Sterne Leonis

Sterne Leonis is one of the main characters and a summonable unit in War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. He is one of the two princes of Leonis and the younger twin brother of Mont Leonis.
Although willing to prove himself in battle and with the skill to do so, his father always holds Sterne back while bringing Mont with him. Despite loving his older brother, this preferential treatment strains Sterne's relationship with his family. Witnessing Oelde's questionable methods and familial detachment, Sterne grows to hate his father, driving him on a dark path, becoming one of the two main antagonists (alongside Muraga) of season one.
Ultimately he would live up to his moniker of Fated Prince, as his actions put him in conflict with his family, culminating in a decisive battle to determine the course of Leonis.
==Profile==
===Appearance===
Sterne is a fair-skinned young man with short black hair, contrasting with Mont and his parents' blond hair. He wears his signature Lion Armor, a crimson protective gear with the Leonis symbol on the chest. He wears bulbous red clothing underneath, armored gloves and darker pants and small armored boots. He dons a long black cape colored red underneath, and with darkened fur over his back and shoulders. He wields a long blade with a distinct cross-shaped hilt.
In his Knight of Ruin persona, Sterne wears a golden suit of armor that nearly covers his entire body. The armor and his sword are wrapped in chains, and he dons multiple black capes, and covers his eyes with a golden mask.
===Personality===
In contrast to Mont, Sterne is committed to enter the frontlines and prove his mettle. Recognized by many for his skill, he is confident in his abilities, which overshadow Mont's, although he respects his older brother and believes in him and his potential. Sterne feels inferior when his father never allows him to set foot in battle to preserve the Leonis royal bloodline. Thus Sterne has a strained relationship with him, at times resulting in disobedience as Kitone is tasked with keeping him in check.
Sterne's ties with his father hit rock bottom when he realizes how willing King Oelde is to sacrifice Helena, and even him, to preserve the royal bloodline. Feeling abandoned, Sterne grows to hate Oelde and vows to kill him. His disgust runs deep enough that he allies with his homeland's enemy, Muraga Fennes, and accepts an enchanted armor gifted by Sadali Crysthea. This armor's property is to amplify the wearer's armor, transforming it into strength, but also makes it hard for the wearer to remain in control of their actions while feeling strong hatred. Wearing this armor, Sterne became more ruthless, and now tries to kill anybody he deems an obstacle, including the slaughter of civilians just for sheltering Oelde. Nevertheless, he is still capable of holding back against familiar faces he holds no grudge against and spares some of his former comrades when captured because they were neither a threat nor was he interested in them. While still respecting and holding affection for Mont, he is more than ready to kill him too if needed to terminate Oelde.
Following his final clash with Oelde, Sterne realizes that his father never acted out of spite, but out of necessity, and that everything was fated to occur. Now too far along the path he chose, Sterne believes there is no coming back, and is committed to settle things once and for all with his older brother. Sterne reveals he enjoyed fighting alongside Mont, something he desired before their separation, but ultimately concludes there is no other way for him than follow his fate and fight against his brother.
==Story==
===Early life===
Sterne is the younger twin prince to Oelde and Helena. The birth of the two princes elated the Leonis king, as he long sought to continue and protect the royal bloodline. As they grew up, Sterne's talent for combat became apparent, while his older brother was less successful. The two nonetheless enjoyed an amicable relationship, and Sterne—along many others—realized Mont's hidden potential. Sterne was trained by Owe, a wandering samurai who saw himself in the younger prince, while leaving Mont aside, believing the older twin could achieve better results by awakening his dormant talents by himself. Sterne was skilled enough to be granted leadership of his own division, Fortem.
While Sterne's fighting prowess was said to even best Oelde's, and his achievements were numerous, the Leonis King was reluctant to send him to the battlefield, committed to preserving at least one of his sons, often taking Mont along while leaving Sterne distraught. Kitone, a shinobi under their care, was left to monitor Sterne, which began to sow distrust and sour their relationship.
===Event story===
===The Admirable Prince===
