Sveta

Sveta (ステラ Stella) is a playable character of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. She is a Jupiter Adept and is the first playable demi-human in the Golden Sun series. She has the ability to use Spirit Sense, which is similar to Ivan and Sheba's Mind Read. She is also one of the most important characters in the game, rivaling Karis and Tyrell in importance.

Story
Matthew's party first encounters Sveta as a shadowy figure in the Te Rya Village as she lures them into the Teppe Ruins and confronts them there. By offering to be their guide to the country of Morgal, she gets the party to help her deliver Hou Ju's bag to Ryu Kou, who was in Te Rya at the time. She then leaves the party, offering to join them when she hears a signal - the playing of the Arangoa Prelude by the band in Belinsk. This is a trap of sorts; it forces Matthew's group toward the Magma Orb. Sveta does this on behalf of her brother, Volechek, who, unbeknownst to Matthew's party, is the ruler of Belinsk. When she re-meets with the group, she quickly realizes that Blados and Chalis had deceived her brother, but by this stage, the party is trapped in the Belinsk Ruins and is forced to activate the Alchemy Dynamo.

Sveta, next in line to the throne should Volechek die, is ordered by her brother to flee from the now monster ridden Belinsk at the start of the Grave Eclipse. She unwillingly does so and sets about trying to end the Grave Eclipse with Matthew's group. This involves acquiring the Umbra Gear, a set of equipment given to the builders of the Apollo Lens that allows people (beastmen specifically) to endure the intense light that shines upon the Apollo Sanctum. With this and the use of three orbs, one of which was given to her by Volechek while she was leaving Belinsk, the party can activate the Apollo Lens. However, before they fire the device, a Chaos Hound sets upon them. The monster first seems to move to attack the group, but stops when Sveta approaches it. Blados and Chalis intervene and pump the monster with dark energy, causing it to go berserk and attack. After this and the following battle are won, Sveta realizes the truth - the monster was actually Volechek, corrupted by the Tuaparang soldiers. While she is grief-stricken, she realizes that there is no time to think of a cure for her brother, and urges Matthew to fire the Apollo Lens. He can't, because every time he approaches the firing pedestal, the light flooding through the Sanctum knocks him back. Sveta, even though she absorbed large amounts of light on the trek up to the Lens, offers to use her Umbra Gear along with Matthew's spirit to fire the device, though she expects them both to die in the process. But as she climbs, Volechek regains his consciousness, fires the Apollo Lens in a last heroic act for his sister, and dies.

In the epilogue, Sveta returns to Belinsk to become their queen, and is last seen saying farewell to her seven companions.

As a playable character
Sveta is a Jupiter Adept with potent Psynergy (both offensive and healing) and good base stats, but she's most noteworthy for her ability to transform into a beast. This transformation gives her incredible stat boosts, and during its effect, she can easily inflict hundreds (or thousands) of damage per turn, while staving off most damage from the strongest bosses. In this form, her Psynergy set is altered and becomes themed toward physical moves, like improved physical attacks and the ability to defend the whole party at once, but she nonetheless loses the ability to use Djinn. She reverts to her regular form when she is downed, stays in beast form for a number of turns equal to her number of Set Djinn, or when the battle ends. For each turn she stays in her beast form, one of her Djinn is put into Recover. Sveta is also the only character able to equip the Umbra Gear

Trivia

 * Sveta is the first and only playable character to use Claws and Knuckles as weapons.
 * Stella is the Latin and Italian word for "star," while Sveta is short for Svetlana, a Slavic name derived from the Russian word svet, meaning "light." It is also similar to the Polish świetlana (same pronunciation as svetlana), which means "girl filled with light."

Quotes

 * In Teppe Ruins:
 * Sveta: "You are surprised that I am behind you after you chased and cornered me?" (If Matthew responds with cheer) "Ha! I am glad you enjoyed our little chase through the ruins!"


 * Sveta: "Ah, I apologize. In your culture, it is customary to introduce one's self. I am Sveta of the beastmen."
 * Tyrell: "Whoa! She's a kitty-dog!"
 * Sveta: "Do not mistake me for a dumb animal. Our minds are alike, and I know when I am being insulted."


 * Sveta: "I am not your enemy. I am as my instincts make me, no more and no less."


 * Sveta: "I can feel that the owner of these things cares very much for them, so I wanted to return them."


 * Sveta: "Given that and my other powers, do you think I will be a worthy addition to your group?"
 * Tyrell: (If Matthew responds with sadness) "Yeah, it's a shame that prejudice against her people kept her from being able to join earlier..."


 * Sveta: (Upon hearing about Matthew's quest to take a feather from the mountain roc, the national symbol and perceived diety of her race) "I cannot go! I cannot help you get your feather. I would very much like to travel with you, but, for now..."
 * Karis: "Sveta, what's wrong? You can tell us, really."
 * Sveta: "Karis, you are a good person. I like you very much..."
 * Tyrell: "What are the rest of us, then? Chopped liver?"
 * Sveta: "No! I also like Tyrell and Rief and Amiti and Matthew... You have all been so... Thank you."