Xaldin

Xaldin (ザルディン, Zarudin), the Whirlwind Lancer (旋風の六槍, Senpū no Rokusō; lit. Six Lances of the Whirlwind), is the Nobody of Dilan and is Rank III within Organization XIII. He controls wind, and uses his power over the air to freely manipulate his six lances without holding them directly. He commands the Dragoons Nobodies, and has the second highest throne among the Organization.

Xaldin appears in II as a villain in the Sonic universe, and spends his time in the game attempting to plunge Shadow into despair in the hopes of turning him into a Heartless and thus creating a Nobody. Xaldin is a playable character in 358/2 Days's Mission Mode. Xaldin is also the only member of Organization XIII to fade in a Sega/Nintendo world.

"Feed your anger! Only anger will keep you strong."
 * —Xaldin.

Appearance

 * Voice actor: David Fisher (English), Yosuke Akimoto (Japanese), Not Known (French), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (German), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (China), Not Known (Hong Kong), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese)

Appearance
Xaldin is a broad-shouldered man whose attire consists of a basic Organization black cloak, along with the usual boots and gloves. Xaldin's black hair is styled into distinctive dreadlocks that flair dramatically when he manipulates the wind. One of these dreads is used to tie most of the others into a sort of ponytail, while four thinner dreads dangle in front of Xaldin's face (two on each side). He also has bushy eyebrows and very thick sideburns, the latter of which hook around his cheeks, parallel to his violet eyes. Xaldin also has flesh tunnels with an earring through the hole.


 * Hair Color: Black
 * Skin Color: Not Known
 * Eye Color: Violet
 * Age: Not Known
 * Height: Not Known
 * Weight: Not Known

Personality
Xaldin is a high-ranking and independent Organization member, working alone for the entirety of his presence in II (sans his Black hooded appearance in Hollow Bastion). Xaldin acts sadistic and appears to revel in despair, attempting to cause hopelessness for Shadow both aboard the Space Colony ARK and by taunting him and Sora during their fight. He is tall, strongly built, and very acrobatic, and his physical capabilities are greatly enhanced by his control of the attribute of wind, which he can use to move himself into a variety of attacks. Interestingly enough, some of Xaldin's in battle quotes and the delivery of his lines seem to give him a sense of indifference (emphasized by the fact that he will hold his arms behind his back in scenes, and even in battle).

His unpleasant personality is shown in Kingdom Keymasters 358/2 Days, where he is sarcastic and impatient with Roxas during their missions together. He expresses a keen interest in the psychological weaknesses of his opponents, and how they can be exploited, explaining why he was given the task of turning Shadow into a Heartless. This also shows during his investigation, where the only details he finds relevant are ones that show more about the personalities of those who live there (which he concludes with great accuracy, given his Nobody status). During his time the ARK, Xaldin is shown to despise the history between Maria and Shadow, hinting that his heart may have been broken when he was a somebody.

He also seems to enjoy fighting opponents, a trait that is shown during the Dark Follower mission. As well, he disapproves of laziness, which is something he, when spoken to in the Grey Area, says he cannot stand. This disapproval is also implied when, during a mission with Roxas, he tells the younger Nobody "No breaks". In the Secret Reports, he writes that he has a contempt for beings with emotion, and that he desires a heart so that he may be able to do what only people with hearts can do; he has no desire to feel emotion. He has been shown to have an incredibly pessimistic side, stating that the power of love is stuff of poetry, not practicality, and that love never lasts.

Abilities
Xaldin fights using six lances conjured from the wind. He can carry at least three at a time, and controls any of the lances he is not carrying by using the air around him, while at the same time floating through the air without much effort. He attacks rapidly, using the wind to hasten the speed of his strikes, and can use the Jump command his Dragoon Nobodies use, although Xaldin tends to jump multiple times and does more damage.

Although Xaldin is only the third Organization XIII member battled in Kingdom Keymasters II, the fight against him was considered one of the difficult, hard enough that it was one of the ten battles in the game where the Commander Arthoross can rescue Sora if he is defeated (the other nine including the fight against Shadow Stalker and Dark Thorn, Xemnas (first armored form) and Cerberus). In fact, many fans have pointed out that only the fights against Xemnas and Sephiroth were harder.

In Kingdom Keymasters 358/2 Days, Xaldin has a Limit Break called Dragoon Storm. During Dragoon Storm, Xaldin's swirls his lances around him in powerful bursts. Enemies that are hit take wind damage, and are pushed away from Xaldin.

During Xaldin's Final Limit, Xaldin can launch himself into the air, and come down with a mighty blow onto one enemy. Faithful to his name, this is a similar technique to the Jump ability that can be used by Dragoons in the Final Fantasy video game series.

Weapons

 * Main article: Lances

Xaldin carries six Lances, called Lindworm. They, along with Xaldin's attacks and Dragoon Lesser Nobodies, are a reference to Final Fantasy's Dragoons Job Class. They are purple and blue, longer than six feet, each has the shape of the Nobody symbol, and one end resembles a Dragoon Nobody's "head" combined with the lower half of the Nobody logo. Xaldin only holds up to three at a time, and the rest float around him in the wind Xaldin commands.

Xaldin can use them to thrust from long distances, twirl them around himself as a form of defense, jump down on a foe with all six pointed downward, or have them grow and fuse into an enormous dragon that he rides on before firing a whirlwind from the dragon's mouth. Although, in Kingdom Keymasters 358/2 Days, Xaldin lines up all six of his lances in front of him, in order to block himself, supposedly in the style of a barrier or wall.

Xaldin can also wield many other lances in 358/2 Days, through the Mission Mode in which equipping him with different Gears provides different lances.