The speech was held in front of the Crone to a good-sized crowd and was greeted with applause and support. Afterwards, everyone went inside and was treated to drinks.
Hey everybody. I’m Shane, although most of you probably already know me. If you’ve lived here in Lower for a while, you’ll probably remember me as a young child. Well, I’ve grown up a bit, but I’m still the same person, a man from the streets here. I was lucky enough to survive growing up with little food and no money, but not all my friends were. I know what life here is really like.
If you live down here, you probably haven’t seen me around much lately. That’s because I’ve been trying to help our city. I’ve been using my sword to defend Sanctuary from our enemies, and what coin I’ve gathered has gone to freeing slaves. If you were here last night, you know that I was one of the first to arrive and help out with the fire in Canal Ward. Even so, I’ve realized that the way I can do the most good is to join the council.
On the council, I’d be able to represent the people from here, since I know what its like. I grew up down here, and I care about this place. I care about our home.
I want to continue to make Sanctuary safe from outside threats. However, I also feel that our city has an obligation to care for those inside her walls. It’s a tragedy to rescue children from the hands of drow slavers, only to have them starve on our streets! We’re all citizens here, and no one should suffer simply because of where they live. The hungry need food, and the poor need jobs. I’ll work for these things in council. Also, as a personal project, I’ll be looking into building a home for the orphans of Lower, a place where they’ll be safe and taken care of. Hopefully, that will only be the beginning of housing improvement down here.
Also, I’m not content to simply live out my life behind these walls. This is not where we belong, and neither is it where I’ll end my days! I look to the surface, and know that it can be found. Instead of cowering in fear, we should be looking for the way.
Many say that exploration will only bring trouble from our enemies. But first of all, they already know we’re here. Secondly, what further exploration will actually do is give us better knowledge of our surroundings, more military advantage, more resources, and the way out that we long for. Meanwhile… we attack every slaver caravan we find, and free our friends and families.
I know promises don’t mean much to some, so I’ll keep this short. I also know that I’m not one of these rich, knowledgeable politician types… but I don’t think that’s the type of person you want or need in the council. Sanctuary is our home… my home, and I care about it.
I’m looking forward to a new dawn for Sanctuary, and I ask that you join me.