Story

For 14 years Atrus grew up in The Cleft with his grandmother Anna, until his Father, Gehn, returned to claim him. Descending into D’ni with his father Atrus begins to learn more about D’ni and about the Art, and it is during this period like Myst, that the story of Riven begins [see: Book of Atrus].

The stranger heeds the call of Atrus once again. This time the task isn’t as simple as a choice. This time the task is to rescue Atrus’ wife Catherine from the clutches of his own father, who he trapped on Riven decades before. The stranger travels through the beautiful but dangerous Age of Riven, an Age written by Gehn himself, and unlocks clues to where he may be hiding Catherine. The Age of Riven is a look into the mind of Gehn, a power hungry D’ni born man. Upon arriving on Riven, Upon arriving on Riven, The Stranger gets his first taste of the turmoil that grips the Age. Like the island that housed them the Rivenese people to have split, there are those who oppose Gehn at every turn, The Moiety. Then there are those who just wish to simply live, the average villagers who still do Gehn’s bidding.

But the door is open, Gehn has found a way to write Ages and no longer resides on the doomed Age and Catherine has been imprisoned upon one of Rivens distant isles. The Stranger rushes to trap Gehn and save Catherine, in doing so sets of the chain of events that will destroy Riven. Upon her freedom Catherine moves the villagers to the Moiety Age, Tay. The stranger rushes to the Temple Island to send a signal to Atrus by re-opening the Fissure that Atrus jumped into decades before. But the Age is weak and the opening of the fissure begins to rip the Age apart.

With Catherine reunited with Atrus and Gehn trapped, Atrus thanks the Stranger and indicates the Fissure will return him to his home. With that the couple Link home and The Stranger is thrown into the Fissure by an earthquake to return home.

Characters

Atrus

Actor: Rand Miller
[ IMDB | Wikipedia ]

Atrus is descended from D’ni and Surface dwellers. His grandmother Ti’ana discovered D’ni and married Aitrus a guildsman of D’ni [see: Book of Ti’ana]. Their son, Gehn, went on to marry a surface dweller called Keta after the fall of D’ni. Gehn and Keta had Atrus who is 1/4 D’ni and 3/4 human.

Honest and noble, Atrus was left to grow up in the Cleft with his grandmother Anna (Ti’ana) after his father Gehn fled when his wife died during child birth. At the age of 14 Atrus was taken to D’ni with his father who had returned for him. Atrus however grew very disillusioned with his father and tried to escape back to the Cleft and to his grandmother Anna.
As punishment Atrus was locked in the bottom of K’veer, the island mansion in which Gehn had lived since he arrived in D’ni, with the Riven Descriptive Book. With the assistance of Anna and a Rivenese villager called Katran (Catherine), they managed to trap Gehn on the Age of Riven [see: Book of Atrus]

Atrus settled on the Age of Myst with Catherine, who he later married, and his grandmother Anna. He later had two sons Sirrus and Achenar who later betrayed him and his wife in their desire for riches the Ages in Atrus’ library held. Atrus was trapped back in the same room his father had imprisoned him in due to his sons schemes, he was later freed by a stranger who found the Myst Linking Book that Atrus had dropped into the Fissure [see: Book of Atrus]

Atrus later left Myst island to start rebuilding the D’ni civilization, with the help of other D’ni survivors and the people of Averone they began to rebuild on the Age Releeshahn (The Whole) that Atrus had written for them [see: Book of D’ni]. Atrus and his wife then settled in to their new home they called Tomahna, it was there they had their new daughter, Yeesha.

Catherine

Actress: Shiela Gould (voiceover by Regin Altay)
[ IMDB ] (Shiela Gould)
[ IMDB ] (Regin Altay)

Katran (or Catherine as she became to be known through Atrus’ mispronunciation of her name) was a native of the Age of Riven, written by Gehn. She was due to marry Gehn through an arranged marriage but it did not come to pass, instead she helped Atrus trap his father on the Age of Riven.

Catherine later married Atrus and had their two sons, Sirrus and Achenar. When Sirrus and Achenar betrayed their parents Catherine was tricked into returning to Riven, and thus captured by Gehn. Through the actions of the stranger, who had freed Atrus from K’veer, Catherine was rescued. She and Atrus later moved to Tomahna after the events of Terahnee [see: Book of D’ni] and had their daughter Yeesha. Catherine was also the author of the journals that were discovered and formed the Myst Novels as well as the basis for the Myst Games.

Cho

Actor: Vicente Ramos
[ IMDB ]

Cho is so called because of the first thing he says during the cinematic, his actual identity is unknown. A native to Riven, Cho serves as Gehn’s henchman of sorts. One of his responsibilities was to watch over the Link in cage and check it when it was activated.

After the collapse of Riven it is unknown whether Cho escaped with the rest of the Ages inhabitants or perished along with the Age.

Gehn

Actor: John Keston
[ IMDB | Wikipedia ]

Gehn is the son of Aitrus and Ti’ana (Anna), and is the father of Atrus.

Gehn was inducted to the Guild of Ink-Makers at the age of 4 and because he was half-Human and half-D’ni, found himself on the other end of taunts and bullying from his fellow guildsmen. He was just 8 years of age when D’ni fell, and Ti’ana after the death of her husband, fled to the surface taking Gehn with her. Gehn eventually left the Cleft and Ti’ana to make his own way in the world, returning only when his wife Keta (Leira) was ill during childbirth. Keta died giving birth to Atrus and Gehn fled to D’ni the same night without even naming his newborn son [see: Book of Atrus].

Gehn had taken up residence in the island mansion of K’veer that was once the home of Veovis [see: Book of Ti’ana]. When Atrus was 14 Gehn returned for him to take him to D’ni, it was here that Atrus learned the Art and learned that his father was insane. Atrus and Catherine succeeded in trapping Gehn on his 5th Age (Riven) until 30 years later the stranger who freed Atrus arrived on Riven to rescue Catherine, in the events that transpired Gehn was trapped in a new Prison Age which it seems he never escaped.

Moiety Prisoner

Actor: Ernie Whitecloud
[ IMDB ]

Not a great deal is known about this figure, a Riven native who was on the side of the Moiety he appears here and there on the island of Riven.

He is seen guarding the secret entrance to the tunnels that lead to the Tay linking book, he is also seen on Tay itself along with another masked figure just before unconsciousness sets in.

Nelah

Actress: Christine Steel
[ IMDB | Wikipedia ]

Nelah was a childhood friend of Catherine.

Now she is a Moiety rebel, residing in the Age of Tay. When the stranger was taken there it was Nelah who returned the Prison Age book and a Link back to Riven. When Riven collapsed Tay was saved by Catherine who went on to pay regular visits to her people.

Scribe

Actor: Tony Fryman
[ IMDB ]

Not a lot is known about this person aside from him being on of Gehn’s scribes.

He is sighted under the Survey Island of Riven, before fleeing to the Mag-lev and leaving the island, if you approach from a certain side. It is not known whether he survived the collapse of Riven or died along with the Age.