As of recently Nomura has been quite a tease about some involvement or connection of Ventus in regards to Unchained X/the chi-era, both by including him twice on a piece of concept art,
the 3rd Anniversary card for browser-chi and the 1st Anniversary sketch for Unchained X as well as some verbal usual mysterious "please look forward to it"-nudge in an UX development
report from August 31, 2016:
Our community as creative as ever has already sprouted several theories as to what Ven's involvement could be and how his connection to the chi-era may look like, among them being the
assumption that he may actual hail somehow from that era despite it being vastly in the past, either by being a member of the Dandelions, the exclusive group of Keyblade Wielders
founded by the Leader of the Vulpes Union, Lady Ava, which is tasked with avoiding the deadly Keyblade War and move on to the "outside world" or possibly even be the Player-avatar somehow.
Other theories revolve around Ventus being somehow either the descendant or reincarnation of one of the major characters of the chi-era, most prominently being the "Rebirth"-theory which
links him to Master Gula of the Leopardos Union while again others provide the possibility of the Realm of Sleep and present day-Ventus' sleeping heart making contact with the possibly also
sleeping characters of the chi-era being involved. Since hey if present-day Maleficent can get involved somehow why can't Ven?
What I am going to do here is not adding yet another fully fleshed out theory to the pile, but more like sharing several observations and ideas on visual and symbolic thematic clues
I made that may hint at to what exactly Ventus' role in this may be and yet another possibility of how his connection to the chi-era may be situated.
Or in short, this isn't really a full theory-thread per se but more like in the same spirit as the "Hourglass"-thread Master Spockanort made some time ago.
That cleared up beforehand, let's get started:
In regards to what Ventus' actual overaching role in Unchained X might be, or rather, why he's always shown together with Ephemer and Skuld, the following idea actually came to me after
reading Nomura's comment about the "secret message" of the three Remaster-cover arts and the "changing sky":
The bolded part about the double meaning of the word "Sora" describing both a person and the actual sky itself is what got me thinking...don't we have such a possible double meaning somewhere with Ventus in relation to Ephemer and Skuld (or rather, what they represent) as well?
Turns out we do as Ventus is not only the name of the person from BBS but also describing the nature phenomena of wind itself in latin.
In X[chi], Lady Ava says something about the Dandelions as a whole twice:
Ephemer is appointed by Lady Ava to be the leader of the Dandelions while Skuld is a representative/a stand-in for the "regular" Dandelions.
Ava is speaking very metaphorically there, but what she essentially means is to "use the wind" or let yourself be "guided by the wind" to fly to somewhere far away (the outside world).
Just as Sora has the crown as his symbol, Ventus actually does have a symbol of his own as well, that being feathers and wings, things commonly associated with flying.
I know, some of you will now say but wait, others have symbolic wings in their items/designs too like Riku's Way to Dawn or Xehanort's Keyblade Glider. Yes, that's true, but unlike these
characters feathers and wings are a thing that is constantly present in nearly all items/techniques directly associated with Ventus.
The teeth of his Keyblade, Wayward Wind, are a stylized wing:
The Keychain of his personal Keyblade is two feathers encircling an emerald that could also be seen as elongated wings:
The Lost Memory, his other personal Keyblade, also has a prominent wing motif:
His Keyblade Glider, while ultimatively a space surfboard, does have wing-like extensions:
His most powerful shotlock, Multivortex, consists of six wind/air-like energy blades floating behind him like wings and the Command Style Wingblade gives him six light swords also reminiscent of wings sprouting from his back.
When attacking Ventus himself also uses many "flying" and diving attacks true to his primary element and namesake.
Thus, the idea is that Ventus' primary role and task with the chi-cast is to be the "guiding wind" that actually leads the Dandelions to the outside world.
Since Ephemer is the leader of the Dandelions and Skuld the visible "face" of regular Dandelions for the audience, it stands to reason that those two will be the ones to be in contact with Ventus.
I admit that may sound somewhat thin on the first glance, but we do have a precedence for this "fly and reach the outside/"real" world", directly from Dream Drop Distance:
And what does Riku do after this? He flies upwards back into the "outside" world, aka the world outside sleep/the dreams.
