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Keyblade War

From Kingdom Hearts Database

The Keyblade War is an ancient battle between light and darkness.

The term generally refers to two different but related events. Broadly, it refers to a conflict between the larger forces of light and darkness, beginning at an unknown time long in the past, in the age of fairy tales, and continuing for an unknown span of time. More specifically, it also refers to the battle between many Keyblade wielders for the light, which resulted in the loss of the true Kingdom Hearts to darkness and the destruction of its counterpart, the χ-blade.

The history and aftermath of the Keyblade War piqued Xehanort's interest, driving him in his plans to re-ignite the war in order to summon Kingdom Hearts and reshape the world.

Story[edit | edit source]

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road[edit | edit source]

In an unknown city, two boys are playing a board game while discussing the legend of the Keyblade War. While one, the Boy in White, considers it ridiculous that anyone would want to start a war in the first place, the other boy, the Boy in Black, wonders what those who started the war aimed to do. He notes that the future has already been set in stone because of the foresight abilities granted by the Gazing Eye, recalling a prophecy that darkness would prevail in the Keyblade War, while the Boy in White insists there is more to the light than it seems. The board game seemingly ends in a tie, with both boys' pieces unable to move forward.[1]

Kingdom Hearts χ[edit | edit source]

Long ago, in the age of fairy tales, the world was full of light. People loved the light, and believed it came from the heart of all worlds, Kingdom Hearts, which was protected by its counterpart, the χ-blade.

At some point, a conflict between light and darkness began, which continued for an unknown period of time, with the darkness hiding amongst people.[2] During the time, the darkness shed its form and began to attack people's hearts instead of their bodies. The now-formless darkness began to spread but lost its will, becoming the Heartless in the process.[3]

Seeking to put an end to the war, the Master of Masters crafts a plan by which he would seek to trap the thirteen darknesses in thirteen vessels strong enough to fight them.[3] He chose his apprentices to be six of the vessels, namely Ira, Aced, Invi, Gula, Ava, and Luxu, while he would be the seventh. In order to attract the most powerful Darknesses to these, the Master of Masters assigns each apprentice with a specific role that they are to carry out. He also gives the first five a copy of the Book of Prophecies, a tome he wrote with information on events to come,[4] and tasks them with creating unions that would gather the light. These five became known as the Fortellers. Luxu, on the other hand, is tasked with watching the others from afar, keeping the Master of Master's Keyblade and a black box, the former of which he was to pass on to his apprentice. Then, the Master of Masters vanished, dimmed, and faded without a trace.[5]

Sometime after the Master of Masters's disappearance, the Fortellers find a darkened Chirithy in Daybreak Town's clock tower, representing a wielder fallen to darkness. Suspecting a traitor among them, the Foretellers begin to mistrust each other and engage their unions in gathering more and more particles of light, known as Lux, in an effort to stave off darkness. They also seek to stave off a great conflict, a Keyblade War predicted in the final passage of the Book of Prophecies. Their suspicion spreads to the other Keyblade wielders that are members of their unions, and these begin to challenge each other.[6][7] In the midst of the increasing conflict, some Keyblade wielders question the in-fighting amongst their fellow wielders and the Foretellers. Ava, whose role is to gather powerful wielders and have them avoid the war, recruits these wielders into a group known as the Dandelions and commands them to prepare to flee from the world and not fight in the Keyblade War.[8][9][10] Despite their efforts to keep the balance of power among the unions, the Foretellers and their unions ultimately turn on each other, and with the toll of the town bells, the Keyblade wielders go to war.[11][12] They gather in a barren land, where they battle each other with their Keyblades for control of the light and its source, Kingdom Hearts. In the aftermath, nearly all are eliminated, and their now-abandoned Keyblades litter the land, becoming the Keyblade Graveyard. The true Kingdom Hearts is lost to darkness, and the χ-blade is shattered into twenty pieces—seven of light, thirteen of darkness. Only a single Keyblade wielder survives the battle and is rescued by two Dandelions, Ephemer and Skuld, while the Foretellers vanish.

The Dandelions, having avoided the Keyblade War, are placed in a data recreation of the worlds created by the Master of Masters before his disappearance. There, they relive their adventures and go on new ones without memory of the events of the Keyblade War.[7] Thus, the world would be recreated without the Keyblade War to be remembered. The Dandelions are led by five wielders chosen by the Master of Masters, known as the Union leaders.[13] These five leaders, namely Ephemer, Skuld, Brain, Ventus, and Lauriaum, are to be the other five vessels in the Master's plan to trap the darknesses and end the Keyblade War.[3]. Ultimately, the data world created by the Master of Masters is destroyed by both the sudden introduction of a new world and interference by Darkness and a time-travelling Maleficent.[14][15] In the end, only four of the final darknesses are destroyed when they are trapped in the data Daybreak Town by the surviving wielder of the Keyblade War[3], while the fifth escapes within Ven to the future.[15]

Between Kingdom Hearts Union χ and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep[edit | edit source]

Xehanort learns of the Keyblade War during his training to be a Keyblade Master. As he journeys and seeks out more of the world, he learns of both Kingdom Hearts and its counterpart, the χ-blade, which were each lost in the aftermath of the Keyblade War. He concludes that Kingdom Hearts would allow control over all worlds and people, that the Keyblade War was fought over control of the χ-blade, which can summon Kingdom Hearts, and that the Keyblade War can be refought by forging the χ-blade. Believing that the balance of light and darkness are out of balance, Xehanort determines to forge the χ-blade and re-ignite the Keyblade War in order to gain control of the true Kingdom Hearts and reshape the world.[16]

When Eraqus learns of Xehanort's plans, he attempts to stop him, concerned that Xehanort would let his curiosity of the Keyblade War destroy all the worlds. Instead, Xehanort scars Eraqus permanently and leaves him.[16]

References[edit | edit source]

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