Luceti application
A warning in advance:
THIS APPLICATION CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE GOLDEN SUN SERIES.
No, really. Massive spoilers here, folks. Tread with caution! Initial spoilers will be written in white text, but anything from the History section onward is written normally.
Mun
Name: Misa
Livejournal Username: zemeth
E-mail: Available via PM.
AIM/MSN: Darksol Gasp / See e-mail.
Current Characters at Luceti: awakenedchaos
Character
Name: Alex (AKA Arcanus)
Fandom: Golden Sun
Gender: Male
Age: His official age isn't stated, but he looks to be about 23 years old. His actual age is closer to 53, however.
Time Period: At the end of Dark Dawn, just after Chalis and Blados teleport away while he's stalling them.
Wing Color: Carolina blue.
History: Years ago, during the lost age of man, humanity prospered thanks to Alchemy, a force created through the combination of the four elements of water, earth, wind and fire. People were able to use an ability known as Psynergy, granted by Alchemy: essentially, a form of magic that could be used for mundane things such as fixing roofs, moving logs and creating small rainclouds, or for combat. Four lighthouses - the Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Mars Lighthouses, representing the four elements - provided energy to the world and its people. And all was great.
But of course, things can't stay like this for long, can they? Unsurprisingly, wars soon began, and people fought over power, riches and dominion, misusing the power granted by Alchemy for military warfare. Eventually, a group of brave and wise men took it upon themselves to seal Alchemy to prevent its misuse and stop the endless wars, removing the elemental stars that powered the lighthouses and hiding them inside the Sol Sanctum at Mount Aleph to do so. Their efforts were a success: Alchemy was sealed and the wars subsided. Four clans living near the lighthouses - the Anemos and Ankohl, as well as the Mars- and Mercury Clans - were entrusted with the duty of keeping watch over the lighthouses, in order to ensure that they would never be relit.
What the people at the time did not realize, however, is that sealing Alchemy forced the world into a state of steady decay. Several civilizations slowly began to die out, and - unbeknownst to most - the edges of the world began to erode, causing the world to slowly shrink.
For now, though, let's focus on one particular thing: three members of what remained of the Mercury Clan - a father, his daughter and her cousin - hundreds, if not thousands, of years after Alchemy had been sealed.
The three were among the very few members of the Mercury Clan that still existed, living in a small village known as Imil, located on the northernmost part of Angara and southwest of the Mercury Lighthouse. The girl, known as Mia, and her cousin, Alex, both studied under her father, learning how to use Mercury-type Psynergy; water-based Psynergy that could also be used to heal others. Eventually, Mia's father died, presumably of old age or disease, and she took in the other two remaining members of the Mercury Clan, a boy and a girl known as Justin and Megan, as her apprentices, whereas Alex continued his studies, becoming a very proficient Mercury Adept.
At some point, two Proxians - residents of a village in the northernmost area of Weyard and the guardians of the Mars Lighthouse - known as Saturos and Menardi, accompanied by a Venus Adept known as Felix, passed through the village, heading for the Sol Sanctum near Mount Aleph. They wished to retrieve the elemental stars hidden away there in order to reactivate the lighthouses and stop the erosion of the world. To gain entrance to the lighthouses, however, they would need an Adept of each element, and their group only contained two Mars Adepts and one Venus Adept - wielders of fire-based and earth-based Psynergy, respectively. Alex, presumably intrigued by their plan, chooses to team up with them, abandoning his clan's duty to guard the Mercury Lighthouse.
From then on, the quartet proceeds to Vale, where Saturos and Menardi confront Kraden about the Sol Sanctum. When he refuses to assist them and instead chooses to investigate the sanctum along with a group of three children - Isaac, Garet and Jenna - the quartet opts to follow them as they solve the puzzles of the sanctum, eventually reaching a hidden room at its very heart.
There, Saturos and Menardi hold Jenna and Kraden hostage in order to force Isaac and Garet to collect the elemental stars for them, aided by a little persuasion through them revealing the true identity of Felix, the masked Venus adept travelling with them: he is, in fact, Jenna's brother, who Saturos and Menardi had saved three years ago. While the group's ploy does earn them the Mercury, Venus and Jupiter Stars, before Isaac and Garet can pass the Mars Star on to them as well, Mount Aleph begins to erupt, and the quartet is forced to flee together with Kraden and Jenna.
It's not until Isaac and Garet, now joined by a Jupiter Adept called Ivan and Mia, Alex's cousin, make it to the Mercury Lighthouse that the group is encountered once again. Before the group can arrive, the quartet has already lit the lighthouse after Alex assisted them in entering the lighthouse, and when they finally do make it to the top, they find themselves forced to fight Saturos. Alex, meanwhile, remains hidden behind the Mercury Beacon, confident that Saturos will be able to win the fight without him interfering.
To his surprise, he doesn't. The Mercury Lighthouse's influence had weakened the Mars Adept, giving the other group an advantage. Though he put up quite a fight, Saturos was eventually downed by the group, forcing Alex to reveal himself and stall for time while Saturos recovers from the battle. Mia is, understandably, shocked to see Alex working together with who she perceives as the bad guys, but he manages to briefly distract her by explaining that it was the Mercury Lighthouse's power that allowed them to win, subtly implying that such great power should not be sealed. Eventually, Saturos manages to recover enough to stand up, and Alex, supporting him, teleports the two of them a small distance away. Before leaving, he asks Isaac about the Mars Star, confirming that the younger group of Adepts is indeed in possession of it - and, when Garet comments that he won't let Saturos escape, he notes that their group is not the type to "finish" anyone off. After finally telling Mia that "he can't stay the same Alex [she] knew forever", the duo teleports to the lighthouse's elevator, continuing onward to their next destination with the rest of their group: the Venus Lighthouse.
Along the way, the group - whether intentionally or unintentionally is unclear - creates problems for the towns they pass through, for example, by triggering a landslide at Alpine Crossing, possibly to stall Isaac's group. After crossing the Karagol Sea using a ferry, they make their way through the Sulhalla Desert, where Alex assists Saturos and Menardi in their efforts to slay the whirlwind-creating Tornado Lizards using his Mercury Psynergy, forcing the creatures to reveal themselves through the use of the Douse Psynergy and giving the Proxians the opportunity to kill the lizards. Before they reach the exit, however, they encounter a young Jupiter Adept called Sheba. The girl had been on her way to Lalivero, accompanied by several Tolbian soldiers, but was separated by them as the result of an attack by one of the lizards. As the group still lacked a Jupiter Adept - which they would need in order to access the Jupiter Lighthouse, which was their next destination following the Venus Lighthouse - they force her to tag along with them, continuing on to the Venus Lighthouse afterward.
There, the group climbs the tower, though notably not without difficulties; the puzzles of the lighthouse proved to be rather difficult to solve without assistance for the Proxians. Eventually, however, they make it to the top, where Saturos, Menardi and Sheba remain whereas the rest of the group is supposed to go ahead to their ship, docked at Idejima. Once they make it to the exit, however, Felix decides to head back up to confront Saturos about Sheba's involvement in their quest. Alex, impressed by Felix's decision, lets him go, and he, Kraden and Jenna briefly discuss about his reason for wishing to see the lighthouses lit again. He handwaves the question by stating that he wishes to see the old world restored again, and... something else, though he cuts himself off before finishing his statement.
Outside of the lighthouse, the trio is confronted by a group of both Tolbian soldiers and Laliveran workmen, determined to free Sheba from the grasp of her kidnappers. Jenna notes that they'll have to fight them to make their way to Idejima, to which Alex responds that he will handle them while they go on ahead. The soldiers, surprised by his choice to take them all on alone, naturally fail to take him seriously, though his comment about not wishing to inflict unnecessary bloodshed briefly confuses them. After warning them that if they lay a hand on Kraden and Jenna, they will be made to regret it, he decides to strike the first blow - that is, blast two of the soldiers away using geysers created through the use of Psynergy. Understandably frightened, the soldiers back away, noting that he'll be in it when the backups from Lalivero arrive - not that it seems to concern him, as he actually seems angry that the soldiers believe that even a hundred of them could stop him.
He then proceeds to stall the entire group of soldiers and workmen long enough for Jenna and Kraden to reach Idejima. On his own.
...He wasn't kidding when he said that not even a hundred of them could stop him.
Eventually, he reunites with the duo at Idejima, but an earthquake resulting from the Venus Lighthouse's activation causes it to separate from the mainland, turning Idejima into a floating island slowly drifting off toward the Great Eastern Sea, while the trio is unable to leave, as the Proxians' boat cannot be activated without the Black Orb - which is in Menardi's possession, who is still at the top of the lighthouse. After some time, Kraden finds Felix and Sheba on the island; the two had been washed there by the waves, having fallen off the top of the lighthouse when the earthquake occurred. When the two finally reawaken, they inform the rest of the group that Saturos and Menardi had been killed by Isaac's group, much to everyone's surprise.
When the island eventually passes by the continent of Indra, they find a tidal wave, once again caused by the Venus Lighthouse's activation, heading right toward them. While everyone else begins to panic, Alex remains oddly calm, even when the tidal wave hits the island, causing it to crash into Indra and leaving everyone unconscious.
When the group finally reawakens, Alex is nowhere to be found, seemingly having left to explore Indra and locate a new ship. On his own, he headed to Daila and spoke with the mayor there, offering him a fortune in return for a boat. Unfortunately, none are available, and so the mayor directs Alex toward Madra. On his way to leave the town, he encounters Felix and the other remaining members of Saturos and Menardi's group once more, informing them about the situation regarding the boats and his own destination. When the group offers to travel together with him, however, he declines, stating that he is preoccupied and, after Sheba accuses him of being self-absorbed, that he prefers to work alone, hastily leaving the town as soon as the conversation ends.
From there on, he travels south toward Madra as instructed, discovering a Lemurian ship beached along the way - a ship not unlike the one Saturos and Menardi had used to travel. Conveniently, he ends up witnessing the ship's captain, a sailor named Piers, being taken away by a group of Madrans who suspected him of being in league with the pirate Briggs, whose crew had recently attacked the city. Intrigued, he follows them to Madra, where he witnesses its citizens imprisoning Piers, as well as Felix's group arriving at his cell. At this point, he witnesses Piers using the Mercury Psynergy Frost, outing him as a fellow Mercury Adept.
