Lin Kuei (Mortal Kombat)

The Lin Kuei is a fictional faction from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

About the Lin Kuei
They are based loosely on the ancient Chinese/Japanese clan of the same name, much like the infamous Black Dragon Society (Kokuryūkai) of Japan was used for Kano's Black Dragon clan. They have become one of the most prominent and well-known factions within the Mortal Kombat universe, and they have played a major role throughout the history of the series. Though it has gradually shifted from being a sinister force into a friendly power, it has always remained very reclusive. To gamers, its history has always been intertwined with the adventures of both Sub-Zero brothers.

The defeat of the Shirai Ryu
It is unknown when the Lin Kuei were founded, but their earliest chronological appearance in the Mortal Kombat games begins with Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, where the elder Sub-Zero, a Lin Kuei clansman, was its title character. In the series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, which takes place about five centuries BMK, Sub-Zero is also shown to be a subordinate of the Lin Kuei Grandmaster. The elder Sub-Zero was a loyal clansman with a specific mission. In the game bearing his name, the sorcerer Quan Chi hired the Lin Kuei to find an ancient amulet, and Sub-Zero was sent to find the map leading to its location. He did not know that Quan Chi had hired a Japanese ninja, Hanzo Hasashi, for the same task in case Sub-Zero would fail. Hasashi and Sub-Zero encountered each other in the map room, where Sub-Zero killed him in cold blood. After Sub-Zero delivered the map, Quan Chi made good on a promise to the Lin Kuei Grandmaster; the rival clan, the Shirai Ryu, was wiped out. The Shirai Ryu was a clan founded by a breakaway member of the Lin Kuei years earlier.

Shinnok's amulet
The Lin Kuei demonstrated their mercenary nature here when they inadvertently placed the Earthrealm in danger for personal gain. After retrieving the map, Sub-Zero is hired again for another mission. This time, he was to follow the directions on the map to a hidden Temple of the Elements, wherein an amulet (supposedly Quan Chi's) was kept. Defeating the four elemental god-guardians in the temple, he found the amulet. Quan Chi took the amulet, revealing that it is actually Shinnok's amulet, capable of freeing the fallen Elder God from the Netherealm and allowing him to take over all realms. Raiden, who had placed the amulet in the temple in the first place to protect it from the likes of Quan Chi, appeared and ordered Sub-Zero to rectify his mistake. Sub-Zero reluctantly agreed and was transported to the Netherealm. There, he tracked down Quan Chi, and stole the amulet back from Shinnok before he could use it. He then escaped to Earth via Raiden's portal. It is later revealed that Quan Chi had never given the amulet to Shinnok; instead, he had crafted a fake and kept the original for himself. This was crucial to the events of Mortal Kombat 4 and its sequels.

The elder Sub-Zero's last mission
Immediately after returning from his mission, Sub-Zero was hired by Shang Tsung to compete in his Mortal Kombat tournament. This takes place during the first game. Though the Lin Kuei agreed to this, someone else paid the Lin Kuei to assassinate Shang Tsung, to which they also agreed. He was unsuccessful as evidenced by Liu Kang's victory in the tournament for Earthrealm, and Tsung's survival. In this tournament, he was incinerated by Scorpion, the spectre of Hanzo Hasashi. Sub-Zero's soul descended into the Netherealm, where he was stripped of his humanity and became Noob Saibot. This was only revealed years later in Mortal Kombat: Deception.

The younger Sub-Zero and Smoke
Despite losing, Shang Tsung survived the first tournament and organized a second tournament on Outworld as a trap for the Earthrealm warriors. Once again, Sub-Zero was sent to kill him, but this time, it was actually Sub-Zero's younger brother who was sent as a replacement and assumed the same code-name. Presumably this also explains Smoke's presence in the tournament. He was a friend and close ally of the younger Sub-Zero. Shang Tsung survived again, and Sub-Zero returned home empty-handed.

In Mortal Kombat 3 and its follow-ups, the Lin Kuei have a much greater role. In the events leading up to Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm, the Lin Kuei have begun a program of turning their clansmen into cyborgs. The first to volunteer for this program was Sektor, also referred to as LK-9T9. He is notable for being the only one of the cyborgs to be consistently described as soulless for the rest of the series. Being the prototype, the process might have actually killed him completely, leaving him as only a body animated by cybernetics and computers. Second was Cyrax, also known as unit LK-4D4. The younger Sub-Zero and Smoke were in-line as well to be converted. Likely considering this a fate worse than death, the two fled their clan, an act equivalent to treason. Sektor and Cyrax were sent to capture them and return them to headquarters. While Sub-Zero escaped, Smoke was recaptured and transformed into the third (and last) cybernetic warrior: Unit LK-7T2.

Rogues
Shortly thereafter, Shao Kahn began his invasion of Earthrealm. Sub-Zero and Smoke had been previously marked as chosen warriors of Raiden, and their souls were spared. Sektor had no soul to take and generally stays true to his original mission of killing Sub-Zero but fails. Cyrax, whether or not reprogrammed to fight for one side or the other, ends the game stuck in a desert. Smoke is later shown to have been captured by Shao Kahn at some point, later revealed in Mortal Kombat: Deception. Noob Saibot also appears on Shao Kahn's side, at least initially. In Mortal Kombat Trilogy, he is mentioned as serving under Shinnok in the Netherealm for the first time. The rest of the Lin Kuei are assumed to have their souls taken by Shao Kahn but later restored along with the rest of the world's souls when Kahn is defeated.

