Terra Branford

Terra Branford (Japanese: ティナ・ブランフォード Tina Buranfōdo, "Tina Branford") is a playable character in Final Fantasy VI, and one of the more important characters therein. She at first is a Magitek Elite working for the Gestahlian Empire, which is using her for her magic abilities, but she is being controlled by a slave crown; she is freed by Arvis and afterward joins the Returners, an organization that works to resist the Gestahlian world conquest.

Terra also appears as a playable character in the Dissidia Final Fantasy fighting games, and she is also a playable character in the spinoff role-playing game World of Final Fantasy.

Character design
Terra Branford was designed by Yoshitaka Amano; Amano's artwork for her features blonde hair in a ponytail, a red dress with pink cloth draping from her shoulders and around her waist, red shoes, and tights. Her clothing features floral patterns.

Her in-game sprites, based on art by Kazuko Shibuya, has a slightly different design. It gives her green hair instead of blonde hair, she wears no tights, she has pink shoulder pads instead of the cloth draping from her shoulders, and she has pink cloth at the bottom of her dress instead of around her waist. Additionally, her clothing does not have floral patterns.

Personality
At the start of the game, Terra has little personality except for fear and confusion over everything that is going on, and over her own place in the world. She also believes that she does not have the ability to love.

After Kefka reshapes the world, Terra finds herself caring for orphans, which makes her realize that she is indeed capable of feeling love.

Final Fantasy VI
Terra was born to an esper father, Maduin, and a human mother named Madeline. However, Emperor Gestahl, seeking to gain the power of the espers, opens the gate to the Esper World and abducts her father and takes the infant Terra to raise her as a living weapon due to her potential abilities as a half-esper. At some point, she is given a slave crown by Kefka Palazzo which forces her to obey all of his orders. Terra, as a half-esper, has an innate ability to use magic, which is used by the empire.

Final Fantasy VI opens with Terra, accompanied by Biggs and Wedge, riding in Magitek Armor to subdue and retrieve an esper in the Narshe Mines, but the esper releases powerful energy which kills Biggs and Wedge and knocks Terra unconscious. Terra is retrieved by Arvis, a member of the Returners, an organization that works to resist the Gestahlian Empire's conquests. Arvis who removes her slave crown, freeing Terra from the Empire's control. However, Terra has amnesia and cannot remember anything but her name.

Arvis helps her escape from the angry townspeople of Narshe, and she meets up with Locke Cole, who takes her to Figaro, where they talk with its king, Edgar Roni Figaro. Kefka arrives to get Terra back, and tries to set Figaro Castle on fire to force them to give her to him, but Figaro Castle submerges into the sand and Terra, Locke, and Edgar escape by chocobo. Stunned by her ability to use magic, they decide to take her to the Returners' hideout. They go to the Returners' hideout, and the leader, Banon, tells Terra that she is their only hope. Edgar, Terra, and Banon go back to Narshe and meet with Arvis, who has failed to get the people of the neutral Narshe on their side. Locke arrives with a woman named Celes Chere, a former general of the empire. Like Terra, Celes can use magic, although the power was artificially given to her with the power of espers. Terra asks her if she's ever loved someone, but Celes doesn't understand the question.

Kefka arrives with soldiers, however, and is willing to kill civilians to get to the esper. However, he is defeated by the Returners, and turns back. The group goes to the esper so that Terra can speak with it, but Terra transforms into her esper form and flies off to a tower in the town of Zozo. The group goes to get her, and she is with the esper Ramuh. Ramuh explains that she cannot understand them, and she is frightened and cannot control her power. He explains that there are espers being held captive at the Magitek Research Facility in the imperial capital Vector, and turns himself into magicite to aid them, which allows the rest of the party to use magic. The group goes without Terra, and receive the magicite of a few other espers, including that of Terra's father Maduin.

Upon being reunited with her father (by way of his magicite), Terra's memories return, and the player is shown a flashback of how Terra's parents met, and how Terra ended up being taken by the empire. Terra now feels that she can confidently control her powers, and she now has the ability Trance, which allows her to transform into her esper form for a limited time in battle. Back at Narshe, Arvis and Banon explain that they want the party to open the sealed gate to the Esper World and negotiate with the espers so that they can assist them in the war, and that they need Terra's help; Terra reasons that she is living proof that espers and humans can coexist, and agrees.

They open the gate and the espers attack Vector, which seemingly causes Gestahl to surrender. Kefka is arrested for his crimes, and Gestahl holds a banquet for peace. At the banquet, Gestahl says that he wants to apologize to the espers, and that he wants Terra to be a bridge between human and esper to do so. The imperial general Leo Cristophe accompanies the party to the Crescent Island, where the espers are hiding. They go to the espers' hiding place, and the leader of the espers, Yura, agrees to negotiate, and goes to talk with General Leo. However, this was all a ruse by Gestahl and Kefka to get more magicite, and Kefka arrives and kills many espers, turning them into magicite. Leo tries to stop him, but he is killed by Kefka. Terra notes that people seem to only want power, and questions why they would want to be like her.

Gestahl and Kefka obtain the power of the statues of the Warring Triad, and the area around the sealed gate is lifted up, becoming the Floating Continent. Kefka betrays and kills Gestahl, and moves the statues of the Warring Triad out of alignment, which causes a reaction that reshapes the world, and Kefka obtains godlike power. The party is separated, and there is a one-year gap in the story.

In the one year since Kefka reshaped the world, Terra has found herself caring for orphans in the town of Mobliz. All the adults in that town had been killed by Kefka's power. Terra begins to feel something for these children that she has never felt before, and no longer has the will to fight. A demon named Humbaba attacks, and Terra is defeated by it. The player's party defeats (but does not kill) Humbaba, and Humbaba flees. Terra explains that the children need her, and refuses to rejoin the player's party, saying she needs time to figure things out.

Later in the game, the party returns to Mobliz, and Humbaba returns. They are in danger of being defeated and Terra joins the fight in Trance form. They defeat and kill Humbaba. Terra says that she finally understands what the feeling she has is: love. She says that she now knows that she must fight to protect those that she loves, and joins the party.

The party goes to confront Kefka at Kefka's Tower, who questions why people cling to life and hope. The party answers his question one-by-one; Terra's answer is love. After Kefka is defeated, magic and the espers begin to vanish from the world. Terra goes into Trance form to help the party escape from the crumbling tower. Her father's magicite speaks to her, telling her that while the espers will depart from the world, if the human part of Terra is strongly attached to something or someone, she would likely be able to remain in the world as an ordinary human. After the party escapes, Terra is flying in front of the airship, but her power begins to fade. Terra transforms back into her regular form and falls, but Setzer manages to control the airship to catch her. It is shown that Terra's love for the children in Mobliz has allowed her to remain alive.

Gameplay information
Terra is one of only two characters who can use magic without the use of magicite.

Later in the game, she gains the ability to use the Trance command, which allows her to transform into her esper form for a limited time. This increases her damage output.

Terra's desperation attack is Riot Blade, which deals magical damage to a single target.

Until Terra meets Arvis, her name is "?????". Terra starts with a Mythril Knife, a Buckler, a Leather Hat, and Leather Armor, and she starts with the Cure and Fire spells.
 * Starting stats


 * Innate spell learnset