On a world of crashing waves, sunny days and a cheerful atmosphere, a young man stands at the shore, with silver hair, golden eyes, dark skin, and an outfit primarily consisting of black and grey. The man's name was simply Xehanort.
"This world is just too small," Xehanort said, lamenting how limited everything in the world of Destiny Islands was. Despite it being all he's ever known, Xehanort had always dreamed of more, of places beyond his world to explore, even though he had no means of reaching them, should they even exist.
If I were to leave here, probably forever, would anyone miss me? Xehanort wondered internally. After all, I have no family, very few friends, and no accomplishments in my life or goals for the future. It would be so easy for me to just disappear.
Suddenly, a cluster of dark clouds rolled in out of the blue, obscuring the bright sun and casting Xehanort in shadow. A few seconds later, as if the universe had listened to his thoughts, a strange black and white portal emerged a mere few feet away from him.
Well, aren't you an interesting object? Xehanort thought, as he stepped closer to the portal. I wonder if you'll lead me to where I desire to go. Tentatively, Xehanort reached his arm into the portal, feeling it burning hot and freezing cold both at once. In response to his pain, Xehanort attempted to remove his arm, but found that he was slowly getting pulled further in. However, his greatest desire quickly filled his thoughts and he ceased resistance, stepping inside as darkness overtook him.
—
With every muscle in his body aching, Xehanort finally managed to open his eyes. He expected it to have all been a weird dream with his aches being the result of some misshapen sleeping position, but he quickly realized that he was not in his room.
"Where… am I?" He wondered aloud, wandering forward as he took in his surroundings.
Looking around, Xehanort saw a magnificent white and golden castle in front of him, with a series of steps leading to it, and large mountains and valleys strewn about the landscape. It appeared to be midday, judging by the position of the sun, but he had no way of accurately determining it.
"So Yen Sid, looks like it's time for lunch break, huh?" A masculine, yet rather soft, voice said from behind the lost islander, causing him to turn his head in confusion.
"That it is, Eraqus," another voice, this one deeper, replied.
Internally panicking over who the two may be, Xehanort simply froze, waiting to see the two inhabitants of the world he miraculously ended up in.
After a few seconds, two boys of similar age to Xehanort himself stepped up to the platform he was currently on. One of them had black hair in a small ponytail, with a tan cloak, golden boots and a sort of armor covering his torso, colored dark blue, sea green and silver, with an ornate insignia engraved in the chest. The other boy was wearing a deep blue robe with turquoise trim and a wizard's hat with yellow stars and a crescent moon printed on it.
"I wish the Master weren't so insistent on our training. Honestly, with training like thi…" The first boy paused upon seeing Xehanort, stopping in his tracks. The other one simply stared intently at Xehanort, viewing him as though he were a cornered animal that had been caged for study.
"Hey… you're not supposed to be here," the first boy said as he approached Xehanort, "we won't hurt you, don't worry."
The silver-haired youth was too panicked by his predicament to listen to the other boy. Sweat rolled down his neck as his eyes flitted around with worry and trepidation.
"Where am I? How did I get here? Who are these people?!" he asked, but his fear had overtaken his senses, and no words left his mouth.
Xehanort began stepping backward to create some distance between the pair and himself, but soon tripped out of fright, landing on the ground with a solid thud.
"Stay back," he commanded, keeping a flat tone of voice as to not sound hostile.
"I said we wouldn't hurt you, young man. Now just stand up and we'll try to help," he said, ignoring Xehanort's words and getting closer to the newcomer.
"I said stay back!" Xehanort shouted, standing up. Suddenly, power surged through him as some sort of energy manifested in his right hand. The energy coalesced into a strange weapon in moments, prompting the silver-haired youth to attack the boy in front of him with it, but the boy had generated a similar weapon in the same instant and blocked the blow.
"Whoa, take it easy, I never figured you could wield a Keyblade," he said casually, not paying heed to the weapon a few inches from his skull.
