This is Me

Chapter One: No Pain No Gain

"No pain, no gain. That's what I heard him say". "These were father's last words. Roy what do you think about it? I have been searching for the pain and the gain. Of what relevance are these two words?" Roman questions Roy as they walk down the hill.

It is a cold morning, the dew softly touches the face of the earth as a distinct voice is heard from a far. A distinct voice turns to a chorus while the chorus turns to a song. The song goes thus

"Oh come on yee faithful, joyful and triumphant. O come in o come in to Bethlehem.

Come and be holy. Born the king of Angels. O come let us adore him. O come let us adore him. O come let us adore him Christ the Lord".

These voices are the voices of some devoted Christians singing along the majestic Bora hill.

Roy says to Roman. "Let's go join them. We need to have a prayer session. Having it with them will be magnificent." Roman declines and says "it's day break. We have to continue. Let's pray while we walk. After all, God answers all prayers no matter how small or big."

The hill is so wide and tall that they can only climb from one side. There is no avenue to go round it.

The two brothers continue their journey to Lukran City in search of the missing pieces of the "Team Puzzle, a key towards unifying their nation.

Lucas, another brave warrior had already completed his own journey for the search of the jigsaw and he is now on his way to begin his own unification process.

Walking through, a mild wind blows off. It is a type of wind that brings joy to the heart. Roman says "What a wonderful day today is going to be" as they both looked in each others' faces with smiles.

The two brothers progress down the sloppy hill. Roman spotted a pack of wolves at the base of the hill laying in wait for a majestic prey to grace their eating table. He holds his brother's right hand swiftly. Roy who is not too observant quickly gets afraid. He wants Roman's hands off as soon as possible. He takes a tumble in his quest to make Roman let go of his hands. Down Roy goes down the hill. Oh my! Oh my!! Roman shouts. Roy! Roy!. No! No!!. Roman also takes an intentional tumble after Roy.

They are now in the midst of the hungry pack of wolves and about to loose their precious lives. As warriors, they are determined not to go down without a fight. Roy draws his sword out of its sheath, finds a balance and takes a firm position to begin his defense. Roman is extra ready, he brings out his three angled pointed axe and takes a defensive position behind Roy. Both backing themselves ready to fight while protecting each others' rear.

Roman asks Roy; "Brother. It is going to be bloody. Are you set for this?" Roy responds saying; "You know what I stand for. Yes, it is going to be bloody. Our blades are about to consume blood."

The battle against these hungry wolves is so intense. Roman and Roy are trained fighters and it did not take them long to kill the wolves. Some wolves ran back into the wild.

Drenched in blood, they clean up themselves in a nearby stream, roast the wolves and a giant breakfast is on card. "What a great start to the day you predicted brother. Let's take some with us. You know we have a long way to go" Roy said. Roman replied, "Yes, that is definite, brother. We now have enough to eat and keep for our daunting quest."

"Hulalla! We're going home!"

Lucas said as he hugs one of his many mistresses on the shores of Bora. In his hands is a said complete Team puzzle which will serve as a guide on how to structure a new nation he hopes to name The Lucas Nation. "Off we return in joy. You are all heroes. Let us take the good news home. We are going home. From here we dominate the world." Lucas says boastfully.

He journeys back to Hudem, his native land where he hopes to expand his tentacles across all borderlands including Alberom. The ship starts moving and gains momentum, the journey back home has began. His voyage home is met with a pregnant cloud out of no where. The ship at the current state is far from any dry land. Lucas realizes that they were about to witness a harsh storm. "Brace up my gallant men, we face another obstacle here. We have faced more. My men. See this as another form of battle. We will overcome this one. Aiiiiiieeeeee" he encourages his men. His men respond in unison with the shout of the word: "Aiiiiiieeeeee Sir."

Within minutes a series of strong storm came in different but short sequences filling the ship with lots of water. Lucas' men were standing strong at all times. A time came when all men began to tire as this bad experience torments them from the early hours of the day till the afternoon. Lucas could barely hold up himself. He holds on to his puzzle tightly. One of his men knocks him out and place him on a boat to save his live as well as the hard earned puzzle. Lucas had to be saved while his men and everything in the whole ship sank slowly. Lucas woke up after 10 minutes. His consciousness understands the current situation. He knows he can no longer help his dead men. He let go and continues his journey to HUDEM.

Somewhere upland in the Bora forest that is as silent as a graveyard. One could barely hear anything. Even the sound of a needle making contact with the ground would be heard. The situation is like an empire in total silence. Neither the moves nor the footsteps of the two brothers could be heard as they continue their hunt for the puzzle.

The impact of the hot harsh sun is clearly evident on Roman and Roy.

"Whoa! You're a life saver" said Roy as he addresses his water bottle with so much delight on his face.

He turns to Roman while walking sideways saying "Do you remember what father always say to us? Do you big Roman?" Roman blinks his eyes trying to seek Roy to continue with the conversation. Roy continues saying "father said you see this world features a lot of beauty and ugly things. As a warrior, you have to stand your ground and defend your choice no matter what the situation may be". "I remember that line". Roman says with a smile but serious face.

A lone man in the middle of the see, Lucas starts reminiscing all the strange experiences he has been through in the voyage for the search of the puzzle which he continues to stare at as it is the only inspiration in his life at the moment. Night is drawing near and his journey home will take two more days. A sudden shout that will definitely rock the whales in the see is made by Lucas. He shouts loud with a shaky voice "why!!! But I'm almost home"

He keeps dueling on these words. His voice begins to descend as he continues to paddle his boat towards Hudem.