Unfortunately, his real reason for heading to Madra turns out to be a failure: their ships had recently been destroyed by a tidal wave. However, he does find out that the town Madra trades with - Alhafra - recently completed a massive sailing ship, and thus sets out toward the next town.
However, his arrival there is met with disappointment yet again: Alhafra, too, had its boats destroyed by a tidal wave recently. This also includes the sailing ship, which had not only been damaged, but was also sold to the pirate Briggs, who used it as a hiding place after his attack on Madra. Opting for a temporary break, Alex books a two-bed room at the resident inn for himself, where he once again encounters Felix and the others. They, too, are still searching for a boat, but also seek to confront Briggs about Piers' unjust imprisonment. Alex suggests that they also attempt to repair the sailing ship.
The group's confrontation with Briggs turns out to be a success - Briggs was imprisoned for his deeds after a fight - and though they were unable to repair the ship completely, they did successfully fix some of the damage done to it. When they inform him about this, Alex compliments them on their actions, saying that "working for the benefit of others is quite noble"; something Mia had always said to him.
Eventually, after the group leaves Alhafra again, Alex returns to Indra once more. As both Piers and the party had left for Gondowan at the time, he briefly considers "borrowing" Piers' ship, believing that doing so was the only remaining option at the time. Before he has the opportunity to actually go through with this plan, however, the group - now joined by Piers - returns and departs with the ship, having retrieved the Black Orb required to control it. Left behind on the continent of Indra, Alex eventually encounters two warriors from Prox: Karst, Menardi's younger sister and Agatio, one of the Mars Clan's strongest warriors. The two are seeking vengeance upon Isaac's group for killing Saturos and Menardi and, after he explains everything that had happened during his travels with the duo as well as the current circumstances, joins up with the two warriors, finally leaving the continent with the aid of their ship.
As he travelled together with the two Mars Adepts, Alex considered the facts once more: both his own group and that of Felix had a shared objective, and that was lighting the Jupiter Lighthouse using the Jupiter Star. To even get into the lighthouse, they would need an Adept of the right element - like Sheba. And in addition to all of that, it was easy to tell that Karst and Agatio were hardly any more talented when it came to solving the puzzles of the lighthouses than Saturos and Menardi were - that is, they would likely fail miserably without assistance. Letting Felix and his entourage handle the lighthouse would, more likely than not, be the fastest option.
And so, he and the two Proxians set out for Champa, where they lie in wait for Felix's group. Once they do arrive there, one of the first things he notes is the presence of Piers. Seeming almost a little offended, he asks if they "mean to cast [him] away, like old trash", also mentioning his old plan to "borrow" Piers' ship and that, while it failed, it at least allowed him to meet Karst and Agatio, so perhaps it was fate. He then allows Karst and Agatio to threaten the group to hurry up, else they take the Jupiter Star for themselves and light the Jupiter Lighthouse on their own.
This does not, however, mean that he refrained from commenting at the time. In fact, he blatantly states what he thought of Saturos and Menardi's skills at dealing with the mysteries of the lighthouses, and notes that he thinks the same of Karst and Agatio. He points out that he is on no one's side, and merely wishes to see the lighthouse beacons lit once more. The trio notes that they will always be nearby, pushing Felix's group to make their way to Jupiter Lighthouse swiftly. As they leave, Alex informs Kraden that Lord Babi, the one who had ordered him to study Alchemy, had perished, and that his studies had been for naught.
It's not until the Jupiter Lighthouse that Alex and the two Proxians are seen once more. Having arrived after Felix's group, and noting that Isaac's group, too, was inside the lighthouse, Karst and Agatio set up a trap for Isaac's group to lower their numbers and then confront them. This works a little too well, as not only does Mia fall into the trap, but Garet attempts to save her, falling in as well and barely being able to hang on to a ledge to keep himself from falling off the lighthouse altogether. Alex, rather than assist the duo in their fight against the remaining two members of Isaac's group, instead meets up with Felix's group, commenting on what he and his group intend to do. Instead of stalling them as one may expect, however, he actually heals the group, telling them that they can still make it. (This is also notable for being the one time when one can use the Mind Read Psynergy without him catching on; doing so reveals that he still wishes to help Mia, and that he will have to part ways with Karst and Agatio after this, suggesting that he is most certainly not happy with the mess their trap resulted in.)
At the top of the Jupiter Lighthouse, Felix's group and the two Proxians fight. Though it proves to be a difficult fight, Felix and his entourage manage to win, but before they have the opportunity to finish the duo off, Alex steps in, having to note that if Karst's claim that Felix's parents may be in danger should neither she and Agatio, nor Saturos and Menardi return to Prox be true, all their efforts will have been for naught. He heals the duo just barely enough for them to be able to stand and walk and leaves together with them.
(It should be noted that this fight can be lost. Should this happen, Alex instead stops Karst and Agatio from killing Felix's party, having to repeatedly point out that there's no time for petty grudges. The two note that he's betraying them, and that treason deserves death, to which he has to point out that they're in no condition to fight him, and Isaac's group is still up and about. Eventually, the group flees just in time, as Isaac's group arrives mere moments later.)
Rather than keep travelling together after this, Alex parts ways with Karst and Agatio: whereas the two set out to light the Mars Lighthouse with the Mars Star they had taken from Isaac, Alex instead makes his way toward Mount Aleph. Once the lighthouses are lit, the Golden Sun would form above the mountain, and should one happen to be on it at the time, they would be able to claim the Golden Sun's power - the power of Alchemy itself - for themselves.
He manages to arrive just in time; soon after he reaches the summit, the Mars Lighthouse is lit, and the Golden Sun forms. As a result of standing just below it when it activates, Alex is granted immense power and near-limitless life - or so he thinks. When he attempts to call for a storm to unleash its might upon Vale, the small village at the foot of Mount Aleph... nothing happens. Momentarily confused, his attention is quickly diverted by a one-eyed hovering rock: The Wise One, Vale's protector. Mistaking his commentary upon the situation as an attempt to anger him, Alex pushes the Wise One back using Psynergy, speaking triumphantly of his newfound power.
Only for the Wise One to drive him into the ground using Psynergy, leaving him immobilized.
He goes on to point out that he had imbued the Mars Star - which now rests in Isaac's hands - with some of the power of the forming Golden Sun, thus robbing Alex of the last bit of power he needed. All his plans had been for naught. The Wise One then points out that Mount Aleph will soon be drawn into the ground, causing the ever-calm Alex to panic for once; after all, he still wasn't able to move. Just before his presumed end at the hands of the sinking mountain, Alex hears the Wise One speak up one last time.
If you are swallowed by the earth, you may not survive. If you survive, perhaps we shall meet again someday...
And this would be the last anyone would see of the Mercury Adept.
...
For a few years, that is. Sometime during the ten years following what would become known as the Golden Sun event, he is presumably rescued by a group known as the Tuaparang, though the game is a little vague about this. From there on, he adopts the alias "Arcanus," matching the theme of the names of the Tuaparang commanders Blados and Chalis - their names can be seen as similar to the Cups and Swords suits of the Minor Arcana, whereas his chosen alias is similar to the term for the entire deck; something of a pun on the fact that he "holds all the cards." He assists the Tuaparang for reasons unknown, serving directly under the High Empyror himself and carrying out his orders, though he is also often seen working alongside Blados and Chalis despite not being a "true" member of the Tuaparang.
Ten years after the Golden Sun event, he heads to Ayuthay, wishing to repair the Alchemy Well found there, something that would require retrieving the Luna Mask from the nearby Barai Temple. During his stay there, only one person managed to see his face - Veriti, the sister of King Paithos of Ayuthay, who had fallen in love with him at first sight. The two began a brief relationship that they kept secret from everyone else, but Arcanus soon left Ayuthay once more, having successfully repaired the Alchemy Well by bringing back the aforementioned mask... or, well, as much as he could, at least. It was impossible for the machine to be fully functional without Passaj's Alchemy Forge also being operational, but there wasn't anything he could do about this at the time, as another item would be necessary to start the Alchemy Forge: the Sol Mask, an item hidden away in the Ouroboros Labyrinth, which one could only enter with the aid of the Insight Glass, an Ayuthayan treasure he was unable to retrieve at the time - let alone use, for that matter, as the Insight Glass would supposedly choose its own wielder.
(It's worth noting that, after Arcanus had left Ayuthay, Veriti had a son who would later become known as Amiti, and she herself died due to an illness not long after Amiti's birth. Nobody but her ever saw Arcanus' face, and her brother Paithos had decided that his existence should be kept a secret, leading to him spreading the fact that it was, in fact, Veriti who had restarted the Alchemy Well, and that Amiti was conceived solely through her miraculous powers, meaning that he did not, in fact, have a biological father like normal humans. Veriti was not, however, an Adept, nor did she have any other powers, and all of this was - as stated before - merely meant to cover up the fact that Arcanus had visited Ayuthay.)
Twenty years later, inside the Konpa Ruins, he, alongside Blados and several Tuaparang soldiers, eventually encounters the children of Isaac's group, now known as the Warriors of Vale: Matthew (Isaac's and Jenna's son), Tyrell (Garet's son) and Karis (Ivan's daughter), as well as Kraden (who had survived so long due to exposure to the Golden Sun, which had slowed his aging process dramatically) and Mia's two children, Rief and Nowell. While sending some of the Tuaparang soldiers to attack the two groups, Blados and Arcanus abduct Rief. In order to push Matthew's group into the direction the Tuaparang desires, the villainous duo tells the two groups that they will drop Rief off at one of the ruins' two exits, forcing them to split up. Kraden notices that Arcanus' voice sounds familiar, and Arcanus even notes that he knows him, but he still fails to recognize him at the time. The two soon leave to drop Rief off at the southern exit, where Matthew's group is headed, although not before Arcanus asks Matthew if he has been entrusted with the Glyph Book: a book that would allow the one in possession of it to read the ancient symbols written on several tablets scattered across Weyard. Once Matthew and the others pass through the southern exit, Blados detonates it, preventing the group from returning the way they came.
