Weyard

The fictional events of the Nintendo / Camelot Software Planning role-playing video game series, Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, take place on a world called "Weyard". It is a vast Earth-like environment modeled on the Flat Earth idea of the world as a flat, vaguely circular plane in which the waters of the oceans continuously fall off the edges of practically its entire perimeter into the seemingly endless abyss below. While many properties of the landmasses and cultures found throughout Weyard draw inspiration from Earth itself, as a fantasy setting Weyard is distinguishable for being physically based on magic and the balance thereof, even though when the games take place in the present the ability to use that magic is hardly realized or even made aware of by much of the world's populace.

Concept and creation
Originally, Camelot planned to create a single title instead of a series of two subsequent games, but due to both the hardware limitations of putting their initial project on a single Game Boy Advance cartridge and what the developers wanted for the game, it was expanded to become two successive games set in the fictional world of Weyard, Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age. It has been stated by Camelot Software Planning President Hiroyuki Takahashi that the two games meant as "prologues to the real event yet to come", and he stated in 2005, "We love RPGs a lot and we profoundly adore the universe we created with the Golden Sun series on GBA". Since then, however, there has been no confirmed announcement for the development or production of a new game set in Weyard.

Physics
All matter in Weyard, from inanimate objects to human beings, is comprised of any combination of four imaginary base elements thematically modeled off the four Classical elements: Venus, the essence of rock and plant matter; Mars, the essence of fire, heat, and lava; Jupiter, the essence of wind and electricity; and Mercury, the essence of water and ice. These four elements are viewable as the building blocks of reality on the world of Weyard, much like all the elements found in the Periodic table of elements are the building blocks of reality in the real world. A supreme force of indeterminate construct, Alchemy, has the potential to manipulate these building blocks to achieve outright transmutation, such as turning lead into gold, and it is described in the games as possessing the capability to thwart death itself. As such a force, Alchemy's far-reaching results can be equally beneficial when used for good as it can be potentially catastrophic if misused or abused.

The ability to manipulate Alchemy is centered on a vessel of stone referred to as the Stone of Sages. This stone "dominates everything", and possessing it allows its user to perform the effects that Alchemy is able to achieve on its own - in effect, the user is granted whatever his heart desires. The stone is hidden beneath the mountain sanctum, Mt. Aleph, whose name refers to the origin of all things.

Spiritual, psychic energy is also a major facet of the world of Weyard, and is heavily involved with the four base elements just like Alchemy is. All life forms, including humans, each have an innate affiliation with one of the four elements, and if a person has an ability to use spiritual energy to any degree, he or she develops an adeptness to the art of manipulating powers based on his or her own element, and is hence an "Adept" of that element. As such, a Mars Adept with a particularly strong sense of psychic energy is able to conjure outright sorcerous powers of fire and heat. These powers are referred to as Psynergy by characters in the Golden Sun games aware of the existence of this spiritual force. Being born with a natural adeptness to an element tends to affect aspects of a person's appearance; the three main Mercury Adepts seen in the games,Mia, Piers, and Alex, all possess blue hair, for example (Even though Saturos, a Mars Adept, also possesses blue hair). One generally develops adeptness to whatever element one belongs to by prolonged exposure to the influence of physical Psynergy matter, such as Psynergy stones, but only sentient creatures like humans can tolerate that; animals that come into contact with Psynergy stones become wild and ferocious.

The purified essence of each element is bound within four immeasurably powerful jewels called the Elemental Stars. There are also four giant towers situated throughout Weyard called the Elemental Lighthouses, and while a Star is set into its corresponding element of Lighthouse, that Lighthouse will generate and maintain a sphere of energy of that element referred to as that Lighthouse's Beacon. The existence of all four Beacons, in addition to serving as strong sources of Psynergy in elemental form to bring out adeptness in people located near the towers, quite literally sustains the physical world of Weyard and keeps it healthy; in that regard, Weyard itself can be considered a living entity. If all four Lighthouses are dormant, the lack of energy will cause the world to gradually wane over the ages, with its continents breaking up and becoming smaller. A concept of balance comes into play here as well; if three Lighthouse beacons are activated, the element of the fourth will be overpowered and its influence over the world will be suppressed, potentially creating problems until the last Lighthouse is lit. This is demonstrated late in Golden Sun: The Lost Age, when the Lighthouses of Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter are activated, and Mars (fire) remains dormant; Weyard suddenly becomes increasingly cold and frigid.

