Rief

Rief (クラウン Kuraun) is a playable character in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. He is a Mercury Adept who is the son of Mia and whose sister is Nowell. He travels abroad with his mentor Kraden and is himself a knowledgeable researcher.

As a playable character
Rief is initially introduced as an NPC traveling with Kraden. After the completion of Konpa Cave and its relevant cutscenes, Rief joins Matthew's party as its first Mercury Adept, becoming the main wielder of Mercury Psynergy until Amiti joins later on.

Rief's role is similar to that of Mia's in Golden Sun. He is a member of Mia's Mercury-oriented base class, the Water Seer class series, and thus inherits the role of the designated healer. The most notable difference is that Rief's version of the class possesses the Douse Psynergy series, which replaces the Frost Psynergy series of Mia's version. Unlike Mia, he will retain the Douse Psynergy regardless of class. As a mage-styled Adept, he can equip Maces, Staffs, and Ankhs, and is the only male playable character in the series so far to possess this weapons setup. He can also equip the standard defensive equipment for a mage, such as Robes, Circlets, and Armlets.

Like Mia, Rief does not possess high Attack in any available class, meaning that his physical attacks fall short of the power exhibited by Matthew, Tyrell, Amiti, and Eoleo. Adding to his weakness in physical strikes, is his weapons setup. Rief is incapable of equipping weapons with strong damage multipliers, which are more commonly seen on the bladed weapons unavailable to him. Thus Rief is more of a supporter in battle. His base class, the Water Seer class is somewhat lacking in terms of offensive Psynergy, but possesses invaluable Healing Psynergy. He starts out with the potent single-target Ply Psynergy series, and when he has at least four Mercury Djinn set onto him, he gains the Wish Psynergy series, which is excellent in restoring large amounts of HP to all current battling Adepts at once.

Rief joins the party at Level 10 and is initially equipped with a Wooden Stick, Travel Vest, Padded Gloves and Circlet; he also comes with an herb, antidote, and Elixir in his inventory. Rief has one Mercury Djinn Set onto him: (Sleet).

Statistical comparison
Statistically, Rief is a clone of his mother Mia, sharing her Mercury-influenced base class. Like Mia, Rief has low statistics overall, but is slightly more durable than Karis and Himi. However, he makes up for it with high PP and a Luck stat of five points, a number shared only with Mia, Sheba and Himi. Weapons that are available to Rief before the final boss is notably weaker than Mia's weapon equipment, which does not boost his overall attack power very much. However, the additional unleashes allow him to toy around with the different weaponry, even if he is more of a mage-type unit.

Compared to fellow Mercury Adept Amiti, he has much less HP, Defense, slightly less agility, and somewhat less Attack, but a lot more PP and one more Luck point. Also, Amiti's psynergy pool is more offensive, while Rief has access to the Wish Psynergy series in his base class.

Classes
The following classes are available to Rief:


 * Mono-Elemental: Water Seer class series
 * Dual-Elemental (Full): Hermit class series, Pilgrim (Mercury) class series, Seer (Mercury) class series
 * Dual-Elemental (Partial): Swordsman (Mars) class series, Swordsman (Venus) class series
 * Tri-Elemental (Full): Ranger class series, White Mage class series, Medium class series
 * Tri-Elemental (Partial): Dragoon class series

Appearance
Rief seems to resemble Mia in terms of hair colour, eye colour, and outfit. Rief seems to have neck-length hair with a straight back. It is interesting to note that Rief is the only playable character that wears (round) glasses.

Personality
Rief is a well-traveled youth, and according to Tyrell, a bookworm, so he is often deferred to in intellectual matters. For example, he possesses a bit of knowledge of southern Angara, having traveled the region with Kraden recently. He is shown to be a consummate gentleman throughout the adventure, often putting a high priority on the needs of others. Rief shows a great willingness to assist others, even criminals such as Eoleo and strangers like Kaba's father. In spite of this, he holds a deep grudge against Alex, referring to him as Mia's betrayer. Upon learning that the mysterious Arcanus was the alias of Alex, Rief explodes into a deep rage and points out Alex's past as a manipulator.

