Wishing Scales: Ventus
May. 29th, 2012 11:02 pmPLAYER INFORMATION
Alias: Alphie
Preferred Personal Pronoun: she or they
Age: 21
Contact Info: AIM: trololololoki, Skype: cupcakecatalyst, Plurk: AlphieCentauri
Current Characters In-game: Arkata Vantas
Reserved?: Yes!
Reason for Playing: Well, in addition to being enabled, I've been wanting to play Ventus again for a LONG time. It's been almost a year since I last played him. Also, in addition to LOZ, Kingdom Hearts has always been one of my favorite games. So, being able to put my favorite Kingdom Hearts character into a Zelda universe was just ideal. As for what I'd like to happen with Ven in Wishing Scales, well, I think putting a character that has that much light in his heart into as dark of an environment as Termina, it might be a very interesting concept for him. While he's not unaccustomed to being in new worlds, he would be very interested in seeing how vastly different Termina is from his home world of Land of Departure. I think given the right means of adaptation, he could really thrive in Termina, as long as he can make sure that Aqua and Terra are safe.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Ventus
Canon: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Character Type: Canon!
Age: 15
Gender: Boy
Species: Human
Appearance: Here!
Canon Point: End Game, after falling asleep after his fight with Vanitas
Background: A long time ago, there was a young man by the name of Ventus working as an apprentice to the legendary Master Xehanort. It was a position the boy enjoyed, but sadly, he was not a good candidate for the Master’s plans. Instructed to fight against Heartless by embracing the darkness within him, he refused. It was not a path he wished to go down. Out of frustration with the boy, the Master decided he would take matters into his own hands, and unlock the darkness contained within the boy’s heart, all on his own. This darkness would divide this boy into two individuals. Himself, the being of pure light, and Vanitas, a doppleganger of himself composed of pure darkness.
However, this left Ventus in a broken state, and the light within him was growing weak and frail. He was then taken to a small island world known as Destiny Islands, in order to live out whatever few days he would supposedly have left. Whatever semblance of a heart and consciousness Ventus had left, delved into a dream like world known as the Dive to the Heart. Here, his heart encountered the incredibly young and newly formed heart of Sora. Both of their hearts connect, and Ventus’s begins to repair thanks to the light from Sora’s heart, and it allows Ventus to remain alive so he can learn to fix the damage caused to him on his own. This simple little encounter strikes Ventus’s still sleeping body to summon his Keyblade, leading to Xehanort realizing that he has to take Ventus elsewhere, and that elsewhere being the Land of Departure, where he would remain as an apprentice to Master Eraqus.
Two of the current students there, Aqua and Terra, were willing to accept Ventus almost instantly. However, upon being questioned about his past, Ventus wound up in a fit of pain and lost consciousness due to it. This has to do with Ventus having lost many of his memories from prior to arriving at the Land of Departure. He slept for a while, being watched over by the two new friends he had made, and upon finally waking—his heart began to heal.
Through close ties and bonds of friendship that had begun to form between him and the two others, he was able to grow close to these two, and his heart was able to gain strength from them. Specifically Terra, who he came to regard as a brother especially after receiving a wooden Keyblade from him, and being put through a mock ceremony to earn the title of Keyblade Master. At this moment, and after all these close ties with Aqua and Terra, the three of them realized they shared the dream of becoming real Keyblade Masters.
Despite how Ventus, Terra and Aqua always remain close, Ven never quite understands some of the things about himself, even when practically being told exactly what should be known. One night during a meteor shower, Ventus gathers Terra and Aqua with him and they all go outside to look at the night sky. Terra explains to the others that all the stars are others worlds, and have a strong light, just like the light Ventus carries within himself. Not understanding, the two boys get into a bit of a spar together, and proceed to get interrupted by Aqua who shows that she’s made the three of them good luck charms known as Wayfinders. These charms were blessed with a powerful magic that would connect the three of them, and make it so their unions could never be broken.
The Mark of Mastery exams that happen the next day for Aqua and Terra do not go as planned as sentient orbs of light meant for Aqua and Terra to fight against become rouge and attack the three Keybladers, leaving all three to participate against them. Somehow during this display of activity, Ventus once again gains the interest of Master Xehanort as well as his current apprentice, Vanitas.
After the ceremony, Vanitas appears in Ventus’s room, giving him incentive to leave home by stating that Terra is going to go down the wrong road, and that he’ll change, and Ventus will become left behind by him. Offended by the threats against his friend, Ventus states that Vanitas knows nothing about Terra, causing the figure to leave. In a panic, Ventus leaves his room, chasing after Terra in hopes of warning him about the stranger in his room. Sadly, it’s too late by the time he gets to Terra, and he has to go after him.
The first world Ventus arrives at in order to look for Terra is that of the Dwarves Woodlands, the world of Snow White. Initially, he is thought to be a thief, by the seven dwarves, and thus has to prove otherwise. Once earning their approval, he hears a scream off in the woods and goes to investigate, only to discover the princess Snow White, being attacked by Unversed. After saving her, he learns that she encountered Terra and he had helped her out. Ven immediately tries to figure out what has happened. He then encounters the Wicked Queen in the form of an elderly lady, who proceeds to tell him that Terra threatened her with his Keyblade. Ventus refuses to believes this and moves on to the next world.
The second world he goes to in order to search for Terra is that of Castle of Dreams, the world for Cinderella. He befriends the princess as well as one of her mouse friends, Jaq. He finds out very quickly that Terra is not there, but proceeds to lend a hand to help Cinderella get ready for the royal ball. Hearing about Cinderella’s dream to go to the ball reminds Ventus of the dream he shares with Terra and Aqua and how he’s sure that they’ll all reach it one day.
