Agatio

Agatio is a Mars Adept who along with his partner Karst 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, Agatio appears to have the higher authority because he is more powerful.

=Biography= Agatio hails from the northernmost settlement on the world map, the town and colony of Prox. 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. Among Prox's warriors, Agatio is the strongest besides Saturos, and among himself and Karst he 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, he and Karst remain in Prox as Saturos and Karst's sister Menardi 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, Agatio functions together with Karst 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 Saturos' quest, is lit, Agatio and Karst 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 Agatio and Karst 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 to the northwest and northwestern Osenia to the southeast, effictively corking the sea route Agatio and Karst 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, Agatio and Karst 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 Karst goes to Madra and waits around there continuing to seek out her sister, Agatio travels west into lower Gondowan and heads north to the town Naribwe searching for information on Menardi's whereabouts. Agatio displays his brusque and abrasive tendencies here when he asks an old man about Menardi; when the old man answers he never heard of anyone like that, Agatio shoves him to the ground and storms off. Eventually he returns to the ship, and soon Karst comes back with news that she has encountered Felix and the remainder of Saturos' group in Madra, and they have confirmed for her the awful truth: Menardi and Saturos were killed in battle by a group of warriors led by Isaac after the Venus Lighthouse's beacon was lit.

Agatio and Karst, 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 Agatio and Karst'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 Agatio and Karst 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. Agatio and Karst 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. Agatio and Karst also take offense when Alex states that he thinks they, 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, Agatio and Karst leave with Alex to let Felix resume his journey, and from then on Agatio 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. Agatio, Karst, 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, Agatio'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, Agatio and Karst 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 Agatio and Karst. Agatio and Karst emerge into Isaac and and his remaining companion Ivan's view to introduce themselves, and Agatio proclaims 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, Agatio says he'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.

Agatio, the more powerful of the pair, takes on Isaac himself even though Karst's most personal grudge is against Isaac, so she takes on Ivan individually. One could argue that that works, because Isaac and Ivan end up thoroughly defeated after a desperate battle. Agatio and Karst 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. Agatio and Karst 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 the Mars Adepts 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. Agatio presses Karst by asking whatever happened to the anger she had over Isaac's murder of her sister, and Karst responds that for all the rage that consumes her over this, she is not blinded it enough to be suicidal. Felix agrees and comes up to the tower's top to activate the Jupiter Beacon.

Once Felix lights Jupiter Lighthouse, Agatio and Karst 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. Agatio and Karst 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, Agatio and Karst 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 Agatio and Karst, 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 Agatio and Karst may defeat them in battle and leave them unconscious. In the scenario that Agatio and Karst 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 abandonment of them 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 the Mars Adepts 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 Agatio and Karst 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 Agatio and Karst 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, Agatio and Karst 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 Agatio relates to the villagers of Prox the events of their expedition and, still clearly resentful of Felix, tells them about how Felix "ran away because their quest was too dangerous". Following this, Agatio and Karst 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 Agatio and Karst 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 Agatio and Karst on Jupiter Lighthouse. The Adepts eventually defeat each beast.

The two Flame Dragons revert back to the forms of Agatio and Karst, 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 consider their luck as having not completely ran out and 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 Agatio and Karst 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 to decide.

Agatio and Karst 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, Agatio, and Karst 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 Agatio and Karst "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 lie to the Proxian people to avoid creating further resentment between Prox and people 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= Agatio makes an appearance as one of two boss enemies fought simultaneously at the end of the Jupiter Lighthouse dungeon, with the other being Karst.

On Jupiter Lighthouse
The scripted battle with Agatio and Karst 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.

Agatio has 4248 HP, 280PP, 377 Attack, 114 Defense, 178 Agility, and 46 Luck, making him generally "beefier" but slower than Karst. He has extremely high Mars resistance and decreasing resistance values to Jupiter, Venus, and then Mercury in that order, just like Karst and the previous game's encounters with Saturos and Menardi. His battle commands are as follows:
 * Attack: Strike a single party member with a single physical attack.
 * Eruption: Strike up to 3 party members with moderate Mars damage. Costs 14 PP.
 * Rising Dragon: A unique Psynergy spell exclusive to Agatio that summons a dragon-headed plume of flame which sends a single Adept high into the sky before exploding, inflicting heavy Mars damage. Costs 37 PP, making it one of the most expensive Psynergies.
 * Meteor Blow: A unique and spectacular Psynergy spell exclusive to Agatio that summons a meteor from the sky to crash into the field and thoroughly immolate all Adepts for heavy Mars damage all around. Costs 21 PP.
 * Debilitate: May lower the Defense ratings of all Adepts by 12.5% each. Costs 6 PP.
 * Rolling Flame: A monster skill where Agatio launches a powerful burst of fire to do respectable Mars damage to multiple Adepts.
 * Stun Muscle: A monster skill where Agatio charges forward to tackle an Adept, doing moderate damage and possibly inflicting Stun on that Adept.
 * Cage: A monster skill where Agatio attempts to cast yellow spherical field around an Adept, making it unable to act for the rest of the turn. It rarely hits, though.

