Mia

Mia is a Mercury Adept and a playable character in Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age. She is the only mage-style Mercury Adept in either game, and is probably the only Adept that can be labeled the "designated healer" to the player's party.

=As a playable character=



Mia is a character that becomes a permanent part of Isaac's traveling party in Golden Sun early on while exploring the dungeon Mercury Lighthouse. She is the party's resident Mercury Adept, and she is the only mage-style Mercury Adept playable in either game, which makes her inherent class series the Water Seer class series and makes her the only character who can become this class. When the player first recruits her into the party she is level 10, is initially equipped with a Witch's Wand, Travel Robe, Leather Gloves and Wooden Cap, and has one Mercury Djinn Set onto her (Fizz). She also comes with an Herb, Antidote, and Elixir in her inventory.

Mia is exactly like Ivan in that she does not possess the attack power to strike with physical attacks anywhere near as hard as Isaac and Garet, for none of the classes she can have have a high Attack modifier. For players that only play with each Adept in their respective mono-elemental Class series, Mia's Water Seer class series can be said to be a little lacking in the way of offensive Mercury Psynergy as well, because unless she is level-grinded all the way to level 42 (players don't often level that much in the original Golden Sun where level 30 is considered strong and sturdy) to learn Ice Missile, her strongest Mercury Psynergy is Glacier at level 24. But Mia proves invaluable as a party member because as a Water Seer-series class she has the best healing ability in both Golden Sun games. She starts out with the potent single-target Ply Psynergy series, and when she has at least four Mercury Djinn set onto her she gains the Wish Psynergy series, which is excellent in restoring large amounts of HP to all current battling Adepts at once. Mia is often used as a designated cleric.

Mia, like the rest of her party, is absent from your own party as led by Felix for much of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. At a late point in the game, Isaac's party joins Felix's as additional party members, and the statistics and inventory of Mia as well as her companions Isaac, Garet, and Ivan are directly dependent on whether you're using data transfer, what level of data transfer you're using, and the actions and levels of progress Isaac's party committed in the previous game.

If there is no data transfer used at all, Mia will join at level 28, with five of the original game's 28 Djinn (instead of seven) Set onto her, and she will be equipped with a War Mace, Silver Vest, Silver Circlet, and Silver Armlet.

=Biography=

Background
Mia is a kind young woman (age 17 by the start of Golden Sun) who was presumably born and raised in the wintry town of Imil in the continent Angara's northernmost region, along with fellow Mercury Adept Alex. The two of them are, at least by the present age when the events of Golden Sun begins, the last known living descendants of the ancient Mercury Clan who once lived in this region to guard the nearby Elemental Lighthouse of Water, Mercury Lighthouse. As Mercury Clan members, Alex and Mia are Mercury Adepts and share the abilities of healing and the conjuring of watery and chilling Psynergy-driven spellcraft, and they are the only two individuals on Angara able to enter and exit the normally sealed-off Lighthouse at will. As the upholders of their bloodline's decree to ensure the Mercury Lighthouse is never activated, Alex and Mia lived in Imil together to support Imil's populace year-in and year-out, taking care of the ill and battling the regular cold and flu epidemics that Imil experiences annually. In addition, Mia lives with and is deeply close to two child apprentices, Justin and Megan.

Mia's ability to use the Ply healing Psynergy has ended up earning her a degree of fame across portions of Angara (who of course have no idea about the art of Psynergy in general), with people calling her an "angel" both as an endearing callsign and, in some cases, as acknowledgment that Mia must be some sort of angelic entity in human form because of her powers.

In the English version of Golden Sun, Alex is described as being Mia's apprentice. However, this is inconsistent with the Japanese version of the game, which describes Alex as having been the apprentice to Mia's unnamed father, who is presumably dead by this point (but who may have been living with Mia and Alex up until shortly before the start of Golden Sun). Considering how Alex appears to be older than Mia and certainly has superior aptitude in Psynergy powers, this is the more commonly accepted background for Alex and Mia.

