Atrus

From MYSTlore

Atrus in his prison in K'veer.

Atrus (Atrus^[?]; born 9411 DE ^{(1756 AD)}) is son to Gehn, and grandson to Ti'ana (the first human to meet the D'ni) and therefore descendant of both human and D'ni ancestries. Together with Catherine, whom he met on Riven, he became the parent of two sons, Sirrus and Achenar, as well as a daughter, Yeesha.

Atrus proved to be one of the most influential and important figures of post-D'ni history and essential in their refoundation. One of the most prolific writers and inventors, liked to explore the secrets of the Art and the worlds he linked to. There seemed to be no limit to Atrus' genius since he was able to build singlehandedly whole structures, machines and devices of exotic technology, a trait which he passed to his sons.

[edit] Biography

Atrus was raised in the Cleft by Anna, as his mother, Keta died in childbirth and Gehn had abandoned him. As a child he showed many of the traits he would as an adult: curiosity, a fondness for projects and working with his hands, and a stoic response to loss evidenced in the death of his pet cat, Flame. He grew up listening to stories from the fallen D'ni empire.

When he was fourteen Gehn returned and took him to D'ni, where he began to teach Atrus to Write and also indoctrinate him into his vision of D'ni's future: gods ruling over their Written creations. Gradually Atrus came to doubt that Gehn's explanation of the Art was correct and that Ages existed before a Link was made. A break between them finally occurred when Gehn inadvertently devastated his 37th Age and made a Link to an entirely different Age while attempting to fix it. When Atrus confronted him, Gehn rebuffed his son and destroyed the Descriptive Book.

Atrus came to the conclusion that Gehn was insane and attempted to return to the Cleft, but was caught in the tunnels and imprisoned in the basement of K'veer, his only way out, a Riven book. When linking to Riven he nearly drowned, but was safely rescued by a native named Erlar. Erlar brought him to the village where he met Katran (Catherine) and her cousins. He and Catherine fell in love and he decided to repair the flaws in Riven before living with her on (what he thought to be) her Age of Myst. The two of them decided that it would be best to trap Gehn on Riven in order to prevent more suffering under the rule of his pen. While attempting to trap Gehn on Riven by destroying the last Linking Book as he used it, he was recaptured. With the aid of Catherine and the appearance of the mysterious Star Fissure he succeeded in trapping Gehn and escaping to Myst. It was to his amazement that he discovered Anna had been watching over him all along.

[edit] Myst

The family during their happy days in Myst, on a painting in Atrus' bedroom.

Atrus spent the next 30 years writing Ages and exploring them, building structures and aiding the people he met, eventually alongside his sons. He continued to dream of restoring D'ni someday, but was unwilling to risk even the slightest possibility of giving Gehn access to Myst. It was to ensure that Gehn was indeed trapped that he experimented with remote viewing of Ages on first Everdunes then Rime.

But he had given his sons too much freedom and without his knowledge they grew mad with visions of riches and power, sprung forth by the endless possibilities of the books. They declared themselves kings of his Ages, ruling and destroying their people. They tricked Catherine into going to Riven, then Atrus to K'veer, taking a page from his Myst book to trap him. There, Atrus discovered that Riven had entered its final days and devoted himself to keeping the Age stable enough so he could one day make the trip to rescue Catherine. He was rescued by the Stranger, whom he sent to Riven to trap Gehn in a Prison Age and find Catherine. This was accomplished, and Atrus and Catherine were reunited.

[edit] Later Years

At last Atrus could search for survivors of the Fall of D'ni and rebuild the cavern. During this time the lost link to Terahnee was discovered, and although Atrus originally planned to settle the survivors here instead, they soon learned of the evils hidden behind Terahnee's surface appearance. After the cataclysmic plague had receded, Atrus gave the people of Terahnee some guidance and laws, but with the D'ni returned to the cavern, the two Ages separate once more.

Deciding the cavern should not be rebuilt, he wrote an Age, Releeshahn, for the survivors, and dwelt himself in Tomahna with Catherine and their new daughter Yeesha. Although he had been skeptical about prophecies at first, he eventually came to believe in Yeesha's future destiny, which she would go out into the desert to find, leaving him and Catherine alone in Tomahna.

Some time later, after Catherine's death, Atrus reflected on how much he had lost throughout his life and abandoned Tomahna for Releeshahn. He would be there to see Yeesha return as the Grower, her burden lifted.

The last person known to have met him was Dr. Watson, in 2005 AD ^{(9661 DE)}, in Releeshahn.

[edit] Writings

• Mechanical Journal
• Selenitic Journal
• Channelwood Journal
• Stoneship Journal
• Spire Journal
• Haven Journal
• Rime Journal
• Journal in Rime
• Riven Journal
• Releeshahn Journal
• Atrus' Prayer

[edit] Background

The name Atrus is believed to be influenced from the mythological name Atreus.

Atrus is portrayed in the Myst series by Rand Miller. Atrus is certainly the most prominently featured person in the various Myst games and novels and the basic protagonist of the saga (perhaps second to the Stranger). The Stranger meets Atrus in person at the end of Myst, the afterwards in all intros and epilogues of the subsequent games.

Atrus has yet to appear in Uru Live.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Featured

• Book of Atrus
• Myst
• Riven
• Book of D'ni
• Myst III: Exile
• Myst IV: Revelation
• Uru: Ages Beyond Myst
• Myst V: End of Ages

[edit] References

• Myst Online: Uru Live