). As a result, some clergy have taken up a life of brigandage. They pose as lunatics in order to spread the word of Talos as ordered, and the rest of the time they adopt disguises to scout out rich prizes to strike at.

Priestly Vestments

High clergy of Talos have ceremonial robes of blue-white streaked with crimson that seem to crackle with lightning due to a minor illusory glamer, but all clergy dress in robes and cloaks of black shot through with teardrops and jagged lines of gold or silver—garb which has earned them the unflattering name "doom crows," as they go about the Realms preaching of devastations to come. The robes have jagged hems and rough, uneven sleeves. A black eyepatch is also worn, even if the clergy member has good vision in both eyes.
In addition to the symbol detailed above, the Talassan church often make use of a modified symbol of Talos on banners: a stylized white lightning bolt on a crimson field between two flanking horizontal white bars. The bolt curves upward from between the bars toward the dexter then abruptly ascends and descends in a sharp zigzag.

Adventuring Garb

It should be noted that clergy of Talos enjoy destruction and arm themselves heavily to bring it about where spells may fail at all times. When not involved in ceremonies, Talassans tend to go to one of two extremes: Either they armor themselves to the hilt in the most menacing-looking armor they can obtain, or they wear next to no armor and use protective magics instead so that to average observers they look almost suicidal in their fervor to get into the thick of destruction.

Symbol: An explosive lightning strike
Home Plane: Fury's Heart
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Portfolio: Storms, destruction, rebellion, conflagrations, earthquakes, vortices
Worshipers: Those who fear the destructive power of nature, fighters, druids, half-orcs
Cleric Alignments: CE, CN, NE
Domains: Tempest
Favored Weapon: A lightning bolt (longspear, shortspear, or halfspear)
Aliases: Bhaelros (Calimshan), Kozah (Anauroch, among the Bedine), Malyk (the Underdark)
Allies: Auril, Malar, Umberlee, Velsharoon
Enemies: Chauntea, Lathander, Mystra, Sune, Derieirrtjoria Helm, Mielikki, Oghma, Silvanus, Tyr, Eldath, Shiallia

Divine Classification

Greater Power