Ansem also speaks about the "final key" to awaken Sora (and by that, Sora's heart), Lady Ava also speaks about something similar when addressing the Dandelions:
The thematic imagery fits.
You "dive" into hearts and/or sleeping worlds and "fly" upwards out of them.
Now we have the possible role Ventus has to play, as in him being the "key" guiding the Dandelions, the possible double meaning with his name and the visual/thematic imagery to go with it, and yet the question
remains how and why Ventus actually manages to reach and interact with the possibly sleeping hearts of Ephemer, Skuld and the Dandelion kids.
One of the most simple explanations would certainly be that since he's asleep for over ten years, his heart by now apparently far along in healing and him practically entering the Realm of Sleep
together with Sora in DDD, that there will be an event/situation where Ventus either by choice or by chance ends up in the chi-era-related events and makes contact with i.e. Ephemer.
Sora's newborn heart initially made contact with Ventus' in the BBS Prologue without having a prior connection as well, so that may also be possible here.
To give some more food for thought on a possible connection between Ventus and the chi-era that doesn't boil down to him actually originating from that era though, lets look at another possible scenario.
What exactly is the crux of the connection between Riku and Terra?
Answer: Terra bestowed a Keyblade to Riku by performing the ceremony with him.
Now you'd probably wonder what the frack that means, aren't we talking about Ventus' connection with the chi-era?
Yep, that's right, but the exact same connection that is there between Terra and Riku may be the one that connects Ven to the chi-era.
In the new Re: Coded secret ending Young Xehanort speaks about how every new Keyblade Wielder gets a Keyblade of his/her own through the act of passing down from an already existing wielder's blade.
We do not know yet how that process exactly works but there is one thing to be kept in mind:
Ventus was found and taken as a pupil by Master Xehanort who almost assuredly performed the ceremony with Ventus. We also know that Xehanort had already left Land of Departure behind by the time he
found Ventus and acknowledged his potential.
The new KH III trailer with the chess scene further implies that Xehanort his no more using whatever Keyblade had chosen him first (if there was one, that is), but uses the "Goatblade", or rather,
Luxu's Keyblade by the time he left LoD behind.
So the ceremony performed with Ventus most likely involved Luxu's Keyblade, a Keyblade being stated to be older than any still in existence and to be implied somewhat special.
So while Ventus does indeed get his own Keyblade, the Wayward Wind, as we see him hold this blade already in the flashbacks with the Heartless, proving he could already summon it even as a 10/11 year-old
child, he has possibly a connection by proxy to the chi-era due to him getting the ceremony with an item from that era, Luxu's Keyblade.
We don't know yet how the "new" Keyblades that are passed down to new wielders are made, but maybe there is something from the old blade the ceremony is done with that gets passed down into the new blade, forming a link/connection?
Yet another possibility, this although being a total shot into the blue, is that maybe inside Ventus' heart there is a copy of the Tome of Prophecies stored? Ansem the Wise after all managed to "upload" a huge bunch of research data and a digital copy of himself into Sora's heart...
This is of course all total conjecture yet, but I think it may give some further food for thought as well as maybe some more ideas for further theorizing. ^__^
the 3rd Anniversary card for browser-chi and the 1st Anniversary sketch for Unchained X as well as some verbal usual mysterious "please look forward to it"-nudge in an UX development
report from August 31, 2016:
Nomura said:Moving away from KHUχ for a little, there was the 'Ventus' I drew for the KHχ 3rd anniversary card, and the 'Maleficent' that appeared in the KHχ Special Episode who left some deeply
meaningful words. I hope these all clued you into the new developments that will be starting soon.
Our community as creative as ever has already sprouted several theories as to what Ven's involvement could be and how his connection to the chi-era may look like, among them being the
assumption that he may actual hail somehow from that era despite it being vastly in the past, either by being a member of the Dandelions, the exclusive group of Keyblade Wielders
founded by the Leader of the Vulpes Union, Lady Ava, which is tasked with avoiding the deadly Keyblade War and move on to the "outside world" or possibly even be the Player-avatar somehow.
