MK: Curse of Steel

Wraith

Wraith

New member
This is a story I've been wanting to write for a while now, I hope you all enjoy.


It was midday as the sun shone down on the light covering of snow on the ground, and two young boys ran to an elderly warrior excitedly.
"Grandmaster! Look, look! We caught him!" The older of the two kids held out his hands and displayed a small bright green frog. The old man grinned and let out a hearty laugh.
"An interesting catch indeed, I'm sure you two will make great hunters one day." As the boys were distracted the frog leaped from their grasp, landing in the open palm of the older man.
"We should eat it! Can we Grandmaster? Please?" The younger of the two asked. The elderly Grandmaster kneeled next to them and put his hand on the younger one's shoulder.
"Now now, such pointless violence is not the way of the Lin Kuei. There is no honor in slaughtering defenseless animals. Now run along, training will begin at dawn, go get some rest." The Grandmaster lowered the small frog to the ground where it leaped away into a nearby pond. A young man approached the Grandmaster from behind.
"You should have let them kill it. Mercy will lead to death in the battlefield." The Grandmaster rose and then turned to face the man.
"Killing the innocent is dishonorable. Without honor, our clan may as well be merciless thugs, or soulless machines. You may be my brightest student, but you have much to learn."
"But I... I suppose you are right. Now, Grandmaster I came to ask if I could begin training my son with the weapons."
"You do not think he is too young? The death of his mother must weigh heavily on him, I can see it does on you, but if this is what you wish for your son I will trust you with the weapons." The young man bowed and headed into the building behind them. The Grandmaster looked around the yard and something caught his eye, a young boy sitting on a hill alone looking out to the lake near the fortress. The Grandmaster sat next to the boy and looked out onto the water with him.
"A beautiful view isn't it? I come here to meditate quite often."
"Y-yes it is." The child stumbled over his words.
"What troubles you my son?"
"The other children, they call me an outcast... they laugh at me, say I am not a true member of the Lin Kuei."
"You may have not been born within the walls, but you are as much a part of the Lin Kuei as they are. You see those two brothers over there? I found them just as I found you, and I sensed the potential in all three of you. You have the potential to be the greatest warrior in the entire clan."
"You really mean that?"
"Of course I do, in fact I have something I would like to show you, follow me young one." The Grandmaster lead the boy to the most extravagant building in the fortress, the chamber of the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei.
"This blade was found in the same room you were found in, I wanted to wait until you were a bit older to give it to you but you deserve to have it." He pulled the ninjato from his sword rack. "This sword had belonged to the head of your clan, your father... he was a friend of mine. When I studied the art of ninjitsu in Japan I used this type of blade, it has a straight edge as opposed to the curved blades of traditional katanas, but never have I seen one with such masterful craftsmanship. It truly is an honor to hold a blade of such grace and precision, use it well." The Grandmaster went down on one knee and handed the sword over to it's owner.
 
8 years have passed.....​

The young boys are now fully grown, and their Grandmaster grows increasingly weary. There is a chill in the air and the autumn leave cascade to the ground, the loner that wields his father's blade is practicing his martial arts on a wooden target. He trains from dawn to dusk, honing his strikes and meditating to focus his mind. The sunset paints the sky a mixture of warm hues as a young woman approaches him from behind.
"Excuse me, the Grandmaster wishes to speak with you." As she finishes her sentence the warrior delivers a heavy kick to the dummy, snapping it's wooden head off. He turns to the woman and nods his head, she then bows and walks away. He pushed the curtain that was being used as a door from the Grandmaster's training room and his bed room.
"You asked for me Grandmaster?" He asked as he bowed.
"Yes, years ago I gave you the blade of your father. However the truth of your origin is quite grim."
"Grandmaster.... what are you trying to say?"
"When I gave you that blade, I told you but a portion of the truth. I will start at the beginning. Your father was a European man, we met in Japan, we both studied ninjitsu together. He was a powerful swordsman, and an honorable warrior. He met a woman in Japan, your mother. When our training was complete, he asked to stay with the Lin Kuei, at the time I was not the Grandmaster but my Grandmaster agreed to allow it. Eventually he established a small village a few miles away from this fortress. After several years I became the Grandmaster. I decided to pay a visit to an old friend, but when I arrived at the village..."
"What happened Grandmaster? What was the fate of my parents?"
"When I arrived at the village it had been razed to the ground. I ran quickly to your father's house but it was too late. Your parents had been killed. When I found you, you were on an altar. There were corpses circled around you but they were different from the others, they all wore matching robes and their bodies were cooked from the inside out. I brought you back here, to the fortress and raised you as my own."
"Grandmaster... what does all this mean?"
"I had done studies on the mysterious fate of you and your parents and found there were stories similar to what had happened to your village." The Grandmaster rose from his bed and used a staff as a cane to support him as he walked to a sealed chest. The Grandmaster took out a key from one of his pockets and unlocked the chest, removing a scroll and a dagger from it.
"Follow me." The Grandmaster motioned towards him and led him to the training room where he layed out the scroll.
"Who are all these names?"
"Ancient warriors that were like you, and now you will join them on this parchment." He handed the dagger to the warrior.
"Now Tomas, sign your name on the scroll." As the dagger pierced his thumb Tomas felt his blood boiling in his veins, steam rose from the paper as his blood touched the cool parchment. Signing the last letter of his name on the paper, he froze for a moment and began coughing violently. He fell to his knees and let out a scream of pain as smoke flowed out of his pores. Never experiencing such pain the warrior blacked out.
"Wha- what happened?" He awoke on a cot with the Grandmaster standing nearby.
"You finally realized your true potential Tomas. I would also like to welcome you into the ranks of the Lin Kuei Elite.... Smoke."
 
