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I see the way you look at me.
The fear, in some eyes. The hatred, in others. Mistrust, disgust, condescension, pity – I’ve seen it all. You see the curl of my horns, the lashing of my tail. The eyes you never learned how to read because they don’t look like yours. I see how, for so many of you, that’s all you see. And so you shun me, and those like me. You don’t look me in the eye. You touch your purse to make sure it’s still there after I pass you on the street. You don’t hire me, you don’t sell nice houses to me, you push me and those like me into your poorest neighborhoods and claim we’re there because of our own failings.
I see you.
I’m not angry.
You didn’t choose ignorance. You were fed it, from your childhood on. I understand. I don’t blame you for what you see when you look at me.
But I will make you see something else.
I will stand before you on the stage, a dress of pure white against my golden skin, ivory horns blossoming from night-colored curls, jewelry reflecting the light of the torches, and I will shine like a flame in the darkness, like a vision of hope in the midst of despair. I will open my mouth to sing, and in my song I will show you beauty, show you joy, show you sorrow and rage and passion, wistful yearning and quiet grief and wild rising hope, all the colors and depths and richness that life in the city lacks but that we crave nonetheless. I will give you what you desperately wanted and didn’t even know you were missing.
And afterwards… afterwards I will speak. Words of truth, words of power. Words that lay bare the corruption at the heart of this city, and words that paint the way to heal it. I will tell you about the quiet injured dignity of the people you never notice, the petty cruelties that crush those with no recourse, the daily insults and injustices that you yourself have learned to live with because what choice do you have, what choice have you ever had? I will name those who perpetrate evil through greed and lust for power, and I will name those who allow it through complacency and indifference. And I will offer you hope. Wild hope, absurd hope, real and solid hope. Hope that this city can be, should be, will be more than what it has been. And hope that against all belief, a tiefling can and will make it happen.
Yes. You will see something else. This, I promise you.
The fear, in some eyes. The hatred, in others. Mistrust, disgust, condescension, pity – I’ve seen it all. You see the curl of my horns, the lashing of my tail. The eyes you never learned how to read because they don’t look like yours. I see how, for so many of you, that’s all you see. And so you shun me, and those like me. You don’t look me in the eye. You touch your purse to make sure it’s still there after I pass you on the street. You don’t hire me, you don’t sell nice houses to me, you push me and those like me into your poorest neighborhoods and claim we’re there because of our own failings.
I see you.
I’m not angry.
You didn’t choose ignorance. You were fed it, from your childhood on. I understand. I don’t blame you for what you see when you look at me.
But I will make you see something else.
I will stand before you on the stage, a dress of pure white against my golden skin, ivory horns blossoming from night-colored curls, jewelry reflecting the light of the torches, and I will shine like a flame in the darkness, like a vision of hope in the midst of despair. I will open my mouth to sing, and in my song I will show you beauty, show you joy, show you sorrow and rage and passion, wistful yearning and quiet grief and wild rising hope, all the colors and depths and richness that life in the city lacks but that we crave nonetheless. I will give you what you desperately wanted and didn’t even know you were missing.
And afterwards… afterwards I will speak. Words of truth, words of power. Words that lay bare the corruption at the heart of this city, and words that paint the way to heal it. I will tell you about the quiet injured dignity of the people you never notice, the petty cruelties that crush those with no recourse, the daily insults and injustices that you yourself have learned to live with because what choice do you have, what choice have you ever had? I will name those who perpetrate evil through greed and lust for power, and I will name those who allow it through complacency and indifference. And I will offer you hope. Wild hope, absurd hope, real and solid hope. Hope that this city can be, should be, will be more than what it has been. And hope that against all belief, a tiefling can and will make it happen.
Yes. You will see something else. This, I promise you.