Myst V: End of Ages - Plot

Plot

The game begins as the player responds to a letter from a despondent Atrus. Atrus is a writer of special volumes called linking books, which serve as portals or links to worlds known as Ages. A linking book to the Age of Myst, the setting of the original game, lies sealed in the ruins of the ancient D'ni civilization. The D'ni had the ability to craft linking books, but their society crumbled from within; Atrus and his family have been trying to restore the D'ni people and created an Age for the survivors to live on, known as Releeshan.

The player encounters a strange tablet in the old D'ni caverns. Yeesha, the daughter of Atrus, appears and explains that legends state that in order to fully restore D'ni, someone known as the Grower must utilize the tablet. The artifact has the ability to fully control a mysterious enslaved race known as the Bahro. As Yeesha made the wrong decision upon unlocking the tablet, she can no longer use it; Yeesha instead charges the player with uncovering the tablet's power. After leaving Yeesha, the player meets a D'ni named Esher, who tells the player that Yeesha cannot be trusted and not to give her the Tablet.

At Yeesha and Esher's urging, the player travels across four Ages, collecting four slates that unlock the tablet's power. The player is then faced with the choice of what to do once the tablet is unlocked. Depending on the player's decisions regarding the tablet, there are several possible endings to the game. Traveling to the island of Myst without the tablet will cause Esher to angrily abandon the player on the Age with no way out. If Esher is given the tablet, he will explain he wishes to use the tablet for domination, and will also leave the player trapped. If the player gives the tablet to Yeesha, the tablet simply slips through her hands and disappears into the ground; she walks away, disappointed, leaving the player trapped in D'ni. The only good ending involves giving the Bahro the tablet, ending their enslavement. Arriving at Releeshan, the new home Age of the D'ni, Yeesha and an old Atrus thank the player and speak of a new chapter for the D'ni people; Esher is handed over to the Bahro. The game ends on a vista of Releeshan.