"Rhea! Rita!" An angelic voice cries out. It is the voice of Queen Vera, seeking the attention of her two pretty princesses as they play in one of the many beautiful gardens of Alberom..

"I hear momma's voice, let us dash in to see what she has for us" Rhea the older of the two says. Rita replies: "Momma always have good news. I am sure she has some goodies for us. I feel good already my dear sister"

The two young princesses happily run towards their mother, with lots of joys in their faces.

"Momma you called our names" says Rhea. "It is ready, your favorite pudding is set." Queen Vera says with a giggle. Princess Rhea and Princess Rita can no longer hide how they feel. The excitement is a pretty one with class. "Yummy, so delicious. momma you're the best" Princess Rita says as takes her first spoon. The two princesses took another spoon and said in unison "God bless you momma".

"I wish Papa was here" says Princess Rhea. Queen Vera quickly responds by saying "he will soon be here. Your father will be back with a bang. I know you have missed him. I have also missed my love, your pa, but he is coming back very soon. I know. I am sure of it."

The day is gradually growing old and the clouds begins to doze off as nightfall approaches. A victorious sound of the horn is made as the people of Hudem receives a positive message of the return of their supreme ruler. The sound points to the fact that Lucas is now in safe hands. The Hudem Navy had seen and in turn taken Lucas abode and off they embark on a short journey to the main Hudem castle.

The gestures of the people defines how happy they are to see Supreme Lucas come back to HUDEM. In a matter of hours, Lucas arrives HUDEM city to met a tense but happy environment. The atmosphere is tense because of the departed men and women that embarked on the quest while the happiness is about the success of the mission.

Noticing this Lucas quickly gives an inspiring speech:

"I am saddened by the loss of my men, our men, our women, our brothers, our sisters and our family. I want to let you know that they were unselfish. They laid down their lives for us to find peace, to expand, build and unify a better and greater nation. They were not ordinary men or women as we all think. They are heroes and legends. Let us pick up the barton they left off. We must not disappoint them. Their sacrifices must not go down the drain. We must be brave. We must build and unify these lands. If you're with me say aiiiiiieeeeee."

Every soul present responds passionately with the word "Aiiiiiieeeeee sir."

There is a positive change in the mood of the people of Hudem. Their supreme ruler has lightened up the atmosphere with his inspiring words.

The earth enjoys the physical energy from the full moon and a handful of stars rocks the dark sky. Looking at the moon, Roy says "Big Roman, I am sorry I am always reminiscing. We always play under the moonlight. Father told us some stories under the guidance of the moonlight." "Some of those stories can be extreme." says Roman. Roy replies saying "Very extreme. There were some scary tales as well. While some could be boring, others were so funny." The two brothers continue their talk until Roman falls asleep. Roy understands it is his turn to keep watch. At nights, the brothers rotate and keep guard in turns for four hours each. Roman is to take over the watch in four hours.

"Get up brother. it is morning time. We have to proceed with our mission". Roman says giving Roy a pat on his back as he (Roman) wakes up Roy. Roy swiftly jumps up saying, "Roman. You know I am always ready to rumble." Roman continues by saying "We have to complete the mission. We are close. Very close I must say. The peak will be here and the final battle is just hours ahead. Brace up brother. Brace up."

"Let's go Big Roman. Let us do the do. I am good to go."

Roman and Roy pack their bags. They continue their journey to Lukran which at this time is just hours away. Their path is so free. It is a easy journey to Lukran as they face no obstruction on the way.

Now that they are in Lukran, a mystical set up that is characterized by fearful and supernatural features.

"What is this place?" Roy asks Roman. Roman responds. "We're finally here. We are in Lukran."

Carefully and slowly they walk into Lukran. It is a mystical place as everywhere turns dark once anyone of them place his feet in the Lukran territory. Myth has it that everything physically turns dark for whoever steps into the Lukran territory. As soon as Roman and Roy step into Lukran territory, everything becomes dark that they had to lit their touches in order to navigate the dark path of their journey. This is the last pathway to finding the puzzle.

"We are finally here. So it is true what they say about the darkness here. This is unbelievable." says Roman.

Immediately after this pronouncement by Roman, a deep voice calls out saying "Roman! Roman! I have been waiting for you. Lay down your weapons. You're finally here. Come in here. Only you Roman. Your companion should wait for you right here." Roy is not comfortable with Roman going alone. He asks Roman not to go alone but Roman says he, Roy should wait for him. "I will be fine brother. Hold your ground and stand by."

The two hug themselves and off Roman goes deep into the Lukran world.

Roman is aided by the deep voice that continually guides him through the dark as there's no need for a touch.

"Stop stop! It's right here. What you came for is right there. Where you stand." says the deep voice.

Roman stops and lowers his head. What he stares at on the ground is the Team Puzzle. To Roman, the journey and search is so easy than he had envisaged. He reaches out to grab the puzzle but he heard; "Wait! Not yet. I am about to show you something."

Roman immediately sees an illusion on the puzzle. This illusion features a secret story about his father, Albert and Lua. He was shown the real life effects as they happened in his father's time as well as the type of death his father, Albert died.

Roman is so shocked and angry with this revelation.

"Pick it up and go and unify your scattered territories for good." says the deep voice.

Roman is still stunned by what he saw that he remains mute. Out he goes with the puzzle, meets Roy were he left him, and still stays mute.

"What is it? What happened?" Roy asks Roman.

Roman still does not say a word.