Chapter 16:
Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker
Seraphim hasn't been able to get rid of the anxious pit in his stomach that's been present ever since the day prior when they discovered one of the reaped tributes is not who they thought. He keeps getting phantom pains in his arm as he stresses about Carameuse – no, Holly – and he's reminded too frequently of last year's Games when he was shot, all because of a rebel from Seven…
And now that rebel is out and he can't help but feel like they're going to do something to the Quell he's worked so hard on. But mostly he's afraid they're going to hurt someone he cares about.
Seraphim glances over at his mother next to him and when she sees his anxious face, Tara Lukianas immediately runs a hand over his hair with a concerned look in her eyes. "Everything is going to be okay, Serry."
"Mom, don't call me that in public," Seraphim tells her, looking around backstage before they head out to the box they'll sit in with all the other important people in the Capitol, really hoping none of them heard her call him the nickname he loves, but gets super embarrassed by when in public. "I'm the Head Gamemaker."
"Yes, and I'm your mother," Tara scoffs lovingly at him as she grabs his hand and pats the top of it with the other. Seraphim keeps looking around at the others in the box and from the amused look on Theodosius' face, he knows the terrifying man from Two overheard his nickname. He mouths 'Serry' to him, holding back a snicker that leaves Seraphim mortified. "Stop worrying, everything is going to be alright."
"I'm worried for your safety," Seraphim says quietly, turning his eyes back to the screens in front of him that show the tributes slowly arriving to the chariots where they're being instructed not to step on yet. A few of them are curiously looking at the fake weapons placed for each of them, seemingly wondering if they're real. Well, mostly Sky looks like she's contemplating if they're real as she glares between the scythe on the District Nine chariot and the careers. But the majority of them are a mix of nervousness as they prepare to face the crowds.
"And Zephyr's safety," Tara adds to him, chuckling a little when Seraphim turns to her with wide eyes full of disbelief that she would say that here. "Oh don't give me that look, everyone knows you want to date the victor."
"I'm waiting for him to be ready to date. And yes, I'm worried for him, even if he's more than capable of protecting himself," Seraphim mumbles, looking around once more to see if anyone overheard his mother this time. "And I'm never inviting you to this again if you're going to keep teasing me."
"Oh yes you will," Tara laughs at him pouting, but she's completely right. "You love me and you'll invite me next year."
"Yeah," Seraphim responds with a smile to her, but the nervous pit in his stomach makes his smile falter as he can't imagine anything happening to her. He turns away from her and back to the screens, finding all the tributes gathered by the chariots. "It's time to make the announcement to them."
Seraphim motions for someone to pass him the microphone that will allow him to speak down to the tributes as Laelia enters the room in a rush, trying to smooth out her hair and not look so flustered. Seraphim raises an eyebrow at her but doesn't have time to question it as time is ticking away and they need to get the tributes on their chariots soon. "Attention tributes," Seraphim says, watching as they start looking around the room they're in at his voice. "This is your Head Gamemaker speaking. As you may have noticed, there are weapons to use as props for the chariots. These are completely fake," Seraphim emphasizes, not quite trusting a bunch of teenagers to not do something stupid with them. Most of the Gamemakers didn't trust them at all and it's why Seraphim had to work on an agreement with the President for how to handle anyone trying to use them. "They are made of foam and attached by wire that is invisible to the crowd looking at the chariots. Regardless, you are under no circumstances allowed to use them to hit, smack, stab, whatever any other tributes with them. I am very serious about this. If you do anything with the weapons towards another tribute, you will receive a 30 second penalty at the start of the Games. That means 30 seconds where your pedestal mines are still on and everyone else is free move."
Seraphim waits a few seconds for this information to sink in to everyone and for them to understand the severity of trying to hurt anyone. "Are we clear?" He asks and gets a few nods of heads from some of the older tributes, like Amelia, Fox, and Arthur, a couple thumbs up from Major and Bellona, a salute with a laugh from Odyssey, a yawn from Fete, and a glare from Sky. "Good. Go ahead and get on your chariots, we start in five minutes."
