Themis' Axe

Themis' Axe is an Axe-class Artifact weapon found in Golden Sun: The Lost Age and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. In every game it appears, it is found in a chest in a dungeon-style location relatively early on, and provides a significant boost to the physical attacks of the wielder.

Basic description by game
Themis' Axe increases the wielder's base Attack rating by 30 points. It can be sold for 1425 coins, and can subsequently be bought back for 1900 coins.

In The Lost Age, it is an Artifact weapon that is found only in an elevated chest in the third above-ground screen of Dehkan Plateau, at a chest that can only be reached by hopping onto the same brittle pillar south of it twice. It can be equipped by Felix and Piers. Later in the game, it can also be equipped by Isaac and Garet, but the weapon has no use by that point. Its Unleash effect, Stone Justice, deals a Venus-aligned attack equal to the user's normal physical attack with an additional 11 damage points added to the result, and the target's Agility may be cut in half. Stone Justice appears as a swarm of rocks being lifted from the ground, then fired as a single cloud of projectiles into the target.

In Dark Dawn, Themis' Axe is found in a somewhat similar way as it is in The Lost Age - it appears in an elevated chest in a screen in Goma Highlands Road, and must be hopped to by casting Whirlwind on nearby flowers and hopping across them while they are aloft. It may be equipped by Matthew and Tyrell, as well as Eoleo. Its Stone Justice unleash is now its second and final Unleash, and its first Unleash is Power Charge. Power Charge is a Mars-based Unleash that multiplies damage by 1.4 and has an additional chance to decrease target's defense by 25%.

Analysis
In The Lost Age, Themis' Axe is much stronger than any other weapon the party could be holding by the time they first enter the Dekhan Plateau. It does a great job as a "placeholder" weapon for stronger equipment that can be found later, as its Unleash is powered even further by Felix's high Venus strength. Its use is extended even further by the capacity of players to decide to give the next weapon stronger than it, the Pirate's Sword, to Jenna instead of Felix.

Similarly, Themis' Axe in Dark Dawn is a large attack increase for either character that may equip it at that early stage in the game, Matthew and Tyrell. Matthew's high Venus power makes him deal more damage with the Stone Justice unleash, but Tyrell's high Mars power makes him deal more damage with the Power Charge unleash. Furthermore, while Stone Justice adds a set amount of damage that is useful at the earlier stages of the game, Power Charge applies a multiplier to the total damage, which makes it deal more damage as the user's base Attack rating increases as the game goes on.

Cultural Reference
Origin: Greece

In Greek Mythology, Themis was a Titan, a daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She is described as one "of good counsel" and presided over such as proper relations and traditions. She was often associated with her mother, the Earth.

Trivia

 * The Themis' Axe is the only axe introduced in The Lost Age that returns in Dark Dawn.

Gallery of Dark Dawn unleashes