Karst

Karst is a Mars Adept who along with her partner Agatio is a main antagonist in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. The pair nominally follows in the footsteps of the original game's Saturos and Menardi and shares their goal of lighting the four Elemental Lighthouses and restoring Alchemy to the world, but seek vengeance upon Isaac in response to the murder of Saturos and Menardi at his hands at the end of Golden Sun. Of the two, Karst is the more personal side, for Menardi was her sister.

=Biography= Karst hails from the northernmost settlement on the world map, the town and colony of Prox, and lived with her sister Menardi; though they are sisters, they look nothing alike. Karst and the other Proxeans are of a distinctive humanlike race that is characterized by almost reptilian scales and spikes on various areas of their flesh, and more importantly, their natural adeptness and extreme potential in proficency to the Mars element. They are thus afforded both a natural toughness unconventional by normal human standards and a natural immunity to the constant cold of their environment. While Karst appears to be a powerful warrior in her own right, Agatio appears to have the higher authority of the two because his strength and power approaches that of Saturos'.

At the start of the first Golden Sun, she and Agatio remain in Prox as Menardi and Saturos and their recently found companions Alex and Felix depart to set out on their quest to restore Alchemy and prevent the edge of the world up north from growing enough in size that Prox and Mars Lighthouse would eventually collapse into the abyss. Felix's parents and Kyle, whom Saturos and Menardi rescued from death previously, also remain behind at Prox, and are essentially kept incarcerated there on Saturos' order so that Felix willingly assists him on his quest; if the four Lighthouses are lit, the parents will be freed.

In Golden Sun: The Lost Age
For the most part, Karst functions together with Agatio as a single character unit in terms of plot.

The Great Eastern Sea
At any point in time before the tidal wave that ensues a period of time after the Venus Lighthouse, the second of the four Lighthouses on Menardi's quest, is lit, Karst and Agatio depart from Prox and sail down across the Great Western Sea, then cross over into the Great Eastern Sea; whether they depart from Prox on their own volition or by order from Prox is not specified. Once Karst and Agatio are in the Eastern Sea, that is when the tidal wave that originates from the Sea of Time is generated, which cataclysmically affects the lower continents on the world map: Indra is physically shoved southwest so that it is sandwiched between lower Gondowan and northwestern Osenia, effictively corking the sea route Karst and Agatio just took. They are now currently unable to return to the Western Sea, which might be an issue in the future in regards to reaching Jupiter Lighthouse in the western continent of Atteka.

Presumably, for a good long while after the start of The Lost Age, Karst and Agatio search everywhere for Saturos and Menardi, checking the area around Venus Lighthouse in Gondowan for starters. They eventually moor their ship somewhere on Indra and split up in their search for information about their companions' whereabouts. While Agatio heads into Lower Gondowan to go to Naribwe, Karst goes to Madra and waits around, whereupon she hears rumors of a traveller named Isaac that had just passed through the town earlier. It is then that she comes across Felix and his travelling party for the first time since Felix's stay in Prox. Karst demands to know where her sister Menardi is, but however hesitant to respond Felix's group might be, Karst discerns the incredible truth that Menardi, for all her power, was killed by Isaac. Karst at this point begins to get consumed by rage and a drive to avenge her sister's death by seeking out and killing Isaac, and she tells Felix that he will have to find a way back to the Western Sea and light Jupiter Lighthouse on his own while she takes care of what is now, in her mind's eye, her own work to exact vengeance. Karst then storms off back to the ship.

Karst and Agatio, just before they depart back out to sea, are approached by Alex, the other man who stayed in Prox before departing with Felix on Saturos and Menardi's original quest. He convinces them to let him join them on his ship in exchange for him functioning as Karst and Agatio's invaluable guide and planner, and secures his position by telling them about how the Mars Star is currently in the possession of Isaac's group rather than Felix's. The three now travelling together, Alex's first idea is to head to Champa and wait for Felix's party to arrive there (he predicts Felix's group will come there, which strikes Agatio as remarkable foresight). Once Felix arrives, the three appear together and Alex lets Karst and Agatio give a more thorough introduction of themselves to Felix's party, and intimidate Felix through threats that Felix should focus less on free exploration and more on the important task of finding their way to Jupiter Lighthouse and activating it. Karst and Agatio are told by Alex, however, that he isn't on "their side" any more than he is on Felix's side because his only concern through all this is the eventual activation of all four Lighthouses. Karst also takes offense when Alex states that he thinks she and Agatio, like Saturos and Menardi, are pretty much akin to simple brutes that can't be expected to be handle the task that Felix is currently set on, which is why he means to leave the task to Felix. After everyone has said their piece, Karst and Agatio leave with Alex to let Felix resume his journey, and from then on Karst and the other two presumably follow Felix's ship across the ocean at a safe distance, always keeping a close watch on Felix's activities.

