[center][h1][b]Plot[/b][/h1]
[i]Long ago, the worlds were once together as one in what is now known as the Age of Fairy Tales. In this period, Wielders of the Keyblade used their titular weapons to safeguard the Light that protected the world. Five wielders known as the Foretellers, each one a student of the first Keyblade Master known only as the Master of Masters, started their own organizations called Unions in accordance with the Master's wishes. In time the Unions grew, and as they did so did tension between the five Foretellers. Before he mysteriously vanished, the Master of Masters mysteriously warned of a looming disaster, and a traitor among the Foretellers. This created dissent and distrust until eventually, the five unions clashed in what was later called the Keyblade War. The conflict was so destructive, so disastrous that the World was shattered and its remains scattered across the Lanes Between until they each formed new worlds. The old Keyblade Order was gone, but a new one began to blossom in its place. Situated in the Land of Departure, it is here that young Keyblade Wielders are taught the precepts and trained to strike down any who would upset the delicate balance of Light and Darkness. It is also here, at the world's center, that a powerful relic of the Age of Fairy Tales is buried. A Keyblade, known only as the X-Blade. It is said that this weapon was what the Unions originally fought over. The blade itself is broken, much like the original world, shattered into twenty pieces: 7 of Light and 13 of Darkness. It is in the Land of Departure that two Keyblade Masters each train their pupils in the way of the Keyblade. But when the pieces of the X-Blade mysteriously vanish, the two Masters are unable to agree on how best to diffuse the situation. One of the Masters departs alongside his pupils and they decide to brave the dangers of the Darkness to recover the X-Blade. Meanwhile, the remaining Master tasks his pupils with tracking down the missing Master and pupils and to do everything in their power to prevent another Keyblade War from erupting.

[b]"I ask a lot of you, my pupils. I know that. The precepts strictly forbids it. But the missing pieces are too important to leave alone. Whatever consequences are begotten by my actions, I am prepared to face them. But if any of you are not, then you are free to remain here and continue your training under Master Cormack's wise tutelage. And I will not hold that choice against you. But if you are willing, then come with me, and we will brave the coming storm together. May our Hearts be our guiding key."[/b]
~Master Viper

[b]"I know that this news is a shock to you but my words are indeed true. Master Viper has left us, and her pupils with her. They no doubt wish recover the missing pieces of the relic. But what cost are they willing to pay? Would they allow the Darkness to take them? It is not a price I am willing to pay, not even for the X-Blade. I'm afraid I must task you with seeking out those who left and to bring them back before it is too late. It is a dangerous task, you will have to brave many dangers when traveling the worlds, but I am confident that you will succeed. Remember the precepts, and may your Hearts be your guiding key."[/b]
~Master Cormack[/i][/center]

[h1][center][b]Lore[/b][/center][/h1]

[hider=Keyblade Order]The Order is actually split it into two eras. The Old Keyblade Order existed during the Age of Fairy Tales. It was this Order that was created and mentored by the Master of Masters and later divided into the Five Unions. It's purpose was to defeat dark creatures and to collect Lux. However, the Old Keyblade Order was dissolved by the Keyblade War. After the war, a New Keyblade Order emerged, comprised of those who survived the Keyblade War, a secret organization called The Dandelions. The New Order is based out of The Land of Departure. For the most part, the New Order follows the same precepts taught within the Old Order, the very teachings of the Master of Masters himself. However, collecting Lux has largely been unnecessary and thus Keyblade Wielders are not tasked with collecting it as they were in the past. In fact, it's believed by many that the hording of Lux is what led to the Keyblade War, and so there are some within the New Order who feel that the collection of Lux should be outright forbidden.

It is often a common misconception that the Keyblade Order exists solely to fight the Darkness. That, however, couldn't be farther from the truth. Using the Keyblade to strike down the machinations of Darkness is only one of the many duties expected of a Keyblade Master. They must also master the dangerous skill of using the Lanes Between to travel the worlds. In so doing, they are also expected to be able to maintain the delicate balance of Light and Darkness in any world they find themselves. And lastly, since Order must be kept, the existence of other worlds and even the Keyblade must be kept strictly secret from local inhabitants of other worlds. As such, a Keyblade Master is expected to be able to carry out their duties with discretion and secrecy if needed.[/hider]
[hider=Keyblades]Key-shaped swords forged in the image of the original X-Blade. Keyblades are believed to come in three varieties; Light, Darkness, and Hearts. The most common Keyblades are those of Light, while Keyblades of Darkness and Hearts are almost unheard of. It is said that they can only be found deep in the Realm of Darkness, where none have ventured and returned to tell the tale.

