The Hunger Games Galaxies: District 4
The people of the sky, a world unlike any of the other galaxies… that's why Arcadia was chosen by the Gods as one of the original thirteen worlds. The people that lived amongst the islands in the sky, underneath the six bright moons, sometimes the envy of the other worlds. And yet, since the destruction of Soltis, they were the least populated of the worlds. That meant that every child in the world was entered into the initial Reaping, and an equal number of each were selected to make the journey half a world away to the designated neutral zones. Attendance was mandatory.
Yet, to some, like the Valuan Empire, the annual Hunger Games were nothing more than an obnoxious trifle. Even in the middle of a conquest, they were forced to stop, lest they face the Gods' wrath, but their compassion for those who were chosen didn't extend beyond their own greed and thirst for more land, even when an Upper Class tribute was chosen.
Not one person in all the world could hide. Anyone who did was blown out of the sky. Even the Blue Rogues, Black Pirates, and others who didn't live on society's rules, they all submitted the names of their children for the yearly reaping. Broadcast across the sky, the Elder Silvites were the ones who stood as the bridge between the Gods and Arcadia.
"Remember last year? They chose a boy from Esperanza, and a girl from Ixa'Taka," muttered Marco, as he sat on one of the special ships transporting tributes toward the neutral zone at Sailor's Island.
"Yeah… the girl did really well, too, she made the Top 8," muttered Aika, her hands shaking.
"Relax," said Vyse, smiling to his friends. "We may have been picked, but there's going to be over six thousand possible tributes. There's no guarantee that any of us will be picked."
The young captain smiled for the remainder of the tributes in the boat. From his own crew, he knew Urala, Hans, Marco, Fina, Aika, and even Vyse himself were all possible choices. Others accompanied them, for moral support. But it wasn't just the Crescent Isle crews that were travelling with them. They had a number of children from Pirate Isle as well, which left several heartbroken pirates back home while many of the wives accompanied their children to the Reaping.
"Um… I'm sorry for being ignorant," said Fina, quietly. "But… when was the last time District 4 had a victor?"
"Not too long ago, actually… a little less than a decade," said Aika. "In fact, wasn't his name Lawrence?"
Vyse flashed back to the cold, calculating mercenary he'd seen on Sailor Island during their last trip. Thinking back on it, it made perfect sense. His cold demeanor, his unwillingness to get close to people… had they really encountered the most recent tribute of the planet and not known?
The Gods, while strict on the Reaping, were much more lenient on the Blue Rogues especially when it came to actually watching the Games, so Vyse had rarely watched them in their entirety as they crew up. His mother would often try to shield him and Aika from the most violent scenes, and they'd find excuses to sail as much as possible otherwise.
"There is is," breathed Aika.
The port of Sailor's Island was busier than they'd ever seen it; larger ships were forbidden to dock in the harbor because of the sheer amount of people. So, they were instead put on smaller lifeboats, which cycled in and out as they dropped their passengers off. They saw everything from the grandiose and majestic ships of Valua to the red-and-brown vessels from Nasr, and even a tiny fleet of ships from distant Yafutoma and Ixa'Taka. There were only a couple of pirate ships that blatantly displayed their colors; most used the special, anonymous type of transport offered through the Gods.
"Do you think the Prince Enrique will be here again this year?" asked Aika.
"Even the sons and daughters of royalty are not immune?" asked Fina, gasping.
"Nope. And, actually, Enrique has been reaped every single year he's been eligible," said Vyse. "Some people are just unlucky."
They docked afterwards, and were quickly separated from the adults and youngest children. They registered in front of Polly's old tavern and were taken to a central street basically in the middle of the entire island. Temporary stands had been set up all over the place, and they were filled more to capacity. In front of them stood a screen. The Elder Silvites, Fina explained, never left their place on the Moon, so the Reaping was always done in this way. Around them, the strange devices that captured and projected their images to the other worlds panned the crowds, which fell silent as one of the Arcadia-based priests raised his hands for quiet.
