Prox

Prox, the final settlement visited in The Lost Age, lies in the Northern Reaches, with Mars Lighthouse north of it.

Prox (プロクス村 Prox Village) is a village featured at the end of Golden Sun: The Lost Age as the final settlement the player must visit in the main plot of the game. It is located within the winter-ridden Northern Reaches at the north end of the Western Sea, which can only be reached with the help of an ancient cannon at Loho and a Magma Ball found inside the distant dungeon Magma Rock.

Prox is home to a race of people with reptilian scales and imbued with the powers of fire, owing to the village's proximity to Mars Lighthouse at the north edge of the world of Weyard. It is the hometown of two separate pairs of powerful warriors who respectively function as antagonists in Golden Sun and The Lost Age: Saturos, Menardi, Karst, and Agatio.

Prox is the instigating force behind the GBA duology's plot because it sends Saturos and Menardi to rob Sol Sanctum of the Elemental Stars and embark on a quest to use them to activate all four Elemental Lighthouses situated across the world, which will enact the return of Alchemy. When their first attempt ends in failure and causes disaster to befall Vale nearby, they bring their accidental victims Felix, his parents, and Kyle back to Prox, and Saturos convinces Prox to keep the adults captive in order to secure Felix's willing cooperation with their quest. Near the end of a two-game arc, Felix returns to Prox to finish his quest to light Mars Lighthouse, with Isaac now his willing ally. Isaac learns of Prox's existential desperation brought about by the seal placed on Alchemy.

In Golden Sun: The Lost Age

For all NPC gossip, see Side Scripts.

Prox is the sole settlement in the special overworld map representing the snowy, storm-ridden Northern Reaches located off the north end of the Western Sea. This area can only be reached by sailing into the ocean-like location between the rocks north of Kalt Island and destroying the ice wall that blocks the way. Similarly to how the player's time spent in the Eastern Sea ultimately led up to reaching Lemuria, breaching this wall is the last of multiple essential steps the player must take throughout their time in the Western Sea. When these steps are boiled down to what is mandatory:

• Pass through Shaman Village Cave in the center of the northwestern island continent of Hesperia to reach Shaman Village, present the Shaman's Rod to Moapa, and cast Whirlwind when instructed to unlock the Trial Road competition. Once you reach the end and defeat Moapa as a boss, you will win the Hover Jade.
• Sail into Atteka Inlet at the southwest coast of the southwestern island continent of Atteka and use the Hover Psynergy to begin playing through the entirety of Jupiter Lighthouse northwest of Contigo. The boss battle at the end does not prevent you from progressing through the remainder of the game even if you lose.
• Return to Contigo to partake in the Reunion event that sees Isaac's party from the first Golden Sun joining Felix's party as additional party members, bringing with them the first game's utility Psynergy items. Head back to Atteka Inlet and use the newly attached wings on your ship to fly over the small rocks now in your way and regain access to the Western Sea.
• Sail to Magma Rock at the top of southern Gondowan and use the Lift Psynergy brought over by the first game's party to gain entry, and play through it until you acquire the Blaze Psynergy for Jenna at the end of the base floor. Use it to reach a particular burning rock a short ways south of the Blaze tablet and interact with it to receive the Magma Ball.
• Sail to Loho at the southwest coast of the northern continent of Angara and use the Magma Ball on the ancient cannon to blow up a wall for the local dwarves, who will thank you by installing the cannon onto your ship.
• Sail north of Kalt Island into the oceanic screen called "Northern Reaches" in-game and reach the ice wall, and say "Yes" to Kraden's suggestion to fire the Magma Ball at the ice wall. This will remove it and open the exit into the Northern Reaches' overworld map.

Initial visit

Prox's perpetual storminess reflects the conditions that led its most prolific warriors to seek the breaking of Alchemy's seal.

