Kingdom Hearts: Sinister

Kingdom Hearts: Sinister is a tale of the redemption of the heart and of an alternate Keyblade line. Taking place roughly 10 years after Kingdom Hearts II, it hosts a cast of new characters and a plethora of new skills. It is scheduled to be released Summer 2010 by Xelak.

Storyline
The story begins on a small backwater world that, so far, has escaped attention from any major force. This has led to the people that inhabit this world - humans, of course - to become completely arrogant and think that they are the only beings that exist, period. Or, at least, one certain nation has come to think that way.

The Northern Kingdoms
The world of Blackground - as the Northern Kingdoms decree "their" world is called - has but a single continent on it, with two large landmasses connected by a small strait. The northernmost of these halves is a coalition of nations collectively known as the Northern Kingdoms. It is by far the most arrogant, corrupt, evil, and amoral little hellion of a state known in the Kingdom Hearts universe, and is the one kingdom that has come to think of their world as the only ball of life in existence. Magic is outlawed here, except if the magician is in the king's pay. Our main character is a captain in the army of this nation - called the Black Army of the North, and notorious for its cruel wartime deeds - but is starting to grow a conscience about what he does in battle.

The Southern Kingdom
Or, as it prefers to be called, the Coalition of Peace. They call the world Solidarity, mostly because the main religion of their nation - it's a theocracy - is monotheistic. They basically support the governing policy of diplomacy, not war, completely opposite to the Northern Kingdoms' thoughts. They keep only a small standing army, as opposed to the Black Army's large numbers on a regular basis. However, one thing the soldiers in the Southern Army do have going for them is that all of them, every single one, is trained in magic. One on one, a Southern soldier will always beat a Northern soldier.

The Civil War
When Kingdom Hearts: Sinister begins, the two countries have just had a devastating civil war that has reduced to ruins most of the major cities near the border on the strait. Because the fighting had been so intense, the two armies had been left destroyed, or nearly so, and the civilizations had begun to crumble. As the North watches, the South completely disintegrates as the result of a mysterious blight that claims the lives of nearly all the citizens. When the blight moves north across the strait, our main character finds it is not a disease at all, but something far darker...

Kleatus Synestyr
Our hero of the story. Although he serves in the Black Army, and often agrees to everything those in command say and do, lately because of the decimation, mayhem, and violence of the Civil War, he has begun to realize the difference between morality and desire, which essentially for him could spell out the path to good - or to evil. The son of a former lord of the Northern Kingdoms, one of the governors of the provinces, his family was framed for a traitorous act and demoted into oblivion and obscurity. To counteract this and fulfill his father's dying wish to redeem the family, Kleatus joined the Black Army and dedicated himself to rising to the rank of General - a leader of one of the 5 armies of the north - or one of the 50 commanders, second in rank to the 5 generals. This dedication has become a sort of existence for him, and his whole life has been adapted to realizong this dream, while finding the perpitrator of the framing and take revenge on him. When the blight comes to the North, he is one of the rallying points for the remnants of the Black Army.

Rafael Ilyich III
Synestyr's best friend, a commander in the Black Army and the son of a minor lord, now inherit to the title as his father pines away for loss of his ex-wife, who illegally immigrated to the South but was killed in the war. He, too, is a rally point for his men, and is a courageous leader of his soldiers. Unlike the protagonist, though, he has no qualms about what he does in battle, and has seen his best friend go from being next in line for a big promotion to being under hard scrutiny. It is known that his grandfather was deeply jealous of Synestyr's family, because they (the family) were one of the leading noble families, but despite this he has made every attempt to be kind to our hero.

Abraham Kasslegard
The main antagonist of Sinister, this army commander is Synestyr's main opponent in the Black Army, and is the reason he is under harsh scrutiny for his actions. Kasslegard holds a deep hatred of Synestyr, believing him to be a hopeless upstart who doesn't know his place, and makes every attempt to let him know as such. During the ending weeks of the war, Abraham was said to be seen wielding a mysterious power in battle - the forbidden power of darkness.

