The Great Tree

[Trahald]

I have decided to let loose my ADHD once again, and to
consult RAWA's ramblings every step of the way. So, without
furter ado, here's Riven.

Entry 1:
Atrus linked into the library and said the situation was desparate, and that I should link to D'ni in under 4 tahvotee. I have picked up on D'ni culture since I first met Atrus, and gathered that a tahvo was around 15 minutes. I got ready, packing my copy of the Rehhehvkor (I had a feeling I would need it), turned the fireplace around, and linked. (or kobaykh, according to the rehhehvkor.)

Atrus was sitting at his desk. He never offered any explanation on why it was so urgent, just this:

"There's a great deal of history you should know. I'm afraid that I must continue my writing. Here. Most of what you'll need to know is in there. Keep it well hidden. For reasons you'll discover, I can't send you to Riven with a way out, but I can give you this. It appears to be a Linking Book back here to D'ni. But it actually leads to a decoy room with no way out
whatsoever. You'll need it, I'm afraid, to capture Gehn. Once you've found Catherine, signal me, and I'll come with a Linking Book to bring us back. There's also a chance, if this all goes well, that I might be able to get you back to the place that you came from."

He then held out the book. I knew what to do.

I linked in a cage, and a guard jumped into view.

"tahgehmah b'zoo r'kor," he said, but without waiting for me to say so much as "shentoehmah shehn," he stole my trap book.

I heard a sound to my right which sounded like an arrow whizzing by, but when I saw it stick in the guard's neck, I realized it must have been a dart.

The guard slumped on the ground after a few moments, and the shooter dragged his unconcious body out of sight. I couldn't get a good look as I couldn't fit my head between the bars. this mysterious dart-caster proceeded to lower my cage, damage it beyond repair, and run off with the trap-book. He ran too fast for me to catch up, unfortunately.

Since I had nothing else to do now, I took out Atrus's jounal and read it.

My mission is to
1.free Catherine
2.trap Gehn in the prison age,

3. (new objective) get the stupid trap book back.
_________________
No-one has explained WHY a raven is like a writing desk!

[Trahald]

>historian's note< I just got back from this journey of Yeesha's, and so now I can continue transcrbing this to all of you.


Entry 2:
I could see why Atrus locked this guy up. Gehn is a malevolent lunatic. good at puzzle-based security, though.

Up a partly-eroded flight of stairs, I I found this ornate chamber which I will call the Gate Room, because I have no better name for it. I saw too much perversion of religion to call it a cathedral.

There were a lot of stained glass windows here, all depicting the same man. considering the pattern that Atrus laid out in his journal about how Gehn governs his "creations", I have no doubt that this figure is gehn.

window #1: I guess this could be summed up with "And Gehn wrote on the page: let there be plants, such as grain and flowering plants and pollenating plants and those annoying little burs. And let there be men and women in my image to..."

window #2:gehn looking over a star-filled fissure, with an unconcious figure (Atrus?) falling down into the void.

window #3: a picture depicting a bookbeing made, with Gehn's huge hand holding it open.

window #4:Gehn being worsipped by fiv sages, and under that, pictures of those same men running the everyday life of everybody

window #5: This one was ridiculous blasphemy. a poor spoof of the ascension of Christ! that picture's not in the best shape anymore. I saw to that.

As if that isn't enough, across the bridge adgacent to this room was a temple devoted to-no, not King George- Gehn. And it is obvious that this is really a D'ni "hologram" projector, and not a place where Gehn has chosen to manifest himself. The contols were not too hard to find, And it won't be oo hard for Gehn's rear to find the pins I stuck in the chair.

>historian's note<I AM OZ! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL! PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT MAN BEHIND THE CAST-IRON DOOR!

next up, it's off to the next island, on a single-car suspended locomotive that I really wish the Corps had in the mountains.

to be continued...
_________________
No-one has explained WHY a raven is like a writing desk!

[Trahald]

>historian's note< sorry about the snide "note" in the previous entry. I just had too little sleep and too much caffine. oh, well, I'll do better with the next entry (once I find it).
_________________
No-one has explained WHY a raven is like a writing desk!

