Phew, the farther away we are from a possible another man behind a man scenario, the better.
Oh right, Eraqus did that too. Can`t believe I forgot that that....
Aah, now I remember the Yen Sid monologue. I think it`s kinda ironic that the mystical weapon we have gotten our selves familiar with to vanquish the evil in the KH-universe, was designed by such a evil purpose in mind. But I guess in the end the fault itself does not lay on to the Keyblade, but the person using it. It is the wielder who decided`s what he/she is going to do with such a weapon. I think Mickey puts it best when he says to Vanitas that Keyblades are not something you use to bully people.
Speaking about Vanitas really shortly, I don`t remember who mentioned it, but Vanita`s Keyblade could very well have a connection to his artificial nature. I haven`t really stopped to think about until now, and now that I am pondering it it`s pretty interesting. Void Gear(as the name implies) has a gear motif/theme going on. Now gears link to machines, and machines are artificial. Just like Vanitas was artificially created by ripping Ven`s dark half from his heart by force.
Holy heck! That is very good find.
The picture that EmperorPersuit also really remind me of Sephiroth`s final form, Safer Sephiroth:
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net...ept_art.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130110050746
Agreed, lol.
All this buildup for the central villain would go down the drain if there is suddenly introduced
another puppet master behind Xehanort.
Well, the legends do state that the Keyblade can bring salvation or destruction depending on the whim of its wielders, it is in fact very similar to the Twilight Bracelet from the .hack series of which Aura explicitly stated this very thing as well as well as the force in Star Wars as all those macguffins/powers can be used for both good and evil.
The fact that the original intent for forging the Keyblades was "evil" does not diminish the fact that it can be used for good if it is in the right hands, but it is a somewhat nice trivia to know that little fact.
"Void" also means "empty" or "nothing" so taking it all together might imply a hollow, empty machine "built" or designed to just fulfill a certain intended task and that is arguably exactly what Vanitas represented in Xehanort's mind, as he even called him an "empty creature" and it is clear from Xehanort's actions that he expected Vanitas to carry out his intended purpose like a machine without any feelings or will of his own.
Even the other vessels could also be designated as "machines" as that is what they are in Xehanort's eyes, they just have to function in order to fulfill his plans and desires.
This is also what Sora calls Xemnas out on when he speaks about "hearts being just bottles on a shelf" as despite many people often calling Sora naive and rather plain, in this field he's rather perceptive and has clearly realized that Xehanort doesn't put any value in other beings beyond how they can be useful to reach his own ambitions.
In this vein, he's very similar to the Emperor/Darth Sidious from Star Wars.
Usually the more wings an angelic being has the more powerful it is at least in fiction, lol.
About the Thrones (which are the third highest order of angels after Seraphim and Cherubim), they themselves are not really depicted as wheels with eyes like the
Ophanim which often get related to them due to allegedly belonging to the same "choir" (rank) in angelic hierachy.
The Thrones themselves are called this because of a twofold meaning, one being the fact that in mythology they are said to carry God's actual throne and second being that they embody God's
authority and thus have command of all the lesser angels. The Thrones themselves are often depicted as
elder men with frightening power who take in all the reports and work results from the lesser angels and then present them to God.
In some sources they are depicted as having four wings similar to the Cherubim, but in different size as the second pair is smaller than the first (which would fit with Xehanort's Keyblade glider) while in others they only have two.
Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones.
These three ranks together form the
first sphere of the heavenly hierachy, with two more spheres of three ranks each following.
The second sphere consists of:
1. Dominions (sometimes called Lordships) which are practically the "Managers" of the heavenly order as they directly regulate and oversee the tasks and duties of lower angels, thus some call them the "right hands" or "assistants" of the Thrones.
In terms of appearance they are often described as very beautiful "otherworldy" looking human-esque beings with two wings that always have a sort of divine glow to them (which serves to differentiate them from other angels with two wings) and they wield both sceptres and swords that have shining light orbs grafted to them in their heads and pommel respectively.
2. Virtues (sometimes also called Strongholds) which is the order of angels tasked with working miracles and giving out divine omens in order to encourage mortal beings to avoid vices and live by virtues. There is not much information about their appearance, but in some sources they are depicted as youthful-looking angels with two wings that wear flower wreaths on their heads.
3. Powers (sometimes also called Authorities) are the warrior angels forming the bulk of heaven's military might and their primary tasks are to battle, confine and if possible cleanse evil spirits, supervise the movement of celestial bodies to keep the cosmos/universe in order and punish those who threaten the universal order.
In a secondary role they are bearers of conscience as well as keepers of history, chronicling the events and lives of both the heavenly and the mortal realms.
In terms of appearance they are often depicted as "normal" adult angels with the usual two wings, but can be distinguished by always wearing divine armor, a helmet and several weapons.
Now the last sphere, the third, is the one of those angels who are said to actually interact with mortals on a more regular basis, them being:
1. Principalities (sometimes called Rulers) are the direct superiors of the archangels and in charge of protecting whole nations and/or groups of mortals. It is their duty to interpret and implement the orders and tasks coming from the higher sphere angels in direct relation to the mortal realm and they also act as primary educators and guardians of the whole realm of humanity.
In this latter role, they are said to inspire humans to invest in postive endeavours like art, music and science.
In terms of appearance Principality-angels can be identified with the destinctions that they always wear an actual crown and carry a long sceptre.
2. Archangels are the second lowest rank yet one of the most known since aside from normal angels they are the ones to interact with mortals the most. They are the leaders of individual bands of regular angels and tasked with carrying out the plans and orders made by the Principalities.
There is an interesting extra bit of information from mythology though that there are actually
two classes of beings that can be called Archangels, the actual second lowest rank in the divine hierachy (which in military means probably equals to a lieutenant and "Archangel" itself actually translates to "Chief Angel", meaning the leader of a band of angels) and the actual
Arch-angels with the meaning "Chief of all angels" which stand above any of the divine Spheres and thus stand even above the Seraphim.
The most interesting aspect of these latter Archangels is however that there exist exactly
seven of them.
3. Angels, the regular and most well known bunch which also includes personal guardian angels etc.
speaking of wings, mx's keychain has six wings
