Atheros

Atheros is the war god of The Pack. He is most often worshiped by goblins and orcs.

Common Depictions
Atheros is always depicted as a worg with embers sparking from his ears, back and tail and glowing in his fur. Many depictions show him violently ripping apart some other creature.

Although there is a reason for the chaos he causes, he is most often treated as an evil creature of wanton destruction.

Worship
Worship of Atheros varies greatly because his purpose is so often misinterpreted. There are, however, two primary trends across these groups.

There are those who view Atheros as a necessary part of the world in some way, whether they believe his creations bring balance to the world or that war is a tool for them designed by the gods. These creatures strive to honor whatever they believe his cause to be. They tend to do so through physical training and militaristic discipline. In general, these groups tend to please Atheros as he encourages channeling one's combative abilities into something productive.

It is also common for creatures to worship Atheros out of fear. They believe that not to worship him invites catastrophe, ranging from the eruption of a volcano to losing in a great war to Atheros himself descending from the heavens to consume them all. These groups provide offerings - burning plants, sacrificing animals, or even launching wars they believe Atheros will approve of. Because he discourages bloodlust, these groups are - somewhat self-fulfillingly - the most likely to incur his wrath. The actions of these groups discourage most creatures from worshiping Atheros at all.

Apart from these trends, some groups of goblins refer to Atheros as the "Goblin-Father." These goblins worship the spirits of their ancestors, viewing Atheros as the greatest of them, as they know he created their kind. They guard regions where portals to other realms exist or frequently crop up, receiving guidance from their ancestors on where to go to prevent mortals from leaving Lorynthia and outsiders from entering it. These goblins are the truest to Atheros' teachings; they channel their destructive abilities to preserve the balance of the world by any means necessary

Around Mortals
Atheros only leaves Vilkar to punish those destroy unnecessarily in his name. He does, however, speak frequently with goblin shamans, telling them where to go and who to fight next and occasionally granting them his blessing. He is also careful not to have the goblins stay together in one place for too long, as it tends to cause the goblins to be hunted down and killed.

Among the Gods
Atheros' place is essentially to guard the realms from one another; as such, he is kept in high regard by many of the other gods. He generally tries to reciprocate that respect, but his short temper often gets in the way.

Creations
Atheros created Goblins and Gnolls to guard portals, but could not get the Gnolls to cooperate, so he made the Orcs to replace them. He also created fire elementals and a small handful of lizard species.