From the introduction: Eons ago, a cruel and wretched world was plowed under by the gods. A million years later, Seree wizards discovered it, and finding it had no use, gave it as a parting gift to a guardian of theirs that had completed its servitude. The guardian Nulga took its thousand motes of magical power and breathed life into tiny beings. It hoped to steer them toward peaceful and enlightened lives in the dense, primordial jungle. Unfortunately, eons of erosion have cut through the volcanic pumice, exposing the temple of Dendra.