Biography
Rief is the second youngest of the playable cast and is the youngest of the children of the Warriors of Vale. It is assumed that he was born and raised in Mia's hometown of Imil to Mia and an unknown father. He has an older sister named Nowell; both siblings inherited Mia's Mercury Adept powers. At some point, he and his sister left Imil to become Kraden's apprentices, and began traveling the world in search of mysteries to solve.

Konpa Cave
Rief is first introduced as part of Kraden's traveling party. When Kraden receives a letter from Isaac asking Kraden to assist Matthew's quest for a Mountain Roc feather, they travel to Carver's Camp, the designated meeting point. Finding the bridge out, Rief travels with Kraden and Nowell to the nearby Konpa Ruins, which hold another passage to Bilibin, through which lies the most direct route to the Mountain Roc. Thanks to Nowell's powers, they are able to bypass the ruins and descend directly into the cave.

While the group is awaiting the arrival of Matthew's party,Rief is sent to scout the northern tunnel they intend to take to Bilibin. When he returns, he discovers Kraden and Nowell investigating a Psynergy Vortex that has suddenly appeared. In his curiosity, Rief gets too close and is nearly drawn in by the vortex. Nowell and Kraden successfully alert him, but Rief is left in a weakened state, as the vortex absorbs much of his Psynergy. While he is recovering, he is captured by Blados and a mysterious masked man. During this time, Matthew's party arrives and defeats a group of Stealthy Scouts, who attempt to attack Kraden. After the battle, Blados and the masked man reveal their intentions to leave Rief at one of the two exits, though they refuse to say which. Kraden and Nowell are forced to separate from Matthew's group, so that Rief can be recovered before he is injured. While Kraden and Nowell take the Northern tunnel, Matthew's group is forced to take the southern route which leads to the Ei-Jei region. However, it is a trap and Blados's men seal off the exit, preventing Matthew's group from backtracking.

Upon exiting the cave, they discover Rief, who was trapped in a crate. Realizing that they are now trapped in the Ei-Jei region, the group works to find a way out of the area, so that they can meet up with Kraden at Belinsk. Rief points out that Blados mentioned a way over the Khiren Mountains, and suggests that the group get their bearings at the nearby city of Harapa. At Harapa, Rief reveals that he has previously traveled through Ei-Jei with Kraden, and thus has some knowledge of the region. After resting, Rief points the group in the direction of Passaj, the town which Kraden believed to be the location of the passageway to Morgal.

Activating the cloud passageway
Upon reaching the city, Rief leads the group to a platform located above Passaj, and explains the legend around the area. Kraden believed that the ancestors of Adepts, the Jenei were able to use their powers to travel between Passaj and Craggy Peak, a tall mountain in the Khiren range. According to Rief, the key is the city's dormant Alchemy Forge. When Kraden and Rief visited before, they could not start the machine because they didn't have the proper Psynergy, Rief and Nowell both being Mercury Adepts. However, since the group now covers all four elements, they are able to restart the Forge using Tyrell's Mars-based Psynergy. Unfortunately, the machine cannot be used without the Sol Mask, which is hidden in the Ouroboros, a labyrinth underneath Kaocho.

The Adepts travel to Kaocho, but find that they cannot properly enter the labyrinth yet. Thus, they travel to Ayuthay, home of the descendants of the people who built the labyrinth. Guided by Amiti, the prince of Ayuthay, Rief and the others are able to find the Insight Glass, which will allow the Adepts to enter the labyrinth. When the Insight Glass chooses Amiti as its wielder, Amiti joins the party as a second Mercury Adept, which Rief cites as a sign of good things to come.

The group manages to sneak int Kaocho, obtain the Sol Mask, and install it in Passaj. However, the clouds made are too insubstantial to be of use, so Rief and the others travel back to Harapa to find the Ice Queen Stone, which will reverse the Alchemy Forge to make substantial clouds. After finding the stone, the Adepts use it to create the cloud passageway, passing into the Khiren Highlands, which lead to Morgal.

Discoveries
Rief is present during the group's travels in Morgal, where they attempt to meet with Kraden. In the process, they are eventually manipulated by Blados and Chalis into activating Belinsk's Luna Tower, which starts the Grave Eclipse, causing monsters to roam throughout the region. However, the Adepts are able reunite with Kraden, and escape onto the open sea.