"Key… blade?" Xehanort asked, confused. Looking more closely at the weapon in his hand, the end of the blade seemed to resemble a clock striking one, with several dark blue and curved blades protruding from the end, and various dark blue and cyan gears forming the blade itself, as well as the guard and hilt. Attached at the end was a chain, the end holding a crown.
"Oh, so this is your first time summoning it, huh?" The black-haired boy dissolved his Keyblade and stepped to the side, throwing Xehanort off balance and allowing him to fall to the ground once more. "I should show you to the Master. The name's Eraqus, and that's Yen Sid," he motioned to the other boy as he helped the golden-eyed youth up.
"Xehanort. I have no idea just how I got here, but maybe this Master of yours knows something," Xehanort explained, still holding his Keyblade. Eraqus lead him up the steps to the castle, with Yen Sid following close behind.
"So, just to shed some light on my current situation, just where am I?" Xehanort asked when they reached the main door.
"This world is called the Land of Departure. It's where the Keyblade Masters of old had their training. Been like that since this world's existed," Eraqus explained.
Xehanort's gaze widened as he listened to Eraqus' words, "Wait… did you say 'world'?"
"That I did," the black-haired youth replied, "Is there something wrong with that?"
Any trace of fear had been replaced by the excitement coursing through the newcomer's veins, "So other worlds do exist. I knew they weren't just fairy tales. Say, how many worlds-"
"Perhaps you can hold the questions for now. Master Inex should be able to tell you more," Yen Sid interrupted, gesturing to Eraqus to open the door. Eraqus did so, bringing the three of them to a large, ornate room with three, rather out of place, simple wooden thrones at the end of the hall. Sitting in the center throne was a man much older than the two next to him, with light brown hair, a very deep blue coat with yellow trim, underneath holding a white shirt and brown pants, boots holding similar color to his coat and a small pair of reading glasses, through which he was reading a fairly sizeable tome that rested in his lap.
"Master Inex! We've found another Keybearer!" Eraqus shouted from the other side of the hall. The three boys approached the Keyblade Master, who looked up from his book to inspect the new recruit, raising an eyebrow but cracking a small smile.
"Well, hello, young man. My name is Master Inex, and I believe you've already met my two apprentices, Eraqus and Yen Sid. Tell me, what is your name and how did you happen upon our world, much less wield the weapon of legend?" He asked, closing the book he was reading, a soft smile crossing his features.
"It's Xehanort. I'm from a world called Destiny Islands, but earlier today, I think, some sort of portal brought me here, your two apprentices greeting me shortly after I arrived. In panic induced self-defense, I happened to summon this 'Keyblade', and in response, they brought me before you," Xehanort explained, presenting his Keyblade to the Master.
Inex moved his spectacles down, inspecting the Keyblade intently. "Well, like most Keybearers, it seems your heart sensed your feeling of danger and, with its strength, manifested your Keyblade as a means of defending yourself. I don't fully understand it myself, but it's the best assumption I can manage," Inex said, leaning back in his throne.
"What do you suggest we do, Master Inex?" Yen Sid asked, wondering about the future of the boy they had just met.
"Well, since we do have spare bedrooms here, and you two could really use another partner. Xehanort, how would you like to become my apprentice?" Inex proposed, resting the book at his side and standing up.
The moment Inex finished his sentence, Xehanort began thinking intently. True, this was what he wanted, to explore other worlds and see what they had to offer, and as he noted earlier that day, no one would really miss him back at his home world. However, these were three men he knew nothing about, and they could very well be lying to him, not to mention the dangers that could exist in worlds other than his own. After a solid minute of thought, Xehanort finally responded.
"Yes, Master Inex, I would be glad to become your apprentice and learn the ways of the Keyblade."
"Very well. Eraqus, Yen Sid, please escort your new fellow apprentice to his quarters. They're right next to yours."
Eraqus and Yen Sid nodded, and led Xehanort to a hallway to the left.
"This is where my new life begins, huh?" Xehanort pondered, "Well, let's hope it's better than my old one."