Seraphim passes the microphone back to one of the crew members and lets out a sigh, really hoping that he won't have to deal with anyone hitting someone in the head with a weapon or something. He turns over to Laelia, choosing to focus on her looking all flustered rather than the feeling that something is going to go wrong. "What's up with you? I thought you were done a while ago with giving them the sense bots."
"I was," Laelia answers, clearing her throat and trying to look more presentable as the President enters the room. "But before I left I got sidetracked by one of the escorts asking me a bunch of questions and I wanted to stop and see Kora because she's just been a bit anxious lately about Games stuff after last year."
"Which escort? I'll talk to them," Seraphim tells her, frowning a bit at what she said about Kora. "And maybe we should find someone to help her out like Claudia and Elliot did."
"She would appreciate that, even if she won't admit it," Laelia gives a small smile as her cheeks start flushing. "And don't worry about the escort, he wasn't bothering him."
Seraphim raises an eyebrow and so badly wants to question her about that, especially after all the teasing she has done to him about Zephyr. Especially because there's only five escorts that could be 'him', and he doesn't quite think Laelia would start blushing over Agapios, Bobby, or Icarus, and Aineon is obviously taken. But before he can start questioning her about Devrek – he has no doubt the new escort is who was asking her questions – Ophelia rushes over to him and grabs his arm to start leading him towards the Presidential Box. "Come on, you need to be seen by the crowd."
"Alright, alright, I'm going," he tells her, smiling a bit at the woman he owes so much to. He grabs his mother's hand to bring her with him before giving a poignant look at Laelia, "Don't you dare run away when this is done, I want to hear all about it."
This makes the younger Gamemaker's cheeks turn almost as bright as her hair and Seraphim turns away to chuckle at her reaction. He almost feels like an older brother to her now after the last few months spent working together. But now, he must focus on the tributes. He clears his face of any of his doubts before Ophelia leads him out the door, not wanting anyone watching to suspect that things aren't as they should be.
He takes his spot next to the President and his mother sits on his other side, a spot reserved for any guest of the Head Gamemaker. Set up in front of them but hidden from the crowd are a whole array of screens, showing cameras from various points along the chariot path and one of Kora getting last touches on her appearance. He brings his cufflink up to his face to speaking into the subtly placed communication device there. "Kora can you hear me?" He gets a thumbs up from the host and he sits back in his chair, trying to relax as he watches the screen that is trained on where the chariots will first appear.
President Xavier leans towards him, dropping his voice to barely a whisper. "Holly won't be a problem," he tells Seraphim before leaning in front of Seraphim to look past the bewildered Head Gamemaker. "Hello Tara," President Xavier says pleasantly as he shakes his mother's hand. But despite his pleasant tone, Seraphim can see the lines of worry on the President's face. "How are you doing tonight?"
"Lovely, sir," Tara answers with a pleasant smile as she shakes the President's hand before glancing at Seraphim. "I always love getting to support Serry's work."
It takes a few seconds for Seraphim to acknowledge his nickname, still confused by what Xavier has said about Holly. Taken care of? Yet she's still on the chariots… "Wait, Mom!" Seraphim gives her a wide eye look, seriously in disbelief that she just called him that in front of the President of Panem.
"What? I'm just proud of your work, honey," Tara tells him, proud look on her face as she smiles at him. "You work so hard for all of this."
"Indeed, he's one of the hardest workers I know," Xavier responds, making Seraphim relax a little about getting called his mother's nickname in front of him. "This Quell was no small feat and I am looking forward to seeing the final outfits put together tonight. Seraphim has been very excited about this theme of his."
"Blame Lisia, she got me hooked on the idea of a theme for everything," Seraphim responds, getting distracted from Holly's fate as the first chariot leaves. Seraphim gives the President a look that he needs to know more and Xavier nods his head, leaving Seraphim to focus on the present. "Here we go."