Most likely due to Sub-Zero's successful escape from the clan following the events of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, the Lin Kuei lost many of its members before Mortal Kombat 4 and is initially even described as "disbanded". Perhaps it explains their attempts to have Sub-Zero killed, because they blamed him for their troubles. Once again, Cyrax was sent out to hunt down Sub-Zero after being repaired by the Lin Kuei. However, Cyrax had been acting erratically since his recovery, so the Lin Kuei sent Sektor to follow him, and destroy him and/or finish his job if necessary. Cyrax, whose soul had begun to reassert itself, sought out Sonya Blade and Jax of the Outer World Investigation Agency, who helped restore his memories and former self. Sektor was unable to prevent this.

Sub-Zero was confronted by Scorpion. Scorpion's ending, confirmed by the background of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, shows that, after finally defeating Sub-Zero, Quan Chi reveals that he was responsible. This made Quan Chi directly responsible for the death of Scorpion's family and clan, while also indirectly responsible for Scorpion's own death. Scorpion responded by taking Quan Chi with him to the Netherealm.

Reformation


The storyline of MK 4/Deadly Alliance revealed some significant changes to the Lin Kuei and their history. Somewhere between 5 and 9 AMK, Sektor managed to achieve the role of Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. This meant that he malfunctioned and killed the Grandmaster. The role of Grandmaster seemed to be based on the possession of the hitherto unmentioned Dragon medallion, which aside from greatly increasing the power of the user, also determines the leader of the Lin Kuei. Sektor's then challenged the younger Sub-zero for leadership of the Lin Kuei. This prompted Sub-Zero to return. He defeated the cyborg and assumed the title of Grandmaster himself.

Sub-Zero implemented a number of changes to the clan. He moved the Lin Kuei headquarters to an ancient temple he had discovered buried in the ice of Siberia. He also changed the mission of the Lin Kuei, making it a force for the side of good for the first time. He began recruiting new warriors to replenish the Lin Kuei's depleted ranks. Among these efforts was a tournament, the winner of which would be introduced into the clan. The winner was Frost, a brash young woman with powers remarkably similar to Sub-Zero's own ice-controlling abilities. Frost becames Sub-Zero's personal student, another exceptional event. He was able to teach her new ways to use her powers, but failed to quell her sense of arrogance and ambition. Around this time Sonya Blade attempted to contact the Lin Kuei at some point, perhaps in an effort to open relations between the Outer World Investigation Agency and the Lin Kuei. However, she was prevented from doing so by an overzealous Frost.

Journey into Outworld
Sub-Zero realised he was unpopular with the majority of the Lin Kuei. Therefore he attempted to prove himself by leaving to help Raiden fight the Deadly Alliance. The Earthrealm warriors ultimately lost against the Deadly Alliance. While in Outworld, Frost turned against Sub-Zero and attempted to steal the dragon medallion from him. Though initially successful, she was consumed by her own freezing ability. His troubles with Frost saved him from a worse fate, as the four other Earthrealm warriors and Kitana died at the hands of the Deadly Alliance.

After Frost's death, Sub-Zero searched for a place to bury her and found the ruins of an extinct civilisation: the Cryomancers. They were a people who could control the powers of ice and cold. Sub-Zero inferred that he and Frost both were descendants of this race. He also found an ancient armour in the tomb, and donned it. Sub-Zero decided it would be best to head back to Earth after the Deadly Alliance was defeated by the even more sinister Onaga. On his way to a portal, he encountered Kenshi, who was badly wounded. The two decided to travel together. Along his travelling path, Sub-Zero had killed many Tarkatan warriors, drawing attention from Onaga and his zealous enforcer, Hotaru. Once again, the Grandmaster found himself tailed and marked for death.

Trivia

 * Through his repeated protests to Quan Chi, the elder Sub-Zero demonstrated an interesting fact. The Lin Kuei are not ninja. He preferred the term "Lin Kuei warrior". In addition to that, referring to himself as Lin Kuei demonstrated his loyalty to the clan as he tries to separate the Lin Kuei ninja from the other "ordinary" ninjas. The younger Sub-Zero made nearly the reverse protest in Mortal Kombat 4.
 * Rain, in one of his earliest appearances (at least in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3) is described as being a former member of the Lin Kuei. However, in later versions, in the same game on the Sega Genesis, and in both versions of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, his storyline is replaced in favor of Edenian ancestry.  Later games make no reference to his initial history.
 * Shujinko is revealed to have trained with Sub-Zero and apparently joined the ranks of the Lin Kuei years ago, though his true allegiance is to the Elder Gods. Shujinko was never an active member of the group, briefly aligning himself with the organization for the purpose of gaining Sub-Zero's knowledge of fighting.
 * Mavado, after killing Kano in his ending, is shown to be the next rival of the Lin Kuei (or more precisely, his clan, the Red Dragon. However, Mortal Kombat: Deception has little on this subject, instead having Kabal killing Mavado and reforming the Black Dragon clan.
 * "Lin Kuei" or formally "lin gui" means "forest demons" in Mandarin Chinese