((Here's my shot at Terra Branford...))
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Name: Terra Branford
Nickname: Terra
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Species: Human/Esper hybrid
Alingment: Good
Powers:Magic of Espers: Being a half esper, Terra has always had the latent gift of magic. Yet the Gestahlian Empire had always feared such use of magic from a person that she had never practiced in this art and was thus left unable to cast anything during her slave life. However once her slave crown was broken, combined with the influence of the frozen Valigarmanda, some of her magical powers were awakened. During her journeys she further improved upon this magical ability with the assistance of magicite. Nobody knows what she can truly summon up though. Primarily she uses her magical powers over her physical ability due to her greater ability in the former and tends to be colourful and creative in her usage of spells.
Esper Form: Once she encounters either a deeply desperate situation, or a deep emotion for someone, she will enter her Esper form. While in this form, her entire body becomes a light shade of pink, and all her clothes seemingly disappear (no naughty bits are about thought so get that thought out of ya head...). Her magical power increases a vast amount and she gains the ability to fly about, yet due to the circumstances of her arrival into a new world, she has not yet gained a full control over the vast power that influences her while as an esper. This can leave her sometimes uncontrollable or incredibly frightened. In her esper form, a few of her skills and attacks are altered vastly, namely her Riot Blade attack no longer uses the sword, but instead her claws infused with a highly powered energy. She still retains the element of her weapon however.
Magicite: Terra has always kept a close hold of her father's magicite, and his spirit aids her whenever she needs it, and she can call upon Maduin at any time desired. She also posseses Valigarmanda, the esper that broke her free of her slave crown and awoke her esper side. Both espers a feeding a power into Terra as she grows in her magical potential.
Weapon:Flametounge/Flame Sabre:
A specially forged blade made before the raid upon the Land of Espers, it was meant for Lord Bahamut as an ornamental piece, this weapon found its way into the World of Balance as part of the loot that the Gestahlian Empire took during the battle. It is imbued with a latent power of flame and it is said with every swing, a whisp of flame is left in the wake of the blade. The blade itself also offers warmth to the wielder when confronted with a chill.
Picture:
Terra's Human form and Esper form respectively.
Appearance:Human[/u]
Hair: Terra's hair is a bright green, tied up with a decorative bow into a free form ponytail. Her hair is incredibly light so it's formation changes quite rapidly.
Eyes: Green
Body: Petite
Clothing: Terra wears a neckless, sleeveless top that cuts off a little way after her hips. This top is coloured in a crimson red, adorned with a variety of patterns on it, some depicting the various aspects of the earth and the land. She also wears long armed fingerless gloves that share the colour of her top and the end of the gloves are lined with a golden trim. Across her waist she has a variety of pink and purple silk and cotton cloth wrapped around her, which acts as her belt to hold her sword sheath and also further adds to her decoration as a Magitek Elite. She wears white stockings which are dotted with a light red colour for unknown reasons. Her boots further share the same style as her gloves, with a golden trim, however these boots are pointed and high heeled, the point being fully coloured in gold. Finally, she wears a flowing pink/purple silk cape that has small yellow/purple swirls scattered about the end of it.
Esper[/u]
Hair: Her hair becomes much longer, completely free and changes to a pale purple shade. Her hair whisps about sometimes despite the complete lack of wind but this is supposed to be because of the power she emmits.
Eyes: Fading yellow with a red outline.
Body: Still petite, yet more athletic than before.
Clothing: None. Her entire skin becomes a pastel pink and her clothes seemingly vanish from existance and her hands turn into long deep pink claws, as do her feet. However, there are no naughty bits visible on her body while she's an esper, so she's still PG friendly, if her appearence does look a bit psychotic...
Personality: Terra is good at heart, a heredetory aspect of her mother and father, yet she is also a highly confused and naive individual. Having lived her life under the influence of the slave crown, she does not understand many common concepts in this day and age but she is continually learning as a result of this. Because of her naivety, it is easy to fool her so long as she doesn't aleady know the person in question and has no idea of the concept being placed before her. She is currently attempting to understand what "love" is. She also has a latent maternal instinct, having taken care of the children of Mobliz. She is highly befriending and somewhat fearless of the present situation yet the power of her esper form always frightens her. She isn't afraid to use force against an opponent when nessiccary, and she holds a friendly rivalry with fellow magic user, Celes.
