The Last Story (Nintendo Cinematic Universe)

The Last Story is a Japanese graphic novel.

Summary
After receiving the mystical "Mark of the Outsider", aspiring-knight Zael becomes involved with a noblewoman named Calista in an ongoing war between humans and the beast-like Gorak.

Plot Elements

 * The story is set on Lazulis Island, a vast seaborne fortress ruled by Count Arganan and allied to an unnamed human empire in the midst of crisis as the land decays and dies.
 * Dagran, a mercenary, travels to Lazulis in search of employment with the mercenary band he leads: Zael, Syrenne, Yurick, Lowell and Mirania.
 * During the journey, Zael, who dreams of becoming a knight, encounters a mysterious force and is branded on the hand, granting him magical power.
 * While on an errand in town, Zael runs into a woman named Lisa and helps her escape from city guards.
 * Employed as guards to Count Arganan for the wedding of his niece, Lady Calista, to Lord Jirall, Zael encounters Calista and recognizes her as "Lisa".
 * The group also meet General Asthar and his protegee Therius when Syrenne picks a fight with Therius.
 * After Calista explains to Zael in private that hers is an arranged marriage, Lazulis is attacked by the Gurak, a race once banished from Lazulis by humans and now united under their ruler Zangurak.
 * To avoid being killed by the ensuing cannon fire, Zael, Dagran, and Calista stow away on a Gurak ship and eventually take it over. The group are returned to Lazulis by the island's knights.
 * On Lazulis, the mercenaries are accused of aiding the Gurak by Jirall, who is trying to cover up his cowardly behavior during the Gurak attack by having anyone who witnessed it imprisoned.
 * Dagran persuades Arganan to release them after showing him Zael's mark, which is revealed to be a mystical "Mark of the Outsider" destined to save Lazulis from disaster.
 * Arganan attempts to get Zael onto his side, offering him knighthood and Calista's hand in marriage.
 * Zael swears allegiance to Arganan, who orders Zael to direct Lazulis towards the Gurak lands. During this time, Asthar accepts Zael as a new pupil and gives him a medal following a successful sparring. Shortly after this, Gurak assassins attack.
 * Asthar is killed, telling Zael the medal is a key before dying.
 * Zael is accused of Asthar's murder by Jirall and imprisoned. Calista frees him.
 * Dagran suggests Jirall is likely the real killer, and prompts Zael to search Jirall's room, where he finds the murder weapon and a letter revealing dealings with the Gurak.
 * Jirall is imprisoned, freeing Calista to be betrothed to Zael.
 * When Zael's suspicions are later aroused, Dagran admits to him that he framed Jirall in order to ensure Zael's liberty.
 * Lazulis arrives in Gurak lands and takes their keep with minimal resistance.
 * Zael learns there that the Gurak are suffering the same degradation of the land as humans are, which motivated their invasion.
 * Zael's brand reacts with Calista's blood and Asthar's medal to reveal a secret location on Lazulis. Joined by Therius, they enter and meet a Sorceress, who reveals that the "Outsider" is an extraterrestrial being that absorbs energy.
 * At the bidding of her lover, Arganan's ancestor, she summoned the Outsider to the planet in an attempt to end conflict. After realizing that it was destroying the land in order to collect its energy, they split it into two halves in order to slow the land's death. If the two halves, now respectively controlled by humans and the Gurak, are reunited and released, the land's decay will halt and the motive for the war will no longer exist.
 * Realizing Arganan must have known of this, Zael refuses his knighthood and sets out with Calista to destroy Lazulis' cannon, which is powered by Lazulis' half of the Outsider. However, when the Gurak attack Lazulis they decide to instead help Arganan use the cannon to drive off the attack. The cannon's fire proves insufficient, and Arganan is mysteriously killed by its power.
 * The Gurak overrun Lazulis. Calista and the mercenaries head out to retrieve Zangurak's half of the Outsider, only to find its power has already been taken. Once they remove it, the Gurak fortress starts to crumble, knocking Zael and Calista into the ocean. They are rescued by Gurak ships. On board is Jirall, who has been given a cursed sword by Zangurak for him to kill Zael. Realizing the sword is affecting Jirall's mind, Zael tries to save Jirall by disarming him, but the cursed sword moves unaided and kills Jirall.
 * Meanwhile, the Gurak take Calista to Zangurak.
 * The mercenaries pursue Zangurak to Lazulis Island.
 * Lowell is fatally injured by a Gurak warrior.
 * Zael finds Calista with Zangurak, who has used her Arganan blood and the Gurak half of the Outsider to anoint his right arm.
 * After the group defeats Zangurak, he rips off his right arm and sends it to use the full power of the Outsider to revive him. However, Dagran kills Zangurak's arm so he can use the Arganan blood and Outsider half on it for himself. He reveals that he murdered Asthar because he learned that Asthar had commanded the Lazulis knights who killed his family. He has been collaborating with Zangurak with the ultimate goal of using the Outsider to remake the world so the mercenaries have a better life.
 * Finding he is still not powerful enough to defeat the group, Dagran tries to absorb the Lazulis half of the Outsider into the center of his body, giving Zael an opening to kill him.
 * Dagran reconciles with the group before dying, then his spirit uses the Outsider's energy to resurrect Lowell.
 * Zael and Calista reunite the two halves of the Outsider, which leaves the planet after explaining that its true purpose is to collect scattered energy in outer space and use it to create life on new worlds.
 * Humans and Gurak begin coexisting, sharing their technology and using Lazulis as a neutral land where the two races freely interact.
 * Therius decides to train new knights in the empire while leaving Lazulis in Zael's care, Zael and Calista are married in her ancient family home, the mercenaries hold a funeral for Dagran, and Zael is finally made a knight by Calista.