Trivia

Personality

A brooding sort, Terry's stoic and seemingly cold seriousness makes him come off as quite the stick-in-the-mud. Initially he's quite dismissive of others distrusting of strangers, which ended up making him a bit of a loner, considering the few surviving members of his own family his only allies. His sense of responsibility sees him take a lot of stress upon himself, feeling he has to handle any burdens alone and unwilling to share the weight with others. He has become numb to the insults and outrage of others and as such tends to avoid becoming attached to anyone.

However, a lot of this negativity gradually starts to change after Mary joins his cause. He slowly begins to learn to trust in and rely on others. His sense of justice becomes less about getting revenge and more about protecting those he cares about. He continues to try to take things on alone, but this soon comes from a place of genuinely wanting to defend his companions' wellbeing than of not trusting them to handle it themselves as before. As he forms more friendships, he lightens up his attitude more and more, finding a warmth within himself he thought extinguished during his journeys alone, even managing to eventually find love.

Despite his serious nature, Terry's a surprisingly quirky guy. He's oblivious to how unusual some of his habits are, and is simply baffled by the hilarity others seem to find in him. In particular, he has a tendency to eat strange things like cake, pizza and roast chicken without cutting them up into pieces, a habit formed from not needing to share during his time in solitude. This also means he tends to fall quite easily into petty squabbles when it comes to rationing food. He also doesn't have much sense of humour and doesn't really get jokes, often reacting in a deadpan sort of way and killing the mood for others.

Following the circumstance of his arm's dismemberment and reattachment, he has quietly developed fumiphobia, feeling anxiety and distressed around thick smoke, subconsciously reminding him of the event.

He grump.

Abilities

• Y-Wings Terry's trademark technique, he projects wings of light from his back, allowing him to fly and increasing his mobility drastically.
• Y-Blasts Terry forms an aura of light around each of his fists and can fire speedy, orb-like projectiles by swinging them.

Misc.

• Terry's favourite food is fruitcake.

Background

Terry was born as the fifth child, younger to his twin sister Midori, to the Teruo family of the Golden Clan, a peaceful but strong tribe of wise warriors notable for the brand given to them at birth. The clan had a long lineage of influential figures across history, but had gradually become less well-known as they grew away from the rest of society, focused more on their own research than keeping up with modern developments. The remaining entirety of the Golden Clan lived on their own territory, the aptly-named Golden Village, which was far enough away from any other settlements that they more or less had become unintentionally isolated from the rest of the world.

Magel abilities were common in Terry's family, he and Midori training their powers under their grandfather, Sage, and their more-experienced three adult siblings, while their mother and father worked as respected hunter and scholar respectively. Terry's strength did not develop as quickly as his twin's and he became a bit of a crybaby as he fell behind, second only to his infant sister, Sanae.

Suddenly, one day, the Golden Clan came under attack from an unknown group. Terry's mother and older siblings took to the battlefield to fend off the invaders while the rest of the family took shelter with the non-combatants. Terry's father and the scholars reveals that their research has uncovered that the world is secretly controlled by a group of twelve individuals spoken of in legends, the Stellar Twelve. They correctly assume that the invaders have been sent by the Twelve to purge the entire Golden Clan and keep the truth from being revealed to the world. The elderly and children escape through secret tunnels just as the assailants, having defeated and killed Terry's mother, siblings and the other warriors, discover the shelter and begin to slaughter the remainder of the clan, including his father.

Miraculously, Sage's evacuation party managed to escape safely, the Twelve's forces mistakenly believing them to have been killed in a cave-in like the other evacuees. With only his grandfather and two sisters left alive, Terry is overwhelmed by his own powerlessness and despairs, as they go into hiding in the mountains, on the northern peaks of Mt. Serpentine. Determined to avenge their clan, Terry and Midori double down on their training under Sage for many years, hoping to become strong enough to get revenge for their family.