History
Golden Sun: The Lost Age provides a general overview of Weyard as it existed in the ancient past; it is the Lost Age of Man that the game's title alludes to. In this age, the ability to use Alchemy and Psynergy was unfettered and accessible to the general populace, and civilization had reached great levels of development. Various clans of Adepts existed across Weyard, and the landmasses of Weyard itself were far more uniform: It generally resembled the shape of a giant crescent moon. The four Lighthouses were alit at this time, providing energy to both the world and the people.

As the story goes, conquest and war eventually became objectives amongst those who desired power, riches, and dominion over all that lived, and global war fueled by the misuse of Alchemy for military purposes yielded potentially catastrophic results for Weyard; the world would have been torn apart if not for the efforts of a group of brave and wise men who took it upon themselves to seal Alchemy away by removing the Elemental Stars from the four Lighthouses, and confining the jewels in the innermost reaches of Mt. Aleph's Sol Sanctum. The world and the people were saved from themselves, but deprived of a massive resource, and Alchemy and the four Lighthouses would remain dormant for ages to come.

With the sealing of Alchemy, Weyard's landmasses gradually began to break up and decrease in size over the ages, though this would not be noticed by the general populace due to how gradual it was. However, over time the populace began to lose much more; Civilization thrives by building upon the knowledge of the past, and the disappearance of both Alchemy and seemingly Psynergy as well caused the various cultures of the world to lose knowledge and become more primitive over the ages. That is why in the current age when the Golden Sun games take place, Weyard is a fairly inactive and sparsely populated world, with scarcely few individuals being aware of the existence of the force of Psynergy, let alone possessing the ability to manipulate it as Adepts. A lot of the great Lighthouses, mountain sanctums, and other structures that stand today from the ancient past cannot be properly investigated by today's commonfolk because they lack the necessary adeptness to Psynergy that the locations were constructed in mind with.

The story of the current two Golden Sun games revolves around the conflicting efforts of opposing groups to either restore Alchemy or prevent its restoration to the world of Weyard. It begins when members of the Mars Clan of Adepts from Weyard's northernmost reaches, Saturos and Menardi, raid Sol Sanctum to steal the Elemental Stars and use them to activate the Elemental Lighthouses so that Alchemy may be restored; their motive for doing so, revealed near the end of The Lost Age, is because their home settlement of Prox is in danger of being lost over the edge of the world, which is because Weyard's deterioration has become great enough that its perimeter is starting to shrink in size and collapse into the abyss below, and the people of Prox know that both their settlement and the rest of the world would be saved with Alchemy's return.

The game's playable characters, however, led by the young Venus Adept Isaac, are tasked by the guardian of the Elemental Stars in Mt.Aleph, a powerful boulder-like entity called the Wise One, to pursue Saturos and Menardi and stop their objective, relating how Alchemy is a potentially cataclysmic power but does not explain how Alchemy is also necessary for the world to survive, something the Wise One is perfectly aware of. In spite of journeying under the Wise One's deception for a long period of time, Isaac eventually realizes the truth and joins forces with his "enemies" and helps them reactivate the Elemental Lighthouses. The Wise One himself attempts to stand in their way at the end of their journey at Mars Lighthouse, forcing them to murder what they later tragically find to be their own loved ones, but Isaac and the others find the resolve to accept this sacrifice in the name of saving the entire world, and all four Elemental Lighthouse beacons are now lit.

The finale of The Lost Age sees the four Lighthouse Beacons merging their beams of energy into a sphere above Mt. Aleph called the Golden Sun; this is pure Alchemy made real, at the heart of its power. It subsequently shoots into Mt. Aleph below and gives shape to the Stone of Sages. With this, both Alchemy and increased Psynergy are restored to the world of Weyard and its denizens. It is revealed that the Wise One's seemingly cruelly deceptive actions were all parts of his great test of the strength and virtue of Isaac and his Adept companions; Since in the ancient past the world was put in danger as a result of Alchemic abuse and pettiness, there would have to be a strong and trustworthy group capable of ensuring that history does not repeat itself in this newly released golden age across Weyard. For this immense responsibility, Isaac's group has proven itself worthy. It is at this point that the Golden Sun series currently ends.