A short period of time before Golden Sun begins, Alex departs from Imil and disappears without a trace, leaving Mia effectively all alone to combat the epidemics herself. Whatever Mia's feelings in response to this are can only be imagined.

In Golden Sun
A period of time after the eruption of Mt. Aleph southwest in Angara, a group of travelers travel up to and pass through the town, and their mere presence apparently intensifies the situation with the epidemics, forcing Mia to work ever harder to save lives. Shortly afterwards, however, another, smaller group of travelers arrive at Imil, consisting of the Venus Adept Isaac, the Mars Adept Garet, and the Jupiter Adept Ivan, who are in pursuit of the other group from earlier, which are led by the menacing Mars Adepts Saturos and Menardi. After Mia uses Ply to save an elderly couple which she views as like her grandparents, she crosses paths with Isaac for the first time, but before they have a chance to talk the Mercury Lighthouse in the distance briefly glows, signifying that Adepts have entered the structure. Mia is startled to see this, since only Mercury Adepts can gain entry into the Lighthouse, but she realizes Alex must be involved, so she immediately rushes out of Imil toward Mercury Lighthouse to investigate.

When Mia arrives at Mercury Lighthouse, however, she discovers that the entrance has been barricaded by a statue shifted in front of the door, positioned in a way that she cannot move it by herself. No sooner does this happen when Isaac arrives: He immediately casts the Move Psynergy to telepathically shift the statue aside, which Mia is able to perceive as Psynergy, and Mia and Isaac learn to their mutual surprise that they are both Adepts like each other. But Mia runs into the lighthouse to seek out whoever is inside; however, monsters from the outside world have invaded the Lighthouse, and Isaac decides to accompany her and fight alongside her through the structure. More obstacles meant to keep Mia away from the intruders prompt Mia to trust Isaac and join his group of Adepts in working together to explore Mercury Lighthouse. Eventually, Isaac and Mia's group arrive at Mercury Lighthouse Aerie.

Mia and Isaac immediately discover to their great horror that Mercury Lighthouse's beacon has been activated. Mia proclaims that she has failed in the one duty set upon her, which was to ensure that the Mercury Lighthouse is never lit. Isaac and Garet tell her that this is Saturos and Menardi's doing; the Mars Adepts have the Elemental Stars and plan to activate all the Lighthouses with them so as to release the force of Alchemy from its seal upon the world, and that Isaac and Garet are pursuing Saturos in a quest to stop them and save the world from what could end up being an abusable, deadly force. Isaac in addition is trying to save two hostages from Saturos' grasp, which include his childhood friend Jenna and the elderly scholar Kraden, and Isaac is in possession of the Mars Star, the one Star that Saturos' group lacks.

Suddenly, they notice Menardi and the rest of Saturos' group leaving the Lighthouse aerie, including their companion Felix and their two hostages Jenna and Kraden, and Saturos himself steps out from behind the lit beacon to comment on how Isaac and Garet were lucky to survive their previous encounter at Mt. Aleph, but will all now die by his hand so as to stop their meddling and retrieve the Mars Star from them. As Mia and Isaac's group readies for a battle with the immensely powerful Mars Adept, Saturos suddenly realizes that the Lighthouse's Mercury element is putting a severe damper on his own Mars powers, meaning that he must finish them off quickly. Though still a fearsome opponent in battle, Isaac, Mia, Garet, and Ivan eventually outlast and overpower Saturos in an epic victory.

It is then that Alex appears into view, commenting on how it's been a long time since he and Mia last saw each other. Mia is aghast and betrayed to learn that Alex has joined forces with Saturos: Alex was the one who let Saturos' group into Mercury Lighthouse and was the one to help him light the beacon and betray the oath of the Mercury Clan, and Alex will now be assisting Saturos in lighting all the rest. Alex subtly tries to express to Mia that such as mighty force as Alchemy, which he obviously admires, is not something that should just be kept sealed away. He then helps Saturos up and flees Mercury Lighthouse with him by using his instant warping Psynergy, which shocks Mia yet again as Alex appears to have become much more powerful than when she knew him.