I really liked it.
I thought the outcast boy was Cyrax in the beginning, since he's the only black guy in an all Asian clan.
 
back said:
I really liked it.
I thought the outcast boy was Cyrax in the beginning, since he's the only black guy in an all Asian clan.
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Thanks, I didn't even think about Cyrax being viewed that way. Other members of the Lin Kuei will be featured in the next update, and I will elaborate more on the beginning part.

In the training room adjacent to the Grandmaster's bedroom five warriors stood along with two leaders of the clan, eagerly waiting. The Grandmaster rose from his throne, his second in command stood along with him facing the selected five.
"I have chosen you five to become a part of the Lin Kuei Elite, the best of the best. This position is not without risk however, if you are not absolutely certain you wish to proceed, leave now. I will not hold it against you." The warriors looked around the room, searching for weakness in the others' eyes. All five stood still, ready to rise in rank.
"Very well, let us proceed. Master Shen Li?" The Grandmaster looked to his right to his disciple who drew a burning orange brand from hot coals.
"My son, step forward." The warrior on the far right stepped forward, removing his black gi.
"Speak the oath." The Grandmaster ordered, the warrior turned his eyes from the Grandmaster to his father.
"I pledge to serve the Lin Kuei and fight with honor until I meet my end. As silent as the night, and deadly as the dawn, Sektor is Lin Kuei." The master put the brand to the warrior's left pectoral, burning the Lin Kuei's insignia into his chest.
"You are dismissed. Who will be next?" Sektor slung his shirt around his neck and departed from the room.
"I will." The dark skinned warrior pulled his shirt over his head, placing it onto the ground.
"Speak." The crimson robed leader commanded.
"I pledge to serve the Lin Kuei and fight with honor until I meet my end. As silent as the night, and deadly as the dawn, Cyrax is Lin Kuei." He grunted as the brand seared his flesh but endured the process. He put his yellow top back on, bowed and made his exit.
"Three are left, who will go next?" The Grandmaster gazed at the three remaining assassins.
"I am ready." The light blue garbed warrior began to remove his shirt.
"No Kuai, I will go next." This warrior wore robes of a much deeper blue.
"Very well." Kuai Liang tied his belt back around his waist keeping his gi in place.
"I pledge to serve the Lin Kuei and fight with honor until I meet my end. As silent as the night, and deadly as the dawn, Sub-Zero is Lin Kuei." Bi Han stare was blank as the iron left it's mark on his cold skin. The younger brother now stepped forward, removing his belt and tying his sleeves around his waist. The brand was placed back into the coals to regain it's heat.
"Grandmaster, I am prepared." Shen Li nodded, signalling him to begin the oath.
"I pledge to serve the Lin Kuei and fight with honor until I meet my end. As silent as the night, and deadly as the dawn, Tundra is Lin Kuei." Kuai Liang's stare was as icy as his brother's showing no pain. He retrieved his belt and left the building.
"You are the last one left Tomas. Are you ready?" The Grandmaster questioned.
"Yes Grandmaster, I am."
"Then begin." Shen Li said. Tomas Vrbada removed his gray top.
"I pledge to serve the Lin Kuei and fight with honor until I meet my end. As silent as the night, and deadly as the dawn, Smoke is Lin Kuei." As the brand burned his skin smoke rose from his skin, leaving the room in a haze. Smoke took his top and exited with the Grandmaster and Shen Li following behind. Smoke sat on the table with the other elite, young serving women came over to the table bringing them drinks and rubbing aloe on their fresh burns. The entire clan sat outside staring intently at the pedestal the Grandmaster and Master Shen Li approached. Shen Li stood to the left of the Grandmaster who stood behind the pedestal.
"Brothers, sisters, as I approach the end of my life it dawns on me that I cannot lead the clan forever. I have chosen the five warriors worthy of the title 'Lin Kuei Elite' and now as is tradition will name my successor." The Grandmaster turns from the crowd to the man next to him. "On the day of my passing, Master Shen Li will ascend to Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. I have lived for seventy long years and will now pass on the Medallion of the Dragon." The Grandmaster removed the Medallion and presented it to Shen Li.
"It is an honor my Grandmaster." Master Shen Li lowered to one knee, accepting the Dragon Medallion into his cupped hands.
 