Geography
Weyard itself is a flat plane modeled off the Flat Earth idea of the world, with several continents arranged across it and surrounded by two general oceanic regions: the Great Eastern Sea and the Great Western Sea. Both of these oceans perpetually spill off the world's entire perimeter which is collectively known as Gaia Falls. Where that water ends up in the apparent abyss below, as well as how the world's oceans never "run out" after all these ages, is a complete mystery to both characters in the games and players of the games themselves. The continents of the world are dense with forests, plains, mountains, caves, rivers, and deserts, with lands of snow and ice on either end of the world, and in between all the wildlife human settlements on these continents are few and far in between. The continents found on Weyard are as follows:

Angara
The largest continent is the one located in the upper central area, and it is where much of Golden Sun takes place. It is perhaps the most populated of the continents, and most of the continent's settlements are of a European culture, with a heavy Oriental influence within towns on the continent's southeast coastline. The northernmost area of Angara is wintry and connects to the frozen northern reaches of the world. The continent itself seems to be physically modelled after Eurasia, with mountains and rivers that reflect major landmarks in the real world. The continent is also connected to Gondowan to the southwest, with a body of water called the Karagol Sea contained in between the two continents. Locations important to the game's story are:


 * Mt. Aleph: One of the most important locations in all the world, this mountain contains immense secrets pertaining to Alchemy itself within its inner temple called Sol Sanctum.When its eruption is triggered in Golden Sun's exposition sequence, it spouts out Psynergy stone chunks that rain all across the world, changing the lives of many; in addition to causing humans in many other settlements to suddenly discover Adept powers, all the wildlife of the world becomes savage, unable to handle the influence of the Psynergy stones. When all four Elemental Lighthouses are activated, their lights will gather at this mountain and give shape to the Stone of Sages within its interior, heralding the return of the force of Alchemy to the world. The outset of Golden Sun and the finale of Golden Sun: The Lost Age are focused on Mt. Aleph.
 * Vale: An idyllic town set at the foot of Mt. Aleph, Vale is the hometown of four of the series' main playable characters: Isaac, Garet, Jenna, and Felix, and is the town Golden Sun starts out in. All of the townspeople are Adepts to various degrees, thanks to the town's proximity to Mt. Aleph and its Psynergy-related secrets, and it has a more developed code of society than most other towns on Weyard, among them the regulation that Psynergy must never be used for evil and that Psynergy must never be shown to outsiders. At the end of The Lost Age, the town is destroyed along with Mt.Aleph, but its townspeople have made it to safety.
 * Vault: A small town at the heart of Angara, a short distance southeast of Vale. Early in Golden Sun, Isaac and Garet meet their soon-to-be companion Ivan for the first time.
 * Lunpa: A town north of Vault. Although it was named after its founder, Lunpa the Righteous Thief, the town nowadays is ruled by fear under Lunpa's notorious grandson, Dodonpa and his henchmen of thieves. It is central to a subplot in Golden Sun focused on Ivan and his merchant caretaker, Lord Hammet.
 * Imil: A snowy town located up in Angara's snowy north very near the Mercury Lighthouse, it is the hometown of Mia and Alex, the last living descendants of the Mercury Clan that once settled that area.
 * Mercury Lighthouse: The Elemental Lighthouse of water, this sacred structure is one of four Lighthouses that must be lit in order for Alchemy to be returned to the world at Mt. Aleph. Mia and Alex are charged with ensuring that the Lighthouse remains dormant, but when the game's primary antagonists Saturos and Menardi set out on their objective to activate the Lighthouses early in Golden Sun, Alex joins their effort in betrayal of his charge and helps them activate Mercury Lighthouse before Isaac's pursuing party can stop them. Mia joins Isaac's party for the rest of their journey in pursuit of Saturos' band across Weyard afterwards, attempting to prevent the activation of any more Lighthouses.
 * Xian: The central settlement of a Chinese culture spread out across the southeast region of Angara, which Isaac's party must travel through during Golden Sun in pursuit of Saturos' band. In addition to encountering a young woman named Feizhi who became an Adept after the eruption of Mt. Aleph, Isaac's party encounters Master Hama of the Lama Temple, who teaches Ivan the Jupiter-based power of Reveal. Her relation with Ivan is not made clear until late in The Lost Age.
 * Kalay: A prosperous town located in the southwest region of Angara, south of Vault, and lordship of the town belongs to the merchant tycoon Master Hammet and his wife Lady Layana, both Ivan's caregivers, and this is where Ivan has lived most of his life. It is as important to a subplot in Golden Sun involving Ivan and Hammet as the town of Lunpa up north, which Kalay comes close to open war with.
 * Champa: A seaside town based on the cliffs at the southeast coastline of Angara, at the other side of mountain ranges impassible by most travelers except occasionally monks from Xian or one of its temples. The seafaring folk, also called the Champa, undergo intense hardships when the oceans warm up and the fish disappear over time, enough that by the start of The Lost Age the town has resorted to piracy and its most well-known seafarer, Briggs, has gained a notorious reputation as a dread pirate. This town is central to a major subplot in The Lost Age revolving around Briggs. East of the town is an important, ancient tower dungeon called the Ankohl Ruins.
 * Loho: A mining colony on Angara's western coastline, accessible only by boat from the Great Western Sea and, therefore, only visited during The Lost Age. It is the main and only settlement of a race of dwarves who are excavating materials and also investigating curious technology from the ancient past; namely, they have unearthed a powerful military weapon called a cannon. Felix's party, late in The Lost Age, is able to acquire this cannon for their sailing ship and use it to blast and carve their way into the frozen northlands of Weyard.