A decade later, Terry had grown into a strong young man with full control over his Magel abilities, his hunger for revenge driving him past the crybaby he once was. Tragically however, his sickly sister Sanae begins to weaken dramatically, and Sage determines her to be fated to die within a few years. This proves to be the spark that drives the twins to decide to begin their travels, in hopes of both fighting against the Stellar Twelve and finding a cure for Sanae's condition. Upon their departure, Terry and Midori had a dramatic falling out, and decided to travel separately. In the following years, Terry drifted from place to place on his own in hopes of progress, but to little avail.

Synopsis

Terry learns that an agent of the Stellar Twelve is working undercover as a sailor, docking at a small church town at the coast, and camps out in a nearby forest hoping to confront them. One night, he engages the agent, Sal, in battle on an isolated cove, but the two are discovered by Mary, a local girl who was acquainted with Sal, oblivious to his true nature. Distracted by her sudden appearance, Terry is caught off guard and overwhelmed by Sal's smoke powers, being suffocated, dismembered, and left for dead. Having seen her supposed friend's savagery, Mary recovers and resuscitates Terry, carrying him back to his campsite in a panic.

After regaining consciousness, he agonisingly reattaches his svered left arm using his Magel abilities, and immediately attempts to go after Sal, only being stopped by Mary's desparate attempts to tend to his health. He reluctantly explains the truth of the world to her, opening her eyes to her own naivety. The two begin to form a bond as he is nursed back to health, and he prematurely rushes to her defense when she attempts to confront Sal on her own. Though he is able to defeat Sal, the townsfolk unwittingly believe Terry himself is the attacker who has endangered them, despite Mary's drowned-out protests, and he is angrily chased out of town despite his injuries.

As Terry moves on to his next destination, he finds Mary has chosen to join him, ashamed of the way her people treated him and worried for his safety. He is completely opposed to her accompaniment, but she forcibly tails him to the point where he's too exhausted to resist. The newly-formed pair travel east and arrive in Cyanwood, hoping to pass through the nearby Blue Forest. There, they quickly encounter Kaishu, a wooden boy considered by locals to be an urban myth. Terry finds himself under attack as the puppet-like being tries to ward the pair away from the forest, and they find themselves to be an even match before Mary breaks it up.

Unable to pass through on their travels without being attacked by Kaishu, Terry begrudingly follows along with Mary's humiliating attempts to appease him and gain passage. However, after several failed attempts that only serve to humour the guard, the forest comes under attack from an agent of the Stellar Twelve's, Phineas. Terry immediately hurries to aid Kaishu in defending his home, but is too late to stop it from being razed to the ground. Seeing similarities in Kaishu's anguish to his own past, Terry comes to respect him and promises to help him get his revenge, recruiting the wooden warrior to the party.

The trio follow Phineas' trail to the madman's homebase, a labyrinth-like cemetary known as the Garden of Bones, where they meet a meddling journalist, Johnny, who is writing a piece on the place. Trapped within the maze and subject to Phineas' torment, its dark conditions making his Magel abilities too weak to keep his arm connected, Terry eventually exposes his past to Mary and Kaishu, including his clan's demise and Sanae's illness, deepening the bond between the three of them as they come to understand each other better. After fighting their way through and defeating Phineas, Terry is taken aback by Kaishu's decision to spare the fiend's life, making him reconsider his own vengeful motives. Grateful for his newfound friends' help, Kaishu reveals that his Sun-Sap may prove to be the cure Terry has been seeking, and the three head north to Mt. Serpentine to reunite Terry with his family.

Upon reuniting with Sanae and Sage, Terry is surprised to say they had taken in another survivor of the Golden Clan, an orphaned thug named Thaddeus, in his absence. With Sanae's time growing short, Kaishu determines a special herb is needed to complete her antidote, which Sage notes can be found at the peak of Mt. Serpentine. Terry and Thaddeus both race out amidst a dangerous blizzard to try and retrieve it, but are unable to pass the mountain's eponymous guardian serpent. As the pair fail to defeat the beast multiple times, Sanae reaches the brink of death and, believing her time has come, encourages Terry not to lose himself to despair, and to find peace within himself if he hopes to find it for the rest of the world.

