A Handy Dandy Guide to Kingdom Hearts, Part III

Welcome to the final part of our handy dandy guide to the Kingdom Hearts universe.

THE TIMELINE

Kingdom Hearts has a linear timeline that takes place over around twelve years. Most of the events lie around the machinations of Master Xehanort, and how our heroes (Sora, Riku, Mickey) deal with them. The timeline goes something like this:

Many years ago, Kingdom Hearts and its counterpart, the χ-Blade, kept balance between light and darkness in the universe. Many people held Keyblades, and were part of five Unions, each run by a Foreteller. The Master of Masters writes the Book of Prophecies, which predicts the Keyblade War. The war occurs, and everyone dies, save a small group of Keyblade wielders who from the Dandelions to protect the light. One of these is Ventus. The χ-Blade is shattered into twenty pieces, seven of light, and thirteen of darkness. The pieces of light become the Princesses of Heart. The Master of Master’s apprentice, Luxu, survives as well, armed with a Keyblade which contains the Master’s clairvoyant eye, and a black trunk which must never be opened.

Some time later, Xehanort become nuts about DARKNESS(!), and plots to kick off a second Keyblade War by recreating the χ-Blade. As a young man, he is approached by his Heartless from the future, telling him of things to come. As an old man and Keyblade Master, Xehanort plots to use Ven’s heart to forge the χ-Blade, and possesses Terra to see his plans come to fruition. Ven sacrifices his heart to destroy the χ-Blade, and he finds shelter within Sora’s own heart. Aqua puts Ven’s body in Castle Oblivion, but is trapped in darkness after saving Terra from the same fate.

Xehanort develops amnesia and becomes Ansem the Wise’s apprentice, researching the heart. He eventually regains his memories and plots to found Organization XIII, using the members as vessels for pieces of his heart to create the thirteen Seekers of Darkness. He banishes Ansem the Wise to the realm of darkness, steals his identity, creates the Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization XIII. His Heartless and Xemnas both go about their own plans to forging the χ-Blade, making artificial versions of Kingdom Hearts from the hearts of lost worlds, and the hearts of slain Heartless. Maleficent also becomes a major antagonist on her quest to collect the Princesses.

Ten to twelve years later, Sora, Riku, and Kairi get involved in the events of the story. Sora wields the Keyblade, and thwarts Xehanort’s Heartless. During this, he stabs himself with a Dark Keyblade made from the Princesses’ hearts. This turns him into a Heartless, freeing Ven’s heart which is reborn as Roxas, and creates Namine, Kairi’s Nobody as well. Xehanort’s Heartless is blown up, and Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Mickey close the Door to Darkness (the actual name for the Kingdom Hearts door). The lost worlds are restored, Sora leaving Kairi behind to find Riku.

Roxas joins Organization XIII and becomes buddies with Axel. One week later, Xion, a clone created from Sora’s memories, is recruited as the 14^th member. The three eat ice cream every day for a year and don’t get fat or diabetes. Elsewhere, Sora, Donald, and Goofy lose their memories in Castle Oblivion thanks to Namine, as per Marluxia’s plans. To restore their memories, Namine puts them in special pods to rebuild them, but they will lose any knowledge of the events in Castle Oblivion. Riku overcomes his darkness and teams up with Namine, Mickey, and DiZ to awaken Sora.

Over the next year, Roxas, Axel, and Xion build their friendship but it all comes crashing down as Xion must be erased from existence in order to awaken Sora. Roxas quits the Organization to find Sora, but is captured by Riku, who dumps him in the simulated Twilight Town until the time is right. Roxas spends a week in Twilight Town, before, reluctantly, bonding with Sora. Axel goes rogue from the Organization to see Roxas again.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy wake up, learning of the Nobodies and Organization XIII from Yen Sid. They set out to find Riku, battling the Organization, as well as Maleficent and Pete’s forces along the way. Kairi is kidnapped by Axel, and then Saix, and held captive in The World That Never Was. Sora and co. discover Xehanort as been posing as Ansem. Axel sacrifices himself to allow Sora access to The World That Never Was. Sora, Riku, and Kairi reunite. DiZ is revealed to be Ansem the Wise and attempts to turn Kingdom Hearts into data, but his machine to do so explodes, sending him back to the realm of darkness, where he crosses paths with Aqua.

Roxas and Namine bond with Sora and Kairi. Xemnas is defeated, and Sora and Riku return home to Destiny Islands. Mickey and Jiminy Cricket discover the existence of those lost souls linked to Sora’s heart (Namine, Roxas, Axel, Xion, Ven, Aqua, Terra), and Yen Sid anticipates Xehanort’s return. He and Mickey summon Sora and Riku to become Keyblade Masters. Maleficent and Pete start looking for the Book of Prophecies.

During the exam, Sora is abducted by the reformed Organization XIII, now consisting entirely of vessels/incarnations of Xehanort. He is to become the thirteenth vessel. Riku, Mickey, Axel, Donald, and Goofy come to the rescue, where Master Xehanort tells them to gather seven Guardians of Light – Keyblade wielders – to protect the Princesses of Heart. The Xehanort brigade vanish, promising to return when the time is right. Riku also receives data from Ansem the Wise, which could restore a lost heart.

Needing more Keyblade wielders to serve as the Guardians of Light, the revived Axel (Lea), and Kairi, are both recruited. Riku and Mickey plan to head to the realm of darkness to rescue Aqua, while Sora, Donald, and Goofy set out on their own journey to find other Keyblade wielders and rebuild Sora’s power, lost during Dream Drop Distance.

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ELEMENT OF THE UNIVERSE

In this final part, we’ll detail some of the vital parts of the Kingdom Hearts universe and how they tie into the story.

Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts itself, aside from being the title of the franchise, is the most important plot device of the games. It is described as the centre of the universe, or the source of all hearts. All hearts start there, and return when they die. Those of the Heartless also return there too. It appears as a heart-shaped moon, which can only be summoned the χ-Blade, its counterpart. It was swallowed by darkness during the Keyblade War, and briefly appeared during Birth By Sleep. Two fake versions appear in the games – the Door to Darkness, which is made from the hearts of worlds destroyed by the Heartless; and the moon in The World That Never Was, made from the hearts collected by the Organization.

The Keyblades

The iconic weapons of Kingdom Hearts, the Keyblades were created to combat darkness and can destroy the Heartless. Being keys, they can lock and unlock a variety of things, including doors, the Keyholes to various worlds, and access the contents of a person’s heart (i.e. memories). In Birth By Sleep, the Keyblades were connected to mechanical armour, and could be transformed into hovercraft-like Keyblade Gliders, which could allow the user to travel between worlds. Keyblade wielders who pass the Mark of Mastery Exam become Keyblade Masters. Keyblades, or the rite to use one, can be passed down to other people.

χ-Blade

The original Keyblade, the χ-Blade is the counterpart to Kingdom Hearts. The χ-Blade had the ability to open the hearts of all worlds, and exists as Kingdom Hearts’ guardian. It is the only tool capable of summoning it. At some point, the χ-Blade was used during the Keyblade War, but the mayhem caused it to shatter into twenty pieces. The seven pieces of light became the seven Princesses of Heart. Xehanort hopes to use pieces of his own heart to make the thirteen pieces of darkness, and with the seven Guardians of Light, recreate the χ-Blade. He nearly succeeded in Birth By Sleep, by using Ven and Vanitas to forge it, but Ven’s sacrifice led to its destruction.

Heartless

The main menace of Kingdom Hearts, the Heartless are made from the darkness in a person’s heart. They are driven solely by instinct to devour others hearts, those of other people, and the hearts of worlds. They can be slain by Keyblades, and their hearts shall return to Kingdom Hearts. If a Heartless and their counterpart Nobody are destroyed, they shall bond and recreate the original person anew. Xehanort created the Heartless, though it is possible they may have existed beforehand he started mass producing them. The Heartless come in two varieties – Pureblood, which form naturally; and Emblem, which are made by forced production.

Nobodies

Nobodies are the animated bodies and souls left behind when a heart becomes a Heartless. They are strangely, white creatures that also seek out hearts. Those who had a strong heart as a human, can maintain their human appearances as a Nobody, as well as their memories, but lack emotions. Organization XIII are such people. As it turns out in Dream Drop Distance, a Nobody will be able to regrow a new heart over time, explaining why Roxas, Xion, Axel, and Namine have human emotions (though Roxas had a heart to begin with, being Ventus).

Unversed

A weird group of fledgling emotions that feed on negativity and can take on monstrous forms. They are in fact parts of Vanitas, who is the extracted darkness from Ventus’ heart. They don’t have much of an impact on the universe, beyond being enemies for Ven, Aqua, and Terra to destroy. When Vanitas vanishes, they too disappear from the worlds, later replaced by the Heartless.

Dream Eaters

Creatures who dwell in sleeping worlds in place of the Heartless, Dream Eaters seek out the Keyholes of the worlds. The Nightmares eat good dreams and create bad ones, while the friendly Spirits help those in need. The Dream Eaters appear to have evolved from the Chirithy, cat-like creatures made by the Master of Masters to help Keyblade wielders resist the darkness. However, a Nightmare is created when their owner turns to evil.

The Book of Prophecies

The Book of Prophecies is a book which foretold the events of the future, as written by the Master of Master. The book’s contents are unknown, but it did contain information on the Keyblade War, and the eventual rise of the Heartless. Wishing to see further into the future, the Master attached his eye to Luxu’s Keyblade. The Master gave copies of the book to his Foretellers save Luxu. However, he gave Gula an exclusive page from his book, which claimed a traitor would lead to the Keyblade War. The traitor was never identified, and it is believed the Master caused deceit to kick off the war. Maleficent and Pete seek out the Book to create the worlds it has predicted, and conquer them. Jiminy Cricket’s journal may be connected to it.

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UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

And to wrap everything up, here are a few questions that have yet to be resolved, and hopefully will be answered during Kingdom Hearts III.

-How will Ansem the Wise’s data help in restoring hearts? Will it bring back Xion?

-What happens if Roxas and Ventus meet?

-Will Aqua reach Ventus, and will he wake up?

-Why does Xehanort want to seek out the room Ventus is sleeping in Castle Oblivion?

-Who will the seven Guardians of Light be?

-Will Maleficent and Pete obtain the Book of Prophecies, and what is its link to Jiminy Cricket’s journal?

-What was the message Pluto had at the end of KH1?

-What happened to the Foretellers?

-What happened to the Master of Masters?

-What happened to Luxu, and when did he give the Keyblade to Xehanort, if he did?

-What happened to the Dandelions?

-How did Ventus, who is a Dandelion member, end up becoming Xehanort’s apprentice/victim?

-What is Marluxia’s goal, considering his identity as a Dandelion member?

-Who are the other members of the new Organization XIII?

-What is in the black trunk which Luxu was tasked to protect and never open?

-Is Vanitas a member of the new Organization?

-Will Master Eraqus be restored? What happened when Xehanort became a Heartless and a Nobody?

-Why is Xehanort’s method of time travel so complicated, when Merlin simply opened a door to the past with magic?

-What is the true goal of the Master of Masters, and did he want the Keyblade War to happen?

-Is the Riku Replica dead?

-What is the Key to Return Hearts?

-And most importantly of all – will Sora and Kairi get together?