While they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, Keyblades all share some specific traits. They are all shaped like a Key in some form, hence their name. They all possess handguards that form a complete square or circle around the hilt. This can sometimes make it tricky for a newcomer to hold them properly, especially one who is more accustomed to normal swords that possess no such handguard. Finally, every Keyblade possesses a symbolic trinket that hangs from a small chain attached to the bottom of the weapon's hilt. Becoming a Keyblade Wielder can be done in two possible ways: having a strong enough Heart that one chooses you, or a Keyblade Master performing the bequeathing and inheriting their Keyblades later in life. A Keyblade's shape and the aspects of their power is also said to vary depending on the Heart of their wielder.

An old tradition of the Keyblade Order is for Masters to select the next generation of Keyblade Wielders by seeking out those who possess great potential and performing what is known as The Bequeathing. It involves having the selected individual take hold of the Master's Keyblade, and the Master himself reciting an old passage that goes as follows: [i]"In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend—no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love."[/i]

But as stated earlier, Bequeathing is not the only way one can become one of the Keyblade's Chosen. Sometimes, simply having a strong enough Heart can be enough to call a blade to one's hand. The exact nature of this and what triggers it is still largely unknown, it even being believed to vary depending on the person's own Heart. Strangely enough, even those who inherit a Keyblade via Bequeathing often summon a Keyblade that looks and behaves differently than the Master who chose them. This is because it is commonly believed that a Keyblade's shape and indeed its very aspect and power is an almost direct reflection of its Wielder's Heart. Some might even say that Keyblades at their core are the power of the Heart made manifest.[/hider]
[hider=Lanes Between]A mysterious realm that exists between the worlds. The Lanes Between is made of almost pure Darkness. Travelling through it unprotected is tantamount to suicide. Thankfully, the Lanes Between are said to be completely inaccessible without using a Keyblade to open the way. Gummi Ships are a technology that has yet to be discovered or invented. Ergo, Keyblade Wielders are theoretically the only people capable of travelling between worlds.[/hider]
[hider=World Order]Keyblade Wielders are generally forbidden from revealing the existence of other worlds to local inhabitants of worlds they visit. In fact, even mentioning the Keyblade's very name is restricted as well. In the canon universe, the games barely even tried to follow this rule they themselves established early on. This universe, on the other hand, will be much stricter in following that rule. Any disobedience of the Prime Directive can and will bring about consequences. You've been warned.[/hider]
[hider=Moogles]Moogles are a curious creature, resembling a cross between cat and teddy bear with stubby arms and odd little pom-poms attached to their heads. Generally benign and friendly to everyone, Moogles are generally not warriors in any capacity. Instead, most of them seem to favor being businessmen. Many run shops selling potions, weapons, or other accessories that wandering warriors - and even Keyblade Wielders - may find useful in their travels. However, the most famous trait of Moogles is not their mercantile skills, but rather their craftsmanship. Some Moogles are practitioners of the mysterious art of Synthesis. It involves using ingredient items of varying aspects and qualities to forge powerful items not sold in any shop. It is unknown how the Moogles perform Synthesis, as it is a trade secret that none have shared with anyone outside their race. Finally, Moogles appear to defy the laws of the Lanes Between by having their own method of traveling between worlds. Traveling Moogle merchants or Synthesis Practitioners can be found running their businesses in many worlds. How the Moogles are able to travel between worlds without Keyblades or even without using the Lane Between remain a mystery to this day.[/hider]
[hider=Heartless]Those without hearts, these creatures a formed from the Darkness that is latent within every Heart. They prey upon those whose Hearts have yet to be consumed and through this they multiply. What differs them from canon Heartless is that only the Pureblood Heartless exist. Emblem Heartless were created by Ansem/Xehanort, and thus do not exist in this continuity. While the Heartless are known to the Keyblade Order, there is still much about them that remain a mystery. After all, there are no Ansem Reports detailing their characteristics and functionalities.[/hider]
[hider=Nobodies]When a particularly strong Heart is lost to the Darkness and becomes a Heartless, it's empty shell can sometimes gain a will of its own. These entities, called Nobodies, are beings that possess no Heart and thus no capacity for emotions or empathy. Stronger Nobodies can often retain the memories and personality traits of their former selves, but this doesn't make them any less of a Nobody than even the most common of Dusks. What differs the Nobodies in this continuity is the fact that they really do possess no Heart. Unlike the canon Nobodies, the ones here do not regrow their Hearts. They are also largely unheard of for the time being, their very existence has yet to be fully discovered by the Order.[/hider]
[hider=Unversed]Creatures that have been described as being born of negativity, fledgling emotions that have taken monster form. The Unversed look and act very much like Heartless. In fact, the Keyblade Order still assumes that Heartless and Unversed are one and the same. The Unversed in this universe are not products of Vanitas, as there is no Ventus for Vanitas to have even been created form. Their origin is in fact unknown, with both Masters Cormack and Viper still mistakenly believing them to be just another breed of Heartless.[/hider]
[hider=Chirithies]In the Age of Fairy Tales, these cat-like spirits were the companions and helpers of fledgling Keyblade Wielders. Even the five Foretellers had their own Chirithy partners. Normally benign and harmless, a Chirithy can become more dangerous when its partner opens their Heart to Darkness. When the world was plunged into the Keyblade War, the Chirithy were said to have vanished forever. It is unknown what ultimately happened to them. The Keyblade Order has yet to discover Sleeping Worlds, and thus have not discovered the Dream Eaters or Nightmares.[/hider]