In general, Agatio piles on more damage than what Karst is capable of, but even so it might be Karst that is 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 Agatio yields 3000 EXP and 3740, which adds up with Karst's 2813 EXP and 5280 coins to form 5813 EXP and 9020 coins total. Karst is also guaranteed to drop a Dark Matter.

=Trivia=
 * Agatio, along with Karst, while waiting on top of Jupiter Lighthouse for Felix and Piers to light the Jupiter beacon with the Jupiter Star, has hidden lines 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, Agatio is revealed to be thinking "Do even think about resisting us... We have our own ideas about that. Once the beacon is lit, your usefulness will have run out for good." It is probably quite clear that the first part is supposed to read "Don't even think about resisting us", and that that piece of text was not cleaned up because it was decided later that Sheba would not be part of your party so you wouldn't be able to mind-read it anyway.

=Quotes=
 * At Champa:
 * Agatio: "What's going on is Alex is demonstrating his remarkable foresight once again!"


 * Agatio: "I am Agatio. Let's see... That guy's Felix, and the girls are Jenna and Sheba, which makes him... Kraden. They look like an unreliable bunch of ragamuffins."


 * At Jupiter Lighthouse:
 * Ivan: "Prox? Never heard of it."
 * Agatio: "That doesn't surprise me. Our town hangs on the brink of extinction. And the seal placed on Alchemy is responsible!"
 * Isaac: "What are you saying? That doesn't make any sense."
 * Karst: "It matters not! For soon, Prox will recover its lost power..."
 * 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?"


 * Agatio: (After Karst and Agatio realize Alex has abandoned them) "Forget about him! Honestly, I was planning to do the same to him that I'm about to do to them! My only regret is that I won't be able to wipe that sneering smile off his face."
 * Karst: "Well, take out all of your aggressions on these brats... You'll feel better!"


 * Agatio: (To Isaac) "Ha! You're a fool! Never let concern distract you in battle!"


 * Agatio: (To Felix) "Isaac has proven to be a greater foe than we'd imagined. We can't let him live."


 * 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: "What, then? Do we give up? Fine! But this is not the end."
 * Karst: "Do with Isaac as you will."
 * Agatio: "But swear this oath to us: if we leave now, you will light the beacon's fire." (If Felix says yes) "I don't care if you want to help Garet or not! The lighthouse comes first!"


 * Agatio: (To Felix) "You see, you've betrayed us once already..."
 * Karst: "We simply can't trust you anymore..."
 * Agatio: "And now that Jupiter Lighthouse is lit, I'm afraid we have little use for traitors."


 * 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!"
 * Agatio: "Don't worry! They'll be fine! Now prepare for the end!"


 * Sheba: (After Felix's party has defeated Karst and Agatio in the battle on Jupiter Lighthouse) "What should we do with them?"
 * Agatio: "Finish us!"


 * 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..."


 * Agatio: "Felix? Is that you?" (If Felix says no) "How can you play games with us like this? Regardless, it's amazing that you're here... It means our luck hasn't entirely run out yet... Felix, you must complete our quest... Please... You have to light the beacon..."


 * Agatio: (Thinking) "I'm so tired... A fog is rising before my eyes... No! Can't die until the beacon... is lit..."


 * 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= Agatio, in spite of being one of the "main" characters, is probably the least popular such character to focus on in fan fiction because of his straightforward nature as a big and brutish man who does not contribute much of anything intellectual or personal to the plot. There is, of course, a shipping genre for Agatio and Karst ("Dragonshipping") much like how there was one for the previous game's pair Saturos and Menardi, and there have of course been notable fan fiction attempts to humanize him both in and out of that shipping genre.

Hagartio