Forgive me for not responding to your last letter sooner. The truth is
I have been much distracted of late.
As you know, twenty years ago you stumbled upon a Book I thought
I had lost. A special "Linking Book" that could transport whoever touched it to
a peaceful island paradise called Myst. Myst has been my family's home for
years - until my sons, Sirrus and Achenar, betrayed me.
I doubt I will ever know what caused my sons to become so greedy, but
when my back was turned they used the other Linking Books I'd written and
traveled to worlds more beautiful than Myst. They plundered and destroyed
those innocent "Ages." Then they locked me in a place called D'ni to keep me
from seeing what they'd done.
Thankfully, you freed me from that prison and let me deal with my sons'
treachery myself. Later, you helped me reunite with my wife Catherine, whom
Sirrus and Achenar had also deceived. You even helped Catherine and I begin a
new life, with our new daughter Yeesha, in a home we call Tomahna. But never
once did you ask me about the red and blue Books I'd written to enslave my own
sons - the Books I burned in anger the moment you set me free.
I've often wondered if you thought I'd killed my sons when I burned up
those two Books. But never once have I offered you the truth.
Come, Visit me in Tomahna right away. There is much I have to tell
you about me sons.
- Atrus