Either disembark the ship at where the river becomes frozen or fly and land near Prox's overworld icon. The mountains flanking it force you to pass through it on your way to Mars Lighthouse, which lies north of Prox at the edge of the world. As you do so, when you reach the snowy upper screen in Prox north of the main village area, a fairly long cutscene takes place with Puelle and the Elder of Prox. This is separate from an optional cutscene that triggers near the house at the southeast part of the snowy upper screen, which informs the player that the parents of Isaac, Felix, and Jenna have gone missing.

As Prox is the "final hub" leading to Mars Lighthouse as the final dungeon in the game's main plot, it offers several useful functions that ought to be taken advantage of. Its general store at the northeast corner of the main village screen is the only vendor in the Golden Sun series that sells an unlimited supply of Mist Potions as though they were common items, despite those counting as artifacts when sold back. Though each Mist Potion costs 9000 coins, having every party member hold a small stockpile is analogous to giving them limited charges of a party-healing Psynergy like the Wish Psynergy series, making this a viable gold dump in a game file being played to its limit. However, when you first visit Prox, you should save your current money for the Mysterious Robe that adds itself to the artifacts menu, which costs an enormous 36, 500 coins but offers amazing HP and PP recovery bonuses.

Walking north along the frozen river lets you slide atop ice to bump into the Venus Djinni Mold, which you must then Scoop out of the pile of snow it gets buried underneath.

You can step into the frozen river through several open fences and follow north along it into the snowy upper screen, where the Venus Djinni Mold will be standing on frozen ice. When you step on the ice, you will automatically bump into it and send it sliding into the cliff wall at the north end, where it will be buried under a pile of snow and require you to cast Scoop on it to uncover it. Separately, if Isaac's party joined without bringing over all seven of the first game's Mercury Djinn for whatever reason, one of those missing Mercury Djinn can be collected in the upper screen's southeast house. (This functions as the second game's resident "make-up" Mercury Djinni; one similarly determined "make-up" GS1 Djinni of each other element can be found in SW Atteka Islet, Magma Rock, and Treasure Isle following the Reunion.)

You can also collect one of the game's six Cookies in the closed jar just southwest of the inn's front door. By casting Lift on the round boulder at the south end of the frozen river, you can reach a half-buried Dark Matter at the far east end of the main village screen, which once again requires Scoop to retrieve. (This will be your first Dark Matter if you did not win the boss battle atop Jupiter Lighthouse, and two more can be found in the optional endgame-tier dungeons Yampi Desert Cave and Anemos Inner Sanctum. A third such dungeon, Islet Cave, features Wonder Bird enemies that can randomly drop Dark Matter without end.)

Subsequent visit

Prox enjoys clearer skies once the final battle at Mars Lighthouse is won, and taking its south exit is the only thing left for the player to do.

Prox functions as the game's resident "epilogue village" just like Lalivero in the first game, where the party will eventually be brought back here after defeating the final boss atop the aerie of Mars Lighthouse. Once you regain control, you can freely walk around the village and talk to all of its NPCs for updated dialogue (though because your party consists only of Isaac and Felix, you will not have the Mind Read Psynergy needed to additionally read their thoughts). It is not possible to return to the overworld through either exit because the north exit is blocked off by Prox's soldiers, and a final string of cutscenes leading up to the end credits will trigger as soon as you approach the rest of your party members waiting at the screen just south of the main village.

Unlike in Lalivero, it is not possible to save the game during the brief time you can explore Prox as Felix and Isaac, and there is nothing mechanically relevant for the player to do before heading south toward the ending cutscenes. There is nothing the player can do at the general store that would transfer over if this game file is then saved as a Clear Data file and used as the basis for the "New Game Plus"-like Easy Mode, and it is not possible to transfer data into a different game such as Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

Vendors

Prox's inn is the large structure at the bottom-left part of the village and costs 25 coins per party member, meaning it will cost a total of 200 coins to refresh all eight party members.