Claudius the Chosen
The High Mage of the Royal Family, a man of great power, skill, and evil. It is he who has access to the forbidden texts of magic that are stored away in the Royal Library, and he is said to be able to wield an incredible weapon of great power. He is by far the evilest character so far in Kingdom Hearts: Sinister.

????
New character to be revealed soon.

Arc 1: The Invasion
Chapter 1

Story Arc 1 of Kingdom Hearts: Sinister begins as the Civil War between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms is degenerating into regional skirmishes, due to a sudden plague that has begun claiming the lives of citizens. Although hatred between the Kingdoms still exists, no central power is controlling either force. Kleatus Synestyr is a captain in the Black Army, the battle force of the Northern Kingdoms, with his best friend, Rafael Ilyich III. Being a right-minded soldier, he is able to organize, with Rafael's help, several thousand Northern soldiers into an organized retreat deeper into the North that he believes wil save lives, not knowing that the entire nation has become affected by the scourge. However, during one march through a minor mountain rage, Kleatus' party was suddenly and brutally assaulted by mysterious, shadowy creatures revealed by a traveling monk to be the deadly Heartless. Picking up his scavenged army's pace into a forced march, Kleatus lead them into the verdant but shadowy forests of the Northern Kingdoms, where he was again attacked by a force of Heartless, this one far larger and powerful than the previous. Cut off from Rafael during the fighting, Kleatus and his remaining men were forced into a corner, where the Heartless steadily closed in.

Chapter 2

Soon, one by one, the Heartless began defeating and absorbong Kleatus' soldiers, using their hearts to reproduce. While fighting, Kleatus noticed that ordinary swords - like his - had little or no effect on the shadowy creatures, while swords blessed or enchanted by magic could harm them. Despite this, all of Kleatus' men were quickly defeated. Picking up a sword magicked by the High Mage, Claudius, Kleatus fought for his life, but was soon overwhelmed. Then, just as he was about to be defeated by the Heartless' overwhelming numbers, the sword he had obtained suddenly flashed before him, changing shape into a long, black, katana-shaped sword, with a massive handguard and - strangest of all - at the tip, black cross tilted at an angle, like the one appearing on his family's crest. Using this new weapon, he was able to defeat all of the Heartless, as he suddenly found his strength was, it seemed, ten times greater. Then having destroyed all of the Heartless, the sword flashed again, changing shape back into the sword he had obtained; but this time, the sword had a chain hanging from the pommel, ending in the same cross he had seen on the mysterious sword. Sheathing his new sword, he ran off into the forests to search for Rafael.

Keyblade Types
The most different thing from any previous Kingdom Hearts series is that the Keyblades of the Realms do not exist in this continueum; rather, there are a great many Keyblades (but only one of each form; none of this keychain crap) and each embodies a different quality, whether good or bad. They are called, respectively, Virtue Keys and Sin Keys. The most powerful example of a Virtue Key would be the Virtue Key of Reason, the Ultimate Order. Similarily, the most powerful Sin Key is the Sin Key of Chaos, the Regard Entropy. This also makes it easy for Keybearers to discern their opponent's motives; those with evil intentions wield Sin Keys, with one exception, and those with overall good intentions (though they may seem evil) wield Virtue Keys.

Ultimate Order
The most powerful Keyblade in existence, tied with the Regard Entropy. Not much is known about this Key, or its (current?) Bearer.

Regard Entropy
The other most powerful Keyblade. Throughout the millenia its wielder(s) has(have) been in constant struggle with the Ultimate Order's wielder. Not much is known about this Key or its (current?) Bearer.

Retribute
The third most powerful Keyblade in existence, the Sin Key of Revenge. It features a hilt similar in make and color to Ansem's False Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts, but with an oddly-shaped teeth design. Its ability is Berserk, which is the power to increase the wielder's adrenaline flow so that they are allowed to output greater strength with less effort.

Green Ardour
The fifth most powerful Keyblade, the Sin Key of Jealousy. Its ability is Search, which is the power to find the location any one person on any world, as long as the wielder has met them before.

Infinity Curse
The seventh most powerful Keyblade, the Sin Key of Greed. Its ability is Defender, which is the power to increase the wielder's endorphine flow and dull their pain sensations.