Ventus

Ventus, also known as Ven, is one of the main protagonists in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. From the view of the story, it is revealed that he is a Keyblade Wielder before the current main protagonist, Sora and has a strong bond to him, even though they only ever meet through their hearts. Of the trio formed by himself, Terra and Aqua, he is the youngest of the three.

His name means "Wind" in Latin, and Sora's name in Japanese means "Sky". The two are connected, as Sora's heart makes contact with Ventus's injured heart, shortly after the creation of Vanitas, to fix his Awakening station, and at the game's ending, Ventus's heart merges with that of Sora, thus granting him the ability to wield two Keyblades. For this reason, Sora's Nobody, Roxas, takes on Ventus's appearance.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Ventus is the youngest of Master Eraqus's three apprentices. Ventus's earliest appearance is in the opening cutscene, where Master Xehanort carries Ven's body to Destiny Islands. In this flashback, Ventus has an Awakening, and it's revealed that his heart is damaged and may soon fade. It is there that Sora's heart speaks to him, offering to connect with his until the day he can become stronger. The two hearts connect to one another and Ven's heart heals. At the end of this scene, Ventus summons a Keyblade, much to Master Xehanort's surprise.

Following these events, Master Xehanort brought Ventus to Land of Departure at age 10, where he could train as an apprentice to Master Eraqus. Terra and Aqua met Ventus with open arms. However, when Terra asked Ventus about his past, he screamed out in agony, eventually falling unconscious. Eraqus revealed that this was because Ven had lost his memories. Afterwards he remained asleep for some time. As he slept, Aqua kept watch over him, to keep him safe. Some time later, Ven woke up. Overjoyed, Aqua quickly alerted Eraqus and the worried Terra about Ven's recovery.

It was then that his heart began to heal and he started to form strong bonds of friendship with Terra and Aqua. During a training session, Ventus loses humiliatingly, but Terra and Aqua reassure Ven that he was getting stronger. As time went on, Terra and Ven grew close to becoming brothers. Terra even went so far as to give Ven his wooden training Keyblade and recite a mock inheritance ceremony. Together, the three of them shared the same dream: to become Keyblade Masters.

4 Years later, Ventus awakes to a meteor shower and hurries out to look at the stars. Later, both Terra and Aqua join him. When Ven asks about stars and the light, Terra explains how each star is another world and compares the light to Ven, who doesn't understand. After a brief spat between the two boys, they, along with Aqua, spar in order to prepare for the Master Qualification Exam the next day. Following their workout, Aqua gives both Ven and Terra good luck charms and tells them the story behind the charms. The lucky charms, also known as Wayfinders, were gifted with a powerful magic by Aqua that formed an "unbreakable connection". Upon receiving the charms, Ven and his friends return to their castle for the night, eagerly awaiting the exam.

However, things don't go smoothly. During the exam, Master Xehanort rigs the test, and the orbs of light (possessed by darkness) attack Ven and his friends. Together, the three fight off the orbs, and the exam continues.

After the exam, it's clear that Ventus has earned the interest of Master Xehanort and his apprentice, Vanitas. Though their intentions are rather ambiguous at the time, Vanitas decides to give Ventus some incentive to leave his home. When Vanitas appears in Ven's room, he leaves dark hints of Terra's fate and how he'll "become a different person". Ven becomes very defensive, telling Vanitas that he doesn't know the first thing about Terra. However, once Vanitas leaves, Ven hurries out to find his friend in hopes of giving him a warning.

Unfortunately, Ven arrives much too late, as Terra leaves to go on his mission. Left with no other choice, Ventus leaves his home and begins a journey of his own.

He visits a number of worlds and while building new friendships along the way.

In the forest he finds the seven Dwarfs heading off to work in their diamond mine; however, once Ven tries to talk to them, Grumpy believes that Ven is only around to steal their jewels. Feeling defeated, Ven asks for directions to another location where he could find someone to talk to. On the way to the castle, Ven finds the Dwarf's home and hears Snow White scream. He finds her in the woods, frightened by the shadows and Unversed. Out of compassioon, Ven helps lead her out of the woods and guides her to the Dwarfs' home. There, he learns that Snow White encountered Terra and immediately tries to get to the bottom of things. After facing several more Unversed along the way, including the Mad Treant, Ven encounters the Queen in the form of an old lady carrying her poisoned apple, and she lies to Ven that Terra threatened her with his Keyblade. Refusing to believe this, Ventus leaves in hopes of finding Terra, wondering what's gotten into him.

Then, in Cinderella's Chateau, Ven befriends Jaq Cinderella (at a tiny size due to the Fairy Godmother's magic). Though Terra isn't there, Ven still lends a hand, helping gather supplies for Cinderella's dress, and even facing Lucifer. When the dress is complete, Cinderella thanks Jaq and Ventus, and the two talk about their dreams. It's here that Ven decides that his dream is to become a Keyblade Master—the dream he and his friends all share.

