The Rise of Dark Moon Empire

If you had asked me where my home was, when I was younger, I would have told you that there were a lot of them. That was because I never really had a place I could label as, “home.” There were buildings I could return to after a long day, a few belongings I held on to for a short while, and some tangible items scattered throughout my life that were in my possession. None of those things, however, were ever really mine. I’ve had places that I lived in, beds that I slept on, and toys that I played with. I had objects that kept me entertained, but never a collection of things nestled into a place of my very own I could belong to.

I have had a handful of people in my life claim that in their presence, I was home. Then they would literally rip the rug out from under me, claim it as their own, and tell me I did not belong. Home never really held much meaning other than a physical structure I occupied for the time being. I got very accustomed to packing up and moving on. It wasn’t until the last displacement that I finally decided it was time to build a home of my very own.

In the midst of yet another chaotic downfall, from a place I once called my Kingdom, I decided it was time to construct my very own Empire. I was a fallen Knight with nothing but my horse, and a few scraps of food, to get me to the next stop. The fork in the road ahead gave me two options: I could take the easy route to the nearest town where I could settle in the next “for now’’ spot or I could take the unpaved path; the hardest path. The one that would take the longest. The one that won’t lead me to a final destination, but an unrelenting journey. One that would require work, dedication, and a whole lot of faith. A path that would probably cause me to get lost more than a few times. One that would have many trials and tribulations, and one that would require a large amount of strength. Eventually, it would become a place I could call my very own.

So, I pulled on the reins of my life, faced that horse to the right, and took off to the unknown. I took the long road of self discovery, alone. Each step brought me further down that unrelenting path. I walked through each space of the world within until it brought me to an old abandoned shack. Once inside, I opened up every door and window to let the air in and the darkness out. I tore down all the old drapes and replaced them with my favorite colors and patterns. I painted murals across some of the walls and busted through others to make more space. I replaced the old appliances with new ones, filled the rooms with comfortable furniture, and decorated the shelves with trinkets I collected along the way. I recemented the foundation to keep the building in place, then ripped off the shingles and layed down fresh ones. I added rooms and levels, turning that run down shack into my very own castle.

Like any house, there is still some remodeling that needs to be done. As the building grows, the sturdiness of the foundation continually needs to be improved. Sometimes the windows crack and the stone needs mending. It’s a lot of work, and sometimes I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to continue to rule over it, but it’s still mine. I am a warrior, turning herself into the Queen, as I revel over the slow rise of my Empire. Sometimes outside forces attempt to bring it down, but everyday I continue to fight for it. One day I hope to rule over it with ease and peace, but right now my armor remains intact and ready to be slipped on at any moment. Even a Queen must always be ready to fight, to protect the home she built all by herself.