The story of Myst and D’ni is long and complex. In preparation for the final episode in the series, here is a short update on the story so far. It covers all the major events from the Myst games and also the novels. Although these were not all released in chronological order, they have been rearranged here in order to provide some flow between the stories. Please note that the following information contains many spoilers about the games and the novels.
The D’ni are a civilization of people, very similar in appearance to humans. They originated on the world of Garternay where they were known as the Ronay. It was here that they discovered the Art of writing linking books which allowed them link to an almost infinite number of worlds called Ages. It came to be that their sun was dying and the destruction of their world was imminent. The civilization split into several groups and went to live in different Ages; two of these groups we know of. The largest group left to go to the Age of Terahnee where they hoped to live a luxurious life in this beautiful Age. They became known as the Terahnee. The other group, led by Ri'neref, linked to a cavern deep underground. It was believed that by living in such a place, they would have a far greater appreciation of the Art which many believed had been abused on Garternay. Whether it was by chance or some grand plan, the cavern they linked to happened to be deep underground on the Age of Earth. These people became known as the D'ni. Thereafter there was no known contact between the Terahnee and the D'ni until the events covered in the novel, The Book Of D'ni.
The D'ni have been prospering in the D'ni cavern for several thousand years. Although they have access to a huge amount of worlds, they still have a longing to learn more about their own world. In an attempt to learn more, they begin excavation of a huge system of tunnels that will lead to the surface of the planet. Just as they are about to make contact with the surface, an earthquake damages many of the tunnels. It was deemed too dangerous to continue and as a result the tunnels were abandoned.
Meanwhile, on the surface in New Mexico, a girl was living in a Cleft in the dessert under the shadow of a volcano with her father. She discovers a cave in the nearby volcano but before she can explore it her father dies. As a result, she sets out for the nearest city. Before she leaves she decides to explore the cave she discovered because she doubted she would get another chance to do so. While exploring the cave she managed to find her way into one of the tunnels leading to the surface and as fate would have it she found her way down into the D’ni cavern. She was originally treated with suspicion but before long she learned their language and most of the D'ni warmed to her naming her Ti'ana. In her new home in the cavern she met her husband to be, a man named Aitrus. They were married and had one son whom they named Gehn.
During this time a series of events led to a man named Veovis being wrongly imprisoned. With the help of a friend named A'gaeris he escaped his prison and began to planned to have his revenge. His plans came to fruition when he detonated several explosives along fault lines causing earthquakes in the cavern. He also flooded the cavern with a poisonous airborne bacteria. The D'ni panicked and fled from the cavern by linking to various Ages. All those who couldn’t escape in time were killed by the bacteria and most of those that did escape died when infected bodies where linked into their Ages. Aitrus sacrificed his life to save the life of Ti'ana and Gehn who fled through to tunnels to the surface where they went to live in the Cleft, Ti'ana's old home.
Set several years after The Book of Ti'ana, Gehn has since grown into a man and had married a woman from the surface. Unfortunately she died during childbirth and a distraught Gehn left the Cleft to return to the cavern. The child survived and was named Atrus by Ti'ana. Ti'ana took it upon herself to raise Atrus. When Atrus reached about 14 years of age, Gehn returned from the D'ni cavern and took Atrus back with him. It is there that Atrus learnt about his history and about the Art. Gehn attempted to teach the Art to Atrus but all of Gehn's Ages were fatally flawed and soon collapsed due to his poor understanding of the Art. Before long Atrus realized that his father Gehn had become power hungry and unstable. Gehn believed that he was creating worlds out of nothing, rather than the truth that he was simply linking to preexisting worlds. He believed that he was the god of these worlds and that he could do anything he wished. Atrus disagreed with with these beliefs and rebelled against his father. In retaliation, Gehn imprisoned Atrus. While in his prison, Atrus's father left him a descriptive book which linked to The Fifth Age, one of Gehn's flawed Ages. He linked to this Age, known to its inhabitants as Riven. It was there that he met his wife to be, a woman named Katran, which he mispronounces as Catherine. Together they hatched a plan to trap the insane Gehn in the dying Age of Riven by destroying all the linking books that led out of the Age. The plan went awry and Atrus was captured by Gehn, but, due to a diversion caused by Catherine and Ti’ana writing in the descriptive book of Riven, Atrus was able to escape and jumped into a crack filled with stars in the surface of the Age. This became know famously as The Star Fissure. While he fell he used the last linking book out of Riven; it linked to an Age that Ti'ana, his grandmother, had written as a home for themselves. It is called Myst. It was there that he lived with his new wife Catherine and Ti’ana, who had come to D'ni without Atrus being aware. The book of Myst continued falling into the Star Fissure until it landed by unexplained means on the surface of the Age of Earth.
