The stones cracked and rumbled around us

threatening to fall in and bury our group alive.

Then the dwarf raised his arms and called out

"Be still!" and the earth quieted.

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On the land beneath the crimson sun, all manner of mystics and clerical holy orders pay homage to the powerful forces around them.
Whether it is the druid guardian of an oasis in the middle of the desert, a priest of the Temple of Fire in Gulg, a halfling shaman of the Air, or a templar servant of one of the powerful Sorcerer Kings, each has an intimate connection to their patron.

On savage Athas, the raw elements themselves are what the people of the world pay homage to, for it is the whim of the elements that control their lives. Worshipped and held in awe or fear, the elements care little for the world and their followers, except as it relates to their struggles for supremacy or balance.
Yet a child may be called to serve in one of the rare elemental temples scattered across the Tyr region, a halfling may be called to follow the path of the shaman and honor his tribe, or a wandering mystic may gain some mysterious connection to the basic natures of the world through meditation and solitude.
And the elements listen.
The "Elemental Clerics" section gives full details.

In the same way, yet wholly different, the land itself is found to have a spirit and a presence, if one can feel it; and this spirit can be drawn upon for guidance and help, if one is connected to it. Those who are are known as druids; each claiming a bit of the dying world for themselves: to care for, to nuture and defend against the intrusions of those who would destroy these fragile remaining pieces of Athas' ecology.
In turn, Athas defends and nutures its guardians as best it is able, and the world itself speaks to them.
For more information, see the "Athasian Druids" section.

Finally, the Sorcerer Kings themselves gather the children of powerful families, and the disowned children of their city-state to them as their servants, their priests and the enforcers of their will. For they too can grant these followers their own power, to enforce their edicts and ensure their dominance.
Yet these templars must be careful, for in calling upon the Sorcerer King, they draw attention to themselves and their actions, and their master may be displeased with the use to which their servants put their borrowed power.
Full details can be found in the "Templars" section.

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