Disclaimer: Myst and al its characters belong to Cyan.

Author's Note: If you have played the game and read Saavedro's journal, you will know that after Sirrus and Achenar caused a civil war on Narayan they fled to J'nanin. Saavedro, stunned by this sudden abandonment, followed them. This is my version of what happened.



Betrayal

By Torny

Saavedro couldn't believe what was happening.

His village was decimated. The Lattice Tree was in ruins. The roots black from too much overgrowth, no one to guide the spores, to perform the ritual weaves that kept the Lattice Tree alive. All because of Sirrus and Achenar.

They had returned five years after their journey through the Lesson Ages, five years after Saavedro had taught them all about the Narayan culture. Saavedro, despite his misgivings about the boys while they were under his tutelage, was happy to see them return and had many questions to ask them. But Sirrus and Achenar had not come to see Saavedro. They had come to see the Elders.

The Elders knew the truth about the Lattice Tree. It was the trees upon which they built their settlements and lived their lives. If they stopped tending the Tree it would die and the Narayan civilization would soon follow. But lately, a faction of young people had been questioning the ceremonial rituals to tend the Lattice Tree that took up so much of their lives, asking, why do we have to do this? This minority would have remained a minority- after all, most of the Narayan people understood the traditions and could not imagine life without them.

Then Sirrus and Achenar came.

They came with Books. They showed the people of Narayan these Books that linked to other worlds, worlds where there was no Lattice Tree, no time consuming rituals. The young people of Narayan had been seduced by this vision of a free life and wanted to move immediately. Others, though, loved Narayan and had no desire to leave.

Sirrus and Achenar had prepared for this.

The brothers claimed to have their father's "power" and claimed that they could write changes into the Narayan Book so that there would be no need for the time consuming tasks of tending the Lattice Tree.

But they would only do so if all the Narayan people agreed.

The Elders naturally refused. They believed there could be no life without the "Way of the Tree." There were arguments. The arguments turned into riots. And the riots turned into a civil war.

Now the Lattice Tree was dying. Narayan was dying. And Sirrus and Achenar had fled.

Saavedro, desperately searching for them, had rounded a corner to see Achenar's form slowly disappear and a linking book dropped to the ground. Stunned by this sudden abandonment, he picked up the book and read the name emblazoned on the cover: J'nanin.

"Saavedro!"

Saavedro turned to see his wife Tamra running up to him, her beautiful dark hair wild and tangled. Tamra saw the Book in Saavedro's hand and realized what had happened. "What do we do?" she asked.

"Take the girls and go to the reef!" Saavedro told her. "Wait for me there!"

Tamra looked at the book in Saavedro's hand, then back to her husband. Fear was evident in her eyes.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try to fix things," said Saavedro. He pulled his wife into a gentle embrace. "Don't worry. I'll be back. I promise," he assured her. Tamra looked up at Saavedro and nodded. Then she was gone.

Saavedro cast a lingering glance at the place where his wife had stood. Then he opened the Book and linked.

* * *

Sirrus and Achenar laughed. It had been so easy! Narayan was so dependent on balance and the people so easily influenced that it had been practically effortless to ruin that world.

Sirrus turned to his sibling. "Did you bring the book?"

Achenar pulled his Myst linking book from his cloak. "Of course, dear brother," he said mockingly. "Did you think I would be so stupid as to forget it?"

Sirrus took it. "Then let us leave this place," he said, opening the book and reaching out to touch the link.

Achenar gritted his teeth. Once again, his brother had underestimated him, treating him like a child. But he will pay for his arrogance one day, he vowed. Oh, he would pay. Things were going to change very soon…

Something shimmered in front of them. The two brothers gaped in surprise as their old mentor Saavedro appeared before them.

Saavedro looked dazed. He stumbled and nearly fell over. Then his eyes caught the two brothers.

"You must come back with me!"

Sirrus laughed nastily. "And why should we do that, old friend?"

Saavedro was stunned. What was Sirrus saying? "Narayan is dying," he tried to explain. "You said you had the power to fix Narayan." Saavedro thought of his wife and two daughters still trapped there. He didn't know what he would do without them. "Please, you must fix it!"

Then Sirrus and Achenar laughed.

It was a cruel, spiteful laughter that made Saavedro's blood run cold. The two people before him were no longer the young boys he once knew. They were madmen.

Without warning, the two brothers sprang upon Saavedro, beating him savagely. "Fool!" hissed Achenar as he struck Saavedro again and again. "We will never fix Narayan! We have already taken everything it has to offer!" They beat Saavedro into unconsciousness. As his body dropped to the ground, Saavedro dimly heard Sirrus shout for a rope.

* * *

He was standing upright. That he felt first. Then he felt the ropes that were tied to him. Saavedro forced his eyes to open and winced as light struck his eyes. He looked up and realized that it was night. But if it was night, where was the light coming from?

Then he smelled burning wood.

A small fire had been set in front of him. Behind it were Sirrus and Achenar. Saavedro tried to move forward and realized that he was tied to a post.

Sirrus smiled at him. It was not a nice smile. "I hope you like J'nanin, Saavedro. You're going to be here for a long, long time.

Achenar giggled manically.

Sirrus pressed his hand onto the image in the Myst linking book and vanished.

Suddenly, Saavedro realized what they were doing to him. He struggled against his bonds.

"Enjoy the Lesson Age, teacher," sneered Achenar. He held the Myst book over the fire and linked. The book fell into the flames.

Saavedro screamed, yelled. He struggled so hard the rope cut into his flesh. His only chance of escape was burning away. He had to get free! As he struggled, he saw the face of Tamra looking at him.

Oh gods I promised her I promised I have to get free I have to…

But the Myst book continued to burn away, word by word, page by page, until only ashes remained.



FIN





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