The next world he arrives at is the Enchanted Dominion, the world of Sleeping Beauty, where he gains another clue about Terra. He frees the heart of Princess Aurora, he crosses paths with Maleficent, who reveals to Ven that Terra is the one who took Aurora’s heart in the first place. Before Ventus can get too upset over this, Aqua arrives and reassures Ventus that this is something Terra would never do. Relieved to hear this, Ven is then instructed by Aqua to return home, but he stubbornly refuses after remembering the message left to him in regards to Terra becoming a different person.
Upon leaving this world, Ventus encounters Vanitas in the Lanes Between, the paths between worlds. He then chases the other to the Keyblade Graveyard where he tries to get some answers from Vanitas about what he’s been told. Being cryptic, Vanitas just repeats that Terra is going to become a different person, and Ventus is going to be too late to do anything. The two of them engage in battle, and Ven becomes incredibly overpowered very quickly, but is saved when King Mickey suddenly arrives and is able to help Ventus defeat him.
The king and Ventus then introduce one another, and Ven learns about the Star Shard that Mickey carries, that allows him to travel to other worlds. But almost instantly after this happens, the star shard sends them both to Radiant Garden. Ven tries to go after Mickey when they arrive there, and winds up at the castle of Radiant Garden, and is ordered to stop trying to go in by two of its guards, Dilan and Aeleus. From his position, he catches sight of a monstrous Unversed, and for the time gives up on his search for Mickey and goes after the Unversed instead. Ven gets interrupted on his way to the Unversed by Scrooge McDuck who he winds up saving, and thus receives a gift in the form of Lifetime passes to Disney Town.
Ventus finally tracks down the giant Unversed and runs into Terra and Aqua at the same time. The three of them team up and take down the giant enemy. And although it might seem that the three of them might be patching things up, by stating that they make a good team and they’re glad they’ve found one another, things only seem to fall apart. Aqua begins to instruct Ventus that he needs to go home, and that it’s not safe for him to be out here. Then a fight breaks out between her and Terra in regards to the darkness and the intentions Master Eraqus had for Aqua in respect to watching out for Terra. Ventus is completely lost, and almost hurt by seeing his friends fight light this. Terra leaves the two of them after a moment, and Ven is left alone with Aqua, completely wounded by what he has just seen. He mentions to Aqua that her becoming a Keyblade Master has gone to her head, and he runs off to search for Terra once more.
As his search continues, he witnesses a small boy known as Ienzo being attacked by Unversed, and without a second thought, he protects the boy and fends off the Unversed. After their defeat, a scientist from the castle, known as Even comes and thanks Ven for helping them, and is able to give Ven some advice as to where Terra might be.
But finding him again is bitter sweet. Terra leaves almost immediately after Ventus finds him and instructs him that he can’t come along. But some of the damage from the fight before is mended as Terra points out to Ventus that he knows that if he needs help, Ven will be there when he needs it. Shortly after, he finds Aqua again. Ven very adamantly insists to come along, but she orders him to return to their home, only to try and reassure the boy that she only wants him to be safe.
However, Ventus ignores her orders and remains in Radiant Garden, essentially moping and sitting around, being depressed about how he misses a time when his friendship with Tera and Aqua wasn’t so complicated. Darkness and fighting has come between the three of them, and he’s left wondering what it means to be friends with someone, and what it’s like to not have to be caught up in all this confusion and frustration. While remaining in Radiant Garden, he then meets two boys around his age, by the names of Lea and Isa. Rather quickly, he connects with them through a friendly sparring match and some playful teasing from Lea, who leaves him by pointing out that the three boys had become friends.
His journey then continued again, his resolve being reborn thanks to Lea and Isa. He decides to put his search for Aqua and Terra on hold and goes out to make some friends in new worlds so he can see what friendship is again.
The first stop he makes is at Disney Town. While the place isn’t heavily under the threat of the Unversed, he seems to arrive there at a time known as the Dream Festival, which has a lot of events going on in the world. But the real prize is the Million Dreams Award that goes to the towns most helpful citizen. As it turns out, the winner is a three way tie between Ventus, Terra and Aqua.
His next stop is the world of Olympus Coliseum, a world for Hercules. He meets two boys about his age, by the names of Zack and Hercules, and learns that Hercules has been training to be a hero under the great teacher Philotetes for a while. Zack had come into the picture wanting to train too, and both boys were given an ultimatum. Whoever won in the coliseum games, would be able to train to be a hero. However, the boys do compete, and frankly, neither boy actually wins. But Ventus feels close to these boys very quickly and feels a real bond to grow between himself and them. Feeling better, he concludes that he, Aqua and Terra will patch things up and they’ll all be okay.
The next world on the list is Deep Space, a world based on Lilo and Stitch. He doesn’t come to this world on purpose, however. He winds up chasing a giant Unversed to thus world instead. While there, he meets Experiment 626 which has escaped from his confinement, and Ven learns that this little alien has also made friends with Terra and Aqua. The two of them then team up and defeat the massive Unversed that Ven had witnessed, only to get captured and arrested. The two of then escape, Ven by utilizing his Keyblade, and 626 by using an escape pod that looks oddly like a red car.
Neverland was his next stop, and here, Ventus found King Mickey’s star shard, discovering that the other had arrived here. However, Captain Hook swept in and tried to not only steal the star shard, but Tinker Bell as well. Along with Peter Pan, Ventus and he teamed up and defeated Captain Hook and saved Tinker Bell and retrieved the star shard. After all was said and done, Peter, Ven and the Lost Boys decided to start placing their own personal treasures within a chest. And Ven just so happened to put in the wooden keyblade that he had received from Terra, declaring that even better memories would come soon between them. Then finally, as he obtains the star shard, the device activates, and Ventus is swept away with it.
