Dragon Flats borough

The Dragon Flats borough is a residential neighborhood in Republic City with a high population of nonbenders. Located south of the Green Meadows district at a river tributary, it is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city and a location where the triads normally compete over territory, allegiances, and new recruits.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 177.
Despite its high level of crime and poverty, the area also offers affordable housing of relatively good quality and harbors a tight-knit community with a strong support network. Accordingly, a significant number of industrial workers prefer to live in the Dragon Flats borough, and many migrants set up their first home there.
== History ==
=== Development ===
The Dragon Flats borough was set up as an affordable housing development. In 120 AG, Hiroshi Sato was born to a poor family in the borough.
At one point, a great storm caused major flooding in the borough, heavily damaging it. As few earthbenders and waterbenders had lived in the area to hold back the water or repair the buildings after the flood, the borough would have needed major investments by the city government. However, other districts were considered a priority by the authorities. With just enough funding for basic repairs, the borough became a slum. In turn, the triads moved in, developing a symbiotic-parasitic relationship with the Dragon Flats' population: The locals shielded the criminals from the authorities, while the triads provided money and other support for rebuilding efforts and general security. At the same time, the triads also engaged in turf wars and further worsened the Dragon Flats' reputation, making the borough even more dependant on the triads' investment. Thus, the Dragon Flats' developed into triad territory, considered dangerous by the Republic City Police and often ignored by other state agencies.
The city leadership often wanted to finally tackle the Dragon Flats' issues, but other projects and problems always cropped up, preventing a well-organized redevelopment effort. As years passed and the triads entrenched themselves more and more, the prospective costs of any redevelopment also continued to grow. Those who wanted to assist the area were forced to work alongside or even with the triads. Despite its increasingly notorious reputation, the Dragon Flats also developed into one of Republic City's most diverse areas, as its housing prices remained affordable to new migrants. The triads' infrastructure improvements and building projects also meant that the area's homes were often of better quality than the corporate-owned factory housing in industrial districts like Green Meadows, attracting blue-collar workers and their families.
The first crime group to assume control of large parts of the Dragon Flats was the Terra Triad. It dominated the area for an extended period, but was ultimately challenged and defeated in a major turf war by its former subordinate, the Creeping Crystal Triad under Jargala Omo. The Creeping Crystals entrenched themselves in the borough, gaining considerable public support through assisting local infrastructure projects.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 54.
=== Unrest during the Anti-bending Revolution ===
In 170 AG, Councilman Tarrlok orchestrated a raid on an underground Equalist chi-blocking training facility located in the Dragon Flats borough. According to his sources, there was a cellar underneath one of the borough's bookstores, where Equalists taught chi-blocking to nonbenders in secrecy. Tarrlok stormed the underground cellar with a task force consisting of waterbenders, earthbenders, and Avatar Korra, and they successfully defeated and arrested the assembled criminals.
Following the implementation of a new law that imposed a curfew on nonbenders, residents of the Dragon Flats borough took to the streets in protest. Police units were called to the scene, described by the dispatcher as an assembly of armed Equalists to be handled with caution. Team Avatar responded to the call, only to find ordinary citizens barricaded in the streets. The officers demanded that the residents disperse and return to their homes, but they refused, insisting that the electricity in the borough be restored. Accusing the nonbenders of being affiliated with the Equalists, Tarrlok ordered the round-up and detainment of all civilians present. Team Avatar attempted to reason with the police force and release everyone, but they were all, with the exception of Korra, taken captive for interfering in police operations.
=== Renewed conflict between Terras and Creeping Crystals ===
In the period after the Anti-bending Revolution, the Dragon Flats borough saw renewed struggles among the triads over territory and allegiances. Among them, the Terra Triad was one of the triads that had lately regained considerable power,Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 175. and attempted to retake its old turf under the leadership of Steely Ning.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 176. The Terra Triad's presence in Dragon Flats was centered on certain buildings, including the apartment building where Terra Triad lieutenant Wei Tia lives.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 178. The Creeping Crystal Triad also remained centered in Dragon Flats,Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Movers & Shakers, 2023, p. 37. and was accordingly unwilling to yield the area to its old rival. As part of its efforts to extend its influence, the Terra Triad sabotaged the Dragon Flats Reform School, trying to pressure its head teacher Akanah into a deal. Meanwhile, the Agni Kai Triad hoped to exploit the conflict between Terras and Creeping Crystals to extend its own power.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 55.
== Description ==
The Dragon Flats borough is one of the southernmost parts of Republic City. It is located somewhat inland, but directly adjacent to a river tributary, making it a flood-risky area. The majority of the structures in the Dragon Flats borough are low-rise, no more than two or three stories high. Most buildings share a common architectural style, consisting of a simple facade with windows, overhangs, balconies which face toward the street, and a flat roof. Certain houses, however, exhibit more temple-like features, including slanted roofs and curved eaves as opposed to flat ones. Most buildings are dark or dull in exterior coloration, following a color scheme based around gray. Interior coloration is generally more vibrant and often involves yellow paint. The front windows of houses are small and rectangular.
The neighborhood is packed tight with streets and alleys, and shops and restaurants, like the infamous Everything But The Dragon! curio shop owned by Lin Li. A martial arts training facility ran by Zhu Song is located in the Dragon Flats.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 185. Many of the minor roadways in Dragon Flats are narrow with small sidewalks; traffic is often very light. Power lines typically hang above the roads. Some of the borough's buildings are separated by small alleys, though very few of these pathways have anything to feature. The Dragon Flats borough has larger streets as well; these avenues are more prone to traffic, and trucks use them as primary roadways.
Sections of the borough appear dilapidated, as the money for repairs is squeezed by the Terra Triad, and it bears the signs and iconography of the triad all around. In contrast, areas held by the Creeping Crystals are in better shape, as the triad made some effort to win grassroots support by helping in repairs and infrastructure projects.
== Locations ==
* Ba Mi Tang Dumplings
* Dragon Flats Reform SchoolAvatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 53.
* Everything But The Dragon! curio shop
* Kya's Free Clinic
* Platinum Pool Hall
* Wei Tia's residence
* Zhu Song's martial arts training facility
== Notable residents ==
* Akanah
* Hiroshi Sato (relocated)
* Jargala Omo
* Kya (not permanently)
* Lin Li
* Mikomiko
* Paitong
* Ruo Ling (relocated)
* Sikkuak
* Steely Ning
* Wei Tia
* Xin
* Zhu Song
== Trivia ==
* Shiro Shinobi warned everyone over the radio to watch their steps in this borough as it had been an active territory of the triads. He advised anyone who was not a bender or member of the police force to stay away.
* It seems that the Dragons Flats borough is primarily an area where the lower to middle-class nonbender citizens reside, portraying a segregation between benders and nonbenders similar to that of the racial divides in 1950s America.
* The Dragon Flats borough is equivalent to Queens in New York City.DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan; Varney, Janet & Gabriel, Seychelle (July 9, 2013). "When Extremes Meet" commentary. Book One: Air Blu-ray.
== References ==
== See also ==
* Republic City
es:Distrito del dragón
fr:Quartier des Plaines du Dragon
nl:Korra:Dragon Flats district
pl:Smoczy Okręg
ru:Район Драконьих квартир
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Category:Legend of Korra
Category:Locations
Category:Republic City
Category:Settlements