Kingdom Hearts: Daybreak Academy
Introduction
Welcome one and all to my newest Kingdom Hearts fanfiction project! Kingdom Hearts: Daybreak Academy (KH:DA) is an alternate universe (AU) story of the events of the Kingdom Hearts X, Unchained X, Union Cross, and Back Cover story. From this point onward, I will refer to the collection of these titles as the X Saga. Much of the story elements will remain similar, but there are some differences between the ideas and story of X Saga and KH:DA that I would like to discuss here.
The World
The world that this story takes place in is very similar to the one that the X Saga takes place in, though I've decided to give it the name, Gaia. The world of Gaia is vast, but most of the story centers on the events that take place in Daybreak Town. There will be some changes introduced in the story itself that will build the world that Daybreak Academy takes place in.
The Academy
Daybreak Academy is not present in Kingdom Hearts canon, so I'd like to explain what it is. In Daybreak Town, there is a school that trains young individuals to fight monsters born of darkness. Students are bequeathed a Keyblade and are trained in its use so that they can defend society and civilization. Put simply, it is a school that combines elements of Hogwarts from Harry Potter and Beacon Academy from RWBY if you were to place it in the Kingdom Hearts universe.
In this AU, the giant clocktower in the center of Daybreak Town is Daybreak Academy. It is where the students live, study, and train under the tutelage of Daybreak Town's Keyblade Masters. In this story, they will only be referred to as masters and not foretellers as the Book of Prophecies does not exist in this story. In its place is the Book of Fantasies.
The Book of Fantasies
Before I explain what the Book of Fantasies is, I need to explain something about the worlds that the students will visit.
One of the things that remains the same between the union members of the X Saga and the students of Daybreak Academy is that they visit projected worlds inspired by Disney movies to fight against non-existent enemies. The difference is that in this AU, these worlds are actually in the Realm of Sleep, which is not a place where worlds go when they fall to darkness. Instead, the sleeping worlds are simply the replacement to the data worlds, serving the same purpose as the data worlds did in the X Saga. The sleeping worlds are locations that students reach by going into their dreams through the sleeping keyholes. These worlds are projected into each student's dreams via the Book of Fantasies.
Similar to how the sleeping worlds replace the data worlds, the Book of Fantasies essentially just replaces the Book of Prophecies for an important reason. In KH:DA, the Master of Masters (MoM) did not put his eye into the Gazing Eye (a.k.a No Name) Keyblade so that he could see the events of the future to write the Book of Prophecies. In this story, the Book of Fantasies was created through different means.
In the sleeping worlds, students are able to train against the Nightmare Dream Eaters as proxies for the Heartless that plague the world that Daybreak Town is in. These foes can be encountered in fictional locations based on real places in that world. Such locations include Olympus Coliseum, Agrabah, and the Enchanted Dominion. I understand that these are not sleeping worlds in the Kingdom Hearts series, however this is just another difference between the lore of the Kingdom Hearts series and KH:DA.
It is important for students to complete their missions in the sleeping worlds, which often involves fulfilling a quota by defeating Nightmare Dream Eaters. Fulfilling their quotas is important for determining how much allowance of munny a student will get each month, which they can use to spend as they like in town.
Unions
Unions at Daybreak Academy are very similar to the unions in the X Saga in that there are five in total and each one is led by one of five Keyblade Masters, as mentioned previously, however their role in the story is different. In the X Saga, the unions were created to incite a war orchestrated by the MoM, but they serve a different purpose here.
Without getting too in-depth, the MoM created the five unions to disperse the student body into five different factions. At the time, there were two opposing factions that students placed themselves into, which created a very hostile environment at the school and in town. Despite this, the MoM recognized that the competitive nature of this rivalry improved performance across the board so he devised the union system and tasked five of the masters under his authority with overseeing each of the five unions.
The roles given to these five masters were not individualized like in the X Saga. All five were tasked with creating a competitive, yet friendly environment on campus. The MoM knew that rivalries between unions were bound to break out so it was the responsibility of the five union masters he selected to mitigate any violence that ensued.
Upon being admitted to Daybreak Academy, students are placed into one of five unions based on their performance during a four-part entrance exam (written, practical, physical, and evaluative). This four-part exam is essentially an aptitude test to determine which of the five unions' new students would best work in as each one is specialized. Despite this, students will find that many of their classroom peers are in different unions as all students are encouraged to grow as all-around Keyblade wielders. The five unions at Daybreak Academy are: Unicornis, Ursus, Anguis, Leopardus, and Vulpes.
-Unicornis
Students that are deemed to have a balanced skillset are welcomed into the Unicornis Union regardless of how high they score all around. A student who scored moderate proficiency in all tested areas can be in Unicornis alongside another who got perfect scores across the board. Students in the Unicornis Union strive to never stop growing both in body and in mind. The master that oversees this union, and currently the individual who has held the title of union master the longest, is Master Ira. The union leader and representative of the Unicornis Union is the third year student, Ephemer.