His destination was that if the Mysterious Tower, where is he greeted by Donald and Goofy who immediately bring Ventus to meet master Yen Sid. It becomes news to Ventus to learn that Mickey has gone missing and when Yen Side uses his own magic to discover where Mickey has disappeared to, they discover that he is in danger. Ven, knowing that Mickey is his friend, offers to go after him.
But as Ventus arrives at the Keyblade Graveyard to look for Mickey, he finds that Master Xehanort is waiting for him. Ventus then learns about his fate about needing to form the x-Blade, and that this is the real reason why he was not allowed to leave home and why everyone kept trying to force the boy to return, as no one wants the x-Blade’s creation. He leaves, only to return to the Land of Departure, finally, to speak with Master Eraqus about whether or not this is true. Must to his displeasure, Eraqus aims to try and destroy Ventus, knowing exactly what Xehanort is planning. However, this does not happen as Terra arrives and saves Ventus by sending him off to another world—Destiny Islands. As he arrives there, Ventus encounters Vanitas once again, who explains to Ven that Xehanort split the two parts of Ventus’s heart in half to create both of them. Ventus’s memories begin to return to him, and Vanitas decides to give Ventus a reason to fight, by stating that he’s going to kill and destroy Terra and Aqua, and if he wants to stop this, to meet him at the Keyblade Graveyard. There is nothing else Ventus can do, so he returns to the Keyblade Grave Yard once again.
As he arrives there, he meets up with both of his friends and explains to them just about who he is and how he’s terrified of what he might have to do. And as his friends, he asks them both to destroy him in the even he has to fight Vanitas. Both friends try and reassure Ventus that things will be alright, and the gesture is unnecessary, but they don’t even get to answer him as Master Xehanort and Vanitas arrive. A fight commences between the three Keybladers, Xehanort and Vanitas, and Ventus becomes frozen by Xehanort and dropped off a cliff.
Aqua manages to catch him in time, only to get thrust into a battle with someone else, as that battle ends, Vanitas jumps down and knocks Aqua out. Ventus, using all the strength he can manages to break free from his freezing and challenges Vanitas. This battle dies down somewhat quickly and Ventus learns from him that all the Unversed came from his negativity. Ven gets restrained with several Unversed and Vanitas attempts to merge with Ventus and take over his body. Between the two of them, a sort of metaphysical battle occurs between them both of them, involving an incomplete x-Blade in Vanitas’s possession. Vanitas attempts to get Ventus to rejoin with him to finish completing it, but Ven refuses and aims to destroy the weapon, even if it means that he has to destroy his own heart. On the outside, Vanitas has taken control of Ventus’s body and has challenged Aqua and Mickey to a battle, and upon defeat externally, and Ventus’s victory against Vanitas inside his mind, Ventus is left in a comatose state, with his heart sleeping.
After this battle, Aqua brings Ventus back to the now mostly-destroyed Land of Departure, and locks the world away, turning it into Castle Oblivion, where she leaves Ventus’s sleeping body. But while the boy slept, another boy called out to him, asking if he was sad. Not knowing who it was, Ventus’s subsconsious heart followed the voice and the light that came with it, to the Dive to the Heart once again, and found a very young Sora, who offered him a place to recover in his own heart.
Personality: Ventus is a cheerful, but somewhat naïve boy. He’s aligned with the other Keyblade wielders in the fight to maintain the balance between light and darkness, although he is not an actual Keyblade Master. He is incredibly devoted to his friends, however this is somewhat of a downfall for him. Because of his constant devotion and loyalty towards those he cares about, he is very easily deceived and it is simple to fool him. But also very quick to anger. It is very common for Ventus to become frustrated and angry if someone were to insult his friends. He shows so with Terra when he's told that he is straying away from him and Aqua, and goes on to the defensive quickly. Ventus is easily blinded by his belief that his friends are truly perfect people, and doesn't seem to understand that his friends are human, and make mistakes, just like him. But it's all a part of his having a heart made almost solely of light. He has it in him to believe that all people are inherently good, and finds it difficult to believe that there are bad people in the worlds. So when he is exposed to elements proving his beliefs wrong, and that there is darkness everywhere, he has a very hard time accepting it.
But even with all of that, Ventus is friendly. He tries to make friends with all the people he meets, even the less than favorable types in his life. He doesn't like to judge people negatively from his first impression of them. Ventus seems to be the type to want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and believe they're a kind person. And when it proves him wrong, disappointment seems to be a hard pill for him to swallow. But this all ties in with just how naive he is. In a way, it's probably for the best that he doesn't have much exposure to unkind people, since after all, ignorance is bliss. And in Ventus's case, ignorance also could have saved him a lot of worry and frustration. Inherently, Ventus is an optimist. He truly has high hopes for a bright future, taking into consideration that as long as he and his friends stand by one another, they can all reach their dreams.
But when Ven gets disappointed, he takes it hard. Very hard. He's fallen deep, deep into a despair that doesn't suit him, and he's spent long periods dwelling on mistakes and things he has no power to fix. And although the spurts of disappointment are brief, they're harsh, and he really takes it out on himself, usually feeling as if he wasn't good enough to help his friends. Additionally, he gets into the same sort of mood when he gets angry, which is not often. But his anger is passionate, and usually with good reason, since the only real reason he's shown anger in the past has been in regards to the safety of his friends.
And finally, Ventus is sacrificial and in some way...selfless. While his chasing after Aqua and Terra came across as his own needy goal of not letting his friends abandon him, it all throws back to his relentless optimism. Ventus, at least at the end of the game, has come to understand what sort of significance he has on the worlds, and has come to accept that if he doesn't allow himself to be destroyed, it could spell disaster. Even though he longs for a future where he and his friends are happy, and nothing could hurt them, he knows that if he ever wants the rest of the worlds to know the happiness that he has experienced with his friends, then it means that he needs to be gone, so that others may live.
