This page is under construction. I'm trying to pull together commentary from various fans on a variety of topics that clarify the books and games. If you have something to contribute or can provide a link to topics on linking, D'ni government and culture, prison ages, D'ni arrival on earth, etc., I would be very glad to hear from you. Please email me.

3Book of Earth		Ri'Neref was the Writer who wrote the Descriptive Book that enabled the D'ni to leave their home of Garternay and link to Earth.
4D'ni Religion		With the D'ni story comes the D'ni myth which greatly influences how the D'ni view the universe and how they practice their way of life. The relationship between the Art and the D'ni religion is not entirely clear, and has been the subject of much discussion among fans. While religion appears to have been an integral part of the D'ni way of life, its a topic that is very vague in the books. Here is what we concretely know of the D'ni faith. They believed in a supreme being they called the Maker, or in the D'ni language - Yahvo. There is no written record of a religious hierarchy or Guild in D'ni or formal organization of religion, however, one fan reported that RAWA once mentioned a Guild of Clerics. I'll be looking into this to get it confirmed. There must have been some practice of religion since the great houses of D'ni had worship rooms. The D'ni believed in an afterlife for the soul and the only formal religious rite mentioned in the books is a burial rite. A bonus from Cyan included in their 1996 Myst calendar was a prayer by Atrus, depicted on D'ni Desk Reference with a partial translation found at the Guild of Linguists. The following comments were also sent to me by fellow avid ubiqriDNIculous of The Cleft: There are VERY few specifics about D'ni religion in the games and books. What little we know is largely due to Gehn's trespasses as far as the moral code/understanding of the Art is concerned. From that, we glean information about Yavo: That (S)He is the creator of all the worlds in the Tree of Possibility...those who practice the Art are said not to create worlds, but to link to pre-existent creations of Yavo. From other exhortations in the games, such as "Thank the Maker!", we also see that Yavo is conceived of as a guiding force in the daily doings and spiritual lives of the D'ni people. From the Book of Ti'ana, there is a further indication that the D'ni may have considered themselves a "chosen people," as far as the revelation and use of the Art was concerned. We later find this to be not wholly accurate, as it is evidenced that non-D'ni can indeed write Ages. It is still unclear how the Art relates to D'ni religion, and how the prophecies and prophets of D'ni society are related (if at all) to Yavo.
5Guilds		The D'ni system of government was made up of representatives of various Guilds. The Guilds made an art of the various vocations practiced in D'ni. Guilds consisted of schools that took students from a very young age and educated them in all aspects of their chosen careers. As members of the guilds progressed in age and experience, they would achieve a commensurate title, like Guildsman, Guild Master, and Grandmaster. For information on the different Guilds in D'ni, go to Mysteries of the D'ni, courtesy of Si'trin, click on the D'ni Link, then on the D'ni Guilds Link. Ro'Jadre's page on The D'ni Guilds, also gives some in depth information.
6D'ni Language		The amazing thing about the D'ni universe is that it has a working language. Curious fans used their linguistic skills to uncover the structure and definitions of countless D'ni words. Some fans have created invaluable resources for learning D'ni language, grammer, and numbers. I recommend the following: Guild of Linguists Homepage A Dictionary of the Language of D'ni Interactive Pocket D'ni Encyclopedia
7		The phrase in the book reads "the six assistant grand masters", but this is a confirmed error that was missed during editing. Grand masters should be guild masters.
8D'ni longevity		Kahlis points out to Aitrus that his lifespan is three times that of Anna's. D'ni elders are documented to have lived over 200 years old. When Aitrus meets Anna, aged 18, he is 52 years old, young by D'ni standards. When she is 50, he'll be 84, still considered young. The D'ni equivalent to the age of 50 would be 150.
