D'ni History | Timeline | Guilds | Miscellenous

D'ni Historical Figures

Ri'Neref

Ri'Neref was one of the most skilled at the Art, the practice of writing an age. He was the first Grand Master of the Guild of Writers, and his ages were among the most famous throughout D'ni. It is rumored that he wrote the book which brought the D'ni to earth while he was yet an apprentice. He was, arguably, the greatest of all D'ni writers.

The Great King

Little is known about this man, (we don't even know his name), but it was he who told the D'ni that they must accept earth as their new home, and the Garternay was doomed. He died an early death, (about 200 years old), and was buried in a temple, which was sealed shut to symbolize the fact that their old home should also be forgotten. It was also in here that the Book of Terahnee was buried, not to be found for almost 8000 years.

Kerath

The last of the Kings of D'ni, Kerath's tale is legendary. In his teenage years, he was banished by his wicked uncle after his father's death. He tamed a giant lizard, riding into the D'ni capitol on it's back to reclaim the throne. It was this tale that made Kerath, ("Brave One"), a legend whose tale kept many a D'ni boy enthralled.

Kerath's greatest impact on D'ni, however, was his change of government. After he had done all he wanted to be done, he ended the Age of Kings, as it would come to be known, and established a council of elders to run D'ni. He stepped down from his throne in order to set up this newer, fairer government.

A'Gaeris
9307 - Leesahn 30, 9400

A'Gaeris is the man responsible for D'ni's destruction. He was espically influental in bringing down Veovis, the son of Lord Rakeri and a great writer, then turning him into his partner. In his early years, A'Gaeris had been a Guildsman, yet he was expulsed from his Guild on charges of stealing a book. A'Gaeris also was a master at forgery, something else that might have played a hand in his expulsion. Details on this event are sketchy. (It took place about four years after they finished building the tunnel to the surface.) For the next fifty years, A'Gaeris hid in the lower cities, writing pamphlets against the government, and gaining influence amongst the people living in the lower city. Through his friend Suahrnir, a guildsman in the Guild of Maintainers, he met Veovis. He tricked Veovis' old friend Aitrus into thinking that Veovis had been trading books illegally and that he had murdered two guildsman. Aitrus fell for it, and Veovis was convicted to life on a Prison Age. A'Gaeris freed Veovis, and together, the two went on a rampage against D'ni, attacking senior Guildsman and bombing the Ink-Works. Veovis was caught, and sentenced to another prison age. Again, A'Gaeris freed him, and this time they destroyed D'ni. A'Gaeris killed Veovis when he wouldn't write an age for him, however, he himself perished when he was tricked by a dying Aitrus into linking to a dead age.

Veovis
93?? - Leesahn 30, 9400

Veovis was the son of the Great Lord Rakeri and a Master in the Guild of Writers. Veovis was well-known throughout D'ni, and was a close friend of the Five Great Lords. His undoing would lie in his unwillingness to change. It all began when the surface-dweller Anna found D'ni. He was opposed to her being there, and when she married his friend Aitrus, it filled him with rage. That rage was used by A'gaeris, the Philosopher. After several events that rocked the empire, Veovis and A'gaeris would destroy it. At the end, Veovis was stabbed to death by A'gaeris, and confided in Aitrus where A'Gaeris could be found. At the end, Veovis overcame the web of deception A'Gaeris had cast over him.

Veovis had a very influental voice in the Council, as well. If he oppossed something, he oppossed it very strogly indeed. Once, he even objected to the Five Great Lords when, after a tie in the Council, they voted for the legislation he had oppossed. Not to say he was totally hot-headed. He knew when to stop, and if he was told by one of the Lords, espically his father, to cease, he would obey.

Veovis was also one of the greatest writers in D'ni history. His first age, Ader Jamat, was accepted by the Guild of Writers into their exclusive canon of ages. His second age, Ederat, may have gone on to become one of the greatest ages in all of D'ni, had he not told Aitrus to sabotage it to destroy A'Gaeris.

Aitrus and Anna
9313 - Leesahn 30, 9400, 9350 - 943?

Aitrus was a guildsman in the guild of Surveyors, the guild chosen to build a tunnel to the surface. While this project was eventualy cut off due to an earthquake, it would benefit Aitrus more later, as he saved Veovis' life in the aftermath of the quake. A surface girl named Anna stumbled upon the tunnel and, after much debate about what exactly to do with her, was moved into the house of Aitrus and his family. Aitrus soon went to the council to ask permission to marry Anna, but Veovis, embittered against the surface-dweller, said no. Aitrus reminded him of the time he saved his life, and Veovis, honor-bound by a promise to do anything to re-pay Aitrus, gave his permission. They had a son, Gehn.

