The Fifteenth Annual Hunger Games
Introduction
President Patrice Dominicar, member of the Brutalian party, struggled to maintain a good public image as Lima and her supporters bombed him with scandals and rumords, just like Patrice had done to ex-President Arturo Sombray. Event though Lima was plainly scheming against him, he could not dethrone her from the position of Head Gamemaker without dissent from the Capitol's citizens, who happened to love Lima. So, scheming to get this second Brutalian President out of the Presidential Palace, Lima Xabie-Sombray remained Head Gamemaker. Cadmus Liseto returned for his second year as the host of the Hunger Games. This year, a new revolution that would change the Hunger Games forever happened. The very first Career entered the Games. He'd only trained for a year in Salandra and Guild's District 1 Academy (which was originally meant to prepare tributes in case they were Reaped, not to prep them to volunteer.) Still, he was an amazing fighter, and the Career idea was all his own. He would go on to score one of the highest scores ever, an 11, and he would reform the proto-Career alliance (1, 2, and 4) that would be used for decades. There was one 11, two 9s, and the rest were 8s and less. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Columna Sever, 16 (8) 9-1 and Clermont Lackrey, 18 (11) 3-1
District 2: Dariusia Crone, 17 (9) 5-1 and Tomas Wendell, 17 (7) 15-1
District 3: Routera May, 15 (5) 32-1 and Septon Dallas, 16 (7) 16-1
District 4: Rhonda Jackman, 18 (8) 9-1 and Shore Feller, 18 (9) 6-1
District 5: Deyla Forthman, 15 (6) 22-1 and Bolton Saint-Clair, 17 (7) 15-1
District 6: Ebby Monahugh, 13 (4) 42-1 and Boxer Goolee, 18 (8) 10-1
District 7: Bircha Rixton-Forlorn, 17 (6) 23-1 and Oakson Gryr, 15 (7) 15-1
District 8: Matilda Thomas, 15 (6) 25-1 and Pallor While, 14 (3) 52-1
District 9: Seltica Moraain, 14 (5) 33-1 and Kaden Tyte, 15 (4) 32-1
District 10: Maja Wari, 16 (7) 16-1 and Condor Baxtins, 18 (7) 15-1
District 11: Rae Bentworth, 17 (6) 21-1 and Planter Stevens, 13 (4) 34-1
District 12: Kirka Vane, 12 (4) 45-1 and Coalson Black, 17 (7) 15-1
HGBA Betting Odds: 40% on Clermont, 10% on Dariusia and Shore, 5% Rhonda, Columna, Boxer, Tomas, and Oakson, 2% on Coalson, Bolton, and Condor, 1% or less on Routera, Septon, Deyla, Ebby, Bircha, Matilda, Pallor, Seltica, Kaden, Maja, Rae, Planter, and Kirka.
The Games
The arena this year was new and interesting. The tributes arose in the center of a giant, labyrinth-like system of natural tunnels and caverns. It was near pitch black, though dozens of electric torches lay inside the Cornucopia, in the space between the pedestals, or in the various packs. The tunnels and caverns were numerous and different from one another, so you cannot really pin one area down and label it something (Example: North can't just be one overall thing). Several notable caves included two large caverns with fresh water, one in the south, the other in the northwest, one crowded with edible bioluminescent mosses and fungi, one filled with bloodthristy bat mutts, and one filled with explosive gems. All these caves and dozens more, all connected by dank, caving, and sometimes infested tunnels, made up the arena.
The tributes were not mesmerized as they had been in previous years, as there wasn't much to look at besides the other tributes, the Cornucopia, and wet, chalky gray rock. Tributes prepared to head for supplies, with one or two deciding to skip the bloodbath and run away into the maze of tunnels and caves.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The proto-Career alliance, lead by Clermont, the very first Career, charged forward. The only other organized alliance that year was of the girl from 11, Rae, and the two tributes form 12, Kirka and Coalson. Besides that, some tributes had made loose friendships, but most were totally on their own.