9Prison Ages		Prison Ages is a topic which generates a lot of discussion among fans. According to Kehrin of D'ni Desk Reference, a prison age is, "a Linking Book or Descriptive Book which transports a person to a real age where he is trapped, because of not having a linking book there to transport him out again. A Prison Age is a real age like any other. It could be large or small, pleasant or unpleasant. The trapped person lives out his life normally in a Prison Age. It's only called a Prison Age, because the occupant can't leave it, not because it differs from a regular Age."
10Paper and Ink		The making of the paper and the bindery process for creating D'ni's special books used in the Art was represented by the Guild of Books. The Ink used in the Art was also special and the Guild of Ink Makers was responsible for producing this special ink. The properties of the Ink and the Paper combined with the skill of the Writers makes a link to other places in the universe possible. Very little is known about the processes from the books. In the Book of D'ni, mention is made of one of the Terahnee experimenting with Inks for writing. In the Book of Ti'ana, Master Urren lectures that the ink binds the Word to the World, burns the bridge between the Ages, and forms a living darkness between two lights. More is revealed about the bookmaking process in the game of Riven. We see evidence of Gehn's efforts to make books and inks. For a summary of the process on Riven, see Si'trin's Mysteries of the D'ni, click on D'ni, then D'ni Bookmaking.
12D'ni Armament		The D'ni civilization was considered a peaceful civilization, although they did appear to have enforcement through the Guild of Maintainers. It's possible that the Maintainers themselves may have carried arms, and guns did exist as evidenced by Veovis's possession of them. In the Book of D'ni, when Atrus and Catherine visit the age of Aurack, they come to the conclusion that the age was a hunting age, and after becoming aware of the danger there, they themselves only continue to scout ages armed, although it's not clear what the nature of those arms were. The only other D'ni arms that I'm aware of were revealed on April Fool's Day, 2001 by Cyan. TBA
13Veovis's Escape		Veovis escapes by means of little Linking Book sleight of hand. The afterimage is Veovis linking out even as he is linking in. Somehow, A'Gaeris has managed to get a Linking Book to Veovis, although it's not clear if the Book is placed in the Prison Age or is hidden on Veovis's person.
14D'ni Survivors		Outside of Jiladis, no other mention is made of D'ni survivors in the Book of Ti'ana, and we never find out if Jiladis made it back out of D'ni safely. In the Book of D'ni, we do meet some of the other survivors, but Jiladis is not among them.
15D'ni Survivors		We learn a little more about Keta, Gehn's young wife from the surface, in Riven, in a recorded image on the 233rd age. Gehn appears to have been truly fond of her, holding her memory in high esteem. She is also known as Leira and comes from a people known as the Amad.
16		Fans have long speculated about the exact location of the volcano and Cleft. One avid fan, Sepdet, has made an analysis about where the entrance to D'ni might be located. Visit her site at Investigations into the Book of Atrus.
17Gehn's pipe		Gehn's pipe is his trademark and it seems to accompany him wherever he goes. The substance Gehn smokes is an extract from the Ytram frog which he captures on Riven. It appears to be a mild narcotic, an indulgence of Gehn's which he occasionally consumes in excess.
18D'ni Education		Gehn is referring here to his own departure for school shortly after the fourth anniversary of his Naming Day. A D'ni male child is initiated into a Guild on his fourth Naming Day and soon thereafter enters the Guild to live there and be educated. There he is introduced to the Rehevkor, a D'ni primer introducing Guild children to the Art of Writing. D'ni women did not enter the Guilds, although it's possible that they had they're own system of education.
21D'ni Time		For information about D'ni time you can visit Cyan's site and for an image of a D'ni timepiece is available on Sihtrin's site, The Mysteries of D'ni. Click on D'ni in the menu, then D'ni timekeeping. There is also an image of Gehn's timepiece which shows both D'ni and surface time.
22		The fruit is representative of Gehn's efforts to write Ages. Initially they appear stable and beautiful, but his misuse of the Art cause them to deteriorate at the foundation of their existence.
