Xehanort

Xehanort is the main antagonist of the eponymous "Xehanort Saga".

A Keyblade Master who once taught Ventus, Master Xehanort believes that darkness and light should be balanced throughout the universe, and so seeks to conquer Kingdom Hearts and rewrite the universe according to his wishes. He is responsible for almost every tragedy and force of darkness that operates throughout the series, having broken Ventus to create Vanitas and taken Terra as his vessel, Terra-Xehanort, then splitting into a Heartless, Ansem, and a Nobody, Xemnas, who led successive assaults on the Realm of Light. Despite each separate plan working as a ploy for Kingdom Hearts, even in failure they serve the goal of creating the True Organization XIII, made up of thirteen different incarnations of himself. As a boy, Young Xehanort acquired the ability to travel through time from his future self's Heartless, and used it to manipulate events so that the True Organization XIII would be completed.

Before Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep


Xehanort lives his early years on the Destiny Islands, desiring to see other worlds. Xehanort is paid a visit by his future self's Heartless Ansem, who grants him the means to traverse time and tasks him with visiting twelve other incarnations of himself from across time and gather them all together at the time when his most future self is revived. Through Ansem, Xehanort gained knowledge over the timeline up to when his other selves are gathered. Once fulfilling his purpose for his future selves, Xehanort returns to his original time and relinquishes his memories of the future, yet enact his predestinated departure from his home world. Xehanort came across a Keyblade Master, training under him alongside with his fellow pupil Eraqus. Xehanort eventually came to see Eraqus as a brother, though they disagreed on the role of Darkness and Light in the world. The Master taught the two the ways of the Keyblade and that their role as Keyblade wielders was to protect the worlds of light from darkness. However, this answer was unsatisfactory to Xehanort, and he often visited other worlds without permission from the Master to learn more. During his travels, Xehanort wore Keyblade Armor to protect himself from the darkness between worlds, but eventually he discarded it and sought to control the darkness, believing that if he succeeded, he would not need his armor for protection. Eventually, both Eraqus and Xehanort became Keyblade Masters, and Eraqus was chosen as the Master's successor. The newly titled Master Xehanort was free to take on apprentices of his own to train, and travel the worlds freely as a Seeker.

As he journeyed, Xehanort obtained vast knowledge concerning Keyblade lore, the Heartless, and the mysteries of the Keyblade War and Kingdom Hearts. Xehanort came to believe that darkness and light should be held in balance, but the "tyranny" of light had destroyed much of the darkness and shifted that balance. Thus, his goal became to be the recreate the χ-blade to unlock Kingdom Hearts. However, to achieve that goal, Xehanort resolved to tear down the barriers between worlds with a second Keyblade War blanketing the worlds in darkness. But by this time, Xehanort had grown very old, and he devised a plan to use his Keyblade to extract his own heart and transfer it to a younger body to prolong his life until his ambitions were filled. Xehanort explained his plans with Eraqus, but in the end he ignored his friend's pleas to refrain from a course of action that would engender so much suffering. Eraqus resigned himself to attack Xehanort, but Xehanort simply used his dark powers to fend off Eraqus and scar his face before leaving.

Eventually, Xehanort would find Ventus and proceeded to condition him into fully embracing darkness. Though Ven's good-hearted nature made him of no use as a vessel, Xehanort instead extracted Ven's darkness at the Keyblade Graveyard to create Vanitas, which also brought the Unversed into existence, creatures of negativity. Ven's heart was heavily damaged in the process, so Xehanort decides to leave the boy to die on the Destiny Islands, but when Ven's heart began to heal upon coming in contact with a newborn's heart, Xehanort reconsiders and instead decides to use Ventus as the light half of the χ-blade. However, to keep Vanitas's darkness from overwhelming Ventus and snuffing him out, Xehanort leaves his former apprentice with Eraqus, counting on his friend's zealotry to foster Ventus's nature and make him Vanitas's equal. While delivering Ven to Eraqus, Xehanort fools Eraqus into believing that he had renounced darkness, and also meets Eraqus's apprentices, Terra and Aqua. He sensed the seed of darkness in the latter, and began planning to take Terra's body as his new vessel.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep


With their bond repaired, Master Xehanort is called upon four years later by Master Eraqus to the Land of Departure to witness Terra and Aqua's Mark of Mastery Exam. Xehanort uses this chance to see Terra's darkness as he spars with Aqua. Because of this darkness, Eraqus does not make Terra a Master. Afterwards, Xehanort speaks to Terra alone, telling him that Eraqus will never see him as a Master, and that he should learn to channel his darkness instead of repress it. When Xehanort seemingly disappeared, Eraqus calls Terra and Aqua to find Xehanort as well as fight off the new threat of the Unversed and Ventus leaves due to Vanitas's words.