[Trahald]

Entry 3: Even on the only island with inhabitants (I found a map in the elevator in the jungle), Gehn ca't seem to leave well enough alone. They don't even have all of their one island. Thelake is inhabited by several man-eating whales (which Gehn uses to execute anyone who ticks him off) and guarded at all times. I caught the attention of several guards myself, but fortunately, I am good at ducking out of sight. There is a school across the lake, reachable via some sub-marine vehicle. It is more like an indoctrination center. several examles, all translated from D'ni:

Rules of Gehn;
Gehn is our master
Gehn created us
Gehn defeated Atrus

the lamps project on the wall "t'gehn pahneht" whic means "In Gehn we trust."

The way numbers are taught involves these man eating whales.

As well as the word "heek" written on the bottom of the blackboard. This is evidently the D'ni equivalent of a musket.

This should be enough to make my point.

The people here kept trying to hide from me. don't ask me why. Maybe the news of my arrival might have outsped the tram. Or that might be why the guards sounded the alarm.

Atrus's Journal says he trapped Gehn on Riven. Gehn has, consequently, stripped the forest in an attempt to make more books. There is a cart that I can only assume was used for logs that leads underground. Heck, why not? I think I'll try riding it. I've run out of things to do here, except ducking when the guards come around, and that has lost its charm.

to be continued...
_________________
No-one has explained WHY a raven is like a writing desk!

[Trahald]

Entry 4:

I saw him! I've met Gehn!

Gehn apparently did not teach his "guild members" English, and so as a security measure he wrote his journal in a language that they could not decipher. Of course, against me that's useless. He locked the door in his lab, but left the vent unlocked. I felt like a skilled espionage agent when I was crawling in. Oddly enough, Gehn wasn't there.

this was because he had succeded in making another linking book. I repeat; HE MADE ANOTHER LINKING BOOK!!! He also left his access code to these books in the "indecipherable" journal. I decided I might as well use it.

evidently, the books were powered up already, because I had no problem reaching his Age. When I linked, it was to an age that apparently had an acidic sea, and then the se level dropped. It looked like a bunch of mountaintops, with a second layer of mountains, all with coplanar bases, sticking from the tops of those. It's a wonder none of them collapsed.

I would have walked to the window for a closer look, but I linked into a cage. So I did the only thing I could do. I pressed the only button in reach. Gehn walked in from exploring Age Vahgahtorsee Vahgahsehn, noticed that I was there, and tried to put together an explanation as best he could.

"I apologize for the cage. I'm afraid this situation has often required of me a more primitive code of conduct that I might otherwise have chosen.


"I am Gehn. I assume you're heard of me. Yes. Well, I expect you have acquired some false information of who I am now. Not that my son would have lied to you about me. No, not Atrus. It's just that... well, I'm sure he believes me to still be the depraved father I once was. Yes. I even tried to kill him once. God, if I had accomplished that, who knows what I would have become. Great father indeed who tries to murder his own son.


"Thankfully he trapped me on Age Five, a prison of my own creation. No books. No precious inks. No Ages to link to. Nothing but my own foolish ambitions. That was thirty years ago. Thirty years, thirty lifetimes, what does it matter? No sentence could be too harsh for the man I was. But I have changed. To be sure the deeds of my past can never be completely atoned for, but my mission was an honorable one.


"I'm sorry, this is all a bit awkward... I... it's been a long time since I've attempted to persuade anyone of my intentions. Most of the people here have already made their minds up about me one way or another. I myself do not trust the words of most men so I don't expect you to believe me. In the end, though, you may discover that I have more to offer than mere words.


"Atrus' choice of punishment has been hard on the people of Riven. Many have suffered because of it. The island has been steadily decaying for years, but according to my most recent measurements it appears that the Fifth Age has entered its final days. Unless the villagers can be relocated soon, the island will collapse entirely and everyone will perish. It's taken me a long time to do it, but finally it appears that I will be able to make substantial amends for my past transgressions. Especially... well...