23Linking		Linking is the phenomenon of going from one point in space and time to another and the theoretical physics of that has been discussed by D'ni fans many times. For information defining linking, see Kehrin's Linking Facts and for a theoretical analysis of how the Art of Writing becomes a means of transporting to another point in the space/time continuum, check out resident physicist Darnay's site on Writing, and take a look at his hypotheses under Writing.
29		Gehn has fallen into the practice into giving his ages numbers instead of names, another indication that he views the ages as something he has manufactured and created. On the Thirty-seventh Age, he extends this practice by referring to the natives as numbers.
30Tree of Possibilities		"The branches of the Great Tree grow without end, yet the Maker knows them all" This quote is found on D'niGuild, presumably a D'ni proverb. Apparently Cyantists have been aware of the concept of a Great Tree of Possibilities since they first began to reveal the D'ni saga in Myst. RAWA wrote in a letter to fans on Nov 14, 1997, "In the 'infinity' of the 'Tree of Possibilites' there are countless worlds to match any description you can write. There is a chaotic element in how the Book selects which of those many worlds it will link to, which even the D'ni never were able to compensate for." The Great Tree is how the D'ni communicate their understanding of quantam reality and parallel universes. When a Descriptive Book is written, it will link at some point on a branch of the great tree. If the Descriptive Book is changed, it can still link to the same age, but to another branch i.e. another reality. However, RAWA has qualified that changes to the Descriptive Book can also result in linking to another Age entirely.
31		Rijus has an uncanny knowledge of D'ni and it's been speculated that he might be Corlam, A'Gaeris's mute servant. Corlam had spent time at K'veer when that became A'Gaeris's and Veovis's headquarters after the fall of D'ni.
32Rivenese Water		If you ever want to put someone to sleep, discuss the properties of Rivenese water. It seems to coalesce as a result of a bacterium which avoids sources of heat. You can see an experiment with the water in action in Gehn's lab on Crater Island in Riven. It is unsafe for drinking unless boiled and a Rivenese powder is used to counteract its unpleasant effects if ingested.
33		Traditionally, the Art of Writing was reserved only for the ruling class of D'ni, only D'ni and only males. However, in the Book of Ti'ana, a precedent is found where non-D'ni clerks having access to the Ages which opens the door for Ti'ana to learn how. Perhaps these clerks to the Great Lords acted as scribes. Later, Catherine also breaks this barrier when Gehn's greed for Ages spurns him into teaching natives of Riven how to Write. The Terahnee also harbored a prejudice against ahrotahntee or Bookworlders being able to write, since these people were designated to their slave class.
34Catherine's worlds		For some unexplained reason, unlike Gehn, Catherine seems to be able to break the traditional rules of writing to defy natural laws. Her writing results in some unusual phenomenon, creating surreal landscapes and improbable situations like a giant torus shaped sea and waterfall. However she manages to pull it off. Her editing of Riven to trap Gehn there, results in large Rivenese daggers being embedded into the island. These phenomenon have not yet been fully explained by researchers of D'ni.
35Star Fissure		The Star Fissure appears to be a rent in the fabric of time and space, and somehow it joins the world of Riven to ours. Thus as the player in Myst, Atrus's Myst Linking Book has come into our presence after he has linked through it and it continued its descent into our reality. It appears to have come about as a result of Catherine's editing of the Riven book to trap Gehn there. The Star Fissure allows them to escape through the Linking Book, with the book falling into the unknown ather than remaining on Riven for Gehn to use. Gehn is fearful of the Star Fissure and experiments with it by throwing natives into to see what happens while observing through his telescope. Somehow the Fissure contributes to the instability of the Island, so eventually Gehn has it sealed in such a way that he can still observe through the telescope.
36		When reading this particular chapter, it's easy to have the impression that the book Atrus is holding over the Fissure is the actual Myst Descriptive Book, but instead it's the Linking Book. This has been confirmed by Richard Watson of Cyan.
