Information from the Kingdom Hearts Series Memorial Ultimania translated

Keys

 

A Keyblade is a mysterious weapon and key for all things which appears in the hands of the chosen ones. Using this weapon, which is proof of strength of the heart, Sora and his friends open new paths and stand up against dark forces.

 

Keyblades

 

Key shaped weapons which can bring about various phenomenon. They can destroy the existence of darkness and liberate the hearts from the dark creatures the Heartless. Also, as the name would imply they can also be used as “keys” which can unlock not only the “hearts of worlds” but also work on any type of keyhole and even will lead the wielder to the source of its great power: Kingdom Hearts.

Initially the Keyblades were forged as weapons during the battles over those who wished to obtain Kingdom Hearts and brought about the “Keyblade War.” Reflecting on such events, the wielders of Keyblades today hold principles to use their power as guardians of the Light World and are often referred to as “Heroes of Light.”

 

Fundamentally a Keyblade wielder only has one Keyblade, but switching the keychain can give the Keyblade a different form and abilities.

 

The Keyblades Tera, Aqua and Ventus use can transform into transportation vessels which allow them to travel through the corridors between worlds.

 

Becoming a Keyblade wielder

 

After completing the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony, one must also be chosen by the Keyblade itself. The Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony involves simply coming in contact with a Keyblade owned by a Keyblade Master, and the new Keyblade wielder will then receive a new Keyblade different from the one of the Master. The Keyblade choosing a wielder is based upon the strength of the heart of a person with no concern regarding good or evil.

 

The Keyblade is a symbol of the strength of one’s heart and the amount of Keyblades one has is the same as the amount of hearts a person has. In Sora’s case he has two hearts. There are rare cases where double wielding is possible. Also, in Sora’s extremely rare case he did not go through the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony but was still able to wield a Keyblade.

 

The Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony was performed on Riku by Tera, and Kairi accidentally touched Aqua’s Keyblade which still meets the requirements to be considered an Inheritance Ceremony.

 

Light World Keyblades and Dark World Keyblades

 

There are Keyblades existing in both the Light World and the Dark World. Which is which is determined simply by whether they serve a function as an inside key or an outside key to the door to “Kingdom Hearts,” and just because a Keyblade may be from the Dark World does not mean it would contain any sort of dark powers. During the course of the story, most of the Keyblades have been ones from the Light World.

 

King Mickey used a Keyblade from the Light World in BbS, but after KH1 began using a Keyblade from the Dark World.

 

Keyblade of People’s heart

 

A special Keyblade created from the hearts of the Seven Princesses. Aside from having the power to reveal the keyhole to “Kingdom Hearts, the heart of worlds,” it also has the power to open and remove a person’s heart and the power to send a person into darkness.

 

Keyblade Master

 

Among Keyblade wielders, they are the very best. Generally, those seen as “guardians of light” who are accepted by their own masters will become a Master. Only Keyblade Masters (and those who have abilities on the same level) are able to do the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony, also they can remove their own hearts and transfer them to different bodies.

 

King Mickey at the end of BbS, Aqua at the beginning of BbS, Riku at the end of KH3D all became Keyblade Masters. (Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort are also Masters).

 

Master Eraqus held a special place among Keyblade Masters, being chosen as the orthodox successor to protect the Land of Departure.

 

Keyblade War

 

A war long, long ago brought about by Keyblade wielders fighting over “Kingdom Hearts.” As a result, the Light World was engulfed in darkness and vanished from existence. However, thanks to the light remaining in the hearts of children it was eventually restored as several smaller Worlds. Due to this, the truth surrounding the Light and Dark is told from generation to generation as a fairy-tale.

 

Interested in an ideal balance of Light and Dark, Master Xehanort believes there is too much Light in the world and thus intends on bringing about another Keyblade War.

 

χ Blade

 

The key to finding the true “Kingdom Hearts.” It is read the same as “Keyblade,” but all of the other Keyblades are mere counterfeits and much like the true “Kingdom Hearts” has existed since the beginning of the world, becoming the archetype for all other Keyblades. During the Keyblade War it was broken into 7 pieces of Light and 13 of Darkness, and thus does no longer exist, but with the proper balance of power from pure Light hearts and pure Dark hearts, it can be expected to be reborn.

Master Xehanort has been engaged in trying to complete the χ Blade for over 10 years. By KH3D he and his other selves are putting the plan into action and have gathered as the 13 Dark in order to clash with the 7 Light to restore the χ Blade.

 

When the Light heart of Ventus and the dark Heart of Vanitas forged together, the χ Blade that was created was an X-like shape of two Keyblades.

 

When the 13 Darks and 7 Lights clash, the χ Blade will be created. Master Xehanort is moving along his plan to do this.

