Terra

Terra is one of the main protagonists in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Terra, along with his best friends Ventus and Aqua, is a Keyblade apprentice, and it is his dream to reach the rank of Master.

His name means "Earth" in Latin, similar to Riku's name in Japanese meaning "land". Terra chooses Riku as his successor, making Riku destined to wield the Keyblade in the future. The official Japanese website refers to Terra as the "Vast Earth Protecting Bonds" (絆守る大地).

Before Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Terra spends his days as a Keyblade apprentice training under Master Eraqus at the Land of Departure along with his friend, Aqua. Terra's long-time dream was to be a Keyblade master like Eraqus.

Four years before his Mark of Mastery exam, Master Xehanort, whom Terra did not recognize, visited the Land of Departure, and brought with him Ventus, a young boy that Xehanort asked Eraqus to take care of and train to be a Keyblade warrior. Terra greeted Ven and asked him who he was. After Ven answered and he called Aqua over to them, Terra proceeded to ask him several more questions, including where he came from and why he was there. However, Terra was terrified to see Ven cry out in agony, then fall to the floor. Terra felt a great amount of guilt, believing that it was his fault that Ven became comatose.

After a few days, Ven woke up from the coma. Wanting to make it up to Ven, Terra befriended him and became his sparring partner. After a long day of training, Terra told Ven and Aqua about his dream of being a Keyblade master, which was also Aqua's dream. Terra smiled, and gave Ven his wooden sword, saying that he, Ven, and Aqua, all carry the same dream. Ven had been Terra's best friend ever since.

The three spend time together whenever possible, realizing each others dreams and even distributing good luck charms that would always keep them connected.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Terra takes the Mark of Mastery exam alongside Aqua in order to become a master, but is unable to become one, as he is unable to control his darkness. Unbeknownst to them, Master Xehanort is responsible for the appearance of such darkness during the Exam.

Terra was even more surprised to find out that he held darkness in his heart, which cost him a chance to be a Keyblade master. Later that day, he was approached by Master Xehanort, who told him that despite the darkness being in his heart, it didn't mean that it would be a problem. Instead Master Xehanort tells him that darkness cannot be destroyed as Master Eraqus said, but it can only be channeled.

Minutes later, Terra is sent on the quest to find a missing Master Xehanort and stop the threat of mysterious creatures called the Unversed with a promise that Master Eraqus may reconsider him as a Keyblade Master. Aqua is later consulted and told to watch over Terra, as he may be tempted by the darkness.

While on his journey, the darkness in Terra's heart catches the attention of the evil denizens of the worlds he visits. One is Maleficent, the evil witch taking control over Terra through his darkness and causing him to steal a sleeping Princess Aurora's heart. This action, as well as the many others the dark residents of the other worlds would request of him, would haunt Terra for the rest of his journey, even if his reward was more information on Master Xehanort's whereabouts.

Terra's quest through the worlds eventually brings him to the Radiant Garden, where he witnesses Master Xehanort heading in an unknown direction; assuming there may be some new information for him, Terra follows him. As Terra treks through the world, a battle with a massive Unversed leads him to reunite with Aqua and Ventus. After discovering that Ven had encountered the enigmatic Vanitas, Terra urges the boy to go home, as urgent duties Terra needs to fulfill will make the situation unsafe.

Aqua thinking these duties are not as Master Eraqus had assigned them, Terra quickly tells her that his goal is still to destroy the darkness, to which Aqua counters by stating the fact that Terra seems to embrace it. Ventus quickly comes to Terra's defense, Terra angered when he discovers Master Eraqus had asked Aqua to spy on him, thus learning of his master's mistrust. Infuriated and hurt, Terra turns a deaf ear to Aqua's pleas and attempts to reason with him and departs. Terra soon comes to believe that he can only rely on Master Xehanort.

Terra soon locates Master Xehanort in the underground catacombs below Ansem's castle due to Braig, the elderly Keyblade Master seemingly having been captured by the man. Braig battles Terra in an attempt to obtain the Keyblade, with Terra unable to retaliate due to Braig's dirty tactics. However, some quick encouragement from Master Xehanort gives Terra the strength to fight back.

After the battle, Terra gains the upper hand by using his anger as a weapon, thus losing control of his darkness, scarring Braig's cheek as well as ridding the man of his eye. Braig fleeing as he reels in pain, a freed Master Xehanort soon approaches Terra, who is shocked to find he has been controlled by the darkness yet again. Master Xehanort attempts to have Terra see things in a different light, that he has controlled the darkness rather than vice versa. Terra refuses and states that now he has no home to return to at the end of his journey.

