“I hold the wrath of fire in my grasp, the endurance of rock in my shoulders. None can outlast me in battle.”
The gods of Athas are little more than half-remembered myths, but many of those who live beneath the crimson sun give their devotion and worship to other powers. Some worship sorcerer-kings who claim to be divine, or the false deities some kings purport to serve. Some worship demons or primordials—malevolent patrons that frequently demand terrible rites or acts of sacrifice. But most Athasians venerate the living elements as they manifest in the world.
Elemental priests are those who serve these sullen and fierce spirits. They have a special kinship with the primal elements, a connection so close it’s as if they stand in two worlds: that of mortals, and that of raw elemental power.
Many elemental priests revere the nameless, formless principle of all living elements together, making no distinction between one manifestation over another. However, others give themselves to more specific examples of elemental power. For example, the Smoking Crown is home to dwarf priests who serve the spirit of the volcano, whereas the mountain known as An-Bezzumar, the Crown of Heaven, is sacred to goliath wind shamans. The wandering thrikreen mystics known as the Rainspeakers venerate the rare, blessed showers that fall a few times each year during the cooler months and often make pilgrimages to places where rain is soon to fall.
Many heroic elemental priests are leaders of the village and wasteland folk and enemies of the sorcerer-kings and their templars. Some elemental priests instead follow a monastic or ascetic tradition instead of the more common tribal or village traditions of elemental worship.