Susa

Susa (スサ Susa) is an NPC central to a subplot that takes place in Izumo and Gaia Rock in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. He is also confirmed to be an Adept; while his element is never explicitly stated in-game, most evidence suggests that Susa is a Venus Adept.

Story
A resident of the town Izumo, Susa is the younger brother of the town's mayor figure Lady Uzume and is to be wed to the maiden Kushinada. However, the dragonlike Serpent within Gaia Rock awakens and begins to terrorize the town, leading to the selection by lottery of Kushinada to be the one sacrificed to the Serpent in order to appease it. Susa obviously disagrees with this decision and goes into Gaia Rock to battle the Serpent himself. He brings in barrels of sake (Dragonsbane in the English version) and feeds them to the dragon in order to weaken it by putting it into a drunken stupor. After a while Susa attempts to slay it with the Cloud Brand, but the Serpent is still too strong. It is up to Felix's party to battle and defeat the monster for Susa.

Following the battle, Izumo celebrates both the defeat of the Serpent and the survival of Susa and Kushinada. After the cutscene in which the two and Uzume thank Felix's party, Kushinada reveals that they plan on having a son together named Takeru, and promises to tell him about "your [Felix's] great deeds", vowing to herself that if Felix's descendants are ever in trouble, Takeru will come to their aid. A magazine preview has mentioned Susa and Kushinada will return in Dark Dawn.

In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
Susa makes a return appearance on Dark Dawn as the husband of Kushinada and the father of Himi and Takeru. He is the king of Izumo's spiritual successor, Yamata, which was founded after Izumo was destroyed by floods.

Quotes

 * In Izumo:
 * Woman: (thinking) What if losing Kushinada makes Susa return to his wild ways? I hope he fights the serpent... If he loses, at least he won't have to bear living without Kushinada.


 * In Gaia Rock:
 * Susa: (thinking) ''Who do they think they are? I'm the only one who can save Kushinada.


 * Outside Gaia Rock:
 * Susa: "You're going to tell Kushinada that you defeated the serpent, aren't you?" (If Felix says no) "Please, you were the ones to defeat it, so you should be honest and accept credit."
 * Susa: (thinking) Kushinada is safe... that's all that matters!


 * Thirty years later:
 * Susa: "We have escaped the darkness so far, but I don't wish to see it spread. I will help however I can. Unfortunately, I don't know how much I can help. Kushinada and Himi, on the other hand..."


 * Susa: (After Kushinada collapses from overexerting herself in her attempt to restore Himi from her comatose state) "This is why I wanted her to stop... It does Himi no good if Kushinada works herself to death caring for her!"


 * Susa: (Thinking) "I wish I knew enough to lead the prayer vigils. Then I could let Kushinada rest. But there's nothing I can do."


 * Susa: (After the Third Eye floats from Matthew's inventory and imprints itself into Himi's forehead) "What was that...? What did you do to Himi?! I ASKED YOU WHAT YOU DID TO MY DAUGHTER!"


 * Susa: (After hearing that Himi was "chosen by the Watchtower's treasure") "Hold! I DEMAND MORE OF AN EXPLANATION!"
 * Himi: (Rises and begins to partially float off the ground) "Allow me to give it, Papa: I have to help these people stop the eclipse."
 * Susa: "Little Himi, you've just woken up. You're not making any sense..."


 * Susa: "On hearing Himi's words, I know she truly was born to stop this terrible eclipse. Now that I know this, I cannot selfishly force her to stay here. I wish it were otherwise."


 * Susa: (Thinking) "Ancestors, please look after my daughter. She is too precious to lose. Not long ago, I would have stopped her from going. Now I know that I mustn't."

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn's encyclopedia entry for Susa:

This king of Yamata is the father to Himi and Takeru and husband to Kushinada. He was a hero of Izumo in his youth. While the younger Susa was wild and uncontrollable, age has mellowed him, and he has earned the respect of his subjects.

=Cultural reference= Susa's name is a shortening of "Susano" from the Japanese Kushinada legend. This diminution is likely intended to reflect the fact that Susa, unlike Susano, is not a god. But like Susano, Susa sets out to save the maiden Kushinada from a dragon, uses sake to weaken the dragon, beheads it with a powerful sword, and afterwards marries Kushinada. Takeru is a reference to Prince Ousu, a future wielder of the Kusanagi no tsurugi, latter titled Yamato Takeru ("The Brave of Yamato").

Trivia

 * This family tree posted on Nintendo of America's official Twitter page claims that Susa is a playable character in the first two games, and that he does not return in any form in the third, both of which are erroneous.