#;atman

Character solidifying questions!

9. What about political beliefs?

In broad terms, Kuvira is an autocratic, militaristic, progressive nationalist; while the government and military are separate, they are organized along similar lines, with a clear chain of command leading up to her as the emperor as the supreme military commander and head of state.  In her eyes, dividing political power among many people is like splintering a perfectly cut diamond; everyone gets a piece, but even all together, it’s not worth a fraction of what it was when it was one.

Her goal in governing is eliminating irrationality wherever it exists; where the ruler of a province was once selected by heredity or by popular vote, they are now chosen by competitive, anonymous examinations designed to be as objective as possible.  Regressive practices that hold back progress and promote evils, like gender segregation, foot binding, slavery, hereditary class, serfdom, and non-judicial castration are abolished as soon as practicable.

Lastly, she’s a nationalist in that she believes all acts should be directed towards the good of the (nation-)state, and that service to the state is the best way for a person to reach their highest potential.

18. What did they find abroad, and what did they remember?

In terms of countries with absolute sovereignty, she’s been to the Earth Kingdom/Empire, with its many tributary states, and the United Republic.  During her three years of campaigning in the Earth Kingdom, she found a state so tied to backwards ideas and customs resented by the actual people of the nation that reforming the old government was a fool’s errand.  It wouldn’t be enough to remake it from the ground up; she would have to scour the very foundation of the old ruling state from the earth to give the nation any hope for the future.

Bolin's official position in the Earth Empire's Army is Kuvira's batman, or soldier's servant.  The duties of a batman include:

acting as a "runner" to convey orders from the officer to subordinates -his first appearance in the book is delivering news to Kuvira regarding the states agreeing to join the provisional government.

maintaining the officer's uniform and personal equipment as a valet

driving the officer's vehicle, sometimes under combat conditions

acting as the officer's bodyguard in combat -he is a skilled earthbender and the world's only living lavabender.

other miscellaneous tasks the officer does not have time or inclination to do