Shadowed Path
You can never trust a dark lord. Never.
From the Harvester's Journal
Soralis climbed to the top of a huge building near the center of town, followed at a discrete distance by Sub-Zero. Another Shadowlord had agreed to meet her there, one that had saved her life and soul a long time ago.
She felt a shiver of strange energies, energies that always heralded her old master, a creature known only as Prophet. The Shadowlord stood beside her, as if he was always there. As far as she knew, he might well have been.
"He follows for a reason." Prophet said, indicating the ninja.
"Yes. He believes I may be a target." She smiled slightly.
"With good reason. You are a target, by more than one." He replied.
"So is it true? Am I Rayden's daughter?" she asked.
Prophet inclined his head. "Yes. The council has confirmed it. You are Rayden's daughter."
Soralis closed her eyes. "It explains much." She sighed. "Why Shao Kahn was so willing to burn those troops to capture me, why he did his best to turn me into a brain-dead monster loyal only to him, why he would want to set me against Rayden…"
"Indeed. Even if you did not kill your father, it would put him severely off-balance." Prophet replied dryly.
Soralis looked at the black-clad, black veiled Shadowlord. "And what are the Gray Council's orders?" she asked shrewdly.
He smiled behind the veil. His former apprentice had always been blunt. Not even centuries of experience could take that bluntness away. It was refreshing not to have to dance around the issue with another individual. "As you are well aware, Mortal Kombat is designed for mortals fighting for Earth. You are doubly, triply barred from such an arena. You can only deal with Shao Kahn and Shinnok outside those parameters."
"And if they break the rules?" she countered.
He laughed hollowly. "Then there will be nothing barring you from interfering."
"Understood." She replied and leaned against the waist-high wall. There was another shiver of energies surrounding the powerful Shadowlord and then he was gone. Sub-Zero joined her.
"This changes things." She replied.
"True. Are you going to tell them?" he asked, meaning Cain and his associates.
Soralis knuckled her eyes in frustration. "No. Not yet. This is complicated enough without dealing with them."
Without warning, she was assaulted by a vision. Sub-Zero caught her before she could fall off the building.
She was underground, in a room carved from living rock. Lining the walls in intricate patters were bones, bones still warm from the bodies that once housed them. Soralis gagged as the stench assailed her. In the center of the room, was a bloodstained altar.
Tied to it was a man, struggling against the shackles that held him. Soralis screamed soundlessly as a demonic priest lashed out with his knife, cutting the man's heart out. The man died, his soul swirling around the still warm heart held in the priest's hands. Around the priest the walls shook and a red glow drowned out the room and the priest with bloody hands.
Power flared, dark power, power linked to the dead and dying. Power linked to those who died badly flared and drowned out the red glow. Soralis could here the screams of thousands, thousands of damned souls. Something was coming through, something nature rebelled against. Soralis held her hands in front of her face, blocking the sight of the man-like creature that stepped out of the portal.
The priest bowed, bowed to the creature, who looked like a man, but was not. The creature laughed. "Let it begin!" he said as the city shook.
Soralis came back as the ground beneath them shook. Somehow during her vision, Sub-Zero had carried her off the building, carried her to safety. She was shaking uncontrollably as she clutched him. They were in a small alley and he carefully propped her up against the alley's wall.
"Are you alright?" he asked, checking for signs of injury knowing he would find none.
"No, no, no…." she whispered. "It's begun…"
***
Kermit paced. "So Soralis lied to me?" he snarled.
Cain shook his head. "No. I do not believe she deliberately mislead you. She seemed genuinely surprised by shadow assassin's revelations."
"Ok, so she didn't tell me the complete truth, that makes me feel so much better." Kermit sighed as he sat down. "Man, you can't trust anyone nowadays."
"That's besides the point Kermit. What we have to concentrate on is the fact that there is a cult running around planning to resurrect a hell god!" Peter snapped.
"And you won't be able to defeat him alone," a tired voice interjected. The three men turned, to see Soralis and Sub-Zero entering from the balcony. The silver-masked Lin Kuei was half-supporting the young Shadowlord as he helped her sit down on the couch.
"Soralis?" Kermit asked, glaring at the shadow assassin. "What did you do to her?" he demanded.
"Kermit, it's alright. He's a friend." She told him as she held her head in both hands.
Cain sighed as he went into his kitchen and came back with a cup filled with some sort of tea. "Here, drink this, it will take care of the backlash."
She smiled at him gratefully and took the cup.
Kermit scowled. "Why didn't you tell me the truth?" he snarled.
Soralis sighed. "I did. I just didn't tell you the whole truth. I didn't think you would be capable of accepting it." She told him frankly. "It's too complicated."
"So, tell us damnit!" Kermit demanded.
