Crimson Wizard

Koren, the Wizard of the Crimson Lotus is a young and extremely powerful wizard who serves as a major antagonist in the game Seiken Densetsu 3. He is the right-hand man of the Dragon Emperor, one of the three available Final Bosses. It must be noted that in the original japanese game, the wizard is only refered by his title: Koren no Madoshi, or Guren no Madoshi, depending on the pronounciation. As the game was never released outside Japan, except for emulators, those who translated it chose to keep Koren as his name and to translate his title at the same time.

If the player chose the swordsman Duran or the witch Angela as the main character, the Dragon Emperor will be the primary antagonist and Koren will be the second-to-last boss. If Kevin or Carlie are selected as the main character, the penultimate boss will be Heath, the Fallen Cleric. If Hawk or Lise (Riesz) are selected, then it will be Bigieu, the Shapeshifting Demoness.

Background
"I just wanted... to use magic... that's all. (sob) That old man Jose... he never could understand... so I ran away... The Dragon Emperor's spirit told me that I'd be the most powerful wizard that ever lived... All he wanted... You know what he wanted in return? All he wanted was a piece of my soul!! Just a piece! How could I have turned him down? But look what I've become without that piece. I'm a failure, I don't even deserve to live - Koren (telling his story after being defeated)

Koren was born in Altena, the country of magic, solely populated by witches and wizards. For unexplained reasons, he was unable to perform magic during most of his life, and as such he was deemed "useless with magic" and treated with scorn by almost anyone; including Jose, the master of the magic teachers, who lost patience more than once. He ultimately ran away, no longer being able to stand this situation. Some time later, he met the spirit of the evil Dragon Emperor; who was defeated several years before the start of the game by the Knight of Gold Loki. The Dragon Emperor tempted Koren, offering to make him the most powerful wizard in the world, in exchange of a part of his soul. Koren accepted and became incredibly powerful. Yet, as he shared his soul with the Dragon Emperor, Koren began to share his malevolence and ambition, and was corrupted by Evil.

The game never explains wether Koren was truly "useless with magic," getting all his incredible power from the Dragon Emperor; or simply unable to use his power for some reason or another, with the Dragon Emperor merely unlocking it. The later seems more likely, given that Angela, who was also unable to cast magic, got her power unlocked by a great shock. Koren also uses magic when freed of the Dragon Emperor's evil influence. Koren's power is estimated on par with the Queen of Altena's, (the country's mightiest witch) and is certainly even higher as he could magically control the queen like a puppet. This, and the Dragon Emperor's crippled state when he met Koren can be regarded as another proof, as he could hardly have given such power to someone who didn't had any without losing a huge deal of his own, but no one can know for sure.

Now the Dragon Emperor's right-hand man, Koren came back to Altena. With his newfound power, he quickly rose in rank, becoming the general of the Altenian army and the personal advisor of the Altenian ruler: Valda, the Queen of Reason. Koren was nicknamed the Wizard of the Crimson Lotus and his reputation grew to the point of being spread all around the world of Mana. Koren brainwashed Valda and used her to rule Altena. He had Altena declare war to the other nations, with the ultimate goal of seizing the eight Mana Stones, in which the God Beasts (eight highly powerful elemental demons) had been sealed millenia ago.

About Koren himself
In terms of power, Koren is on an equal footing with Heath and Bigieu, (despite Bigieu being on a higher level) though given that magic is his only weapon, he is much more proficient in its use that the other two, being seen casting no less than fourteen differents attack spells during the course of the game. (This makes him the human character with the highest number of attack spells of the entire game.) Moreover, Koren masters six elements on the eight available with the same proficiency. (One must note that the two elements he doesn't masters lack attack spells.) All this makes enough indication about the Wizard of the Crimson Lotus' tremendous magical might, in spite of him being only seen performing "classical" magical feats such as teleporting, magical movements and mind-control aside from fighting.

Personality wise, little is ever known about Koren's true persona, but it is heavily implied that he deeply suffered both from his inability to spellcast and the contempt he endured. Given the shame and regret he displays at the end, and his farewell to the protagonists, it becomes quite clear that he was a gentle and humble person.

As the villainous Wizard of the Crimson Lotus, Koren is far from being humble and gentle. On the very contrary, he displays great cruelty and pride, revelling in his victim's torment and mocking their weakness as well as what they hold dear. Koren displays extreme contempt and mockery for weaker fighters, seemingly mirroring what he probably suffered. Koren enjoys to toy with his victim and to break their spirit to no end. He is seen playing a real cat-and-mouse game with Duran while lecturing him, and finally slowly takes him down with several spells way below his usual level, instead of finishing him in one hit. He apparently loves to fight as he is seen laughing endlessly during the boss battle against him. He also seems to grow increasingly irked by the protagonists' constant meddling, first dismissing them as hopeless weaklings, and later "welcoming" them with an angry outburst. Despite this, he is a capable general and a fearless warrior who never hesitates to lead his troops in the first line.

