Ilkan, also known as the Crystal Realm, is a realm mentioned in the cartoon series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. This is where the legendary Swords of Ilkan were created.
History[]
The realm of Ilkan is an ancient world consisting of a vast, lush jungle-like wilderness. But most of all, it also consists entirely of gigantic mountains made of crystals, hence the name the "Crystal Realm". There was once within that realm, a great city whose buildings were built as grand towering castles. There exists within the jungle, a giant sphinx-like monument known as the Temple of Ilkan built to honor the Crystal Realm itself and to house a pair of twin swords with an awesome power to open portals to other worlds. The people of Ilkan built their city and lived in a time of prosperity as a wealthy civilization because the crystals here are the only available minerals and valuable substances within the realm's landscape.
But unfortunately, Ilkan came under by attack by Shao Kahn and his forces during a war with a rebellion by the Edenian Princess Kitana and an Amazonian commander named Zara. Most of the realm's native inhabitants were destroyed in the conflict. Ramath, who declared himself the Keeper of the Crystal Realm, a guardian who protects the Swords of Ilkan, was killed by Zara. She was consumed by her own greed and lust for power, desiring to possess the swords, eventually this pursuit failed and she was banished. However, the damage done to Ilkan ensured that it would be abandoned.
Return to Ilkan[]
Centuries later, Zara, after years of banishment, lured Kitana and her two Earthrealm comrades Sonya Blade and Jax Briggs into the ruined landscape of her former homeworld already merged with Outworld. Zara used the first Sword of Ilkan and trapped Jax in a spherical energy forcefield. She demanded that Kitana retrieve the second sword so that she would release Jax. Kitana and Sonya have no choice but to go and recover the other Sword of Ilkan.
They both arrived in the realm of Ilkan. Sonya finds the world so empty as it was abandoned for centuries. Kitana told her it has been empty ever since Zara's rebellion. They both then enter the Temple of Ilkan. Once inside, they evaded traps and defeated the temple's guardian, a giant emerald monster made of magical energy from Ilkan's very own crystals. They both succeeded in retrieving the second Sword of Ilkan and returned to Outworld. They also succeeded in defeating and banishing Zara to the Void, rescuing Jax from his imprisonment, and threw the twin Swords of Ilkan into the Void as well, so that the Crystal Realm's long-lost treasure could never be used for evil purposes.
Source[]
Defenders of the Realm - Swords of Ilkan