-Ursus
Students with great physical strength and endurance are specifically selected by Master Aced to join the Ursus Union. Those who do very well on the strength-based portion of the physical component will find a home in Ursus. This is not to say that students who have some level of proficiency in elemental or supportive magic are not welcome in this union, however strength is absolute here.
-Anguis
One of the things that is tested in the paper and pen component of the entrance exam is knowledge of the elements and their effects on the environment. In addition, the practical component of the exam involves students harnessing their raw magical power to conjure the elements. Students who excel in these areas will be recruited to the Anguis Union. Lauriam is the current union leader and is overseen by Master Invi.
-Leopardus
The Leopardus Union is often overlooked by the Ursus Union as both recruit students with exceptional physical ability, but where the Ursus Union is one in which power excels, the Leopardus Union is one in which movement speed is admired. In addition, Leopardus Union members often have high combat intelligence as their fighting style emphasizes quick, yet precise strikes that inflict critical damage on enemies. The union master is Master Gula.
-Vulpes
The Vulpes Union is one that emphasizes the use of more defensive and supportive magic over the offensive elemental magic held in high regard by the Anguis Union. Students who demonstrate both knowledge and application of healing and protective magic are welcomed into the Vulpes Union under Master Ava and her union leader, Brain.
Masters
As stated above, the union masters are the five individuals in charge of the five unions that the student body of Daybreak Academy are segmented into, however they are not the only Keyblade masters in this story, and I'm not just talking about Luxu and the MoM. After three years of studying and training at the academy and completing the Mark of Mastery Exam, a student graduates and attains the title of master. This is a title equivalent to that of "huntsman" or "huntress" in RWBY and gives the individual the freedom to travel beyond Daybreak Town and its surrounding areas. Some Keyblade masters stay in Daybreak Academy as teachers, but most venture off into the world. Not many return, though…
Union Leaders
These are the five students that are selected to lead and represent their respective unions. They are best thought of as the equivalent to student-body presidents, though the means by which they are selected may vary from union to union. Three of them should be familiar faces to fans that keep up with the Union X story, these individuals being: Ephemer, Lauriam, and Brain. While Ventus and Skuld do appear, I decided not to make them the remaining union leaders because Skuld was said to be part of the same union as Ephemer, which in this case is Unicornis, and while Ventus does possess the qualities of a Leopardus member described above, his personality does not match that of a leader.
Other Characters
What of characters like Strelitzia and Elrena? I've decided that they will also appear in this story as members of one of the five unions just like they appear in KHX+. It was never revealed which union they were a part of except that they were both part of the same union so I've decided which union that will be for this story. Even though I wouldn't say that I would be giving huge spoilers by revealing it now, I think it would be best to allow you to find out in the story. After all, I don't want to tell you all about the story here.
Characters from the modern age in Kingdom Hearts such as Sora, Riku, Kairi, and all of the individuals connected to them (except Ventus) will not be making an appearance in this story. Even though this takes place in an AU, if I were to use Sora and friends, there would be no need to open an SYOC and I personally find these to be a lot of fun. Besides, Sora and the other guardians of light are sure to clash with the foretellers at some point in the future of the KH series, so I don't think there's any need to include the guardians here.
The Enemies
One thing that I touched on earlier, but did not go into full detail about were the enemies that the students face. While I mentioned that students will encounter and fight Nightmare Dream Eaters in the sleeping worlds, you may be wondering: "What are they training to fight?" Well, the Heartless, of course! Much like in the Kingdom Hearts series, the Heartless are a destructive force of nature that behave a lot like zombies. Once the Heartless have consumed the hearts of people, the victims also become Heartless to symbolize the loss of their heart.
As early as in their second year, students can be placed into teams with a master and other students to patrol the nearby land and villages and fight the Heartless.
Another thing that you may be wondering is: "Legacy, I thought the Heartless existed in the Realm of Darkness during KHX+. Why are they here?" Well, the explanation for why they are in Gaia will come in the story, but the answer for now is that the lore about the Heartless and the events that take place in the timeline of the Kingdom Hearts series are different than those of this story.
I will address one last question that you may have: "If the Heartless are attracted to Keyblades, wouldn't Daybreak Town be under constant attack?" Yes. Yes it would. And that is exactly why I've changed that bit of lore about the Heartless. The idea of Heartless being attracted to Keyblades wouldn't work in this story. In this story, they behave similarly to the creatures of Grimm from RWBY, except they aren't attracted to negative emotions. Remember, they are simply a force of nature that wanders Gaia in search of hearts to consume. They have senses like sight, sound, and smell that are necessary for detecting prey, but are very savage because they rely solely on instinct.
As for the Unversed and Nobodies, well all I'm going to say on the topic is that I have something planned for these groups of enemies. They will appear, but much like the Heartless, there will be some minor changes to the way in which they function so that they fit the narrative better.
Final Words
As I just implied by mentioning the Unversed and Nobodies, there are other changes from the Kingdom Hearts series that I've made to distinguish KH:DA from the X Saga, but I think it best to leave those things for you to find out as you read this story. There will be several original storylines as well as some storylines that take inspiration from the X Saga. What are those storylines? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. As you delve deeper into this story, keep this in mind: may your heart be your guiding key.