Jupiter Lighthouse
After a great period of time, Felix's party gains the Psynergy ability necessary to allow them to remove the rocky obstacles that were created when Indra collided with lower Gondowan, thus allowing their through to the Great Western Sea. Karst, Agatio, and Alex soon follow, and after another period of time they land on the continent Atteka, where Jupiter Lighthouse is, and follow Felix's footsteps to the tower themselves. After Felix's group enters Jupiter Lighthouse, Karst's group does as well, and apparently they are by now aware that Isaac's group is following up behind them in their footsteps. This is why, on Jupiter Lighthouse, they discover and study an ancient trap mechanism present on one of the elevated balcony levels of Jupiter Lighthouse, which is essentially a trap-door bridge activated by a nearby floorswitch. They figure that once Isaac's party arrives at Jupiter Lighthouse and crosses this bridge on their way to the top, Karst and Agatio will trigger the trap and make at least one of the Adepts, preferably the Mercury Adept Mia, fall away a safe distance. Then they will jump in and finish the remaining Adepts while divided and weakened.

Indeed, this is just what happens; Isaac's party comes to Jupiter Lighthouse and gets caught in their trap, but it turns out both Mia and the party's Mars Adept, Garet, fall into the trap together, which was definitely a pleasant surprise for Karst and Agatio. Karst and Agatio emerge into Isaac and and his remaining companion Ivan's view to introduce themselves, and proclaim that Isaac has done a great wrong to Karst and must now pay. They also describe how the seal placed on Alchemy is responsible for the dire circumstances currently beset upon their hometown, Prox, and by this point their obsessions have apparently taken over: they proclaim that when Alchemy is released soon, Prox will recover its lost power, and then all the people of Weyard will kneel before it. Obviously this is not something Isaac's side agrees with, and they ready themselves for a two-on-two "fair fight", but Karst clarifies in disregard to the concept of fairness: They brought a third Adept to help them kill Isaac's party, Alex. Just then Karst notices that Alex has completely abandoned them and is nowhere to be seen; considering this a betrayal, she and Agatio say they'll do the same to him after they take care of Isaac's party, and the pair launches their offensive against Isaac and Ivan with the intent to kill.

Even though Karst's most personal grudge is against Isaac, she takes on Ivan individually while letting Agatio, the stronger of the pair, take on Isaac. One could argue that that works, because Isaac and Ivan end up thoroughly defeated after a desperate battle. Karst and Agatio are both surprised at the amount of fight their opponents put up, though, but disregard that as they prepare to finish them off. Just then, who else should show up but Felix and his party to prevent them from the deed. Karst and Agatio insist that Isaac and Ivan must be finished now because of how powerful they were, but Felix's side declares their full intention to betray Karst for the sake of Isaac's life and would be willing to fight them for it. Weakened from the battle, Karst admits they have no choice but to let Felix's side do what it will with Isaac's side, provided Felix takes the Mars Star from Isaac and then comes up with them to the aerie of Jupiter Lighthouse to light it with the Jupiter Star. She says, after all, that for all the rage that consumes her over Isaac's murder of her sister, she is not blinded it. Felix agrees and comes up to the tower's top to activate the Jupiter Beacon.

Once Felix lights Jupiter Lighthouse, Karst and Agatio then break it to him that they simply can't trust him anymore based on his betrayal earlier, and that now that Jupiter has been lit, they have no further need for traitors. Since the last lighthouse, Mars Lighthouse, is up north near Prox, the Mars Adepts can light it themselves, so Karst steals the Mars Star from Felix. Karst and Agatio taunt Felix by assuring that Prox would release Felix's parents once all four Lighthouses are lit, but if Felix is dead, they'd probably have to spend the rest of their lives in Prox anyway. With this, Karst and Agatio charge and attempt to finish off Felix once and for all. The battle is a harrowing one for Felix, but members of Felix's party quickly arrive from below to assist him in his battle against Karst and Agatio, who are eventually being fought four-to-two.

