The people of Athas have many things to fear, but none more than the Dragon. In order to prevent their city-states from being destroyed, sorcerer-kings pay tribute to the Dragon in the form of massive sacrifices. One of the most notorious sacrificial sites is the Dragon’s Altar, a place rarely visited because of its long-time association with the Dragon. The Dragon’s Altar is so polluted by the Dragon’s powerful defiling magic that the very stones of Athas have been twisted and blackened by repeated exposure to the Dragon’s presence.

Most sensible people of Athas stay far, far away from the Dragon’s Altar, even when no sacrifices are waiting to be claimed. Aside from the taint left on the landscape by the Dragon’s presence over the years, there is the (not unreasonable) fear that the Dragon might reappear at any time. Other than those being sacrificed, templars are the only people of Athas who can openly claim to have visited the Dragon’s Altar and survived.