Garoh

Garoh (ポピーチー村 Popiichii Village) is a small village located in the south-central region of Osenia and west of the Balloo Range. It first appeared in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Well hidden from the naked eye, the village sits within the depths of a mountain, only accessible by climbing up the stairs and moving heavy tree bark that blocks the way.

Description
Garoh is a village of werewolves, a race of humans with the ability to transform into an anthropomorphic wolf by looking at the sight of the full moon. Many years ago in their past, people viewed the werewolves as a cursed race and would burn them alive in a rite known as "purification". Because of this, the werewolves had no choice but to hide in the mountains and mask their curse, or as some people see it, a gift. Whenever travelers come across the mountain and find the werewolf village, the villagers pretend to act as if werewolves don't exist. For Felix and his party, when they arrived in Garoh during a full moon, the villagers had to cloak themselves in order to prevent themselves from looking at the moon.

Connections between Garoh and Air's Rock
The werewolves of Garoh are Jupiter Adepts. They gain their power from a mountain called Air's Rock. Air's Rock is a sacred mountain that blesses the element of wind, Jupiter. As a tradition, when werewolves come of age and wisdom, they can choose to climb Air's Rock and learn the power of Reveal, an ability only learned by Jupiter Adepts. Master Maha, the chief of the village, learned Reveal himself but ended up losing his human form in the process. Being the source of the villagers' access to wind Psynergy causes the village to become very dependent on the mountain for Psynergy resources. Without it, werewolves would not be Adepts.

Vendors
Garoh's Inn is located in the bottom right part of the village and costs 8 coins per Adept.

Note: The weapon and armor shops are closed until Felix meets with Master Maha.

Items

 * [[Image:Elixir.gif]] Elixir: Found in the barrel next to the Inn.
 * [[Image:Nut.gif]] Nut: Found in a barrel outside the top left house.
 * [[Image:Sleep Bomb.gif]] Sleep Bomb: Found in the blue jar inside the upper left house.
 * [[Image:Smoke Bomb.gif]] Smoke Bomb: Found in a barrel outside the Inn.
 * [[Image:Hypnos Sword.gif]] Hypnos' Sword: Found in a chest near the pool. Reveal is needed in order to reach it. Players must take a hidden exit in the caves beneath Garoh.

Djinn

 * [[Image:Jupiter djinn.gif]] Ether has been staying with Maha until Felix and Co. arrive. After returning to talk with Maha the following morning, he decides to let Ether travel with Felix's party.



Story
When Felix's party first arrives in Garoh, they see a young werewolf rushing into the village. With their curiosity (or at least Kraden's) getting the better of them, they decide to follow the werewolf. When they approach a peculiar stone structure in the village, Master Maha uses Reveal to come out of the structure and dashes back inside upon spotting them. By having Sheba cast Reveal it is possible to follow him inside the rock, which turns out to be the entrance to a maze-like cavern. While exploring the cave Felix and Co. find the werewolf child running around. By chasing him to the back of the cave, Felix manages to bring Maha out of hiding.

During their meeting with Maha, Kraden begins to explain to him about Adepts and Psynergy, until Maha decides to continue the conversation in the morning. By returning to Maha's cave later, he and Kraden begin discussing how the people of Garoh became werewolves in the first place. Maha believes the ability to transform into wolves is simply an evolutionary defense, similar to how pillbugs and hedgehogs change shape for protection. Kraden then resumes his explanation of Psynergy, ultimately leading up to the Psynergy Stones in Mt. Aleph. Sheba then suspects that the strong winds from Air's Rock may have carried particles of its Psynergy Stones all the way to Garoh, which explains why they can use Whirlwind and Reveal. Master Maha then gives them the Jupiter Djinni Ether to aid them on their journey.

Origin
Garoh may be based on the town of Yulara in Northern Territory, Australia. This town is just outside of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, which contains the real-world Ayer's Rock, as well as a place known as the Valley of the Wind. Notably, the name "Yulara" comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "howling" and also referring to dingos, the wild dogs that roam Australia.

Garoh's English name is related to the French term "garou" (or "loup-garou"--"werewolf"--either way, derived from an old Germanic term), as well as the Japanese term "餓狼" ("garou", "hungry wolf). "Garoh" suggests a stronger nod to the latter, as the French term is pronounced like "roo" where the Japanese term would be pronounced like "row"... or "roh"; beyond that, it is common in romanization from Japanese to replace a U (for extended vowels) with an H. It should be noted however, that the name Garoh was developed for the English translation; the name Popiichii Village has nothing in common with this etymology, suggesting more of a French origin for the town's name.  That being said, translator teams are, as a rule, knowledgeable in both languages, and may have drawn upon the Japanese loan-word.

Trivia
While it is presented in an obvious fashion, Garoh is not vital to the game's storyline and could be ignored in entirety. Because of this, there is no script for anyone in Isaac's party, and if one chooses to ignore the town until after the Reunion takes place, the scenes of dialogue play out with only Felix and company, as the developers intended players to visit Garoh before the two teams band together (and before acquiring Piers at that).