[h1][center][b]Rules[/b][/center][/h1]

1. No god-moding, power-gaming, meta-gaming, flaming, harassment, etc
2. GM's word is law, as is the word of any appointed Co-GM.
3. Canon characters will be entirely GM-controlled, so they are not allowed for players.
4. Canon story events will be either re-imagined or ignored. However, certain mechanics from those games will still be implemented.
5. We'll be using a progression system that will be described below for ability growth, please refrain from straying away from it.
6. Like with certain mechanics, certain worlds will still make appearances.
7. We will [i]not[/i] be following the movie-plots of any world, they will instead mostly serve as the backdrop for the overarching narrative.
8. We'll be keeping a PG-13 rating. Try not to go above that.
9. This a game, so have some fun with it.

[h1][center][b]Character Progression System[/b][/center][/h1]

We'll be using a freeform-version of the Command Deck from Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance. With that in mind, use the various Commands from both of those games as a reference for how Spells and Attacks will work. Just like in those games, Attacks or Spells are first typed as either Physical or Magical, then typed as either one of the elements (Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, etc) or as Non-Elemental. From there, they are classed either as Basic, Advanced, or Ultimate level. The only part of the Command Deck system we'll be ignoring is the Deck size cap, as it will mostly serve as a reference list for any and all Spells and Attacks your character knows how to use. Below are some example Commands:

[list]
[*] [b]Quick Blitz - Physical/Non-Elemental - Basic[/b]
[*] [b]Thunder - Magical/Thunder - Basic[/b]
[*] [b]Fire Strike - Physical/Fire - Basic[/b]
[*] [b]Sonic Blade - Physical/Non-Elemental - Advanced[/b]
[*] [b]Blizzaga - Magical/Blizzard - Advanced[/b]
[*] [b]Spark Raid - Physical/Thunder - Advanced[/b]
[*] [b]Ars Arcanum - Physical/Non-Elemental - Ultimate[/b]
[*] [b]Mega Flare - Magical/Fire - Ultimate[/b]
[*] [b]Time Splicer - Physical/Stop - Ultimate[/b]
[/list]
Every character is allowed to start with Guard, Dodge Roll, plus 3 Basic Commands. Whether those commands are Physical or Magical or a mix of both is up to you. As we reach certain points of progression I will let players know that they've earned a new Command to add to their deck. Minor points of progress will earn Basic commands while major points of progress (the defeat of a Boss for example) will earn the party Advanced Commands. Ultimate Commands, being the most powerful spells or attacks of their kind, will generally be earned less often to balance them out.

That just leaves me with Shotlocks and Command Styles. Shotlocks are a very powerful type of Command that targets many enemies at once, while Command Styles are a powerful shift in fighting style to incorporate elemental attacks or other such gimmicks into one's regular fighting style. These are very powerful, stronger than even Ultimate Commands and as such will be the most difficult to obtain. Acquiring these very powerful abilities often requires the completion of a story arc or taking a major step in a character's personal journey. [b]These are to be learned in game. You are not allowed to have them from the start.[/b]

[h1][center][b]Character Skeleton[/b][/center][/h1]

[code]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]

[b]Appearance:[/b]

[b]Keyblade:[/b]

[b]Personality:[/b]

[b]Backstory:[/b]

[u][b]~Command Deck~[/b][/u]

[b]Physical:[/b]
[b]Magical:[/b]

[b]Shotlocks:[/b]
[b]Command Styles:[/b]

[b]Notes:[/b]
[/code]