Speaking to the People

[Peridan]

Fliers go out among Aquor's population, and a man garbed in black has been seen at public places, speaking words to their effect:

"My brothers and sisters. My people, my fellow Sundarians:

We are survivors. That is, we have survived plights that make the rest of Faerun look like a paradise in comparison. We have survived the Bloodmaim Wars, the resurrection of dark gods, the destruction of our homes and families. And what is more, we have survived it all with a firm heart and a steady hand.

This valley was discovered by Mundus the Wise. He was the one who scried it; he first formed the government to protect its people, and it was his will that led us to the creation of the laws of Tyr and Torm, designed to offer justice and fairness to all, regardless of circumstance. And that law was protected.

When the Bloodmaim first attacked a hundred years past, we had our champions. We had the Three, the Harbingers of Sundren. Wrath, Justice, and Judgment. With fire in their hearts and strength untold, they held the line. Even when one of their own fell and the Arbiters were slain, the Harbingers protected this nation. When Aquor and Avanthyr were razed to the ground, more Arbiters were elected and the Harbingers continued to serve and protect us.

They were not alone, either. The Legion, born from the initial conflict between the Veritas and the Red Blades, was there every step of the way. They were the guardians, the protectors. They supported the champions, because they were the people: they were protecting their homes, their families. And so it was that the Legion grew, until we had twelve of them, mighty and guiding. They helped the people rebuild, to thrive and grow. All this, according to Mundus' will left to the Hands, both Right and Left.

Know that the Hands were even governed. They voted, they had councils, and they were in balance between innovation and control. As magic should be, as it was meant to be.

But my people, things have changed. No longer does the government have balance. No longer does the Legion fight for the will of the people. No longer do the Hands balance between two opposing forces in harmony. Today, I submit to you, Sundren is sick. It is cancerous, and its diseased hand stretches towards Aquor. Towards your families.

Towards you.

The Second Bloodmaim War saw the destruction of the Arbiters. The vanishing of the Harbingers, and the death of the Legion we once knew. And now, the annihilation of the Hands as were envisioned by Mundus himself.

Mundus' will has been replaced, my brothers and sisters. The vision that enshrined the qualities of justice, fairness, and mercy has been shattered and crushed under the heel of the Emperor. He has ursurped the governance of the Arbiters. He has declared martial law, revoking the rights of the people that are under his 'protection'. He has turned the Legion into oppressors, rather than protectors. He has destroyed Sundren.

But, those are only his smaller failings. His largest one, was failing you.

His Legions have been holed up in their floating City for years, now. Protecting the Emperor's interests, by shoving refugees into Cheapside. By refusing them access to the pristine portions of the City. Do you know how they can get there? By getting work permits. That's the only way, my friends. They are allowed to drag themselves from their hovels, at the crack of dawn, and taste the sweeter air of Aspirations only to work until dusk. Then they are shipped back to their shacks.

And let's not forget the way the entire way the valley has had to survive on its own for these years. Without the protection of its own brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, the valley has had to survive by any means necessary. And those of us who had the means, did so. The Meriadocs single handedly created a safe haven for its people. Mirakus even allowed the people around it to live and work there. Even Sestra, may the gods curse their black hearts, have created a comfortable prison for its folk.

But what has the Legion done for Aquor? When it was ruled by the Aurilites, they did nothing.

When it was controlled by the Black Hand, it did nothing.

When wars erupted in and around it, they did nothing.

And now, now, they come with a regiment of soldiers. Claiming that they somehow leased the land to the Thayans. Do you know what that is, my friends? Complete and utter bullshit.

Whatever legality those papers might have once had died when the Arbiters did. They lost credence, like the Legion did when it abandoned you to your own devices. They are worthless, like the promises of the Emperor are now, years after he has single-handedly destroyed the vision of Mundus.

Do you know why, now, of all times the Emperor wishes to be here? Do you think it is because he now wants to protect you? As opposed to when the Aurilites invaded, when the Black Hand took over?

I'll tell you: because you have something he wants. You have access to trade in Icewind Dale. You have the key to his treasury, my friends. You have the magic answer to his greed.

I cannot say for certain who should be elected. I am but a mage, exiled for crimes I personally never committed. For which I recieved no trial, and for I was punished without knowing the charge.

I only ask you, my fellow Sundarians, not to give in to the fear the Legion instills. Nor to the false hope it promises. I only ask that you stand on your battered limbs which have survived war, death, and injustice, and declare loudly that you will not give in quietly, that you will not believe the honeyed promises of a Legion looking to obtain your home, that you will stand against the injustice, the tyranny, the falsehood that you have always held was the opposite for which Sundren stands!

Long live Sundren! Long live Mundus!"

[sonuvalich]

Sandro walks about the city, tearing down "Vote for Tyranus" flyers and tossing them into the bonfire in the center of Aquor while hoping silently that Kossuth does not take offense to the "offering." As he reaches to pick up more papers from the ground, he pauses to read one that is not covered in crude drawings and drivel. Slowly, a smile creeps over his face as he silently mouths passages to himself. A stack of propaganda falls forgotten from his hands as he approaches one of his Knights, returning the precise salute with a distracted nod.