Myst, the first game, is set about 30 years after the events covered in The Book Of Atrus. In the years since, Catherine had given birth to two sons. The sons were named Achenar and Sirrus. They were raised by Atrus, Catherine and their great-grandmother Ti'ana, who died a few years later (we don't know how but in Myst: Revelation we learn that she died on Serenia; one of Cathrine's ages). During much of Achenar's and Sirrus' childhood their father was abscent as he traveled to many Ages, engrossed in his work, trying to get over his grandmother's death. He worried that some greedy explorer would some day stumble upon the Myst linking book that he dropped in the fissure all those years ago, so he wrote two prison Ages. When he finally allowed his sons to travel into his Ages whenever they wished, they soon became corrupted by the power of linking and a greed for treasures. In order to gain access to all of their father’s Ages they planned to trap him. They first tricked their mother Catherine by telling her that Atrus had used the green book (which leads to D'ni; but they didn't know that because they never used it). When Sirrus told Atrus that his wife had used the green book he went after her. While Atrus was preparing to go to D'ni, Achenar stole one of pages from his Myst linking book. Atrus linked to his old prison in the D’ni cavern, where the Riven descriptive book still rested. Upon his arrival he discovered that one of the pages had been removed from his linking book back to Myst, effectively trapping him in his old prison.
Now with both Catherine and Atrus out of the picture, Sirrus and Achenar were free to squander and destroy their father's Ages. They come across two books that their father had prohibited them from using and they linked through them only to find that there were no linking books back to Myst, and so, they were also trapped.
Back on earth you, the player, have just found the Myst linking book that fell through the Star Fissure. You link to Myst where you discover the two trapped brothers who instruct you to search through several Ages in search of several pages which will allow you to free them. Seeing as the previous information was not available to you and you have very little idea what is going on, you do as they ask. After finding several pages you link back to Myst where you discover the green book in which Atrus is trapped. He instructs you to find the missing page from his Myst linking book. You do so and you use the green book (you think that both the blue and red books are traps, since they are both on display) and link to D'ni, freeing Atrus. He then goes back to Myst and burns the two linking books that had trapped his sons, seemingly dooming them to their fate for all eternity. He then informs you that he is fighting a foe much greater than his sons and that he may find it necessary to call for your help in the near future.
At the start of Riven, you return to where you last saw Atrus in the D'ni Cavern. He sends you to Riven with the instructions to rescue his wife and trap his father Gehn if possible. To do this, he sends you with a trap book much like the ones his sons were trapped in, only this book is disguised to look like a linking book to D'ni. Once on Riven you must solve a series of puzzles in order to find Gehn. You then trick him into using the trap book. You then free Catherine who proceeds to evacuate the people of Riven to the Age of Tay. After which, you signal Atrus by breaking the seal covering the Star Fissure (the seal was built by Gehn in an attempt slow the rate of decay of the Age). Atrus then links to Riven and links out with Catherine, mentioning before he goes that our paths may cross again. You then fall into the Star Fissure which carries you back to earth, just as it did with the Myst book. After you leave Riven, the Age is destroyed because the opening of the Star Fissure has increased the rate of decay of the Age.
This novel is set between the events of Riven and Exile. Atrus and Catherine have decided to attempt to restore the D’ni city. They recruit a team of workers from one of the Ages and return to D'ni where they begin searching through the Ages for D'ni survivors. They find quite a large number of survivors and begin the process of rebuilding the city. In the process they discover an ancient library containing many books, one of these books links to the long forgotten Age of Terahnee. They travel to Terahnee and discover that beneath the beautiful surface of the Age that there are much darker things at work. The Age is built on slave labor of a people called the Relieehma (meaning The Unseen). It is soon discovered that the travelers from D’ni have brought a bacteria with them to which they are immune but the Terahnee are not. This kills many of the Terahnee people and sparks and uprising of the Relieehma who wage war on the Terahnee. The Terahnee are mostly destroyed and the Relieehma settle down. Atrus and his party then leave Terahnee, never to return. Atrus realised that his attempt to restore the D’ni city was a mistake and he has written a new Age called Releeshahn in which he hopes the D'ni survivors will be able to create a new life for themselves.
In Exile, you arrive at Tomahna (The new home of Atrus and Catherine). It is ten years after the events of Riven a Catherine has since given birth to a baby girl named Yeesha. Atrus plans to take you with him on one of his visits to Releeshahn but moments before you leave a man links into Atrus' study, steals the Releeshahn book and links away. The task falls upon you to follow this man in an attempt to rescue Releeshahn. During your search you soon discover that the man is named Saveedro and that he was one of the people who suffered from the evil things Sirrus and Achenar had done. After travelling through several "Lesson Ages" you confront Saveedro on his home Age of Narayan where you are both isolated on a small entrance to the Age. You discover that the Age has not been destroyed as Saveedro believed and this fact causes him make a poor decision and allows you to trap him. He begs you to release him and allow him to try and find his family. In trade for the Releeshahn book you do as he wishes. You then link back to Tomahna with Releeshahn and return it to Atrus.
Revelation is set a further 9 years after Exile. Atrus summons you to come to Tomahna where he confides in you that his sons did not die when he burnt the books and that he had reinitiated contact with them. Shortly afterwards Atrus leaves to get some spareequipment and becomes trapped by a storm on the Age of Rime. An explosion then occurs in Tomahna and Yeesha disappears. You must then search through several Ages in an attempt to find her. You soon discover that she has been kidnapped by Sirrus. He has managed to escape from his prison Age and is now hiding on the Age of Serenia.
Apple's D'ni history - D'ni universe backstory leading up to Myst IV: Revelation.