It's not until much later that Arcanus is encountered once more, long after Passaj's Alchemy Forge had been activated. Matthew and the others - accompanied by Ryu Kou, prince of the Sana region, and Hou Zan, his mentor - meet him, Blados and Chalis once more at the Alchemy Dynamo, located beneath the city of Belinsk, the capital of Morgal. There, Arcanus notes that the Magma Orb in Ryu Kou's possession will restart the Alchemy Dynamo when placed in it, and the trio orders the group to do just that. When their orders are met with resistance, Blados and Chalis fight them, while Arcanus convinces Ryu Kou to place the orb for the sake of his sister, who had been unjustly imprisoned in Belinsk and presumably was to be executed soon. Tyrell attempts to attack him, but all his efforts earn him is a powerful blast of water to the face.
In the end, Ryu Kou activates the Alchemy Dynamo, which in turn led to the activation of the Luna Tower. Hou Zan, like Tyrell, attempts to attack Arcanus for forcing Ryu Kou to cooperate, but he merely teleports out of the way and to the collapsed Blados and Chalis, helping them get up by supporting them. At this point, he finally reveals his alias to the group, having tired of being addressed by his mask. He goes on to explain that the lighthouses the Warriors of Vale had activated were devices similar to the one they were in at the time, but that unlike them, the seal on this one was never meant to be broken.
Just before he leaves together with Blados and Chalis, he notes that the activation of this dreaded machine is only the beginning, and that he looks forward to his next meeting with the group.
As it soon turned out, activating the Luna Tower - actually known as the Eclipse Tower - is a fatal mistake: its activation leads to, as the name would suggest, a massive eclipse, enveloping a large portion of Weyard in shadows created as the result of the tower absorbing both light and holy energy. This, in turn, leads to normally extremely rare and weak shadow-like monsters appearing far more frequently and significantly powering them up. These even appear inside cities, as citizens of Belinsk find out first-hand: in Belinsk alone, the sudden invasion of monsters leads to a large numbers of casualties, and it's far from being the only populated area affected by what would become known as the Grave Eclipse.
While Matthew and his group set out to find a way to stop the Grave Eclipse created by the tower, Arcanus had already thought of one: the Apollo Lens, hidden away in the Apollo Sanctum. As the other group is still searching, he sets out for Tonfon, where he gives Emperor Unan information regarding the Apollo Lens for him to forward to Matthew and his entourage once they arrived. He also gives him the Red Orb to pass on to that, an object required to activate the lens.
Ultimately, the group encounters him one last time at the Apollo Sanctum itself, where the group finally confronts him about his identity. Kraden reveals his true name - Alex - much to the surprise of everyone else, and explains that he recognized him as a result of their travels together. The conversation, however, is interrupted when presumed members of the Tuaparang appear alongside Blados and Chalis, who had been eavesdropping.
Blados is furious that Arcanus is wasting time by talking to the party rather than simply killing them, but inquires if the fact that he travelled with Kraden makes him one of the Warriors of Vale - something that Rief hastily corrects. Karis notes that there's no way that Arcanus could actually be Alex, since he had perished at Mount Aleph. None of this matters to Blados, however; he simply points out that he never cared for Arcanus and his superior tone. While Chalis informs Blados that he should keep his temper in check, as the High Empyror would not approve of them fighting amongst themselves, Arcanus notes that the look on Blados' face suggests that he cares little for imperial loyalty.
He goes on to point out the orders they were given: to ensure that Matthew activates the Apollo Lens, not to kill them as Blados seemingly wanted to do mere moments ago. He explains that the Tuaparang are descendants of the Umbra Clan, and are also known as Dark Adepts. The High Empyror had sent Arcanus to make sure the Apollo Lens was used according to his plan, as he apparently doubted Blados' and Chalis' loyalty. Continuing his speech, Arcanus asks if the soldiers that had dropped down alongside Blados and Chalis were truly Tuaparang soldiers, as they seemed to have strange powers not unlike Psynergy, much like the two of them. He asks what the two intend to do with the Apollo Lens, but they refuse to answer, leading Arcanus to note that based on the trajectory, they intend to target either Tuaparang or the area around Sol Sanctum. As they hadn't contradicted his deductions until now, he inquires if Dark Psynergy can now be considered an open secret...
...or if they still intend to keep it a secret by eliminating him. Which is exactly what Blados was planning to do just as he says this, having teleported behind him. Arcanus himself finally lures the duo away from the Apollo Lens, intending to buy time for Matthew and his group by fighting them on his own.
After this, Arcanus is not seeing again on-screen, though he does somehow telepathically contact Matthew after the final battle when he repeatedly attempts to activate the Apollo Lens and fails as a result of the immense amount of light there, telling him to stop because he cannot do this. As Blados and Chalis reappear a few minutes after the group approaches the Apollo Lens, however, it's possible that he abandoned his attempt to stall them in favor of taking care of other matters for reasons currently still unknown.
Personality: At a glance, Alex honestly seems like a rather pleasant individual.. His speech is formal and polite, no matter who he may be speaking to, and if need be, he's not above even helping those who qualify as his enemies. He may be a little sarcastic at times, and is not above mocking his allies should they give him an incentive to do so (such as, say, repeatedly failing at solving the puzzles of one of the lighthouses), but that's something most people would do, isn't it? And if you don't mind that occasional snarky side of his, he's certainly a pleasant individual to be around - he could arguably be seen as something of a gentleman, even.
...Unsurprisingly, most of that is nothing more than a façade.
In actuality, Alex is very calculating, manipulative and ruthless. If there's something he intends to accomplish, he will, no matter how difficult it may be, how long it may take, or how many casualties it may lead to. To him, most people are nothing more than puppets: if their involvement would aid his plans, he'll often make sure they play their part by subtly forcing them to take certain paths or do certain things, even if this would have immense consequences on the world, like, say... Forcing Ryu Kou into activating the Alchemy Dynamo for the sake of his sister, leading to the activation of the Eclipse Tower and the Grave Eclipse, which led to a lot of people losing their lives - all for the sake of guiding Matthew's group toward the Apollo Lens so they could activate it. He's also not above betraying former allies, should switching sides benefit his plans somehow. As he himself says, he's on no one's side; rather, he's the one who holds all the cards. He's the unbeatable ace. Or so he likes to think, at least.
If that last bit didn't give it away yet, he's pretty arrogant. To be fair, both Alex's strength and cunning are nearly unmatched in his world, but unfortunately, he actually seems to realize this - he's not above mocking people who try to fight him. After all, not even a group of a hundred soldiers is enough to stop him, so why should he fear being bested in combat? Of course, when working together with someone at the time, he often seems to leave the fighting to his companions - he's not too keen on causing unnecessary bloodshed, as he claims, though it's likely he simply doesn't wish to dirty his own hands unless it's needed. All of this can lead to him coming off as the type of person that considers himself superior to others, even his own allies. Combined with his occasional snarkiness, this can make it a little irksome to have to team up with him.
Speaking of teaming up with him, it's clear Alex greatly prefers to act on his own. He may be quite the puppeteer, but in the end, he does seem to be able to deal better with things when he's on his own, rather than forced to work together with someone he only barely tolerates, such as Blados and Chalis. In fact, that latter situation often just increases the likelihood of his superior attitude grating on his teammate's nerves, since he appears to be more likely to mock allies that he views as incompetent in some area, be it their inability to solve puzzles or a needlessly brutish attitude.
Still, he does hold respect for certain individuals whom he acknowledges as superior to him in some aspect - when he initially sees the Wise One inside the Sol Sanctum just before he and the rest of his group flee, he's awestruck by the sheer power he possesses, and acknowledges out loud that they're no match for him. It's not until he gains the power of the Golden Sun and believes himself to be superior that he actually dares to take on his arrogant attitude when facing the Wise One (something that turns out to be a bad idea, though he doesn't realize this until it's too late). Similarly, he seems to hold the High Empyror in very high regard, as he is so far the only known individual that Alex is actually willing to take orders from... and go to rather great lengths to carry these orders out no less. Presumably, at least part of this respect stems from his own desire for power, a trait that seems to be the driving force behind some of his plans, or at the very least, his initial plan prior and up to the Golden Sun event.
In addition, he's not completely uncaring. It's clear that there's at least one person who he actually seems to look out for: Mia, his cousin, who ends up being the reason he abandons Karst and Agatio after their trap endangers her life at the Jupiter Lighthouse. He even acknowledges this, as evident should one use the Mind Read Psynergy on him during the aforementioned event - doing so reveals that even now, he still wishes to give Mia his aid. He notes that it seems that he is weak as well, implying that he considers the fact that he wishes to look out for her as a weakness.
On the other hand, while he did supposedly reciprocate Veriti's feelings - which is why the two had a brief relationship in the first place (and why Veriti was so heartbroken when he suddenly left) - it's very, very likely that he may simply have been pretending. Amiti, his son, does seem to be part of his plan, after all - Alex needed an Ayuthayan to obtain the Insight Glass, which was required in order to retrieve the Sol Mask from the Ouroboros Labyrinth, an item required to restart the Alchemy Forge, and... well, Amiti ends up being the one to obtain the Insight Glass, join up with Matthew and the others and retrieve the Sol Mask, just as he was supposed to. Which implies that, as long as it benefits his plans, Alex is not above even manipulating the feelings of another - even if it's to accomplish something twenty years later.
Despite his manipulative nature, however, Alex never truly lies. He may use half-truths or intentionally fail to mention certain facts, but he is always nothing but truthful, a fact he actually seems to pride himself on. Nor does he ever force someone to do something against their will... not obviously, at least. He does still tend to set things up just so that the person in question has no other choice but to do what he wishes, as demonstrated when he tells Ryu Kou to activate the Alchemy Dynamo, since his sister's life (who was, at the time, a prisoner in Belinsk) depended on his cooperation.
Strengths
Physical: While Alex is never seen in combat on-screen - the party never fights alongside or against him, what little we do get to see of his combat ability is... impressive, to say the least. Being a Mercury Adept, he has access to water-based Psynergy. Not only does this grant him very effective healing skills, as demonstrated when he easily heals Felix's party - repeatedly, if necessary - at the Jupiter Lighthouse. Worth noting here is Ply, a particularly potent healing Psynergy that can even heal broken bones at its lowest level and seems to be an inherent ability possessed by those of the Mercury Clan.
In addition to his healing prowess, it's worth pointing out that he is also able to use offensive Mercury Psynergy much stronger than that of any other Adept seen in the series so far. He's easily able to knock Tyrell out using a single strong blast of water, and has successfully fought against hundreds of soldiers and workmen by blasting them away using a geyser created using Psynergy.
