The Hunger Games: Victors Retold

by ThreshHG

Inspired by The Victor’s Project by Oisin55 and Tales of the Hunger Games by Christian Blanco, The Hunger Games:Victors Retold tells the stories of all 75 victors of the Hunger Games, both canon and non-canon. Most chapters are around 500 words, which is perfect for any Hunger Games fans looking for a quick look into the archives of Panem.

16. Zirconia Gordal

Zirconia Gordal was one of the most adaptable tributes in the history of the games, a trait that surely secured her triumph.

Tributes rose into a bountiful orchard, filled with fruit and a large lake near the centre of the arena. It became clear that Gamemakers wanted more violence, and District 1's first female victor was sure to give them what they desired. As the gong sounded, Zirconia dived into the girl from District 5 who was positioned next to her, grabbing her by the hair and slamming her face into a podium until the screaming stopped. The career tribute looked up to find her allies, only to be horrified when she realised that they were almost all dead at the hands of a vengeful outlying alliance. After finishing off her district partner, the boy from 10 charged towards her, so she was forced to only grab a nearby bow with a quiver of arrows before running into the distance.

The girl from 1 found herself lucky that she was in an arena that was bursting with edible food, and so collected as much as she could carry before stashing her supply in a tree. She was less fortunate with her selection of weapon though, since her aim was, quite frankly, appalling. Frustrated, she threw the bow into a berry bush and sulked off to gather more fruit before something clicked and she sprinted back, retrieving her bow and picking some of the berries. She then climbed up the tallest tree she could find with a good view of the arena, positioning herself so that she was ready to attack.

When an arrow from Zirconia scraped the thigh of the boy from District 8 early in the hours of the next morning, commentators laughed at the shot, unaware that he was minutes away from death. The textiles boy tried to run to safety but collapsed, shocking most of Panem as he spasmed and died. Zirconia allowed herself a brief smile, glad that she had identified the berries correctly, then climbing down to collect his supplies, including a shortsword that she would put to good use. It was later revealed to viewers that the berries that she had picked up were in fact highly toxic, and she had coated her arrow-tips with it to create a deadly and effective weapon that would inspire future victors.

On day 2, with surprisingly only six tributes left, the outlying alliance found Zirconia, and she shot two of four of them down with her arrow, filling their allies with rage. The girl from 1 hopped down from her base, slashing the remaining pair with her sword mercilessly before they had a chance to respond. As their cannons sounded, she began the search for the last remaining tribute. Unbeknownst to her, the District 12 girl was in a coma after falling from a tree. The gamemakers realised that Zirconia would win even if the girl miraculously woke up, and so released the toxins in her arm tracker to leave the career as the last living tribute.

Zirconia, despite being celebrated as a victor, was hated for her mentorship, that only bought five victors to her district in the next half-century.

Victor 16: Zirconia Gordal, age 16, from District 1. Six kills.