"Welcome to the two-thousand-and-twelfth annual Hunger Games," said Elder Prime, his old, wizened voice blasting around the area. "As you are all aware, our district is charged with the task of selecting one courageous man and woman for the honor of representing all of District 4… however… there have been several changes this year…"
Everyone shifted uncomfortably. Changes were never good.
"First, and foremost: there will be no sponsoring of tributes this year," said Elder Prime. "And the second… well, it is one you already know, but the age restrictions have been relaxed, both higher and lower…"
A ripple of angry mutters ran through the crowd, but nobody said anything. None of the Peacekeepers, also stationed around, made any moves. But the citizens of District 4 knew better than that; twenty years ago, there'd been a riot when a pair of twelve-year-olds had been picked, and the stampede and firing from the Peacekeepers resulted in over two dozen dead and another fifty wounded, including one of the tributes.
"Therefore, it is with… great honor…" Elder Prime seemed to be struggling this year especially. "That… we choose our first tribute, the young woman."
He raised his arm to the bowl and withdrew a sheet of paper, unfolding it slowly. He peered closely at it, before his eyes rose back up to view the entire galaxy.
"Our tribute… single name… Urala, from Yafutoma," said Elder Prime.
A strangled shriek, quickly muffled, followed that. Urala trembled as Hans embraced her, tears already flowing down his cheek. The Peacekeepers moved quickly; they always had since the riot, trying to break up the lovers as quickly as possible. Fina also let out a sob and Aika turned away, her shoulders hunched, while Vyse felt his stomach churn and his fists tighten in anger.
"I volunteer," came a cool, cold voice.
Kirala stood between the Peacekeepers and her sister, her arms stretched out protectively around her and Hans. Her face was set hard and her eyes were narrowed in fury. They hadn't seen her that angry in a long time… if ever.
"We seem to have a volunteer," said Elder Prime, his face now taking up the whole screen as he leaned in. "Please, my dear, state your name."
"My name is Kirala. I accept the position as tribute, volunteering for my younger sister," she said, standing tall.
"Very well. Please approach the stage," said Elder Prime.
Urala, weeping, fell to the ground. Kirala didn't turn back to see her sister, nor to help. Instead, she marched straight to the stage and ascended the steps, glaring at the crowd as she waited for her male counterpart to join her. Vyse understood. There would be time, later, to privately say their goodbyes. Now, she had to stay brave, to show the rest of the worlds that she was not a weak one, and had no trouble fighting. In a normal year, this would have net her a lot of sponsors, but, with things different this year…
"Our second tribute… single name… Vyse from Crescent Isle," said Elder Prime.
Aika and Fina's shrieks were the loudest, but all of Vyse's current crew and former friends from Pirate Isle were screaming their displeasure and terror at the sound of Vyse's name. Vyse, going by Kirala's example, affixed his usual carefree and self-assured grin to his face and walked to the stage, his head held high. Kirala smiled at him, even though he could sense her fear, and the two shared a firm handshake before they turned to face the crowd before them. Many of the Valuans, Vyse was sickened to see, looked thrilled that none of their own had been picked. He quickly picked out Enrique, who looked conflicted, but Vyse gave a quick shake of the head to tell him not to try anything funny.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we shall conclude our ceremony momentarily," said Elder Prime. "So, once more, let's have a round of applause for District 4's tributes: Kirala and Vyse."
Author's Notes:
Short explanation time on how this whole ordeal is going to work!
The games themselves are still in progress, so for now I'm only doing the intro stuff. All events that take place in the Districts will be in their appropriately-titled stories in the proper crossover section. Once that's all taken care of and it collapses into one story, I'll put the title at the end of each District Introduction Section (or just click on my author name to find it yourself).
The entire story is being decided solely on a complicated series of dice rolls, to prevent bias on my part and to make it so even I have no idea how this is going to end or who is going to win.
Let me be clear: this is not going to be an "everyone bands together and fights the evil powers and they all survive" story. As of writing this paragraph, ten tributes are dead. So if you see your favorite character selected… well, don't get mad if they don't make it through.
That's all for now. May the odds be ever in your (favorite characters') favor.