"Mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing."

—Aeirth misunderstanding the White Materia

The White Materia is a powerful Materia in Final Fantasy VII and is counterpart to the Black Materia. Both are unique, there being only one of each. The White Materia is used to speak directly with the Planet and once the Planet receives the message, the Materia glows green. In the game, it is used only once to summon the "Ultimate White Magic," Holy, which summons the full power of the Planet to protect the continuation and harmony of life.

StoryEdit

Long ago, the Cetra were given two gifts from the Planet: the Black Materia, which had the power to destroy, and the White Materia, which had the power to protect. Being peaceful people, the Cetra embraced the power of the White Materia and rejected the Black, sealing it away by transforming it into a complex, booby-trapped, maze-like temple.

When the extra-terrestrial organism, Jenova, fell from the sky to the surface of the Planet, the Cetran civilization was nearly wiped out before Jenova was sealed. As they had kept the knowledge of both Black and White Materia from their close cousins, the humans, the knowledge of Holy slowly died along with the Cetra as their numbers dwindled. Eventually, the Cetra's numbers fell so few that only one of the Cetra remained - Ifalna, who lived in quiet solitude in Icicle Inn to the far north, keeping the secret of the White Materia until her inevitable death. That death came sooner than she had expected, and she was forced to give the Materia to her daughter, Aeris Gainsborough, while the girl was still a child ignorant of its true power.

When Aeris becomes involved with Cloud Strife and AVALANCHE in their fight to save the Planet, she learns of the White Materia's abilities and realizes that if Sephiroth plans to summon Meteor, the only way to stop him is to summon Holy. As a result, she leaves Cloud and his allies - knowing that Cloud is under the control of Sephiroth and couldn't be trusted, much as she wanted to believe in him - and heads north to the Forgotten City, where she begins to meditate in order to call upon Holy.

Just as Aeris succeeds in contacting the Planet, Jenova - in the form of Sephiroth - impales her through the torso with the Masamune, killing her. The White Materia, which Aeris had hidden within her hair, falls into the lake beneath the village.

Although everyone believes that reaching the Planet is now impossible with the last Cetra dead, this turns out to be false. Aeris's prayer had reached the Planet, but Sephiroth is preventing the spell from answering the call. To release Holy, Sephiroth must be defeated. By the time this occurs Meteor has already entered the Planet's atmosphere, and it is too late for Holy alone to force the object back without also harming the Planet.

Aeris comes to the rescue from beyond the grave, summoning up the Lifestream to supplement Holy's power. Although the clash between the two forces creates a magical storm that destroys Midgar, Meteor is repelled, and the Planet is saved. It is unknown what happened to the White Materia afterward. It can be assumed that the White Materia still lies in the bottom of the lake in the Forgotten City.

Other appearancesEdit

Final Fantasy TacticsEdit

In Final Fantasy Tactics, there is an Artefact that can be obtained from an errand called White Materia. Its description is the following:

These stones, developed by the ancient Saronians, are the result of experiments in storing knowledge within gems for later generations. They are said to enhance the abilities of the possessor.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-Edit

The White Materia appears briefly in a task where the Player Turk must find the Materia in the Sector 5 slums, as Aerith has dropped it while running from pursuing AVALANCHE troops who seek her supposed knowledge of the "Promised Land."

Dissidia Final FantasyEdit

A Materia piece resembling the White Materia appears at the end of Cloud's story and in the ending credits as the representative Crystal of Final Fantasy VII. Cloud acquires it from Sephiroth after defeating him in the Planet's Core. Along with the other nine Crystals, it opens the path to Chaos's domain in the game's final stage.