The crowd goes wild with the appearance of the District One tributes, as they do every year with the start of the chariots. And this year's tributes are not a disappointment, thanks in part to the work of their stylists. Both have been placed in a gorgeous set of armor made from an icy blue glass that catches the light and almost looks as if it's made of crystal. Each individual piece of armor has been lined with fur trim, something that must be making the pieces too warm for the tributes. The stylists have chosen to place a matching glass helmet on their heads, complete with a pair of horns made of gold. The stylists have taken Seraphim's instructions and absolutely made it fit for District One. In their gloved hands, they each hold a scimitar blade, but they both do different things with them. Major is being as charismatic as he was at the Reaping, a cute and innocent look on his face as he alternates between waving at the crowd and using his blade to stab an imaginary tribute in front of him, occasionally laughing in joy at their cheers for him. Anastacia, on the other hand, keeps a calm look on her face as she smiles warmly at the crowd, but doesn't show any hints of what she is capable of doing with the blade. But it doesn't seem to matter to the crowd that she keeps the blade attached to her waist with her hand on the pommel; they still love her staying mysterious.
"Oh they look lovely," Tara tells Seraphim and he nods his head in agreement, but remains quiet, not wanting to show any preferential treatment towards the tributes. "But I know you are looking forward to District Two for reasons."
Seraphim scoffs at that and shakes his head, refraining from telling her that he would be more excited if it Zephyr was mentoring one of them. But it doesn't take long for the District Two tributes to appear, earning many cheers from the crowd that they are able to build up in volume. There's no doubt that while Major was good at getting the crowd to cheer for him, Bellona and Odyssey are simply better. Their costumes remind Seraphim a bit of what the District Two tributes wore for the last Quell, just…better. They both wear gold plated armor with elegant vine patterns placed on them over a red tunic. Instead of giving them a helmet, the stylists have placed golden laurel crowns on their head, with Bellona's dark hair braided into a crown that it rests on and Odyssey's blond tousled hair controlled and slicked back. They wave at the crowd enthusiastically, putting on a show for them, before pushing the boundaries of Seraphim's orders to not use the weapons by pretending like they're going to throw their spears, subtly aimed at the District One tributes, before laughing together. When Bellona takes Odyssey's hand and raises it up above them, Odyssey starts waving his spear and the crowd loses it at their unity.
"How long will they keep up the unity?" Xavier questions allowed and Seraphim shrugs at this, not knowing for sure. But if they do…well, he has an idea for the arena.
"We'll see what happens once the pressure is on in the arena," Seraphim responds, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair a bit. "We'll see."
Before any further speculation can be done, the District Three chariot appears and it seems that some in the crowd are finally picking up on the theme among the different costumes. Seraphim sits up and smiles proudly at this, really thinking he was clever with telling the stylists to make a set of armor for each tribute that ties into their District's specialty. Seraphim wasn't sure how the team for Three would tackle technology for their outfits, but it seems as if they've gone back to the roots of technology. Amelia and Calvin, while neither originally from Three, capture the District's export of technology well, wearing silver armor that requires a closer look to see that the armor is actually a series of gears all working together. Attached to their gloves, they have half circle blades designed in the shape of gears. Calvin seems fairly confident, but not too much, looking out at the crowd with a small smile as he keeps one hand on the front of the chariot to keep steady while using the other hand to wave out at the crowd. Amelia seems a bit hesitant as the crowd cheers from them, but as she gets used to the loudness of the Capitol, a determination slowly grows on her face as she starts waving out at the crowd with one hand, the other on her hip.
Seraphim gives a subtle glance over at the President, wondering how he feels about seeing two of his university students in person now. But as always, he keeps his face neutral, a skill from years of being in the public eye. Seraphim turns back to the District Three tributes, really not liking to give preferential treatment to anyone but…to keep the President happy, he might have to, or at least make sure they have as fair of a chance as possible.