Original World: Aeolus (World of Balance/World of Ruin)
Current Residing World: Destiny Islands
History/Background: Terra was born within the Land of Espers, a land long lost to the human civilisation. She was born to Maduin and Madeline after a complicated love story between the two. Madeline was a human, and thought an outcast by the espers of the land, yet the chief of the village took her in while she was wounded from her travels, and eventually the two fell in love, and thus Terra was concieved, the first hybrid Human Esper. Just two years after her birth however, the Gestahlian Empire sought to capture the espers of this world, having discovered the gate Madeline inadvertantly passed through. Their goal was to use a recently formulated technology to transfer the magical power of these creatures into war machines, so that Emperor Gestahl would be able to conquer the world and rule it for his own. During the ensuing fight, Maduin fought against the invaders yet was eventually captured, while Madeline attempted to flee with her child. Yet she was mortally injured, and unable to protect the baby Terra, who was eventually taken into custody of the Empire.
Kefka Palazzo knew the nature and heritage of this child, and took an interest in raising her to be an almighty weapon of mass destruction, and therefore placed a slave crown atop her head, ridding her of her free will and thought. In the next 15 years, she grew to become an incredibly powerful weapon to the empire, her greatest accomplishment being that she had successfully destroyed 50 of the Empire's Elite Unit with relative ease. Her skill in a Magitek Battle Suit was unfathomable and she was soon one of the highest ranked in the Empire's Army. Eventually though, she was called out on a mission to Narshe, as an apparent Esper had been unearthed, encased in ice, and the locals weren't willing to hand it over. Biggs, Wedge and Terra were all sent out to locate and capture this esper, defeating all resistance along the way. They managed that easily with Terra in tow.
Yet after reaching the esper, things started happening drastically. Terra was somehow drawn towards this esper, as Biggs and Wedge were incinerated in a brilliant flash of light. A few moments later, another flash knocked out Terra, and destroyed her slave crown. Terra was soon rescued by a local in Narshe who understood her present situation, but realised that Terra had no real memory. Terra was eventually discovered by the Empire and they wished to take her into custody, yet they sent one of the resistance group known as the Returners, Locke Cole, to take her to Figaro. After a predicament in the caves and some journeying together, they soon reached Castle Figaro, where the randy ruler of the Castle, Edgar Roni Figaro, had to hide Terra after Kefka came along to reclaim his prized "weapon". However Kefka didn't buy this, and attempted to burn down Castle Figaro, forcing Terra, Locke and Edgar to flee atop Chocobos, while the castle dived into the sand. The two males eventually saw of Terra's latent magical power during this flight, and decided to take her to the Returners hideout in the Sabil Mountain Range.
Invited to join the rebelious force against hte Empire, Terra accepted after some thought and accompanied Banon, Edgar and Sabin on the journey to Narshe. They were attacked by the fiendish and perverted Ultros, who attempted to take Terra for himself but was beaten down by Sabin, who fell into the river and was dragged away by the current. Soon the remaining three made it to Narshe, but were forced to take the mines route, as the locals didn't want the Returners operating in their town. Quickly after, the Empire attempted to attack Narshe and claim the frozen esper, but a joint effort by the Returners led to the defeat of the leader of the attack, Kefka. After this battle, they returned to the esper, who reacted once more with Terra. However the outcome was different, and Terra's hidden power as an Esper was unleashed.
In a confused and frightened state as to her new form, Terra flew off and eventually passed out atop on a rooftop somewhere within Zozo. There, she was cared for by Ramuh, who requested the others bring the magicite shard of her father, in order for her to regain her mind. Soon they did after many events, and Terra regained her memory of everything that had happened to her while under the slave crowns control. A plan was eventually formed with this new knowledge that involved the Espers of the Land of Espers joining with the Returners and the Narshe forces in order to attack the Empire. Terra was sent to the Sealed Gate in order to communicate with them and request their aid. Despite an ambush by Kefka, she opened the gate. But instead of the Espers coming out to the request, they came out in a torrent and attacked, led by Yura. Despite their attempts to flee in the Blackjack, the Espers caught up and downed the ship near Vector.
Apparently Emperor Gestahl had surrendered, and had imprisoned Kefka for his warcrimes against Doma. He invited the Returners to a feast, and requested that Terra parlay a peace message to the Espers, whom were hiding out on Cresent Island. Locke and General Leo Christophe accompanied her on this journey, and it was here Terra asked her first questions regarding love to Leo. Worried that her half esper race would mean she couldn't love in the future, Leo reassured her that this wouldn't be anything blockiing love for her. Eventually they travelled to Thamasa where they met up with Strago Magus and Relm Arrowny, both of whom denied the existance of any espers. During the night, a mansion caught fire and the magical powers of the villagers were revealed, but their efforts were fruitless and Terra and Shadow had to go inside to rescue a trapped Relm. After she was resuced, they couldn't deny the the presence of the espers anymore, and told them of their gathering spot atop the mountain.
