Ti'ana
| Race | Human |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9349 DE |
| Died | 9440 DE |
| Spouse | Aitrus |
| Children | Gehn |
Ti'ana is the adopted name of Anna, the first human to discover D'ni.
Biography
Early life
Anna was born on Earth, somewhere in the American Southwest, in 9349 DE (1693 CE). Her parents were surveyors from Europe. When Anna was twelve, her mother died in a climbing accident. Afterward, she lived with her father in The Lodge until his death in 9367 DE (1711 CE).
Near the end of her father's life, the two discovered a rock formation left behind by the D'ni's acoustical surveying for the Great Shaft. After his death, Anna decided to explore a cave near the edge of the formation, and eventually found herself in D'ni.
Life in D'ni
When she arrived at the edge of the D'ni empire, Anna was apprehended by members of the Guild of Maintainers and taken to a prison in an adjoining cavern. Masters from the Guild of Linguists were brought in to communicate with her, and over the course of several weeks, she learned to speak the D'ni language. Anna was brought before the Guild Council and questioned about human kind before being released into the care of Aitrus and his family. Aitrus' eagerness to share everything about D'ni with Anna ended in sanctions when the Guild Council discovered that he had been teaching Anna regestoy. Anna pleaded with Guild Master Kedri from the Guild of Legislators to intercede. The sanctions were overturned when one of Kedri's guild cadets discovered an ancient precedent in Council records which permitted outsiders to learn the craft, but Aitrus did not rejoin the Council for several years.
In that time, Aitrus and Anna grew closer. They wrote the Age of Gemedet together, and she adopted the name Ti'ana, which Aitrus had used as a nickname and as a play on her given name. Shortly after completing Gemedet, Ti'ana accepted Aitrus' marriage proposal. At the Guild Council ceremony officiating the wedding, however, Aitrus' long-time friend Veovis objected on the grounds that a marriage between a D'ni and an outsider was improper. Aitrus ultimately convinced Veovis to allow the marriage to proceed by calling in an old favor, but their friendship was irreparably severed as a result.
Together with her husband, Ti'ana pushed for a number of reforms that would give the lower classes of D'ni more say in the operation of the government. These reforms passed the Council by a narrow margin in 9392 DE, the same day that Ti'ana gave birth to Gehn.
In 9400 DE, Ti'ana was instrumental in the re-capturing of Veovis, following his escape from a Prison Age and subsequent campaign of domestic terrorism. He had been framed by A'gaeris for trading in illicit Ages and murdering a young guildsman to cover it up. The accusations had been brought by Aitrus, who was fooled by A'gaeris' scheme, and so Veovis developed a vendetta against Aitrus' family, both for his imprisonment and for their flaunting of D'ni traditions against miscegenation with outsiders. Despite nearly being killed by Veovis, Ti'ana pleaded for mercy at his sentencing by the Council. Moved by her words, the Council decreed that Veovis would be imprisoned in a new bespoke Prison Age, rather than beheaded.
Return to the surface
On Leesahn 8, 9400 DE (July 11, 1744 CE), Veovis and A'gaeris launched a final attack on D'ni, killing nearly all of its citizens. Ti'ana fled with the rest of Aitrus' family to Gemedet. She and Gehn returned to D'ni several days later, along with her husband, who by then had been exposed to the toxin used in the attack. Together, they intended to leave for the surface through the same tunnels that had brought Ti'ana to the D'ni Cavern years before. However, Ti'ana and Gehn were kidnapped by A'gaeris and taken as bait to the island of K'veer. Aitrus managed to beat them to the island, though, and drew A'gaeris into a trap on the Age of Ederat, sacrificing himself to save his wife and son. Free from A'gaeris, Ti'ana and Gehn made the long trek back to the surface, and built a home in the Cleft.
Six years after they fled D'ni, Gehn left the Cleft, leaving Ti'ana on her own. Five years after that, in 9416 DE, Gehn returned with his wife Keta. She was gravely ill, and about to give birth. Despite Ti'ana's best efforts, she was unable to see Keta safely through childbirth, and the young woman died. Enraged by the loss of his wife, Gehn again stormed away from the Cleft, leaving his newborn son with Ti'ana without even bothering to name him.
Later years
For fourteen years, Ti'ana cared for her grandson, whom she named Atrus. She taught him a great deal about scientific inquiry, and regaled him with historical tales of the great D'ni civilization – though she was always careful to omit certain details. When Gehn returned in 9425 DE (1769 CE) to take Atrus back to D'ni with him, Ti'ana secretly followed behind them. Once back in D'ni, she waited for the right opportunity to save Aitrus from his father's harsh treatment. In doing so, she enlisted the aid of a Rivenese woman named Katran. Together, the two made plans to trap Gehn on the Age of Riven, all while Atrus himself was planning with Katran – now Catherine – to do the same. Ti'ana wrote the Age of Myst to provide the young couple with a refuge away from Gehn's watchful eye, though in order to keep Ti'ana's involvement a secret, Catherine claimed she had written it.
Following Gehn's imprisonment on Riven, Ti'ana revealed her involvment and reunited with her grandson. Together, the three of them lived on Myst Island as Atrus and Catherine started their own family.
In 9440 DE (1784 CE), Ti'ana fell ill after visiting an Age that Catherine had written, and died at the age of 90. She was buried on Myst.
