Mortal Kombat: The Fall Of Edenia Chapter 1
I have decided to publish the whole thing after those six sentences. It's still a work in progress, so feedback would be very welcomed! 😊
MORTAL KOMBAT: THE FALL OF EDENIA
CHAPTER 1: TRAGEDY BEFORE WAR
The blood was falling from his swords to the ground. The blood of his parents.
Daegon was in a solitary hall of his home… at least the place he had called home once. He was looking at the ground and breathing slowly, still processing what had just happened.
Everything had happened so fast. Practically a blink of an eye to him. Even now that he knew the truth, it felt like yesterday when he and his brother were called to meet their father in his room. The time he had spent encased in stone was like a dream. What followed was an absolute nightmare.
He didn’t understand anything Caro tried to explain to him after he was awoken. He had been sent to Earthrealm, in a time in which Edenia was still in danger of Shao Kahn targeting it again, just to follow some quest? Some sudden competition with Taven apparently? Was that a plot of his father to choose a worthy heir to be a protector god? He didn’t know anything. He was confused, annoyed. He didn’t want to follow whatever instructions of that quest Caro gave him, he wanted explanations, although he did decide to complete the part of the quest necessary to obtain his drakeswords, just because he felt safer with weapons in his hands after the strange experience he was facing.
After finally convincing Caro to open a portal to Edenia, Daegon was quick to walk towards his house, but he couldn’t help but stop during the way to look at his surroundings. Everything was different. He had walked that way many times, and yet he couldn’t recognize half the people there, and the other half seemed centuries older than he remembered. How much time had he been sealed away against his will!? And that wasn’t even the worst part.
He noticed everyone was scared. Kids running to get close to the security of their houses, adults looking at the sky as if some kind of catastrophic force could fall from it at any given moment. They were so worried they didn’t even notice who he was, despite being quite known in his realm. When he stopped one of the very young children on their way home to ask them what they were scared of, all he received was ‘Shao Kahn could come today’ between shivers before the child followed their path... He had even more answers to demand from his parents.
He didn’t plan to stop further. He was already reaching his house, and was ready to confront his parents. But then he found himself.
Kisam Hionn. A free roaming sorcerer from the distant realm of Nadiro who had visited Edenia with the intention of exchanging knowledge with the legendary sorceress Delia. That was how he had presented himself when he met the family, and it had worked just as he had wished. He started visiting the family frequently, becoming a dear friend of all of them and eventually someone they deeply trusted, enough to share information with him about Delia’s visions, which was what actually interested him.
He was shocked to find Daegon there. He had just gone there to meet with Argus and Delia another time, meeting him had been a complete coincidence. A much convenient one.
“Daegon.” said Kisam, doing his best to put on a comforting tone of voice. “I was not expecting to see you.”
The son of Argus actually felt comforted, if just a little. Him and Kisam had been close. Whenever he felt that his father was favoring Taven in their competition to see who would succeed him as Edenia’s protector, Kisam had noticed and offered himself to speak with him and let him release his frustrations in private. At this point, he already felt more comfortable around him than with his own parents.
When Kisam asked him what he was doing there, Daegon told him that he planned to confront his parents. He told him that he understood, but he felt that he should first understand what had happened to him, and offered to explain everything. Daegon, in need of answers, accepted. After they went to a solitary street in which no one could hear them, Daegon explained everything.
The nature of the quest his parents had imposed into him, that Armageddon his mother had seen in his visions. Argus and Delia had trusted him enough to share everything with him, apparently, and he was able to explain it with detail to Daegon.
“I had thought your parents would have only put you in this quest if you and your brother offered yourselves voluntary.” he lied, wanting to make sure Daegon’s anger would never be directed towards him. “I now see I committed a mistake.” an idea came to his head. “I think you also have the right to know what happened during your absence.”
Everything Daegon was revealed only increased his anger.
He had remained encased for centuries, around the Edenian equivalent of a decade. During that time, Shao Kahn had increased the military power of his Empire by conquering and merging other realms. He once again targeted Edenia, and had just managed to defeat the realm in ten consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments. Edenia was on the verge of suffering another invasion, and this time the odds were against them.
Daegon also learned what had happened to the close friends he had among the Edenian soldiers he commanded. They were all dead. They had bravely offered themselves to participate in the tournaments against Outworld, and they all failed. Daegon had lost even more than he thought, and his entire realm was on the verge of disaster. He hadn’t been able to do anything about it. All for a ridiculous quest.
Kisam had noticed how Daegon’s fury was at its highest point. And he had mostly just needed to say the truth until that moment. He felt that a little lie would be the perfect ending, though.
“Now it is even more shameful that they planned to assist Taven in his quest and let you on your own in yours. They said you were just their alternative in case he failed, but they trusted him far more to fulfill it in the way they wished.”
Daegon had no reason not to believe it at that point. Of course, they had already made him lose part of his life. Why would they above make him lose it for nothing? Just to be in another competition he would lose because Taven, as always, was the suitable one.
Kisam saw in Daegon’s eyes that it was done. He wanted retribution, and no one could stop him.
“I understand your eagerness to confront your parents for their terrible actions. You may go now. I promise I will not do anything to interrupt you.”