Game Introduction
"You appear to take pride in being the number one swordsman of this castle, but you ought to learn the limits of your body." - Koren (to Duran)

Koren personally led an attack on the royal castle of the kingdom of Valsena, (Forcena in the unofficial translation) where he effortlessly defeated Duran, the kingdom's best swordsman ( and also the son of Loki, the Knight of Gold who defeated the Dragon Emperor at the cost of his life) and one of the six playable characters available. Duran barely survived and swore to become powerful enough to find, to fight and to kill Koren. At the same time, Koren planned to use Angela, the princess of Altena and another playable character, who was also unable to perform magic, as a sacrifice to lift the seal on the Mana Stone of Water. (Each Mana Stone needing a different sacrifice.) He made it appear as a decision of the Queen of Reason herself, and a distraught Angela, using magic for the first time of her life, fled the palace.

Seiken Densetsu 3
In the course of the game, the Three Great Evils (the Dark Prince, the Dragon Emperor and the Masked Mage) wage war against one another; all three of them wanting to unleash the eight God Beasts on the world. Each Great Evil had a second-in-command who manipulated the ruler of a nation to wage war against the others and find the eight Mana Stone, and a third-in-command who leads their armies of monsters. (In the Dragon Emperor's case: Koren and the Darkshine Knight.) They eventually manage to unseal the eight Mana Stone, while the Playable Party fights their armies and gathers the eight Mana Elemental Spirit, in order to defeat them. When the Party reaches the Mana Holyland where the Mana Tree (the incarnation of the Mana Goddess) is located, the primary antagonist of the storyline slays his two rivals and their servants.

If neither Duran nor Angela was selected as the primary protagonist of the storyline, the Dragon Emperor and Koren will be slain by the chosen Final Boss. If Duran or Angela was selected, the Dragon Emperor will be the final boss. In that case, after the Party meets the Mana Goddess and obtain the mythical Sword of Mana, Koren forces a way into the Holyland and he abducts the Party's Fairy guide. He then demands the Sword of Mana in exchange for her freedom. Koren uses the Sword to free the eight God Beasts, and unleashes the Dragon Emperor's armies of monsters on the world of Mana.

The Party tracks down the God Beasts and manages to destroy them one by one. They then reach the Dragon Hole, the Dragon Emperor's lair, where they are greeted by Koren, who casts a Death Spell on the Queen of Reason, whom he no longer needs. The party successfully defeats the Darkshine Knight, who is revealed to be Loki. (whose dead spirit was enslaved by the Dragon Emperor and trapped in a Dark Armor.) The Party confronts Koren and his evil lord, who is now fully healed. The Dragon Emperor wanted the party to destroy the God Beasts, so that their power would be trapped inside the Mana Sword, enabling him to absorb it and surpass the power of the Mana Goddess herself. However, the Goddess manages to thwart this scheme with her last strength. The Dragon Emperor then goes to the Mana Holyland, intending to destroy the Mana Tree, while Koren stays back to get rid of the Party.

After a long and difficult battle, the Party manages to defeat the Wizard of the Crimson Lotus, who comes back to his senses and tells them his story. Ashamed by his evil deeds, Koren bids his farewell to the main character before commiting suicide out of self-disgust. After a moment of grieving, the Party goes to the Mana Holyland to fight the Dragon Emperor.

Boss Battle
"I humbled you before with my dark magic and I'll do it again! Have at you!" - Koren (before fighting Duran's party)

"My sweet little princess. Willing to die for her beloved country! I'll make it quick!" - Koren (before fighting Angela's party)

Koren (Level 48 . Life-Points 14718)

As a boss, Koren is a formidable enemy, powerful enough to be more than a match for three characters of a level higher than his own, so never treat him lightly.

Koren masters the spells level 1 and 2 of the Earth, Wind/Thunder, Fire, Water/Ice, Light and Shadow Elements, which he can cast on one target or on all three. The multi-target spells being much more powerful than the normal ones. When damaged enough, he will start casting Ancient: the most devastating spell available, which conjures MANY huge explosive meteors and deals crippling damages to the whole Party. (Koren was also seen casting the one-hit-kill Death Spell, but he hopefully never uses it in battle.)

Koren is very fast: he moves quickly and he can cast two, if not three, different spells in a row, which makes him rather unpredictable. The only way to harm him with magic is to cast a spell of the Element opposed to the last one he cast, otherwise you will heal him. Using magic against Koren isn't advised, as he will likely cast another spell before being hit by yours and will then get healed. If you use the Elemental Spells on your weapons it will be the same.

The best way to deal with him is to increase your Party's stats and to weaken him with as many spells and items as possible, before continuously attacking him with weapons and special techniques. Also make sure to heal whenever a charcter's life points drop under at the very least 100. There is two tricks with which your'e almost sure to win. 1) If you can cast the Moon Saber spell on your characters, they will regain some life-points by striking him with their weapons. 2) If you can use the spell Counter Magic or the item Matango Oil on your characters, every spell that Koren casts on them will be cast back at him and deal damage. (With the exception of Ancient and the multi-target spells.)

Balthus Dire 10:04, May 9, 2010 (UTC)

thumb|450px|left|the boss battle against Koren