Master Xehanort then proceeds to offer Terra a position as his pupil, causing him to doubt Master Eraqus. Master Xehanort then explains how darkness is always born within the light, revealing that fear is why Master Eraqus failed to pass Terra in his Mark of Mastery Exam. Master Xehanort then begs Terra to join him in bringing balance to the worlds, stating their mission is to defeat the darkness that upsets the balance, Vanitas. Master Xehanort then pulls the final string, acknowledging Terra's long-time wish and calling him "Master Terra". It is because of this that Terra comes to know Master Xehanort as his new master. As Terra prepares to leave the Radiant Garden, Ventus catches up with him, asking to come along on Terra's journey, to which he refuses. Terra does say, however, that he knows Ventus will be there when he is really needed.

In Olympus Coliseum, Terra meets Hades, upon their meeting, Hades references the meaning of his name in Latin by saying "Kinda earthy." Hades later convinces Terra to join the game, in which he (Terra) encounters the darkness-controlled Zack. Terra emerges victorious and leaves the world.

In Deep Space, however, when Experiment 626 steals the good luck charm that Aqua made for him, Terra's pleas for 626 to return it, which in turn forces him to realize just how much he still cares for Aqua and Ventus.

Some time later, Terra finds himself encountering a warm light which calls him to another world. Discovering Paopu Fruit growing on the island, he recalls his friends and the distribution of the good luck charms at the beginning of his quest, Terra wondering why he is there and if he'll ever see Aqua and Ven again. Soon laying eyes upon a young Sora and Riku, he discovers Riku's potential and holds a conversation with the boy. Terra asks why he wants to go to other worlds, later choosing Riku to be his successor when he is able to hold the Keyblade. Riku stating countless times he has cherished things to guard, Terra then makes note that he still has things to protect, as well.

Called soon after to the Keyblade Graveyard by Master Xehanort, Terra learns from the man that Ventus has learned the truth about his past, has gone back to see Master Eraqus about it, and now has a high chance of being eliminated. Terra immediately returns to the Land of Departure, arriving just in time to save Ventus from a would-be fatal attack by Master Eraqus. Refusing to obey Eraqus' orders to stand down, Terra taps into his darkness. After throwing Ventus into a portal to another world, Terra soundly defeats Master Eraqus, but immediately regrets this action afterwards. However, Eraqus insists that he had failed Terra, and he himself must be tainted by darkness to have raised his Keyblade against Terra and Ventus in the first place. At that moment, however, Master Xehanort arrives and murders Master Eraqus in cold blood as Terra looks on. With his true intentions exposed, Xehanort beckons Terra to come to the Keyblade Graveyard before shrouding the Land of Departure in darkness, which leaves it in ruins.

Upon arriving at the Keyblade Graveyard, Terra meets up with Aqua and Ventus. Terra explains what happened to their master and admits that he did have to be watched, vowing never to go astray again. However, Aqua warns him that darkness is based on hatred and rage, and that if Terra had come for revenge, then Xehanort has already won. In the ensuing fight with Master Xehanort and Vanitas, Terra succumbs to his darkness once more and battles the elderly man, who makes note of the χ-blade's creation before unlocking his heart and possessing Terra's body, thus forming Terra-Xehanort, while Terra's mind goes on to find residence within his discarded armor as the Lingering Will. Despite the possession, Terra's heart fights back against Master Xehanort's several times, which leads to Master Xehanort forcing Terra-Xehanort to unlock his heart once again to retaliate, leading to Terra-Xehanort's amnesia.

Sometime later, Terra's heart is seen with Master Xehanort's inside Xehanort's body, the two disputing over who will control it. Terra, with the heart of Master Eraqus sealed within him, concludes that no matter what, he will do all in his power to hold Master Xehanort at bay, no matter how sure the elderly Keyblade Master was that his evil plans would succeed.

Between Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts
Following Xehanort's descent into darkness, Master Xehanort's heart is expelled from Xehanort's body and takes form as a Heartless, Ansem, while Terra's body becomes a Nobody, Xemnas. Xemnas comes into conflict with Sora and Riku several times.

Kingdom Hearts II
Terra is mentioned when Sora encounters Xigbar at The World That Never Was, as one of the "other Keyblade bearers".