At their first stop, Harun Village, Rief and the group encounter a fisherman and his son, who had been fishing when the eclipse hit. The pair are trapped in Harun Channel, as the fisherman injured his leg during their escape. However, Rief uses his Mercury Psynergy, and is able to successfully repair the injury. However, this leads to the interesting discovery that the boy, Kaba, can see the use of Psynergy, as he is able to see Rief's Psynergy enter his father.

While traveling to stop the Eclipse, Rief realizes in Tonfon that his sister was no longer with Kraden, and regrets not noticing sooner. After asking Kraden, he learns that Nowell fell in love with Piers, who ferried Kraden and Nowell to Belinsk, and chose to remain on Piers's ship. Rief notes that she will have a fine tutor, as Piers is a powerful Mercury Adept, and is happy that she was not caught up in the events of the eclipse.

Rief and the group later come to the Apollo Lens, said to be the only weapon that can halt the eclipse. There, they are confronted by Arcanus, who admits to being familiar with the Adepts and their famous parents. When the group learns of Arcanus's true identity as Alex, Rief becomes outraged, but is interrupted by the arrival of the Tuaparang, who overhear the conversation. Rief quickly corrects Blados and Chalis's assumption that Alex was a Warrior of Vale. He points out that Alex betrayed his mother, and claims that Alex will betray the Tuaparang as well.

In the epilogue, Rief stays to see Matthew, Tyrell, and Karis home. When Rief asks Kraden about their destination, Kraden tells Rief that he may direct their travels from now on.

Trivia

 * Rief's French name, Robin, is the same as Isaac's name in the Japanese version.
 * Rief is the first male Adept who has Psynergy in his base class that can heal the entire party.
 * Rief is also the first male adept to lack the ability to equip bladed weapons.
 * He is also the only mage-style Adept that can equip Maces in Dark Dawn.
 * Rief is the only child of a playable character from the original Golden Sun to have a sibling.
 * Rief is also the only party member from the first half of the group to have an unidentified father. Tyrell and Karis have unidentified mothers.
 * The hair colour of Rief's sprite is the same shade as Alex's while Nowell and Amiti have the same hair colour as sprites.
 * There is a striking resemblance between Amiti and Rief, not only in the color of their hair and eyes, but their hair style as well. A small lock of hair on top of both of their heads stand up in a very similar way. Both Mia and Alex have similar hair styles, further implying a somewhat close genetic relation. Whether this was intentional or not is unknown.
 * Rief is the first and only male playable character to possess a default luck of 5 points.
 * Before Rief's official reveal as part of the game, one particular screenshot released on the day of the E3 2010 trailer and floor demo indicated the existence of a party member named "Crown," his Japanese name. Then he was first shown in playable form in a trailer released on the Japanese Wii Trailer Channel on August 18th, 2010. His North American name was revealed on an Amazon.com product page.
 * Rief's gender was not clear to fans even after later trailers were posted because, in addition to an androgynous appearance and masculine name, Rief's Golden Sun-style "squeak-voice" in cut scenes is a high-pitched one normally reserved for female characters and NPCs, including Dark Dawn's own Chalis. Nonetheless, a similar voice was used for certain young boy NPCs, such as Justin.
 * Coincidentally, Rief joins Matthew's party at the same level as Mia did Isaac's party. In addition, they each joined with one Mercury Djinn (Sleet/Fizz respectively), and carried an Herb, Antidote, and Elixir. The main difference is that Rief joins with weaker equipment than Mia did.
 * Rief is the only playable character, in all games, that wears glasses.

Name origins
Rief is a German surname, but in this case is most likely to be a pun on the word Reef.

Quotes
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn's encyclopedia entry for Rief:

This Water Adept has traveled the world with his teacher, Kraden, studying Alchemy and other traces of the ancient world. Rief is the son of Mia, a Water Adept who traveled with the Warriors of Vale.

In Fan Circles
Rief is usually paired with either Karis (Tiarashipping), Sveta (Blizzardshipping), or Himi (Seveneyeshipping).