Gondowan
The continent connected below Angara, Gondowan is the second continent that is explored in Golden Sun. The upper half is where the first game's finale takes place, and the lower half is explored in the second game. It seems to have a design reflective of South America, with heavy forests and a winding river similar to the real-world Amazon, though the native people of the in-game location seem inspired by African and Middle Eastern cultures. The name of the continent originates from the super continent Gondwana. These locations are important to the story:
 * Tolbi: Perhaps the biggest and most populous settlement in all the world. The city of Tolbi, located near the Karagol Sea that lies between Gondowan and Angara, holds a degree of power and influence over the region and is known across much of the world for many outstanding features, including various casino-like attractions, an annual tournament of warriors named Colosso, and a mysterious major named Lord Babi who has ruled Tolbi for over 150 years. Tolbi is heavily involved in subplots revolving around the scholar Kraden, the young girl from the desert town Lalivero, Sheba, and the remote Atlantis-like society of Lemuria out in the ocean. Isaac's party in Golden Sun competes in Colosso by Babi's request, and subsequently receives a task from Babi that will cause him and his group to acquire a special ship that they can use to explore Weyard's oceans following the finale of the first game. Isaac is supposed to find life-preserving draught for Babi from Lemuria, but at some point in The Lost Age Babi finally dies nonetheless, and the outcome for the city is uncertain.


 * Suhalla A tiny desert oasis town located on the edge of the Suhalla Desert in Northern Gondowan.