"Knight, I need you to find whomever is responsible for these dissertations. You may take a small group of men and gnolls to help you canvass the city if you require. When you find this mage, I want him or her brought to me immediately. Do not harm this person, but strongly convey my insistence that this summons is not to be denied. I believe we may have found the key to winning this farcical election legitimately and transparently...oh, and if you see the dwarf I want him fined for littering."

[Jhickey]

*A man cloaked in dark garb stops to listen to these rumors for a few moments before moving north into the mountains*

[Memnoch1962]

Dante Swift takes one of the posts. He walks over to a table near the fire where he and a dark haired elven woman had been sitting. He sits beside her closely and smiles as he hands her the parchment. "Here dear, I think you may find this interesting."

[roguethree]

A dark-haired man, plain of clothes and affects, loiters about the former noble resort, quite content to observe the powerful personalities jockeying for influence through plea and ploy.

[jarlexel]

Picks up a flier and read then closes his eyes focuses on the face and the conversation of that night. Slowly starts to chant a spell of Sending

Sir,
I am the one who put your face to memory as you gave me the finger as we argued over politics that night at the bond fire. You are an angry and bitter man but perhaps you have just reasons to be. There was truth in some of that rabble that spat from your mouth. I too have resigned from the Legion and service to the Emperor as so many priests and divine fighters of goodly gods already have. I would like to hear your tale and learn more, if you would Honor me. . . . .Sir.

[Peridan]

Andrew speaks to the people of Aquor once more, repeating his words in preparation for the oncoming elections:

Life has a habit of making fools of us.

We scheme, we plan, and we do our best to push our interests and desires forwards. And yet, seeming at the whim of fate or the gods, we find ourselves lost in the endless forests of uncertainty; the killing fields of our dreams, sacrificed for others, willingly or not. We are constantly being buffeted by winds out at sea, until we cannot tell where we are or where we want to go.

This is a truth we all learn at various points in our lives, my fellows. Some of us learn it young, some when we are older. But in all of us, we become wiser. We expect less. We learn to plan for failure. We are ground down by the winds of our years and experiences, until we no longer hold the dreams we once did in our youth near our hearts; in our souls. Jaded and bitter, we expect exactly what life delivers: hardship. Pain. Suffering. Destruction.

But I do not need to lecture you, people of Aquor, on this simple idea. You know it as well as you know the seasons, as well as you know your neighbors and as well as you know that tomorrow will bring more challenges that you must gird yourself against, to steel that man or woman you once were against the disappointments of life.

A man once said that to live is to suffer; to suggest otherwise is folly. He was half right.

Because my friends, to live is to suffer. But while this is true, it is folly to not suggest otherwise. We are more than that. We are the rocks against the storm. Because to wear something down, there needs to be something there to begin. There cannot be destruction of something that was never there to start.

Innocence is often confused with ignorance. Those who seek to destroy such in others in turn propose that it's just the absence of knowledge on how the world works. But I propose differently to you, people of Aquor. I propose that it is not simple ignorance, I stand here today and tell you that it is that rarest and strongest of human emotions.

Easily ignored, often forgotten, too easily put out.

Hope.

But it isn't extinguished for long, is it?

It is what gets us out of our beds, what makes us push ourselves that much harder. It is what gives the last burst of strength to a warrior in a hopeless battle, what comforts us in the dark hours of the evening when we are cold and alone. It fuels our passions, curbs our despair, and no matter how many times it goes out, it comes back like the glowing embers of a fire than cannot be extinguished.

Most importantly, it is hope that allows us to act. When we are afraid, when we cannot move in light of overwhelming force against us. It gives us something to turn the tide of fate and to beat back the storms of godly whims.

Because hope gives us a choice.

It gives us a choice to act, to protect what is ours, to fight against those who would take our desires and dreams away from us. We cannot win all the time, but that is not in the reality of the world we live. No, it can give us little victories. And once in our lives, it gives us a chance to do more. The chance to not simply go with the winds of fate because it is easy, but to go against them in spite of their difficulty.

One of those choices sits before you today, people of Aquor. Sufferers. Humans, elves, dwarves, hins, and gnomes. Goodly folks, who have too often been battered and hurt. You've had your hope taken too many times from you. The Black Hand took it, the Legion took it. They showed you a world where you could live, but ever in their own shadow, to be snatched away at their slightest whim. And they did, didn't they? Like fate or the gods they let the storms in, and you suffered because you chose to put your faith in them.

You now have another choice, people of Aquor. You have hope once more, and you need to ask yourselves where you will put your faith. In the Black Hand, controlling the puppets of Thay? In the Legion and nobility who left you here to rot?

Or will you make the brave choice? The courageous one. The one that the men and woman who once dreamed of a better world would have, before being beaten down by forces beyond your control.

I say to you, my brothers and sisters: have hope. Be brave. And know that even the mightiest of storms cannot tear down a mountain.