It's in King Stefan's Castle that Ven gets another clue regarding Terra. After freeing Princess Aurora's heart, Ven encounters Maleficent. Maleficent reveals that Terra helped steal Aurora's heart, but Aqua arrives just in time to convince Ven otherwise. She then asks Ven to go home with her, but he refuses, remembering the cryptic warning left by Vanitas.

Coincidentally, Ven encounters Vanitas again after leaving Enchanted Dominion, and he follows him straight to the Keyblade Graveyard. There, Ven tries to get some answers out of Vanitas, who simply restates what he said before, that Terra will be gone forever. The two battle, but Vanitas easily overpowers Ven. It's not until King Mickey arrives, that Vanitas is defeated. Upon his defeat, Vanitas tells Ventus that he's on probation and disappears, leaving Ven and Mickey alone.

The two introduce themselves to one another, and Mickey tells Ven about the Star Shard. Apparently, it allows him to travel to different worlds, but he still doesn't know all of its secrets. Shortly after, the Star Shard sends the two of them both to Radiant Garden, and Ven tries to follow Mickey, only to be intercepted by Aeleus and Dilan. After spying an Unversed, Ven gives up his search for Mickey and instead trails after the Monster. He's interrupted several times, by Scrooge McDuck, who gives him lifetime passes to Disney Town and Merlin, who tells him of the book to the 100 Acre Wood.

Eventually, he does find the Unversed he was chasing, as well as Terra and Aqua. Together, they face the Trinity Armor, but after its defeat, things change for the worst.

First, Aqua tries to tell Ven to go home, and then she and Terra get into a fight regarding the darkness and Eraqus's intentions. The whole time, Ven is left completely confused, as he'd never seen his friends bicker in such a way. In the end, he tells Aqua that she's let being a Master go to her head, and he leaves to find Terra again.

His search is interrupted again, when he spots Ienzo being attacked by the Unversed. Without any hesitation, Ventus protects the boy and defeats his attackers. Even arrives shortly after and thanks Ventus for his help. Then, when asked about Terra's location, he tells Ven to look in the Outer Gardens.

Though Ven does find Terra, their reunion is short lived, as Terra leaves, telling Ven that he can't come along, but when he really needs him, he knows he'll be there.

For a while, Ven stays in Radiant Garden, reminiscing about the times when his friendship wasn't strained by newfound complications. He's left wondering just what it means to be friends, and after meeting Lea and Isa he becomes more and more curious about friendship.

Thus, when he continues his travels, Ven has a new resolve. Rather than search for Terra and Aqua, he decides to go out and make some new friends in hopes of redefining his simplistic views of friendship.

In Disney Town, he meets Queen Minnie and Huey, Dewie and Louie, helping them fix their ice cream machine for the Million Dreams Festival. He also finds a new nuisance in "Captain Justice" aka Pete.

In Deep Space, he tracks an Unversed to a Galactic Federation Ship transporting 626 to his desert asteroid for banishment; meeting 626 in person, Ven finds that Terra and Aqua have had an impact on 626's heart, allowing him to see beyond his destructive programming. He soon loses sight of him after they escape the federation.

By the time he leaves Olympus Coliseum, Ven finally comes to understand what it means to be friends and realizes that he, Terra, and Aqua will patch things up someday. He also helps Hercules find confidence in himself when Phil pretended to re-think who he would train (the other option being Zack).

Later, in Neverland Ven takes a nap, but awakes to find more new friends in the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell and Peter Pan. Following them, Ven finds Mickey's Star Shard is in this world, but Mickey himself is not. Unfortunately, Captain Hook to steal both it and Tinker Bell. Together, both he and Peter Pan team up against the pirate captain, saving Tink in the process. Together, Ventus, along with Peter and the Lost Boys, decide to put their own personal treasures in the empty chest they stole from Hook. As the Wooden Keyblade holds many cherished memories for Ven, he puts it in the chest, for his best memories with Terra and Aqua are still to come. With Hook out of the way, he also retrieves the Star Shard from Tinker Bell after a little persuasion from Peter, only to be whisked away, to the Mysterious Tower.

Upon his arrival, Ven meets Donald Duck and Goofy, who take him straight to Yen Sid. There, it's discovered that Mickey went missing, but when Yen Sid uses his magic to find him, they discover that the King is in danger. Determined to save Mickey, Ven departs from the Tower and returns to the Keyblade Graveyard, but when he reaches Mickey, everything changes.

It turns out that Master Xehanort was waiting for him the whole time, and that's not all. Xehanort reveals Ven's destiny to forge the X-blade. He tells Ven that this is the real reason he could never leave his home, out of fear for the χ-blade's creation.

After learning of his past, Ventus returns to Eraqus, only for his Master to try and destroy him upon realizing Xehanort's plans. Fortunately, he is saved by Terra and sent to Destiny Islands, much to his displeasure. There, he encounters Vanitas again, as more memories of his past come to light.