Kingdom Hearts coded
When Data-Naminé explains to the Data-Sora about those in hurting that Sora must save, Terra is among those she mentions, and flares up as one of Data-Sora's memories.

Later, King Mickey and Yen Sid speak about their search for Terra, Aqua, and Ven, and how only Terra's location remains unknown.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Terra appears before Sora as an illusion in The World That Never Was created by Xemnas and Xigbar in an attempt to trick Sora into falling asleep and leaving his heart vulnerable to damage. He later appears metaphorically behind Sora along with all of Sora's friends when Sora refuses to succumb to Xemnas and Xigbar's lies.

Blank Points
Terra is seen at the Land of Departure with a sleeping Ventus, waking his friend up before they both utter Sora's name with a sense of renewed hope. This indicates that, despite the destruction of Ansem and Xemnas, Terra is still alive in some shape or form. Sora himself decides to undertake a new quest to find Terra, Aqua, and Ventus and rescue them.

Personality
Terra's calm and cool exterior hides a heart that would fight for his friends, yet he is constantly tempted by the darkness, similarly to Riku. Oblivious to the fact that Master Xehanort is attempting to seduce him into darkness, he is forced to doubt those most special to him, and only realizes his wrong-doings after they occur. While not gullible, Terra can be overly trusting, which most villains use to their advantage, leading to his misadventures. His experiences with darkness bring a negative vibe to him, but Terra holds his bond with Ventus and Aqua in high esteem, willing to fight for them despite his ties to the darkness, wishing to help them long after his possession. This is seen with the new Xehanort, Xemnas, and the Lingering Will, each of which demonstrating instances of Terra's faded consciousness acting on Ventus's and Aqua's behalf. He also holds Master Eraqus in high regard, viewing him as a surrogate father, which he proclaims to Xehanort; for example, he cries at Eraqus's apparent demise and is visibly happy when he reveals that Eraqus has "set foot into" his heart.

Appearance
Terra is a tall young man with brown hair that reaches to the base of his neck in the back and is styled into rather messy, vertical spikes and bangs that frame his face. He has blue eyes and slightly tanned skin. Interestingly, he bears a slight resemblance to a young Xehanort, save for the color of his hair, skin, and his eyes, and his appearance is carried on to both the new Xehanort and Xemnas, as they are both effectively Terra's body under Master Xehanort's influence. Following his possession by Master Xehanort, his hair turns silvery-white, his eyes turn yellow and his skin becomes much darker. Later on, his eyes turn brown.

Like his friends, Terra wears two intersecting straps over his chest, though his red ones are rather different, dropping much lower down and almost resembling criss-crossed suspenders. Also unlike Aqua and Ventus, Terra does not wear his badge (which is gold as opposed to the others' silver) on these straps. Instead, he wears it on his belt. He wears a skintight, black, high-collared shirt, showing that he is rather muscular. Terra's pants bear a distinct feudal Japanese style; his belt is tied like an obi-sash and he wears hakama (traditional samurai pants distinguished by the large pleats). His hakama are dark grey near the top, with several loops for his belt and two buttons, both of which are undone. The rest of the pants are tan with a small, lighter stripe of tan on the bottom hem. Terra wears a plain black wristband on his right arm, while his left arm is significantly more armored.

Like Aqua and Ven, Terra wears armor on one arm, with his bearing similarities to both of his companions. Terra's armor shares the large, ornate crest (colored gold) with Ven and the long, segmented section (each segment alternating between dark grey and dark red) with Aqua, though Terra's is much longer, reaching all the way to the bottom of his hand. He also wears a black, fingerless glove on his hand and what appears to be a black gauntlet on his forearm, over the segmented armor, which also has small pieces of dark red armor on it. Finally, his armored boots are dark brown and gold.

By touching the armor piece on his arm, Terra becomes fully clad in armor. When in his suit in "Birth by sleep", Terra is clad from head to toe in armor, mostly in shades of dark brown, gold, and red. Dull orange lines decorate the armor as well. Notable additions to his armor include upturned, sharp red hooks on the backs of his boots, a navy blue cape, and a dark-visored helmet. His helmet sports two tall, red prongs on either side. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, his armor is now slimmer, the colors on the armor are much brighter, and the cape is omitted. The dark brown is now shown to be black, as is the visor of his helmet.

Terra's artwork for Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix mimics his pose from the promotional artwork for the original game.

