Minwu

Minwu, known officially in Japan as Ming-Wu, is one of the temporarily playable characters from Final Fantasy II, as well as the protagonist of Soul of Rebirth. A White Mage from Mysidia, he works as Fynn's royal White Wizard, and after the takeover of Fynn by the Palamecian Empire, he becomes Princess Hilda's right-hand man, who will do anything to help the Wild Rose Rebellion.

Minwu is alluded to in several other installments, always as a great mage of lore.

Story
Minwu has long served the royal family of Fynn as their personal mage and healer. Fleeing Fynn with Princess Hilda and the King during the Empire's attack, he helps set up the rebel base in Altair. When Hilda found Firion and his friends badly beaten in the woods near Fynn, it was Minwu who healed their wounds, sensing "a strong life force" within Firion.

After Hilda accepts Firion, Maria and Guy into the resistance, Minwu accompanies them to Salamand, and further to the Semitt Falls to find mythril for their cause. They fight their way through the falls, and manage to rescue enslaved peasants from Salamand from the Empire and obtain the Mythril. After returning to the Rebellion, Minwu joins the party into infiltrating the Empire's operations at Bafsk and sabotaging the Dreadnought. However, once they reach the behemoth airship, its construction has been already been concluded.

Once the party returns to Altair, they discover the King of Fynn's injuries have worsened, and Minwu stays in Altair to attend to the King. After the party destroys the Dreadnought and rescues Hilda alongside Gordon, the King of Fynn dies of his wounds, and with his final breath, he tells Minwu to travel to Mysidia to find the Ultima Tome. Minwu agrees to his king's last request and sets out straight away.

The party eventually follows Minwu's quest after the liberation of Fynn, and hear he's departed for the Mysidian Tower in Mysidia. There, he finds a seal blocking the way to the Ultima Tome, and waits for the party to arrive. He offers to break the seal, using all of his power, at the cost of his own life. Telling the rest of the party not to mourn, he perishes in the Chamber of the Seal.

However, this was not the end of his journey. Not much later, Minwu awakes in a strange cave similar to the Jade Passage, and encounters the Prince of Kashuan, Scott, and together they descend the cave, eventually finding Josef of Salamand and later the Dragoon Ricard Highwind. Due to these encounters he realizes, that he is now dead. He also learns of recent events through Ricard Highwind, such as the death and revival of the Emperor. Together, the four fight their way through the path to hell and eventually reach a settlement. Here they meet Cid, who together with Wild Rose soldiers, established and defend Machanon. There Minwu finds a portal to an area resembling the Chamber of the Seal at the Mysidian Tower, the place where he died. Inside they encounter the Ultima Weapon, who once defeated grants Minwu an Ultima Tome. Back in Machanon, they find another portal, leading to a strange palace, which Minwu deducts to be Pandaemonium, the palace of hell. However At the top of the structure, they find the Emperor's light side, who tells them that they have been chosen into Heaven, not unlike him, whose soul has been merged into Good and Evil, and sent to Heaven and Hell. Minwu also learns that unlike what he thought, he has been traveling through the passage to Heaven, Raqia and the palace of Heaven, Arubboth. The Emperor then offers the party a heavenly afterlife, but suddenly a vision of Firion, Maria, Guy and Leon fighting the Hell Emperor awakes Minwu. The party then engages the Light Emperor in battle, so as to banish the Emperor's. Upon his defeat, Minwu can finally rest in peace knowing that the future of the world is in good hands.

Stats and Traits
Minwu joins the party knowing several White Magic spells in high levels, so the player should train him with a Staff to raise up his magic. He will likely be the best host for the Ultima spell due to his high-leveled spells. His ultimate weapons, the Stardust Rod and the Staff of Light, grant huge Spirit, Intelligence, and Magic bonuses.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Minwu makes a cameo in Dissidia Final Fantasy as a tutor from the in-game manuals, explaining the battle set-up to the player with Gordon. Minwu is also the name of a Ghost Card. The Minwu ghost is a Level 100 Firion, and has the Yellow Gem and Wild Rose to win by Battlegen.

External References

 * In Final Fantasy IV, the Sage Minwu is mentioned as the person who founded the town of Mysidia. The Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryou Hen mentions Minwu eventually ascended to the form of a god, and sealed the use of magic following the misactions of a black mage named Eikob. After Minwu saved Mysidia from a cataclysmic flood, he lifted the seal.
 * The key item Gizamaluke's Bell in Final Fantasy IX has a quote from a White Wizard named Minwu.
 * One of the artefacts obtained from an Errand in Final Fantasy Tactics is the Orb of Minwu, which appears to be based on a . The description of the Orb of Minwu is as follows:
 * "The soul of Minwu, the First Mage, is said to be sealed within this stone. As such, it is sometimes called the Soul of Minwu. An orb only in name, it is in actuality comma-shaped."


 * Similarly, an item in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift is called Orb of Minwu. It is a usable item, and makes the user immune to almost every debuff in the game. It is the closest thing the player can get to a Ribbon for some races who lack the means to equip one.
 * Minwu's shield, seen in his artwork, is used by Firion in Dissidia.
 * Ming-Wu is the founder of Mysidia in Chocobo Racing, and is responsible for the division of the great Crystal.
 * The non-Square Enix game  contains a reference to Minwu in the form of "Newmin" who sacrifices himself to allow the player to receive the Ultima Book, which is otherwise useless.

Trivia

 * The male costumes of the Mystic Knight Job class in Final Fantasy V resemble Minwu's attire.
 * Minwu is the first playable mage in the series with an actual name and a storyline.
 * Minwu is also, to date, the only male White Mage, as Rosa Farrell, Porom, Garnet, Eiko Carol, and Yuna are all female.

Etymology
The name "Minwu" bears a resemblance to the name Menw, a name which belonged to King Arthur's court magician and counselor who often traveled with and accompanied him on his quests.

"Ming" is a Chinese name which is directly translated as 'enlightenment', while "Min" means 'clever, sharp'. "Wu" is a common Chinese surname meaning 'shaman'. Both of these pertain to Minwu.