Age of D'ni
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Note: Fictional details from the Myst franchise follow, and may sometimes be referred to as facts. It may need to be edited to conform to the guidelines for writing about fiction.
The Age of D'ni was the Age Written by Ri'neref, Master of the Art, to house the group of Ronay refugees from Garternay. Though they didn't know it until shortly before the downfall, the Age of D'ni is also the planet Earth.
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[edit] The City
The City formed the core of the D'ni empire, and most of the D'ni structures and population was centred here. The main Cavern which houses the D'ni city holds an underground lake which contains an unidentified species of luminescent algae live. These algae gave off enough light to light up the entire Cavern, in a 30-hour cycle which formed the natural day and night for the D'ni. Through unknown means of poisoning the algae nearly all died off, and still have not fully recovered. The result is that level of light these algae give off was diminished to the current eternal gloom. It has however been revealed that with the proper food (a form of highly processed grain) the level of light these algae give off can be dramatically increased to its former levels temporarily.
The lake holds multiple islands, of which the largest is Ae'gura. Other large islands were held by the richest families, such as the island of K'veer. On the lake "shores", hugging the cavern walls, the City Proper was built.
[edit] Ae'gura
Ae'gura is the largest island in the D'ni main cavern, somewhat resembling a jagged tooth rising up from the lake. It is sometimes referred to as the City, as Ae'gura is the oldest part of the D'ni capital. The rest of the city is then referred to as the City Proper. The "city" links in Uru all link to locations on Ae'gura.
The Kadish Gallery was bought by Guildmaster Kadish after his dismissal from the Guild of Writers. It is filled with many beautiful stained glass pieces, some of which contain clues to the puzzles in Kadish Tolesa. Some of the pieces in the gallery are by outsider (that is, non-D'ni) artists. The Kadish Gallery was designated City Interior 0080 by the DRC when they started the restoration. It had completed Phase 5 of its restoration when the cavern was closed.
The Tokotah Rooftop, and the office below were used by the D'ni Restoration Council in their effort to restore the D'ni city. It is sometimes called Dakotah.
The Baron's Office is a room owned by Douglas Sharper, who also maintained the Age of Teledahn.
The Watcher's Sanctuary (Rolep) is also called the Great Tree Pub. This location, while also based in the Cavern, was unreachable without Linking Books. The most notable feature about it is the Great Tree, an immense tree built out of stone, which represents a concept from D'ni religion. The Pub and Tree were built shortly after the arrival of the D'ni on Earth, and it changed hands many times. One of its owners was the Watcher, a Nostradamus-like D'ni prophet. Shortly before the downfall it became the property of Guildmaster Kadish, who also owned the Kadish Art Gallery and the Age of Kadish Tolesa. Rolep is an older name for the place which it held during beta testing, and which is still used in the game files. The Watcher in his journal in the Path of the Shell mentions that Rolep is when he first began to receive his prophecies. It does not occur in Uru otherwise.
The Great Zero is a device placed in an otherwise inaccessible area of Ae'gura, where the neutrino dispenser which provides the locational markers in D'ni resides. Once calibrated, a KI can report the location of the wearer based on the neutrino rays emanating from the Great Zero. The DRC referred to the Great Zero as "Rezeero," which is badly-formed D'ni for "The Zero." The true D'ni phrase for "The Great Zero" is "Reroon Gahro."
The Spy Office is a small room which was somehow shielded from the Great Zero, but could spy through a telescope on the Tokotah office. Douglas Sharper often looked in on high-level DRC meetings without the Council's knowledge.
[edit] K'veer
K'veer is the island in the D'ni cavern which was inhabited by Veovis' family. It is also where the dramatic events of the end of the Book of Ti'ana take place. Gehn later made the island his base of operations in D'ni, and imprisoned Atrus here during the events of the Book of Atrus. Years later, Atrus' sons trapped him there once more, but soon after, the Stranger first met Atrus there at the end of the Myst game and freed him (and again during the opening scene of Riven).
In the beginning of the Book of D'ni Atrus manages with the help of the Averonese to open the crumbled exit of the room and gain access to the rest of the city. In the game Myst, this place is referred to as simply as D'ni.