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Even though the story isn't about him, and even though the other four said the same, this line is incredible to me

"I pledge to serve the Lin Kuei and fight with honor until I meet my end. As silent as the night, and deadly as the dawn, Sub-Zero is Lin Kuei."

Just gave me chills when I read it.
That was a nice little update. I desire more, though I don't know who Shen Li is.
 
back said:
Even though the story isn't about him, and even though the other four said the same, this line is incredible to me

"I pledge to serve the Lin Kuei and fight with honor until I meet my end. As silent as the night, and deadly as the dawn, Sub-Zero is Lin Kuei."

Just gave me chills when I read it.
That was a nice little update. I desire more, though I don't know who Shen Li is.
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While the main character is Smoke, there will be a lot about the other members of the Lin Kuei. Shen Li was the name I gave to Sektor's father, I searched for hours to find out his actual name but he is never referred to as anything but "The Grandmaster" in any of the games, so I had to improvise a bit. Same with Sektor and Cyrax, they are never called by their actual names in MK just their code names. Rest assured, more will be coming soon.
 
Over the next few weeks the Lin Kuei Elite studied under their Grandmaster and Master Shen Li. They honed their skills, and were educated on the modern world. Outside of the gates, an outsider approaches.
"Halt! What business do you have here?" The guard standing watch at the tower nocked an arrow on his bow, cautious of the outsider.
"I'm here for a contract." The watchmen looked to the guardsman on the tower across from him, nodding his head. The wooden gates opened wide as a foot soldier checked the man for weapons.
"He's clean." All the Lin Kuei members in the yard training had their eyes trained on the outsider as he was escorted to the Lin Kuei's dining hall. He sat across from the Grandmaster, resting his chopsticks onto his bowl the Grandmaster questioned,
"So you wish for a contract? I assume you know our rule?" The man removed his suit jacket, placing it on the bench he sits on.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know there were rules for this kind of thing... He didn't mention any rules."
"No innocents. That is our rule." The man sighed with relief.
"This man is far from innocent." They heard a creaking noise as the door behind them swung open.
"I'm sorry Grandmaster, I didn't realize I was interrupting something." Smoke bowed to the Grandmaster and began to turn around.
"Wait Smoke, come sit. This man has a contract for us, I trust you should be able to handle it." Smoke pulled up a chair to their table.
"So now, what are the terms of your contract?" While the Grandmaster spoke, Smoke examined the man. He was short, and a bit overweight, heavily sweating.
"My brother, he is a very influential man in Hong Kong, he would be recognized and followed her if he went himself, which is why he sent me. He instructed me to give the errr... uhm... assassin this envelope." He hands a paper envelope to Smoke, who opens it and begins reading the letter inside. The letter reads,
"To the assassin who reads this, you are to come to my manor and stage a robbery. The target of your 'robbery' will be several diamonds among other gems, these will serve as your payment for the hit. As you take these gems from my safe, I will give you the details on the man." The man looks toward Smoke and begins speaking,
"He also told me to drive you to about a half mile away from his house, after that you are on your own." The Grandmaster looked over to his student.
"Are you okay with these terms Smoke?"
"Yes Grandmaster, I will accept this contract. I am eager to prove my skills."
"Before you leave, visit the outfitter. He should have some clothes to help you blend in with the modern world. Life is very different outside these walls." He nodded and walked the outsider out of the dining hall.
"Go to your vehicle, wait for me outside the gate. I will be a few minutes." The man nodded splitting up with Smoke, who then entered the shack of the Lin Kuei's outfitter. He took the clothes the outfitter gave to him and took them to his room in the Lin Kuei Elite's Barracks. Removing his training gear he slipped on the new clothes, a gray hooded sweatshirt, black cargo pants, and black combat boots. He pulled the hood over his head, and grabbed his sword, securing it on his hip. As he exited the building he slipped black leather gloves over his hands and buttoned a black trenchcoat, concealing the blade on his side.
"There you are." The man started the engine of his car as Smoke climbed in the back seat. The man began driving down the road towards his brothers house.
"Ciggarette?" The man flashed his pack to the assassin.
"No thanks."
"Suit yourself. Kind of ironic that a man named 'Smoke' doesn't smoke." The man had a good laugh, but Smoke just glared. He was not amused.
"Just drive." The next hour or so Smoke or the man did not say a word, both listening to the radio.
"We're here, here take this. His house is a half mile north of here." The man threw Smoke a compass, and he exited the car heading due north. After walking for about twenty minutes he was able to see the manor on the horizon. As he approached closer he saw a security guard begin to close in on him.
"Hey, you can't be here! This is private property."
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize. I've been lost.. wandering. Please, which way is west from here?" The security guard turned to the side and pointed to the west. Smoke quickly delivered a palm strike to the man's neck, rendering him unconscious. Releasing a cloud of smoke, Smoke turned himself invisible and began scaling the wall of the balcony of the master bedroom. Entering the room through the doors to the balcony, Smoke released his cloak.
"I am here for your contract." The man was lying in his bed and sat up taking a sip of whiskey.
"This man needs to die, the police have never been able to catch this bastard." The man took the picture off of his nightstand and tears rolled down his eyes. The man handed the picture to Smoke, the girl in the picture couldn't have been older than fifteen or sixteen.
"This is your daughter?"
"Yes. The man you are looking for... he... killed her. He only goes by... the Butcher. This is everything you need to know about the man." He handed a slip of paper to Smoke who placed it in the pocket of his trenchcoat.
"I will find him, and I will make sure he knows true fear."
"Now, stage the robbery. The combination to the safe is 68-17-92, the three largest gems should be more than enough." Smoke walked over to the safe, retrieving the gems as his payment and slipping it into his pants cargo pocket.
"Good luck." The man looked at Smoke exiting the doors he came through, one last tear streaking down his face.

