Who...what am I?
Whatever should I do?
Terra was born in the Esper World to an esper father, Maduin, and a human mother, Madeline. When the Gestahlian Empire raided the land and abducted Maduin, he and Madeline were accidentally cast out of the Esper World with Terra. Emperor Gestahl took the baby Terra from Madeline and struck her down. Intrigued by the prospect of a half-esper, Gestahl took Terra back to Vector where she was raised as a living weapon and experiment as the Empire developed Magitek.
The exact details of Terra's upbringing in the Empire are unknown. Both General Celes and General Leo knew her from her time in the Empire, aware she was being used as a biological weapon. Due to her innate magical ability, Terra was given the title of Magitek Elite. Kefka Palazzo took an interest in her and placed a Slave Crown on her, giving him direct control over Terra. One of his orders was to kill fifty soldiers in Magitek Armor—Terra killed them all in under three minutes. The incident was so horrific that it became news even outside the Empire and rumors spread of a dangerous "witch" under their control. At some point after this Terra attended Gestahl's declaration of war speech with Kefka, Celes, and Leo, standing silently by her Magitek Armor while the assembled Imperials saluted their Emperor.
The Empire received word that a frozen esper had been excavated in the mines of the town of Narshe, a neutral city. They sent two Imperial troopers, Biggs and Wedge, as well as Terra, to raid the town and retrieve the esper. The trio killed several members of the Narshe guards and found the esper, but it began to glow and resonate with Terra, and a surge of energy knocked her unconscious. She was rescued by Arvis, a resident of Narshe, who removed the slave crown and sheltered her in his home.
Terra awoke in Arvis's home with no memories but her name. The guards came to the house to arrest her and Arvis had her sneak out the back door and into the mines, and the guards pursued. They cornered Terra in a passage when the floor caved in and she fell to a lower floor, and saw glimpses of her servitude to Kefka before passing out. Meanwhile Arvis contacted Locke, an agent of the Returners, and asked him to help Terra. Locke rushed to Terra's rescue and, with help from a group of moogles that live in the mines, defeated the guards and escaped town through a hidden passage.
Locke took Terra to Figaro Castle and introduced her to its king, Edgar. The two promised to shelter Terra until her memories returned, but Terra was dubious and wondered if they were only interested in her for her magical powers. Kefka arrived to reclaim her, but Edgar feigned ignorance of who he was looking for. That night Kefka returned and set fire to the castle, and Terra, Locke, and Edgar escaped on chocobos while the castle submerged under the desert. Edgar admitted to Terra that they were Returners and asked her to come with them and meet their leader, Banon. Though she was hesitant, the group set out for the South Figaro Cave and the Sabre Mountains, where the Returner Hideout was.
After making contact with Edgar's estranged brother Sabin on Mt. Kolts, the group reached the hideout and Terra met Banon. He told her she may represent the Returners' last hope, and it was clear their interest in her centered around her wielding of magic. Terra was reluctant to be used as a weapon and spoke to the others in the Returner hideout to learn more about why they fight the Empire. Meanwhile, the Empire invaded South Figaro to use as a staging ground for further excursions north, including the Returner hideout. Locke went to sabotage their advance while Terra, Edgar, Sabin, and Banon fled down the Lethe River. Ultros attacked them and Sabin washed overboard, leaving the others to continue alone.
At Narshe, the guards recognized Terra from her raid on the town and refused her entry, but Terra remembered the secret passage into the mines that Locke had used to escape with her, and they snuck back into town and to Arvis's house. Banon tried to convince the Elder of Narshe to side with the Returners against the Empire, but the Elder was unconvinced. Sabin and Locke arrived at the meeting with new allies—Gau, Cyan, and Celes, now no longer of the Empire. Locke warned them the Empire was already marching on Narshe, and the town agreed to allow the Returners to defend them. While preparing their defenses, Terra spoke to Celes about their mutual ability to use magic and asked if she feels love, but Celes took it for mockery.
The Battle for the Frozen Esper commenced with Kefka leading the Imperial forces while Banon directed the defense, and they repelled the Empire. The group visited Valigarmanda and it resonated with Terra again, and a shockwave knocked the other Returners back as Terra approached it, demanding answers of what she is. A conduit of energy flowed between the two and Terra transformed into a monstrous esper-like form and flew way. The Returners regrouped and set out to track her down and find out what happened.
The group found Terra in Zozo in the care of Ramuh, an esper. Terra was still transformed and unable to control her powers, and could not speak or recognize the party. Ramuh explained he called Terra to him for her safety when he sensed her transformation, but denied she was an esper. To help her come to terms with her nature and control her powers, he advised the party go to Vector and rescue the espers being held in the Magitek Research Facility, as he believed one of the espers there could be of aid.
The Returners raided the facility and retrieved the magicite remains of many espers. When they returned to Terra, one of them, Maduin, resonated with her. Terra's memories were restored and the story of her birth in the Esper World and the Empire's invasion was revealed to the party. Now able to transform into her esper state at will, Terra returned to human form and rejoined the party.
The party returned to Narshe and were told the town had formally joined the Returners. They had come up with a plan to attack the Empire with a coalition of the Returners, Figaro's weaponry, and Narshe's resources, but lacked the manpower. Banon suggested opening the Sealed Gate to the Esper World and making an alliance with the espers. While Terra was hesitant, she accepted that her very existence was proof co-existence between human and esper was possible, and agreed. The party set out to the Cave to the Sealed Gate. An Imperial Observation Post was stationed at the entrance to the cave and was suspiciously abandoned when they arrived, but the Returners continued on.
