Kingdom Hearts-1

A shattered world consisting of multiple sub-worlds floating in the void; a battleground for the forces of light and darkness.

Type: Bud

Active Characters

Xion

Overview

In ancient times, this world was a world like any other. It had, perhaps, more dramatic seperation between its light and dark halves than is common, but for denizens of the Realm of Light it was just a regular planet-sized world full of millions of people.

And then the Keyblade War happened and shattered the Realm of Light into dozens of pieces, plunging most of it into the Realm of Darkness, although some of it remains, disconnected from the rest and floating in the void called Outerspace. Over time, the inhabitants of the various subworlds forgot that the world had ever been larger, and eventually came to regard their tiny pockets of reality as all that existed. Travel between subworlds is difficult without magic or a special vehicle, and most people live out their entire lives never leaving their home as a result.

This world is a tenuous balance between its Light and Dark halves. The Realm of Light is where regular people live, while the Realm of Darkness is antithetical to normal life, although given even a normal person is at least partially composed of Darkness, its lack would have serious ramifications on most people. The Realm of Darkness has recently been effectively invading the Realm of Light via the Heartless, beings composed of pure Darkness that steal Hearts in order to swell their numbers. They even attempted to consume the Hearts of entire subworlds in the past to plunge them into Darkness.

The Heartless can't do much to destabilise the subworlds currently, as their own Hearts have been sealed away beyond the Heartless's reach. The world is thus in a state of tenuous balance, although if the world happens to Blossom... who knows what could happen.

Hearts and Souls

Every person in this world is composed of three primary metahysical pieces - the Body, the Heart, and the Soul. The Heart is a source of emotional strength and can be used as a source of power for magic, while the Soul is the animating force and is linked to consciousness and memory, and can ALSO be used as a source of power for magic.

Hearts are composed of Light and Darkness in various proportions. Most people in the Realm of Light have more Light in their Heart than Darkness, although there are exceptions, and very few beings have Hearts composed entirely of one or the other. For most people, having their Heart entirely consumed by Darkness will cause them to shed their Body and Soul and turn into a monster called a Heartless. Particularly strong-willed people can retain the connection between their Body and Soul and become a being called a 'Nobody', existing in a sort of half-existence until they manage to get their Heart back. Both Heartless and Nobodies can exibit much more physical and magical power than the person they were made from.

Subworlds of Note

Destiny Islands - A pair of islands suspended in an endless ocean, home to a few thousand people. Most of the inhabitants are perfectly normal, but people with powerful destinies are often born here. People live on the larger island while the smaller island is used by children to play and by adults to catch fish and crabs.

Traverse Town - A world hovering just on the edge of the Realm of Light, it consists of a sprawling urban town of a few thousand people. Its placement in the greater order of the world causes it to 'catch' refugees that were flung into Outerspace somehow, rendering it a random hodgepodge of cultures. It is thus one of the few subworlds to know of other subworlds as a matter of public record.

Twilight Town - A world situated exactly halfway between the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness, consisting of a large suburban town of a few thousand people, as well as a beach overlooking an infinite ocean. The subworld is constantly bathed in the light of a setting sun frozen in the air. This subworld is used by people in the know as a gateway between the twin Realms.

The Realm of Darkness - A desolate wasteland of weird geometry and brackish oceans. It's infested with Heartless, and unprotected denizens of the Realm of Light can't exist here for long. Unlike the Realm of Light, the Realm of Darkness was never shattered and is therefore one contiguous plane, ocassionally intersecting subworlds that have been flung from the Realm of Light into Darkness.

Keyblades

Keyblades are mystical weapons capable of manipulating any lock - including the locks that seal Hearts in their bodies and the locks that close off Hearts consumed by Darkness. They are thus powerful weapons against Heartless, capable of opening their Hearts and cleansing them of Darkness to go back to join the source of all Hearts, Kingdom Hearts.

Keyblades choose their wielders, and will refuse to work for anyone not worthy - even teleporting out of a thief's hands to reappear with their master. Skilled wielders can call them to hand at will, use them as powerful magic wands, and transform them into various other weapons.

Travel

Travel between subworlds is generally difficult for most people, but multiple methods of travel exist. Many of these are dangerous for the unprotected, however, as they involve getting a bit too close to the Realm of Darkness for most Light Realmers.

Outerspace and Gummi Routes - By far the safest mode of transport is to fly in Gummi Ships through Outerspace. Gummi Ships are built out of Star Shards - fragments of the broken barriers between worlds. It can be difficult to navigate, and Outerspace is often infested with Heartless and other beasts, but it can be performed by anyone with a Gummi Ship and a map.

Star Shards - Star Shards can also be used by themselves to teleport between worlds. However, without a Gummi Ship control system, travel is random and uncontrollable, so it's only useful in an absolute emergency.

The Corridors Between - There are routes that wind between the Realm of Darkness and Realm of Light that can be used to travel between subworlds. They require Keyblades to open, however, but once open can be traversed by any flying vehicle. The close proximity to the Realm of Darkness taken by these routes requires considerable protection for continuous use, but a single journey isn't much to worry about.

The Corridors of Darkness - Anyone with the knowledge can use Darkness to tear open portals between subworlds, transitioning through the Realm of Darkness directly. As this involves direct exposure to the Realm of Darkness, continued use requires protective equipment. This is the only casual way of travel that doesn't require a vehicle, however.

Teleportation - As all subworlds exist within the same physical space, simply seperated by hundreds of miles of Outerspace, teleportation magic or technology with enough range can actually work to bridge the gap as well. This is probably the safest option from a Darkness corruption standpoint, but also not one many people can access.