T he gods of ancient Athas are dead—if they ever lived. The inhabitants of the burned world of Athas have no concept of what a god is, other than from stories planted in their minds by the malevolent sorcerer-kings. Yet in the deep deserts, in hidden subterranean realms, in the jungles of the forest ridge, and in other remote and undisturbed reaches of the world, long-forgotten shrines remain from a time so ancient that it is miraculous any part of them survives.