Powers: To put it simply, Ventus is the first Keyblade wielder positioned between light and darkness, having come and faced obstacles before Sora, Roxas and Xion together. His heart has been split between himself, and Vanitas. Most importantly, he is one of two figures needed to forge the χ-blade, and bring about a new Keyblade War, the other piece being Vanitas himself. For this to actually feasibly happen, he and Vanitas literally would need to fuse back together, re-bonding a heart that had once been split in two.
That aside, Ventus is the most agile and the quickest of the three Keyblade Wielders of Birth by Sleep, and is quite skilled with wind and light based attacks. While he isn’t the strongest of all the Keyblade users, he does make up for it in the fact he’s very quick and skilled at making combo style attacks. He also is skilled at using other elemental based attacks, as well, although he is best with wind and light.
In regards to his skill cards:
-Salvation: Ventus performs a spinning attack and sends columns of light out all around him to attack anything nearby.
-Curaga: Healing spell used to recover a hefty amount of health.
-Tornado: Using his keyblade for leverage, Ventus creates a large tornado and attacks anything that comes near him with a powerful gust of wind.
-Ars Arcanum: With some aerial assistance, Ventus is able to leap from the earth up into the sky and rocket downwards, repeatedly striking enemies multiple times with increasingly stronger attacks.
-Mine Square: Ventus creates a small square of mines around him that detonate when something other than himself steps on them.
-Faith: Both a combination and support skill. Ventus lets out powerful columns of light out around him to attack enemies, while healing himself.
-Tornado Strike: Ventus channels strong wind around his Keyblade and is able to use the wind in order to knock back enemies when he swings his weapon towards them, using the wind created to his advantage.
-Stratosphere: Ventus hurls himself into the air many times, high above the battleground and rockets back down to attack before shooting back up to repeat the process several times before crash landing and emitting powerful rays of light.
Additionally, each of the three main Keyblade users in Birth By Sleep all come with additional skill sets, known as command styles. Ventus uses a standard set known as Fever Pitch/Cyclone/Wingblade. In each of these, Ventus's Keyblade becomes progressively more powerful.
With Fever Pitch, his speed and agility increases greatly while he attacks, and to finish an combo with it, he releases five columns of light at his enemies.
With Cyclone (which is reached once Fever Pitch maxes out in Ventus's Command Gauge), this utilizes more of his proficiency with wind magic. His swings with his keyblade are more like spin attacks, and to finish a combo with Cyclone, he spins rapidly, creating a self contained tornado.
Finally with Wingblade (third stage in Ventus's command gauge), Ventus seems to trade out his Keyblade for six swords made of total light, that float behind him. He's able to attack many enemies at once when this happens, and uses a number of very powerful light based attacks.
Items:
-His Lost Memory Keyblade
-Skill Cards (See abilities section for information on each): Salvation, Curaga, Tornado, Ars Arcanum, Mine Square, Faith, Tornado Strike, Wind Raid
-A green, star shaped Way Finder
-A Disney Town pass
-Attack and Magic recipes
-Some strange Kingdom Hearts-verse candies
-Varying crystals from the Kingdom Hearts verse used in alchemizing weapons.
-A few potions
Instrument: Classical violin, with green around the edges.
SAMPLES
Bracket Sample
[He really should have known by this point that this sort of thing was not a good idea. There is nothing not sketchy about a strange man in a clock tower, willing to over look Ventus's panicking demeanor, and offer him answers. And information.]
I want your word, that you can help me out. Aqua and Terra, they're...
[His brows furrowed, and his normally soft, boyish demeanor slipped into that of a mature young man who knew what he wanted, and who was not going to back down.]
They're everything to me. And I need to know for sure that they're safe!
[He placed a hand to his heart, fingers clenching the fabric of his shirt slowly, defiance overcoming his face as he looked at the man, before his hand slipped into his pocket, pulling out the green and silver wayfinder that Aqua had given him before her and Terra's Mark of Mastery exam. His fingers clenched around the charm tightly.]
They're all I have, they're the ones who stood by me, and all the stupid stuff I've done! And--
[Ventus catches himself, noticing that his volume has increased a fair bit.]
I need to know that they're safe.
Prose Sample
A boy with a sunny expression seems to appear, sleeping, as if far away in another world. His eyes are closed, but twitching, as if he's about to snap out of a very vivid dream. He looks rather comfortable, slouched up against the wall of the clock tower, hands folded and slumped between his legs, bent at the knee and pulled up into a crouching sort of seat. His lips quirk a bit, sounds coming from him as he murmurs in his slumber. Some of the sounds become more audible, the occasional word slipping free before his eyes slowly and blearily open. He squints, raising a hand to block out any of the light shining down on him. And then it strikes him. Absolute shock slips on to his face, his eyes growing wide and concerned. He jumps to his feet, a large key producing itself within his hands. His heard turns about in every which direction, his lips pulling themselves into a frown as that shock in his eyes turns to anger and mild fear.
"Aqua! Terra!" he shouts out, alerting the bustling people of the town to his presence. The boy turns around, seeming to startle some of the locals with the giant key he holds tight in his hands. But as his mind seems to settle, and his heart stops racing, he lowers the weapon, watching as it magically vanishes into thin air. He genuinely looks nervous.
Last Ventus knew, he was inside of his own heart, the only other person inside with him was Vanitas. The two of them had been locked in such a powerful sort of combat that he'd lost track of time. And apparently space. Somewhere during that battle, he'd come to another world. A world that looked so...normal. So safe.
Almost peaceful.
He'd settled down at this point, he was no longer panicking. Although...His heart sank.
Just as he had finally reunited with his two best friends, two friends whom he was willing to sacrifice his own life for, they were gone. Where had they fled off to? Did they make it out alive? What about Master Xehanort? What had become of them all?
It all suddenly felt so familiar to him. It was like running away from home all over again. But this time...
