Hello everyone, and welcome to my first Kingdom Hearts fic. I was convinced (read: threatened) to do this by a friend of mine at school, and well… here it is. This was originally meant to be a collab with said friend, but she refused. So she's instead the beta for the story.
This is a completely original story depicting the Age of Fairytales, the first Keyblade War, and some key events that occurred after. There will be plenty of OCs, since this takes place before even Yen Sid was born. A warning though (this will be posted at the end also), there will be many details, major and minor, that are different from what is by Birth by Sleep. This is intentional, so please don't point out things like that in reviews. Thank you.
This is a non-profit story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Organization XIII would've been the heroes of KH2 (don't judge me).
There is a reason for all knowledge regarding the world before the Keyblade Wars ever existed. For, if the warriors of light were to know, their resolve would waver, they'd gaze at their Keyblades with disgust. For the Keyblade, regardless of the ones wield it today, was forged and used not to defeat nor herald darkness, but with the intention to kill. The Keyblade came into existence for the sole purpose of being the ultimate weapon of war.
So the story beyond this passage will be kept hidden now and forever more. For if this story comes to light, the Worlds will be sentenced to a fate worse than no light: no hope.
Chapter 1: Let the Good Times Role
Palace Gardens – Radiant Garden, Capital of the World
A man walked down the pathway in the middle of the garden. To his left and right, flora and fauna of the most common and most exotic could be seen. There were paths branching deeper into the garden, giving a great temptation to go even further into the world of nature crafted by man. Alas, the man was on a schedule. He had somewhere to be, and someone to meet. And so, with a farewell to the garden and a promise to return, the man concluded the garden path and walked up the steps to the entrance of the castle. It was time to meet an old friend.
Opening the door, the light of the candles yet to be put out illuminated him and his cropped back, dark hair. He was quite the modest man, despite living in the richest city in the world. He wore black pants held on by a single, dark brown belt. His shirt, a light tan with two belts, not unlike the one around his waist, strapped onto his chest in an X-shaped pattern. He was currently wearing his black cloak (the mornings can be cold, but are wonderful for walks). Anyone would find the man out of place given where he was. Still, he had a reason to be here, a good one at that.
The moment he entered the castle, everyone's eyes were on him. They always were. Some eyes judged, other observed, but one pair held joy. The owner of said eyes was a man who looked even more out of place, sporting dirty brown hair to go with his green eyes, wearing nothing but an un-tucked, sky blue shirt and tan leggings, yet this man also has an important reason for being here. Both men gave each other a smile and approached the other. However, before either man could speak, a third did.
"Presenting his royal prince, Crown Prince Astraeus! First son of his majesty, Lord Ansem the Ingenious! " The herald called out as everyone in the room instantly bowed. All, except one man. The same man who still had the eyes filled with happiness. Only now amusement could be seen in them as well.
"You'd think after my tenth visit he'd stop saying that." The man said, chuckling slightly, earning a smile from Astraeus.
A man who was bowing immediately stood up and pointed at the man with rage. "How dare you disrespect the prince?! You should be arrested for treason!"
"If anyone should be arrested for treason, it should be you. Now silence." Astraeus spoke with great venom towards the accuser, silencing him. Astraeus never bothered to learn the names of those he's surrounded by in court (the servants make better company than the rich snobs). At best, he knows that the man who is bold enough to talk against a close friend of 'the prince' is a noble. Everyone here is either a noble or a servant, subject to his grace and wrath.
"Still have a way with words I see." The man said and in a flash, Astraeus' face reclaimed its smile.
"Well they don't have a choice but to obey. Be careful, I might have to command you as well, Zephyr." Astraeus slightly teased.
Zephyr fake-scoffed at the remark. "The light of Kingdom Hearts will go out before that will happen, and how many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Zeph, Zephyr makes me sound far too important than what I am."
"You're an important friend to me, Zephyr. Now come, we have much to talk about. It has been over a month since your last visit." Astraeus and Zephyr began walking towards the castle's plaza. Everyone else took this as permission to leave.
The plaza was an amazing place. Not like how the garden is, but special in its own right. Nearly everything was made of marble with polished stone making up the walkways leading to the four doors: one leading to the throne room, one to the guest tower, another to the gardens, and the last leads outside. All four pathways converge on the center of the courtyard, which bestowed the most spectacular fountain this side of the world. Possessing three layers, the fountain spanned a radius of three adults lying down and boasted a height twice the size of Astraeus or Zephyr. Standing atop the fountain, in all its glory, was a statue depicting the founder of the country that's currently the largest.
"You know." Zephyr began, staring at the statue of the man who started the Ansem lineage. "I wonder what your ancestor was thinking declaring Radiant Garden the Capital of the World. There are still other countries out there, so I think he had far too great of an expectation in thinking your country will rule the world."
"Can't help but agree." Astraeus said, staring at the statue of the first Ansem: Ansem the Conqueror. The man who brought a country the size of Radiant Garden to half the size of the country it is today in his lifetime alone. No one knows how he did it. Some say Kingdom Hearts blessed him, while others say he was an avatar of Kingdom Hearts. However, all can agree though that the First Ansem was brilliant in politics and military, if not a bit too ambitious.
"Think you can make his wish come true?" Zephyr asked.
"Not sure if I can or want to. I'm not against war, but spilling blood over a dead man's dream leaves a strange taste in my mouth." Astraeus replied.
"Well, you might not become the first ruler of the world with that attitude, but you'd be a great ruler of your country when it's your turn to take the throne."
"You make it sound like you with-held doubt in me." Astraeus accused with a smile. Zephyr did nothing but smile in return and sat down on one of the benches which encircled the fountain, feeling the tiny drops of water hit his back every now and again.