"In between heaven and hell is a buffer plane called the Realm of Shadows. The Shadow plane is also a repository of all manner of creatures that don't quite fit in anywhere else. The lords of shadow are among the most powerful of these creatures and can manipulate most of the surrounding auras, including the gray of the shadow plane itself." Soralis paused and drank more of the liquid Cain gave her.
"So what does this have to do with you?" Kermit asked.
"The Shadowlords were created at the end of the last bout of god-wars at the beginning of time. We were charged with keeping a balance between good and evil, law and chaos. Without such a balance, the universe will start to unravel. Each Shadowlord is given a set territory to protect. The more powerful a Shadowlord, the more territory he has." She sipped a bit of the liquid and continued.
"Earth is unique. Only one Shadowlord at anyone time is charged with its protection." She drained the cup and set it down.
"Why?" Peter asked.
"Because Earth is still being contested over Peter. Here, gods still walk, demons still contend for lost souls and things beyond your wildest nightmares infest the dark places of this world." She looked at each of them sadly.
"Around five hundred years ago Soralis was accidentally sent to hell when she stopped a necromancer from opening a portal to hell itself. She survived hell and defeated the First Evil's standard, the Durat, in single combat. She refused the First's offer to take his place and was sent back to the Earth Realms. Three hundred years ago, she was overwhelmed in a fight with Outland warriors and taken to the Well of Souls, deep within Shao Kahn's Realm. There, he tried to turn her into a Spawn-like entity loyal only to him. This failed and she somehow escaped into the Realm of Shadows. The Shadowlords took her in and turned her into one of them. She holds Earth." He finished.
"I find it hard to believe that your people would allow you to risk yourself like this," Kermit said dryly.
"They don't have a choice and neither do I." She replied.
"You can not be everywhere," Cain told her gently.
"No I can not. I help those I can and leave the rest up to those with the power to do so." She said and told them what she saw in her vision.
Peter looked shocked and sickened when she described the room of bones and the priest. "God, we have to stop it," he said.
"It's too late. Shinnok is free and has allied himself with the lord of Outworld." A deeper voice interjected.
They turned to see a man, well over six feet standing in the doorway. He had white hair, blue eyes, his features were aquiline and he had a well- defined build. In one hand was a staff and he was dressed in loose robes. Sub-Zero stood, pulling Soralis to his feet. Beside him the others did the same. Soralis looked stunned.
"My lord Rayden…" Sub-Zero inclined his head in respect.
You can never trust a dark lord. Never.
From the Harvester's Journal
Soralis climbed to the top of a huge building near the center of town, followed at a discrete distance by Sub-Zero. Another Shadowlord had agreed to meet her there, one that had saved her life and soul a long time ago.
She felt a shiver of strange energies, energies that always heralded her old master, a creature known only as Prophet. The Shadowlord stood beside her, as if he was always there. As far as she knew, he might well have been.
"He follows for a reason." Prophet said, indicating the ninja.
"Yes. He believes I may be a target." She smiled slightly.
"With good reason. You are a target, by more than one." He replied.
"So is it true? Am I Rayden's daughter?" she asked.
Prophet inclined his head. "Yes. The council has confirmed it. You are Rayden's daughter."
Soralis closed her eyes. "It explains much." She sighed. "Why Shao Kahn was so willing to burn those troops to capture me, why he did his best to turn me into a brain-dead monster loyal only to him, why he would want to set me against Rayden…"
"Indeed. Even if you did not kill your father, it would put him severely off-balance." Prophet replied dryly.
Soralis looked at the black-clad, black veiled Shadowlord. "And what are the Gray Council's orders?" she asked shrewdly.
He smiled behind the veil. His former apprentice had always been blunt. Not even centuries of experience could take that bluntness away. It was refreshing not to have to dance around the issue with another individual. "As you are well aware, Mortal Kombat is designed for mortals fighting for Earth. You are doubly, triply barred from such an arena. You can only deal with Shao Kahn and Shinnok outside those parameters."
"And if they break the rules?" she countered.
He laughed hollowly. "Then there will be nothing barring you from interfering."
"Understood." She replied and leaned against the waist-high wall. There was another shiver of energies surrounding the powerful Shadowlord and then he was gone. Sub-Zero joined her.
"This changes things." She replied.
"True. Are you going to tell them?" he asked, meaning Cain and his associates.
Soralis knuckled her eyes in frustration. "No. Not yet. This is complicated enough without dealing with them."
Without warning, she was assaulted by a vision. Sub-Zero caught her before she could fall off the building.
She was underground, in a room carved from living rock. Lining the walls in intricate patters were bones, bones still warm from the bodies that once housed them. Soralis gagged as the stench assailed her. In the center of the room, was a bloodstained altar.