"I'm afraid I've had some trouble with Catherine and the Moiety. In any society there will always be a small percentage of the population with rebellious tendencies. Before Catherine appeared, the Moiety, as they call themselves, had been relatively harmless. I mean, the natives here are a fairly violent people by nature, but I'd almost come to accept their presence. It seemed inevitable under the circumstances. Upon Catherine's return, however, their violence intensified considerably. It seems she's become some sort of religious savior to them. And as far as I can tell, she's come to believe this herself. So, I've had no alternative. I had to separate her from her people.


"I must admit, though, that my concerns were not entirely for her safety alone. The actions of Catherine and the Moiety have put my own life at risk on numerous occasions. Consequently the lives of all the people here. Therefore I must ask you to refrain from any attempt to free her. Although I'm sure Atrus desires it. Indeed, he must desire it with all his heart. But he is completely unaware of her recent state.


"I know that you arrived in the Fifth Age with a book that was immediately stolen from you. Needless to say, it's reacquisition is of interest to me, though my personal history with the Moiety does not give me much hope for it. Still, there is a chance you might somehow manage to retrieve it. If you do, I would ask for the safety of all concerned that you would bring it to me at your earliest opportunity. Again, to be honest, my reasons here are partly selfish. There is so much yet to be resolved between Atrus and myself, especially in light of what has become of Catherine. In any case my immediate concern is the completion of the sanctuary I've long promised to all the islanders. In the meantime as a token of my good intentions, I will allow you free access to my linking books, crude though they may be, and to the rest of the Fifth Age.

"As for the stolen linking book, we should probably not meet again until you've recovered it. I will know if you've succeeded and will await your return. Good luck with your search. I hope to see you back here shortly. "

And then he left. I then realized he had just given me access to, among other things, Prison Island. Bad move, Gehn. very bad move.

So I reached to the single-square linking book, and placed my hand on the panel, then updated this journal to where it is now.

And dang, the noise from this rotating dome is really distracting.

to be continued...
_________________
No-one has explained WHY a raven is like a writing desk!

[Trahald]

Entry 5:

This has been a most interesting afternoon. Did you know that certain chemicals can knock you out cold for hours, and make it a real pain to walk for a while after that?

Catherine was pleased to see me, though she was understandably tense. I rode the elevator up to here prison and after a few seconds she appeared, thinking I was another one of Gehn's men.

"Ya faya deek...

"You made it. But how'd you get past Gehn? He must really believe I've gone mad. I know what he's doing. He's watching you. He's waiting for you to make a mistake. He's hoping you'll lead him back to D'ni. You can't let Gehn... Atrus sent you to save me, but if Gehn gets back to D'ni, he'll kill him.

"Find the Moiety. They have the book. Be careful."

She scribbled a note that tells how to get tho their Age, "to save time" she said.

Then she backed away, and playing for the camera above my head, she said,

"Go then. If you won't help me, then I have nothing more to say."

And she walked off.

I figured the best place to look would be Jungle island. On a whim, I checkedthe Wahrk Gallows, and found a secret passage leading to the book. The note Catherine gave me had the passcode on it. I pushed down the corresponding pillars in the correct order, and a compartment opened up in the wall. In it was the linking book.

I placed my hand on the panel. Immediately, I was darted in the same way the guard was.

I woke up in a locked room, in the building where all the moiety lived. fortunately, they left a bowl of fruit and a pither of water. None of hat was there in 5 minutes, I made sure of that. pretty tasty.

And now, I'm sitting by the window in here, waiting for something to happen.

to be continued...
_________________
No-one has explained WHY a raven is like a writing desk!

[Trahald]

Entry 6:

It's over. I'm back home. Back at the Cleft, with some navajos camping on the horizon. It's good to know what planet I'm on.

As it turns out, the Moiety weren't going to interrogate me at all. they realized what I had come to do, andsent Catherine's friend, Nelah, with my prison book and Catherine's Journal.

>historian's note< This journal is identical to the one used in the Cyan game.

After I had finished reading, she presented me with a linking book back to the secret passage. fortunately, none of Gehn's guards jumped me on my way out.

I linked to Gehn's study, and as my vision cleared I heard the voice I never thought I'd be so glad to hear.

"Well done. I was greatly relieved when I received word that you had recovered the book. I don't quite know how you managed it, but if I may..."

he took the book, and after a bit of hesitation, said it might be better if I went through first.