He didn't want it.
Alias: Alphie
Preferred Personal Pronoun: she or they
Age: 21
Contact Info: AIM: trololololoki, Skype: cupcakecatalyst, Plurk: AlphieCentauri
Current Characters In-game: Arkata Vantas
Reserved?: Yes!
Reason for Playing: Well, in addition to being enabled, I've been wanting to play Ventus again for a LONG time. It's been almost a year since I last played him. Also, in addition to LOZ, Kingdom Hearts has always been one of my favorite games. So, being able to put my favorite Kingdom Hearts character into a Zelda universe was just ideal. As for what I'd like to happen with Ven in Wishing Scales, well, I think putting a character that has that much light in his heart into as dark of an environment as Termina, it might be a very interesting concept for him. While he's not unaccustomed to being in new worlds, he would be very interested in seeing how vastly different Termina is from his home world of Land of Departure. I think given the right means of adaptation, he could really thrive in Termina, as long as he can make sure that Aqua and Terra are safe.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Ventus
Canon: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Character Type: Canon!
Age: 15
Gender: Boy
Species: Human
Appearance: Here!
Canon Point: End Game, after falling asleep after his fight with Vanitas
Background: A long time ago, there was a young man by the name of Ventus working as an apprentice to the legendary Master Xehanort. It was a position the boy enjoyed, but sadly, he was not a good candidate for the Master’s plans. Instructed to fight against Heartless by embracing the darkness within him, he refused. It was not a path he wished to go down. Out of frustration with the boy, the Master decided he would take matters into his own hands, and unlock the darkness contained within the boy’s heart, all on his own. This darkness would divide this boy into two individuals. Himself, the being of pure light, and Vanitas, a doppleganger of himself composed of pure darkness.
However, this left Ventus in a broken state, and the light within him was growing weak and frail. He was then taken to a small island world known as Destiny Islands, in order to live out whatever few days he would supposedly have left. Whatever semblance of a heart and consciousness Ventus had left, delved into a dream like world known as the Dive to the Heart. Here, his heart encountered the incredibly young and newly formed heart of Sora. Both of their hearts connect, and Ventus’s begins to repair thanks to the light from Sora’s heart, and it allows Ventus to remain alive so he can learn to fix the damage caused to him on his own. This simple little encounter strikes Ventus’s still sleeping body to summon his Keyblade, leading to Xehanort realizing that he has to take Ventus elsewhere, and that elsewhere being the Land of Departure, where he would remain as an apprentice to Master Eraqus.
Two of the current students there, Aqua and Terra, were willing to accept Ventus almost instantly. However, upon being questioned about his past, Ventus wound up in a fit of pain and lost consciousness due to it. This has to do with Ventus having lost many of his memories from prior to arriving at the Land of Departure. He slept for a while, being watched over by the two new friends he had made, and upon finally waking—his heart began to heal.
Through close ties and bonds of friendship that had begun to form between him and the two others, he was able to grow close to these two, and his heart was able to gain strength from them. Specifically Terra, who he came to regard as a brother especially after receiving a wooden Keyblade from him, and being put through a mock ceremony to earn the title of Keyblade Master. At this moment, and after all these close ties with Aqua and Terra, the three of them realized they shared the dream of becoming real Keyblade Masters.
Despite how Ventus, Terra and Aqua always remain close, Ven never quite understands some of the things about himself, even when practically being told exactly what should be known. One night during a meteor shower, Ventus gathers Terra and Aqua with him and they all go outside to look at the night sky. Terra explains to the others that all the stars are others worlds, and have a strong light, just like the light Ventus carries within himself. Not understanding, the two boys get into a bit of a spar together, and proceed to get interrupted by Aqua who shows that she’s made the three of them good luck charms known as Wayfinders. These charms were blessed with a powerful magic that would connect the three of them, and make it so their unions could never be broken.
The Mark of Mastery exams that happen the next day for Aqua and Terra do not go as planned as sentient orbs of light meant for Aqua and Terra to fight against become rouge and attack the three Keybladers, leaving all three to participate against them. Somehow during this display of activity, Ventus once again gains the interest of Master Xehanort as well as his current apprentice, Vanitas.
After the ceremony, Vanitas appears in Ventus’s room, giving him incentive to leave home by stating that Terra is going to go down the wrong road, and that he’ll change, and Ventus will become left behind by him. Offended by the threats against his friend, Ventus states that Vanitas knows nothing about Terra, causing the figure to leave. In a panic, Ventus leaves his room, chasing after Terra in hopes of warning him about the stranger in his room. Sadly, it’s too late by the time he gets to Terra, and he has to go after him.
The first world Ventus arrives at in order to look for Terra is that of the Dwarves Woodlands, the world of Snow White. Initially, he is thought to be a thief, by the seven dwarves, and thus has to prove otherwise. Once earning their approval, he hears a scream off in the woods and goes to investigate, only to discover the princess Snow White, being attacked by Unversed. After saving her, he learns that she encountered Terra and he had helped her out. Ven immediately tries to figure out what has happened. He then encounters the Wicked Queen in the form of an elderly lady, who proceeds to tell him that Terra threatened her with his Keyblade. Ventus refuses to believes this and moves on to the next world.
The second world he goes to in order to search for Terra is that of Castle of Dreams, the world for Cinderella. He befriends the princess as well as one of her mouse friends, Jaq. He finds out very quickly that Terra is not there, but proceeds to lend a hand to help Cinderella get ready for the royal ball. Hearing about Cinderella’s dream to go to the ball reminds Ventus of the dream he shares with Terra and Aqua and how he’s sure that they’ll all reach it one day.