Presumably, since he gained three fourths of the Golden Sun's power, he may also have access to Jupiter- and Venus-style Psynergy, but so far, he hasn't been seen using it. What we do know, however, is that thanks to the Golden Sun, he's much stronger than one may expect - one particular scene is a very good example of this. In the Belinsk Ruins, Matthew's party comes across a chessboard of sorts where one has to move a white soldier statue using Psynergy in order to have it take out other, black soldier statues and, eventually, their king. When they arrive there, another group has apparently passed through there already, and the only other group travelling through the ruins at the time is that of Blados, Chalis and Arcanus - Alex. How did they get past the puzzle? By blasting the stone soldiers at the wall with enough force to embed them into it. Since Blados and Chalis definitely weren't that strong, as evident by the fight against them shortly after this point, it's safe to say that Alex was the one responsible for taking care of that puzzle. Needless to say, it's probably a good thing that he normally refrains from engaging in combat.
He also possesses two slightly more unique abilities: he seems to be able to use a Hover-type Psynergy without any special kind of platform, as Hover itself would require, and frequently makes use of this to move around more easily. The second ability is what fans have nicknamed Warp; as the name implies, he has the ability to warp a short distance at the time. It's not very effective for moving long distances, as it takes him about three uses of this to make it from the eastern side of the Mercury Lighthouse beacon to the elevator on the western side, but it does give him an edge in combat, as he doesn't seem to be above using it to dodge incoming attacks.
Mental: His intellect is probably Alex's greatest strength, as even Chalis comments on how he was "always so very clever." He's something of a chessmaster, easily being able to figure out what those around him seem to be planning and manipulating people to suit his plans as need be, sometimes through actions as subtle as telling a group his next destination so they would follow him. Since the Wise One interfered with his plan to gain all of the Golden Sun's power, he actually seems to have kicked this up a notch - as a result of him, Blados and Chalis meddling with the group's affairs, Matthew and the others end up visiting Ayuthay, where they meet Amiti, his son. If it hadn't been for the group meeting them, they would presumably not have been able to retrieve the Sol Mask, which is necessary to restart the Alchemy Forge, which consequently also means that the Alchemy Dynamo would have remained inactive, the Eclipse Tower would never have been activated, and nobody would ever have gained access to the Apollo Lens.
...Which suggests that he came up with a successful plan twenty years in advance. I'd say that fact speaks for itself.
Even when something does go wrong (such as Saturos and Menardi's unexpected demise at the Venus Lighthouse), Alex is shown to be capable of adjusting his plans if necessary. When need be, he's not above betraying his old allies in favor of others, should they turn out to no longer be of any use (as proven when he quickly abandons Felix's group in favor of Karst and Agatio, and when he abandons the latter two once their own plans start going against his intentions), nor is he above assisting a group consisting of people who should technically be his enemies if their involvement is beneficial to his plans (as seen when he gives Emperor Unan the Red Orb required to start the Apollo Lens, even though he is allied with the Tuaparang at the time).
Emotional: Alex is surprisingly good at hiding how he truly feels about a situation. With very few exceptions, he remains perfectly calm, even when faced with a tidal wave heading right for the island he's currently standing on... or a Dark Adept teleporting behind him, prepared to try to kill him for finding out about Dark Psynergy, for that matter. There are very few things that can make this calm façade slip, and things that would bother most people - such as, say, his group mates being upset at him for insulting both them and two other members of their clan - don't even seem to faze him.
...Amusingly, not even Mind Read-type Psynergy seems to be successful in bypassing this façade, as - excluding the extremely rare scenario that he may actually happen to be a little shaken up at the time - he seems to realize when people attempt to read his mind, and it just leads to him informing them through his thoughts that he wishes that they would stop trying to do so.
He also seems to hold himself to rather loose morals, which can be seen as a strength of sorts; when faced with seemingly no other remaining option, he actually considers stealing (or "borrowing," as he calls it) Piers' ship, and he has no problem with seemingly leaving Rief, his cousin's son, for dead at one of the Konpa Ruins' two exits in order to force Matthew's group to choose a certain path. Not to mention siding with the Tuaparang and bringing about the Grave Eclipse, seemingly for no reason other than to force Matthew and his group to search for the Apollo Lens in hopes that he would activate it, as the High Empyror ordered. He's... quite ruthless when he needs to be, to put it mildly.
Weaknesses
Physical: As a Mecury Adept, Alex has access to strong healing Psynergy, but he can't exactly use it without limit. Psynergy of any kind can only be used so often without resting, as an Adept will eventually run out of energy required to use it. While it takes a while to hit this limit, it can very well happen when fighting non-stop for an extended period of time. As Psynergy seems to be what he relies on the most for combat, this... would be bad for him, to say the least.
In addition, while he may be stronger than your average Mercury Adept thanks to gaining part of the Golden Sun's power, he still has one noteworthy weakness shared by those of his element: fire. Power related to Mars, the element of fire in his world, is the one thing he definitely did not gain from the Golden Sun, and Mars conflicts his Mercury, his own element. As a result, fire-based attacks would be more effective against him than those of any other known element.
Last but not least, since he is never seen in physical combat, nor does he seem to possess an actual weapon, it's very likely that, having come to rely mostly on Psynergy, his physical skill in combat is... lacking, mildly put. Even while travelling with Saturos and Menardi, the two of them seemed to be the ones handling the fighting; all of this makes it likely that he may not even have any experience with physical combat.
Mental: He may be very good at coming up with plans most of the time, but Alex does overlook things at times. In particular, his failure to acknowledge that the Wise One may attempt to interfere with his plan to obtain the Golden Sun's power, plus him starting a fight with the same entity when he informed him that he hadn't gained limitless power as he thought was what very nearly led to his own death.
He also seems to be a bit too hasty in making decisions at times - for example, while he's quick to abandon Felix's group in favor of siding with Karst and Agatio, who appeared to be more useful to him at the time, he quickly realizes that Felix's group is better suited for lighting the Jupiter Lighthouse, and he even seems to regret siding with them when their trap for Isaac's group endangers his cousin's life.
Emotional: While he may be good at remaining calm and hiding how he truly feels, there are times when his façade slips. They're few and far between, but certain things do make him lose his cool briefly: for example, he is noticeably less friendly when talking to Felix and his group about how he believes they replaced him with Piers and "cast him aside, like old trash." He almost seems a little jealous that they would choose another Mercury Adept over him, even.
He also becomes noticeably more frantic when his cousin Mia is in danger, even going as far as to aid Felix with their upcoming fight against Karst and Agatio by healing them, and suddenly abandoning the duo afterward, all seemingly because the duo's trap endangered Mia's life. This also marks the one time one will be able to use Mind Read on him without him seeming to realize it - doing so reveals that he actually wishes to help Mia, but seems to view this as a weakness.
Speaking of Mia... While he certainly holds her in high regard, the same definitely doesn't seem to apply to her son, Rief. In fact, his willingness to potentially leave him to die - even if it was likely that Matthew's group would save him - is a bit... worrisome, to say the least. It may be due to his loose morals, but the fact he would be willing to try something like that when the son of his cousin is involved seems a little extreme, even for him. There might be a more personal reason behind using Rief as bait rather than, say, Kraden, but as of now, canon is still a little vague about it.
Last but not least, when his plans truly go wrong, he loses his cool very fast. The only time he actually seems to panic is when the Wise One reveals that his plans were for naught, and that he might actually die as a result, since at that point, his overconfidence had led to him being slammed into the ground, paralyzed and confined to a mountain that was slowly sinking into the ground.
Samples
First Person: Q&A, please. ♪
Third Person:
It's one thing to wake up to find yourself in an unfamiliar location.
It's another to find yourself in an unfamiliar location after being woken by snow falling on your face.
After brushing the snow off his face - where was his mask, anyway? - the blue-haired Mercury Adept pushed himself up, inspecting his surroundings as he did. A forest covered in snow, as if it were Winter... and certainly not one he had ever visited to before. How did he find himself here? Was he not in the Apollo Sanctum mere moments ago, buying enough time for Matthew to activate the Apollo Lens as per the High Empyror's orders by holding off Blados and Chalis for him and his companions? Even if his Warp Psynergy had somehow malfunctioned, that should not have been enough to displace him to an entirely unfamiliar area.
As strange as this turn of events was, however, there were two other things that bothered Alex: the freezing sensation resulting from the fact that his attire had seemingly been replaced with nothing but loose-fitting white cotton pants, and an odd, dull pain that seemed to be coming from... the area near his shoulder blades?
Prioritizing the latter for the time being, he looked over his shoulder, expecting to find some sort of injury. To his surprise, the pain was not coming from any sort of visible injury, but...
...a small, light blue pair of wings? How... peculiar.
His interest piqued, he cautiously touched one of the wings with his hand, prompting it to twitch. Rather sensitive... Attempting to remove them would likely be needlessly painful. There certainly had to be some way to get rid of them, but for the time being, perhaps there were other matters worth investigating first - such as what had happened to his attire. If this, against all odds, turned out to be another part of Weyard... the absence of it, or at least his mask, could prove to be troublesome.
Fortunately, another look around the area quickly solved this little problem, as Alex soon spotted his outfit neatly folded together not too far away from him, lying next to what appeared to be some sort of book and... another very familiar set of clothes. Was that...?
Certainly, upon closer examination, it appeared to be the clothes he had worn 30 years ago, prior to the Golden Sun event. It had been some time since he had worn this particular outfit... This was certainly an interesting surprise. And convenient as well - after all, his old clothes were far better suited for such a cold climate.
After quickly changing into this familiar set of clothes, he picked up the book that rested in the snow next to them, carefully leafing through them. It seemed to be a journal of sorts, with his name written on it, but it was far from blank; rather, it appeared to be filled with entries written by people unfamiliar to him, some of them seemingly speaking of this place: Luceti, a village in a foreign world, whose residents - all seemingly from different worlds - are used as experimental subjects by an organization referred to as the Malnosso, while time is halted in their own world. While the idea of being a guinea pig for a group of scientists was hardly appealing...
...Perhaps there would be some way to benefit from this situation.
---
A quick note: I've already spoken to Masa about this, but due to the canon point I'll be taking him from, Alex will be going by his actual name in Luceti rather than the alias he adapted in Dark Dawn. As such, I'd also like for him to be able to find his old outfit - as in the third-person sample - alongside that he wears when going by the name "Arcanus," as he would certainly prefer having access to it if he is to use his old name once more.