Hearts

 

In the world of Kingdom Hearts, not restricted to just people and animals, but every existence contains a heart. The collection of all kinds of hearts would become the great heart – Kingdom Hearts.

 

Heart of Worlds and Key Holes

 

The worlds contained in the Realm of Light all consist of a Heart of the World. A Heart of the World is essentially the collection of hearts that make up everything in that world, and there is always a Key Hole hidden deep within each world.

The Key Hole to the Heart of Worlds is also connected to the Realm of Darkness. Generally the Key Holes are closed and on one hand the worlds are protected from darkness, but at the same time there is no path to get outside the world. If the Key Hole is opened, the barrier surrounding the world is destroyed so that entering and leaving the world becomes possible, but this also allows the darkness to seep into the world, so it can be extremely dangerous. In KH1 the Hearts of Worlds are open leaving them volatile, so Sora and his friends go on a quest to lock the Key Holes.

 

The Key Hole to a Hearts of the World is hidden from sight, but when a Keyblade is held up it will appear.

 

Because Riku received the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony as a child, he was able to see Key Holes others could not.

 

The Key Holes Locked and Unlocked

 

Aside from the Key Hole to the Heart of the World, there are various other Key Holes. In all other adventures aside from KH1, Keyblades were used to open Key Holes on various worlds, including those that were not the Key Holes to the Heart of the Worlds.

 

How the Protagonists Interacted with Key Holes

 

KH1 – Sora – To stop the darkness from entering worlds, he traveled between worlds in the Gummi Ship to close off the Hearts of Worlds.

KH2 – Sora – With the intention of helping reclaim worlds, he had to open gates made by the worlds to travel between them.

KH coded – Data Sora – In attempts to restore the data in Jiminy’s journal, he traveled through Data Worlds and opened their Key Holes in order to get rid of the bugs.

KH BbS – Terra, Aqua, Ventus – They opened the Key Holes leading into the corridors of space which Eraqus readied in order to travel between worlds.

KH3D – Sora, Riku – Challenging the Mark of Mastery, they traveled between Sleeping Worlds opening their Key Holes in order to free them from dreams.

 

Aside from KH1 where Sora closed Key Holes, all the other installments involve opening Key Holes.

 

Kingdom Hearts

 

A condensed form of the hearts of this world. Also known as the kingdom of hearts or the center of worlds. It also is the source of great power and a source of endless knowledge.

In the past, people viewed Kingdom Hearts as a great heart of light and seeking to gain control of this ended up causing the outbreak of a war that destroyed the world (Refer to P.8). Because of such an incident, Kingdom Hearts is now strictly sealed away and it is not easily approachable. Master Xehanort among other dark forces use all kinds of tactics to obtain Kingdom Hearts, but Sora is always there to fight and stop them.

 

Kingdom Hearts of Worlds (KH1 Kingdom Hearts)

 

The condensed form of the Hearts of Worlds known as Kingdom Hearts. The path to this Kingdom Hearts can only be open using the Keyblade of People’s Hearts created from the Seven Princesses of Heart. In KH1, Maleficent and Ansem used the Heartless to steal the Hearts of Worlds and sought out the Kingdom Hearts of Worlds.

 

Kingdom Hearts of People (KH2, 3D Kingdom Hearts)

 

The condensed form of the hearts of people becoming a Kingdom Hearts. Organization XIII believed that completing this would make them whole again and began collecting hearts from the Heartless in order to create the Kingdom Hearts of People. The leader of Organization XIII had a different plan as he intended on using the Kingdom Hearts of People in order to implant the heart of Xehanort into the members as vessels to create the 13 of Dark (Reference P.9).

 

The incomplete Kingdom Hearts of People floated above Organization XIII’s castle.

 

True Kingdom Hearts (BbS, 3D Kingdom Hearts)

 

Different from the two man-made Kingdom Hearts above, this Kingdom Hearts has existed since the beginning of the world. It was engulfed in darkness long, long ago during the Keyblade War, but using its counterpart: the χ-Blade, it is thought that the True Kingdom Hearts will once again be revealed.

 

Master Xehanort’s goal is to acquire the χ-Blade and open the True Kingdom Hearts to bring about a new Keyblade War.

 

The Door of Darkness and the Door of Light

 

The door leading to Kingdom Hearts is also the Door of Darkness connected to the Realm of Darkness. Only those shrouded in darkness may pass through the Door of Darkness, and to seal this door, a Keyblade from the Realm of Light and a Keyblade from the Realm of Darkness are both necessary. One must be in the Dark Realm and the other in the Light Realm in order to combine their powers and lock the door from both sides.

