Demise

“being number two is just being the first to lose” I remember when I first heard this line in drake’s song. At first, it sounded like something out of philosophy, a great saying to swear by in life. to always win. Never even think of losing. Yet at some point you think, maybe number 2 is not so bad, I was just one spot away from winning. That is when you truly lose. Everything goes down as that thought comes into your mind. That thought is what brings comfort when we should be far from it. Comfort is what will make you stop. Yet once you win once. You want to do it all the time. That is why it’s important.

This is a thought process as old as time. Thousands of years ago when almost everyone was ruled by kings or queens, there was an emperor. This emperor had sworn his life to the goal of total world domination. Being in control of every piece of land present on this planet. He had dominating kingdoms on all continents. The entire world was scared of him. So much so, that they would place “The great” before they said his name each time. There were books and stories written about him. In some of his kingdoms that he did not visit as much, there were legends about him, made by the people.

In this powerful position, it felt like no one could touch the man. Except for one. The empress of the islands quickly gained power and territory in this world. To almost reach the territory of comparison and competition to the great emperor. Yet the great never really seemed to pay attention or try to work against this competitor. As his advisors and Nobles would come up to him and try to point out the issue, he would simply ignore them and say, “I have too much control for her to challenge my kingdom.” This thought worried those residing in his land.

As time passed and the empress continued her quest for land, she finally reached the border of the great emperor’s kingdom. The emperor simply sent his army to block the crusaders in their tracks and bring back their weapons. So that the emperor knew what he was dealing with. Yet the problem was that even though the great emperor owned almost half the land on the earth, the other half was not his yet. The crusaders he had sent out were not as effective as they got older. The empress knew this fact and was trying to use it to her advantage.

The great emperor was entirely oblivious and ignorant to the fact that his empire was not expanding and had become stagnant. Or maybe even worse, his empire had begun to lose territory. The emperor became so comfortable living in his big city, with prosperity around him, that he stopped taking care of the entire kingdom. Those that lived in the city with him, did not know or care for those that lived in faraway territories. They were under the attack of the empress. She conquered without fear as she saw that the great emperor was not so great anymore.

There it was. The great Emperor lost his entire kingdom except for his capital city. From a majority of the world to just a small part of it. His comfortability was his demise. As time went by he finally decided to go around to the other parts of his kingdom, yet he could not because there were none. This fact registered in his brain. The shock felt by him was unmeasurable. Large enough, he died of shock.