Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or its character, but I do own this story. 

Chapter 1: Strength 
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable 
will." Mahatma Gandhi 

Dark ominous clouds covered the sky. Thunder rumbled every few seconds 
while lightning danced across the horizon. The forest was quite, save for the 
howling wind. Somewhere deep in the heart of the gloomy forest, a pair of 
muddy feet trampled over the dead leafs as the figure blindly ran through the 
unfamiliar territory. It was a girl and she was not alone. 

Not far behind, two dark shapes began to close in on her. They seem to cut 
through the forest as if nothing could hold them back. The very trees appear 
to give way of their presence. They had only one purpose ? capture the girl. 
Her long crimson locks feverishly fluttered behind her, exposing the purplish 
ring around her smooth neck. It was the mark made by the Gazel-han, the 
golden collar that was used to mark her, to control and torture her. It was a 
mark that will haunt her for the rest of her life, however short it may be lived. It 
wasn’t the only bad memory she carried with her. 
Two smaller matching golden bracelets were clamped around each of her 
wrists. Just like the Gazel-han, these bracelets also served to bind her to her 
nightmarish prison. However, with the Gazel-han gone, the bracelets were 
powerless. 
This was her second day on the run. She had escaped from her prison only 
through the help of her friend?her only friend. He was called Timmy and was 
only eighteen years old. He was what they called a Gifted in training, and had 
by some miracle discovered a way to get the Gazel-han off from around her 
neck, as well as a way for them to escape. In the end it had cost him his life. 
There were many like him, many gifted men at Blackhall, the place she was 
kept prisoner, but unlike the rest, he didn’t give his soul to the Dark Lord, 
instead he secretly tried to find away to keep him sealed away. That was 
when he had heard of her, and how she was caught up in a twisted plan to 
free the Dark Lord from his imprisonment. 
Her heart ached. He was the only friend she had. His screams still pierced her 
heart. That look of complete shock on his face when that thing tore its long 
bladed arms right through him was still fresh in her mind, and now they were 
coming after her. 
Fear clogged throat. Her breath came in short gasps as she desperately tried 
to escape her pursuers. She knew they weren’t far behind her, and she knew 
she wouldn’t be able to run for much longer. Soon she would have to make a 
stand. 
A noise somewhere to her right startled her. Something caught her foot and in 
an instant she was send crashing to the ground. Terrified she glanced back. 
The forest was quiet. Nothing seemed to move. Not a single sound could be 
heard. The hair on the back of her neck started to rise when her eyes caught 
sight of a shadow leaping over a fallen log, just a few meters away from 
where she lay on ground. Horrified she jumped to her feet and took a quick 
turn to her left. 
The sound of branches crushing and snapping on impact followed her down 
the steep cliff. Her mind raced as fast as her heart. They were right behind 
her. A second later she stumbled into a clearing, only a short distance from a 
river. This was her chance, her only chance and she knew it. If she could get 
to the river she might be able to stand a chance against them, although deep 
down she knew she probably wouldn’t. 
Her legs felt heavy. She was so tired; exhausted from running and hiding, too 
afraid to close her eyes even on the one occasion she managed to lose them 
for a few hours, and now it would seem they would have the last laugh. 
Timmy’s death would have been for nothing. Determination suddenly boiled 
through her veins. She couldn’t let his death be a waste. She won’t go down 
without a fight. They won’t take her back; she won’t allow it, not unless she 
was dead. Trembling, she forced her exhausted body towards the river, but 
never even got halfway. 
One of her pursuers had suddenly leaped in front of her, blocking her path to 
the river, and thus her only chance of freedom. Terror gripped her heart. A 
nightmarish vision loomed over her- she never stood a chance. 
With amazing speed the creature grabbed her around her neck, lifted her from 
the ground and snarled, revealing its sharp and filthy teeth. Struggling she 
tried to kick the beast, but to no avail. Its black eyes stared emotionless at her 
terrified face, then without warning it released a surge of energy onto her. 
The girl screamed in pain. Her agony echoed through the forest, startling a 
few pokemon in their hiding places close by. The flow of energy slowly ceased 
and the girl went limp in the beast’s powerful grip. Pleased, the beast threw 
her body over its scaly shoulder and motioned for the other daemon that they 
should get moving again. 
Unknown to the beast, the girl started to gain consciousness. She gave a soft 
moan and opened her eyes, blinking in confusion. Memories of the beasts 
chasing her, returned to her with a bang. She quickly closed her eyes waited 
patiently, enduring the pain that gnawed at her bones. Slower this time, she 
opened her eyes, just enough to peek around. She didn’t want the beasts to 
know that she was awake. Her eyes searched for something, anything that 
would be of use to her. She suddenly caught sight of the metal blade attached 
to the creature’s side. Carefully she reached towards the blade. 
Her fingers were mere inches away from the blade when the second beast 
caught sight of her moving arm. With a howl it tried to warn its brother. The 
warning came too late. 
Without thinking twice, she grabbed hold of the leather handle, pulling the 
blade free and plunging it into the back of her captor’s back, running it straight 
through its chest. With a terribly cry the beast released its grip on her and 
tumbled forward to the ground. The second beast was on her before she 
could even blink. With a powerful blow it struck her full force on her chest, 
sending her flying through the air and into a nearby tree. With a grunt she 
collapsed to the ground. 
Pain burned through her chest. She couldn’t breathe. For a moment she 
thought she might die, that the blow had crushed her completely, as she 
gasped for air. She looked up from where she lay and waited for her vision to 