37D'ni Prophecies		The D'ni Prophecies are believed to be authored by the Great King and remnants of the prophecies have survived in both D'ni and Terahnee. The relyimah or slave class of Terahnee also have their own version of the prophecies. For a list of the Prophecies as presented in the Book of D'ni, go to Kehrin's D'ni Desk Reference. Fans have often discussed the meanings of the prophecies, and one avid, Sepdet has presented possible interpretations of the them.
39D'ni longevity		In the Book of Ti'ana on page 197, Kahlis notes that Aitrus's life span is three times that of Ti'ana's. Because of his D'ni heritage, Atrus's lifespan is somewhat longer than the average human. Apparently Catherine's lifespan is like a typical human. The average D'ni lifespan is 325 years, and while Atrus wouldn't live that long, he would live longer than Catherine.
39Books of Commentaries		These books were books that accompanied a Descriptive Book. In it are journaled notes and observations made about an Age. Also changes and their effects are documented as well as inspections by the Maintainers. Some of the older Ages like Nidur Gemat from Veovis's family had hundreds of Books of Commentaries.
42Sirrus and Achenar		Sirrus and Achenar are the wayward adult sons of Atrus and Catherine. Sometime after learning the Art, they were granted more independence, however they imitated Gehn in the unmitigated greed for power and wealth exhibited in the ages they frequented. We first encounter them in the red book and blue book in the library on Myst and begin the quest of retrieving red pages and blue pages for their books. Before Atrus trapped his sons in those books, he himself was trapped on D'ni and Catherine had been lured to Riven by the boys and was trapped there. While it's not ever explicit that the boys knew Gehn, they might have since they were familiar with Riven enough to entice Catherine to go there. However, that's unlikely since Gehn remains trapped on Riven without any possibility of getting a Linking Book until the player in Riven arrives there. Had the boys known Gehn, they might have given him the means to escape.
44Women in D'ni Culture		Unfortunately we don't get much of a picture of women in D'ni culture since the only D'ni women specifically mentioned have been Tasera, Aitrus's mother, Gadren's wife Ferras on the age of Aridanu, and the D'ni nurse taking care of Gehn as a baby. Tasera's main role seemed to be supporting of her husband in his vocation. She was very close to her husband, behaved with great dignity in the face of adversity and was tolerant and loving toward Ti'ana. Based on what's been revealed in the books so far, women were not involved in the Guild education system, however the mention of the female nurse assisting Master Jura in Book of Ti'ana raises the question of whether or not she would have received professional training from the Guild of Healers. Considering how every task was raised to the elevationof a vocational art, it is likely that a D'ni nurse would go through formal training in order to practice her skill.
45D'ni Medicine		The D'ni practice of medicine and their progress in medical research seems to have been pretty advanced at this point in time. The D'ni had an understanding of herbal remedies and the healing properties of some substances. An ointment used by Anna and Gehn seems to possess quick healing properties for surface abrasions. (BoA, p. 121-122) In the Book of D'ni, laboratory equipment used by Healers includes a centrifuge and a microscope. The D'ni have a knowledge of microbiology, as they are able to recognize the common stomach bacteria found in the D'ni which kills the Terahnee. They have the technology to filter out bacteria and it's used by the Maintainers, both in the gathering of samples and in decontamination, (BoD)p. 330-332. A Healer is responsible for doing the research so there must have been a D'ni survivor who was in the Guild of Healers. In the Book of Ti'ana, a D'ni healer is assisted by a female nurse, who is referred to as a colleague. This is only area of vocational skill in D'ni that mentions a female participant.
46		This marks a turning point in Atrus's thinking. From here on the focus no longer is on restoring the physical location of D'ni in the cavern, but rather on restoring the D'ni people and way of life in a new age.
47		Tomahna is Catherine's and Atrus's personal retreat, much like Chroma A'Gana. We know from Exile that Releeshan is the age where the D'ni go to settle, but like the Book of Atrus, the ending of the Book of D'ni doesn't define things very clearly and the age where the D'ni survivors go is unnamed.