Resolved from his sister's words, Terry returns to battle the serpent once again, with Mary, Kaishu and Thaddeus by his side. The quartet finish the beast with a combination attack that shakes the mountain itself in a pillar of blinding light. Successfully acquiring the herb, Terry and his friends return to Sage, who compares their brilliant teamwork to a shining beacon of hope that will cast away the world's darkness. Sanae hangs on just long enough for the cure to be completed, and she begins to recover. The weight of this burden off his shoulders, Terry finally lets out the frustrations of his years of effort and weeps joyfully.

With his sister cured and weight off his shoulders, Terry decides he wants to end the Stellar Twelve's reign not for revenge, but to follow Sage's words and cast away the world's darkness. With Thaddeus joining them, the group dubs themselves the Beacons and vow to each other that they will finish their quest for the world's sake. Sage reveals secret information that Midori had gotten back to him about her findings, leading Terry and his team to the city of Whyte, ruled by the renowned noblewoman Madame Celes. Midori's crpytic words lead the Beacons to believe Whyte is hiding a secret hub for Stellar Twelve activity in its underbelly. With nothing shady immediately apparent, Terry reluctantly has the group base themselves to remain in the city until they can uncover a clue.

Whilst in Whyte, Terry encounters a local girl named Ruby, the two befriending one another over their love of reading. Terry is careful not to reveal his motivations for being in the city, and avoids his companions while spending time with Ruby. As the weeks go by, Terry is shocked to find himself developing feelings for her, which to his surprise she begins to reciprocate after he saves her from a fall, revealing his Magel abilities in the process. Although the Beacons' investigation of Whyte seems to turn up dry, Terry's feelings for Ruby make him hesistant and, without explaining himself, he continues to postpone their departure, despite his own faith in Midori's words fading as well.

However, in the middle of one night, an assassin appears attempting to kill Terry. Terry fights back, making a wreck of the group's lodging in the process, and discovering his opponent is also a Magel user. The other three Beacons appear to back up their leader, barely managing to overpower the assailant, who escapes. The group is able to follow his trail to Madame Celes' manor in the middle of town. Unaware that they are being watched by Johnny, they break into the manor only to be met by Celes herself. Terry posits that Celes is the head of the Stellar Twelve's operations in Whyte, using her nobility to influence business and evade detection. Celes simply scoffs, and proudly reveals her true identity as Virgo, one of the Twelve herself.

Caught off guard by the severe danger of this revelation, the Beacons are locked inside the manor, which Virgo, a Magel herself, explains to be a secret training facility for the Twelve's Magel asssassins. Confident that their fate is sealed, Virgo bids the Beacons farewell and departs to her chamber, unleashing the full force of her personal Magel guard against them. The gang is separated within the manor and fight for their lives, Terry having a rematch against his would-be assassin, Lupus. Surpassing the odds, the Beacons are just about able to overcome their legions of opponents and Terry alone catches up to Virgo.

However, as Celes, Virgo steps out onto her balcony and loudly announces to the city that lawless bandits have come to take her life. Below, Johnny, who had seen the Beacons break in, reveals the identity of these bandits to the press, and their status as public enemies, the Beacon Bandits, soon spreads like wildfire. Terry, panicked, rushes to announce the truth before things get out of hand, but Virgo, having retreated from the public, shuts him down with her overwhelmingly power, dismembering his arm once again. Using her incomparably superior Magel skills, she tortures and toys with Terry for daring to oppose the Twelve, until the remainder of the Beacons arrive.

Believing them to be not even worth her time, Virgo simply leaves, entrusting their demise to her top student, who the defeated Terry recognises as his beloved Ruby. Distraught and heartbroken, he despairs, as Thaddeus and Kaishu are overcome by Ruby's Magel skills. However, when Mary steps up to fight, she is able to surmise the situation and correctly notes Ruby's own reluctance in this scenario. Terry helplessly watches in awe as Mary is able to talk Ruby down and successfully convinces her to rebel against her master. As she apologises through tears, Ruby declares her love for Terry, which he joyfully returns just as he passes out from his wounds.

wip