Mia, obviously affected by Alex's betrayal and the events it entailed, makes the decision to join Isaac and his group on their quest to stop Alex and Saturos from lighting the rest of the Elemental Lighthouses. She assures Isaac that there won't be any need for her to stay around Imil to keep on battling illness: The fountain at the base of the lighthouse is now flowing with enchanted healing water, which instantly cures anyone who drinks out of it, guaranteeing the health of the townspeople permanently. Mia also goes to the sanctum to tell Justin and Megan, albeit hesitantly, that she will be leaving Imil for a long time to accompany Isaac on the latter's quest. Setting off with Isaac across the continent of Angara, Mia functions as the Mercury Adept to Isaac's party from then onward.

For the rest of Golden Sun, Mia does not provide any substantial weight to the core plot. Instead, she, much like Garet and Ivan, accompany Isaac to provide him support both in battle and in his interactions with other characters. Mia effectively serves as the party's designated "healer", developing her Mercury Psynergy in her travels with Isaac to increase her proficiency in both healing and water-and-ice-based techniques. Over the course of Isaac's quest, Mia is present for every event that Isaac is a part of, and she provides her input in all discussions with Garet and Ivan. She and Ivan are a similar "voice of reason" role, though she is generally the least emotional of the group. At the end of Golden Sun, after Isaac and co. slay Saturos and Menardi after the Venus Lighthouse beacon is lit, they are given a Lemurian Ship which they will use to pursue Alex and Felix and prevent them from lighting the last two Lighthouses.

Jupiter Lighthouse
Much like in Golden Sun, Mia's role plot-wise in Golden Sun: The Lost Age is relegated to being merely a constant companion and supporter of Isaac along with Garet and Ivan, and she does not affect the plot much in her own way at all. She accompanies Isaac as he sails across the Great Eastern Sea in search of Alex, Felix, and their captives Jenna, Sheba, and Kraden so as to rescue the latter three and prevent the former two from breaking the rest of Alchemy's seal. After a great period of time, Isaac sails into the Great Western Sea, and heads toward the Jupiter Lighthouse.

When Isaac and Mia's party explore the Lighthouse in pursuit of Felix, on an exterior portion of the tower a trap is suddenly triggered, and Mia falls off a bridge and lands on a small ledge below. Garet instinctively falls in after her trying to save her in an act of selfless bravery, but when he lands he ends up hanging off the ledge by his right arm, with his left arm injured and numb from the fall. Mia does not have the strength to pull Garet up, and she and Garet are both in trouble as Isaac and Ivan are suddenly confronted by those responsible for setting the trap: Karst and Agatio, warriors from the northern colony of Prox in the same vein as Saturos and Menardi. This new pair has come to kill Isaac and his party in retaliation for Isaac killing Saturos and Menardi, and they plotted to divide the foursome up with a trap and kill them while weakened; as Agatio explains, they were specifically targeting Mia because she as a Mercury Adept could prove the most dangerous for Mars Adepts like them, so it was a pleasant surprise that Garet fell in too. Thus does a harrowing two-on-two conflict ensue between Isaac and Ivan and Karst and Agatio.

