Body, Mind, and Heart

Every being is made up of three facets that allow them to maintain a normal, coherent state: A Body, a Mind, and a Heart. Each of these facets contribute to the overall well being of the person as well as provides for the

The Body

The Body gives form to the being. It provides both a shell for the Mind and the Heart to inhabit as well as gives a medium of interaction with the physical world. Bodies are generally quite fragile and can be wounded, damaged, or destroyed with effort, although many Bodies can consist of more exotic materials than simple flesh.

The Will

The Will, also known as the Mind, deals with understanding their surroundings and handling logical behaviors. It is half of what makes up someone’s personality and deals with memory. The Will is required in order to learn and make informed decisions (as opposed to decisions based on instinct or emotion), as well as to resist compulsions.

A strong Will is required to use magic. An exception Will may be able to go beyond normal magic and engage in feats that can only be called Sorcery.

The Heart

Many call it the Heart. Others call it a Soul. Whatever the definition, the Heart is the seat of emotion and empathy. One requires a Heart in order to relate properly to others and to feel the forces of Light and Darkness.

A strong Heart may allow one to to access the power of the Keyblade, or forge a connection with the Heart of a World, becoming its guardian as a member of the Dusk Royalty.

Missing Parts

Not having a Body means that the entity has no direct method of interacting with the physical world around them, assuming that they can somehow maintain coherence at all.

It also usually means someone is dead. Whoops.

Lacking a Will prevents one from resisting compulsions, learning, or remembering. Such a person will generally act on a spur of the moment based on whatever instincts or emotions from their Heart are prevalent at the time, provided they have no obvious direction.

Missing a Heart prevents one from feeling emotion, whether good or bad. No joy, no sorrow, no guilt or empathy is possible. One may be able to ‘fake’ it using their memories but the skill required for such dissimulation means it is never certain for long.

Fragmentary Entities

There are entities that exist that are not complete. One might call them in general Fragmentary Entities, but they have often been created through unusual circumstances, tragedy, or perhaps darker purposes…

• A Heart that has fallen to Darkness, with no Body or Will, is a Heartless.
• A strong enough Will that resides within their own Body, with no Heart, is a Nobody.
• A Body with no Will or Heart is often some form of lower undead, such as a zombie.
• A powerful Will can survive being separated from their Body and Heart, becoming a Spirit or Phantom. These lingering Wills often search for redemption, resolution, or revenge.

These are special because they are created /from/ a being that was once complete. Some entities exist that were never ‘complete’, however, and follow slightly different behaviors.

• Dream Eaters possess a Will and Heart but no Body. They cannot enter or affect the physical world directly.
• Some Data entities have a Body and Will but no Heart. They are generally low-level objects that were designed to handle singular tasks without the need for independent action. They are generally not Programs of the type who carry Identity Discs.