After another fight with Ultros, the group eventually met with Yuna who was convinced by Terra to meet with Leo and the Returners and make peace talks back in Thamasa. These proceedings were interupted by Kefka, who was thought to be imprisoned, yet it was apparently a ploy to capture all the remaining espers. Wounding Terra and her friends, the last standing was Leo, who engaged in battle against Kefka. Despite a valiant effort, Kefka duped Leo and backstabbed him, killing him, much to the sorrow of Terra. After Kefka had taken all the Magicite from the remaining espers, he went to the Sealed Gate to recover more, and in doing so, the Floating Continent was risen. Terra led a funeral procession for Leo after she and her friends had awoken.
The final battle was coming soon, and the Returners used the Blackjack to reach the floating continent and stop Gestahl and Kefka in whatever they were planning, and after long enduring challenges, and the defeat of Atma Weapon, they reached them, standing before the statues of the Warring Triad. Kefka now turned traitor to the Emperor, and attempted to move the statues out of alingment, disturbing the balance of the three and causing the destuction of the world, yet he was opposed by Shadow, who was moving them back into alingment. The continent was disturbed by this battle, however, and began to descend rapidly. After a retreat to the airship, and reuniting with Shadow, they all landed atop the Blackjack and attempted to flee the falling continent, yet were struck by debris and the ship crashed down.
The rest was nothing but darkness to Terra, but Kefka had successfully bought the world to destruction and ruin, and sat atop his throne in the center, a pile of waste and destruction where he would command the world using his Light of Judgement. Terra awoke in the town of Mobliz where she would stay with the children who were left parentless because they opposed Kefka's rule and had their town destroyed. Having lost her friends and family, all her hopes were now turned to the protection of these children, but she barely had enough will in her to fight, nor sustain her Esper form for long enough, and troubles grew worse when a legendary monster known as Humbaba attacked the village...
Some would say that for each decision made in ones life, an alternative is played out in a different reality.
Well in this particular tale, Humbaba was warded off by Terra eventually. But after, a strange new creature had appeared within the confines of Mobliz. The Heartless that had entered the world curtousey of Kefka's ruination of the world, and the Warring Triad destroying the boundries of their world, began to attack one particular child. Terra was too late, and the child was taken. Now she was experiencing a completely different emotion. One that secretly frightened her, yet felt right to wield. Rage. Her esper form entered a state of uncontrollability, and after she wiped out the Heartless fiends with her magical powers, something catastrophic happened in a small space around her. The power she was producing had torn apart the boundries around her, and she was thrown from her world, heading into a different world.
Her journey was an unconscious one, but she could see within her mind a beautiful landscape. Fields, flowers, streams and beauty. This was her Desire for the future. In her purgatory to another world, she was befriended by two children that she recognized as children from Mobliz. They told her that the journey to a new world was required. And that in order for her to awaken, she would need to realise something important. The children took Terra along her memories until they reached what appeared to be a snowfield with a mountain in the middle. For Terra to see what she was truly feeling in Mobliz, she would need to climb this mountain of her own understanding in order to see what was atop it.
Through a great deal of perseverance, she soon reached the top, and looked into the crystal clear pool that was situated there. Inside, she could see various scenes of her with Leo, discussing love, and then the scenes of the children playing in a ruined playground in Mobliz. These scenes invoked a fuzzy feeling inside her, and then it was clear. She was experiencing love for the children of the village. Desperately requesting to return, the children in her mind told her that they did not know what had become of the world she was from, except that it was no longer able for her to return, and that she had to start a new life in this land. And that her fight for greater understanding would continue there.
Role Playing Sample:The landscape had rapidly become different after a few short steps of being bought along by these children. The temperature had suddenly dropped considerably, and from the sky came a fluffy cold substance that Terra didn't recognize. The children pulling her along could tell what she was thinking.
"It is snow, Aunty Terra." the girl said blandly, grabbing a snowflake in her free hand with a doleful innocence that made Terra confused as to what she was feeling. What snow really was, or what these children were really trying to show her. The temperature soon rose inside her, as the sword she possessed could almost feel the cold temperature, and instantly produced a soothing heat the rippled through her body.
