The Roar That Returned – A Story for Every Fighter

In the vast silence of the savanna — where heat cracks the earth and winds carry the secrets of survival — a lion once ruled. His name was Asani.

He wasn’t just feared. He was respected.

His roar didn’t just signal strength; it declared justice. Balance. Honour.

The Roar That Returned – A Story for Every Fighter

But even the proudest king can fall.

One blood-red dusk, with his flank torn from a battle with a rogue buffalo, Asani lay wounded. Vulnerable. And that’s when the jackals came. Not one — six. Not brave — opportunistic. Not righteous — ruthless.

They didn’t challenge. They pounced.

They tore, laughed, mocked. Kicked dirt on his mane. Paraded his downfall like they had earned it.

But jackals know little of what lives in a lion’s chest.

As the savanna darkened and the scavengers declared victory, Asani lay still — but not broken. Beneath the stars, he remembered who he was. Not just any lion — the lion. A guardian of his land. A sentinel of the old order. A king by character, not just crown.

So he stood. Slowly. Painfully. Purposefully.

The jackals stopped dancing. They watched, stunned, as the lion rose from the dust they thought would bury him.

And then it came — not a roar of rage, but of truth.

It thundered across the plains, rattled the trees, silenced the insects, and shattered illusions.

Asani did not chase vengeance.

He delivered a message.

One by one, he moved through the jackals — no killing, no gloating. Just reminders. Of justice. Of limits. Of what happens when you mistake mercy for weakness.

By sunrise, the savanna belonged to the lion once more. Bloodied, yes. But unbowed.

Because kings fall. But they rise again.

And when they do — the land listens.

Let this story remind you: you may be wounded. Betrayed. Mocked. But your roar is not lost — only waiting.

Not every lion heart spares vengeance.

And I am not a lion.

I am something else entirely.

Brian AJ Newman, LLB

Employment & Human Rights Advocate

“I Stand So You Can Rise”