When Terra approached the Sealed Gate the Returners were ambushed by Kefka. The other party members engaged him while Terra called out to the espers, and Kefka claimed that the Empire let Terra "escape" to trick the Returners into opening the gate. As the two groups fought, Terra shifted into her esper form and the Sealed Gate opened, and many espers rushed out, carrying Kefka away. Terra was blown back and collapsed, and the gate closed, a rockslide sealing it further. The Returners decided to regroup on the
Blackjack, their airship, and leave the cave. At the abandoned Imperial base, another of the group informed them they saw the espers fly toward Vector.
The Returners found the espers attacking the city in a rage, ignoring Terra's attempts to call to them. The
Blackjack was damaged in the chaos and crashlanded near Maranda. The Returners traveled to Vector and found the city in flames and its population devastated. At the Imperial Palace, Gestahl insisted he had seen the error of his ways in light of the true power of the espers, and declared the war is over. He was concerned the espers may attack again, and asked for Terra's help find them and negotiate with them. Terra agreed and Locke volunteered to accompany her.
The two met up with General Leo in Albrook and learned the expedition was being accompanied by Celes, who had been missing since the Magitek Research Facility, and Shadow, a mercenary Leo had hired in town. During the boat ride to Crescent Island, Terra could not sleep and went out on deck, where she spoke to General Leo. Leo was distant and admitted he felt guilty he did nothing to help Terra while the Empire was using her, and reassured her that in spite of her heritage, she was capable of feeling love, it would just take time and the right people.
Terra, Locke and Shadow went to Thamasa, where the residents avoid strangers and acted strangely around them. A resident of the town, Strago, acted particularly suspicious, but the party wasn't sure what to make of it. While resting in the town, a building caught fire with Strago's adoptive granddaughter, Relm, stuck inside. Strago asked Terra and Locke to help him rescue her, and they witnessed Strago's magical abilities as he tried to fight the flames. The two entered the house with Strago and found Relm, and Shadow rescued them when they fell unconscious in the collapsing house.
Strago revealed the truth of his Magi ancestry and agreed to accompany Terra and Locke on the search for the espers, and advised they check the western caves. Within the caves they discovered statues of the Warring Triad emanating with magical power, and Strago explained they were effectively the gods of magic. Terra speculated the espers were drawn by the energy, and that the statues' power connected the human and the esper worlds. The group found the espers and their leader, Yura, who recognized Terra's power. The group convinced Yura to set up a conference with General Leo.
Back in Thamasa, Yura and Leo began peace negotiations, but were interrupted by Kefka who revealed this was a ruse for him and Gestahl to retrieve more espers to turn into magicite. Kefka wounded the gathered Imperials and Returners but Leo, and killed Yura and the other espers. Leo tried to fight back, but was killed, and Kefka then slaughtered more espers that forced open the Sealed Gate and tried to stop him. In the aftermath, Terra and the others mourned Leo and met up with their allies on the
Blackjack. Gestahl and Kefka entered the Esper World, found the Warring Triad, and raised the Floating Continent.
The party flew to the Floating Continent to stop Gestahl and Kefka's plans. Kefka used the Warring Triad's power to kill Gestahl and unleashed their power on the world, causing the Cataclysm. In the chaos of the world's reshaping, the
Blackjack was destroyed and the party members scattered.
At some point after the cataclysm, Terra found herself in the village of Mobliz. Kefka had attacked the town with his Light of Judgment, destroying much of it and killing all the adults who tried to protect their children—two teenagers, Duane and Katarin, were the eldest residents left. Terra felt a strange pull to the village and elected to stay and take care of the kids, many of them coming to view her as a surrogate parent and referred to her as "Mama".
When the party came to Mobliz, they asked Terra to rejoin them, but she refused, as she wanted to understand what the unfamiliar emotions she felt were, and the more she tried the less inclined she felt to leave. A demon, Humbaba, attacked the village, and Terra was wounded trying to defeat him, forcing the party to intervene and chase Humbaba away. Terra told them she could not accompany them and they left.
A time later the party returned to the village and learned Katarin was pregnant. Humbaba attacked again and the party engaged him while Terra stayed with Katarin and Duane. The party was struggling against Humbaba when Terra emerged from hiding and transformed into her esper form to help them. Humbaba was slain but Terra still struggled to contain her esper form's power. The children of Mobliz came out and were initially frightened of Terra's appearance, but then recognized her and gathered around her without fear. Terra realized she had come to love the children and with this epiphany resolved to fight on their behalf, to create a better world for them to grow up in. Terra entrusted the care of Mobliz to Duane and Katarin and joined the party in their battle against Kefka.
As the party prepared to invade Kefka's Tower, Terra's friends worried over her fate as they might have to destroy the Warring Triad, the source of magic that sustains espers, and they did not know what would happen to Terra if they did.
After Kefka was killed, Terra transformed and used the last of her power to help the party escape the now crumbling tower. The magicite shards in the party's possession shattered as magic vanished from the world, and with his last words Maduin told Terra she could live on as a human if there was something in the world she felt strongly for. As Terra and the party's second airship, the Falcon, flew out of the tower, Terra's power faded and she fell from the sky. The Falcon dove to catch her and Terra awoke on the deck of the ship, now fully human due to her love for the children of Mobliz. She stood at the airship's helm and untied her ponytail, savoring freedom at last.
