Atharel, the Demigod of Mercy

Atharel is the Demigod of Mercy, prayed to by both those of a benevolent heart and those desperate for aid.
One would be forgiven for thinking that Atharel, the "Merciful Mother" would be the most beloved of demigods, but this is not always the case. For every person desperately beseeching her for aid, there is likely an opposing individual that would wish her to remain uninvolved. Additionally, most of the major gods do not look favorably upon the idea of mercy: Malavach, Vyshareth, Torach, Daemaskorn, and even Allenial look down upon it, and Saraella and the Lord of Games would seem to be wholly indifferent to it. 
So, from where did Atharel appear?
A common theory is that she shares some relation to Thaemenar, but religious scholars tend to dismiss this theory, as while Thaemenar himself is arguably the most merciful of the major gods, it is not to the degree that it can be considered his defining trait. The most prevalent belief among those that study the deities of the Emergent Plane is that Atharel is her own entity, manifested as a response to the profound fear and feelings of helplessness that many of the mortal races felt during The First Dragon War and the time of inter-species conflict that came after it. The combined desperate pleas for help from somewhere, anywhere, created the being now known as Atharel so that these prayers might be answered. In any case, her origin is somewhat of a mystery, even to herself, though most do not concern themselves too much with where she came from, as it would seem her intentions are far from malicious.
Whenever a mortal feels sympathy, whenever they hesitate at executing a defeated foe, whenever they feel the desire for altruism, it is said that Atharel is there, watching over their shoulder and trying to gently compel them toward taking the softer path.  It is said that when a starving orphan suddenly finds some coin, when a slave manages to escape their master, when the wrongfully convicted avoids the headsman's axe, Atharel is responsible. She rarely appears directly in front of mortals, and it is believed this is because she wishes for those who feel her influence to believe it to be an act of their own so they might appreciate the value of mercy, as she hopes to one day create a more compassionate world where she is no longer needed.