"To those who do not know me, my name is <b>Tanya Volkov</b>. Vigilant of the Shimmering City, and one who has spilled blood, and has had blood spilled, in her name. I am currently running for the position of Magistrate, that our dearest Malia abandoned and handed off to someone in a manner most.. Unofficial."

The woman stands tall and firm, a lithe build with minute musculature beneath her frame. Her amber gaze pierces forwards, looking out across the gathering with a dull, flat expression. She does not seem afraid nor nervous, and instead merely waits for a moment as if her name was all that they needed to hear.

"My deeds are few and my reputation small, but my ambitions defy that expectation. I have spoken to many of you already on my thoughts and beliefs of Osrona, yet a thousand times will I repeat myself until this message is laid clear and bare throughout not just Osrona, but all of Esshar. It is my belief, simply put, that we, as a people, have stagnated. When Barsburg threatens and looms on the horizon, when monsters, both demon and otherwise, scour our borders for their next meal, we have, as a people, grown content."

Her lips curl into a frown, though it's not severe - Moreso a gentle tug at the corners. Her eyes close, and her hands unfurl from her back, one of them aiming to pull at her sleeve. It's tugged upwards, revealing the hints of wounds long past. Piercings of what appear to almost be teeth, blackened and bruised flesh that spiderwebs like shadows along further parts of her body. A battle scar, with some kind of shadowy fiend, perhaps?

She inhales, slowly, before rolling the sleeve back down. It was a single message, a showcase that she had indeed bled in aid of the city.

"It is not Osrona's problem when I say this, but all of Esshar's. We stand here, idle and willing, sitting on our hands at the bridge, at the mines south of here, waiting for the next beast to showcase itself that we may throw ourselves into battle against it. We keep our eyes open, but our hearts closed. Many of you know what lies on the horizon, that there is much worse than just simple occultic monsters out there. Many of you share sentiments with this magic, and it is not my intent to berate nor judge."

"It is my intent, however, to speak out against the way that we have been treated. Osrona was all but <i>destroyed</i> so many years ago when Asta Hargrave lead her Teraphim here to 'neutralize' us. When my parents were slaughtered and when our home was torn asunder. The Royalists, where are they now, but hiding away and pretending we do not exist? Where are the <i><b>murderous</b></i> Teraphim, but going into hibernation to pretend their war crimes do not exist?"

She scowls, actively, though it fades as soon as it forms. She inhales, slowly, a hand coming to pull wayward hair from her eyes. She breathes, inhaling slowly, exhaling even more slowly. Her lips purse, and she's quiet for a moment. Perhaps it was a controversial statement.. Or perhaps it was something many of Osrona already considered truth?

"They killed not just our people, but our very way of life. They destroyed everything, and left us in the dirt and mud, and laughed, and told us 'pick yourselves up, for we have become your Salvation'. And in that salvation, what did we find but our own bootstrings, pulling ourselves up, relying on one another and building back what modicum of our lives that we could manage?"

"Osrona, we have survived this far from our own ingenuity and hardiness. The Petrakis line, the royal families of Osrona have all showcased their cowardice and fear when they buckled and ran away. This is the Shimmering City no more, but I do not wish us to be a mere ruin of our former image. A meek existence carved out of stone and dirt and blood. Through these, we can achieve greatness."

Tanya glances out, before letting her eyes rest for a brief moment. A hand rests gently against the hilt of her blade, placed perfectly within her personally made scabbard. Dark, dull blue, highlighted with accents of gold. When she opens her eyes, she almost seems reinvigorated, voice once more echoing throughout the streets.

"My goals are simple: A reformation in terms of recruitment for the Vigilant Watch, to make it a proper policing force as well as a defending militaristic force pitted to protecting Osrona - Not for war, but for protection of our home. Likely, a closer tie-in with the Church itself in order to accomplish this goal, and a better system of checks, balances, and rewards for offering your blade of stave to the cause. To defend Osrona itself should be enough, but here we are, barely a pittance within the Watch."

"And, of course, this campaign is not strictly and entirely about bloodshed and violence. I seek to increase the safety and reliability for our traders and craftsmen, and their safe passage across the roads that take them to the far reaches of Esshar. We live now in relative safety, but must so often tip toe amidst eggshells. Attempt to hide ourselves when the beasts outside our walls come meandering by.."

She smiles, finally. Just barely.

"For Osrona, I have seen survival, and it is not a pretty image. I have told many, <b>many</b> of you this same thing before."

She pulls a fist upwards, pressing the wristguard and gauntlet against her chest, right over her heart. Right against the bright blue amulet that she always wears, pressing into chainshirt and bumping the scabbard of her sword.

"What we have done thus far is survive. But we can remake Osrona in a new image. No longering the Shimmering City, but the City of Giants, the Kingdom who, unwavering, built themselves back up and looked our captors and slaughters in the eyes and, through our own way of life, rebuilt everything from scratch. The Teraphim, the Royalists; They do not care about you. They care only about their petty whims. It is my belief that without them, without this 'coalition', Osrona.."

She pulls her fist down, arms moving to clasp behind her back. She grins, quietly.

"We will not <i>survive.</i> We will <b>thrive</b>."

<small>"I'll accept a few questions if there are any."</small>