[edit] Neighbourhoods
Neighbourhoods of the D'ni city are the city areas which hug the edges of the main cavern. They are based on a few basic forms, with only small differences between them. The neighbourhoods are inaccessible except through the Nexus, which perhaps explains why they are mostly undamaged.
In the game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst and its expansion packs a number of neighbourhoods appear, notably Bevin, a neighbourhood which can be Linked to from Relto, and Kirel, the DRC neighbourhood.
[edit] Grain Silo
The city held several silos to store the food brought in from the various Ages. One of them, a grain silo, can be reached through the granary age of Er'cana. It is unknown where the silo precisely is located, but the locational markers on the Ki suggest it is inside the main Cavern, but far away from Ae'gura, in one of the industrial districts which cannot be visited. This particular silo served to store food for the luminescent algae in the main Cavern, not to feed the people of D'ni. During the time of the D'ni civilization, this Silo was known as Uran, and later Ashem'en.
[edit] The Cleft
Also known as D'ni - Riltagamin (literally meaning "D'ni - Unknown," the identifier for all areas of this Age that the D'ni were unaware of), the Cleft is a fissure of volcanic origin near a dormant volcano. It is near the old exit of the Great Shaft created by the D'ni a number of decades before their downfall, and as such offers a way in to the City other than by Linking.
After the downfall, Anna took her son Gehn with her to the Cleft, and established a living here, surviving from the careful capture of water and occasional trading with passing caravans. After Gehn's departure Anna lived here with her grandson Atrus, until he was taken away by his father to D'ni. Atrus later established a home nearby, and there is a possibility he returned to live there at one point.
The novel Myst: The Book of Ti'ana implied the Cleft was somewhere in the Middle-east, near an evidently Arab or Ottoman city called Tadjinar, but it has been revealed that it is actually in the desert near Eddy County, New Mexico, United States, on the property of one Jeff Zandi. Due to the conflicting references, it could be up to debate. Its location suggests that the cavern system that supports the D'ni empire is somehow connected to the Carlsbad Caverns.
The Great Shaft was a joint project of the Guilds of Surveyors, Miners, Stonemasons, and Cartographers, which attempted to build a tunnel and shaft to the Surface. Although the project was abandoned just before completion, it still allowed for a way from D'ni to the surface. The "end" of the Shaft is located near the Cleft. These tunnels are coated in nara, a form of highly processed material which is nearly indestructible, and gives off light. The other caverns are now mostly dark, but most of them were lit through unknown means in the past. An unexplained twist is a sign that says that this is in Wyoming.
[edit] Tomahna
Tomahna is the new home of Atrus, Catherine and their daughter Yeesha. It is located within a few miles of the Cleft, but in a geographically distinct area. Tomahna houses the new library of Atrus, and is the third home of Atrus and Catherine, after Myst Island and Chroma'Agana. A small part of Tomahna is seen in Myst III: Exile. In Myst IV: Revelation, the player is able to explore Tomahna in its entirety.
[edit] The Lodge
The Lodge was the home of Anna and her father, during their days as surveyors of the area near the Cleft.
[edit] Bahro Caves
Not part of the D'ni empire, the Bahro Caves (also known as Rudenna) are important to the Bahro (beast-people). Explorers have speculated that they may be the original homes of the Bahro, but there is no other evidence to support this. The Bahro Caves play an important role in the game Uru.
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• Myst (Ages, Soundtrack) • Riven (Ages, Soundtrack) • Myst III (Ages, Soundtrack) • Myst IV (Ages, Soundtrack) • Uru (Ages, Soundtrack) • Myst V (Ages, Soundtrack) |
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• Aitrus • Ti'ana • Veovis • Gehn • Atrus • Catherine • Achenar • Sirrus • Yeesha • Saavedro • Esher • The Stranger |
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• Book of Atrus • Book of Ti'ana • Book of D'ni • Book of Marrim • Passages • The Book of Black Ships |
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• D'ni Ages • The Art • Items • Kings • Language • Numerals • DRC • Timeline • Wildlife |
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• Cyan • Brøderbund • Red Orb • Presto • Ubisoft • Turner • GameTap |
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