Xehanort

Unreleased

Master Xehanort is the main antagonist of the upcoming PSP game Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. Not much is known about him, but he is apparently a powerful mage and a skilled Keyblade warrior. Prior to release of his name, he was known as "Bald Man", "Old Man", or most commonly "UEM" meaning "Unknown Elder Mage". Some fans affectionately refer to him as "Baldinort" after the release of his name, in order to distinguish him from the current Xehanort. Any connection Master Xehanort has to Xehanort, or any other character, is currently unconfirmed.

Story
Little is known about the role the old man will play in the game. However, it has been known for quite a while that the main characters Terra, Aqua, and Ven are searching for him.

Sometime, either early in the story, or before it entirely, Master Xehanort disappeared alongside his enigmatic apprentice. The details of their disappearance are uncertain as of yet, but it is known that it foreshadows a great disaster in the universe of Kingdom Hearts. Apparently, he is in search of the Princesses of Heart, and judging by the trailer Birth By Sleep, he is also seeking Kingdom Hearts.

During the course of the game, he meets alone with Terra in the Gathering Place. He seems ashamed about his apprentice's lust for dark power, almost sorry, and perhaps lets on that he is not quite as evil as some may think. He further went on to say that those who submit to darkness are not qualified to wield the Keyblade, and that, that man (likely the Apprentice) is already a monster infused with darkness. He then seems to plead that Terra use his power to defeat the darkness and correct his mistake. This mistake is probably Xehanort not being able to stop his apprentice from falling into darkness.

Eventually, Master Xehanort faces off against the three warriors, alongside his apprentice. He utilizes incredibly powerful magic, especially what appears to be Blizzard magic that can completely freeze a person. He also wields a hefty Keyblade ambidextrously and moves with amazing speed. Terra and Ven stand no chance against him during the duel. As the duel comes to a end, he turns his Keyblade into a ball of dark energy and uses it to summon a blue Kingdom Hearts in the sky.

Appearance
Master Xehanort appears to be an old man, bald except for thin eyebrows and a long white goatee. His ears are pointed and his eyes are amber. He has broad, hunched shoulders and a crooked back. He overall appears as a somewhat feeble old man, certainly deceiving given his power. His attire is nearly identical to the clothes that Xehanort's Heartless wears in Kingdom Hearts, namely, a white and black cloak with a red inner lining, a white shirt, black boots and white gloves. The only major difference in appearance between them is that Xehanort's Heartless has his chest bared, along with his emblem on the front, while Master Xehanort does not. There are a few minor changes as well - Xehanort's Heartless' cloak has a gold lining on the edges, while Master Xehanort's cloak does not, etc. The similar appearance, along with his name, have given rise to immense speculation to a connection between the two.

Abilities
Despite his bent and fragile appearance, Master Xehanort appears to be one of the most powerful figures to show his face in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Master Xehanort is clearly a powerful mage. His magic is strong enough to make massive columns of earth erupt from the ground, and his ice magic encases Ven in ice. He is also able to teleport.

Master Xehanort also has the unique ability to wield a Keyblade. His Keyblade has a black/silver finish, a spiky shaft, and a head resembling the blade of a battle axe. It bears some similarities to Riku's Soul Eater and the Oblivion Keyblade. He has also been shown to be able to magically control hundreds of Keyblades and direct them into a destructive storm that moves as he wishes it. In battle, Master Xehanort has great strength; he is shown to deflect Terra's powerful strikes with a flick of his wrist, and grab Ven by the head, lift him bodily off the ground, and crush his helmet with one hand.

He also has an as-of-yet unseen power involving the Keyblade. He can turn it into a ball of blue-purple energy that can be fired into the sky, revealing Kingdom Hearts.

Speculation
The mysterious Master Xehanort has opened the world to many different assumptions.


 * One of the most common theories involves him possessing Terra. Due to Terra's similarities to Xehanort and his Nobody Xemnas, it is believed that Master Xehanort was consumed by the power of Kingdom Hearts, and his spirit went on to Terra, whose eyes subsequently turned yellow from the overwhelming darkness entering his heart. Terra then lost his memory and ended up in Radiant Garden, where all he could remember was his possessor's name, and became the man known as Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness in Kingdom Hearts. Terra's belt-buckle is reminiscent of the Nobody and Heartless symbols, giving a reason why these symbols came to be. Also, in Kingdom Hearts II:Final Mix+, Xemnas travels to the Room of Sleep to visit Aqua's Armor, and adressing it as friend. This ties Xemnas with an alliance to the three warriors in Birth by Sleep.  However it would make little sense since Terra shows up in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+. However, Tetsuya Nomura has stated that the battle between Terra and Sora is non-canon, and meant to be merely a test for players. Therefore, Terra could just as easily have been possessed.
 * A great possibility is that Master Xehanort was defeated by Terra, Ven, and Aqua, but somehow lost much of his power and became Xehanort himself, and began seeking Kingdom Hearts once again. This would explain the similar appearances between him and Xehanort's Heartless.
 * Master Xehanort's Apprentice could be the Xehanort that spawned the Heartless Ansem and the Nobody Xemnas. This theory would make sense due to Ansem The Seeker of Darkness' name belonging to Ansem the Wise, and perhaps Xehanort's name was stolen from Master Xehanort.