 * Lalivero: A desert town located in the eastern region of Gondowan near the Venus Lighthouse, this is the town that Sheba has lived most of her life with nearly divine reference by the townspeople because as a baby many years ago she mysteriously arrived falling from the sky, earning her the dub title "Child of the Gods". The people of Lalivero in Golden Sun steadily develop a grudge towards Tolbi for their kidnapping Sheba to blackmail them to construct a watchtower up north called Babi Lighthouse, and the town is immensely dismayed when Sheba is subsequently captured by Saturos' group. After climactic revelations on top of Venus Lighthouse, Isaac's party acquires Babi's special ship hidden in Lalivero, a Psynergy-driven ship from Lemuria itself, and the first game ends as they sail out into the oceans.
 * Venus Lighthouse: The Elemental Lighthouse of earth, this sacred structure is one of four Lighthouses that must be lit in order for Alchemy to be returned to the world at Mt. Aleph. Golden Sun climaxes atop this structure as Saturos and Menardi activate it and the pursuing party of Isaac engages them in mortal combat in the game's final battle; Isaac is ultimately victorious in slaying Saturos and Menardi in battle. The prologue to The Lost Age is set in Venus Lighthouse as well, depicting Saturos' remaining companions, Felix and Alex, escape the Lighthouse with their hostages Jenna and Kraden.
 * Idejima: A peninsula located at the outskirts of Venus Lighthouse’s base perimeter and is essentially where The Lost Age begins. As Saturos and Menardi activate Venus Lighthouse but ultimately fall in battle, their companions Felix, Alex, Jenna, Sheba, and Kraden end up on this land as it actually breaks away from the mainland and buoyantly floats eastward into the ocean at the beginning of The Lost Age. Later, a tidal wave occurs from far away that washes over Idejima and redirects its course south to the continent of Indra, crashing it into the continent and making Idejima now a part of a continent it was not part of previously. This is the starting point of Felix's new quest to finish Saturos' objective to activate the remaining two Elemental Lighthouses.
 * Kibombo: A tribe of aborigines settled in lower Gondowan, in an area only accessible in The Lost Age. A warlike tribe following a distinctively African-inspired culture, it is led by a soon-to-be witch doctor Akafubu. Akafubu desires a jewel to offer to the town's cultural god, represented as a giant mechanical statue called the Great Gabomba, so that he may be deemed worthy of his office. He and the town are involved in a leg of Felix's journey where they have to seek out Piers. This town is the nearest main settlement to a giant volcanic dungeon called Magma Rock.

Indra
A less massive continent that is "sandwiched" between Gondowan to the northwest and Osenia to the southeast; it was originally farther out northeast into the ocean, but at the point Golden Sun ends and The Lost Age begins, a giant tidal wave physically moves the continent into its current position. The same tidal wave causes the floating island of Idejima to drive itself into the top of the continent shortly afterward, and this is the starting point of the quest of Felix's party in The Lost Age. Several aspects to the continent indicate its inspiration off real-world India; its name Indra is similar, a predominantly Buddhist culture pervades a temple location called the Kandorean Temple, and the town of Madra and the Dehkan Plateau sound like Madras, India, and the Deccan Plateau, respectively. Important locations to the story include:
 * Daila: A small fishing town which is the first town that Felix's party passes through in The Lost Age. This town is linked with a tower dungeon to the east called the Shrine of the Sea God, which is a dungeon Felix's party must traverse at a later date.
 * Madra: The larger of the settlements on Indra, this town is one of the more active and important town areas throughout The Lost Age. It is heavily involved in subplots involving the pirate Briggs, the Kibombo tribe, and the playable character Piers, and is also where Felix first encounters Karst.

Osenia
A large continent on Weyard's southeast region. Like Indra with real-world India, this continent is inspired off real-world Australia, due to its name resembling Oceania and the name and location of a massive mountain dungeon called Air's Rock resembling Ayers Rock. It is explored early in The Lost Age. Locations important to the game's story include:
 * Alhafra: A coastal town on Osenia's northwest area, this is a bustling and prosperous settlement that is albeit known for having a greedy and pompous mayor. By the start of The Lost Age, the town has developed a project radical in scope and innovation by present-day Weyard's terms: a large sea vessel powered not by the rowing of oars, but by catching wind in a sail hoisted onto the ship's mast. It is a major location central to the lengthy subplot involving the pirate Briggs and, to a lesser extent, the playable character Piers.
 * Garoh: A mountainside settlement of a race of humans with Psynergy-like powers that are based off the power of beasts as opposed to the four Elements, and hence they literally transform into werewolves on nights where the full moon is seen in the sky and they look directly at it(the moon actually being the ancient city of Jupiter Adepts, Anemos, which was lifted into the sky by its people). Their kind is scorned and feared by the people in Osenia's other settlements, but Kraden among Felix's traveling party is quite eager to study their kind and engage in intellectual discourse with the town's permanently-transformed leader, Maha. The town is culturally influenced by the relatively nearby mountain dungeon of Air's Rock.
 * Yallam: A downbeat and impoverished town on the continent's northeast region, accessible only after Felix's party acquires their Lemurian Ship to sail the seas. From a gameplay perspective, this is one of the most important towns because it is only here where players can bring forgeable materials to process them and gain much of the game's strongest equipment, and visual clues on how to more easily gain access into Lemuria out in the ocean are provided as well.