Other theories revolve around Ventus being somehow either the descendant or reincarnation of one of the major characters of the chi-era, most prominently being the "Rebirth"-theory which
links him to Master Gula of the Leopardos Union while again others provide the possibility of the Realm of Sleep and present day-Ventus' sleeping heart making contact with the possibly also
sleeping characters of the chi-era being involved. Since hey if present-day Maleficent can get involved somehow why can't Ven?
What I am going to do here is not adding yet another fully fleshed out theory to the pile, but more like sharing several observations and ideas on visual and symbolic thematic clues
I made that may hint at to what exactly Ventus' role in this may be and yet another possibility of how his connection to the chi-era may be situated.
Or in short, this isn't really a full theory-thread per se but more like in the same spirit as the "Hourglass"-thread Master Spockanort made some time ago.
That cleared up beforehand, let's get started:
In regards to what Ventus' actual overaching role in Unchained X might be, or rather, why he's always shown together with Ephemer and Skuld, the following idea actually came to me after
reading Nomura's comment about the "secret message" of the three Remaster-cover arts and the "changing sky":
Nomura said:--You also revealed a gorgeous package art.
Nomura: There are actually two secrets about the illustrations from [KH1.5] until [KH2.8]. Extremely attentive KH fans might have already discovered them, but one is that Sora's movements change from sitting, to standing, to walking. One more is that when you line up the three illustrations, you'll notice that they show the flow of time with changes in the sky. [KH1.5] is sunset becoming night, [KH2.5] is the middle of the night, and [KH2.8] is night breaking into dawn. Those three illustrations have a message regarding the final chapter, [KHIII].
--So you planned all this from the time of [KH1.5]'s release, then?
Nomura: We worried a long time about the package art for [KH2.5], and we worked on trying to connect the three productions in a continual manner. It seems like there were a lot of people who figured out Sora's movements, but there were not very many people who noticed the connection between the skies. There are two meanings to “sora†(I.E. one being the protagonist's name, and the other meaning “skyâ€).
The bolded part about the double meaning of the word "Sora" describing both a person and the actual sky itself is what got me thinking...don't we have such a possible double meaning somewhere with Ventus in relation to Ephemer and Skuld (or rather, what they represent) as well?
Turns out we do as Ventus is not only the name of the person from BBS but also describing the nature phenomena of wind itself in latin.
In X[chi], Lady Ava says something about the Dandelions as a whole twice:
Lady Ava said:- Ride the wind, and fly somewhere far away…
Dandelion.
Lady Ava to Chirithy said:Protect them from nightmares, okay, Chirithy?
So that <Player> may ride the wind and fly.
Ephemer is appointed by Lady Ava to be the leader of the Dandelions while Skuld is a representative/a stand-in for the "regular" Dandelions.
Ava is speaking very metaphorically there, but what she essentially means is to "use the wind" or let yourself be "guided by the wind" to fly to somewhere far away (the outside world).
Just as Sora has the crown as his symbol, Ventus actually does have a symbol of his own as well, that being feathers and wings, things commonly associated with flying.
I know, some of you will now say but wait, others have symbolic wings in their items/designs too like Riku's Way to Dawn or Xehanort's Keyblade Glider. Yes, that's true, but unlike these
characters feathers and wings are a thing that is constantly present in nearly all items/techniques directly associated with Ventus.
The teeth of his Keyblade, Wayward Wind, are a stylized wing:
The Keychain of his personal Keyblade is two feathers encircling an emerald that could also be seen as elongated wings:
The Lost Memory, his other personal Keyblade, also has a prominent wing motif:
His Keyblade Glider, while ultimatively a space surfboard, does have wing-like extensions:
His most powerful shotlock, Multivortex, consists of six wind/air-like energy blades floating behind him like wings and the Command Style Wingblade gives him six light swords also reminiscent of wings sprouting from his back.
When attacking Ventus himself also uses many "flying" and diving attacks true to his primary element and namesake.
Thus, the idea is that Ventus' primary role and task with the chi-cast is to be the "guiding wind" that actually leads the Dandelions to the outside world.