During his travels, Master Xehanort speaks to the evil fairy Maleficent, and he tells her about the Princesses of Heart and Kingdom Hearts in exchange for her awakening Terra's darkness further. He later calls Terra to the Keyblade Graveyard and tells him an altered version of Vanitas's origins, that Ven was overtaken by his darkness and Xehanort extracted Vanitas to try and save him, but Vanitas left him and began spreading the Unversed. Xehanort asks for Terra's "assistance" in fighting his so-called rebellious apprentice and directs him to the Radiant Garden, the city of light, claiming Vanitas will be drawn to it. At the Radiant Garden, Xehanort strikes a deal with Braig, who wishes to wield a Keyblade of his own. Xehanort and Braig stage a kidnapping, and Braig battles Terra. Terra eventually scars Braig's face with dark energy, forcing him to flee, and Xehanort congratulates Terra on his victory. Though Terra is ashamed, Xehanort consoles him that because he is able to use darkness and sees that it is not evil, Terra shows the sign of the true Mark of Mastery that Eraqus refuses to accept. Telling Terra he can be his pupil now, Xehanort refers to him as "Master Terra" and encourages him to continue his journey to stop Vanitas using the darkness in his heart to his advantage.

Later, Master Xehanort has Vanitas abduct Mickey Mouse as bait to lure Ventus to the Keyblade Graveyard, where he reveals to Ventus the truth about his past and his plans to create the χ-blade, also stating that Master Eraqus knows about it. Sending Ven to see Eraqus, Xehanort then calls Terra to him, telling him that Ven went to see Eraqus on his own, and he fears for the safety of them both due to the "fury" in Ven's eyes as he left. Terra returns to Eraqus to find him preparing to destroy Ven to keep Xehanort from obtaining the χ-blade, and he intervenes and strikes down his master. Xehanort appears to deliver the final blow, and Eraqus dissolves into light in Terra's arms. Revealing his deceptions to Terra, Xehanort calls on him to return to the Keyblade Graveyard and learn the truth. He then covers the Land of Departure in darkness, completely destroying the world and leaving nothing but the castle's remains before departing.

When Terra, Aqua and Ventus travel to the Land of Departure again, they meet the time-displaced Xehanort, who hides his identity by keeping his hood up. After defeating him, he leaves through time.

When Terra, Ven and Aqua arrive at the Keyblade Graveyard, Master Xehanort and Vanitas confront the three Keyblade wieldiers. When Xehanort battles Terra in a one-on-one duel while Vanitas battles both Ven and Aqua, the elder Keyblade Master goads the young Keyblade wielder with his deceptions and the looming destruction of his friends. Terra submits to his darkness as he loses control of his rage and is able to defeat Xehanort. At this time, Xehanort enacts his final scheme: stabbing himself with his Keyblade to release his heart into Terra's body, converting him into Terra-Xehanort while Master Xehanort's original body fades into darkness with a triumphant smile.



Master Xehanort and Terra continue to dispute over internal dominance within the new Xehanort. Despite Xehanort's insistence that he will soon incorporate Terra's heart into his own, Terra remains confident that he will win over and eventually expel Xehanort. Xehanort realizes that Terra is harboring the heart of Eraqus, which may allow him to resist his darkness for longer than he expected. However, Xehanort gleefully points out that he has many other plans in the works should he lose control over Terra's body.

Before Kingdom Hearts
In the event that Ventus and Vanitas's reunion fails to be successfull with the χ-blade, Master Xehanort also devised a series of back up plans: the first being for Braig to aid his amnesic vessel Terra-Xehanort in taking advantage of Ansem's research in the heart and the darkness within to conduct inhumane experiments in the attempt to remove one's sense of self. These experiments led to the mass release of Heartless into the Realm of Light. Following the new Xehanort regained a bit of his memories, he removed his own heart which took form as his Heartless Ansem who used his bodiless existence to travel back in time to ensure his younger self would travel to various times to meet his other selves and gather them. Returning to his time, Ansem oversaw the progress of Maleficent gathering the seven hearts to access a Kingdom Hearts created from worlds ravaged by the Heartless. In conjunction to Ansem's actions, his Nobody counterpart Xemnas gathered thirteen vessels to have the Nobodies to bear pieces of Xehanort's heart while creating a Kingdom Hearts from the hearts of slain Emblem Heartless.