Hesperia
The northwest island continent (and its name is taken from an old word meaning "land to the west"), Hesperia is one of the most sparsely populated continents, with only one main settlement secluded in a circle of mountains and a smaller settlement on the west edge.
 * Shaman Village: The one big settlement on the continent. The residents and their leader Moapa are of a culture resembling Native American mysticism, and because the townspeople were attacked by outsiders in the past, they have become xenophobic in the current age and operate under a noticeably heavy social code which states that they are not to speak verbally to any outsiders that may intrude upon the village, at least not until they have proven themselves through some fashion. It is important for Felix's party in The Lost Age to come here and take the town's test of Psynergy so that they may earn the powers necessary to climb Jupiter Lighthouse in the continent of Atteka to the south.

Atteka
The southwest island continent, Atteka is a very important continent to the latter portion of the story of The Lost Age.
 * Contigo: A moderately populated settlement steeped in ancient history and lore, and central to a prophecy involving Ivan. It is, in fact, revealed late in the game that this is the hometown of Ivan as well as Hama who was previously met at Lama Temple, and it is also revealed that the two are siblings. After much drama and story revelation occurs at nearby Jupiter Lighthouse to the north, the formerly-at-odds traveling parties of the two Golden Sun games, led by Isaac and Felix respectively, convene to sort out their differences and figure the truth about the situation at large, and what is necessary for them to do; thus they join forces to form the game's final traveling party and depart to the Northern Reaches in the direction of Mars Lighthouse. Contigo is located next to a giant crater which, according to the townspeople, was the location of the great and ancient City of the Anemos that lifted off the ground and assumed its position in the sky to become what is now called the Moon, from where Sheba, the Jupiter Adept, probably fell to Lalivero. Contigo is also the location of the game's most challenging optional dungeon, the Anemos Sanctum, which is accessible only to password-enhanced games of The Lost Age that have amassed all 72 collectibe Djinn.
 * Jupiter Lighthouse: The Elemental Lighthouse of wind, this sacred structure is one of four Lighthouses that must be lit in order for Alchemy to be returned to the world at Mt. Aleph. The mortal rivalry between Karst and Agatio and Isaac's traveling party climaxes here during Felix's attempt to activate the Lighthouse on his own, and ultimately Felix betrays Karst to save Isaac's life even after Jupiter is lit. Following a dramatic series of confrontations, Isaac and Felix's respective traveling parties agree to parley with each other in the more appropriate environment of nearby Contigo.

Other places
There are many other locations throughout Weyard important to the game's story that may not be considered part of any continent:


 * Tundaria: The lengthy continent of frigid wastes that covers the entire southern boundary of Weyard. Though it is easily comparable to Antarctica, Tundaria is lined with lengthy ranges of mountains. Located at the west end is an ancient tower dungeon that Felix's party must explore during the heart of his journey in The Lost Age.


 * Lemuria: A magnificent, secluded island city society located in the center of the Great Eastern Sea. It is shrouded in perpetual fog and a perimeter of treacherous whirlpools lined with stone crags, so few ships from the outside world have ever visited the city itself. This has given Lemuria image more mythical and make-believe than anything else, similar to the images attached to Atlantis and the real-world continent of Lemuria. The power of Alchemy supposedly "remains unbound" in Lemuria, and time seems to pass infinitely more slowly than the outside world, causing its residents to have immensely long lifespans of multiple centuries. It is one of the most important locations in the overall Golden Sun series; it is a major subject of interest to lord Babi of Tolbi during Golden Sun, who lends Isaac's party a Psynergy-powered ship which he stole from Lemuria previously, and in The Lost Age Felix's party bands with a former resident of Lemuria named Piers on his own Lemurian Ship. Later on in their quest, Felix and Piers make it back into Lemuria and convene with its revered king Hydros to learn shocking revelations about Alchemy and its relations to the state of Weyard as a whole.