When Isaac and Ivan are eventually overpowered by their opponents, Felix and his party of Jenna, Sheba, Piers, and Kraden suddenly arrive to stop them from killing Isaac, essentially betraying Karst and forcing her to spare Isaac in exchange for him taking the Mars Star from Isaac's possession and activating Jupiter Lighthouse with the Jupiter Star. Karst and Agatio agree and wait for Felix to come to the top. Everyone else with Felix stays behind to help Mia and Garet and Isaac and Ivan as Felix and Piers go and activate Jupiter Lighthouse, and Mia and Garet are eventually rescued. Shortly after the lighthouse is lit, Jenna leaves to check up on Felix, and soon after Sheba follows suit. Once Mia and Isaac's party has fully recuperated, they head over to the Jupiter Lighthouse aerie to find that Felix's group has been in an intense battle with Karst and Agatio, who have fled the Lighthouse with the Mars Star stolen in their possession. If Felix's party has lost the battle, Isaac will command Mia to revive their unconscious forms. Then Isaac and Felix and their respective sides interact with each other for the first time since Venus Lighthouse, and although the situation is tense, they quickly come to agree that this isn't the best place to have a confrontation; they all should parley at the nearby town of Contigo to hold their discussion in a more orderly manner. Isaac and Mia leave Jupiter Lighthouse on this note.

At Contigo, Isaac and the rest of his party learn the shocking truth from Felix that the world has been physically waning in size because Alchemy, the world's fuel, has been sealed for ages, and that it will collapse into nothingness if Alchemy is not released in time. Also, Felix had been originally working with Saturos in the first place because his and Jenna's parents and Isaac's father Kyle are alive in Prox and will be set free by the Proxeans once the seal is broken. After the oracle Hama comes in to announce that Karst and Agatio, who are attempting to light Mars Lighthouse themselves, will fail in doing so because of the existence of an unnamed "powerful force" that she can tell does not want Mars Lighthouse lit, Isaac and his companions immediately resolve to join Felix in fulfilling his quest to retrieve the Mars Star and save Weyard themselves. Thus, they all set out together north to Prox on Piers' own Lemurian Ship

Mars Lighthouse
After Isaac and Felix's combined party passes through Prox and interacts with the townspeople and their chieftain Puelle, they head into Mars Lighthouse, and during their exploration the Mars Star does fall into their hands again. The Adepts climb all the way up to Mars Lighthouse's aerie, but are greeted by the Wise One himself, who labels Isaac and Garet as traitors for disobeying his command to stop the lighting of the beacons. Mia joins everyone else in explaining to the Wise One why they had to do it based on what they found out about Alchemy's relation to the welfare of the world, but the Wise One responds that if Alchemy is placed back in the hands of the populace, they will likely bring doom upon themselves.

What the Wise One reveals next leaves Mia even more thunderstruck than everyone else: Alex has used everyone for his own gain, for he is now at Mt. Aleph awaiting the final Lighthouse's beacon to be lit so that when Alchemy is released at Mt. Aleph (in the form of the four Lighthouse beacons merging into a sphere of pure Alchemic power called the Golden Sun which then shoots down into the mountain to form the Stone of Sages), he will gain supreme power necessary for dominion. Mia feels outright sick and disgusted that Alex, one of her own people of the Mercury Clan, could do such a thing; nevertheless, everyone insists on saving the world from eventual collapse regardless. As such, the Wise One disappears and summons a giant, three-headed dragon to battle the Adepts, and Mia joins the others in waging their most epic and harrowing battle. They eventually kill the beast.

The dragon's body transforms back into the forms of three separate humans, and the Adepts tragically discover that these people are Felix and Jenna's parents and Kyle, who the Wise One forced to unwittingly kill in his ploy to dissuade them from lighting the beacon. Piers immediately instructs Mia to heal Isaac's father while he heals the other parents with their Mercury Psynergy. But after a while, both of them stop because they are too tapped from the battle and that the parents are too far gone, causing everyone to lash out and curse the Wise One in grief. Isaac proclaims that he knew the dragon was his own father to begin with but decided to make this sacrifice for the sake of all the world, and everyone agrees with him that this was a price that's well worth it. As Felix casts the Mars Star into the Mars Lighthouse's well to light the final beacon, Mia is heard saying that she will never forgive Alex and his motives for having set all this in motion.

