AN: Here it is my next Jack/OC story :). This is a Myst/POTC crossover, therefore the first chapter is going to be the history of D'ni, the culture in the games in books. The civilization was gifted with the "Art," the creating and linking to worlds created by writing in the language. Confused? Read on. After the history, there's a journal entry by the OC. It's pronounced: Kay-tuh. Hopefully, any ?'s you have will be cleared up. If not, don't hesitate to PM me. Enjoy and review :).
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Many years ago, in a world called Garternay, there was a people called the Ronay. The world was on a planet, one that rotated a sun so hot they had to leave before they parrished. Pressed for time, they quickly developed 'The Art', the writing of worlds, or ages as they're now known, through a language called D'ni. The books were descriptively written, carrying every little detail needed for people to thrive in the environment of a world. If a tiny mistake was made, then the world would destroy itself over time.
The Ronay created several Ages, using them as refuges from the soon-gone Garternay. There, they civilized and thrived, calling themselves the D'ni after the language that had helped them survive.
However, as all people do at one point in their lives, their talents got to their heads, making them forget to be humble and honest people. The ruler of the time created the Age of D'ni, known to humans as Earth. They linked there, finding a secluded place in a rocky desert where humans weren't commonly found.
They settled in a cavern beneath a volcano, which was split into two parts; an island in the center of the cavern's lake and the mainland, known as The City Proper. Electricity created by the underground sources created ventilation, allowing air to flow through the civilization quite easily and helping them to prosper and flourish like they did.
However, several years later a human woman, called Ti'anna married a D'ni man, Aitrus. One of the higher Council members strongly hated this decision, hating that a 'surface dweller' had found them and was joining their lifestyles. Angered, he destroyed the city with a poisonous cloud, forcing many to exile into other Ages that had been written over time.
Ti'Anna and her son, Ghen, who was eight at the time, fled to the surface, settling into the place she called 'The Cleft'. It was near the volcano that concealed her late husband's culture.
Time passed as Ghen was raised as a human boy, growing into a man who fell in love with the beautiful Leira, who was renamed Keta by him. With her new D'ni name, she married the man, thinking that he would be the man she wanted.
He was faithful, true enough, but his faith gave out once she became with child. From that point, she became dangerously ill, which ended her life after she birthed their son.
Hurt and determined to reinstate the culture of D'ni after what his mother, renamed Anna as a Human, had done. She'd destroyed his heritage, unknowingly causing a lifetime of struggles for many people. Ghen left and entered the caverns, leaving his son in the loving arms of Anna.
Below Earth, Ghen began to rebuild his civilization, not knowing what he was doing. Instead of creating beautiful and infertile Ages, he was simply creating links to existing Ages where innocent D'ni thrived. The fact that he'd had to pretty much teach himself how to even do that somewhat simple task had nothing to do with what he was doing. No, he was becoming mad with power.
When his son, named Atrus by Anna since Ghen had left without even naming his only child, they went to the worlds, where Atrus began to learn. He watched slowly as Ages crumbled before his eyes. As the years went by, the younger D'ni son watched as father made honest and careless mistakes as he 'wrote' Age after Age, not even bothering to name the worlds.
Atrus tried to help the people but failed, causing father and son to create friction. When the younger was in his early twenties, the two moved to Riven, an age that was about to fall apart. There, Atrus found himself in awe of a young women there, a Rivenese named Katran. Giving her the name Catherine, Atrus tried to help her as she found herself due to be betrothed to his father.
As the day to the dreaded wedding grew closer, Catherine withdrew herself from her real love for a few days. Unknown to anyone but them, Catherine and Anna were writing an age called Myst, where Catherine and Atrus could live without any threat from Ghen or any of his obviously mentally ill followers.
As Atrus sat in his father's library on Riven, he found the book in which the age was written. He corrected what needed to be and it was found to be sturdy enough to thrive from then on out. Ghen discovered what his son had done, and Atrus leaped into a seemingly endless fissure that Ghen had originally caused.
Atrus had known about Myst for a day or so at that point, so he'd withdrawn the book into the fall and linked there, allowing the book to fall into unknowing hands while he joined his future wife and his grandmother.
A few years passed, and Catherine became with child twice, giving Atrus two sons named Sirrus and Achenar. The two grew up and played with their grandmother until she died of unknown reasons. As they'd grown up, Atrus wrote the learning age of J'nanin, which contained three other Ages that were used to teach his sons the three elements that made a successful age; Edanna, Volatic, and Amartarea. Narayan was also an age used to teach about balance, which nearly led to the distruction of a prized book later on.
Before that point, however, the sons somehow locked up both their parents and trapped them using books found on Myst Island. Atrus was found a year or so later by The Stranger, who also proved in being worthy of trust by assisting in prisioning his sons and freeing Catherine, whom Ghen had taken captive on Riven. Riven was deserted when the happy couple left to start a new life on the new age of Tohmana, a D'ni word meaning home. An earthquake caused The Stranger to fall into the same fissure Atrus had all those years ago.
