|
This article, Kamidogu, is property of Billy cougar. |
The Kamidogu (from Japanese kamidōgu神道具 literally "god tool" or "divine equipment"), are mystic relics crafted by the Elder Gods which are said to contain the essence of the planets. When used in sorcery, they are said to have incredible power. Wielded by the wrong hands, the Kamidogus could endanger existence itself.
The Kamidogu embody the essence for each of their respective planets, and there is one pertaining to each planet: Earth, Never Never Land, Chaosworld, Outworld, Orderworld, and Edenia.
There is one more Kamidogu that is connected to and surpasses all the other Kamidogus as it embodies the essence of not just one planet, but all of the universe. That final Kamidogu turned out to be the sacred amulet which is Shinnok's Amulet.
Shujinko's Quest[]
The Kamidogus were introduced in Mortal Kombat: Return of The Dragon King and were the foundation of the story. More precisely, when viewing Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest Mode, the player assumed the role of Shujinko in his quest for the Kamidogus.
Years ago, Shujinko, was approached by an ethereal spirit entity that called itself Damashi. Damashi claimed to be the agent of the Gods who was tasked with finding a mortal who had enough courage and potential strength to undertake a quest for the Gods. Shujinko, then only a child, eagerly accepted and Damashi charged him with gathering the six Kamidogu of Earth, Never Never Land, Chaosworld, Outworld, Orderworld, and Edenia. To aid Shujinko in the quest, Damashi mystically instilled in Shujinko an enhanced ability to observe and then wield the combat abilities of warriors that he came across.
However, in reality, Damashi was not an agent of the Elder Gods, and the power granted to Shujinko was merely his own. Ages ago, the Dragon King, Onaga, was slain by Shao Kahn. But, even from the void, his essence could manifest within the planets. Damashi was actually Onaga's essence, extending into the planets. Thus disguised, "Damashi" was able to manipulate Shujinko into undertaking a quest to collect the Kamidogus. He even told Shujinko that he had not collected all of the Kamidogu because there was the last one left, the sacred amulet (in fact the stolen Amulet of Shinnok).
Onaga, having acquired the Kamidogu, travelled to Outworld to re-assume his throne as the original ruler of the planet. From there, he intended to use the Kamidogus to attain ultimate power by re-making the planets in his image.
Shujinko, now fully understanding this threat to the planets, born from deception, resolved to stop Onaga. Though the heart of the quest was proven to be farce, Shujinko, having faced and triumphed over continuous dangers, had become one of the most powerful warriors in the planets. He journeyed to Outworld where he was able to gather a number of powerful warriors to one location. Then, using the mystic ability Onaga conveyed him with years earlier, Shujinko reached out for the warriors' essence, thus their combined powers supplemented his own.
But while Shujinko was ready to confront the Dragon King in Mortal Kombat, a ninja specter named Scorpion was already on his way to slew him. Scorpion proved to be more than a match for Onaga, who he was battling, but not before destroying the six Kamidogus and weakening Onaga, thus Scorpion defeated the Dragon King, ending the danger to the planets completing Shujinko's quest... for the moment. Scorpion among all the warriors feared that a victory against the Dragon King (later leading to the predicting events of Armageddon) was short lived.
Raiden's new Timeline[]
After the events of the past were altered by Raiden to prevent Armageddon, the Kamidogu once more play a pivotal role in the new timeline, with significant changes.
Reintroduced in the Mortal Kombat X as daggers, the Kamidogu are now used to invoke powerful Blood Magic, by offering the daggers blood, either the wielder's own or someone else's, which can increase the powers of the wielder. However, there is a high cost for using the Kamidogu in such a way, being the draining of the user's strength by a large margin, leaving them severely weakened.
Due to the machinations of the grim of chaos, Havik, the Blood Magic within the daggers was corrupted, allowing Havik to possess whomever is cut by them. One such victim of the possession was the Shirai-Ryu Fox, who under the demon's influence slaughtered the clan, before he was killed by Takeda. Another was Sub-Zero, who's power was so enhanced by Blood Magic he was able to freeze an entire city and most of its population solid. Though Kano has claimed that death is the only means of freeing the possessed, Raiden, who was corrupted by Havik's possession, was able to free himself by purging his blood and Sub-Zero was also freed when he was separated from his Kamidogu and the Blood Magic in his veins was used up.
Raven entrusted the daggers to powerful champions to protect them, knowing it was too dangerous to keep them all in the same location: Raiden held onto the Kamidogu of Order, Kotal Kahn was given the Kamidogu of Outworld, Jax Briggs was given Earth's Kamidogu, while the Kamidogu of Chaosworld was given to the Kang Shaolin Temple overseen by Shujinko. One Kamidogu was given to Scorpion of the Shirai Ryu, while the last was stolen by the Red Dragon Clan and eventually recovered by Sub-Zero.
It is later revealed that each of the Kamidogu have tasted the blood of the One Being and its essence dwells within them, which is the source of their power. Raiden and the Elder Gods used the Kamidogus to seal Shinnok's amulet in a dark dimension, binding the seal in Raiden's blood. The corrupter of the Kamidogu, the grim of chaos, Havik, seeks to claim them to obtain Shinnok's amulet.
Havik reveals that there are seven Kamidogu, the last of which has not been revealed.
Havik used all six known Kamidogu on Reiko in a ritual that seemed to turn the general into the Blood God, but in truth, the ritual merely used Reiko as a vessel to summon Shinnok's amulet from the dark dimension it was trapped in. Reiko died in the process, his head being caved in by Havik to reveal Shinnok's amulet inside his skull.
The Kamidogu were last seen being used by Havik to enslave the captured champions, Kotal Kahn, Mileena, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade to his will by inflicting them with the Blood Code. What is known however that after Havik's defeat they all survived, otherwise they would not have appeared in Mortal Kombat X.
Trivia[]
- Equestria also has its own Kamidogu, however it is not of any importance at all unlike the other Kamidogus.
- The same goes for all other Kamidogus that are not from the six main planets (Earth, Hell, Outworld, Edenia, Chaosworld, and Orderworld), it is unknown how and why they are not important unlike the six main are.
Gallery[]
