Hello, everyone! As the not so creative title no doubt gave it away, this is gonna be a novelization of the events of the original Mortal Kombat timeline. I'm revisiting the events that took place between MK1 and Armageddon, including characters from the NRS era as well and changing some events to hopefully create something really good. I hope you'll enjoy this journey too! Let's kick off with.
Mortal Kombat 1: Chapter 1: The Gathering Part 1 - Outworld
Prince Goro of the Shokan stared out the window of his palace at the land of Kuatan with his two pair of arms folded across his heavy chest. He was in a sour mood today. His father, King Gorbak has lately been losing the one battle no shokan can win, the battle against old age and as his son and heir, it would be his duty to be by his side in the moment he breathes his last.
But he couldn't. For Goro was not only Prince of the Shokan, but the reigning champion of Mortal Kombat. The sacred martial arts tournament between Outworld and Earthrealm orchestrated by the Elder Gods themselves. In order for the former to conquer the latter, he needed to win ten consecutive tournaments.
Fifty years ago, he celebrated his ninth championship. Ever since he replaced Outworld's former champion, the sorcerer Shang Tsung, no Earthrealm warrior had been able to defeat him. How could they? Earthrealmers were frail, weak and pathetic. They were no match for the sheer strength and brutality of a shokan warrior. His confidence was unshakeable. He would win this tournament as well with no difficulty and finally gain Outworld the right to make it's biggest conquest ever since the fall of Edenia.
The sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts and he turned around to see the other cause of his sour mood. A frail old man entered the palace's throne room wearing a blue robe with a yellow kimono underneath. The man was none other than the aforementioned sorcerer, Shang Tsung, former champion and current overseer of the tournament. Goro allowed his disgust of the cunning old snake to overtake his expression as he turned to him.
"You're late, sorcerer." The old man bowed to the four armed behemoth in front of him.
"My sincerest apologies, Prince Goro, but I had to gather the rest of Outworld's chosen warriors on the way." Goro growled. Even when the sorcerer was attempting to be polite and respectful, he still sounded like he was taunting him.
Upon Shang Tsung's announcement, the rest of the warriors stepped forward. The first one was a reptilian skinned humanoid dressed in green and black garments and wearing a green mask over his mouth. The creature's name was Syzoth, but everyone in the court referred to him as Reptile. Goro scowled when his eyes fell on the creature. He was the last of a race known as the Saurin. A race of reptilian creatures with the ability to blend into their environment. Pitiful. Only cowards hide from their enemies.
The next one was perhaps the most hideous creature Outworld had to offer. A wrinkly skinned creature with pointy ears, no hair and razor sharp teeth. He was Baraka. The leader of the Tarkatan tribes. A group of savage nomads with retractable blades in their arms. They were hungry for battle and effective at it, but their lack of intellect made them little better than wardogs in Goro's eyes. As a popular shokan joke went, the only difference between them was that Tarkatans could talk and didn't didn't crap on the floor as much.
The third one was a practically naked woman only wearing high heel boots, tiny pieces of red string clothing over her crotch and her chest and red mask. She was Skarlet, a blood mage and one of Outworld's finest knife throwers. As her abilities implied, her lust for blood and battle surpassed most others in Outworld, which was no small feat and she was a capable enough fighter to represent the realm in the tournament.
Tne fourth one was a man dressed in a red and black suit similar to Syzoth, but instead of a mask, his head was covered entirely in black wrapping, except for his glowing eyes. His name was Ermac and he was an entity housing the souls of ten thousand fallen warriors. He was one of Shang Tsung's most recent creations and be decided that this tournament would be the perfect time to test his combat capabilities.
The fifth and the sixth combatants were a male and a female. The male wore similar garments to Reptile and Ermac, only they were purple and he also wore a regal looking headwear along with a purple cape. The female was a brown skinned woman with black hair, wearing yellow boots, yellow gloves and a yellow bodysuit with black markings across her chest. They were Rain and Tanya. Two warriors from the edenian dominion and a water and a fire mage respectively.
The seventh one was a tanned male warrior with brown hair, white pupilless eyes and black facial markings. He was wearing spikey, metallic shoulder plates, a sliver skull logo in the middle of his chest that tied together the x shaped leather belts across it and black trousers with combat boots. He was Reiko, an ambitious soldier from Outworld's army who viewed the tournament as an excellent way of furthering his status in the military and Outworld as a whole.
And finally, a tall, muscular warrior with tribal tattoos across his exposed body. He was wearing a loincloth and a feathered crown on his head, while on his back, a powerful broadsword was hanging. His name was Kotal, another soldier from the army and the viceroy of the Osh-Tekk dominion.
Goro looked across the company with distaste. His gaze only softened somewhat once it landed on the last two warriors. As a high ranking officer of the army himself, he fought alongside them in several battles in the past. He had witnessed their warrior skills firsthand and even witnessed them besting shokans in duels. They have earned his respect.
"Reiko, Kotal, your status as Outworld's champions suits you." He spoke with uncharacteristic humility. Reiko put his right fist across his heart before bowing.
"Praise from the Prince of the Shokan is an honor any warrior would kill for." Kotal on the other hand scoffed.
