A recap of...
Final Fantasy Xvi
In his teenage years, Clive serves as Joshua's bodyguard, being a Bearer and blessed with some power from the fire Eikon Phoenix. The brothers live with their parents Duke Elwin and Duchess Anabella, with Jill as their ward. The brothers accompany Elwin to a ceremony to awaken Joshua's powers when they are ambushed by Sanbreque soldiers. Elwin's death triggers Joshua's destructive awakening as the Phoenix, and an Eikon named Ifrit emerges moments later and kills the Phoenix, with Clive swearing revenge. Anabella, who despises Clive's lack of blessing and betrayed Rosaria to preserve her bloodline, has him enslaved to Sanbreque's army. Thirteen years later, Clive is sent behind enemy lines during a fight between the Dhalmekian Republic and the Iron Kingdom to assassinate the latter's Dominant, revealed to be an enslaved Jill. He deserts to free her, and the two are rescued by Cid, who agrees to help Clive search for Ifrit's Dominant. Tracking word of an unknown Dominant, they fight Benedikta, from whom Clive takes the power of her Eikon Garuda. A disturbed Benedikta is then attacked by bandits and transforms into a raging Garuda, which in turn triggers Clive to transform into Ifrit and kill her. While Clive briefly despairs at the fact that he is Ifrit and the one who killed Joshua, Cid encourages him to keep searching for the truth behind his transformation.
After Clive and Jill see the full oppression inflicted on Bearers and their sympathizers in occupied Rosaria, they join Cid in a quest to destroy the nations' Mothercrystals, which are causing the Blight by draining aether from the land. They infiltrate Sanbreque's capital, but within its Mothercrystal are faced by a being called Ultima, who mortally wounds Cid before the Mothercrystal is destroyed. Ultima attempts to possess Clive. Joshua, who survived Ifrit's attack due to the Phoenix's powers, stops and contains Ultima within himself. Hugo, who was in love with Benedikta, is manipulated by Barnabas's agents into seeking revenge against Cid for her death. Five years later, Clive, now using the title of "Cid" and carrying on Cid's mission, destroys the Iron Kingdom's Mothercrystal with Jill, who takes revenge on her enslavers. With Sanbreque having occupied the Crystalline Dominion for its Mothercrystal, Anabella schemes to replace Dion as heir to the throne with Olivier, her son by Sanbreque's emperor Sylvestre. Hugo invades Rosaria to lure out "Cid", prompting Clive to mutilate Hugo in a fight and reveal himself as Benedikta's killer. Desperate for revenge, Hugo transforms into a raging Titan. Having gained full control of Ifrit, Clive kills Hugo and destroys the Dhalmekian Mothercrystal.
Under Joshua's advice, Dion stages a coup against Anabella but in the process accidentally kills Sylvestre and is transformed into a raging Bahamut by Olivier, who is a vessel for Ultima. Clive destroys the Dominion's Mothercrystal and reunites with Joshua, helping him defeat Bahamut. Dion then kills Olivier, causing an unhinged Anabella to kill herself. Barnabas later confronts Clive and reveals Ultima's plan to shape Clive into "Mythos", a vessel for Ultima to inhabit. After Jill gives him the power of her Eikon Shiva, Clive manages to kill Barnabas and destroy Waloed's Mothercrystal. Joshua's research into Fallen ruins reveals that Ultima's people seeded Valisthea with the Mothercrystals to siphon aether for a resurrection spell after succumbing to an earlier Blight. The Fallen and their human descendants were created to breed a vessel powerful enough to cast the spell. Clive, Joshua, and Dion assault Ultima's sky fortress of Origin, where Ultima's fragments merge to complete their plan. In the ensuing fight, Ultima kills Dion and rips his fragment out of Joshua, mortally wounding him. Joshua sacrifices himself to give Clive his Eikon. After killing Ultima, Clive heals Joshua's wounds and destroys the final Mothercrystal within Origin to remove magic from Valisthea. A post-credits scene in Valisthea's future, where magic is considered a myth, shows a family living in peace and owning a book credited to Joshua recording the game's events.[c]
Post-release downloadable content expansions Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide expand on the Motes of Water, a persecuted tribe associated with the Eikon Leviathan. In Echoes of the Fallen, fragments from an artificial Mothercrystal created by the Fallen are distributed on the black market. Clive, Joshua and Jill go to the Sagespire, the source of the crystals. They discover the merchant Famiel is selling crystals taken from the Sagespire. Clive and his party fight an artificial Eikon dubbed Omega and destroy the tower's Mothercrystal. In The Rising Tide, Clive, Jill and Joshua travel to the land of Mysidia with Shula, current leader of the Motes of Water. They learn that the Dominant of Leviathan, a baby called Waljas who shares family with Shula, was forced to awaken his powers and imprisoned with magic to shelter and enrich Mysidia. The party weaken the spell, which releases the raging Leviathan. Clive pacifies it, and Shula takes in Waljas to raise in her own.
