Leiko, being the master and mother figure of both Eraqus and Xehanort, was the single thread that held the two together. For a while, they were like a family. However, when she died, that thread began to fray. They were united on fighting the invader, united in taking care of their master, but they disagreed in everything else that mattered. For a while after Leiko's death, they alternated roles; one would go out and adventure, learn, and protect the worlds from darkness, while the other would guard the Land of Departure and protect it from any threats. In truth, at the time, there weren't really any threats to either the worlds overall or the Land of Departure itself. There were a few major incidents on worlds that attracted Darkness aplenty, but nothing major enough to warrant great concern.
However, about a year later, Xehanort began studying the subject of the Keyblade War, the Realm of Darkness, and everything in between. That was of course, when everything started to go pear-shaped. Eraqus had become even more reserved after Leiko's death; he wasn't against venturing to other worlds to learn and to protect them, but he did prefer to stay in the Land of Departure as he grew older; it was possible that the Keyblade that he had claimed as his own, that of the Master Keeper, played a part by making him feel like a guardian of the world itself. Xehanort, on the other hand, gained Leiko's unnamed Keyblade which had replaced his own, which, funnily enough, was named No Name*. For that matter, his natural curiosity grew, and in his search for more knowledge, began to neglect, even resent the Land of Departure for being a burden upon him. This came to a head when Xehanort and Eraqus left on poor terms; Xehanort scarred Eraqus permanently with the power of Darkness, and Eraqus banned him from the Land of Departure.
Although their paths split, they followed similar patterns at first. Both continued to refine their powers and increase their strength, even as their frailty increased.** Xehanort, in his travels, happened upon a youth named Ventus in the world of Mererm as a bright young boy who was orphaned by the Heartless. Xehanort enchanted him with tales of other worlds and adventure, and did treat him well for a while with food and basic teachings before putting him on a brutal training regimen in the Wastelands that was the site of the Keyblade War that proved to be far too much for Ventus.
Xehanort, in an act of cruelty, split Ventus' heart into pure light and darkness, and left Ventus with his pure heart of light on Destiny Islands to live out his final days. In a coma.
In case you haven't caught on already, Xehanort was also an asshole.
Thankfully, Ventus' heart was saved***, and Xehanort decided to bring him to the Land of Departure, 20 years after he left.
As I found out not that long after, it was a choice that was deliberately made that lead to the clash that is now called Desecration of the Graveyard.ꜜ
Eraqus found his own apprentices during this time. Terra was both found first and the eldest of Eraqus' apprentices; he came from a world named Agrabah, a world that was...well, a desert for the most part, and he dressed like it for a while; even up to the events leading to the Desecration, he wore lighter colored pants, even if he had eventually switched his shirt because of..admittedly funny events that would take too long for this entry to discuss. However, what I can say is that the reason said events occured would be Aqua; at the time, she was a girl one year younger than Terra, the second oldest of Eraqus' apprentices, and came from a world named Leitronium. Eraqus recruited her a few months after Terra, and where Terra was scrappy, she was gentle. Sort of. I suppose that she was a relentless prankster when she was younger, and poor Terra didn't help matters by being a rather straightforward person when he was younger, both in his actions and thought process.͑͒
And yes, they got in a relationship. Or something like that. It happened eventually. Took them a while, though.
When Ventus arrived, the two were already set comfortably in their daily patterns; they trained plenty, but also spent plenty of time with each other and being caretakers of the Land of Departure. To be honest, I am pretty sure that it was a family at the time, with Eraqus treating them both like his children, although I'm not exactly sure whether or not Terra and Aqua were nearing a relationship at the time. Ventus arriving threw them off for a bit, but he eventually settled into the younger brother role, and the family routine went on.
Of course, with Xehanort plotting behind the scenes, and creatures named Unversed starting to pop up, it would be only a matter of time before the Desecration of the Graveyard took place. This, interestingly enough, also allowed me to come out of my Unchained state, although I would've preferred to remain Unchained if it could have prevented what happened that day.
And of course, it was due to Xehanort.
*Xehanort kept this Keyblade, and could use it if his normal one wasn't available. It made him quite the dangerous opponent.
**As I said, Keyblade Wielders are still living beings in the way that they grow more frail with age, even if their power still grows.
***His heart was saved by a small boy named Sora who lived on the Destiny Islands, who grew to be one of the most influential ones that I've ever seen. He was part of the group that stopped Xehanort.
.͑͒ Terra was not dumb, as much as I make it sound like he is here. It was just his personality, but he did start catching onto Aqua's pranks rather quickly, and countered with ones of his own; Aqua usually won out in the end though, since she had more experience pranking than he did.
Let me repeat this for emphasis; Xehanort was an asshole.
Tell me if I got anything wrong :D
