Master Eraqus

Master Eraqus (マスター・エラクゥス, Masutā Erakwusu) is a Keyblade Master and the master of Terra and Aqua, and he also serves as the second master of Ventus.

His name is an anagram of "Square", a reference to Square Enix, the developers of the Kingdom Hearts series. Tetsuya Nomura stated in the Ultimania that he had actually forgotten the basis of the name, and that the producer had to remind him that it was an anagram.

"Fear leads to obsession with power, and obsession beckons the Darkness."
 * —Master Eraqus to Terra.

Appearance & Biography

 * Voice Actor: Mark Hamill (English), Makio Inoue (Japanese), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (German), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (French), Not Known (Latin American Spanish)

Biography
One of the true Keyblade Masters and also Terra, Aqua, and Ventus's teacher. He has a strong aversion to darkness, and believes it is the duty of every Keyblade Master to rid the world of it.

Though strict on the outside, he is not unkind, and loves his pupils like his own children.

Appearance
Master Eraqus, like his student, Terra, bears a distinct Japanese influence in his choice of clothing. He wears a white, red lined haori that has a hood, along with slightly shorter than normal, light-colored hakama. Underneath his haori, he wears a navy blue shirt with a large white X pattern on the front. He also has jagged scars over his right eye and left cheek inflicted by Master Xehanort, much like the wounds Braig received from Terra.

Like his pupils, Eraqus wears pieces of armor, in his case gold and black armored boots and a dull blue-green section that covers his abdomen. This second piece of armor sports the same symbol worn by his students near the top. Eraqus's black hair is tied into a short, high topknot, with one bang falling off to the right side of his face. He also has a short, triangular soul patch and a mustache. Eraqus's Keyblade Armor greatly resembles samurai armor, fitting in with his Japanese theme.


 * Hair Color: Light Black
 * Eye Color: Blue
 * Height: Not Known
 * Weight: Not Known

Personality
Master Eraqus is a strong Keyblade master, caring for Terra, Ventus, and Aqua as his own children. Stern and willing to instruct, one major goal he has in life appears to be preserving peace throughout the worlds, as he rashly attacks Ventus when Eraqus discovers that through his dark half, Vanitas, Ventus can create the χ-blade, the weapon that sparked the Keyblade War and the means Master Xehanort intends to use to fulfill his goals. Unlike Master Xehanort, Eraqus has an open aversion to darkness, believing that it must be destroyed at all or any costs, and has at least partially ingrained these beliefs into his apprentices.

Despite his sometimes cold actions toward his apprentices, he still cares deeply for them. He has Aqua look after Terra as he travels the worlds because he is concerned for him, apologizes to Ventus and appears deeply pained before he attempts to attacking the boy, and sheds a tear when he is forced to face off against Terra. Despite his relationship with Xehanort having been strained over the years, Eraqus seems to attempt to overlook his former friend's past actions to a degree. Even after he and Xehanort have a fight that results in Eraqus being scarred, he still asks Xehanort to watch over the Mark of Mastery with him.

Powers and Abilities
Master Eraqus is very experienced with a Keyblade. When he attacks, he uses a combination of Keyblade melee and magic. If he uses magic, he uses light as his main form of offence. It often takes the form of a chain extending from the tip of his Keyblade.

Abilities
Master Eraqus appears as a boss against Terra after the Keyblade wielder rescues Ventus from an attempt by Eraqus to kill him, and Terra is forced to fight him. Eraqus is a skilled Keyblade Master and magic user who focuses on harnessing the power of light for his attacks. His light-based magic skills are some of the most advanced seen in the series so far.

During battle, Eraqus uses many quick lunging attacks, and is able to land many hits before the combo finisher. He also has several desperation attacks, each based on the light element.

Weapons

 * Main article: Master Keeper

Master Eraqus wields a rather basic Keyblade named "Master Keeper", which is grey in coloration. It has the appearance of an old fashioned skeleton key, and the teeth are shaped like an "E". Its Keychain is the Mark of Mastery symbol. He summons his Keyblade in a fashion similar to Terra, shrouded in a series of golden blocks.

Aqua uses the Master Keeper to seal Castle Oblivion at the end of Birth By Sleep. In a trailer for Kingdom Hearts III Sora is shown finding the Master Keeper on Destiny Islands.

Notes & Trivia

 * Master Eraqus physically resembles Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series.
 * Mark Hamill, Eraqus's English voice actor, was chosen specifically by Tetsuya Nomura for his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.