Sterne was famous in Ardra for his skill with the blade and his good looks. The Paladin Nasha, who had rejected the marriage arranged by her parents, left her village to enlist in Fortem and win the prince's heart. The inexperienced Monk, Etre, also sought Sterne and met Yerma, a wandering viking, looking for a man of greater strength than hers. Listening to Etre's story, Yerma became interested in Sterne and the two tried to enlist in Fortem. They were met by Lilyth, commander of the Caelum unit who tasked them to go to a den of skeletons and deal with the monsters. The two women met with Nasha who was also given the same task, but her poor sense of direction kept her going in circles. Though the three dealt with the threat, they believed their achievement to be insufficient, and sought a bigger trophy to display. They set their sights on the border with Fennes, hoping to prove themselves against the kingdom's foe. The trio defeats a group of Fennes soldiers and meets with Mont who becomes convinced them to be competent enough. Upon returning to the Leonis Castle, Mont reports their achievement to Lilyth, and later to Sterne. Believing Mont's endorsement, he allows the trio to enlist.
The trio attempt cook desserts for Sterne, although the results of this endeavor are not known.
==Gameplay==
===Sterne Leonis===
Sterne Leonis is a UR-rarity unit of the Dark element whose main job is Soldier, while his sub jobs are Dragoon and Ninja. He can equip the following items: Greatsword, Helm, Armor, Accessory. His unit cost is 80.
His Master Ability increases his Critical Damage by 25. His limit burst is Fatal Fang, which deals Dmg (L) to target & raises Dmg according to amount of own HP lost.
Sterne is a powerful unit who shines in offensive. He is develops great ATK power and Agi/Luck through his Soldier and Ninja passive abilities and can buff his ATK with certain skills and increase his accuracy and critical hit rate, further maximizing his offensive potential. Sterne is typically used with his Ninja subset because of its array of ranged abilities and other more useful buffs when compared to either his Soldier/Dragoon sets. Sterne can be a competent tank destroyer, as his Drain Force ability lacks element and type, bypassing resistances. Sterne is hampered by his lack of bulk, and although a powerful fighter with decent agility and attack power, he is not made to last when compared to other units. Being a Dark Elemental unit, he competes with more popular Dark units for Awakening Resources.
His EX Job grants him larger boosts to his ATK, Luck and Dex, thus further increasing his damage potential and critical hit chance. Hazard Form's upgrade now provides Defense Penetration and Hazard Break has larger damage modifiers. Coupled with Calamity Hazard, which decreases Slash resistance, gives Sterne a hard focus on greater damage, although his vulnerabilities remain.
His Trust Master Reward is the Lion Armor armor, which bestows HP +434, DEF +8, EVA +6 and the Wall of Field ability, which raises own Area Attack Res for 3 turns.
=== Sterne (Knight of Ruin)===
Sterne (Knight of Ruin) is a UR-rarity unit of the Dark element whose main job is Knight of Ruin, while his sub jobs are Samurai and Assassin. He can equip the following items: Greatsword, Helm, Armor, Accessory. His unit cost is 100.
His Master Ability increases his own DEF Piercing Rate by 20 and Slash Attack by 10. His limit burst is Destructive Fang, which deals Dmg (L) to target & absorbs Dmg dealt.
Sterne's Knight of Ruin variant is a powerful offensive unit with a focus on increasing his ATK through passives and buffs, and is adept at decreasing or ignoring DEF for bigger damage. He specializes in increased damage output towards Light elemental foes with Catastrophe. His Desperation passive bestows him a massive ATK bonus at the cost of lowering his resistance to all attack types. Mighty Break provides him an AP cheap ability to easily deal damage due to its massive 5-tile range with ATK debuff added as well. His strongest ability, Hazard Crusher, is devastatingly powerful with large area of effect, which debuffs the DEF of anybody affected before inflicting damage, useful for destroying groups of enemies. Double Attack makes him useful against foes with massive HP, as it allows him to build chains or deal higher damage than otherwise permitted under damage cap.
His Samurai sub job provides alternate attack methods and evasion boosts through buffs, passive and reaction abilities. His Assassin sub job helps him inflict poison or paralysis onto foes, while also granting him DEF reduction when attacking from the back, and additional evasion bonuses.
When compared to his normal version, the Knight of Ruin variant is overall much bulkier but has less ATK, although he compensates with his DEF-ignoring ability. Normal Sterne is faster, although Knight of Ruin can be more evasive and builds AP much easier. Due to being a 100 cost unit, he has half the chances of a regular UR unit from being summoned, and his shards used to be twice as expensive to purchase until an update that unified shard costs for all UR-rarity units. Although Knight of Ruin Sterne doesn't completely invalidate his original, it fixes many weaknesses and is more versatile for both general and PvP content use, although both have their niches. 
His Trust Master Reward is the Mask accessory, which bestows HP +444, DEF +10, CRT +12 and the Never-Ending Enmity ability, which raises own Unit Attack Res for 3 turns.
===Vision cards===
;Birth of New Life
 