Thank God I can stall for time without making it very apparent what I'm really doing.

"That wouldn't exactly be a very good idea." was what I saidas I thoughtup a semicredible reason.

"Really?" said Gehn, as he placed the trap book on the table. I was not very encouraged by that fact.

"Oh, yes. see the plan was that Catherine and I would leap down the fissure, then Catherine would use the MYST book that Atrus had to leave behind the last time he was on Riven. She would then link to D'ni from there and they'd be happy. I'd be back home and I'd be happy."

"Well, what's to keep you from just using this one?"

"Well, Atrus has that book link to a different part of the room. If he sees anyone link through to there, it's shoot first, ask questions later."

"he's gotten a bit more...respectful of me, then?"

"yes."

There was a long pause, where I could see the gears turning in his skull.

"..., ..., ...And...he's writing in the Riven descriptive book?"

"yup"

"good. that'll save time."

he opened the book on the table, got out his gun, but instead of shooting me, he held it as if he was about to fire, and touched he book with the back of his palm. phase one:completed.

I thought about why he would do that, and then it hit me. His plan was to pull the trigger on his son before Atrus could get his gun out. then he would have D'ni back, and he could use the Riven descriptive book to get back to this office, though indirectly. He would be better off, and Atrus would have learned his last lesson.

Then another thing hit me; I was still stuck in the cage. I figred out which switch opened it, then took out a fossil that I still had from my adventure (At that time, I hardly knew the meaning of the word) with the corps of discovery. I threw it at the switch, and it worked. It didn't take me long to find the combination to Catherine's prison after that.

I linked back to prison island, entered the combination, and raised the elevator.

Catherine came, sent the elevator downward, and as we descended, gave me instructions.

"We have to move quickly. Gehn's people may already know what's happened. Once we're back with the Moiety, we'll have time to regroup. Can I see the book? You did it. We're all free. You captured Gehn."

I noticed a small descriptive window on the 2nd page that told how long ago the last link through that book was.

"But there's still his followers. I'm not sure what they'll do once they realize he's gone. We'll have to get the villagers to safety as soon as possible. You go back to the Temple Island and reopen the fissure. I know it's risky, but it's the only way to signal Atrus. I'll try to make it back there as soon as I can, but don't wait for me. Don't forget. The portal combination's in my journal. Good luck."

And she ran off to alert the villagers.

I linked back to temple island after she left, went to Alapo, and entered the combination. After one last look at a semi-stable Riven, I pushed the telescope down until it hit the glass. the air started to rush in, and the sheet metal over the fissure couldn't hold against it. The fissure was now completely open.

Atrus linked in.

"There isn't much time. Where's Catherine? Where's the Book? I don't..."

Then Catherine sprinted into view. I was wondering when theydrealize they could continue their very long reunion whn they got back to D'ni. It was then that Catherine said

"The villagers are safely in the Rebel Age. I thank you."

"As do I. You've accomplished more than I could've hoped for. You've given me back my life. The path home is now clear for all of us."

Catherine linked through Atrus's real D'ni book, And Atrus turned to me.

"This is where our paths must part. Perhaps we'll meet again some day. You know where to find me. Good bye my friend."

He linked out, with the book over the fissure. Suddenly, the sky turned dark, and the ground shook, and I fell into the fissure.

freefall was rather relaxing, and I think I dosed off several times. after several hours, I was looking at our solar system, and then it hit me how fast I was really going. After I reached te atmosphere, I progessively slowed down to 10 miles/hour, and then got the wind knocked out of me as I hit the desert ground, the D'ni linking book beside me.

>historian's note< The following is from Atrus's journal, and has been associated with these events since it was first read by Zandi.

"Now I understand. Endings and beginings are within the Fissure, that Riven cleft of stars that acts as both wall and a bridge. And though I am unable to understand how, the very flow of stars that brought my Myst book into worthy hands I am sure served as a safe passage home for my friend.The Age of Riven is closed forever, but the people of Riven are free. And now I am at rest, understanding that in Books, and Ages, and life the ending can never truly be written."
_________________
No-one has explained WHY a raven is like a writing desk!