Mortal Kombat Warehouse

Shinnok existed as an Elder God. The Elder Gods are the true rulers of all realms. They watch as worlds are created and destroyed and govern the realms with untold eons of wisdom. Shinnok, however, gave in to greed and illusions of false power by the new realm of Earth. If he could have that realm to himself, he would have power unmatched. He first would have to face the young god of thunder known as Rayden, who was appointed as Earth's guardian by the Elder Gods themselves. Their battle for the realm of Earth was fierce; causing the planet's near destruction and plunging it into centuries of darkness. But, the thunder god eventually won as Shinnok's overconfidence proved to be his undoing.
Rayden discovered that Shinnok entered the realm through the powers of a mystical amulet. It allowed Shinnok to enter the realm without challenge and keep the other Elder Gods from intervening. The amulet could only be created once, and Rayden stripped it from Shinnok's possession. With the aid of the true Elder Gods, he banished the fallen god into a place known as the Netherealm. Rayden buried the amulet deep within the mountains of Asia, determined to keep it from ever falling into the wrong hands. He then created a massive temple within the mountain to house the amulet. As long as the amulet remained on Earth, Shinnok would be trapped, forced to remain dormant for the rest of eternity.

The gods of the Earth realm are many. Most exist quietly, never interfering with mans occupation of the young and powerful realm; others are appointed certain tasks by the Elder Gods.
Rayden is one such god. His name varies between religions, but is generally known as the mythical God of Thunder. Like most gods, his adventures have been twisted and misinterpreted over time. His task on Earth has always been to protect it from the likes of Shao Kahn and Shinnok. Although he can intervene when the realm is in distress, he cannot directly interfere with man's destiny. He can only guide them as they choose their own paths in life.
After defeating Shinnok, Rayden appointed four guardians as the protectors of Shinnok's sacred amulet. Each guardian represents one of the four elements that make up the realm. Wind, Earth, Water and Fire; Known by many different names, these are the elemental gods chosen by Rayden to protect the amulet. Their existence, though necessary in balancing the Earth's forces, can cause great destruction and despair to the inhabitants of the planet.

Ages ago, after the great darkness that covered the land, humans were called together by the gods to construct a temple. This temple was built in the mountains of eastern Asia and was to be protected by the gods of the elements. Over the many centuries that have passed since, the stories and legends would die making it a lost event trapped in mans unrecorded prehistory.
But, the legend continued when the Shaolin discovered an ancient map that tells the story of the great battle between Shinnok and Rayden and shows the way to the massive temple their ancestors constructed. The map's existence and the story it told was known by only a select few including a Shaolin warrior named Kung Lao.
It was through Mortal Kombat that the Outworld's soul-stealing sorcerer Shang Tsung discovered the location of the sacred Map of Elements. After Goro, the reigning Outworld champion, defeated the original Kung Lao over 400 years ago, Shang Tsung sapped the human's soul. He retained his thoughts and memories thus discovering the secrets of the sacred map.

Since the beginnings of time, the Netherealm has always existed as a place where the unwanted spirits of reality were sent. It has been interpreted in many different ways and has many different names; Hell, Hades, Gehenna, Pluto. Its purpose has always remained the same.
Over the millennia, the Netherealm has had many rulers. Most of them were forged within its fiery pits, eventually ripping their masters mercilessly from their thrones. One however, came not from the bowels of the Netherealm, but from the heavens of reality. He was the fallen Elder God known as Shinnok.
Shinnok was banished to this place of torment by Rayden. Upon entering the realm, he found himself immediately under attack by its then ruler Lucifer, as well as those souls he was personally responsible for banishing when he was an Elder God. Locked and shackled, Shinnok was helpless against his attackers. He would exist, tortured and tormented by the dregs of hell for thousands of years. Until he met Quan Chi.
Quan Chi is a free roaming sorcerer. That means that he can travel the various planes of reality without detection from their gods. It also means that over the years he has obtained great power. Aware of Shinnok's dilemma, Quan Chi traveled to the Netherealm and made the fallen god an offer. He will free him from his confines and assist him in defeating Lucifer and his minions in exchange for power and the ability to rule at his side if and when he escapes the Netherealm entirely. Shinnok agreed and the two waged a war in the Netherealm that lasted for centuries. But, the ex-Elder God eventually won as he viciously slew his former master. Then, after imprisoning his enemy's surviving essence, he took his seat as the new ruler supreme of the dead realm.
Shinnok, however, had nothing to rule. The realm was a desolate wasteland of fire and brimstone inhabited by grotesque demons that smelled of the foulest stench. So, he decided to create a physical world, trying his best to emulate the realm he wanted so badly… Earth. He took the demons of his realm and transformed them into as human a form as possible. But unlike the Outworld, which became a wasteland after Shao Kahn sapped its energies, the Netherealm can never be a living planet. It will always exist as a dead world. It's true form hidden by its ruler.