The counterpart for the Door of Darkness is the Door of Light. This door is how someone belonging in the Realm of Light who is lost in the Realm of Darkness may return to the Realm of Light and it will appear as if it were inside a person’s heart.

 

King Mickey uses the Keyblade he obtained in the Realm of Darkness to work with Sora in the Realm of Light to seal the Door of Darkness.

 

When Sora and Riku were lost in the Realm of Darkness, they found hope in a letter they received from Kairi and were then able to find the Door of Light.

 

Seven Princesses

 

7 women who all hold a pure heart of light without darkness and their very existences are the foundations for light. They are sought out by dark forces as their hearts can reveal the path to Kingdom Hearts.

 

The Seven Princesses are Bell, Snow White, Aurora, Alice, Jasmine, Cinderella and Kairi.

 

Despite all the princesses living in different worlds, the Villains (Refer to P.9) were able to kidnap all of them and use their pure hearts to create the Keyblade of People’s Hearts.

Worlds

 

The story of Kingdom Hearts surrounds the hearts of people connecting in the Realms of Light and Dark.

 

In Kingdom Hearts the main areas for worlds are the Light Realm, Dark Realm and the Between Realm. There are many, many worlds in the Light Realm, and each of those worlds make up the stars in the sky.

 

Realm of Light

 

The world where people live which is overflowing with light. There was a time long ago when the world was one, but it was destroyed and separated into countless small worlds. Each world is covered in a barrier which cannot be seen by the naked eye, and without particular forms of travel it is normally not possible to travel between worlds. On top of that, traveling between worlds without concern for each individual world could possibly cause disorder and thus it is fundamentally not allowed.

Each world contains a “Heart of the World” and through that a door can be opened which will break the wall of dark power, turning pieces of the wall into shooting stars which come hurling down and can be used as material for “Gummi Ships.”

 

In attempts to prevent disorder in other worlds, Donald and Goofy change out of their Disney Castle royal clothing and hide their origins during their journey.

 

Data World

 

A virtual space world constructed from data. Aside from the world King Mickey reconstructs from the data from the first Jiminy journal in KH coded, the world DiZ created for Roxas’s fake summer vacation of Twilight Town in KH2 and others also exist.

 

The Twilight Town in which Roxas spent his time was inside a data world in the computer connected to the pod in which Sora slept.

 

Sleeping World

 

In KH1, once Sora defeated Ansem, many of the worlds swallowed by darkness were revived, but a few of them remained dormant and sleeping. These became the basis for KH3D, the worlds trapped in slumber. Seeking out the Sleeping Keyhole and using the Keyblade on it will awaken each world and bring it back on the path to being reclaimed.

 

Travel between worlds

 

Each world in the Realm of Light floats in the place called the Sea of Stars or the Dimensional Sea. Sora and friends use the Gummi Ships to open up special corridors and travel between worlds.

 

Gummi Ships

 

A ship used to cross the sea of stars, developed at Disney Castle. It is made up of pieces of the walls of worlds (Gummi) and runs on energy from smiles.

 

From the outside the Gummi Ship may look like a toy, but it has the ability to cross the sea of stars and fight evenly with ships the Heartless use.

 

Star Shards

 

Broken pieces of worlds’ walls which become shooting stars. King Mickey in KH BbS took a star shard from the Mysterious Tower in order to travel between worlds.

 

Between Corridor / Corridor of Darkness

 

One way to travel between worlds is using the Between Corridor, which a Keyblade wielder can open and utilize using the Keyblade’s power. Not only that, but those shrouded in darkness can also use dark powers to open corridors, differentiated being known as Corridors of Darkness. Going through one of these corridors, the heart and body of a person are eaten away at by the darkness, so it is even dangerous for those shrouded in darkness to use.

 

Terra, Aqua and Ventus were able to open the corridor gates which Eraqus provided and travel through them on their transformed Keyblades.

 

The black coats of Organization XIII, DiZ’s red cape and the armor which Terra, Aqua and Ventus wore all help protect them as they travel through the corridors.

 

Realm of Darkness

 

A different realm which is on the opposite side of the Realm of Light. Generally people do not live here, but it is filled with Heartless and creatures of darkness.

The doors which connect the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness are the Door of Darkness and the Door of Light. Only those from the Realm of Light may pass through the Door of Light, and only those from the Realm of Darkness may pass through the Door of Darkness.

 

When Ansem took over the body of Riku, his heart was sent into the Realm of Darkness and even after regaining his body, he was stuck there.

 

Between Realm

 

The realm which exists between that of Light and Dark. There are fewer worlds than those which exist in the Realm of Light. Also, the space there is unstable and entrances to the dark corridors may suddenly open.

