Karel

**Karel** is a Keyblade Master walking close to the road to Darkness.

## Story

### The Weight of Fate

A talented young man from the Kingdom Realm's Destiny Islands, at a very young age Karel was chosen by Luxan to inherit his powers. Karel would later be led away from his childhood friend Haru, on a journey designed to manipulate him and trick him into becoming the one who would kill Tasiel. During that journey, Karel briefly encountered Elsa Arendelle, and awakened his dark side in front of her.

Encountering Haru briefly, Karel was rejected due to his dark presence, forcing him to delve even deeper in darkness to save her. Eventually, Karel managed to corner Tasiel while the latter tricked Haru and Luxan into killing each other. Karel, alongside Haru, managed to stop Tasiel from completing the keyblade, then returned home, with the help of a mysterious presence.

### Not Afraid of the Dark

Karel would later be forced to delve after Haru once more after the latter slowly succumbed to an unknown evil. Tricked by the dark presence of "Luna", Karel did not manage to save Haru in time, and instead departed to crush the entity known as **Ruxah**, who held Haru's heart. Recruiting Xehanort as an apprentice - unwillingly - Karel ended up being controlled by Tasiel's Heartless, "Luna", and forced to fight Ruxah, but shattered his own heart to destroy him.

This forced him to piece himself back in **Castle Oblivion**. There, Xemnas the Wise attempted to manipulate him, but in vain. Karel finally reunited with Haru, promising to truly protect her and never succumb again. Reuniting Haru and Ruxah, Karel used his strength to overpower Xemnas and defeat him, long enough for Xehanort to take advantage of this and disappear. Karel then returned to rest on Destiny Islands, preparing himself for a later battle.

## Appearance

Karel is a dark-skinned, grey-eyed man with dark brown eyes, in which amber reflects can be seen. He dresses in simple brown and green clothing, covered by a massive, concealing white cape.

## Personality

Despite Karel being kind and protective, his somewhat distant attitude and rigid behavior often cause him to distance himself from others. His utilitarian perspective and belief that sacrifice and balance are natural parts of existence cause him to seek to protect others in a self-destructive fashion, embracing the darkness in order to help them. Eventually however, upon learning his worth in Haru's eye, Karel manages to overcome his self-destructive impulses and fatalistic view on life in order to stay with her without harming her anymore.

## Powers

* **Enhanced Physical Abilities:** Quite standard for a Keyblade Wielder. Karel puts the emphasis on magic and strength.
* **Keyblade Mastery:** Karel is a skillful Keyblade user, using darkness and earth-based assaults to brutally overpower his opponents while drawing from his own pain to wound his opponents.
* **Darkness Mastery:** Karel has learned the basics of darkness mastery, and can conjure portals of darkness or increase his own physical prowess with it. However, he still struggles to control it.

## Storylines

* Kingdom Hearts Crossroads features him as a central protagonist.
* Kingdom Hearts Crossroads II features him as a central protagonist.
* Kingdom Hearts Crossroads of Remembrance features him as a protagonist.

## Trivia

* Karel's name derives from Karen - and the similar Kier- words, meaning "dark".