Mia has helped light the Lighthouse Beacons and break the seal on Alchemy, which has saved the world from eventual self-destruction and will bring about a new age of advance and possible conflict. And like everyone else, she becomes much happier when it turns out that the energy being let loose from the Mars Lighthouse has revived the fallen parents, and Kraden theorizes that the Wise One was actually testing them in character when he forced them to battle their own parents. As The Lost Age ends, Mia is with everyone else in front of the destroyed town of Vale as they reunite with the townspeople who survived Vale's destruction because the Wise One evacuated everyone in time before it was destroyed by Alchemy's release.'

=Trivia=
 * Nearly every screen from a beta version of Golden Sun shows that Mia was originally planned to be a resident of Vale, and be the female lead that accompanies Isaac and Garet in the prologue, playing the roles that Jenna would in the prologue in the final product. Mia was moved to Imil afterwards. See here for full gallery.

=Quotes=
 * In Mercury Lighthouse:
 * Garet: You... You could see our Psynergy?
 * Mia: Psynergy... Is that what you call this power?
 * Ivan: We had thought you were using Psynergy when you healed that old man, Mia.
 * Mia: That's a special power, handed down to members of the Mercury Clan from generation to generation. It is called Ply, a power generated through meditation. It was once much stronger...


 * Mia: I am sure there will be more places ahead that I cannot pass. Only those of the Mercury Clan are permitted to enter this place. However, I sense something special about you. I feel that I can trust you!
 * On Mercury Lighthouse Aerie:
 * Mia: (After discovering Mercury Lighthouse's beacon has been activated) I have failed in the one duty placed upon me... This is terrible.
 * Mia: (After discovering Mercury Lighthouse's beacon has been activated) I have failed in the one duty placed upon me... This is terrible.


 * Alex: It's been a while, Mia.
 * Mia: Alex, do you realize what you've done?
 * Alex: Ha! Of course... I have freed a great power that has long been sealed away. Mercury, the lighthouse of Water... What a mighty force.
 * Mia: Alex, you... Are you mad!?
 * Alex: No, Mia... Don't you understand? The lighthouse granted you great power during your battle with Saturos.
 * Mia: It's true... I could use my power without ever depleting it.


 * Ivan: (After Saturos and Alex leave Mercury Lighthouse) They're gone...
 * Garet: Shoot... We couldn't even save Jenna...
 * Mia: I don't deserve to be a healer... We couldn't stop them from lighting the beacon. I've failed my clan, failed in my duty...
 * Ivan: That's not true! We can still beat them, right, Isaac? (If Isaac says yes) That's right, Isaac! All we have to do is stop them from lighting all the lighthouses! The beacon of Mercury Lighthouse has been lit, but we'll stop them next time.
 * Garet: That's right. We can save Jenna at the next lighthouse.
 * Mia: Yes. We won't let Alex get away with this...Let's go after them now! What's the matter? We should hurry!
 * Garet: We? Mia, are you coming along with us?
 * Ivan: But the people of Imil need you, Mia.
 * Mia: It's okay. "The fountain shall be filled as long as light fills the lighthouse." That's an old saying. The fountain will run over with healing waters now. I have mixed feelings about leaving, but Imil will be fine as long as the fountain continues to flow with the Water of Hermes. We should hurry if we're going to follow them.


 * In Imil
 * Justin: What's the matter? You look strange today, Mia.
 * Mia: I... How should I tell you?
 * Megan: You have something to say? What is it?
 * Mia: Well, I... Uh... I... I'll be joining Isaac on his quest. It's very hard for me to leave you, but it's the lighthouse.


 * Mia: OK, I'll leave the village in your hands, Megan, Justin...


 * At Kolima, if Mia has already joined the party by the time they first get attacked by Tret's curse:
 * Garet: Everyone in Kolima has been turned into a tree.
 * Mia: It's horrible! All these trees with clothes are really Kolima's villagers!


 * Ivan: That's a relief, Isaac. I thought you'd given up on Kolima altogether.
 * Mia: I was beginning to lose faith in you, Isaac.