Since Ephemer is the leader of the Dandelions and Skuld the visible "face" of regular Dandelions for the audience, it stands to reason that those two will be the ones to be in contact with Ventus.
I admit that may sound somewhat thin on the first glance, but we do have a precedence for this "fly and reach the outside/"real" world", directly from Dream Drop Distance:
Riku said:I'm going back to the real world, and then to Sora's side.
Ansem the Wise said:Ansem the Wise: Then, you came here, and you were questioned by three
young people. That was the final key to awaken him. Sora is awake. You
can go home now.
And what does Riku do after this? He flies upwards back into the "outside" world, aka the world outside sleep/the dreams.
Ansem also speaks about the "final key" to awaken Sora (and by that, Sora's heart), Lady Ava also speaks about something similar when addressing the Dandelions:
Lady Ava said:After this, when that conflict breaks out, I want you to not participate in the battle, and instead depart for the outside world.
That is why I want you to repeat separate training every day like this.
To you I entrust the future of the Keyblade Wielders, the Realm of Light.
With your hearts guided by the key.
The thematic imagery fits.
You "dive" into hearts and/or sleeping worlds and "fly" upwards out of them.
Now we have the possible role Ventus has to play, as in him being the "key" guiding the Dandelions, the possible double meaning with his name and the visual/thematic imagery to go with it, and yet the question
remains how and why Ventus actually manages to reach and interact with the possibly sleeping hearts of Ephemer, Skuld and the Dandelion kids.
One of the most simple explanations would certainly be that since he's asleep for over ten years, his heart by now apparently far along in healing and him practically entering the Realm of Sleep
together with Sora in DDD, that there will be an event/situation where Ventus either by choice or by chance ends up in the chi-era-related events and makes contact with i.e. Ephemer.
Sora's newborn heart initially made contact with Ventus' in the BBS Prologue without having a prior connection as well, so that may also be possible here.
To give some more food for thought on a possible connection between Ventus and the chi-era that doesn't boil down to him actually originating from that era though, lets look at another possible scenario.
What exactly is the crux of the connection between Riku and Terra?
Answer: Terra bestowed a Keyblade to Riku by performing the ceremony with him.
Now you'd probably wonder what the frack that means, aren't we talking about Ventus' connection with the chi-era?
Yep, that's right, but the exact same connection that is there between Terra and Riku may be the one that connects Ven to the chi-era.
In the new Re: Coded secret ending Young Xehanort speaks about how every new Keyblade Wielder gets a Keyblade of his/her own through the act of passing down from an already existing wielder's blade.
We do not know yet how that process exactly works but there is one thing to be kept in mind:
Ventus was found and taken as a pupil by Master Xehanort who almost assuredly performed the ceremony with Ventus. We also know that Xehanort had already left Land of Departure behind by the time he
found Ventus and acknowledged his potential.
The new KH III trailer with the chess scene further implies that Xehanort his no more using whatever Keyblade had chosen him first (if there was one, that is), but uses the "Goatblade", or rather,
Luxu's Keyblade by the time he left LoD behind.
So the ceremony performed with Ventus most likely involved Luxu's Keyblade, a Keyblade being stated to be older than any still in existence and to be implied somewhat special.
So while Ventus does indeed get his own Keyblade, the Wayward Wind, as we see him hold this blade already in the flashbacks with the Heartless, proving he could already summon it even as a 10/11 year-old
child, he has possibly a connection by proxy to the chi-era due to him getting the ceremony with an item from that era, Luxu's Keyblade.
We don't know yet how the "new" Keyblades that are passed down to new wielders are made, but maybe there is something from the old blade the ceremony is done with that gets passed down into the new blade, forming a link/connection?
Yet another possibility, this although being a total shot into the blue, is that maybe inside Ventus' heart there is a copy of the Tome of Prophecies stored? Ansem the Wise after all managed to "upload" a huge bunch of research data and a digital copy of himself into Sora's heart...
This is of course all total conjecture yet, but I think it may give some further food for thought as well as maybe some more ideas for further theorizing. ^__^