 * Izumo: A somewhat large island northeast of Lemuria in the Great Eastern Sea, and also the name of the one settlement on the island. Its inhabitants are deeply Japanese in nationality and culture, and it is the site of a subplot whose characters, events, and themes are a direct homage to an old Japanese myth featuring Susano'o: A young warrior named Susa must try to prevent the annual sacrifice of one of the town's maidens (which this year is his fiancé, Kushinada) to an enormous dragon-like creature called the Serpent, hiding inside the nearby mountain dungeon of Gaia Rock, and his plan is to give it much sake ("Dragonsbane" in the North American version) so that he may be able to slay it while in a drunken stupor. He will require the assistance of Felix's traveling party in The Lost Age to actually slay the beast, however.


 * Apojii Islands: A series of Polynesian-influenced islands right at the eastern edge of Weyard's perimeter where the oceans of the world begin to fall into the abyss below in the form of Gaia Falls; in theory, this island's residents are in great danger, but they are ignorant of the fact because the islands are atmospherically iconic of an island paradise. It is linked to the nearby mountain dungeon of Aqua Rock, which is one of the first dungeons across the Great Eastern Sea that Felix's traveling party must explore and complete when they acquire the Lemurian Ship.


 * Prox: The winter-locked settlement of the clan of Mars Adept humans whose Mars-based power and influence are great enough that their physical appearances are slightly dragon-like with pointed ears and scales on their shoulders and backs. It is one of the main settlements in the series' core plotline because it is the hometown of most of the game's "antagonists", consisting of the warrior pair Saturos and Menardi and the warrior pair Karst and Agatio. Prox is located near the northern edge of the world which is evidently creeping closer to the town, and the townspeople realize that only restoring Alchemy to the world can prevent the world's eventual collapse, so they send out the former pair to perform the job at the start of Golden Sun and later also send out Karst and Agatio to assist them at the start of The Lost Age. It is the last town Isaac and Felix's party passes through at the end of the game, their intention being to save this town by finishing Saturos and Menardi's job to activate the last remaining Elemental Lighthouse to the north.


 * Mars Lighthouse: The Elemental Lighthouse of fire, this sacred structure is the final of the four Lighthouses that must be lit in order for Alchemy to be returned to the world at Mt. Aleph. It is the final mandatory dungeon that must be explored and completed at the end of The Lost Age, and the top of the tower, in front of the Beacon that remains to be lit, is where the finale to the series takes place. By the game's end, the Lighthouse has been lit along with the other three situated across Weyard, and they commence the process to restore Alchemy to the world of Weyard, saving it from eventual collapse and bringing about a new age.

Creatures and races
Humanity is primarily the one sentient race located across Weyard in sparsely spread out settlements, and in the wilderness between is all manner of wildlife. At the start of Golden Sun, when Psynergy Stones rain all over the world, the wildlife become savage monsters, and other more fantastic creatures such as the undead (corporeal ghosts, zombies, and animate skeleton) and dragons arise as well.

Other human-like races are found on Weyard, but certainly not anywhere near as diverse and varied as a high-fantasy world like in The Lord of the Rings and WarCraft. One of the visitable settlements is home to a race of mining dwarves, while another is home to a race of humans that transmorgrify into lycanthropes when they look upon the full moon at night. The northernmost settlement of Prox is home to a race of cold-resistant humans with lizard-like scales and pointed ears, and a powerful sorcerous command of fire-based Psynergy.

In addition to the above corporeal creatures and races are a diverse assortment of spiritual entities. Formerly residing in Mt. Aleph and collectible throughout both games are magical creatures called Djinn, which come in four varieties, one for each element. These creatures each have a unique ability based on its element, and their general power can be harnessed by Adepts to bolster their own Psynergy-based powers, or to call upon and summon powerful entities to cause massive damage to the opposition. These spiritual entities are embodiments of their respective elements and take the form of mythical entities prevalent in real world cultures, examples including the Viking god Thor using an electricity-laden hammer, or a demon duke named Haures, or a deadly Grim Reaper-like entity named Charon. The greatest of these summonable spirits is a goddess named Iris.