How Do Keychains‽

Ok, so... Keyblades change form by the wielder swapping out the keychain attached to them. This seems pretty obvious to me, maybe you've got another hypothesis. But we have seen characters with no knowledge of or ability to wield the Keyblade give out keychains to wielders, and thereafter they are able to use a Keyblade with that keychain on the end, e.g. Oathkeeper. And the hero(es) of each installment seems to end up with a new one every time they complete a world, implying that a lot more people hand them out than are shown onscreen.

So what's the dillyhoo? Are these keychains forged somehow? Do they just kinda pop into existence when a Keyblade wielder earns someone's trust or shares an intimate experience? Are they symbols of the bond between the giver and the recipient? Do they bind themselves to other potent symbols and then find their way to Keyblade wielders somehow? And as for more specific puzzles: How did Roxas end up with Oathkeeper and Oblivion? Does this prove that the keychains are thought forms and thus accessible to anyone who shares the experiences, emotions, and/or memories of the original holder? In that case, what makes Oblivion so special? Is any of this in an interview somewhere? Simply put, HOW DO KEYCHAINS‽

 

That, though only Roxas gets keyblades because of someone else's memories, but I guess it's kinda his too.
Sometimes the mementos themselves act as keychains since they're what remind the holder of the experiences they went through, like Oathkeeper, Jungle King, Oblivion and Ultima Weapon.

That was the only keyblade without a keychain, and only because it was imcomplete, as in, it was missing Kairi's heart.

 

I thought that the Keychains had always existed within the worlds themselves after their separation. When they split apart it was because of the Keyblade War so, to me, it made sense that there would be remnants of each world that Keyblade wielders could utilize on their quest to possibly reunite the fractured worlds & protect Kingdom Hearts.
Krowley's explanation makes far more sense to me now, though.

Maybe because it wasn't technically a Keyblade. Sure it was called the "Keyblade of People's Hearts," but it wasn't a Keyblade in the usual sense (in that it was actually 'forged' rather than passed down or attained through strength of heart). It's like with Riku's original blade, Soul Eater: it was given to him by Maleficent, who created it from the darkness in his heart. It doesn't have a Keychain because it is not officially a Keyblade, though according to Nomura, it was like "an intermediary for that Keyblade [Way to the Dawn]." Source.

 

I always saw it as a little charm someone gives you, and its... i dunno... strong memories... make it attach to the keyblade

 

Well, we know for a fact there's such a thing as a default blade, like the ones the BbS crew make for themselves, or the Kingdom Key for Sora. But the Kingdom Key has a keychain, too... Maybe the presence of a keychain signifies that the blade is able to be transubstantiated into other forms. That would mean the KoPH's lack thereof indicates it is locked into a single, static form. The BbS kids' Keyblades all have chains too, don't they? If not, that kinda screws my hypothesis.

Ooh, good call. I didn't even think about where Sora found it, but yeah, that makes sense.

Minor nitpick there: The keyhole to darkness is what was referred to as incomplete, not the KoPH.

 

Both were made from the princesses' hearts, both were incomplete, Leon said it, 0:43 here.
The teeth even formed an incomplete heart to symbolize it.

 

Ah, fair enough. But who's to say the lack of a keychain was part of that?

 

That's what sounded most likely to me, shouldn't have said it like it was a fact, sorry.

I was thinking now, while it's a Keyblade of People's Hearts and everything, Nomura said it's different from a proper one because it was made artificially, it was made for one function, and once it did what it was meant to do, it dissolved. So, it might not have a keychain because of that.

Either way, that thing is an exception to whatever rules there might be, so the reason probably doesn't matter.

 

Most of my points have already been said, but here's my two cents anyway.

In KH1 when you obtain Jungle King (the first keychain you can use instead of Kingdom Key) you get a quick explanation that the keychains are what determine the form of the blade. Though how this works and where they come from hasn't been mentioned in game.

One thing I can say is that keychains are not necessarily some ancient uber-magical artifact. Oathkeeper was made by Kairi out of thalassa shells to act as a good luck charm on the raft voyage. So it seems more like a token of the bond the wielder has with other people and perhaps the worlds themselves more than something that inherently has that power. The one twist to that is Ultima Weapon, which is commonly obtained in a more unconventional way (such as being forged in the 2 numbered titles). I would make the argument that since it usually involves work to be done across many worlds in order to obtain it, it could be drawing from the power of the wielders bonds to everything. Though really it is even more in the realm of "just a game mechanic" than other keyblades.


And as for the Keyblade of People's hearts not having a keychain, my personal theory is that it was incomplete. When Riku forged it he only had six of the required seven hearts. Thus providing it with much of the power of it's true form, without truly being a keyblade. Though the incomplete kye-blade did have a keychain, so who knows.

 

But the Kye-Blade wasn't truly incomplete. Ventus and Vanitas had become one entity, though not as completely as they could've, and Aqua had to fight Venitas with the complete Kye-Blade. What damaged it, and later allowed for its destruction, was the bond between Aqua, Ven and Terra, thus proving that the power of a Keyblade is actually connected to the bonds that its wielder has formed. or something

 

Spoiler: Dream Drop Distance

It turns out that the forging process was wrong from the beginning. So the actions of Ven and Aqua may have accelerated it's destruction, but it was doomed to be destroyed before it was even made.

 

Works for me. So, the ability to use keychains is a trait of a proper Keyblade, but some do without. Does that mean it is grounded in some physical aspect, I wonder? Perhaps it's like some sort of magick firmware, half of one, half of the other. Or perhaps it's tied to a Keyblade during the forging process somehow.