But that is something for Seraphim to worry about later, once the Games have actually started. Right now he must focus on the tributes making their first big appearances to the Capitol, and it's now District Four's turn. The pair looks as if they could have just stepped out of the sea wearing scaled armor in a rich blue color that shifts as they move. Delta really looks like it as her hair has been tousled and made to look damp, even with a few pieces of seaweed tucked in it and Demarcus wears a woven crown made of seaweed to match her. Of course they were given tridents as their weapon since it's District Four. Delta waves her trident up in the air, letting out a battle cry as she waves to the crowd. Demarcus is trying his best, but the nervousness that was present at the Reaping is still there. He tries to smile at the crowd as he gives tentative waves, but his smile almost looks more like a grimace. But still, he's trying to interact with them and the crowd is happy with that.
As Seraphim watches them, he gets an idea and leans over towards the President to whisper to him. "I think Delta can help us with our District Seven problem…"
Xavier stares at the girl for a few seconds before nodding his head at him. "Do it."
"Yes sir," Seraphim answers, moving back into his seat to watch the District Five chariot appear, wondering which source of energy the stylists will have chosen for their armor.
And it turns out they've chosen to focus on one of the energy sources that the people in the District least want to work with, but makes for the most striking outfit. The two have been placed in jet black armor from head to toe, filled with sharp edges and horns along their shoulders and their helmet. But a closer look at the armor reveals a glowing red following the sharp lines. In their hands, they each hold a black sword on fire, but Seraphim knows the stylists know how to use fake flames. Davy is trying to keep a brave face to the crowd, but fails to hide how afraid he is as he keeps glancing at his flaming sword, seemingly not trusting it to not actually burn him. Eva, on the other hand, just stares blankly at the crowd, not trying to appeal to them and almost looking bored being part of the chariots. She reaches up and rubs her forehead before sighing and leaning against the front of the chariot to just stare ahead.
"Davy is the type we would have rooted for together!" Tara tells Seraphim, putting a hand on her heart as she stares at the scared boy. "You always love the underdogs."
"Now I love staying as unbiased as possible," Seraphim responds, getting a chuckle from his mother. Well, at least unbiased against those the President doesn't have special interest in.
"Of course," Tara says as the District Six tribute starts to move out of the center. "We can't have a Head Gamemaker that picks the tributes he wants to win."
"That wouldn't be fair at all," Seraphim answers quietly as he watches the District Six tributes appear.
The first thing Seraphim notices is how awkward Elias appears as he clings onto the chariot, desperately trying to stay upright in the moving chariot with his prosthetics. Elias is so focused on staying upright that he can't even try to appeal to the crowd, but the wide eyed looks he gives to the crowd show he is trying to think of something to do. He's a sharp contrast to his District partner Courtney who is doing everything possible to make a good impression to the crowd, from waving her warhammer around to blowing kisses at the crowd. For the transportation District, the stylists have gone back to the basics, giving them armor made out of what looks to be tires. At first, Seraphim isn't too impressed by it, but after staring at it some more, he realizes that the rubber might actually be good protection against weapons. The crowd doesn't seem quite sure how to react to District Six with how different the two are from each other, but get more cheers than District Five did.
"Courtney seems fun," Tara tells him and Seraphim shrugs at this. "And poor Elias… I wonder what happened to his legs!"
"So do I," Seraphim murmurs, wanting to ask Theodosius if his people have found out anything in their investigation to Elias' family.