General Store
Name	Class	Cost	Effect
Herb	Consumable Item	10	Restores 50 HP to one Adept
Nut	Consumable Item	200	Restores 200 HP to one Adept
Vial	Consumable Item	500	Restores 500 HP to one Adept
Mist Potion	Consumable Item	9000	Restores 300 HP to all currently battling Adepts
Antidote	Consumable Item	20	Cures Poison and Venom from one Adept
Elixir	Consumable Item	30	Removes Stun, Sleep, and Delusion from one Adept
Sacred Feather	Consumable Item	70	Temporarily lowers monster encounter rate
Artifacts
Mysterious Robe	Robe	36500	Defense +48, HP Recovery +20, PP Recovery +10
Potion	Consumable Item	1000	Restores all HP to one Adept
Psy Crystal	Consumable Item	1500	Restores all PP to one Adept
Water of Life	Consumable Item	3000	Restores to full health one downed Adept

Collectibles

• Mold: Can be first bumped into at the lower level of the snowy upper screen by entering the screen from the snowed-in river in the main village screen. After it slides away and gets buried under a fallen mound of snow, you can slide after it and cast Scoop on the snow pile to unearth the Djinni.
• Cookie: Found inside the closed jar southwest of the inn's front door.
• Dark Matter: Can be seen half-buried in the snow at the east end of the main village screen's south area, on the other side of a fence. Cast Lift on the brown, round boulder just right of the screen's south exit to reach its enclosed position, then Scoop it out.
• Potion: Found inside the lone, green jar in the lower floor of the inn.
• Sacred Feather: Found inside the stacked-up pair of crates next to the stairwell in the basement floor of Puelle's manor in the center of the village.

The following will not appear in Prox if data transfer was used to ensure Isaac and his party members joined Felix's party in the Reunion at Contigo with a complete Djinn collection from the first game:

• A dynamically determined Mercury Djinni from the first Golden Sun will only appear inside the southeast house in the upper, snowy screen if Isaac's party did not have all seven of the first game's Mercury Djinn when they joined Felix's party. One of the missing Mercury Djinn will be found here as a "make-up" Djinni.

History

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Spoiler warning: The following section(s) contain plot details that some people may not wish to learn before reaching this point in the game on their own.

The people of Prox are distinguishable due to their scaly skin, which can vary in color. It is speculated that the people of Prox are descended from a dragon-like race, which is supported by their reptile-like appearance and affinity to fire/mars. Prox appears to be governed by Puelle, with assistance from an unnamed elder. Being so close to the world's end, the Proxians have long been aware of Weyard's decay.

Chieftain Puelle was the first to theorize on the encroaching doom that would ensnare the village, and eventually all of Weyard itself.

The void north of Prox and Mars Lighthouse is referred to by some Proxians as a "rift," which is supported by one person commenting that they can no longer see the other side. After Mars Lighthouse is lit, several villagers believe that the rift has begun to recede. What lies beyond the rift is still unknown.

Little is given about Prox's background, but several hints are given that suggest that it holds some secrets. One man mentions that Prox once flourished because Mars Lighthouse was lit, and that now "the people of the northern flame" have been forgotten by the rest of Weyard. Using Mind Read on this man, he thinks about how all the great civilizations of the world faded away after the Lighthouses were put out. Considering how Prox is coming close to destruction, this could be meant to suggest that Prox was once quite powerful.

Also, atop Mars Lighthouse, the Wise One says that "the people of Prox have committed an unforgivable sin." Although this could refer to their attempts to light the Lighthouses, this raises the question of why Isaac, Felix, and the rest of the party aren't accused of committing the same sin. It's quite possible that this sin the Wise One refers to could date all the way back to before Alchemy was sealed away.

A legend in Prox says that the Golden Sun is the blast of light emitted when the Stone of Sages forms.