Daegon did exactly that, and the confrontation had been short. He had no hesitation in releasing his anger. First, he had decapitated his father, then made one of his drakeswords go through his mother’s heart. It was done.
He didn’t know what to feel now that he had unleashed his anger. In a way, he felt satisfied. But he didn’t know what to do from then on. He was powerful, but he wasn’t sure he alone could save Edenia from a much stronger Outworld’s Empire, the first time had already been extremely difficult. Not to mention that he was aware he wouldn’t be accepted by the Edenian people after killing his parents. They were too important figures in their society for anyone to listen to his reasons.
Kisam had prepared to offer him answers for the question about his future.
“So this is how it has ended.” said Kisam, who had just arrived at the hall in which Daegon was.
Daegon turned to speak with Kisam. “Yes.” he glared at the floor. “They deserved it.” he spitted with anger.
Kisam approached him. “Of course they did.” he stopped in front of Daegon. “But I fear you have other things to worry about now, Daegon. I wish to help you.”
Daegon raised his head to look at Kisam face to face. “You… You do? I…” he struggled to speak. “You have done so much for me already. I don’t know how to thank you, I…”
“Reserve any words for later.” interrupted Kisam. “I said I wish to help you, but only if you keep proving your worth, boy.”
Daegon looked confused at him, only for them to be shocked when a purple energy surrounded him. When it was removed, Kisam’s appearance had changed. He had just removed his disguise.
His skin had become gray and lifeless. His eyes lost their pupils. His hair was now covered by red headwear, and he now wore red and blue royal clothes decorated with golden details.
It took Daegon just a second to recognize who was actually in front of him. He may have only heard of him in legends and seen old statues of the time before his fall, but the ruler of the Netherrealm was an easily recognizable sight. Daegon instinctively walked away from him and put himself in a defensive fighting stance with his drakeswords raised.
“This… This cannot be…” it was all Daegon could say. “You… You cannot…”
“Why are you surprised?” questioned Shinnok, remaining calm. “I had told you from the start.”
“What…” wondered Daegon, before his mind finally clicked it. “Kisam Hionn.”
“Took you long enough.” a little smirk appeared in Shinnok’s face. Using that alias in the face of Argus’ family had been his greatest source of comedy for quite some time.
Daegon was questioning himself yet again. It was really the most difficult day in his life.
On the one hand, now he knew that he had lied to him and his whole family for thousands of years. On the other hand, it’s not like he had many options or anyone else he could trust. Besides, something in him deep down still wished he could trust him. He had no one else he could trust now.
“What do you want?” he relaxed himself a bit, but still remained on guard.
“A lot of things. And you have the potential to help me obtain them, you have just proved it to me. And in return, I would help you obtain everything you want. I wish to shape the realms in my image, and once it is done, you could have anything.”
“I don’t even know what I want anymore.” admitted Daegon.
“Because you lack vision. You still fail to see all the possibilities someone like you has, all you could achieve if you exploited your potential.” argued Shinnok. “I am willing to take part of my precious time to help you see it, if you are not foolish enough to reject it, that is.”
“Then you want me to follow you? To abandon my realm on the verge of catastrophe to be part of… your schemes?”
“Precisely.” answered Shinnok. “I want you to abandon this hopeless realm, inhabited by those who would reject you for achieving your rightful retribution against those who betrayed you; be part of my plans to change the state of the realms for a flawless one and then be rewarded for it.”
Shinnok, who had little patience faking affability towards that boy or pretending to care about his drama for long, opened a portal behind him and turned his back on Daegon.
“If you reject my offer, very well. Stay in this realm and perish when Shao Kahn’s invasion comes.” he said. He knew what to say next to give him a last little push. “With you out of the picture, your parents’ schemes are far more likely to be fulfilled. Taven will have no competitor in his quest, after all. But if that’s what you wish…”
Daegon thought of that possibility. He despised that thought. He didn’t want his parents to have a last victory from the grave. And again, after what he had done and the time he had lost, he didn’t really belong in Edenia anymore, not as it was now nor as it would be if Shao Kahn took it over.
Daegon completely lowered his guard and abandoned his fighting stance. “I will go with you.”
Shinnok smiled with satisfaction, and instructed Daegon to cross the portal alongside him. He would still have much to teach him to mold him into the useful tool he wanted, but he hoped that the benefits would be worth the effort. Not only would he win an admittedly powerful ally, but he had the firm belief that Daegon was the brother who would cause a particular result of that future ‘Battle of Armageddon’ Delia had seen, one in which everyone actually present there would be permanently destroyed. From what Delia had described, that included Raiden. Much convenient, indeed.
They crossed the portal, and it was closed soon afterwards, leaving the house only filled with the corpses of its previous owners.
On that terrible day, Shinnok obtained a new enforcer, while Edenia lost some of its greatest assets against the invasion which was soon to come. The loss of its protector god and its greatest sorceress had just been the start of the tragedies the realm would suffer.
1 - Design for 'Kisam Hionn'
2 - Just as curiosity, 'Kisam' is my way to have Shinnok's betrayal occur 66 million years ago (far before Taven or Daegon are born), but still have him being a family friend like in Armageddon.