At this point in The Lost Age, the battle can go either way: either Felix's party may emerge the victor, or Karst and Agatio may defeat them in battle and leave them unconscious. In the scenario that Karst and Agatio win, Karst comments that everyone they've battled thus far have all been far more powerful than they expected. When Agatio suggests that Isaac's party might be coming and that they should leave, Karst insists that treason deserves death and that Felix's party must be finished. At that moment, Alex reappears, telling them that there is no time for petty grudges. Karst takes the opportunity to recite the same death threat at Alex for his betrayal earlier, but Alex illustrates that they have been thoroughly drained from their battles with both Isaac and Felix so they are in no condition to fight him too. And since Isaac and his rejuvenated party are coming up at this very moment, and since Karst has the Mars Star they need to complete their more important task, Alex convinces the pair to flee Jupiter Lighthouse with him while they can, using the now-functional elevator system, just as Isaac's group comes upon the others.

In the scenario that Felix's party outlasts their opponents and renders them helpless on the ground, Agatio tells them to finish the job. Karst immediately presents a hypothesis intended to put emotional pressure on Felix: What if the people of Prox decide to kill Felix's parents if neither Karst and Agatio nor Saturos and Menardi return to Prox, having been killed in action by the people whose parents are currently being held in Prox? Jenna asserts she doesn't believe the people of Prox would kill them (and she is frankly right). Before Felix can decide what to do with the pair, Alex chooses this moment to reappear, and quickly revives and heals Karst and Agatio enough so that they can stand, albeit barely. Alex reasons that if Felix is not going to finish them off, then the pair'd be better off not being left there at the lighthouse's aerie, so he will be escorting them out away from the lighthouse. Karst is annoyed and expresses disdain over the fact Alex apparently isn't going to help them defeat Felix's group in battle, but Alex quickly points out that Isaac's party is currently coming up so they should flee while they can. So, the Mars Adepts and Alex take the elevator down just as Isaac's group and Felix's group have their encounter.

Mars Lighthouse
Following the episode at Jupiter Lighthouse, Karst and Agatio part ways with Alex; it would stand to reason that they're all too happy to do so based on prior events. The pair, with the Mars Star in hand, sail back up north to their hometown, Prox (somehow bypassing the glaciers and walls of ice that have blockaded the natural sea route to the Northern Reaches). They briefly stay there and relate to the villagers of Prox the events of their expedition and, still clearly resentful of Felix, tell them about how Felix "ran away because their quest was too dangerous". Following this, Karst and Agatio officially depart from Prox again and travel north to Mars Lighthouse, with the intent to light it.

As they enter and explore the frozen structure, they eventually wander lost inside it. All of a sudden, they are beset upon by the Wise One, the single-eyed entity responsible for guarding Alchemy's seal, and it looks into the pair's souls and declare they lack the will to go any farther. The Wise One then uses its powers to transform Karst and Agatio into a pair of lumbering, mindless Flame Dragons, and encases them in a slab of ice at the bottommost level of Mars Lighthouse. The two remain in suspended animation like this for a potentially lengthy period of time until Felix and Isaac, who have since merged forces into one full party of Adepts, enter and explore Mars Lighthouse for themselves. The Adepts eventually come to the chamber where the two dragons are encased, and activate the mechanim to shatter the ice and free the creatures. The two dragons immediately attack the party on instinct, and in the battle that ensues they use the same Psynergy abilities as they used back as Karst and Agatio on Jupiter Lighthouse. The Adepts eventually defeat each beast.

The two Flame Dragons revert back to the forms of Karst and Agatio, thoroughly beaten and near-death, to the Adepts' likely considerable surprise. The Mars Adepts recall to each other how they were trying to find the aerie but were told by "the eye" that they lack the conviction to go any farther before everything went black. They also realize that they are probably going to die soon because they are starting to feel cold, something the people of Prox are ordinarily immune to. They then notice that Felix and the others are in the room with them, and in a sort of last-minute change of heart they beg him to take the Mars Star and light Mars Beacon himself, in spite of their prior antagonism. Felix and the others take the Mars Star and head up to the Lighthouse's aerie, having no choice but to leave Karst and Agatio to die alone together. The last thing they are heard saying is that they swear to keep alive at least until they can tell the beacon has been lit; whether they achieve this is up to the player's interpretation.

Karst and Agatio do not figure into the finale of The Lost Age beyond having given Felix back the Mars Star. In the finale, the Mars Lighthouse eventually is activated following the own efforts of Felix and Isaac's combined group of Adepts and their own dramatic set of circumstances. Alchemy is restored to the world, and Prox has been saved from eventual destruction, and the people of Prox congratulate and thank Isaac and Felix for what they have done, even though they feel sad that Saturos, Menardi, Karst, and Agatio had all lost their lives. In a piece of Mind-Readable dialogue in Prox accessible only by hacking, it is indicated that the people of Prox were told by Felix's group that Karst and Agatio "were defeated by a monstrous dragon" which Felix and the others then beat and slew. It is likely this was told by Felix's group as a white lie to the Proxian people to avoid creating further resentment between Prox and the people of Weyard, since technically it was Isaac and Felix's group that killed the pair much like how Isaac killed Saturos and Menardi beforehand.

