
Once there I went to the folder marked "saves", the subfolder "single", and the subfolder "auto", wherein I found something titled OldAutoSave_Initial_0000 etc.

I ended up restoring my session and righting my wrong by going to the C: drive (where I keep my x86 Program Files), going to Program Files, Steam, steamapps, common, and that is where I found my Civilization V folder. I had no save file for the game but as it turns out, buried in the game's files, it has a background autosave for the most recently played game, regardless of your autosave preference settings. Filled with immediate regret for my action, I looked for any way to reset my pantheon or simply reset the game (I hadn't been smart enough to do a first turn save). I recently messed up pretty bad because I had an amazing start for the pantheon "Earth Mother" but I went with "God of the Open Sky" instead. Now, there is no way to save the seed, but I found a way to restart on the same map.