THIS APPLICATION CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE GOLDEN SUN SERIES.
No, really. Massive spoilers here, folks. Tread with caution! Initial spoilers will be written in white text, but anything from the History section onward is written normally.
Mun
Name: Misa
Livejournal Username: zemeth
E-mail: Available via PM.
AIM/MSN: Darksol Gasp / See e-mail.
Current Characters at Luceti: awakenedchaos
Character
Name: Alex (AKA Arcanus)
Fandom: Golden Sun
Gender: Male
Age: His official age isn't stated, but he looks to be about 23 years old. His actual age is closer to 53, however.
Time Period: At the end of Dark Dawn, just after Chalis and Blados teleport away while he's stalling them.
Wing Color: Carolina blue.
History: Years ago, during the lost age of man, humanity prospered thanks to Alchemy, a force created through the combination of the four elements of water, earth, wind and fire. People were able to use an ability known as Psynergy, granted by Alchemy: essentially, a form of magic that could be used for mundane things such as fixing roofs, moving logs and creating small rainclouds, or for combat. Four lighthouses - the Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Mars Lighthouses, representing the four elements - provided energy to the world and its people. And all was great.
But of course, things can't stay like this for long, can they? Unsurprisingly, wars soon began, and people fought over power, riches and dominion, misusing the power granted by Alchemy for military warfare. Eventually, a group of brave and wise men took it upon themselves to seal Alchemy to prevent its misuse and stop the endless wars, removing the elemental stars that powered the lighthouses and hiding them inside the Sol Sanctum at Mount Aleph to do so. Their efforts were a success: Alchemy was sealed and the wars subsided. Four clans living near the lighthouses - the Anemos and Ankohl, as well as the Mars- and Mercury Clans - were entrusted with the duty of keeping watch over the lighthouses, in order to ensure that they would never be relit.
What the people at the time did not realize, however, is that sealing Alchemy forced the world into a state of steady decay. Several civilizations slowly began to die out, and - unbeknownst to most - the edges of the world began to erode, causing the world to slowly shrink.
For now, though, let's focus on one particular thing: three members of what remained of the Mercury Clan - a father, his daughter and her cousin - hundreds, if not thousands, of years after Alchemy had been sealed.
The three were among the very few members of the Mercury Clan that still existed, living in a small village known as Imil, located on the northernmost part of Angara and southwest of the Mercury Lighthouse. The girl, known as Mia, and her cousin, Alex, both studied under her father, learning how to use Mercury-type Psynergy; water-based Psynergy that could also be used to heal others. Eventually, Mia's father died, presumably of old age or disease, and she took in the other two remaining members of the Mercury Clan, a boy and a girl known as Justin and Megan, as her apprentices, whereas Alex continued his studies, becoming a very proficient Mercury Adept.
At some point, two Proxians - residents of a village in the northernmost area of Weyard and the guardians of the Mars Lighthouse - known as Saturos and Menardi, accompanied by a Venus Adept known as Felix, passed through the village, heading for the Sol Sanctum near Mount Aleph. They wished to retrieve the elemental stars hidden away there in order to reactivate the lighthouses and stop the erosion of the world. To gain entrance to the lighthouses, however, they would need an Adept of each element, and their group only contained two Mars Adepts and one Venus Adept - wielders of fire-based and earth-based Psynergy, respectively. Alex, presumably intrigued by their plan, chooses to team up with them, abandoning his clan's duty to guard the Mercury Lighthouse.
From then on, the quartet proceeds to Vale, where Saturos and Menardi confront Kraden about the Sol Sanctum. When he refuses to assist them and instead chooses to investigate the sanctum along with a group of three children - Isaac, Garet and Jenna - the quartet opts to follow them as they solve the puzzles of the sanctum, eventually reaching a hidden room at its very heart.
There, Saturos and Menardi hold Jenna and Kraden hostage in order to force Isaac and Garet to collect the elemental stars for them, aided by a little persuasion through them revealing the true identity of Felix, the masked Venus adept travelling with them: he is, in fact, Jenna's brother, who Saturos and Menardi had saved three years ago. While the group's ploy does earn them the Mercury, Venus and Jupiter Stars, before Isaac and Garet can pass the Mars Star on to them as well, Mount Aleph begins to erupt, and the quartet is forced to flee together with Kraden and Jenna.
It's not until Isaac and Garet, now joined by a Jupiter Adept called Ivan and Mia, Alex's cousin, make it to the Mercury Lighthouse that the group is encountered once again. Before the group can arrive, the quartet has already lit the lighthouse after Alex assisted them in entering the lighthouse, and when they finally do make it to the top, they find themselves forced to fight Saturos. Alex, meanwhile, remains hidden behind the Mercury Beacon, confident that Saturos will be able to win the fight without him interfering.
To his surprise, he doesn't. The Mercury Lighthouse's influence had weakened the Mars Adept, giving the other group an advantage. Though he put up quite a fight, Saturos was eventually downed by the group, forcing Alex to reveal himself and stall for time while Saturos recovers from the battle. Mia is, understandably, shocked to see Alex working together with who she perceives as the bad guys, but he manages to briefly distract her by explaining that it was the Mercury Lighthouse's power that allowed them to win, subtly implying that such great power should not be sealed. Eventually, Saturos manages to recover enough to stand up, and Alex, supporting him, teleports the two of them a small distance away. Before leaving, he asks Isaac about the Mars Star, confirming that the younger group of Adepts is indeed in possession of it - and, when Garet comments that he won't let Saturos escape, he notes that their group is not the type to "finish" anyone off. After finally telling Mia that "he can't stay the same Alex [she] knew forever", the duo teleports to the lighthouse's elevator, continuing onward to their next destination with the rest of their group: the Venus Lighthouse.
Along the way, the group - whether intentionally or unintentionally is unclear - creates problems for the towns they pass through, for example, by triggering a landslide at Alpine Crossing, possibly to stall Isaac's group. After crossing the Karagol Sea using a ferry, they make their way through the Sulhalla Desert, where Alex assists Saturos and Menardi in their efforts to slay the whirlwind-creating Tornado Lizards using his Mercury Psynergy, forcing the creatures to reveal themselves through the use of the Douse Psynergy and giving the Proxians the opportunity to kill the lizards. Before they reach the exit, however, they encounter a young Jupiter Adept called Sheba. The girl had been on her way to Lalivero, accompanied by several Tolbian soldiers, but was separated by them as the result of an attack by one of the lizards. As the group still lacked a Jupiter Adept - which they would need in order to access the Jupiter Lighthouse, which was their next destination following the Venus Lighthouse - they force her to tag along with them, continuing on to the Venus Lighthouse afterward.
There, the group climbs the tower, though notably not without difficulties; the puzzles of the lighthouse proved to be rather difficult to solve without assistance for the Proxians. Eventually, however, they make it to the top, where Saturos, Menardi and Sheba remain whereas the rest of the group is supposed to go ahead to their ship, docked at Idejima. Once they make it to the exit, however, Felix decides to head back up to confront Saturos about Sheba's involvement in their quest. Alex, impressed by Felix's decision, lets him go, and he, Kraden and Jenna briefly discuss about his reason for wishing to see the lighthouses lit again. He handwaves the question by stating that he wishes to see the old world restored again, and... something else, though he cuts himself off before finishing his statement.
Outside of the lighthouse, the trio is confronted by a group of both Tolbian soldiers and Laliveran workmen, determined to free Sheba from the grasp of her kidnappers. Jenna notes that they'll have to fight them to make their way to Idejima, to which Alex responds that he will handle them while they go on ahead. The soldiers, surprised by his choice to take them all on alone, naturally fail to take him seriously, though his comment about not wishing to inflict unnecessary bloodshed briefly confuses them. After warning them that if they lay a hand on Kraden and Jenna, they will be made to regret it, he decides to strike the first blow - that is, blast two of the soldiers away using geysers created through the use of Psynergy. Understandably frightened, the soldiers back away, noting that he'll be in it when the backups from Lalivero arrive - not that it seems to concern him, as he actually seems angry that the soldiers believe that even a hundred of them could stop him.
He then proceeds to stall the entire group of soldiers and workmen long enough for Jenna and Kraden to reach Idejima. On his own.
...He wasn't kidding when he said that not even a hundred of them could stop him.
Eventually, he reunites with the duo at Idejima, but an earthquake resulting from the Venus Lighthouse's activation causes it to separate from the mainland, turning Idejima into a floating island slowly drifting off toward the Great Eastern Sea, while the trio is unable to leave, as the Proxians' boat cannot be activated without the Black Orb - which is in Menardi's possession, who is still at the top of the lighthouse. After some time, Kraden finds Felix and Sheba on the island; the two had been washed there by the waves, having fallen off the top of the lighthouse when the earthquake occurred. When the two finally reawaken, they inform the rest of the group that Saturos and Menardi had been killed by Isaac's group, much to everyone's surprise.
When the island eventually passes by the continent of Indra, they find a tidal wave, once again caused by the Venus Lighthouse's activation, heading right toward them. While everyone else begins to panic, Alex remains oddly calm, even when the tidal wave hits the island, causing it to crash into Indra and leaving everyone unconscious.
When the group finally reawakens, Alex is nowhere to be found, seemingly having left to explore Indra and locate a new ship. On his own, he headed to Daila and spoke with the mayor there, offering him a fortune in return for a boat. Unfortunately, none are available, and so the mayor directs Alex toward Madra. On his way to leave the town, he encounters Felix and the other remaining members of Saturos and Menardi's group once more, informing them about the situation regarding the boats and his own destination. When the group offers to travel together with him, however, he declines, stating that he is preoccupied and, after Sheba accuses him of being self-absorbed, that he prefers to work alone, hastily leaving the town as soon as the conversation ends.
From there on, he travels south toward Madra as instructed, discovering a Lemurian ship beached along the way - a ship not unlike the one Saturos and Menardi had used to travel. Conveniently, he ends up witnessing the ship's captain, a sailor named Piers, being taken away by a group of Madrans who suspected him of being in league with the pirate Briggs, whose crew had recently attacked the city. Intrigued, he follows them to Madra, where he witnesses its citizens imprisoning Piers, as well as Felix's group arriving at his cell. At this point, he witnesses Piers using the Mercury Psynergy Frost, outing him as a fellow Mercury Adept.