Birth of New Life is an MR-rarity vision card with a cost of 50. At Lv. 70, its stats are HP +461, ATK +32 and MAG +29. Its Party Abilities are Luck Up 21% and Fire Unit Unit Attack Res Up 15. Its Bestowed Effect is Max HP Up 8%. It was illustrated by SQUARE ENIX.
;Admirers' Rivalry
 
Admirers' Rivalry is an MR-rarity vision card with a cost of 50. At Lv. 70, its stats are HP +268, ATK +92 and MAG +68. Its Party Abilities are DEF Debuff Res Up 30 and Earth Unit All Debuff Res Up 15. Its Bestowed Effects are Earth Eater Up 20 and DEX Down 10%. It was illustrated by SQUARE ENIX.
;A Year's Journey
 
A Year's Journey is an MR-rarity vision card with a cost of 50. At Lv. 70, its stats are HP +205, TP +10, ATK +36 and MAG +81. Its Party Abilities are MAG Up 30% and Earth Unit Plantoid Killer Up 20. Its Bestowed Effect is Acquired JP Up 50%. It was illustrated by Ryoji Ohara.
;Becoming Stronger Than Anyone Else
 
Becoming Stronger Than Anyone Else is a UR-rarity vision card with a cost of 70. At Lv. 99, its stats are HP +292, ATK +190 and MAG +18. Its Party Abilities are Reduces Non-Attack Ability Activation Time 100, Reduces Attack Ability Activation Time 100 and Dark Unit Unit Attack Res Up 20. Its Bestowed Effect is Critical Dmg Up 10. It was illustrated by SQUARE ENIX.
==Merchandise==
Square Enix Cafe sells a meal inspired by Mont and Sterne, which is comprised of a beef and pumpkin stew served with bread.
They are also selling a drink inspired by Sterne as a Knight of Ruin.
File:Mont & Sterne from WotV merchandise 1.png|Mont & Sterne dish served at Square Enix Cafe.
File:Sterne from WotV merchandise 1.png|Sterne Knight of Ruin drink served at Square Enix Cafe.
==Gallery==
;Artwork
File:War of Visions FFBE key art.png|Concept artwork featuring Mont, Machérie and Sterne.
File:Promotional from WotV artwork 1.png|Artwork featuring Sterne.
File:Anniversary from WotV artwork (8).png|Second Anniversary artwork featuring "Whisper".
;Portraits
File:Sterne Leonis from WotV portrait (1).png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis from WotV portrait (3).png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis from WotV portrait (4).png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis from WotV portrait (5).png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis Knight of Ruin from WotV portrait (1).png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis Knight of Ruin from WotV portrait (3).png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis Knight of Ruin from WotV portrait (4).png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis Knight of Ruin from WotV portrait (5).png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis S3 from WotV portrait 1.png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis S3 from WotV portrait 3.png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis S3 from WotV portrait 4.png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis S3 from WotV portrait 5.png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis Child from WotV portrait 1.png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis Child from WotV portrait 3.png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis Child from WotV portrait 4.png|Portrait.
File:Sterne Leonis Child from WotV portrait 5.png|Portrait.
;Renders
File:Sterne from WotV render.png|Render.
File:Sterne Ruin Knight from WotV render.png|Render.
File:Sterne from WotV render 2.png|Render.
File:Sterne Ruin Knight from WotV render 2.png|Render.
File:Sterne from WotV render 3.png|Render.
File:Sterne Ruin Knight from WotV render 3.png|Render.
Category:Characters in War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
Category:Soldiers
Category:Antagonists