[She has set herself up in a square, in the busiest part of Trench she can find. She's got the camera set up to view the fountain she's standing on. No water runs through it, though that won't be the case for long. It's just something old, something decayed - ignored. She is wearing a formal dress, and anybody who knows her will know that means she's on a mission.]
['Formal' Korra doesn't appear often - and it's only on occasions that she feels absolutely warrants it. The fact that she puts up a banner behind her says all the more - in this case a blue background with a curious symbol on it. Her friends will recognize that one, too.]
[She has her staff with her, too. It had started as driftwood she'd found when she first arrived in Trench, and further honed, shaping it with each of the elements in turn before coating it with metal-bending. She can make the metal change, of course, reshaping what's there as she needs. The only thing that doesn't change is a symbol around the middle, made in copper - highly purified metals cannot be manipulated by benders - with a symbol of the Southern Water Tribe.]
[In short, she has a plan, a mission, and is ready to make a statement. And she stands there, until a crowd gathers. When she speaks, it's without adornment, but with all the depths of her sincerity, the core of strength that she's held onto so long.]I want to tell you all about a dream. A dream of a better place. My world, it was one of nations - nations that fought, and warred, and conflicted for time untold. But then, at the end of a great war, my predecessor, the great Avatar Aang, helped create a new dream to replace what had been. He created the Republic.
[She hoists the banner.]This is its symbol! It stands for a world in which nobody holds power over anyone else! Where things for the city are done by the people
you want to be there! A
serious government, of
serious people - there to try and do good for all!
It's not perfect, but that's the thing - it always
tries. It's about trying to be better, about having laws and changing them if they are no longer fair, or to grant equality to those who haven't been given it before.
Here we are all ruled! Ruled by the Pthumerians! Ruled by blood magic! We are made to suffer, for their unguessable gain! To be hurt, transformed, killed! To see our loved ones killed, taken from us! I ask you: is this
fair? Is it not sadistic?
Should it not be opposed?
I call for the formation of a Republic of Trench! A fair society, to protect all of us, equally. Those of us with power should -
must! - use their power to defend those who cannot do so themselves! To stand against any who would impose their will, their changes, on you! Even the
pretend gods. I've seen the fall of gods before. I have pulled one down with my own hands! I got there with help, with the aid of those who were part of that Republic.
[There is a pause, and she raises her staff, the end of it reforming into a spear, half again doubling its length.]I dedicate my strength to your defence! To the defeat of the Pthumerians and whatever allies they may have! Together, we can make a better tomorrow! We can make a Republic for us, for those who come after! It may take years, it may take generations - but if we all work together, no power in the universe can stand against us forever!
[A voice calls out from the audience, mocking, asking at what ambitious price her efforts will come.]I swear here and now, not to do any more than help. I do not want, nor will I seek, a position of power over anyone. I will lead only so much as I am asked - and when the Republic comes, if I live to see it, I will not hold a position of authority within it.
[That quiets the heckler, and causes a bit more of a stir. Avatars like Korra radiate sincerity - because they don't know any other way to be. They don't know who else they could possibly be.]A world of laws, a world of
hope - a world in which we can live without pain. That is what I wish to help you build. I'll answer any questions you might have. And as a first step, before I leave? This fountain will flow again, you have my word on that.
My name is Korra! I am the Avatar, my calling - my very life - is to push back against chaos and pain and destruction. Call on me, anytime, for your defence! I
will answer.
Long live the Republic![A number join in the call, repeating many times as there is applause in her audience. Others, of course, turn away - especially among the pleasure-seekers. Which she expected - people barely alive, in her view, living in a terrible twilight without purpose. She seats herself on the edge of the fountain as people come forward to ask her questions. Some basic, some detailed. Questions about laws, how to bring disparate peoples together. She answers what she knows, admits what she does not. Finally, when they are all done, she turns to the fountain, picking up a bucket of water which she sloshes into it. She takes a deep breath, centering herself, and the moves, body shifting from side to side, hands moving in a gentle circle. The water swirls, spiralling up to speed, and then she brings her arms down, the water gushing down into the drains, spearing deep into long-clogged pipes and dislodging the detritus that has long stopped it. There is a slight rumble, a bit of a rattle, and then water begins to flow. A bit dirty at first, as sediment and time is displaced - but the water flows again.]
[She leaves the banner, picking up the viewing stone, taking a deep breath. That's that, really.] ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
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