Final Fantasy Altera V

**Final Fantasy Altera V** is a Story Arc of the the Exteria Multiverse. It takes place in Ultyma, in the subplane of Hautenay, and follows the perspective of young thief Moriko.

## Main Arc

### A Thief's Fortune

In search of fortune, Moriko, a young thief with cat ears, in a human society in war with beastman, attempts to infiltrate the capital Hautenay in order to steal its riches. On her way, she briefly encounters ambitious mercenary Leon Mythgrave; moving on, she finds princess Sarrah Hautenay attempting to escape the city and actually kidnaps her, much to Sarrah's enjoyment - as she deems that kidnapping to be an interesting adventure.

Despite being 'kidnapped', Sarrah actually leads Moriko on to create a guild in Hautenay, recruiting Leon as a third member; however, due to tensions between Sarrah and Moriko - who would rather work alone - Sarrah temporarily leaves the guild, and is kidnapped by her older cousin, Lufenius Hautenay. Moriko puts her anger aside and rushes to her help, as Lufenius brings Sarrah to perform a ritual towards a strange crystal.

Moriko's presence however makes the crystal react, and she purifies it by her simple presence. Lufenius, releasing Sarrah, explains that she as a Crystal Maiden was meant to regularly control it, but that Moriko's miracle has made it quite obsolete. Between subtle threats and promises of riches, Lufenius encourages Moriko, Sarrah and Leon to embark with him in order to reach and activate other Crystals in the same way.

### Searching for Crystals

In an airship piloted by Viera servant Koray, the group is sent to an abandonned jungle ruined by Myst, a powerful substance that emanates from forsaken Crystals. Moriko manages to fix it as well, although she starts having visions of another cat-eared woman, Kuchiko, who claims to be her sister. The group then leaves before being intercepted by an army of Tsuno beastmen, led by shaman Morowa Da'Ora.

Morowa, fascinated by Moriko, asks of the group, in exchange for sparing their lives, to accompany her to a third Crystal, to which they comply. On the road, Moriko learns about Leon's intentions - as a mercenary, to approach the crown and seize it to fulfill a self-given prophecy - and the origin of the crystals: a god named Cid Deuteronos, progenitor to the Hautenay royal family, whom Morowa calls a traitor-deity.

Moriko activates another crystal, and investigates its properties, discovering crystals are tied to two entities, Deumion and Phrekyos. Deumion's existence guides Moriko's group - alongside Koray, whom they recruit after she returns for them in her Airship - towards an abandoned lighthouse, at the top of which a powerful sword - Deumion itself - sits, being claimed by Leon.

### The Ultimate Weapons

At the same time, Moriko learns that Phrekyos, also a sentient blade, is wielded by Morowa's father Crimson Da'Ora and that he also attempts to visit crystals in order to power up Phrekyos. The group rushes to stop him, only to see him activate another Crystal; from its color and properties, they understand that there are not four crystals, as the legend says, but eight, four for Deumion and four for Phrekyos.

In order to activate Deumion's crystals first, Moriko and her companions travels south, in a strange city that constantly rains Myst, and discover that it once belonged to Tsu-no-Mikoto, powerful living gods and ancestors to the Tsuno. Among them, the creators of Deumion, a weapon meant to enslave inferior races, and Cid, who created Phrekyos as a way to prevent their endeavors and destroy the Tsu-no-Mikoto.

After activating the crystal, however, Moriko is beckoned by Kuchiko's voice to follow her. As she starts doubting her group, and herself, she is drawn towards the last Crystals by Kuchiko and activates them, allowing Kuchiko to reveal herself. At that point, she announces that Moriko is in fact Deumion's Soul, and that she is Phrekyos's own. However, instead of fighting Deumion, Kuchiko asks of Moriko to destroy the world with her.

### A Last Miracle

Moriko refuses and flees, panicked, meeting up with Sarrah and the others, who comfort her and swear to help her stop Kuchiko from merging with her sword-form and wipe out mankind. Lost in deep mountains, they encounter a hermit who gives them precious advice. The hermit, later revealed to be a penitent Cid, guides them towards Hope Virtue, who tests Moriko's worth as a vessel of hope by showing her visions of a world without her.

Understanding her importance, Moriko ultimately encounters Kuchiko, supported by her friends, bond with Sarrah, and the power of Hope, using it to clash against Kuchiko and Crimson's immense power, ultimately defeating her. Moriko renounces her blessing in exchange for saving Kuchiko's life and swears to redeem her and show her a life where she can be accepted as an individuali instead of a weapon.

## Characters

* Moriko
* Sarrah Hautenay
* Leon Mythgrave
* Lufenius Hautenay
* Koray
* Morowa Da'Ora
* Kuchiko
* Other Final Fantasy Characters

## Trivia

* This storyline bears strong inspiration from Final Fantasy XII's Esper system.