Soon enough, a great shadow loomed over them all. The boy pointed skywards, and Terra's gaze followed. Above them was a terrifying mountain, it's peak hidden above the clouds.
"Aunty Terra. If you want to really know what you are feeling, then you must climb to the mountaintop." the boy said bluntly. Terra looked down, worried at the height of such a climb, and if she would be able to manage for the entire climb. The girl reassured her.
"Do not worry. If your desire to understand is great enough, the climb will not be as long as it seems." she said, smiling up towards her. That feeling rose up in her again. She nodded down to this child.
"Alright. I can do this... I must find out what I need to know..." she said bravely and ran up the first path provided for her to the cliff face.
A long and tedious climb was ahead of her, but she did not feel fatigue throughout. Her burning desire to know was driving her on. And her desire was deep, which was her guide in reaching the peaks. The cold temperature soon became worse, beyond that which the Flametounge could counter, as the air up there was thinner. Terra's throat was becoming dry and raspy and her breathing was becoming shorter, but she persevered. It was soon that she could see the peaks of the mountain, and that this arduous climb was soon to be over, and the knowledge that all but her possessed would soon be in her. The comfort that this hope produced gave her the strength to clamber up the last few crags and successfully reach the top.
Sprawled across the floor, now deeply tired, she dragged herself forwards to a rippling body of water that was centered at the flat peak of the mountain. Once she was close enough, she drank from the clear mountain spring, and felt the strange magical energy revitalise her body, and give her the strength to stand. But she chose not to stand, because as she knelt up, she saw a moving silhouette form within the water. The rippling stopped, but the reflection in the water did not, however these images soon came into full colour. They were of her and Leo together on the ship to Cresent Island.
"Leo... Can you tell me what love is?" the reflection of Terra asked.
"Ah...ummm..." the Leo reflection looked about nervously. "Well... It's when you feel very strongly about someone that you cannot bear to let yourself go from them..." he said simply. The reflection soon faded away after that, and Terra looked forwards, thinking about what this image meant. Eventually, another silhouette formed, gaining colour after a few seconds. It was the time Terra was in the ruined playground with some of the children happily running about. Eventually one of them came up to her with a cut on his knee.
"Aunty Terra! I hurt myself on the roundabout!" the little boy said with teary eyes, sucking one of his fingers for comfort. Terra looked down with a motherly smile and hoisted him up to her knee.
"Don't worry, we have some bandages... We can fix this right up!" she said caringly. The boy smiled, but his eyes handn't fully cleared themselves of his potential tears. "Come on." Terra said, gesturing her head towards the house. She lifted the child up once more and took him into the house. The image distorted for a few seconds, and was soon of that very scene inside the house, where she was bandaging up the boy's knee. After she tightened the bandage, she kissed his knee then stood up.
"There, all better--" she said, but soon turned abruptly as the door slammed.
All the children from the playground launched through the door and glomped her, proceeding to tickle her repeatedly, leaving her in a fit of giggles, immobilised nearly completely. This image, after a few seconds, faded out, and the pool began rippling again. Terra looked up once more. A deep fuzzy feeling was travelling about her body, warming her up despite the utter cold of the peak.
"So what I was feeling...was love." she whispered to herself. The two children were stood behind her.
"Yes. It was Aunty Terra. You loved all of us deeply and couldn't bear to let us go. Which is why you entered your rage when you saw one of us die..." the girl said, looking down as she explained Terra's recent catastrophic rage against a group of unknown creatures who had killed and taken a child. Terra's eyes were already welling up upon remembering that situation.
A few seconds passed before Terra fell to her knees, grasping both the children by the shoulders at the same time.
"Please! I have to go back and help the children!" she said, crying desperately afterwards. The boy spoke up.
"Aunty Terra, I'm sorry... But you fell from that world with good reason... Those creatures weren't meant to be in our universe, and what would have happened in the next few months would have meant the children AND yourself would have died too. You must continue your fight in another world... And you will experience love again, I'm sure of it." the boy said, as Terra stood up slowly in despair of the news. A moment passed, where Terra's eyes were shrouded by her hair as she looked down. The children's next action was to be their final, before they were not to be seen by Terra again.
They both lunged forward, grabbing onto Terra with the same fright she feared in times before, but they had actually pushed Terra back into the pool of water with this move. Upon the splash, and the feel of water on her face, Terra had awoken with a deep orange sunset in her eyes, the feel of sand on her cheeks and water splashing against her legs.
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