Unfortunately, his real reason for heading to Madra turns out to be a failure: their ships had recently been destroyed by a tidal wave. However, he does find out that the town Madra trades with - Alhafra - recently completed a massive sailing ship, and thus sets out toward the next town.
However, his arrival there is met with disappointment yet again: Alhafra, too, had its boats destroyed by a tidal wave recently. This also includes the sailing ship, which had not only been damaged, but was also sold to the pirate Briggs, who used it as a hiding place after his attack on Madra. Opting for a temporary break, Alex books a two-bed room at the resident inn for himself, where he once again encounters Felix and the others. They, too, are still searching for a boat, but also seek to confront Briggs about Piers' unjust imprisonment. Alex suggests that they also attempt to repair the sailing ship.
The group's confrontation with Briggs turns out to be a success - Briggs was imprisoned for his deeds after a fight - and though they were unable to repair the ship completely, they did successfully fix some of the damage done to it. When they inform him about this, Alex compliments them on their actions, saying that "working for the benefit of others is quite noble"; something Mia had always said to him.
Eventually, after the group leaves Alhafra again, Alex returns to Indra once more. As both Piers and the party had left for Gondowan at the time, he briefly considers "borrowing" Piers' ship, believing that doing so was the only remaining option at the time. Before he has the opportunity to actually go through with this plan, however, the group - now joined by Piers - returns and departs with the ship, having retrieved the Black Orb required to control it. Left behind on the continent of Indra, Alex eventually encounters two warriors from Prox: Karst, Menardi's younger sister and Agatio, one of the Mars Clan's strongest warriors. The two are seeking vengeance upon Isaac's group for killing Saturos and Menardi and, after he explains everything that had happened during his travels with the duo as well as the current circumstances, joins up with the two warriors, finally leaving the continent with the aid of their ship.
As he travelled together with the two Mars Adepts, Alex considered the facts once more: both his own group and that of Felix had a shared objective, and that was lighting the Jupiter Lighthouse using the Jupiter Star. To even get into the lighthouse, they would need an Adept of the right element - like Sheba. And in addition to all of that, it was easy to tell that Karst and Agatio were hardly any more talented when it came to solving the puzzles of the lighthouses than Saturos and Menardi were - that is, they would likely fail miserably without assistance. Letting Felix and his entourage handle the lighthouse would, more likely than not, be the fastest option.
And so, he and the two Proxians set out for Champa, where they lie in wait for Felix's group. Once they do arrive there, one of the first things he notes is the presence of Piers. Seeming almost a little offended, he asks if they "mean to cast [him] away, like old trash", also mentioning his old plan to "borrow" Piers' ship and that, while it failed, it at least allowed him to meet Karst and Agatio, so perhaps it was fate. He then allows Karst and Agatio to threaten the group to hurry up, else they take the Jupiter Star for themselves and light the Jupiter Lighthouse on their own.
This does not, however, mean that he refrained from commenting at the time. In fact, he blatantly states what he thought of Saturos and Menardi's skills at dealing with the mysteries of the lighthouses, and notes that he thinks the same of Karst and Agatio. He points out that he is on no one's side, and merely wishes to see the lighthouse beacons lit once more. The trio notes that they will always be nearby, pushing Felix's group to make their way to Jupiter Lighthouse swiftly. As they leave, Alex informs Kraden that Lord Babi, the one who had ordered him to study Alchemy, had perished, and that his studies had been for naught.
It's not until the Jupiter Lighthouse that Alex and the two Proxians are seen once more. Having arrived after Felix's group, and noting that Isaac's group, too, was inside the lighthouse, Karst and Agatio set up a trap for Isaac's group to lower their numbers and then confront them. This works a little too well, as not only does Mia fall into the trap, but Garet attempts to save her, falling in as well and barely being able to hang on to a ledge to keep himself from falling off the lighthouse altogether. Alex, rather than assist the duo in their fight against the remaining two members of Isaac's group, instead meets up with Felix's group, commenting on what he and his group intend to do. Instead of stalling them as one may expect, however, he actually heals the group, telling them that they can still make it. (This is also notable for being the one time when one can use the Mind Read Psynergy without him catching on; doing so reveals that he still wishes to help Mia, and that he will have to part ways with Karst and Agatio after this, suggesting that he is most certainly not happy with the mess their trap resulted in.)
At the top of the Jupiter Lighthouse, Felix's group and the two Proxians fight. Though it proves to be a difficult fight, Felix and his entourage manage to win, but before they have the opportunity to finish the duo off, Alex steps in, having to note that if Karst's claim that Felix's parents may be in danger should neither she and Agatio, nor Saturos and Menardi return to Prox be true, all their efforts will have been for naught. He heals the duo just barely enough for them to be able to stand and walk and leaves together with them.
(It should be noted that this fight can be lost. Should this happen, Alex instead stops Karst and Agatio from killing Felix's party, having to repeatedly point out that there's no time for petty grudges. The two note that he's betraying them, and that treason deserves death, to which he has to point out that they're in no condition to fight him, and Isaac's group is still up and about. Eventually, the group flees just in time, as Isaac's group arrives mere moments later.)
Rather than keep travelling together after this, Alex parts ways with Karst and Agatio: whereas the two set out to light the Mars Lighthouse with the Mars Star they had taken from Isaac, Alex instead makes his way toward Mount Aleph. Once the lighthouses are lit, the Golden Sun would form above the mountain, and should one happen to be on it at the time, they would be able to claim the Golden Sun's power - the power of Alchemy itself - for themselves.
He manages to arrive just in time; soon after he reaches the summit, the Mars Lighthouse is lit, and the Golden Sun forms. As a result of standing just below it when it activates, Alex is granted immense power and near-limitless life - or so he thinks. When he attempts to call for a storm to unleash its might upon Vale, the small village at the foot of Mount Aleph... nothing happens. Momentarily confused, his attention is quickly diverted by a one-eyed hovering rock: The Wise One, Vale's protector. Mistaking his commentary upon the situation as an attempt to anger him, Alex pushes the Wise One back using Psynergy, speaking triumphantly of his newfound power.
Only for the Wise One to drive him into the ground using Psynergy, leaving him immobilized.
He goes on to point out that he had imbued the Mars Star - which now rests in Isaac's hands - with some of the power of the forming Golden Sun, thus robbing Alex of the last bit of power he needed. All his plans had been for naught. The Wise One then points out that Mount Aleph will soon be drawn into the ground, causing the ever-calm Alex to panic for once; after all, he still wasn't able to move. Just before his presumed end at the hands of the sinking mountain, Alex hears the Wise One speak up one last time.
If you are swallowed by the earth, you may not survive. If you survive, perhaps we shall meet again someday...
And this would be the last anyone would see of the Mercury Adept.
...
For a few years, that is. Sometime during the ten years following what would become known as the Golden Sun event, he is presumably rescued by a group known as the Tuaparang, though the game is a little vague about this. From there on, he adopts the alias "Arcanus," matching the theme of the names of the Tuaparang commanders Blados and Chalis - their names can be seen as similar to the Cups and Swords suits of the Minor Arcana, whereas his chosen alias is similar to the term for the entire deck; something of a pun on the fact that he "holds all the cards." He assists the Tuaparang for reasons unknown, serving directly under the High Empyror himself and carrying out his orders, though he is also often seen working alongside Blados and Chalis despite not being a "true" member of the Tuaparang.
Ten years after the Golden Sun event, he heads to Ayuthay, wishing to repair the Alchemy Well found there, something that would require retrieving the Luna Mask from the nearby Barai Temple. During his stay there, only one person managed to see his face - Veriti, the sister of King Paithos of Ayuthay, who had fallen in love with him at first sight. The two began a brief relationship that they kept secret from everyone else, but Arcanus soon left Ayuthay once more, having successfully repaired the Alchemy Well by bringing back the aforementioned mask... or, well, as much as he could, at least. It was impossible for the machine to be fully functional without Passaj's Alchemy Forge also being operational, but there wasn't anything he could do about this at the time, as another item would be necessary to start the Alchemy Forge: the Sol Mask, an item hidden away in the Ouroboros Labyrinth, which one could only enter with the aid of the Insight Glass, an Ayuthayan treasure he was unable to retrieve at the time - let alone use, for that matter, as the Insight Glass would supposedly choose its own wielder.
(It's worth noting that, after Arcanus had left Ayuthay, Veriti had a son who would later become known as Amiti, and she herself died due to an illness not long after Amiti's birth. Nobody but her ever saw Arcanus' face, and her brother Paithos had decided that his existence should be kept a secret, leading to him spreading the fact that it was, in fact, Veriti who had restarted the Alchemy Well, and that Amiti was conceived solely through her miraculous powers, meaning that he did not, in fact, have a biological father like normal humans. Veriti was not, however, an Adept, nor did she have any other powers, and all of this was - as stated before - merely meant to cover up the fact that Arcanus had visited Ayuthay.)
Twenty years later, inside the Konpa Ruins, he, alongside Blados and several Tuaparang soldiers, eventually encounters the children of Isaac's group, now known as the Warriors of Vale: Matthew (Isaac's and Jenna's son), Tyrell (Garet's son) and Karis (Ivan's daughter), as well as Kraden (who had survived so long due to exposure to the Golden Sun, which had slowed his aging process dramatically) and Mia's two children, Rief and Nowell. While sending some of the Tuaparang soldiers to attack the two groups, Blados and Arcanus abduct Rief. In order to push Matthew's group into the direction the Tuaparang desires, the villainous duo tells the two groups that they will drop Rief off at one of the ruins' two exits, forcing them to split up. Kraden notices that Arcanus' voice sounds familiar, and Arcanus even notes that he knows him, but he still fails to recognize him at the time. The two soon leave to drop Rief off at the southern exit, where Matthew's group is headed, although not before Arcanus asks Matthew if he has been entrusted with the Glyph Book: a book that would allow the one in possession of it to read the ancient symbols written on several tablets scattered across Weyard. Once Matthew and the others pass through the southern exit, Blados detonates it, preventing the group from returning the way they came.