come into focus. The beast was ignoring her for the moment, attending to its 
fellow daemon. She knew they didn’t take it lightly when one of their own got 
injured, and not a single soul she knew off, has ever survived the blood rage 
of one of these creatures once its anger was triggered. 
Although it wouldn’t kill her, it would make damn sure she was close to it. She 
knew she had to hide, and quick. The girl looked down at her arm. It was 
horribly twisted. She bit her lip from crying and as painful as it was to move, 
she forced herself to crawl away as softly and quickly as she could. She 
hasn’t even gone a few paces when she heard the beast’s howl. Fear quickly 
replaced her pain-stricken face. There was nowhere for her to hide. 
She managed to half crawl; half pull her body towards the boulder lying only a 
few yards away from her. Sweat dripped down her face. She knew if the 
creature found her now, it would all be over. 
As carefully as she could, she managed to push her back up against the 
enormous boulder whilst her eyes were shut closed. The pain was almost 
unbearable, but she knew she could handle it- she was used too much, much 
worse. 
A second later, branches went flying over the boulder as the creature leaped 
unto a rock close by. She held her breath and waited. The creature too fell 
silent. She felt her heart beat faster. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t 
use her abilities because she was too exhausted. The creature would have 
her before she even got that far. So she listened, but heard nothing. 
With all her courage, she peered around the corner of the boulder. Her eyes 
widened with fear. The creature was gone. That’s when she felt it. Something 
was breathing down the back of her neck. Her entire body froze. She knew in 
an instant what it was. 
As she forced herself to turn, she could already picture its black, hairless face 
smiling down on her. There was nothing she could do now. It was all over 
now. Hot tears began to fall down her cheeks. She couldn’t bring herself to 
believe it. All those months of planning, every little detail, everything. All was 
lost. She was going to be taken back to that place of hell. The very thought of 
it send shivers down her spine. 
Her eyes locked on the black lidless eyes of the creature. A silent scream 
escaped her lips before scorching hot pain ripped thought her body once 
more. Her vision began to blur, but right before darkness clouded her 
existence, she thought she saw a shadow move behind the creature. 
Somewhere, where the light of the sun is cloaked underneath a blanket of 
black mist, a tall figure stood staring out onto the dark and dreary wasteland 
that stretched as far as the beginning of the Fire Mountains, nearly 300 miles 
away. Everything inside the gloomy land, the foul stench of rotten flesh, fumes 
and smoke filled the air. It was a dead smell, and it was in this dreary land that 
nothing grew and no living thing dared to enter. 
It was the land of the dead, the boundary to the other world, a world where the 
creator of death and destruction, of hate and lust, of complete chaos and 
disarray ruled those black hearted souls who have passed on and into his 
fiery dominion. 
It is here, in the boundary where creatures of unimaginable horrors, ruled 
under the Dark Lord’s knight, stalk the land. They were the Dark Lord’s 
daemons warriors, and all under the command of the Black Knight, he who 
exchanged his soul for immortality so many, many years ago, to serve the 
Dark Lord for all eternity. 
There among the beasts, thousands and thousands of slaves, all chained to 
the neck and ankle, worked in the coal mines and gruel pools. Many were 
children, some even as young as five years of age. The people lost all hope a 
long time ago. All they had to look forward to was death, and the Dark Lord 
who would torture them for all eternity. They worked like empty vessels, their 
humanity crushed by the brutality of their captors. Those who didn’t follow the 
Dark Lord’s way, was immediately slaughtered, usually in front of a big crowd, 
to send fear and terror into those who witnessed the killing. 
The figure turned away from the window, an icy breeze blowing long strands 
of blond hair in front of his dark eyes- those eyes that were as blacker than 
the night. They held no compassion, no mercy. They were empty and dead, 
just like his soul. His dark mantle danced around his black boots as he walked 
towards his enormous throne, made of marble and black dragon tears. He 
wasn’t in a good mood. The girl, the only key to free the Dark Lord from his 
imprisonment, has managed to escape. 
The report of the Gourak’s failure, the creatures that were sent to bring her 
back, had been most upsetting. So much so that he had killed the messenger, 
and three guards who stood nearby. 
He was furious. The Dark Lord would be most upset about the news. He 
feared the Dark Lord. He knew what the Dark Lord could do to him, and he 
was powerless to do anything about it. That too is why he needed the girl. He 
had discovered a way to free himself of his contract with the Dark Lord, but 
not only that, he had found a way to get the power of the Box of Saldor, a 
mystical box with a power sealed inside it that would be even greater than the 
Dark Lord’s and all his power combined. He would be the ultimate god, but for 
that he needed the girl. She was the key to finding the box and unlocking its 
power. 
The very thought of her send new waves of anger pulsing though his veins. 
He needed that girl. At that very moment someone stepped inside the dimly lit 
room. “They are ready,” the voice said. 
The Black Knight looked up, a wicked smile spread across his face. “Good,” 
he said sounding very pleased. “Set them loose and follow their lead. Once 
they have tracked her down, bring her to me.” 
The man gave a deep bow. “As you wish, my Lord.” With that the mysterious 
cloaked man left the room. 
The Black Knight began to laugh, his evil laughter echoing down the empty 
hallways. “Soon, very soon I’ll have you back.” 
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*
And that’s that for this chapter. I know the first two chapters were a bit short. 
From now on the chapters will be much longer. I have a very good idea for the 
next chapter. Hope you enjoy the story so far. Still looking forward to reviews. 
Lielie