"Speak for yourself, Reiko. You shokan are savage brutes without any sort of honor or dignity. You know nothing of the values of mercy and respect for your opponents." Goro glared at the Osh-Tekk. Had he been anyone else, he would be dead on the spot, but Kotal merely earned an amused smirk in response.
"Perhaps we will get to settle this dispute at the tournament, Kotal?" Shang Tsung felt the tension beginning to rise and stepped between the two warriors before it could get out of hand.
"Your highness, please." He pleaded. "No need for Outworld's best to fall before the tournament. And it would be so tiresome to seek a replacement for Kotal on such short notice." Goro merely turned away with a dismissive wave of his right upper arm.
"We won't be needing any of these sideshow freaks!" The purple warrior, Rain took serious offense to that statement.
"You will address me with the proper respect, creature!" He yelled at the shokan, pointing a finger at him. "I am the son of Argus! The protector of Edenia and I expect to be treated accordingly!" The other edenian, Tanya merely buried her face in her hand in embarrassment.
"Please, forgive him, Prince Goro." She pleaded. "He suffers from severe delusions of grandeur. And idiocy." Goro ignored the female and focused his fiery glare on Rain.
"You expect to be treated with respect you never earned while hiding behind the name of a long forgotten god from a dead realm?!" He bellowed in both rage and amusement. "You pathetic fool! I should break you in half for speaking to me that way in my own palace!"
At the other end of the room, Reptile, Ermac, Skarlet and Baraka were watching the scene with rising anticipation. All of them for different reason. Ermac hoped he will be able to add the fool's soul to his collective once Goro crushed him, the tarkatan and the saurin were already drooling at the possibility of tasting half god flesh while Skarlet found herself aroused at the thought of how much power she could receive from his blood. But to their disappointment, the sorcerer once again intervened.
"Gentlemen, please! Save it for the tournament."
"I will gladly take the foolish one's place at the tournament should you decide to finish him, my prince!" Goro turned to see another shokan, a male with feline features and tiger stripes across his body entering the room.
"Speak when you are spoken to, Kintaro!" Goro roared at him. "I am Prince Goro of the Shokan! Undefeated champion of Mortal Kombat! I will crush all of Earthrealm's warriors myself. All at once if I have to." The arrogant prince boasted.
Shang Tsung understood his overconfidence all too well, for he himself felt the exact same way five hundred years ago when he was defeated by the Great Kung Lao at the decisive tenth tournament. It was small comfort when he was able to add his soul to the endless once he enslaved over the millenia once Goro defeated him fifty years later.
"I would advice against such arrogance, my prince." The sorcerer warned. "It could cause your downfall. As it did to me five hundred years ago." Goro let out a furious roar and marched up to the old man, glaring him down right in his face. For his credit though, Shang Tsung remained unflinching.
"Do not insult me by comparing yourself to me, Shang Tsung!" He yelled. "You are no warrior! You are a scheming snake! Without your sorcery, you are nothing!" Shang just smirked in response.
"That may be so, your highness. But my sorcery far exceeds your brute strength. A fact you would do well to keep in mind." Goro snarled at him in response before backing away and Shang turned back to his champions. "Now if you're all finished, may we depart?"
Not hearing any objections, the sorcerer turned toward the center of the room and opened a swirling red portal that would take the combatants to the tournament's location in Earthrealm. The warriors stepped through it one by one. Goro was the last one to join them, but before he followed, he turned to see a female shokan entering the room.
"While I am away, you are in charge of the palace, Sheeva!" He told her. Sheeva bowed to him.
"You honor me, my prince." She replied. With the everything taken care of, Goro stepped through the portal, followed by the sorcerer himself before the spiraling red vortex of magic disappeared as if it has never been there. Kintaro let out an angry growl.
"The way he spoke to me." He snarled. "The arrogant fool. Hopefully, this will be his last tournament." Sheeva turned to the striped male with a fond smile. She walked over to him and embraced him affectionately.
"Worry not, my love. His arrogance will get the better of him just as it had Shang Tsung in the past. And once he falls to Earthrealm's new champion, your time will come. With his father dying, you can usurp the throne with no resistance. No one will ever look down on you or your line again." Kintaro returned both the smile and the embrace.
"And you will be by my side as my queen. Together we will bring power to the shokan and liberate Kuatan from Outworld!" The very thought made them shiver as they shared a kiss before heading to the prince's bedchamber.
Well, that wraps up Chapter 1! The warriors of Outworld have gathered and left for the tournament and next time, it will be Earthrealm's turn. See you soon!
Character designs:
Shang Tsung - Mortal Kombat (1992)
Reptile - Mortal Kombat X - Klassic
Baraka - Mortal Kombat Deception Default
Skarlet - Mortal Kombat (2011)
Ermac - Mortal Kombat (2011) Default
Rain - Mortal Kombat Armageddon Default
Tanya - Mortal Kombat Deception Alternate
Reiko - Mortal Kombat Armageddon Default
Kotal - Mortal Kombat X Default
Kintaro - Mortal Kombat Armageddon Default
Sheeva - Mortal Kombat Armageddon Default