Three years ago

Somehow, the Proxians learned that in order to save Weyard from crumbling away, the four Elemental Lighthouses must be lit. A group of Prox's finest warriors were sent to Vale to inform the elders there of the danger Weyard was in, but their message fell on deaf ears. During this trip, the Proxians investigated Sol Sanctum, accidentally triggering the storm that caused the Mt. Aleph boulder to fall. The entire Proxian party was wiped out during the storm except for two, Saturos and Menardi.

On their way back, the two Proxians found Felix, his parents, and Kyle, and took them back to Prox with them. Although Puelle was opposed to the idea, Saturos insisted on keeping the parents as hostages, partly to ensure Felix's cooperation. Without a Venus Adept like Felix, Venus Lighthouse would be inaccessible. At some point Alex met with Saturos and Menardi, and joined their small party so that they would have access to Mercury Lighthouse.

The fate of the world

After having saved Prox and the world by extension, Felix and Isaac depart Prox with their companions and parents and begin the trip back to Vale.

Three years after the Mt. Aleph boulder incident, Saturos, Menardi, Felix, and Alex left for Vale to steal the Elemental Stars so that they could light the Lighthouses and save Weyard. At some point Karst, Menardi's sister, left Prox with her partner Agatio for unknown reasons. Karst learned of her sister's death after meeting Felix's party in Madra.

After Agatio and Karst battled Felix's party on top of Jupiter Lighthouse, they returned to Prox with the Mars Star to light Mars Lighthouse, with Felix and Isaac's teams close behind. Shortly before Felix and Co. return to Prox, the Wise One abducts Felix's parents and Kyle, transforming them into the Doom Dragon. Puelle grows worried at the length of time Karst and Agatio have spent in the Lighthouse, and so prepares to go looking for himself.

Felix arrives at this time and goes instead, with the task of retrieving the Mars Star from Agatio and lighting the beacon. They are forced to battle dragon versions of Agatio and Karst and finally the Doom Dragon. After the Lighthouse is lit, the overflow of energy revives the parents, and shortly afterwards the party, along with the parents, depart from Prox and return home.

Spoilers end here.Those who did not want the plot ruined for them may now continue reading as normal.

Trivia

• While the player is in the snowy, stormy overworld map representing the Northern Reaches, pressing the R-shoulder button to bring up the world map will display the message "This place doesn't seem to appear on the map..." before you can freely move the cursor as normal. The point representing Prox will be placed in an area covered by what the overworld map screen depicts as a purplish fog and is functional as a selectable point to warp to with the Teleport Psynergy.
  • However, behind the scenes in-game, Prox does not physically exist close to the point indicated by the overworld map screen. If a walk-through-walls code for the overworld is used and Felix is shifted north beyond the rocky ocean entrance into the Northern Reaches screen with the ice wall, the player will find an expanse of blackness that begins at the north edge of the giant square used by the main overworld map. Running north into this blackness for a while will eventually bring the player to the separate, smaller square-shaped map used by the Northern Reaches, which physically lies far to the north of the point used to identify Prox in the in-game overworld map screen. (If Felix then runs far to the east from the Northern Reaches' "overworld square", he will eventually reach another "overworld square" occupied by Lemuria surrounded by a ring of rocks.)
• During the brief period where the player's party is allowed to explore Prox and talk to its citizens following the final battle at Mars Lighthouse, the party will only consist of Felix and Isaac, and they will not have access to the Mind Read Psynergy usable by Ivan and Sheba. Despite this, every NPC in Prox has a fully written and localized Mind Read-able thought, albeit with a few typos here and there. The player's inability to access them renders this dummied content that can only be seen in-game by using an external hacking device to let either Isaac or Felix have access to Mind Read. See here for full transcripts.
  • Some of the hidden Mind Read text further touches on the villagers' concern for what Alchemy's newfound freedom means for the rest of the world and how Prox will have to study it after Felix departs for Vale. At the time, this fueled the playerbase's speculation about an at-the-time-hypothetical third game in the Golden Sun series. These questions are largely answered by Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, which was released seven years after The Lost Age.