Veovis hated Anna (or Ti'ana, her D'ni name), and was manipulated by A'gaeris, the Philosopher. It was this that would bring the fall of D'ni. Consequences forced Aitrus to sacrifice himself to destroy A'Gaeris. Anna and Gehn moved up to the surface, where they were to stay for some time.

Gehn
9392 - 9462

Gehn was the son of Aitrus and Ti'ana. He was very ill when he was first born, but he overcame all and lived through it. At the age of four, he was entered into the Guild of Books. He saw the destruction of D'ni, and moved with his mother to an cleft near an dormant volcano. There he lived four ten years, before setting out into the world.

Details about what happened during the next five years of his life are all but unkwown. He meant with a group of people named the Amad, and married one of their woman, named Leira. (He called her Keta.) She soon became pregnant, however, she also became very ill. Gehn brought her to his mother in desperation, but Keta died in childbirth. Gehn left his son with Anna and returned to the ruins of D'ni.

For the next 14 years, Gehn studied the D'ni culture. He also wrote many (unstable) ages. Then, feeling that the time was right, he returned to the cleft to claim his son, Atrus, from Anna. He "taught" Atrus how to write, however, Gehn had developed this god complex. He thought that he created the ages he wrote, wheras he was really simply linking to a pre-existing world. Atrus soon saw this, and was forced to trap Gehn on his fifth age, Riven.

For the next 33 years, Gehn was trapped on Riven. Being an resourcesful fellow, he found a way to make his own linking books, and soon we had written his 233rd age. He controled the people of Riven with fear, mainly with fear of the whark, an ocean predator that Gehn had captured as a "pet". A rebel faction had risen up against him, but they were not the ones who would prove to be his undoing.

Atrus
9411 - ?

Atrus is the central figure of most of the histories we have, so it's only fitting that some space should be devoted to his life. Atrus was raised in a small cleft nearby a dormant volcano. There he was raised for fourteen years, being taught by Anna to explore, to take into account the whole picture, not just part of it. This would help him after his father took him back down into D'ni, where Atrus would spend about five years "learning" from Gehn until he attempted to escape to the surface. He was stopped, and Gehn banished him to a room in D'ni that had linking book to Riven, Gehn's fifth age. There, Atrus met Catherine, a member af Gehn's guild and Gehn's choice for a wife. Atrus fell in love with her, and they were able to trap Gehn on his own age.

Atrus and Catherine were married, and they lived on Myst Island along with Anna, who had helped Catherine plan the events that trapped Gehn. They had two sons, Sirrus and Achenar. What happened in the next thirty years is all but unknown. We know that Anna died, and that somehow, most likely lack of discipline, Sirrus and Achenar grew greedy and corrupt. They devised a little scheme wherin they sent their mother to D'ni, telling her Atrus was there, then sending Atrus after her only when they had sabatoged his linking book back to Myst. Needless to say, they were thwarted, and Atrus had to destroy the books which would have freed them.

After Catherine was rescued from Riven by the same person who had freed Atrus, Atrus set about the task of rebuilding D'ni. The first part of this involved getting out of the room he'd been locked in all those years ago. To do this, he enlisted the help of the Averones, a group of people on a new age he'd linked to. With their help, he also scoured D'ni for all linking books that might still work. They found survivors, more than anticipated but not enough to fill the great cavern.

While rebuilding, the D'ni found an ancient book that linked to Terahnee, an age that had long ago been sealed off from D'ni. Atrus found a land of beauty, and he and his group were welcomed warmly by everyone, from the landowner they first met to the king himself. He soon discovered the shocking truth, that the Terahnee had slaves, billions of them, all considered expendable. Things were to change quickly, for the D'ni had brought a stomach bacteria that, while harmless to them, soon killed most of the Terahnee. Atrus and Catherine brought order to the disarray that followed, a disarray that included a brief yet brutal war.

After all this was done, Atrus wrote a new age for the D'ni survivors. The D'ni, (and one or two Terahnee) went to live in this age, while Atrus himself settled down in a new age called Tomahna. Atrus and Catherine had a daughter, Yeesha, and he lived the rest of his days in relative peace. (As far as we know...)