 * In Babi Palace at Tolbi:
 * Garet: What should we do, Isaac? Will you do what he wants?
 * Babi: If you do, I will grant you whatever you wish.
 * Mia: You shouldn't make vows you will later find you cannot keep...


 * On Venus Lighthouse Aerie:
 * Mia: (After Saturos and Menardi are defeated in battle by Isaac) Felix, you're not one of them. You're free to go now... So why are you doing this?
 * Felix: The four beacons must still be lit...


 * Mia: (To Saturos and Menardi) We'll fight you as many times as it takes. We won't lose!


 * In Lalivero, in front of Faran's house:
 * Garet: Where are you going, Isaac? Iodem asked us to wait. Did you forget?
 * Mia: (If Isaac says yes) We're going to need to work on your memory, Isaac.


 * On Jupiter Lighthouse
 * Mia: (Having fallen down into a trap with Garet) You shouldn't have tried to save me when I fell into that hole...
 * Garet: Oh, Mia, don't blame yourself... I wasn't going to leave you down there!
 * Mia: (Tries to pull Garet up onto the ledge) It's no use! I can't pull you up, Garet! I'm not strong enough! Isaac, please! You've got to save Garet!


 * In Contigo
 * Mia: I'm just relieved that we've sorted our differences...
 * Piers: Me too, Mia... We could not have stood divided against a common foe.


 * Sailing on Piers' Lemurian Ship
 * Garet: Faran raised Sheba like his own daughter. He's cared for her ever since he first found her!
 * Sheba: Yes, that's true, but...
 * Garet: But you can never be his real daughter, is that it?
 * Jenna: Garet! You don't have to be so blunt about it!
 * Mia: No, he's right... I'd want to know my real parents, no matter how caring Faran might have been.


 * On Mars Lighthouse Aerie:
 * Piers: Alex planned all of this? Then he must have been after this power all along!
 * Garet: We've been duped! He used us all! Oh, you'd better believe he's not getting away with this!
 * Mia: Alex... How could he do this? He's... He's one of my own people! I feel sick... disgusted...


 * Garet: (About to fight the Doom Dragon) What's [the Wise One] thinking? We already beat a two-headed dragon. How much tougher can this one be?
 * Mia: I don't care how many heads it has. Nothing's going to stop us now!


 * Mia: Even though lighting the beacon may create wars and strife, I regret none of this.


 * Mia: If Alex set this all in motion, then he's responsible for this, and I'll never forgive him.


 * At Prox
 * Piers: You were weeping such mournful tears after the battle...
 * Jenna: What!? As if! You can't prove anything!
 * Mia: Go easy on her. You have to remember, she thought that both of her parents had died.


 * In front of the destroyed village of Vale:
 * Garet: Your family's safe, Felix. You don't have anything to worry about anymore... But what am I supposed to do? ...I'm all alone now.
 * Sheba: Aw... Poor baby...
 * Jenna: Sheba, what's gotten into you? How could you say that to Garet?
 * Mia: Tee hee! I wonder...
 * Garet: Sheba, Mia!? You think this is funny!? I've lost everyone! My whole family!
 * ?????: Garet! Don't be so sad! (It is revealed that all of Garet's family and everyone else from Vale survived the town's destruction)


 * In the Battle Mode lobby:
 * Mia: (If you won a battle and Mia was in your party at the time) "I'm glad we won... But don't you feel at all bad for your opponents?" (Or if Mia was not in your party at the time) "The most important thing is that nobody got hurt. Except your opponents."

=In fan circles=

Fan fiction often depicts Mia as Isaac's "love interest", so a lot of fiction about this relationship, called Mudshipping, has been penned. This is the most common genre of shipping because of the tendency of RPGs to feature a main hero with a main female party member (Mia being the only permanent female party member in the first game), and for fiction writers to write about such pairings.

Mia