Shinnok's amulet
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Shinnok's amulet is a fictional amulet from in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.
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[edit] History
It is so named because the fallen Elder God Shinnok has used it to gain tremendous power within the realms. Millions of years ago, Shinnok existed as an Elder God, but he was thwarted by Raiden following his quest to conquer the newly created Earthrealm. If Shinnok could have that realm to himself, he would have power unmatched. In the process, he and Raiden engaged in a war that almost destroyed the Earthrealm and plunged it into centuries of darkness. Raiden soon 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. However, the amulet could only be created once, and Raiden managed to strip it from Shinnok's possession. With the aid of the true Elder Gods, he banished the fallen Shinnok into a place known as the Netherealm.
Raiden buried the amulet deep within the mountains of Nepal and built a highly fortified temple to protect the amulet from Shinnok. As long as the amulet remained on Earth, Shinnok would be trapped and forced to remain dormant for the rest of eternity. Upon entering the realm, Shinnok found himself immediately under attack by its then ruler Lucifer. He would exist tortured and tormented for thousands of years. He would remain there until he met Quan Chi, a free-roaming sorcerer who can travel undetected between the realms. He had great power and traveled to the Netherealm to aid Shinnok. The two waged a war in the Netherealm that lasted for centuries. They eventually defeated Lucifer, and Shinnok became the ruler of the realm. He would eventually garnish the power needed to rechallenge the Elder Gods and retrieve his amulet for ultimate control.
Shang Tsung eventually learned of the amulet. In a Mortal Kombat tournament over 400 years ago, Goro defeated the Great Kung Lao, enabling Shang Tsung to steal his soul. Kung Lao knew the location of a map that would lead to the amulet. When Tsung stole his soul, he also retained his thoughts and memories, which would allow him to seek out the map and the amulet in the Himalayan Temple of the Elements. Needing help to find the amulet, he struck a deal with Quan Chi. Shang Tsung would reveal to Quan Chi the location of the map that would lead to Shinnok's sacred amulet, and in exchange Quan Chi would divulge a spell that would allow Shao Kahn's deceased Queen Sindel to be reincarnated in Earthrealm. But Shang Tsung failed to inform Quan Chi of the elemental guards that protected the amulet. Their mere existence made it impossible for Quan Chi to enter the temple where the amulet was hidden. But, if he could get a human to enter, one who could perhaps defeat the elements, then he could achieve his goal.
[edit] Sub-Zero finds the amulet
Quan Chi hired Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei to find the amulet, and Sub-Zero was sent to find the map leading to its location in the events of Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero. He did not know that Quan Chi had hired a Japanese ninja from the rival Shirai Ryu clan, Hanzo Hasashi, for the same task in case Sub-Zero failed. Hasashi and Sub-Zero encountered each other and fought, where Sub-Zero killed him in cold blood. He stole the map and was to follow the directions to the hidden temple, wherein the amulet was kept. Sub-Zero defeated the four guardians in the temple and found the amulet. Quan Chi took the amulet, revealing that it is actually Shinnok's amulet, capable of freeing the fallen Elder God Shinnok– Quan Chi's master– from the Netherealm and allowing him to take over all realms.
Sub-Zero, under pressure from Raiden for his wrongdoings, agreed to steal the amulet back from Quan Chi. While venturing through the Netherealm, he finds Quan Chi and Shinnok. He steals the amulet back from Shinnok before he can use it and then escapes to Earth with help from Raiden. It is then revealed that Quan Chi had betrayed Shinnok and never gave him the real amulet. He had crafted a fake one, and now Sub-Zero was in possession of the fake amulet, while Quan Chi had the real one. It was due to this deception that Shinnok, in another attempt to escape the Netherealm and reclaim Earthrealm for himself, was defeated by Raiden and his band of mortals (particularly in one on one combat with Liu Kang),not before he devastated the heavens and killed off most of the lowlier gods in the pantheon.
[edit] Deadly Alliance
With the real amulet in his possession, Quan Chi struck a deal with Shang Tsung in order for both of them to obtain ultimate power and take over the realms. The deal was made, and the two formed the Deadly Alliance prior to the events of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. With ultimate power in their hands, they attempt to conquer the Earthrealm. Raiden sent his best chosen warriors after them to steal the amulet from the hands of evil. Raiden's warriors (Kitana, Kung Lao, Jax, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade) were defeated during their battle against the Tarkatan warriors and the Deadly Alliance.
The Elder Gods had advised Raiden not to interfere, but he defied their wishes. Alone, he challenged the alliance of Tsung and Quan Chi inside Shang Tsung's palace in one last attempt to retrieve the amulet. Unfortunately, Raiden could not stand up against the two, and he was defeated. With Raiden defeated, the Deadly Alliance turned on each other, with Tsung wanting Quan Chi's amulet for his own control. Shang Tsung could not defeat the powerful Quan Chi. Unfortunately, the Dragon King Onaga emerged in the palace with his sights set on capturing the amulet. Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, and even Raiden fought together to repel Onaga and keep him from getting to the amulet. The three were defeated, and Onaga now had Shinnok's amulet. Using the amulet, Onaga resurrected his dead army. Onaga had even sent the then-young Shujinko to capture the each kamidogu from each realm. With the power of these six artifacts and the amulet, Onaga can now gain control of all six realms and everything within as the One Being. The legend decrees that if one were to obtain all six kamidogu from each realm in combination with the Shinnok's amulet, they would be granted ultimate power.
Those fighters not killed in the battle against the Deadly Alliance (Li Mei, Raiden, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kenshi and Bo' Rai Cho) must now stand against him and his supporters, which include the Tarkatan warriors. Should they fail, Onaga will have supreme control, which will ultimately destroy everything.
[edit] Shaolin Monks
In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, after Shao Kahn is defeated, Quan Chi is seen stealing the amulet. This game however, is not considered canon, and so Shao Kahn never actually came into possession of the amulet during the course of the story.
[edit] Description
The amulet is crafted from bronze and features a green gemstone of unknown type at its center. It is embossed with four triple seals, which represent the realms of the four elements from Mythologies. Each triad is comprised of ancient glyphs of the element: an alchemical symbol, two lines of an I Ching trigram, and a shape. Respectively, these are:
Wind: upright lined triangle, sun trigram, circle
Earth: downward lined triangle, k'un trigram, square
Water: downward triangle, k'an trigram, crescent
Fire: upright triangle, li trigram, triangle
The seals are the shapes of the twelve keys Sub-Zero needed to retrieve in order to traverse the realms.
Quan Chi escaped the Netherealm into the Dragon King's lost tomb through a large portal bearing the likeness of the amulet in the opening sequence of Deadly Alliance. There, he discovered an ancient Runestone bearing magical script. The tattoos seared into his skin are those inscriptions pertaining specifically to the amulet.
Quan Chi's character models from Deadly Alliance through Armageddon feature a variant of the amulet's design. The seals have been replaced by four plain circles, and the gemstone is in the shape of a vesica piscis.