It's not until much later that Arcanus is encountered once more, long after Passaj's Alchemy Forge had been activated. Matthew and the others - accompanied by Ryu Kou, prince of the Sana region, and Hou Zan, his mentor - meet him, Blados and Chalis once more at the Alchemy Dynamo, located beneath the city of Belinsk, the capital of Morgal. There, Arcanus notes that the Magma Orb in Ryu Kou's possession will restart the Alchemy Dynamo when placed in it, and the trio orders the group to do just that. When their orders are met with resistance, Blados and Chalis fight them, while Arcanus convinces Ryu Kou to place the orb for the sake of his sister, who had been unjustly imprisoned in Belinsk and presumably was to be executed soon. Tyrell attempts to attack him, but all his efforts earn him is a powerful blast of water to the face.
In the end, Ryu Kou activates the Alchemy Dynamo, which in turn led to the activation of the Luna Tower. Hou Zan, like Tyrell, attempts to attack Arcanus for forcing Ryu Kou to cooperate, but he merely teleports out of the way and to the collapsed Blados and Chalis, helping them get up by supporting them. At this point, he finally reveals his alias to the group, having tired of being addressed by his mask. He goes on to explain that the lighthouses the Warriors of Vale had activated were devices similar to the one they were in at the time, but that unlike them, the seal on this one was never meant to be broken.
Just before he leaves together with Blados and Chalis, he notes that the activation of this dreaded machine is only the beginning, and that he looks forward to his next meeting with the group.
As it soon turned out, activating the Luna Tower - actually known as the Eclipse Tower - is a fatal mistake: its activation leads to, as the name would suggest, a massive eclipse, enveloping a large portion of Weyard in shadows created as the result of the tower absorbing both light and holy energy. This, in turn, leads to normally extremely rare and weak shadow-like monsters appearing far more frequently and significantly powering them up. These even appear inside cities, as citizens of Belinsk find out first-hand: in Belinsk alone, the sudden invasion of monsters leads to a large numbers of casualties, and it's far from being the only populated area affected by what would become known as the Grave Eclipse.
While Matthew and his group set out to find a way to stop the Grave Eclipse created by the tower, Arcanus had already thought of one: the Apollo Lens, hidden away in the Apollo Sanctum. As the other group is still searching, he sets out for Tonfon, where he gives Emperor Unan information regarding the Apollo Lens for him to forward to Matthew and his entourage once they arrived. He also gives him the Red Orb to pass on to that, an object required to activate the lens.
Ultimately, the group encounters him one last time at the Apollo Sanctum itself, where the group finally confronts him about his identity. Kraden reveals his true name - Alex - much to the surprise of everyone else, and explains that he recognized him as a result of their travels together. The conversation, however, is interrupted when presumed members of the Tuaparang appear alongside Blados and Chalis, who had been eavesdropping.
Blados is furious that Arcanus is wasting time by talking to the party rather than simply killing them, but inquires if the fact that he travelled with Kraden makes him one of the Warriors of Vale - something that Rief hastily corrects. Karis notes that there's no way that Arcanus could actually be Alex, since he had perished at Mount Aleph. None of this matters to Blados, however; he simply points out that he never cared for Arcanus and his superior tone. While Chalis informs Blados that he should keep his temper in check, as the High Empyror would not approve of them fighting amongst themselves, Arcanus notes that the look on Blados' face suggests that he cares little for imperial loyalty.
He goes on to point out the orders they were given: to ensure that Matthew activates the Apollo Lens, not to kill them as Blados seemingly wanted to do mere moments ago. He explains that the Tuaparang are descendants of the Umbra Clan, and are also known as Dark Adepts. The High Empyror had sent Arcanus to make sure the Apollo Lens was used according to his plan, as he apparently doubted Blados' and Chalis' loyalty. Continuing his speech, Arcanus asks if the soldiers that had dropped down alongside Blados and Chalis were truly Tuaparang soldiers, as they seemed to have strange powers not unlike Psynergy, much like the two of them. He asks what the two intend to do with the Apollo Lens, but they refuse to answer, leading Arcanus to note that based on the trajectory, they intend to target either Tuaparang or the area around Sol Sanctum. As they hadn't contradicted his deductions until now, he inquires if Dark Psynergy can now be considered an open secret...
...or if they still intend to keep it a secret by eliminating him. Which is exactly what Blados was planning to do just as he says this, having teleported behind him. Arcanus himself finally lures the duo away from the Apollo Lens, intending to buy time for Matthew and his group by fighting them on his own.
After this, Arcanus is not seeing again on-screen, though he does somehow telepathically contact Matthew after the final battle when he repeatedly attempts to activate the Apollo Lens and fails as a result of the immense amount of light there, telling him to stop because he cannot do this. As Blados and Chalis reappear a few minutes after the group approaches the Apollo Lens, however, it's possible that he abandoned his attempt to stall them in favor of taking care of other matters for reasons currently still unknown.
Personality: At a glance, Alex honestly seems like a rather pleasant individual.. His speech is formal and polite, no matter who he may be speaking to, and if need be, he's not above even helping those who qualify as his enemies. He may be a little sarcastic at times, and is not above mocking his allies should they give him an incentive to do so (such as, say, repeatedly failing at solving the puzzles of one of the lighthouses), but that's something most people would do, isn't it? And if you don't mind that occasional snarky side of his, he's certainly a pleasant individual to be around - he could arguably be seen as something of a gentleman, even.
...Unsurprisingly, most of that is nothing more than a façade.
In actuality, Alex is very calculating, manipulative and ruthless. If there's something he intends to accomplish, he will, no matter how difficult it may be, how long it may take, or how many casualties it may lead to. To him, most people are nothing more than puppets: if their involvement would aid his plans, he'll often make sure they play their part by subtly forcing them to take certain paths or do certain things, even if this would have immense consequences on the world, like, say... Forcing Ryu Kou into activating the Alchemy Dynamo for the sake of his sister, leading to the activation of the Eclipse Tower and the Grave Eclipse, which led to a lot of people losing their lives - all for the sake of guiding Matthew's group toward the Apollo Lens so they could activate it. He's also not above betraying former allies, should switching sides benefit his plans somehow. As he himself says, he's on no one's side; rather, he's the one who holds all the cards. He's the unbeatable ace. Or so he likes to think, at least.
If that last bit didn't give it away yet, he's pretty arrogant. To be fair, both Alex's strength and cunning are nearly unmatched in his world, but unfortunately, he actually seems to realize this - he's not above mocking people who try to fight him. After all, not even a group of a hundred soldiers is enough to stop him, so why should he fear being bested in combat? Of course, when working together with someone at the time, he often seems to leave the fighting to his companions - he's not too keen on causing unnecessary bloodshed, as he claims, though it's likely he simply doesn't wish to dirty his own hands unless it's needed. All of this can lead to him coming off as the type of person that considers himself superior to others, even his own allies. Combined with his occasional snarkiness, this can make it a little irksome to have to team up with him.
Speaking of teaming up with him, it's clear Alex greatly prefers to act on his own. He may be quite the puppeteer, but in the end, he does seem to be able to deal better with things when he's on his own, rather than forced to work together with someone he only barely tolerates, such as Blados and Chalis. In fact, that latter situation often just increases the likelihood of his superior attitude grating on his teammate's nerves, since he appears to be more likely to mock allies that he views as incompetent in some area, be it their inability to solve puzzles or a needlessly brutish attitude.
Still, he does hold respect for certain individuals whom he acknowledges as superior to him in some aspect - when he initially sees the Wise One inside the Sol Sanctum just before he and the rest of his group flee, he's awestruck by the sheer power he possesses, and acknowledges out loud that they're no match for him. It's not until he gains the power of the Golden Sun and believes himself to be superior that he actually dares to take on his arrogant attitude when facing the Wise One (something that turns out to be a bad idea, though he doesn't realize this until it's too late). Similarly, he seems to hold the High Empyror in very high regard, as he is so far the only known individual that Alex is actually willing to take orders from... and go to rather great lengths to carry these orders out no less. Presumably, at least part of this respect stems from his own desire for power, a trait that seems to be the driving force behind some of his plans, or at the very least, his initial plan prior and up to the Golden Sun event.
In addition, he's not completely uncaring. It's clear that there's at least one person who he actually seems to look out for: Mia, his cousin, who ends up being the reason he abandons Karst and Agatio after their trap endangers her life at the Jupiter Lighthouse. He even acknowledges this, as evident should one use the Mind Read Psynergy on him during the aforementioned event - doing so reveals that even now, he still wishes to give Mia his aid. He notes that it seems that he is weak as well, implying that he considers the fact that he wishes to look out for her as a weakness.
On the other hand, while he did supposedly reciprocate Veriti's feelings - which is why the two had a brief relationship in the first place (and why Veriti was so heartbroken when he suddenly left) - it's very, very likely that he may simply have been pretending. Amiti, his son, does seem to be part of his plan, after all - Alex needed an Ayuthayan to obtain the Insight Glass, which was required in order to retrieve the Sol Mask from the Ouroboros Labyrinth, an item required to restart the Alchemy Forge, and... well, Amiti ends up being the one to obtain the Insight Glass, join up with Matthew and the others and retrieve the Sol Mask, just as he was supposed to. Which implies that, as long as it benefits his plans, Alex is not above even manipulating the feelings of another - even if it's to accomplish something twenty years later.
Despite his manipulative nature, however, Alex never truly lies. He may use half-truths or intentionally fail to mention certain facts, but he is always nothing but truthful, a fact he actually seems to pride himself on. Nor does he ever force someone to do something against their will... not obviously, at least. He does still tend to set things up just so that the person in question has no other choice but to do what he wishes, as demonstrated when he tells Ryu Kou to activate the Alchemy Dynamo, since his sister's life (who was, at the time, a prisoner in Belinsk) depended on his cooperation.
Strengths
Physical: While Alex is never seen in combat on-screen - the party never fights alongside or against him, what little we do get to see of his combat ability is... impressive, to say the least. Being a Mercury Adept, he has access to water-based Psynergy. Not only does this grant him very effective healing skills, as demonstrated when he easily heals Felix's party - repeatedly, if necessary - at the Jupiter Lighthouse. Worth noting here is Ply, a particularly potent healing Psynergy that can even heal broken bones at its lowest level and seems to be an inherent ability possessed by those of the Mercury Clan.
In addition to his healing prowess, it's worth pointing out that he is also able to use offensive Mercury Psynergy much stronger than that of any other Adept seen in the series so far. He's easily able to knock Tyrell out using a single strong blast of water, and has successfully fought against hundreds of soldiers and workmen by blasting them away using a geyser created using Psynergy.