The next world he arrives at is the Enchanted Dominion, the world of Sleeping Beauty, where he gains another clue about Terra. He frees the heart of Princess Aurora, he crosses paths with Maleficent, who reveals to Ven that Terra is the one who took Aurora’s heart in the first place. Before Ventus can get too upset over this, Aqua arrives and reassures Ventus that this is something Terra would never do. Relieved to hear this, Ven is then instructed by Aqua to return home, but he stubbornly refuses after remembering the message left to him in regards to Terra becoming a different person.
Upon leaving this world, Ventus encounters Vanitas in the Lanes Between, the paths between worlds. He then chases the other to the Keyblade Graveyard where he tries to get some answers from Vanitas about what he’s been told. Being cryptic, Vanitas just repeats that Terra is going to become a different person, and Ventus is going to be too late to do anything. The two of them engage in battle, and Ven becomes incredibly overpowered very quickly, but is saved when King Mickey suddenly arrives and is able to help Ventus defeat him.
The king and Ventus then introduce one another, and Ven learns about the Star Shard that Mickey carries, that allows him to travel to other worlds. But almost instantly after this happens, the star shard sends them both to Radiant Garden. Ven tries to go after Mickey when they arrive there, and winds up at the castle of Radiant Garden, and is ordered to stop trying to go in by two of its guards, Dilan and Aeleus. From his position, he catches sight of a monstrous Unversed, and for the time gives up on his search for Mickey and goes after the Unversed instead. Ven gets interrupted on his way to the Unversed by Scrooge McDuck who he winds up saving, and thus receives a gift in the form of Lifetime passes to Disney Town.
Ventus finally tracks down the giant Unversed and runs into Terra and Aqua at the same time. The three of them team up and take down the giant enemy. And although it might seem that the three of them might be patching things up, by stating that they make a good team and they’re glad they’ve found one another, things only seem to fall apart. Aqua begins to instruct Ventus that he needs to go home, and that it’s not safe for him to be out here. Then a fight breaks out between her and Terra in regards to the darkness and the intentions Master Eraqus had for Aqua in respect to watching out for Terra. Ventus is completely lost, and almost hurt by seeing his friends fight light this. Terra leaves the two of them after a moment, and Ven is left alone with Aqua, completely wounded by what he has just seen. He mentions to Aqua that her becoming a Keyblade Master has gone to her head, and he runs off to search for Terra once more.
As his search continues, he witnesses a small boy known as Ienzo being attacked by Unversed, and without a second thought, he protects the boy and fends off the Unversed. After their defeat, a scientist from the castle, known as Even comes and thanks Ven for helping them, and is able to give Ven some advice as to where Terra might be.
But finding him again is bitter sweet. Terra leaves almost immediately after Ventus finds him and instructs him that he can’t come along. But some of the damage from the fight before is mended as Terra points out to Ventus that he knows that if he needs help, Ven will be there when he needs it. Shortly after, he finds Aqua again. Ven very adamantly insists to come along, but she orders him to return to their home, only to try and reassure the boy that she only wants him to be safe.
However, Ventus ignores her orders and remains in Radiant Garden, essentially moping and sitting around, being depressed about how he misses a time when his friendship with Tera and Aqua wasn’t so complicated. Darkness and fighting has come between the three of them, and he’s left wondering what it means to be friends with someone, and what it’s like to not have to be caught up in all this confusion and frustration. While remaining in Radiant Garden, he then meets two boys around his age, by the names of Lea and Isa. Rather quickly, he connects with them through a friendly sparring match and some playful teasing from Lea, who leaves him by pointing out that the three boys had become friends.
His journey then continued again, his resolve being reborn thanks to Lea and Isa. He decides to put his search for Aqua and Terra on hold and goes out to make some friends in new worlds so he can see what friendship is again.
The first stop he makes is at Disney Town. While the place isn’t heavily under the threat of the Unversed, he seems to arrive there at a time known as the Dream Festival, which has a lot of events going on in the world. But the real prize is the Million Dreams Award that goes to the towns most helpful citizen. As it turns out, the winner is a three way tie between Ventus, Terra and Aqua.
His next stop is the world of Olympus Coliseum, a world for Hercules. He meets two boys about his age, by the names of Zack and Hercules, and learns that Hercules has been training to be a hero under the great teacher Philotetes for a while. Zack had come into the picture wanting to train too, and both boys were given an ultimatum. Whoever won in the coliseum games, would be able to train to be a hero. However, the boys do compete, and frankly, neither boy actually wins. But Ventus feels close to these boys very quickly and feels a real bond to grow between himself and them. Feeling better, he concludes that he, Aqua and Terra will patch things up and they’ll all be okay.
The next world on the list is Deep Space, a world based on Lilo and Stitch. He doesn’t come to this world on purpose, however. He winds up chasing a giant Unversed to thus world instead. While there, he meets Experiment 626 which has escaped from his confinement, and Ven learns that this little alien has also made friends with Terra and Aqua. The two of them then team up and defeat the massive Unversed that Ven had witnessed, only to get captured and arrested. The two of then escape, Ven by utilizing his Keyblade, and 626 by using an escape pod that looks oddly like a red car.
Neverland was his next stop, and here, Ventus found King Mickey’s star shard, discovering that the other had arrived here. However, Captain Hook swept in and tried to not only steal the star shard, but Tinker Bell as well. Along with Peter Pan, Ventus and he teamed up and defeated Captain Hook and saved Tinker Bell and retrieved the star shard. After all was said and done, Peter, Ven and the Lost Boys decided to start placing their own personal treasures within a chest. And Ven just so happened to put in the wooden keyblade that he had received from Terra, declaring that even better memories would come soon between them. Then finally, as he obtains the star shard, the device activates, and Ventus is swept away with it.
His destination was that if the Mysterious Tower, where is he greeted by Donald and Goofy who immediately bring Ventus to meet master Yen Sid. It becomes news to Ventus to learn that Mickey has gone missing and when Yen Side uses his own magic to discover where Mickey has disappeared to, they discover that he is in danger. Ven, knowing that Mickey is his friend, offers to go after him.
