Written by Alan Ng
Edited by Jenkin Au
Photography by Alan Ng
Through one’s ideologies or beliefs, the birth of an empire begins with emptiness. A single event by the originator sparks and this triggers the continuation of further acts surrounding the initiated goal. It starts with the gathering of others and through this process, the greatest is chosen to represent the people of this empire. The process of elimination comes to play in choosing the best of the best to represent the identity of the empire. The inspirations and messages from the leader transforms into an active aura. As the people on the top weave out the deviants from the crowd, the ones that are turned away becomes the enemy, holding grudge against the ideologies that they have once believed and fought for. As the proper amount of working hands are accumulated for the stabilization of an authority, the empire is born.
As the empire continues to grow, the image and power of the culture that is formed within becomes the utmost level of importance. The proper balance of the appropriate level of image and power is the base foundation for the future of it all. The image of an empire dictates the impression of outsider’s view against it. Whether or not they wish to hold respect, give support or initiate truce; the identity is a crucial factor. Associations with one’s identity within another must be made carefully as once two forces join hands, they will begin to share an equal impression by the masses. The effect that an empire can create announces its true abilities to create a different impact upon the world that we live in. The status of one’s power could be foolishly announced, which holds no true value. When one’s strength is truly desired and looked upon, that’s the start of a culture that will be remembered eternality. The culture created becomes much more than the ideas – it becomes a way of life. This lifestyle is then cherished greatly by all those associated to the empire.
The large scale expansion begins shortly after with the establishment of one region. As the empire solidifies a specific area, the takeover continues and the empire reaches a pivotal point with their status. As the leaders continue to draw more and more followers by spreading their beliefs, this process of extension becomes a thriller. The excitement is spread through individuals who could in fact become an aid to the expansion process. However, this becomes a risk as the interpretations of the messages are changed as they are delivered through the ranks. As the original words from the originator travels to greater and greater distances, the power constantly increases while the image of the empire is held at steak due to flawed misunderstandings that happen in between the conveyers and the receivers.
In this massive empire, there is now somewhat of a divided congress within it. While the leaders celebrate upon their well-conceived image and hard fought power, they are in the positions of danger as they have forgotten about the past. The ideologies and beliefs that they had once thought to be divine are now altered through the passing of time in conjunction with many minions which all hold their own particular views of the original message. On the surface, they could all be possibly fighting for the same ruler. However, inside each and every single one of these believers hold a different depth of vision against the true aspirations of the formation of the empire at the first place.
As the alternative ideologies circulate around, people within the same empire draws out their swords. The failure of the authorities’ ability to maintain the consistency of the message ignites the sparks of complete chaos. Friends and foes can no longer be distinguished. Insanity strikes and people lose their identities. Not only do they forget about the main reason behind the formation of the empire in the first place, they have lost themselves in a field of misconceived messages.
The leaders of the initial empire strikes against the revolutionaries and it is at this point that they have finally understood their mistakes, but it was already too late. The confusion of all sides grow and the originators of the empire have entered the fight and they blend in with the rest in the battlefield. In the end, the battle of the different beliefs comes to an end. People realized that this minor deviation of the same initial idea isn’t worth all the sacrifices made.
Out of the originators of the initial empire, surprisingly few survived. These were the ones that have truly understood the beliefs and motives of the empire in the first place. Only they are able to start from scratch and the reformation of the empire begins all over again.
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