But there is no time for that, not when potentially the most problematic District is appearing… Seraphim pays careful attention to Kora's announcement of the two to ensure she introduces the girl as Carameuse, not Holly… Seraphim still cannot believe that the rebels managed to sneak someone into the Games under the guise of someone else. He still has so many questions, like how she managed to get past the check in and most importantly, what her purpose in the Games is. But Xavier hasn't told him this information, telling him to focus on the Quell instead. Seraphim absentmindedly rubs the spot on his arm, trying not to glare at the girl and everything she stands for. And then there is Adam…eight months pregnant Adam, carrying a child distantly related to the Snow family. Somehow the stylists were able to manage to adjust his armor to fit around his swollen belly. Both have been placed in rich cherry wood armor with Holly's hair placed in an intricate design of woven braids. Holly tries her best to wave at the crowd, searching around and making Seraphim clench his fist in fear of the rebels. Poor Adam is doing his best to wave at the crowd, but struggles to do so with a bow made of cherry wood in one hand. He tries to switch the bow to his left hand but in the process, loses his balance and flails his arms around to catch himself. Before he can grab the railing, he smacks Holly in the head with his bow, almost making her lose her balance.
Seraphim takes in a breath at this and looks over at the President, knowing he what he told the tributes. "What do we do?"
President Xavier stares at the District Seven chariot for a few seconds, thinking through his response, before slowly bringing his gaze over to Seraphim. "You told them if they do anything with the weapons towards the other tributes they would be punished… As much as I worry about the backlash, we have to give him the thirty second penalty…"
Seraphim slowly nods his head at this, even if he doesn't feel like Adam deserves it… But he's stuck and it's his own words that are the reason. "Right…" he slowly answers the President, even though he feels like he's probably giving Adam no chance now. "If we don't do this to Adam but someone else does it, we're not being fair…"
"The Games aren't fair at times to some tributes," Xavier answers carefully. "You gave clear instructions and we must follow through on them."
"Yes sir," Seraphim says quietly, even if he doesn't feel right about it. But he doesn't feel right about anything to do with the very pregnant tribute. He glances over at his mother and finds her frowning at Adam so he reaches out and takes her hand, trying to comfort her a little. As someone who's proudest life achievement is being a parent, he knows Tara must be taking it hard seeing Adam going into the Games. He so badly wants to tell her that the baby will at least be safe, but she can't know that yet.
Seraphim tries to put his focus back on the chariots, but it's hard to focus on the District Eight pair after watching the mess that is Seven. Seraphim is glad the friends don't seem like they'll be a mess like the previous District and are playing up to the crowd more than some of their predecessors. The armor they wear is simple compared to some of the others so far, made of dark red and black leather that allows them to move freely. A pair of daggers are in holsters on both sides of their waist. Their heads are covered with a hood made of the same black leather, but their faces have been left free for the crowd to see. And it sure is a good thing as they're both giving their best fake smiles as they wave out at the crowd. Fete and Atropa are charismatic together, clearly knowing how important this moment is for making them memorable. They occasionally strike some poses together, being a little over the top, but the crowd responds well. Seraphim can't tell if it's because of the tributes or the fact that their District brought home last year's well-loved victor.
"They're a fun pair," Tara remarks, her voice still having a hint of sadness for Adam. "You know one alliance already."
"Yes, for sure," Seraphim agrees with her. "But the question will be if anyone else joins them."
One thing he is fairly certain on is that the District Eight pair will probably not be allying with the next two that appear. District Nine has both of the youngest tributes, but Seraphim knows not to underestimate any thirteen year olds this year. The grain District is well-represented in the chain mail armor the two wear, with golden grass woven through the links of the armor. They both hold scythes that are taller than them but it doesn't seem to matter to them. Sky is as angry as she was at the Reaping, not hiding her glares at all from the crowd. Her hands are gripped tight on her scythe, slowly turning her knuckles white, and she keeps glancing up at the fake blade and way ahead to wear the careers are. Eliot, on the other hand, is looking at Sky with confusion, before putting on his best angry face as he looks at the crowd.
"Is he copying her?" Seraphim asks allowed, confused by what the young boy is doing.
It sure seems like that's the case, but he doesn't keep up the angry face for long as he looks ahead at the District Eight chariot and decides to start imitating the older pair. Eliot waves happily at the crowd, giving them an adorable smile that they love.
"He shouldn't," Tara responds to him and Seraphim looks over when her tone sounds all cheery again. "Look how cute he is."