Final Fantasy XVI is set in the fictional world of Valisthea. Scattered throughout the two continents of Ash and Storm are colossal magical crystals, known as the Mothercrystals, which provide aether energy to the various populations and drive civilization with shards mined for commercial use. There are also humans that can use magic without crystals known as Bearers who are subject to prejudice and slavery, their overuse causing them to gradually petrify. A powerful force in Valisthea are the Eikons, magical creatures of incredible power that are utilized by hosts called Dominants. There are eight Eikons, one for each of the elements – Phoenix (fire), Shiva (ice), Ramuh (thunder), Leviathan (water), Titan (earth), Garuda (wind), Odin (darkness), and Bahamut (light); a seemingly impossible second Eikon of fire, Ifrit, drives the main plot by disrupting this balance.
The core nations of Valisthea are the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, and the Dhalmekian Republic on the Storm continent, the Kingdom of Waloed which dominates the Ash continent, and the neutral Crystalline Dominion sitting between Ash and Storm. An outlier is the Iron Kingdom, an isolated nation off the coast of Storm overseen by the Crystalline Orthodox. In the backstory an ancient people, humanity's ancestors the Fallen, once dominated Valisthea before a cataclysm destroyed their civilization, leaving ruins across the land. By the game's events, Valisthea is suffering from a depletion of aether dubbed the Blight which withers all life, driving the nations into conflict with each other. Because of their ability to manifest Eikons, Dominants play a key role in the nations' politics and military. Depending on where they are born, Dominants are hailed as political leaders, tolerated due to their power, or suffer abuse and are either killed or used as weapons of war.
After Clive and Jill see the full oppression inflicted on Bearers and their sympathizers in occupied Rosaria, they join Cid in a quest to destroy the nations' Mothercrystals, which are causing the Blight by draining aether from the land. They infiltrate Sanbreque's capital, but within its Mothercrystal are faced by a being called Ultima, who mortally wounds Cid before the Mothercrystal is destroyed. Ultima attempts to possess Clive. Joshua, who survived Ifrit's attack due to the Phoenix's powers, stops and contains Ultima within himself. Hugo, who was in love with Benedikta, is manipulated by Barnabas's agents into seeking revenge against Cid for her death. Five years later, Clive, now using the title of "Cid" and carrying on Cid's mission, destroys the Iron Kingdom's Mothercrystal with Jill, who takes revenge on her enslavers. With Sanbreque having occupied the Crystalline Dominion for its Mothercrystal, Anabella schemes to replace Dion as heir to the throne with Olivier, her son by Sanbreque's emperor Sylvestre. Hugo invades Rosaria to lure out "Cid", prompting Clive to mutilate Hugo in a fight and reveal himself as Benedikta's killer. Desperate for revenge, Hugo transforms into a raging Titan. Having gained full control of Ifrit, Clive kills Hugo and destroys the Dhalmekian Mothercrystal.