Actually, this brings up another interesting thought. How exactly are Keyblades forged? We know they're specific to the person, and I believe Birth by Sleep mentions at some point that the wielder's heart is involved in the forging, but how do they all come out looking roughly the same? Kinda weird for every heart to be able to build a giant whackin' key - much less for some to create accessories for it. Or does forging require the help of a Master? Some of this may be me forgetting the nitty-gritty of BbS, as I could swear this topic comes up at some point.

 

Another aspect that we know some stuff about, but not a whole lot. The history as we know it (but keep in mind other parts of this history have been openly declared as incorrect before) says that the keyblades were originally forged in the image of the χ-blade for the purpose of the keyblade war. In present day however, the forging process seems to be more abstract and less intentional. We so far know of two conditions that must be met for one to wield a keyblade; strength of heart and contact with the hilt of another keyblade (notably affiliation with light or darkness plays no direct role other than determining the origin realm of your keyblade, if even that). When the conditions are right for someone to wield a keyblade it seems to come into existence uniquely for them. Though since this forging process requires another keyblade to work there is always the question of running backwards, Was there an original keyblade that was forged differently? Was the χ-blade used instead of a keyblade? Is the keyblade war history correct on that note and all the keyblades of that time made without the help of another? I really can't say. But they all come out similar but unique because it is their heart's own twist on the blueprints given.

 

Keyblades use the image of the X-Blade as a base, so they all initially looked like keys because the X-Blade looked like one.

As for why the ones after the Keyblade War look like ones, it might just be tradition, or something.
Maybe they just aren't made anymore, as in, the ones left over from all the dead wielders from the Keyblade War just answer the call when someone tries to summon a Keyblade and then change shape, since what I said above wouldn't explain why Sora's Keyblade looked not only like a Key, but the closest they ever got to the X-Blade.
...though then again, this wouldn't either.

Also, no Masters are required. Riku forged Way to Dawn out of Soul Eater before any were introduced.

 

Actually Riku had undergone the passing of power from Terra. In fact out of our main trio, he is the only one to have done it formally. Though yes, all the business when it comes to Sora's and Riku's keyblades is messy at best. Only to become even less clear with the introduction of Roxas and Xion.

 

But Way to Dawn was a Keyblade he made himself, the one he "inherited" from Terra was lost to Sora. That's just how I view it though, like you said, Riku and Sora's cases are a mess.

 

I think the Keyblade of people hearts is like the X-blade (Hell is half of the X-blade, as the X-blade split in 13 darkness and 7 lights).

Before there where X-blade, it is the source of all the other Keyblades (It is stated that they were forged to mirror the x-blade). The X-blade itself has 2 keychains so Keychains were always a thing!

Probably the first keyblade user got in contact with one of the original Keyblades made from worlds , maybe the X-blade itself, after that he than choosed aprentices to try to achieve Kingdom Hearts , there was a divide and war went on until BBS story.

I think Keychains are always the memories of something , a happy feeling, a big trauma (like the dark keyblade Terra gets at the end of the game), a mark of greatness!

This can or can't be crafted by an actual object if you link the object to the memory(Oathkeeper, Olympia, three wishes, Divine rose, Hidden Dragon, Hero's crest, whising lamp, Fenrir, bond of flame, etc..) or not. Sometimes the memory of the world itself will give you a keychain.

It's important to mention that even when the keychain is made from an object the object itself doesn't cease to exist so it only uses it as model! Hero's crest was made as basis of the crest of hercules, Oathkeeper as that star kairi gives you, Hidden Dragon by Mulan's sword (that she still keeps after), Wishing lamp/three wishes (Gennie's lamp that you don't take.. even though you did take it in KH1 to use it as a summon device).

 

I think Keychains are formed by the weilder's heart to show strength of the heart/friendship/etc. and give the weilder more power.

Or, looking at Kairi's Wayfinder, the heart forms the Keyblade into something representing that object.

 

Riku's case is really confusing, but I think I've explained it adequately to myself, so hopefully my explanation will satisfy for others as well.

Terra didn't just bequeath a Keyblade to Riku; he gave Riku the ability to use one. The one Riku inherited in particular was just a mantle - symbolic. A template for use if he needed it. That power was never lost, just forgotten. When he took Sora's Keyblade, he was taking that power away from Sora, not restoring his own. But later Sora found out that power was never truly lost, and was able to call it back. Riku discovered this as well, in time, and created a personal Keyblade which became his own.

The take-away is that, as far as I can see, it is possible both to "donate" and to "steal" the mysterious strength of heart quality required to wield a Keyblade, via various rites or techniques. I would also speculate that Keyblade wielders "imprint" onto whatever Keyblade they use as their default, which effectively makes it the source of power for them. It seems to be tied more to the person's emotions and mental state than to any unwritten law or mechanic of the blades themselves: Sora had imprinted onto the Kingdom Key, so as far as he knew, if someone could take it from him, he couldn't use Keyblades anymore. That made it possible for Riku to steal the power from him; but Sora later realized there was something stronger binding it to him, in a way that couldn't be taken. At that point, the Keyblade knew its master, and returned to him.

Roxas is a whole other can o' worms, but if the ability to use a Keyblade is all heart and mind, it makes sense that he'd use the blades of someone whose heart and mind he borrowed. Whether it counted as Ventus's heart or not, it had likely mingled with Sora's, so all of his stuff came out looking that way.

Of course this is all a long-winded and fairly dodgy way of putting a much plainer truth: Nomura didn't think through any of this sh#%. But it's fun to posit, right?