Presumably, since he gained three fourths of the Golden Sun's power, he may also have access to Jupiter- and Venus-style Psynergy, but so far, he hasn't been seen using it. What we do know, however, is that thanks to the Golden Sun, he's much stronger than one may expect - one particular scene is a very good example of this. In the Belinsk Ruins, Matthew's party comes across a chessboard of sorts where one has to move a white soldier statue using Psynergy in order to have it take out other, black soldier statues and, eventually, their king. When they arrive there, another group has apparently passed through there already, and the only other group travelling through the ruins at the time is that of Blados, Chalis and Arcanus - Alex. How did they get past the puzzle? By blasting the stone soldiers at the wall with enough force to embed them into it. Since Blados and Chalis definitely weren't that strong, as evident by the fight against them shortly after this point, it's safe to say that Alex was the one responsible for taking care of that puzzle. Needless to say, it's probably a good thing that he normally refrains from engaging in combat.
He also possesses two slightly more unique abilities: he seems to be able to use a Hover-type Psynergy without any special kind of platform, as Hover itself would require, and frequently makes use of this to move around more easily. The second ability is what fans have nicknamed Warp; as the name implies, he has the ability to warp a short distance at the time. It's not very effective for moving long distances, as it takes him about three uses of this to make it from the eastern side of the Mercury Lighthouse beacon to the elevator on the western side, but it does give him an edge in combat, as he doesn't seem to be above using it to dodge incoming attacks.
Mental: His intellect is probably Alex's greatest strength, as even Chalis comments on how he was "always so very clever." He's something of a chessmaster, easily being able to figure out what those around him seem to be planning and manipulating people to suit his plans as need be, sometimes through actions as subtle as telling a group his next destination so they would follow him. Since the Wise One interfered with his plan to gain all of the Golden Sun's power, he actually seems to have kicked this up a notch - as a result of him, Blados and Chalis meddling with the group's affairs, Matthew and the others end up visiting Ayuthay, where they meet Amiti, his son. If it hadn't been for the group meeting them, they would presumably not have been able to retrieve the Sol Mask, which is necessary to restart the Alchemy Forge, which consequently also means that the Alchemy Dynamo would have remained inactive, the Eclipse Tower would never have been activated, and nobody would ever have gained access to the Apollo Lens.
...Which suggests that he came up with a successful plan twenty years in advance. I'd say that fact speaks for itself.
Even when something does go wrong (such as Saturos and Menardi's unexpected demise at the Venus Lighthouse), Alex is shown to be capable of adjusting his plans if necessary. When need be, he's not above betraying his old allies in favor of others, should they turn out to no longer be of any use (as proven when he quickly abandons Felix's group in favor of Karst and Agatio, and when he abandons the latter two once their own plans start going against his intentions), nor is he above assisting a group consisting of people who should technically be his enemies if their involvement is beneficial to his plans (as seen when he gives Emperor Unan the Red Orb required to start the Apollo Lens, even though he is allied with the Tuaparang at the time).
Emotional: Alex is surprisingly good at hiding how he truly feels about a situation. With very few exceptions, he remains perfectly calm, even when faced with a tidal wave heading right for the island he's currently standing on... or a Dark Adept teleporting behind him, prepared to try to kill him for finding out about Dark Psynergy, for that matter. There are very few things that can make this calm façade slip, and things that would bother most people - such as, say, his group mates being upset at him for insulting both them and two other members of their clan - don't even seem to faze him.
...Amusingly, not even Mind Read-type Psynergy seems to be successful in bypassing this façade, as - excluding the extremely rare scenario that he may actually happen to be a little shaken up at the time - he seems to realize when people attempt to read his mind, and it just leads to him informing them through his thoughts that he wishes that they would stop trying to do so.
He also seems to hold himself to rather loose morals, which can be seen as a strength of sorts; when faced with seemingly no other remaining option, he actually considers stealing (or "borrowing," as he calls it) Piers' ship, and he has no problem with seemingly leaving Rief, his cousin's son, for dead at one of the Konpa Ruins' two exits in order to force Matthew's group to choose a certain path. Not to mention siding with the Tuaparang and bringing about the Grave Eclipse, seemingly for no reason other than to force Matthew and his group to search for the Apollo Lens in hopes that he would activate it, as the High Empyror ordered. He's... quite ruthless when he needs to be, to put it mildly.
Weaknesses
Physical: As a Mecury Adept, Alex has access to strong healing Psynergy, but he can't exactly use it without limit. Psynergy of any kind can only be used so often without resting, as an Adept will eventually run out of energy required to use it. While it takes a while to hit this limit, it can very well happen when fighting non-stop for an extended period of time. As Psynergy seems to be what he relies on the most for combat, this... would be bad for him, to say the least.
In addition, while he may be stronger than your average Mercury Adept thanks to gaining part of the Golden Sun's power, he still has one noteworthy weakness shared by those of his element: fire. Power related to Mars, the element of fire in his world, is the one thing he definitely did not gain from the Golden Sun, and Mars conflicts his Mercury, his own element. As a result, fire-based attacks would be more effective against him than those of any other known element.
Last but not least, since he is never seen in physical combat, nor does he seem to possess an actual weapon, it's very likely that, having come to rely mostly on Psynergy, his physical skill in combat is... lacking, mildly put. Even while travelling with Saturos and Menardi, the two of them seemed to be the ones handling the fighting; all of this makes it likely that he may not even have any experience with physical combat.
Mental: He may be very good at coming up with plans most of the time, but Alex does overlook things at times. In particular, his failure to acknowledge that the Wise One may attempt to interfere with his plan to obtain the Golden Sun's power, plus him starting a fight with the same entity when he informed him that he hadn't gained limitless power as he thought was what very nearly led to his own death.
He also seems to be a bit too hasty in making decisions at times - for example, while he's quick to abandon Felix's group in favor of siding with Karst and Agatio, who appeared to be more useful to him at the time, he quickly realizes that Felix's group is better suited for lighting the Jupiter Lighthouse, and he even seems to regret siding with them when their trap for Isaac's group endangers his cousin's life.
Emotional: While he may be good at remaining calm and hiding how he truly feels, there are times when his façade slips. They're few and far between, but certain things do make him lose his cool briefly: for example, he is noticeably less friendly when talking to Felix and his group about how he believes they replaced him with Piers and "cast him aside, like old trash." He almost seems a little jealous that they would choose another Mercury Adept over him, even.
He also becomes noticeably more frantic when his cousin Mia is in danger, even going as far as to aid Felix with their upcoming fight against Karst and Agatio by healing them, and suddenly abandoning the duo afterward, all seemingly because the duo's trap endangered Mia's life. This also marks the one time one will be able to use Mind Read on him without him seeming to realize it - doing so reveals that he actually wishes to help Mia, but seems to view this as a weakness.
Speaking of Mia... While he certainly holds her in high regard, the same definitely doesn't seem to apply to her son, Rief. In fact, his willingness to potentially leave him to die - even if it was likely that Matthew's group would save him - is a bit... worrisome, to say the least. It may be due to his loose morals, but the fact he would be willing to try something like that when the son of his cousin is involved seems a little extreme, even for him. There might be a more personal reason behind using Rief as bait rather than, say, Kraden, but as of now, canon is still a little vague about it.
Last but not least, when his plans truly go wrong, he loses his cool very fast. The only time he actually seems to panic is when the Wise One reveals that his plans were for naught, and that he might actually die as a result, since at that point, his overconfidence had led to him being slammed into the ground, paralyzed and confined to a mountain that was slowly sinking into the ground.
Samples
First Person: Q&A, please. ♪
Third Person:
It's one thing to wake up to find yourself in an unfamiliar location.
It's another to find yourself in an unfamiliar location after being woken by snow falling on your face.
After brushing the snow off his face - where was his mask, anyway? - the blue-haired Mercury Adept pushed himself up, inspecting his surroundings as he did. A forest covered in snow, as if it were Winter... and certainly not one he had ever visited to before. How did he find himself here? Was he not in the Apollo Sanctum mere moments ago, buying enough time for Matthew to activate the Apollo Lens as per the High Empyror's orders by holding off Blados and Chalis for him and his companions? Even if his Warp Psynergy had somehow malfunctioned, that should not have been enough to displace him to an entirely unfamiliar area.
As strange as this turn of events was, however, there were two other things that bothered Alex: the freezing sensation resulting from the fact that his attire had seemingly been replaced with nothing but loose-fitting white cotton pants, and an odd, dull pain that seemed to be coming from... the area near his shoulder blades?
Prioritizing the latter for the time being, he looked over his shoulder, expecting to find some sort of injury. To his surprise, the pain was not coming from any sort of visible injury, but...
...a small, light blue pair of wings? How... peculiar.
His interest piqued, he cautiously touched one of the wings with his hand, prompting it to twitch. Rather sensitive... Attempting to remove them would likely be needlessly painful. There certainly had to be some way to get rid of them, but for the time being, perhaps there were other matters worth investigating first - such as what had happened to his attire. If this, against all odds, turned out to be another part of Weyard... the absence of it, or at least his mask, could prove to be troublesome.
Fortunately, another look around the area quickly solved this little problem, as Alex soon spotted his outfit neatly folded together not too far away from him, lying next to what appeared to be some sort of book and... another very familiar set of clothes. Was that...?
Certainly, upon closer examination, it appeared to be the clothes he had worn 30 years ago, prior to the Golden Sun event. It had been some time since he had worn this particular outfit... This was certainly an interesting surprise. And convenient as well - after all, his old clothes were far better suited for such a cold climate.
After quickly changing into this familiar set of clothes, he picked up the book that rested in the snow next to them, carefully leafing through them. It seemed to be a journal of sorts, with his name written on it, but it was far from blank; rather, it appeared to be filled with entries written by people unfamiliar to him, some of them seemingly speaking of this place: Luceti, a village in a foreign world, whose residents - all seemingly from different worlds - are used as experimental subjects by an organization referred to as the Malnosso, while time is halted in their own world. While the idea of being a guinea pig for a group of scientists was hardly appealing...
...Perhaps there would be some way to benefit from this situation.
---
A quick note: I've already spoken to Masa about this, but due to the canon point I'll be taking him from, Alex will be going by his actual name in Luceti rather than the alias he adapted in Dark Dawn. As such, I'd also like for him to be able to find his old outfit - as in the third-person sample - alongside that he wears when going by the name "Arcanus," as he would certainly prefer having access to it if he is to use his old name once more.