But as Ventus arrives at the Keyblade Graveyard to look for Mickey, he finds that Master Xehanort is waiting for him. Ventus then learns about his fate about needing to form the x-Blade, and that this is the real reason why he was not allowed to leave home and why everyone kept trying to force the boy to return, as no one wants the x-Blade’s creation. He leaves, only to return to the Land of Departure, finally, to speak with Master Eraqus about whether or not this is true. Must to his displeasure, Eraqus aims to try and destroy Ventus, knowing exactly what Xehanort is planning. However, this does not happen as Terra arrives and saves Ventus by sending him off to another world—Destiny Islands. As he arrives there, Ventus encounters Vanitas once again, who explains to Ven that Xehanort split the two parts of Ventus’s heart in half to create both of them. Ventus’s memories begin to return to him, and Vanitas decides to give Ventus a reason to fight, by stating that he’s going to kill and destroy Terra and Aqua, and if he wants to stop this, to meet him at the Keyblade Graveyard. There is nothing else Ventus can do, so he returns to the Keyblade Grave Yard once again.
As he arrives there, he meets up with both of his friends and explains to them just about who he is and how he’s terrified of what he might have to do. And as his friends, he asks them both to destroy him in the even he has to fight Vanitas. Both friends try and reassure Ventus that things will be alright, and the gesture is unnecessary, but they don’t even get to answer him as Master Xehanort and Vanitas arrive. A fight commences between the three Keybladers, Xehanort and Vanitas, and Ventus becomes frozen by Xehanort and dropped off a cliff.
Aqua manages to catch him in time, only to get thrust into a battle with someone else, as that battle ends, Vanitas jumps down and knocks Aqua out. Ventus, using all the strength he can manages to break free from his freezing and challenges Vanitas. This battle dies down somewhat quickly and Ventus learns from him that all the Unversed came from his negativity. Ven gets restrained with several Unversed and Vanitas attempts to merge with Ventus and take over his body. Between the two of them, a sort of metaphysical battle occurs between them both of them, involving an incomplete x-Blade in Vanitas’s possession. Vanitas attempts to get Ventus to rejoin with him to finish completing it, but Ven refuses and aims to destroy the weapon, even if it means that he has to destroy his own heart. On the outside, Vanitas has taken control of Ventus’s body and has challenged Aqua and Mickey to a battle, and upon defeat externally, and Ventus’s victory against Vanitas inside his mind, Ventus is left in a comatose state, with his heart sleeping.
After this battle, Aqua brings Ventus back to the now mostly-destroyed Land of Departure, and locks the world away, turning it into Castle Oblivion, where she leaves Ventus’s sleeping body. But while the boy slept, another boy called out to him, asking if he was sad. Not knowing who it was, Ventus’s subsconsious heart followed the voice and the light that came with it, to the Dive to the Heart once again, and found a very young Sora, who offered him a place to recover in his own heart.
Personality: Ventus is a cheerful, but somewhat naïve boy. He’s aligned with the other Keyblade wielders in the fight to maintain the balance between light and darkness, although he is not an actual Keyblade Master. He is incredibly devoted to his friends, however this is somewhat of a downfall for him. Because of his constant devotion and loyalty towards those he cares about, he is very easily deceived and it is simple to fool him. But also very quick to anger. It is very common for Ventus to become frustrated and angry if someone were to insult his friends. He shows so with Terra when he's told that he is straying away from him and Aqua, and goes on to the defensive quickly. Ventus is easily blinded by his belief that his friends are truly perfect people, and doesn't seem to understand that his friends are human, and make mistakes, just like him. But it's all a part of his having a heart made almost solely of light. He has it in him to believe that all people are inherently good, and finds it difficult to believe that there are bad people in the worlds. So when he is exposed to elements proving his beliefs wrong, and that there is darkness everywhere, he has a very hard time accepting it.
But even with all of that, Ventus is friendly. He tries to make friends with all the people he meets, even the less than favorable types in his life. He doesn't like to judge people negatively from his first impression of them. Ventus seems to be the type to want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and believe they're a kind person. And when it proves him wrong, disappointment seems to be a hard pill for him to swallow. But this all ties in with just how naive he is. In a way, it's probably for the best that he doesn't have much exposure to unkind people, since after all, ignorance is bliss. And in Ventus's case, ignorance also could have saved him a lot of worry and frustration. Inherently, Ventus is an optimist. He truly has high hopes for a bright future, taking into consideration that as long as he and his friends stand by one another, they can all reach their dreams.
But when Ven gets disappointed, he takes it hard. Very hard. He's fallen deep, deep into a despair that doesn't suit him, and he's spent long periods dwelling on mistakes and things he has no power to fix. And although the spurts of disappointment are brief, they're harsh, and he really takes it out on himself, usually feeling as if he wasn't good enough to help his friends. Additionally, he gets into the same sort of mood when he gets angry, which is not often. But his anger is passionate, and usually with good reason, since the only real reason he's shown anger in the past has been in regards to the safety of his friends.
And finally, Ventus is sacrificial and in some way...selfless. While his chasing after Aqua and Terra came across as his own needy goal of not letting his friends abandon him, it all throws back to his relentless optimism. Ventus, at least at the end of the game, has come to understand what sort of significance he has on the worlds, and has come to accept that if he doesn't allow himself to be destroyed, it could spell disaster. Even though he longs for a future where he and his friends are happy, and nothing could hurt them, he knows that if he ever wants the rest of the worlds to know the happiness that he has experienced with his friends, then it means that he needs to be gone, so that others may live.