"Another one you're rooting for?"
"Both of them," Tara answers, her smile faltering slightly as she looks at the pair. "Sky is…she needs someone rooting for her."
Knowing more about Sky and what has happened to her in the last year, Seraphim finds himself agreeing with his mother. He finds himself absentmindedly nodding his head in agreement as he turns to watch the pair from Ten. The pair from the livestock District have unsurprisingly been placed in armor made primarily out of tanned leather with a black cape lined with fur along the shoulders and collar draped over it. A large belt has been placed around their waists with a simple sword attached, along with smaller belts and buckles to hold the pieces together. Genesis stands quite still, despite the motion of the chariot and holds on for dear life to the chariot in front of her with both hands. She stares around at the noise and lights around her with wide eyes, clearly panicked a bit by everything going on. Fox on the other hand, while looking a little nervous, still smiles around and seems to be looking for something. He finally finds it and waves at it, and it turns out he was searching for one of the cameras.
"I wonder who he's waving towards?" Tara asks curiously and Seraphim contemplates if he should tell her or not that he's probably waving to his wife and son. But he doesn't want to make her sad once more about another parent in the Games, so he chooses to remain quiet for now. She'll find out about him later from the interviews…and then be upset that he didn't tell her sooner. "Probably his wife and son," Seraphim blurts out as the final chariot appears, using that as an excuse to not look at the disappointment on her face.
The crowd is still excited by time they see District Eleven, even though the careers have long since passed. Seraphim supposes the Quell twist has made the crowd more excited about this last pair. After all, one of the tributes standing on the chariot wearing armor made of long thin plant leaves woven together is already deaf. Jessamine does her best to wave cheerfully at the crowd, but her eyes are watering with tears that Seraphim isn't sure are out of fear of the crowd or the Games. Her hair has had flowers woven through it and Arthur has had similar things done to his hair pulled back into a small knot on the top of his head. Arthur mostly keeps his gaze ahead of him, body tense as his face shows hints of his discomfort about being on the chariots.
Seraphim watches as the last chariot makes its way down the Avenue of the Tributes and towards the City Circle, many of them already stopped in front of them. President Xavier stands up when they reach the City Circle and approaches the podium to give his speech. Seraphim focuses half on the President and half on the tributes gathered below him, wanting to make sure none of them try anything while attention is drawn off of them. But they all stay focused on the President with varying expressions, ranging from respect to hatred and everything in-between.
"Welcome, Panem, to the 150th Hunger Games," President Xavier starts letting the crowd cheer in excitement before motioning them to quiet down so he can continue. "I am honored to be welcoming all of you to the Sixth Quarter Quell as your President. I know these events will be something talked about for years. Tributes, best of luck in the upcoming days as you prepare for the Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor."
The President is met with applause and the chariots start to take the tributes towards Games Headquarters as he slowly walks back to his seat. He gives Seraphim a long look as he sits back down and lets out a heavy sigh that reveals how much stress these Games have placed on him. "I hope they'll be talking about this Quell for good reasons for years."
"So do I, sir," Seraphim tells him, knowing that for years all he was hoping for as he planned the Quell was to be more memorable than the previous one. But now, after everything that happened last year and the underlying threat of the rebels? He's just wants them to not be remembered for being a disaster. And to be alive to actually remember them. "So do I…"
Here we are with the chariot rides! I always love coming up with outfits and having a theme just made it even more fun! Which District did you like the best? If I was better at drawing, I would draw all of these but that would take me hours and hours lol. But also half of them are shameless rip offs of Skyrim armor lol
So we got another check in with Seraphim and what's going on with the Capitol side of things! I just had too much fun introducing his mother because she's very blessed and we'll see more from her later because she's too fun lol.
Not sure what else to say here aside from we're quickly moving into all the tributes interacting! Next up we're going to see some first meetings happening immediately after the chariot rides! I'll be back soon with that chapter after Wayward Night Two!