=As a boss= Karst makes an appearance as one of two boss enemies fought simultaneously at the end of the Jupiter Lighthouse dungeon, with the other being Agatio.

On Jupiter Lighthouse
The scripted battle with Karst and Agatio occurs at the top of Jupiter Lighthouse after you decide to cast the Jupiter Star into the lighthouse's open well. Several things make this boss counter unique: You begin the battle with your party only comprised of Felix and Piers. Survive two turns of the battle and then a brief cutscene shows Jenna arriving to join your party in the battle, and then after another two turns another similar cutscene occurs with Sheba arriving to join the battle. From that point on, the boss battle plays out as the only boss battle in either game that can be optionally won or lost; the plot still progresses if you lose, and whether you win or lose only affects the cutscene following the battle and whether you get the EXP and material rewards.

Karst has 3186 HP, 320PP, 354 Attack, 107 Defense, 235 Agility, and 50 Luck. She has extremely high Mars resistance and decreasing resistance values to Jupiter, Venus, and then Mercury in that order, just like Agatio and the previous game's encounters with Saturos and Menardi. Her battle commands are as follows:
 * Attack: Strike a single party member with a single physical attack.
 * Fiery Blast: Strike several party members with moderate Mars damage. Costs 19 PP.
 * Supernova: Strike all party members with heavy Mars damage. Costs 31 PP.
 * Healing Aura: Restores her and Agatio's HP by just over 100. Costs 11 PP.
 * Break: Karst removes all buffing effects that the party members had applied to themselves with Psynergy and other effects at this point. Costs 5 PP.
 * Death Scythe: A monster skill where Karst slashes an Adept with her scythe, either doing sharp damage or instantly downing that Adept.
 * Djinnfest: A monster skill where Karst projects a flurry of large glowing musical note symbols at the party, putting one of each member's active Djinn in Recovery mode.
 * Heat Kiss: A monster skill where Karst projects a flurry of orange valentine-shaped clouds at the party, decreasing each Adept's Attack by 25%.

In general, Karst does not do quite as heavy damage as Agatio is capable of, but she might be considered the more dangerous opponent regardless because of her potential instant-death skill she shares with Menardi from the previous game. It depends on the player which of the two opponents should be focused on first, but always focus on piling on the damage of one opponent over the other because they are most dangerous when fought together simultaneously. Either one can be easily handled and dispatched individually.

If the battle ends up won for your party, then Karst yields 2813 EXP and 5280 coins, which adds up with Agatio's 3000 EXP and 3740 coins to form 5813 EXP and 9020 coins. Karst is also guaranteed to drop a Dark Matter.

=Trivia=
 * Karst, along with Agatio, while waiting on top of Jupiter Lighthouse for Felix and Piers to light the Jupiter beacon with the Jupiter Star, has a hidden line of Mind Read-able text that normally cannot be seen because Sheba, the only Adept in your party that can use Mind Read, is out of your group at the time. Using a hacking device to allow Felix or Piers in your party to use Mind Read, Karst is revealed to be thinking "Once Jupiter is lit, we'll have no need for you. Just watch..."

=Quotes=
 * At Madra:
 * Sheba: "You won't see Menardi or Saturos again. Isaac killed them. They're probably at the bottom of the sea by now..."
 * Jenna: "Sheba! Quiet!"
 * Karst: "Hmph! I heard that, you wretched little thing! Can it be true? Is my sister dead?" (If Felix says no) "No? Then where is she!? Show me my sister! What is the matter? Is it so very hard? You were traveling with her--bring her to me! She would never have left you behind... and yet you are alone... So it's true? She's... Who is this Isaac?" (Everyone keeps quiet) "What? You feign ignorance? Why? Would you protect him from my fury!?"


 * Kraden: "How do you know it wasn't Felix who defeated your sister?"
 * Karst: "What do you take me for? I'm a warrior, like my sister...I can gauge a man's strength at a single glance. Even if you doubled Felix's power, he would still be no match for my sister."


 * Karst: "We have our own work to do, and number one on the list is taking care of Isaac! Are we clear on this, Felix?" (If Felix says yes) "Aren't you an obedient boy..."