Powers: To put it simply, Ventus is the first Keyblade wielder positioned between light and darkness, having come and faced obstacles before Sora, Roxas and Xion together. His heart has been split between himself, and Vanitas. Most importantly, he is one of two figures needed to forge the χ-blade, and bring about a new Keyblade War, the other piece being Vanitas himself. For this to actually feasibly happen, he and Vanitas literally would need to fuse back together, re-bonding a heart that had once been split in two.
That aside, Ventus is the most agile and the quickest of the three Keyblade Wielders of Birth by Sleep, and is quite skilled with wind and light based attacks. While he isn’t the strongest of all the Keyblade users, he does make up for it in the fact he’s very quick and skilled at making combo style attacks. He also is skilled at using other elemental based attacks, as well, although he is best with wind and light.
In regards to his skill cards:
-Salvation: Ventus performs a spinning attack and sends columns of light out all around him to attack anything nearby.
-Curaga: Healing spell used to recover a hefty amount of health.
-Tornado: Using his keyblade for leverage, Ventus creates a large tornado and attacks anything that comes near him with a powerful gust of wind.
-Ars Arcanum: With some aerial assistance, Ventus is able to leap from the earth up into the sky and rocket downwards, repeatedly striking enemies multiple times with increasingly stronger attacks.
-Mine Square: Ventus creates a small square of mines around him that detonate when something other than himself steps on them.
-Faith: Both a combination and support skill. Ventus lets out powerful columns of light out around him to attack enemies, while healing himself.
-Tornado Strike: Ventus channels strong wind around his Keyblade and is able to use the wind in order to knock back enemies when he swings his weapon towards them, using the wind created to his advantage.
-Stratosphere: Ventus hurls himself into the air many times, high above the battleground and rockets back down to attack before shooting back up to repeat the process several times before crash landing and emitting powerful rays of light.
Additionally, each of the three main Keyblade users in Birth By Sleep all come with additional skill sets, known as command styles. Ventus uses a standard set known as Fever Pitch/Cyclone/Wingblade. In each of these, Ventus's Keyblade becomes progressively more powerful.
With Fever Pitch, his speed and agility increases greatly while he attacks, and to finish an combo with it, he releases five columns of light at his enemies.
With Cyclone (which is reached once Fever Pitch maxes out in Ventus's Command Gauge), this utilizes more of his proficiency with wind magic. His swings with his keyblade are more like spin attacks, and to finish a combo with Cyclone, he spins rapidly, creating a self contained tornado.
Finally with Wingblade (third stage in Ventus's command gauge), Ventus seems to trade out his Keyblade for six swords made of total light, that float behind him. He's able to attack many enemies at once when this happens, and uses a number of very powerful light based attacks.
Items:
-His Lost Memory Keyblade
-Skill Cards (See abilities section for information on each): Salvation, Curaga, Tornado, Ars Arcanum, Mine Square, Faith, Tornado Strike, Wind Raid
-A green, star shaped Way Finder
-A Disney Town pass
-Attack and Magic recipes
-Some strange Kingdom Hearts-verse candies
-Varying crystals from the Kingdom Hearts verse used in alchemizing weapons.
-A few potions
Instrument: Classical violin, with green around the edges.
SAMPLES
Bracket Sample
[He really should have known by this point that this sort of thing was not a good idea. There is nothing not sketchy about a strange man in a clock tower, willing to over look Ventus's panicking demeanor, and offer him answers. And information.]
I want your word, that you can help me out. Aqua and Terra, they're...
[His brows furrowed, and his normally soft, boyish demeanor slipped into that of a mature young man who knew what he wanted, and who was not going to back down.]
They're everything to me. And I need to know for sure that they're safe!
[He placed a hand to his heart, fingers clenching the fabric of his shirt slowly, defiance overcoming his face as he looked at the man, before his hand slipped into his pocket, pulling out the green and silver wayfinder that Aqua had given him before her and Terra's Mark of Mastery exam. His fingers clenched around the charm tightly.]
They're all I have, they're the ones who stood by me, and all the stupid stuff I've done! And--
[Ventus catches himself, noticing that his volume has increased a fair bit.]
I need to know that they're safe.
Prose Sample
A boy with a sunny expression seems to appear, sleeping, as if far away in another world. His eyes are closed, but twitching, as if he's about to snap out of a very vivid dream. He looks rather comfortable, slouched up against the wall of the clock tower, hands folded and slumped between his legs, bent at the knee and pulled up into a crouching sort of seat. His lips quirk a bit, sounds coming from him as he murmurs in his slumber. Some of the sounds become more audible, the occasional word slipping free before his eyes slowly and blearily open. He squints, raising a hand to block out any of the light shining down on him. And then it strikes him. Absolute shock slips on to his face, his eyes growing wide and concerned. He jumps to his feet, a large key producing itself within his hands. His heard turns about in every which direction, his lips pulling themselves into a frown as that shock in his eyes turns to anger and mild fear.
"Aqua! Terra!" he shouts out, alerting the bustling people of the town to his presence. The boy turns around, seeming to startle some of the locals with the giant key he holds tight in his hands. But as his mind seems to settle, and his heart stops racing, he lowers the weapon, watching as it magically vanishes into thin air. He genuinely looks nervous.
Last Ventus knew, he was inside of his own heart, the only other person inside with him was Vanitas. The two of them had been locked in such a powerful sort of combat that he'd lost track of time. And apparently space. Somewhere during that battle, he'd come to another world. A world that looked so...normal. So safe.
Almost peaceful.
He'd settled down at this point, he was no longer panicking. Although...His heart sank.
Just as he had finally reunited with his two best friends, two friends whom he was willing to sacrifice his own life for, they were gone. Where had they fled off to? Did they make it out alive? What about Master Xehanort? What had become of them all?
It all suddenly felt so familiar to him. It was like running away from home all over again. But this time...
He didn't want it.