 

Where worlds are placed:

Realm of Light – Radiant Garden (Hollow Bastion), Destiny Islands, Disney Castle

Between (Close to Light) – Mysterious Tower

Between (Mid Close to Light) – Twilight Town

Between (Mid Close to Dark) – Castle Oblivion

Between (Close to Dark) – The World that Never Was

Realm of Darkness – Dark Margin

Forces of Darkness

 

Those who stand in Sora’s way include the Heartless and Nobodies as well as those who control them including Organization XIII and the Villains. Sora and the others must fight with these forces of darkness in order to bring peace to the Realm of Light.

 

Heartless

 

One without a heart is darkness born from the recurring darkness. The embodiment of the darkness in one’s heart which appears when a person’s heart is lost to darkness. They have no knowledge or will, they simply run on dark instinct and go after the Hearts of Worlds as well as try to steal hearts from those with them in order to become greater in numbers.

There are various kinds of Heartless, but they are generally categorized in two main types; those who appear naturally are known as “Pure Blood”, and approximately 10 years before KH1, during an experiment Xehanort (Seeker of Darkness Ansem) birthed the “Emblem” Heartless. Heartless began appearing in greater numbers in the Realm of Light due to Ansem’s interference, and when he was defeated in KH1 it helped keep the numbers down, however as long as darkness exists within people’s hearts, there will always be Heartless.

 

Many of the dark forces which Sora comes up against who use Heartless end up themselves falling to the darkness and becoming possessed by the Heartless.

 

Pure Blood

 

These Heartless come into existence naturally. If they are defeated with a Keyblade, the heart will be liberated. Many of the Heartless in the world are these.

 

Example: Shadow

 

The Realm of Darkness is overrunning with Pure Bloods.

 

Emblem

 

Xehanort and the other apprentices of Ansem created these Heartless through experiments of causing darkness within hearts. As proof of their dissension from Xehanort, they all include the “X” shape forged into their emblems.

 

Examples: Soldier, Sea Neon.

 

Nobody

 

Counterpart of the Heartless they are essentially not anyone and are dark monsters given an appropriate name. They come into existence when a person with a strong heart becomes a Heartless. Most of them are white bodied creatures, but a special few with especially strong hearts are able to retain their human forms when they become Nobodies.

Countering the existence of a Heartless being the darkness from a heart, Nobodies are the body and soul detached from the heart. Despite having no emotions, Nobodies have memories and intellect and are able to work in groups, and because their existence is precarious, if they are left alone, eventually they will melt into the darkness.

If a heart is liberated from the Heartless and a Nobody is destroyed, the human form will be restored.

 

Examples: Dusk.

 

Organization XIII members are able to give orders to lesser Nobodies.

 

Unversed

 

Born from feelings of anger and hatred, these dark monsters receive their names from not being well versed in their own existences. In KH BbS they appeared in the Realm of Light, frightening all the people around. They were materialized from the collected negative emotions from Vanitas, and when Vanitas was defeated by Ventus they vanished.

 

Example: Flood.

 

Dream Eater

 

They are creatures who nest in the worlds trapped in sleep and feed on dreams. They are separated into those who cause nightmares: “Nightmare” and those who eat nightmares: “Spirit,” and the Spirits will lend their powers to Sora and Riku.

 

Examples: Meow Wow (Nightmare), Meow Wow (Spirit).

 

Organization XIII

 

A group of powerful Nobodies who retain their appearances from when they were human. The organization is made up of 13 members and all of their names have been rearranged from their human names into anagrams including the mark of dissension, the letter “X.”

These Nobodies realize that they are incomplete existences and believe that if they complete the Kingdom Hearts of People’s Hearts they can become whole again, but they were destroyed by Sora and his friends. However, the secret goal of the organization was to supplement the 13 Darknesses, and when near completion would begin again as True Organization XIII.

 

Members: Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saïx, Axel, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene, Roxas and Xion.

 

No. 1 ~ 6 were the apprentices of Ansem the Wise, and the final member Xion was not considered an official number thus she was given the number “i” as an imaginary number.

 

True Organization XIII

 

Xehanort and his other forms make up the 13 Seekers of Darkness. They make up the 13 Darknesses and intend to clash with the 7 Lights in order to forge the χ-Blade. In KH 3D there are 12 members ready in the organization and of those 12 the current 6 known to Sora and his friends are Master Xehanort, Ansem, Xemnas, Xigbar, Saïx, and Young Xehanort.

 

Villains

 

Maleficent and Pete among others who appear as the antagonists in Disney films make up this group. Using the Heartless and dark powers they try to stop Sora from succeeding in his journeys.

 

In KH1, Maleficent and the other Villains conspire to obtain Kingdom Hearts.