The characters know they live on a "Dying Earth" and often make carefree, nihilistic references to the fact that their planet does not have much longer to live. It is never explained how long the Earth has left to live. Many of the most important people in Ascolais are wizards. In the Dying Earth, wizards use magic by memorizing lengthy formulas for spells and activating them by speaking the proper commands. Once cast, the spell formula is forgotten, requiring the wizard to reread and re-memorize them. This concept for magic use was influential on other creators like Gary Gygax; it formed the basis of the entire magic system in the Gygax's game Dungeons & Dragons. Because even talented wizards can only memorize and "load" a handful of spells, wizards also have to rely on magical relics and their other talents for protection. There are only one hundred spells which are still known to mankind, of thousands which were discovered over the course of history. Pandelume implies that "magic" has a scientific origin; many spells were invented through the use of mathematics. Characters Title characters Guyal: Guyal of Sfere is a young, wealthy man who is famous among his people for endlessly asking questions, due to a "void" in his mind which compels him to seek knowledge. Eventually, his father grants him magical boons to protect him, so that he can seek the fabled Museum of Man in order to ask questions of the legendary, all-knowing Curator. Liane: A "bandit-troubadour", Liane the Wayfarer, as he calls himself, is a vain, venal, overconfident, and thoroughly psychotic adventurer. He travels about seeking wealth, wine, women, and song. In order to win the affections of a beautiful witch, he sets out to steal a tapestry from a mysterious entity called Chun the Unavoidable. Mazirian: A greedy and heartless wizard, Mazirian will stop at nothing to obtain as much magical knowledge and power as possible. Although Mazirian, like Turjan, is capable of creating artificial life, his creations lack human intelligence. He imprisons Turjan in order to force him to give up his secrets. Turjan: Turjan is a wizard who lives in the castle of Miir, where he keeps the books which contain the 100 spells which remain in human knowledge. At the beginning of the book, Turjan travels to an otherworldly realm to study under the wizard Pandelume, who can teach Turjan the secret of