Abilities
Terra summons his Keyblade in a very unique way. The weapon is summoned like data, the numbers then replaced by small cubes.

Terra is also the most powerful of the trio in terms of the damage aspect. He uses slow, but very heavy and hard-hitting attacks to decimate his enemies. On top of that, he has access to both a variety of magical spells as well as heavy physical strikes. His affinity for Earth lets him use the powerful Quake and Meteor spells. In addition, he also makes use of dark powers such as the Dark Firaga spell used later in the series by Riku's Dark Mode, the Dark Volley Shotlock, and the Chaos Blade attack. His Command Styles are:


 * CS CriticalImpact.png: An exclusive powerful Command Style for Terra that utilizes slow, but heavy hits to their maximum. Activated by filling the Command Gauge with physical-based commands. The finisher of this Command Style is Terra jumping in the air, charging energy and slamming his Keyblade into the ground. The impact creates a huge shockwave. This was named "Fatal Mode" in the Japanese release.


 * CS Rockbreaker.png: Activated by filling the Style Gauge with Mine-based (including Brutal Blast) or Blade commands. A powerful and long-ranged Command Style that works best on the ground. The finisher of this Command Style is basically Terra summoning three large earth crystals from the ground and sending them to damage enemies.


 * CS Bladecharge.png: Activated by filling the Style Gauge with Fire, Blizzard or Strike commands. In this Command Style, the Keyblade resembles a large, glowing sword. The finisher consists of Terra or Aqua spinning the blade to hit surrounding enemies, and then smashing it into the ground.


 * CS DarkImpulse.png: A Command Style in which Terra summons the power of darkness to attack enemies. A versatile Command Style that hits enemies with slow, heavy attacks, but also exhibits long-range projectile attacks. Activated by filling the Style Gauge with Dark- and Gravity-based commands. The finisher consists of Terra hiding in his shadow, appearing under his enemy perform an uppercut with a dark claw. This command activates instantly when you battle Master Eraqus. Due to his connections to Terra, the new Xehanort can also use Dark Impulse during his battles with Aqua and the Lingering Will. The name of this Command Style is shared with one of Riku's Duel Sleights in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories.

D-Link
Terra becomes a D-Link for Ventus and Aqua after they receive the Wayfinder Aqua made for the three of them. The Terra D-link focuses primarily on powerful attacking commands along with gravity and binding magic to stop the enemy's movements, allowing for easier attacks.

Shotlocks

 * Dark Volley: A second type of Shotlock exclusive to Terra. Terra fires many blasts of dark energy at all targeted enemies. Press the button rapidly to fire bursts of three additional projectiles. Press  (  in Japanese versions) rapidly to fire bursts of three additional projectiles. As he was once Terra, the new Xehanort is able to use this Shotlock to some degree during his battles with Aqua and the Lingering Will.
 * Sonic Shadow: A third type of Shotlock exclusive to Terra. Terra charges at all targeted enemies while cloaked in an aura of darkness. The attack ends with multiple pillars of darkness erupting from the ground.
 * Ultima Cannon: Terra's ultimate Shotlock. Terra's Keyblade morphs into a gigantic cannon and fires two huge blasts that explode when they make contact with enemies. As they both are connected to Terra, the new Xehanort and the Lingering Will can use this Shotlock to some degree.

Weapons
Terra's exclusive Keyblades are primarily based on the earth element, referencing the Latin meaning of his name, and the darkness element, showing his affinity with the darkness. The Earthshaker and the Darkgnaw can be seen as his weaker Keyblades, while the Ends of the Earth and the Chaos Ripper can be seen as an upgraded version of each Keyblade, respectively. His exclusive Keyblades are also focused primarily in strength, prominently shown by how the Chaos Ripper has the greatest attack bonus in the entire game. He also used to train using his Wooden Keyblade, which he passed down to Ventus later. His versions of common Keyblades are longer compared to Ventus's and Aqua's.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Terra is voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu. Tetsuya Nomura has stated in an interview that he cast Okiayu because his voice bore similar elements to both Chikao Otsuka, the voice actor for Master Xehanort, and Akio Otsuka, the voice actor for Xehanort. In the English version, he is voiced by Jason Dohring, who is notable for being the last cast member revealed for the game, although his performance was widely criticized.
 * When first revealed in promotional gameplay videos while still unnamed, Terra's physical appearance led several commentators to believe that he was actually Zack Fair from Final Fantasy VII.