Kingdom Hearts coded


When Mickey returns to the Mysterious Tower, Yen Sid explains that the destruction of Ansem and Xemnas will inevitably lead to the reconstruction of Master Xehanort as well as that Xehanort has indeed left many roads to victory open when he cryptically implies that there may be more than one of Xehanort to contend with.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance


Having been made aware of Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam, Young Xehanort manages to enter the Sleeping Worlds thanks to Ansem's existence within Riku creating a lifeline. From there, Young Xehanort confronts each youth with a respective version of Terra-Xehanort they defeated in the past: Ansem for Riku and Xemnas for Sora. Through his encounters with Riku, Xehanort attempted to have him open his heart to darkness before realizing the youth devised a means to resist his inner darkness. This forces Xehanort to refocus his attentions on Sora, and he works to guide the boy to the World That Never Was. Eventually, he traps Sora inside a dream at The World That Never Was, then reveals his true identity and purpose in order to fill Sora's heart with despair.

As Sora's heart falls into the deepest slumber to never awake from the darkness, Xehanort reveals that he and the rest of the second Organization XIII intend to make Sora their final vessel for Xehanort. He takes Sora's comatose body to the Castle That Never Was, where he is found by Riku. There, Xehanort reveals his identity to Riku and purpose, aiding that Master Xehanort's return would restore the flow of time and send him back to his own time to enact what destiny has in store for him. In the midst of Master Xehanort's revival, Mickey manages to freeze the area with a Stopza spell, but Xehanort resists the temporal freezing and engages Riku in battle. Although Riku defeats Xehanort, the fight succeeds in holding off Riku long enough for the elderly Xehanort's body to finish reviving atop the lead throne while his youngest self takes seat on another throne.

Master Xehanort admits his past endeavors and his failed attempt to create the χ-blade to Riku and Mickey, but also reveals that he has another way to create the χ-blade and restart the Keyblade War. Since the χ-blade was divided at the conclusion of the Keyblade War into thirteen darknesses and seven lights, he had orchestrated the events of previous conflicts: Maleficent capturing the seven Princesses of Heart and the creation of Organization XIII as the Vessels of Darkness, each meant to harbor a piece of his own heart. Due to Sora and Riku's interference and the unforeseen independence or weakness of a number of Organization members, the two-part plan had failed. However, having gave youngest self the ability to travel through time, Master Xehanort has created a new Organization XIII made up of himself, his other incarnations, and vessels that harbor pieces of his heart, which he intends to pit against the "Seven Lights".

When Master Xehanort tries to convert Sora into his Organization's final vessel, the arrival of Lea, Donald and Goofy forces Xehanort's incomplete Organization to return to their time. However, as he leaves, Xehanort tells his opponents that both will have their memberships filled when the time comes. Though Yen Sid and Mickey knew that they would play into Xehanort's hands, they resolve to gather seven Keyblade-wielding defenders of light rather than endanger the Seven Princesses of Heart.

A fragmentary passage
Xehanort's elderly and youngest selves along with Ansem and Xemnas appear as images on the beach on Destiny Islands.

Appearance
As an old man, Master Xehanort is bald except for thin eyebrows and a curled, silver goatee. His ears are pointed and his eyes are yellow. He has broad, hunched shoulders and a crooked back. He appears overall as a somewhat feeble old man, certainly deceiving given his immense power. His clothing is the same as that worn by his eventual Heartless Ansem. It is composed of a white and black coat with a red inner lining, which is worn over a white shirt with two thin black belts, as well as white gloves and calf-high black boots. The major difference between the two outfits is that Ansem wears the shirt unbuttoned, exposing the Heartless emblem on his chest. However, there are a few minor changes as well; Ansem's coat has gold lining on its edges, where Xehanort's has black lining. He sometimes wears the Black Coat which was worn by his eventually Nobody Xemnas and Organization XIII.

In his youth, Xehanort had mildly tanned skin, golden eyes, and silver hair which both slightly spikes and falls past his shoulders in the back; it is styled similar to Terra-Xehanort's, albeit with four bangs framing his face, the back two thicker than the front two, and the two backwards spikes on the sides are absent, the topmost one slicked back. He wore the same style of white shirt, which only reaches to his thighs, a black vest with a high collar, long armbands which cover his forearms, and dark grey pants stuffed into his boots, similar to those worn by Organization XIII but without the silver lining on top, much like those worn by the guards of Radiant Garden. While traveling through time, he wears the Black Coat. Young Xehanort's body model in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is a copy of Saïx's, though it is likely that this is simply due to data recycling rather than any deeper significance.