Tohmana was on Earth, a little patch of desert in what is now New Mexico. After recovering from their heartbreaking, life shattering pasts, Catherine once more became pregnant, giving birth to Yeesha, the future leader of the D'ni. Her name means laughter, for her parents desperately needed to move on.
The elder children, however, had caused unknown damage to the lesson Ages. Saaverdro, a native to Narayan, became outraged by the damage that had destroyed his life with his wife and children. He stole Atrus' prized and ultimate book, Releeshan, and The Stranger helped out the once again hurt family. They returned the Age, unharmed, and Yeesha grew in a safe environment on Earth with her family until she was ten.
Catherine had left temporarily due to the fact that Atrus refused to help their imprisioned sons. Convinced that they were changed, she left only to return once the debate had been settled. The stranger had been watching Yeesha when she was kidnapped by a freed Sirrus. Achenar, on the other hand, was seeking forgiveness and ended up dying in his sister's lap. The Stranger returned her to her father, who was devastated to hear of his son's destruction, but was glad to hear that one of them had died in his loved sister's lap, seeking redemption. Heart broken, Catherine returned to hear the news, shocked and upset.
The stranger had departed, no longer being needed and in the debt of Atrus.
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I, Katea, have been told to leave as of tomorrow by Daddy. He says that Tohmana was no longer safe after my late brothers destroyed the Ages that meant so much to him. Even though they are dead, I was told that they're actions had consequences.
I was told of Saaverdro, who'd taken our current home of Releeshan in revenge for Sirrus and Achenar's actions. He had a son and a daughter, Daddy said. I guess everyone had assumed that The Stranger's good deed of helping everyone out would've been told. Apparently it was not so, for I was told of a warning note found in Tohmana when Daddy had checked up on his study there. He said he did not wish for it to become like that of Myst, old and unusable due to lack of being used.
During the routinely observation of the Age located on Earth, he'd found a note attached to his logbook that he kept there to remind him of what he'd done on the island and what needed to be checked on regularly. I was told of the hatred consumed in it, the language harsh and unnessicary.
When I was told during dinner, for I'd stayed home to maintain our Age and to enjoy the alone time, I'd immediately noticed my father's regret for Sirrus and Achenar's behavior. I assume that he'd felt ashamed, wished that he could've talked with his old friend himself. He said that he should've accompanied The Stranger, tagged along so that I wouldn't be in danger.
I felt guilty for some odd reason. It seemed that every child that he and Mom had raised had been threatened by some occurance or another. With my brothers, it had been my grandfather then eventually themselves. With Yeesha, who was in her own Age writing beautiful ages, it had been my brothers. It seemed that my brothers had once again caused trouble for our family.
Yeesha had often said that Sirrus had been the troublemaker in the end, Achenar having realized his cruel ways in the end. I saw her every now and then, and now it seems that I will not have the chance to see her again.
"You are forbidden," father had started, taking in deep breaths as he'd gazed at me with hurt and gentle brown eyes, caressing a brown curl that fell against my face from my messy bun. "To write another Age. It's nothing against you, my desert bird, for you've just mastered the Art. That is why I'll assist you in writing the Age of Ships, on Earth. It must be a few years back in time. Do you believe you can do that?"
We were sitting in the living room across from the dining and kitchen areas. I'd nodded, moving to hug my father who I love dearly. "I know, Daddy."
Now, I'm worried. I'm going into his study in a few minutes to prepare the Age. When it is ready, I'll link to it, holding it over a fire. It will destroy any hopes of anyone reaching me. It is what he did when linking back here. Until this is over, we must keep safe by not linking anywhere. Only Daddy will be able to write the book once more once the son, Raerchar (Rear-cher), has left us alone or worse, been killed.
There is a chance that our home here on Releeshan could be found by way of any stray notes in Tohmana. Daddy believes that he's collected them all, but there is no guarantee. Father could be taken to the Dream Chamber in Serenia, where his mind could be read, but we shouldn't worry about that during this time.
For now, we'll write the Age of Ships, as father calls it since there is no fancier name at the moment.
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A week has passed since we began to write. Actually, I did all the writing, Daddy simply assisted me in correcting any flaws. I think he just wanted a way to spend time with me by 'assisting', but I didn't mind considering that there was a risk I would never see him again. Ever since Mother died when I was ten, my father has tried hard to keep our relationship close. Mother was still young, in her forties, considering that middle-aged in D'ni years is 200 something, but I learned to deal with it. Father has been with me ever since. It's been fifteen years since then, and I don't want that to be all.
Yeesha has been on her own since she reached the age of twenty, but I have no desire to leave Daddy. I don't blame her for leaving, after all she lived here, too. We shared a room for five years, seeing as she was fifteen when I was born.
Thinking about all that, it makes me sad as the truth sinks in, even though I've known ever since that first night we stayed up until the next sundown. We've worked long and hard, and I'm proud of Daddy for showing me everything. I hope he finds this journal once I leave, for I'll have no need for it. Who knows; I might even find a man, human obviously, in the newest Earth-located Age!