To be continued...
 
Yes!


Loving it so far. Fan fics usually bore me, but theres something about this last chapter that has me wanting to see more. The whole time I was reading about the

Spoiler:
Staged Robbery I was thinking it was a set up. Also The Butcher? I'm thinking maybe Baraka?
 
back said:
Yes!


Loving it so far. Fan fics usually bore me, but theres something about this last chapter that has me wanting to see more. The whole time I was reading about the

Spoiler:
Staged Robbery I was thinking it was a set up. Also The Butcher? I'm thinking maybe Baraka?
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I'm glad to see you are enjoying it. I want this story to have a dark, and more realistic feel to it. I took a bit of inspiration from MK Legacy, but I wanted to keep it more loyal to MK's canon lore. As for right now, the timeline is set before the events of MK Mythologies: Sub Zero.
 
Nice stuff man, the story is progressing well. Also the grandmaster's real name was revealed to be Oniro in one of the comics but it sounds a bit odd eitherways since its more japanese like.
 
I'm mad at myself for not knowing about this story, but there's only one problem.

Text organization, yes you do separate paragraphs but it all looks mushed together. Try adding another space in between each new paragraph and I always like to separate the dialogue from the story so my readers will know who's talking. I'm real OCD about organization Lol.

Other than that everything is amazing, I love the way you introduced Smoke. After I read that the he was on an Altar as a child he instantly came to mind, the Sub zero and Tundra Cameo in Chapter 1 was godlike as well. I always enjoy reading all of your stories, it's something about them that's different than everyone else's in a good way though :P
 
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For some reason I can't agree with that outlook. Normally I would but for some reason it just fits with this story.

Speaking of which great job Wraith.

"Leon I want you to retrieve my daughter." We we're all thinking it :lol:
 
Flying Jinko said:
Nice stuff man, the story is progressing well. Also the grandmaster's real name was revealed to be Oniro in one of the comics but it sounds a bit odd eitherways since its more japanese like.
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I saw the name Oniro in my searches but I didn't think it was the same Grandmaster. Wasn't he like some weird shapeshifter?

iViTal said:
I'm mad at myself for not knowing about this story, but there's only one problem.

Text organization, yes you do separate paragraphs but it all looks mushed together. Try adding another space in between each new paragraph and I always like to separate the dialogue from the story so my readers will know who's talking. I'm real OCD about organization Lol.

Other than that everything is amazing, I love the way you introduced Smoke. After I read that the he was on an Altar as a child he instantly came to mind, the Sub zero and Tundra Cameo in Chapter 1 was godlike as well. I always enjoy reading all of your stories, it's something about them that's different than everyone else's in a good way though :P
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This has always been my weakness, usually it looks far less jumbled as I am writing it. I'll put another space between lines next time.


YungQ94 said:
For some reason I can't agree with that outlook. Normally I would but for some reason it just fits with this story.

Speaking of which great job Wraith.

"Leon I want you to retrieve my daughter." We we're all thinking it :lol:
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:laugh: I wasn't thinking about that when I thought up this chapter, but Leon isn't a ninja.
 
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