Personality
Like Ansem and Xemnas, Xehanort is shown to be a cunning, callous, and pragmatic being with the sole goal of merging with Kingdom Hearts and obtain ultimate knowledge, the lives of innocent people and even his closest friends meaning absolutely nothing to him. To this end, he is willing to put whatever he pleases on the line or destroy anything in his way, demonstrated when he manipulated several characters such as Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Braig, and even Maleficent, created Vanitas, a sentient being born for the sole purpose of forwarding his evil plan, and slew his old friend Master Eraqus in cold blood after tricking Terra into defeating him in battle. He even shrugged off ruining Terra, Ventus, and Aqua's lives by telling Mickey and Riku that they were destined to fall, and went as far as to refer to Sora as a "dull, ordinary boy", despite Sora having foiled several of Master Xehanort's plans. In the case of the latter, Xehanort tends to have a series of back-up plans to occur whenever his previous scheme fails. Yen Sid mentions this to Mickey while discussing Xehanort, and describes him as a brilliant strategist.

Despite his overweening malice, Xehanort has been shown to have some slight sympathy for his victims, such as when he takes pity on Ventus, following the rupture of his heart, and decides to leave him to perish peacefully on the Destiny Islands. All of Xehanort's other seeming virtues are revealed to have sinister intentions behind them, demonstrated when he only took Ventus as an apprentice and cared for him solely with the intention of making the boy his vessel once he was strong enough, and when he only accepted Master Eraqus's invitation to witness the Mark of Mastery Exam to win back Eraqus's trust following their falling-out and sabotage the exam to put Terra on the path to darkness so as to make him his new vessel after deciding to instead use Ventus for the χ-blade.

Overall, Xehanort is the true catalyst of all the events in the series so far, effectively making him the true villain of the Xehanort Saga, having been responsible (either directly or indirectly) for converting Terra in the first of his many vessels, arranging his younger self's quest through time, the Disney villains' hunt for Kingdom Hearts, the creation of Vanitas, the Unversed, and the original Organization XIII, and the release of the Emblem Heartless and Nobodies. Xehanort has a few unusual tendencies and quirks, however, such as turning away from the people he speaks to, or over-dramatizing his hand gestures when delivering a speech, even flexing his fingers in an unusual manner, as if itching to grab something.

Abilities
Master Xehanort is an extremely skilled Keyblade Master and magic user. Able to teleport if he is in danger, Master Xehanort strikes opponents with powerful, fast-paced combos. He also can bombard foes with Thunder, Blizzard, and Earth-based magic. His magic skills are some of the most advanced seen in the series so far, as he is able to create massive rock formations and pillars, encase Ventus's body in ice, project a gust of wind powerful enough to send Ventus and Mickey flying from his hand, block Braig's Arrowgun shots without raising his arms, and telekinetically control the Keyblades covering the Keyblade Graveyard to attack Terra and Aqua. He also possesses physical strength sufficient to grab a fully-armored Ventus by the back of the head and lift him into the air with one hand.

Master Xehanort shows a great deal of skill in utilizing the heart and its capabilities, able to create a living being, Vanitas, out of the darkness of Ventus's heart when he unlocks it, and even able to direct his heart into Terra's body to possess it after his defeat in the Keyblade Graveyard. Master Xehanort's greatest asset, however, is his intellect and capacity for manipulation. For over a decade, he has, directly or indirectly, influenced many of the hardships and suffering the worlds have gone through, and always has backup plans ready in the event his initial schemes fail.

Young Xehanort has the ability to control time with enough precision to manipulate the flow of battle, either by slowing the opponent while unleashing a multitude of swift, powerful strikes, or reversing the flow of time to recover from damage. He is also an extremely skilled magic user, and is able to cast powerful spells based on the elements of Fire and Blizzard, fire magical shots similar to those fired by Sora in Wisdom Form, or teleport himself around the battlefield.

Weapon
Master Xehanort is able to wield his Keyblade with great skill despite his age, and enough of his strength has remained over the years that he is able to use it in fast-paced physical combos. His battle pose is similar to that of both Vanitas and Riku, but he mainly allows the Keyblade to hang loosely at his side as he walks slowly towards opponents. Master Xehanort also uses his Keyblade to unlock countless hearts, including his own.

Young Xehanort wields two weapons that bear a striking resemblance to Xemnas's Ethereal Blades. Unlike many of Xemnas's weapons, however, Xehanort's appear to have hilts. The blades are made of light blue energy, and the black handles are somewhat reminiscent of the Terminus and Ruination Ethereal Blades. The blades can be combined into a dual-blade or can extend to be lashed like a whip. Xehanort wields these weapons with a reverse grip. In his final battle with Riku at Where Nothing Gathers, Xehanort wields a Keyblade that incorporates elements of the No Name and Master Xehanort's Keyblade in his typicial battle pose that's similar to Riku's.

Trivia

 * Like the members of the original Organization XIII, Xehanort's name contains the letter "X", along with the anagrams "Another" and "No Heart".
 * Despite being the main antagonist of the Xehanort Saga, Xehanort does not appear in person until the sixth installment and does not meet Sora until the seventh one.