Ages of Riven
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Note: Fictional details from the Myst franchise follow, and will be treated as facts.
What follows is a list of Ages visited in the game of Riven.
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Riven ("Age 5")
Riven_Age.jpg
| Creatures: | Ytrams (frogs), Wahrks, Sunners, Beetles and other animals, also several species of fish. |
| Geography: | Once an island, now broken to a group of five islands inter-connected using magnetic levitation ('mag-lev') vehicles; steam pipes also distribute energy |
| Inhabitants: | Humans, known as Rivenese |
| Vegetation: | Tall trees, grass, flowers, forming tropical jungles. |
| Written by: | Gehn |
Riven is both the name of an Age and the main island in it. Gehn referred to this age simply as his 'Fifth Age'. A lot of references to the number five can be found on the islands, including pentagonal-shaped architecture, for Gehn believed that the number five had some sort of magical power. Like all ages Gehn wrote, Riven was unstable. Over time, the main island of Riven split into five separate islands which continued to drift further apart. Originally Gehn had built a network of footpaths to connect these islands, but with the islands continually moving apart they were constantly in need of repair. Thus, Gehn installed a maglev vehicle to connect the islands. (cf. Richard Watson (RAWA)'s page explaining the east path (http://cho.cyan.com/rawa/eastpath/eastpath.html)) In the Riven end game however, the islands finally collapse entirely, and Catherine evacuates the natives to Tay.
Riven was very unstable due to Gehn's poor knowledge of the Art. At the time of the game, the island had already split in to five smaller islands. All but the Jungle Island were prohibited to the islanders. Originally Riven had housed an immense tree, but Gehn had the tree cut down in order to create his Books.
Temple Island
Also known as Dome Island or Allatwan in Rivenese, it is consisted of two smaller isles. The Link-in point of Riven is on this island, and it contains the Dome that redirects energy to Gehn's Linking Domes, the Star Fissure, and the Beetle Room with prayers to Gehn. The other isle contains the Temple.
Jungle Island
Also known as Village Island and Riven proper, here the only surviving Village where the vast majority of the surviving Rivenese population is concentrated. Access to all other islands was forbidden to the Rivenese by Gehn. The island contains a lagoon, where the school is located, as well as the Wahrk gallows where Gehn punished unloyal Rivenese by feeding them to the Wahrks of the lake. Many trees have been cut down to be converted into paper for Gehn's books at Boiler Island.
Boiler Island
Also known as Crater or Book Assembly Island, a boiler for making paper and books is found here, as well as Gehn's original headquarters.
Plateau Island
Also known as Map, Spike, Garden or Matrix Island, it has a wide plateau with a miniature map of the Riven islands. Gehn used this island to study the deterioration of the Riven Age. It likely also served a ceremonial role, as Gehn surrounded the island with Wahrk tusks.
Prison Island
Once holding the massive Tree of Riven, after Gehn had cut the tree down for his Books, it now served as the prison of Catherine. The Prison Island had drifted far away from the other islands and was only reachable through Gehn's Age 233.
External links
- Riven Map (http://calyxa.best.vwh.net/~calyxa/pearl/maps.html)
Age 233
| Written by: | Gehn |
This Age was the first relatively stable Age Gehn wrote as he was trapped on Riven with no way out. His previous attempts had all failed either because of his flawed Writing, or the lack of a power source for his Books. He called it his "233rd Age", sometimes referring to it as his "Office Age". As with all the Ages that came from Gehn's writing, this too was an unstable one.
The strange formation of the mountains in the Age are due to the sea, in the Age's history, being at a much higher level and very caustic. Over time it lowered, producing the "Upside-Down Mountain" landscape.
Gehn himself had to wear protective clothing whenever venturing out into the Age from his office built into a mountain, as it was very harsh. A large device atop his Office, somewhat resembling a dish antenna, was actually used to collect the sparse rain water that fell in the Age and then funnel it to a sink in the small bedroom that sat under his office.
Gehn's Age 233 served as a nexus for the Age of Riven, containing Linking Books to the various islands.
Tay (Moiety Age)
Tay_Age.jpg
| Written by: | Catherine |
Based on a discarded failed Age by Gehn, Catherine salvaged the Book and managed to write a stable Age. Originally it was merely a hideout place for the Moiety rebellion of the Rivenese, but Tay later became the refuge of the entire Rivenese population, aside from Katran / Catherine. It was meant to resemble the great Tree of Riven when it was still intact.