User:OranL/Bahro (Myst)

The Bahro are a fictional race of creatures depicted in three games from the Myst franchise (Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, Myst V: End of Ages, and Myst Online: Uru Live). In the D'ni language (which is a language constructed for use inside the Myst games, i.e. the Klingon language in the Star Trek television series), the word "bahro" means "beast people", and is considered a derogatory term. The fictional D'ni race generally used the word to refer to people who were not of Ronay decent; but when used as a proper noun, it refers to a race of vaguely reptilian bipeds with retractable wings.

Not much official information on the Bahro has been released by Cyan Worlds (the Myst Franchise's developer) aside from what is learned about them from the games. They are depicted as somewhat humanoid in appearance. Moving in a hunched position they can walk on either two or all four of their main appendages. They are also capable of flight. They possess what appears to be an exoskeleton, which is dark grey in color. Their eyes are small, and glow blue. Bahro do not appear to have mouths on their but are capable of making sounds, including chitters, squeaks, and trademark "Bahro Screams".

History
The Bahro were introduced in Uru: Ages Beyond Myst (ABM) as a secret sentient race of creatures who live within the cavern home of the D'ni, the Myst Franchise's main race of sentient beings. Prior to the game's start, the D'ni Civilization has experienced a downfall, and the D'ni themselves no longer inhabit the Cavern of D'ni. The story line on ABM follows the player's quest to release an individual Bahro from some indeterminate form of captivity. The Bahro themselves are capable of physically teleporting (know in the game as linking) themselves from any location with in the Myst Multiverse to any other. This suggests that the Bahro are not in any sort of physical captivity, but rather a metaphysical one. Furthering this interpretation, the main character of ABM (Yeesha) tells the player that he or she has freed the soul of a Bahro, at the end of the game. The game suggests that the Bahro were the original inhabitants of the Cavern (whom the D'ni displaced by claiming the Cavern) and that the D'ni somehow managed to enslave them, though the game does not make it clear how.

In Myst V: End of Ages, the Bahro again play an important role in the storyline. Myst V continues Uru's story of freeing the Bahro from their slavery to the D'ni. Myst V centers around "Slate Gameplay" where the player draws on a stone slate with his or her cursor. The slates are of undisclosed origin, but the symbols (which are part of a glyph-based language) that the player draws upon them are decidedly Bahro. The Bahro are in some way required or forced to do what the symbols say. This system highlights the massive power of the Bahro, as some of the symbols required to complete the game make the Bahro do things like modify the weather, speed up time, and create geothermic disturbances. It can also be noted that the bahro are afraid of snakes, and will never appear in a place with snakes or the symbol of the snake.

Currently in Myst Online: Uru Live, the Bahro are said to be having a civil war, having been divided into Factions.

Other Uses
The term "Bahro" also appears in the Myst novel The Book of D'ni. In the novel, the term is applied to a race of human slaves who originate on a different Age than the race who enslave them. The novel climaxes when these slaves rise up against their masters and take over the society they were enslaved by.