Centuries would pass, and Quan Chi had exhausted all methods of freeing Shinnok until an upstart sorcerer known as Shang Tsung approached him. Shang Tsung's essence was created on Earth. He obtained his ability as a free roaming sorcerer by assisting Shao Kahn who was at the brink of taking the Earth for his own through Mortal Kombat. Shang devised a way to virtually assure their success. But, it required the assistance of Shinnok.
When Kahn defeated a realm called Edenia and transformed it into the Outworld, he also acquired that realm's Queen, Sindel. But the thought of serving under Shao Kahn drove her to madness, and she took her own life. Enraged by this event, Shao Kahn withheld her soul from moving to a higher existence. Instead, he held it as his own prized possession. A token of his victory over Edenia's former king Jerrod and a constant reminder of his power to Queen Sindel's daughter the Princess Kitana.
These events enabled Shang Tsung to strike a bargain with Quan Chi. If Shinnok would take Sindel's soul, taint it with evil and reincarnate it on Earth… Shao Kahn could step through the dimensional gates separating the two realms and reclaim his queen, thus enabling him to overtake the Earth and bar Rayden and the Elder Gods from intervening. An event that would take over a decade to accomplish- a rather short amount of time considering what Shinnok has been through.
In exchange for Shinnok's assistance, Shang Tsung would reveal to Quan Chi the location of the map that would lead to Shinnok's sacred amulet. But, Shang Tsung failed to inform Quan Chi of the elemental guards that protect the amulet. Their mere existence makes it impossible for Quan Chi to enter the temple where the amulet rests. But, if he could get a human to enter, the right human, one who could perhaps defeat the elements…

Somewhere in the northern most parts of Asia, there exists a secret clan of assassins and thieves known as the Lin Kuei. This group has existed for centuries and thrives on the evil intention of the people who pay for their services. Its warriors are chosen at birth to be raised apart from the workings of day to day civilization and are stripped of their former lives. Only the clan knows their existence. Each of them posses certain skills and abilities that set them apart from normal men. These abilities are passed on from generation to generation and honed throughout the experiences of life.
Born in America, Sub-Zero was the oldest of three children, which included a brother and sister. Their mother wanted a normal life for her sons, who had already been chosen by the Lin Kuei to become warriors for the clan. She tried in vein to hide them from their father whose own life in America was only a cover for his true identity and purpose. Eventually they were found and their father returned with them to his homeland. Their mother and sister were never seen or heard from again.
Sub-Zero learned of his ability as a young adult. It was passed on to him by his father, a fourth generation Lin Kuei warrior himself. The ability to harness the element of cold is one that takes years of practice. It's full potential realized only by those who've mastered it at the latest stages of life. Sub-Zero's skills have the ability to develop much faster than those of the other Lin Kuei. This was realized by the Lin Kuei Grandmasters who picked the young warrior to take his deceased father's place as the next Sub-Zero.
Among his first missions for the Lin Kuei, is one that leads him to a Shaolin temple to steal a sacred map known as- The Map of Elements. It shows the way to yet another temple long hidden from the eyes of mortal men. This temple is known as The Temple of Elements, and is built somewhere inside the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. But, the real treasure is what's housed within the temple's walls. An artifact that predates man's history on Earth… the artifact is known as Shinnok's Amulet.

Spread throughout Japan; the Ninja exist as the Lin Kuei's Japanese counterpart. It is believed that a renegade, Japanese-born Lin Kuei warrior named Takeda developed the art of Ninjutsu hundreds of years ago. He returned to Japan to offer his services and knowledge to various lords and generals during that country's feudal period. Many of his skills and techniques were soon copied and learned throughout his homeland. Although the art of Ninjutsu is not based on an individual warriors mutated power, the ninja made up for it with their use of weapons and collective magical techniques that most humans could master with enough practice.
The Ninja have never existed as one collected clan. They work as a loosely connected spy network, made up of several small clans. One such clan is known as the Shirai Ryu. Their founder was Takeda himself, making the Shirai Ryu the very first ninja clan. This also made them instant foes of the Lin Kuei and made Takeda a target for assassination. But, he managed to elude his attackers until his elder years, when he died not from a vicious battle, but in his sleep- a victim of poison slipped into his tea.
Scorpion is the code name for a modern day member of the Shirai Ryu named Hanzo Hasashi. Scorpion has mastered a technique known as shuriken- weapons thrown from the hand. He learned this technique from his own father, a ninja himself who forbade his son to become a member of this ancient group of assassins and wanted him to accept the trappings of modern day life. But the lure of quick money and his own wish to afford his wife and child the finest in life force him to join the Shirai Ryu.
His latest mission leads him into the heart of China, home of the rival Lin Kuei and location of the Shaolin temple where his mission is to steal the sacred Map of Elements.