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Vanguard was just about gone, scattered like ashes in the wind. After what'd happened at the Silverwing Gala, Dimitri would have its name wiped from the history books. All of its members were executed for what Riker pulled. It pissed her off, and while she thought Riker had struck too soon, she couldn't bring herself to be mad at the man. He fought and died for what he believed in, and for someone who'd grown up as a soldier, there was honestly no better way to go. It was a shame he had to leave Sybaris worse for it.
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Today was the summer championships for duelists and Felicity Stadium was completely filled to the brim with fighters and those looking to see who'd come out on top. Despite everything that'd happened in Delphi since the Silverwing Gala, everyone sought some way to escape it all, and these people wanted to see them fight. To prove who was the most skilled amongst the duelists of Delphi.
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Just as with every year, Val found herself amongst the participants. It was all like a big show, where everyone was hyped up and rivalries, whether fabricated or real were played upon for the "ultimate showdown" esque event. Val would have an opportunity to speak her mind to the people here today, and she very well meant to. Only, she didn't care whoever she was fighting for this match, she only had one message she wanted the people of Delphi, and specifically Sybaris to know. That Vanguard won't be forgotten.
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She'd managed to avoid the repercussions of Riker's duel thanks to her distance from Vanguard, but she couldn't just stand idly by and let her friends just die and lose it all. She'd sat by for long enough, letting the tides of Sybaris eb and flow around her whilst she rotted away in her corner.
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For a long time, she'd given up on the world, on herself. It wasn't until she met Riker and his motley crew that she realized there was more she could do with her life. That despite losing everything she had, she could rebuild, she could make something else of herself, That she could do good, if not for herself, then at least for other people.
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Vanguard was looking to make a change in a coven full of fat cats and gangsters. They were up against an impossible wall to climb and yet they never backed down, they never yielded. She'd thought it was hopeless once upon a time, and well it still felt hopeless, but she couldn't just let their sacrifices be for naught. She couldn't just let them be swept under the rug. Not when victory had seemed too close.
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Valentina takes the microphone from the announcer and stamps down on the ground, defiant eyes up at the crowd. "Listen up! I want to tell you about a group that's done more good for Tartarus than most of the companies in Sybaris combined! The people like Dimitri and his puppeteers would have you forget the name Vanguard, but I won't let that happen! I won't let the good they've done be forgotten!"
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"Today, I fight in honor of Vanguard, Riker, and everyone else who's lost their lives simply because they wanted to see a change in Sybaris. Vanguard was a shining jewel in the mud that's Sybaris. Helping the downtrodden in Tartarus when nobody else would! They sought to make a change and it scared the bigwigs in the Lamia Towers because they were afraid of losing their power over us! So they struck down Vanguard, labeled them traitors for seeking change. They want their ideals to die, to seem impossible. They don't want a challenge to their power, to the status quo! Well, I say don't let them bring you down, don't let them burn your hope! Sybaris is a company made up of average people of Delphi, of people like you and me! Don't let the rich elite trick you into mindlessly following. Question them! Improve yourselves! Don't fall into complacency! Vanguard and its ideals still live through you, through all of us and nobody can take that away!" What'd started out as a simple mention had gotten a bit out of hand, but she felt it had to be said because nobody else felt like they could. She didn't care if it painted a target on her back, because she didn't have any more to lose.
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Riker had done what he could and he was gone now, along with what progress he'd made. She couldn't just let his dreams be snuffed out. Someone had to pick up the torch. So now she was stepping up to bat, and she had a mean swing.