A flashback sequence shows Ventus in the Keyblade Graveyard, surrounded by Neoshadows. At the time, he was still Master Xehanort's apprentice, and the Heartless were a means of bringing out Ven's inner darkness. However, Ventus refuses to unleash the darkness inside him, even if it means dying in the process. Disappointed in his failure of an apprentice, Master Xehanort extracts the darkness from within Ven, creating Vanitas.

Once the memories return, Vanitas decides to give Ventus a reason to fight: Vanitas tells Ventus to come to the Keyblade Graveyard, the only place where the χ-blade can be forged, and threatens to kill Terra and Aqua to see if Ventus will continue to "play the pacifist." Left with no choice, Ven leaves in hopes of setting things right, once and for all. Once reunited with his friends, Ventus explains the situation between himself and Vanitas, and, admitting that he is terrified over the very thought of the χ-blade, asks to be destroyed, much to their shock. However, there's little time to mull over Ven's request, as both Master Xehanort and Vanitas arrive.

During their final battle at the Keyblade Graveyard, Master Xehanort encases Ven in ice and throws him off a cliff. Aqua manages to catch him, saving his life. Braig quickly appears and fights Aqua. Stalling long enough, Braig withdraws from the battle. Vanitas knocks out Aqua as he drops down from a cliff. Before the enigma can finish her off, Ventus uses all of his willpower to thaw out of his frozen state and fights Vanitas. After the battle, Vanitas reveals his true intentions and explains that the Unversed came from his negativity. Trapping Ven with several Floods, Vanitas merges with Ventus and takes over his body.

However, Vanitas is defeated by Aqua and Mickey, and right as the χ-blade is damaged by their fight, Vanitas and Ventus engage in a metaphysical battle, where Vanitas tries to rejoin with Ventus and repair the χ-blade. Ven, however, refuses and chooses to defeat Vanitas and destroy the weapon, even if it means the destruction of his own heart.

The two engage in a decisive battle, and towards the end, Vanitas forces a D-Link on Ventus in hopes of completing their fusion. However, Ventus prevails, and the χ-blade is destroyed along with Vanitas. Unfortunately, this also results in Ventus losing his heart. Aqua later places his body in a chamber within Castle Oblivion. Somehow, Ventus's heart finds its way to a young Sora, in his own Awakening, and his heart passes on into Sora's body, granting the young boy the ability to use Ventus's Keyblade.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
While Ventus does not make a physical appearance in the game, Xemnas and Xigbar see Xion (an imperfect Replica of Sora) as Ventus. He states that Ventus had always looked at him as if he had "drowned [his] goldfish" before he is defeated by Xion. Xigbar reveals that his complete being has met the real Ventus.

Kingdom Hearts II
When Sora first returns to Hollow Bastion and encounters Organization XIII, Xigbar stays behind to taunt him, at one point commenting that "he" used to give him the same glare that Sora did. Tetsuya Nomura has confirmed that Xigbar was referring to Ventus glaring at Braig when he was frozen in the Keyblade Graveyard.

Later in the story, at The World That Never Was, Sora encounters Xigbar again, who comments that the Keyblade chose "a dud this time" and mentions that Sora doesn't look like "half the hero the others were", referring to Terra, Aqua, and Ventus.

Blank Points
Ventus is seen at the Land of Departure, sleeping on a bench outside before Terra wakes the boy by approaching him. They both smile and look up to the sky while uttering Sora's name with a sense of renewed hope.

Kingdom Hearts coded
Data-Naminé tells Mickey and Data-Sora that Ventus is one of the ones connected to Sora's heart that must be saved. Later on, Mickey tells Yen Sid that they may be close to finding Ventus's heart.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
When Sora travels to The World That Never Was, he is plagued with illusions by Young Xehanort, Xemnas and Xigbar in an attempt to get him to fall asleep and leave his heart vulnerable to damage. In one illusion, Sora takes on Ventus's form before Terra and Aqua, and apparently feels Ventus's pain of losing them again, prompting him to run after Terra and Aqua as they walk away.

Following Sora's descent into darkness after his heart is damaged by Xemnas and Young Xehanort, Ventus's heart envelops Sora in Ventus's Keyblade Armor in order to protect him from being swallowed completely, though it is temporarily corrupted by the darkness until Riku saves him. He later appears inside the research data that Ansem the Wise hid inside Sora a year ago, but Riku, having never met Ventus before, mistakes him for Roxas.

Physically, Ventus continues to sleep within Castle Oblivion. At the same time as Sora returning to Traverse Town and reuniting with his Dream Eater Spirit friends, Ventus slightly smiles from Sora's happiness.

Trivia

 * Ventus's name is pronounced "Ven-tus" despite the fact it is rooted in Latin, in which "V" is pronounced as "W".
 * In game, when the Metamorphosis attacks Ven before he arrives in Deep Space, Ven calls it an Unversed without having been properly told what the creatures he is fighting are called. Only Terra, Aqua, Eraqus, Xehanort, Vanitas, and Yen Sid know what the Unversed are by name.

Ventus