Under Joshua's advice, Dion stages a coup against Anabella but in the process accidentally kills Sylvestre and is transformed into a raging Bahamut by Olivier, who is a vessel for Ultima. Clive destroys the Dominion's Mothercrystal and reunites with Joshua, helping him defeat Bahamut. Dion then kills Olivier, causing an unhinged Anabella to kill herself. Barnabas later confronts Clive and reveals Ultima's plan to shape Clive into "Mythos", a vessel for Ultima to inhabit. After Jill gives him the power of her Eikon Shiva, Clive manages to kill Barnabas and destroy Waloed's Mothercrystal. Joshua's research into Fallen ruins reveals that Ultima's people seeded Valisthea with the Mothercrystals to siphon aether for a resurrection spell after succumbing to an earlier Blight. The Fallen and their human descendants were created to breed a vessel powerful enough to cast the spell. Clive, Joshua, and Dion assault Ultima's sky fortress of Origin, where Ultima's fragments merge to complete their plan. In the ensuing fight, Ultima kills Dion and rips his fragment out of Joshua, mortally wounding him. Joshua sacrifices himself to give Clive his Eikon. After killing Ultima, Clive heals Joshua's wounds and destroys the final Mothercrystal within Origin to remove magic from Valisthea. A post-credits scene in Valisthea's future, where magic is considered a myth, shows a family living in peace and owning a book credited to Joshua recording the game's events.[c]
Post-release downloadable content expansions Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide expand on the Motes of Water, a persecuted tribe associated with the Eikon Leviathan. In Echoes of the Fallen, fragments from an artificial Mothercrystal created by the Fallen are distributed on the black market. Clive, Joshua and Jill go to the Sagespire, the source of the crystals. They discover the merchant Famiel is selling crystals taken from the Sagespire. Clive and his party fight an artificial Eikon dubbed Omega and destroy the tower's Mothercrystal. In The Rising Tide, Clive, Jill and Joshua travel to the land of Mysidia with Shula, current leader of the Motes of Water. They learn that the Dominant of Leviathan, a baby called Waljas who shares family with Shula, was forced to awaken his powers and imprisoned with magic to shelter and enrich Mysidia. The party weaken the spell, which releases the raging Leviathan. Clive pacifies it, and Shula takes in Waljas to raise in her own.
Final Fantasy XVI is set in the fictional world of Valisthea. Scattered throughout the two continents of Ash and Storm are colossal magical crystals, known as the Mothercrystals, which provide aether energy to the various populations and drive civilization with shards mined for commercial use. There are also humans that can use magic without crystals known as Bearers who are subject to prejudice and slavery, their overuse causing them to gradually petrify. A powerful force in Valisthea are the Eikons, magical creatures of incredible power that are utilized by hosts called Dominants. There are eight Eikons, one for each of the elements – Phoenix (fire), Shiva (ice), Ramuh (thunder), Leviathan (water), Titan (earth), Garuda (wind), Odin (darkness), and Bahamut (light); a seemingly impossible second Eikon of fire, Ifrit, drives the main plot by disrupting this balance.
The core nations of Valisthea are the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, and the Dhalmekian Republic on the Storm continent, the Kingdom of Waloed which dominates the Ash continent, and the neutral Crystalline Dominion sitting between Ash and Storm. An outlier is the Iron Kingdom, an isolated nation off the coast of Storm overseen by the Crystalline Orthodox. In the backstory an ancient people, humanity's ancestors the Fallen, once dominated Valisthea before a cataclysm destroyed their civilization, leaving ruins across the land. By the game's events, Valisthea is suffering from a depletion of aether dubbed the Blight which withers all life, driving the nations into conflict with each other. Because of their ability to manifest Eikons, Dominants play a key role in the nations' politics and military. Depending on where they are born, Dominants are hailed as political leaders, tolerated due to their power, or suffer abuse and are either killed or used as weapons of war.
