Eraqus

"Fear leads to obsession with power, and obsession beckons the Darkness."

—Master Eraqus to Terra

Master Eraqus is a Keyblade Master featured in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He is the master of Terra and Aqua, and he also serves as the second master of Ventus.

Journal Entry

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

One of the true Keyblade Masters and also Terra, Aqua and Ventus's teacher. He has a strong aversion to darkness, and believes it the duty of every Keyblade Master to rid the world of it.

Though strict on the outside, he is not unkind, and loves his pupils like his own children.

Story

Gay.

Gay.

Personality

Master Eraqus is a strong Keyblade master, caring for Terra, Ventus, and Aqua as his own children. Stern and willing to instruct, one major goal he has in life appears to be preserving peace throughout the worlds, as he rashly attacks Ventus when Eraqus discovers that through his dark half, Vanitas, Ventus can create the χ-blade, the weapon that sparked the Keyblade War and that Master Xehanort desires. Unlike Master Xehanort, Eraqus has an open aversion to darkness, believing that it must be destroyed at all costs, and has at least partially ingrained these beliefs into his apprentices.

He also feels strong attachments, having Aqua look after Terra as he travels the worlds, apologizing before his assassination attempt on Ventus, and even shedding a tear when he is forced to face off against Terra. Eraqus has a strong sensitivity to betrayal, having experienced it far too many times in his life, both at the hands of Master Xehanort and Terra, himself.

Fighting Style

Master Eraqus appears as a boss in Terra's storyline after the Keyblade wielder rescues Ventus from an attempt by Eraqus to kill him, and Terra is forced to fight him. During battle, Eraqus uses many quick lunging attacks, and is able to land many hits before the combo finisher. He also has several desperation attacks, each based on the light element.

Weapon

Master Eraqus wields a rather basic Keyblade, grey in coloration. It has the appearance of an old fashioned skeleton key, the teeth shaped like an "E". Its Keychain is the Keyblade "Mark of Mastery". He summons his Keyblade in a fashion similar to Terra, shrouded in a series of golden blocks.

Gallery

• Eraqus concept art.png

  Official Artwork of Eraqus from the Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania.

• Eraqus in Armor.png

  Eraqus's Keyblade Armor

Trivia

• Mark Hamill, Eraqus's English voice actor, was chosen specifically by Tetsuya Nomura for his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.
• His name is an anagram of "Square", a reference to Square Enix, the developers of the Kingdom Hearts series. Tetsuya Nomura stated in the Birth by Sleep Ultimania that he had actually forgotten the basis of the name, and that the producer had to remind him that it was an anagram.

Quotes

• "Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one but two of the Keyblades chosen stand here as candidates... but this is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy―not a test of wills but a test of heart. Both of you may prevail, or neither."
• "Fear leads to obsession with power, and obsession beckons the darkness."
• "If he were to―If those powers were to prove too powerful for him to handle, I want you to bring him back to me at once. It's for his own good. I could not bear to lose any of you to the darkness."
• "I knew it. Xehanort―he could never let it go."
• "Wait, Xehanort. There is a reason the precepts bar us from such knowledge. Why do you seek the χ-blade? Would you blanket all the worlds in darkness, reduce them to nothing?"
• "Fool... You would risk an apocalypse out of sheer curiosity?"
• "The χ-blade has no place in this or any world. Xehanort has made his purpose clear... and I am left with no choice. Forgive me... but you must exist no more."
• "Why do all my attempts to reach you fail? If you don't have it in your heart to obey... then you'll have to share Ventus's fate."
• "Has the darkness taken you, Terra?"
• "No... you were right. I failed you, Terra. Perhaps I've no one but myself to blame for the darkness inside you. And now, I've done worse... raised my Keyblade against you and Ventus. My own heart is darkness!"

See also

• Armor of the Master