 The Book of Atrus serves as a prequel to the events of the eponymous first game in the Myst series, and introduces both new characters and old characters seen in the games. The book's protagonist is Atrus. He is raised by his grandmother Anna after his mother dies and his father abandons him. Eventually, Atrus' father Gehn returns from his explorations of the ruins of the D 'ni empire and enlists Atrus to come follow him back to the fallen city. Gehn teaches Atrus the Art, a skill the D'ni used to create special books which allow transport between worlds known as Ages. Atrus is awed by the Art at first, but he is horrified when he witnesses Gehn's manipulation and dismissive attitude to the inhabitants of the Ages. He also comes to understand Gehn's selfish, cold cruelty and his own power-hungry nature; Gehn believes that he creates the Ages he writes, instead of creating links to preexisting universes. Gehn destroys Atrus'first Age, Inception, because it does not follow Gehn's style of writing. After attempting to escape his father, Gehn traps Atrus in a locked chamber in D 'ni, with the only escape Gehn's own Age of Riven. On Riven Atrus falls in love with a villager named Catherine.