"I'm really jealous of you, you know?" Zephyr said, taking in the mild scenery. "Getting to enjoy views like this whenever your heart desires."
"Yes, but I doubt you came all the way here just to express your envy." Astraeus sat down next to Zephyr. "What brings you here, to me?"
Zephyr sighed before staring up into the cloudless sky. If one looked closely, the perfect circle of Kingdom Hearts could be made out. "We found something." Those three words were enough to cause Astraeus to lose any composure he once had.
"You did?" Astraeus was getting excited now. "Which ruin?"
"The one in quadrant M13 in the jungle of Elysia. I think it's what you're looking for, but the locals are giving the workers a hard time. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't keep casting thunder magic on the equipment." Zephyr rubbed his eyes. When Astraeus put him in charge of the committee responsible for the Excavation and Exploration of Ruins, he didn't think it'd be so tiring. Still, it was a joy to explore places outside the country, if the locals weren't so hostile towards them.
"Maybe they'll be more lenient if someone from royalty went to greet them." Astraeus said with a smile.
This prompted a smile on Zephyr's face. "You just want to check out the ruins yourself, don't you?"
"Of course. I didn't start funding all of this just to sit back here." Astraeus stood up. "Besides, it's been a while since I've left the capital, might be good for my health."
"Leaving your duty behind again, brother?" A man said, appearing from the door of the gardens. For all intents and purposes, the man almost looked like a copy of Astraeus, the one dividing detail being that the man had a scar on his left cheek that went quite deep into the skin.
"Ah, Perses." Astraeus said, greeting his brother, the second heir to the throne. "What brings you here to the courtyard? This early in the morning, I thought you'd be hunting with your friends."
Perses merely crossed his arms. "Change of plans, and what's this I hear? Going off on another 'adventure?' You need to stop living in a fantasy, brother. Ruins are nothing but remnants of the dead."
Astraeus smiled. "That's the point brother! This is the only thing left of the dead! More to the point, I think my theory's right! If what Zephyr says is true, this could give us even greater insight into the world, maybe even Kingdom Hearts!"
Perses looked past Astraeus and stared directly at Zephyr. A stare with nothing but contempt passed from Perses to Zephyr, who merely looked away, trying his best to not notice it.
"Astraeus, I said I think it's what you're looking for. I'm not certain yet." Zephyr said, completely blocking off his view of Perses' glare.
"But it was in the area I hypothesized it to be, so there's a great chance I am right!" Astraeus quickly pulled out of his pocket a small notebook that was filled with words and drawings. Flipping through it, Astraeus stopped somewhere in the middle. "Look! At nearly every location I hypothesized, there was a ruin containing this symbol!" Perses decided to give Astraeus the benefit of the doubt and look at the picture. Zephyr didn't since he already knew what was drawn inside.
The drawing was incredibly crude, but Astraeus was never known as an artist. It depicted an X in the center of the diagram. Directly above the X was a circle with lines coming from it, as if it was glowing. Surrounding both objects were stick figures that apparently represented people on their knees begging. Whether out of fear or desperation is unknown though.
"What's this supposed to tell me?" Perses asked, taking the drawing as another of his brother's idiotic attempts to be good at something.
"So far, in twelve ruins, this symbol has been found. Along with this there have been two words that although in different languages all mean the same: 'key' and 'heart.' From what I gather, I believe our predecessors were aware of a device that could unlock." Astraeus pointed towards the X shape. "And what it could unlock." Astraeus now pointed at the circle. "I believe this thing that can be unlocked is Kingdom Hearts."
Perses eyes went wide with surprise and then narrowed in fury. "Brother, you must stop this! Not only do you ignore your duties as Crown Prince, you also go on about something as blasphemous as unlocking Kingdom Hearts?! No more, I say! No more!" Perses stomped out of the courtyard, heading towards the throne room.
Astraeus looked confused at his brother's reaction while Zephyr simply sighed. "Astraeus, you must understand Perses' position. As second prince, he's significantly less important than you. He's jealous that you can do as you please while he is under a more watchful eye than you are."
Astraeus felt a pang of guilt and silently put his notebook away. "Suppose that's just how things are." Patting his friend on the back, Astraeus guided Zephyr towards the exit leading outside the castle. "But now it's time to journey to the thirteenth ruin."
Zephyr almost sweat-dropped at his friend's ability to forget about all else in the face of the potential discovery of a missing link between the civilizations of the forgotten world. "Couldn't we rest first though? I traveled all the way here through the night."
"Nonsense! You can just sleep on the train!" Astraeus then got a pondering look. "Or maybe we could fly there… I heard pixie dust is becoming cheaper to produce. Perhaps a simple flying carpet would be better."
Zephyr just mentally sighed and concluded that the only way he'd get any shut-eye was if he cast a sleep spell on himself.
If anyone should be given the most pity, it would be those chosen by the keyblade. They unknowingly harbor a legacy of the greatest catastrophe in recorded history. If they deserve this pity is an entirely different matter. For Kingdom Hearts gave not just light or dark to the hearts of people, but both in random amounts. A better question would be not if the keybladers deserve pity, but if Kingdom Hearts deserves blame.
Here's the first chapter! I know it's kind of short, but this is my first time doing a story as original as this, so bear with me. I'd like to thank my proofreader, SkyFallenHearts (who has a great Kingdom Hearts story of her own), and you, dear readers for viewing my story. Any reviews about how I'm doing are greatly appreciated. Please remember, any differences between how things are now and how they will be by Birth by Sleep will be explained or changed through story progression.