Riven

Riven

Characters

This section contains spoilers which could ruin the game for you if you have not played it before, or have not yet reached the end.

This may contain spoilers from the other Myst games.

Atrus

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.

Read more about Atrus

Catherine

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.

Read more about Catherine

Cho

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

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.

Read more about Gehn

Moiety Prisoner

Moiety

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

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

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.