 * Karst: "We're going to find that Isaac... I'm going to find this Isaac... And I swear that the last thing he sees will be Karst avenging the death of her dear sister!" (Karst storms off and leaves town)
 * Sheba: "Wow. And I thought Saturos and Menardi had issues."


 * At Champa:
 * Sheba: "Karst!"
 * Karst: "That's right, Karst! I'm flattered that you remember!"


 * Karst: "Enough of your childish gibes! Alex, I want to know what makes these punks useful!"


 * Karst: "But we will always be nearby... pushing you to make your way to Jupiter Lighthouse swiftly."


 * At Jupiter Lighthouse:
 * Agatio: "We shall bring Prox back from the edge, and then all the people of Weyard will kneel before us!"
 * Ivan: "You think we'd let you, after hearing all that nonsense?"
 * Karst: "See! You're a hindrance!"


 * Isaac: "So that's the deal, is it? You came up here to fight us?"
 * Karst: "Oh, did you figure that out all on your own? Impressive! I'm quite fond of intelligent boys..."
 * Ivan: "I hope you don't think we're afraid of a fair fight, two on two..."
 * Agatio: "A fair fight?"
 * Karst: "I'm sorry if I misled you, but we have a third... A Water Adept... Alex!" (Looks around) "Alex? ...Where is he?"


 * Karst: "Oh, great... Are you going to betray us now?" (If Felix says yes) "Typical. And you're going to try to stop us from finishing them off, aren't you?"


 * Karst: "Agatio, if we fight Felix now... we'll be destroyed."
 * Agatio: "Isaac killed your sister! Where is your anger!?"
 * Karst: "I am filled with rage, but not so much as to be blinded by it."


 * Agatio: "We've got the Mars Star! We don't need you anymore!"
 * Karst: "You know what that means, of course, don't you?" (If Felix says no) "No? Well, how can I put this? It's time to die!"
 * Piers: "But what will happen to Felix's parents?"
 * Agatio: "We keep our promises! Once all four lighthouses have been lit, we shall release them!"
 * Karst: "We would never do anything as terrible as breaking our word... as you have done so casually."
 * Agatio: "But if you're dead... Who will come to take them home from Prox?"
 * Karst: "I guess they'll just have to spend their remaining years in the frozen wastelands of the north!"


 * Alex: (If Felix wins the battle against Karst and Agatio) "If you're not going to finish them off, you'll just be leaving them here, won't you?"
 * Agatio: "You're not going to help us defeat these brats?"
 * Karst: "You better not be expecting a big thank-you for this, Alex!"
 * Alex: "Of course not, Karst. I would never ask for your gratitude."


 * Agatio: (If Felix loses the battle against Karst and Agatio) "If we stay here much longer, Isaac and the others will come! We should leave!"
 * Karst: "I know... But treason deserves death! We must finish them!"
 * Alex: "There's no time for petty grudges!"
 * Agatio: "Alex! You..."
 * Alex: "You no longer consider me a friend? I do not care."
 * Karst: "It goes beyond that, Alex! You've betrayed us, and treason deserves death!"
 * Alex: "Yes, I heard you the first time."


 * At Mars Lighthouse, following the battle with two Flame Dragons that turn out to have been Karst and Agatio:
 * Karst: "Why am I so cold? We of the Fire Clan are meant to be immune to the cold..."
 * Agatio: "I feel the cold too, Karst... I... I'm afraid we're going to die up here..."
 * Karst: "I can feel it now... The long, dark sleep creeping into my soul..."


 * Karst: (To Felix) "We can't even stand... We're in no condition to go on. Light the beacon for us... Please."
 * Agatio: "You'll need the Mars Star. Go on... Take it."
 * Karst: "Please hurry... If I can just see the light of the beacon, I'll know that I haven't died in vain."


 * Karst: "Your hands... so warm... People have such warm hands... I had forgotten..."


 * In Prox:
 * Villager: "It's too bad about Agatio and Karst... They weren't bad people... A little obsessed, yeah, but it's still sad that they're gone."

=In fan circles= Karst, compared to Agatio, is a popular character for her element of vengeance and personal vendetta in response to how Isaac killed her sister Menardi; she is the more personal side to The Lost Age's "antagonistic" unit whereas Agatio is merely the more brawny. There is, of course, a shipping genre for Karst and Agatio ("Dragonshipping") much like how there was one for the previous game's pair Saturos and Menardi. Also, because she has several important interactions with Felix throughout the game, the term "Duskshipping" was coined for fan fiction centering on Felix and Karst.

Dinaria