Tied to it was a man, struggling against the shackles that held him. Soralis screamed soundlessly as a demonic priest lashed out with his knife, cutting the man's heart out. The man died, his soul swirling around the still warm heart held in the priest's hands. Around the priest the walls shook and a red glow drowned out the room and the priest with bloody hands.
Power flared, dark power, power linked to the dead and dying. Power linked to those who died badly flared and drowned out the red glow. Soralis could here the screams of thousands, thousands of damned souls. Something was coming through, something nature rebelled against. Soralis held her hands in front of her face, blocking the sight of the man-like creature that stepped out of the portal.
The priest bowed, bowed to the creature, who looked like a man, but was not. The creature laughed. "Let it begin!" he said as the city shook.
Soralis came back as the ground beneath them shook. Somehow during her vision, Sub-Zero had carried her off the building, carried her to safety. She was shaking uncontrollably as she clutched him. They were in a small alley and he carefully propped her up against the alley's wall.
"Are you alright?" he asked, checking for signs of injury knowing he would find none.
"No, no, no…." she whispered. "It's begun…"
***
Kermit paced. "So Soralis lied to me?" he snarled.
Cain shook his head. "No. I do not believe she deliberately mislead you. She seemed genuinely surprised by shadow assassin's revelations."
"Ok, so she didn't tell me the complete truth, that makes me feel so much better." Kermit sighed as he sat down. "Man, you can't trust anyone nowadays."
"That's besides the point Kermit. What we have to concentrate on is the fact that there is a cult running around planning to resurrect a hell god!" Peter snapped.
"And you won't be able to defeat him alone," a tired voice interjected. The three men turned, to see Soralis and Sub-Zero entering from the balcony. The silver-masked Lin Kuei was half-supporting the young Shadowlord as he helped her sit down on the couch.
"Soralis?" Kermit asked, glaring at the shadow assassin. "What did you do to her?" he demanded.
"Kermit, it's alright. He's a friend." She told him as she held her head in both hands.
Cain sighed as he went into his kitchen and came back with a cup filled with some sort of tea. "Here, drink this, it will take care of the backlash."
She smiled at him gratefully and took the cup.
Kermit scowled. "Why didn't you tell me the truth?" he snarled.
Soralis sighed. "I did. I just didn't tell you the whole truth. I didn't think you would be capable of accepting it." She told him frankly. "It's too complicated."
"So, tell us damnit!" Kermit demanded.
"In between heaven and hell is a buffer plane called the Realm of Shadows. The Shadow plane is also a repository of all manner of creatures that don't quite fit in anywhere else. The lords of shadow are among the most powerful of these creatures and can manipulate most of the surrounding auras, including the gray of the shadow plane itself." Soralis paused and drank more of the liquid Cain gave her.
"So what does this have to do with you?" Kermit asked.
"The Shadowlords were created at the end of the last bout of god-wars at the beginning of time. We were charged with keeping a balance between good and evil, law and chaos. Without such a balance, the universe will start to unravel. Each Shadowlord is given a set territory to protect. The more powerful a Shadowlord, the more territory he has." She sipped a bit of the liquid and continued.
"Earth is unique. Only one Shadowlord at anyone time is charged with its protection." She drained the cup and set it down.
"Why?" Peter asked.
"Because Earth is still being contested over Peter. Here, gods still walk, demons still contend for lost souls and things beyond your wildest nightmares infest the dark places of this world." She looked at each of them sadly.
"Around five hundred years ago Soralis was accidentally sent to hell when she stopped a necromancer from opening a portal to hell itself. She survived hell and defeated the First Evil's standard, the Durat, in single combat. She refused the First's offer to take his place and was sent back to the Earth Realms. Three hundred years ago, she was overwhelmed in a fight with Outland warriors and taken to the Well of Souls, deep within Shao Kahn's Realm. There, he tried to turn her into a Spawn-like entity loyal only to him. This failed and she somehow escaped into the Realm of Shadows. The Shadowlords took her in and turned her into one of them. She holds Earth." He finished.
"I find it hard to believe that your people would allow you to risk yourself like this," Kermit said dryly.
"They don't have a choice and neither do I." She replied.
"You can not be everywhere," Cain told her gently.
"No I can not. I help those I can and leave the rest up to those with the power to do so." She said and told them what she saw in her vision.
Peter looked shocked and sickened when she described the room of bones and the priest. "God, we have to stop it," he said.
"It's too late. Shinnok is free and has allied himself with the lord of Outworld." A deeper voice interjected.
They turned to see a man, well over six feet standing in the doorway. He had white hair, blue eyes, his features were aquiline and he had a well- defined build. In one hand was a staff and he was dressed in loose robes. Sub-Zero stood, pulling Soralis to his feet. Beside him the others did the same. Soralis looked stunned.
"My lord Rayden…" Sub-Zero inclined his head in respect.