Clermont swept up twin machetes and charged into battle. His District partner, Columna, picked up throwing knives. Dariusia grabbed a katana, and Tomas grabbed a mace. Rhonda swept up a trident, and Shore grabbed a spear. The proto-Career alliance charged forward, Clermont at their front. Clermont sprinted towards a smaller girl, yelling war cries, and slashing with his blades. His cries distracted the girl, and he was able to dice her into pieces. His war cries distracted his opponents, and the use of sounds to intimidate other tributes would be used by the Careers for over a century. This kill, Clermont and the 15th Games' first, would be the first of an astounding 9.
Deyla Forthman, District 5 Female; 24th, Killed by Clermont, Bloodbath
Rhonda and Dariusia took down a stronger contender together, their weapons slicing him into ribbons.
Oakson Gryr, District 7 Male; 23rd, Killed by Dariusia and Rhonda, Bloodbath
Oakson's tentative ally, the male from 5, raised his dagger and charged at Dariusia and Rhonda. Tomas charged up out of nowhere and bludgeoned the boy to death, saving the girls from having to make another messy kill.
Bolton Saint-Clair, District 5 Male; 22nd, Killed by Tomas, Bloodbath
Meanwhile, Clermont was trading sword blows with the male from 10, a tall, lanky fellow. Clermont, without sustaining any injuries, was able to decapitate the boy after thirty seconds of dueling.
Condor Baxtins, District 10 Male; 21st, Killed by Clermont, Bloodbath
Columna, Clermont's District partner, had proven able in training by scoring an 8. But she was frightened by the Games, and, as a tiny girl ducked into the Cornucopia, she threw all five of her knives in quick succession into the tiny girl's body, killing her in moments.
Kirka Vane, District 12 Female; 20th, Killed by Columna, Bloodbath
As Kirka's allies, Coalson and Rae, sprinted away with valuable loot, Rae's District partner was stabbed to death by Shore.
Planter Stevens, District 11 Male; 19th, Killed by Shore, Bloodbath
Another smaller boy became Clermont's third kill, as Clermont chased the boy right into the Cornucopia. He held him with one hand against the cold golden side of the Cornucopia, using the other hand to brandish his machete and slice off the boy's head with one flourish of his blade.
Kaden Tyte, District 9 Male; 18th, Killed by Clermont, Bloodbath
Meanwhile, Rhonda had been chasing a slight yet powerful girl around, periodically stabbing her with her trident. She chased her right into the path of Shore, and the two skewered her at the same exact time.
Maja Wari, District 10 Female; 17th, Killed by Rhonda and Shore, Bloodbath
The final kill was dealt by an angry Coalson from 12. He lifted a bow (a weapon he'd learned to use adequately during training), and fired three arrows at Columna, who'd killed his District partner and ally. One arrow missed, another hit her left knee, and the last sliced deep into her chest, killing her. Coalson and his ally Rae left the scene before the other proto-Careers and single Career could register her death.
Columna Sever, District 1 Female; 16th, Killed by Coalson, Bloodbath
The promising sign for the sort-of-Career alliance (we'll call them the semi-Careers), was that only one, not two, of their members had died this year, and it hadn't been the District 4 Female or the District 1 Male (though no one was surprised Clermont had survived). The semi-Careers set up camp, but Clermont insisted on going hunting, another trend that would stick for a while. Clermont, Dariusia, and Shore went hunting while Tomas and Rhonda watched over the supplies.
While those three were hunting, however, Rhonda decided to desert. She shoved her trident into an unassuming Tomas, quickly rendering him dead, before scooping up a pack loaded with supplies, pulling her trident from Tomas' body, and sprinting out of the Cornucopia cave.
Tomas Wendell, District 2 Male; 15th, Killed by Rhonda, Night 1
Clermont, Dariusia, and Shore found no prey, though they were shocked and angered when they found the Cornucopia guarded only my Tomas' dead body. No supplies had been looted, but it had been a close call. They vowed to kill Rhonda before they turned on one another.
Day 2 passed, deathless. Day 3, a girl wandered into the explosive gems cave. She couldn't help but touch one, and she was blown to bits the second her fingers cupped the little red ruby that had caught her eye.
Bircha Rixton-Forlorn, District 7 Female; 14th, Killed by explosive ruby gem, Day 3
Day 4 was deathless. Day 5, Shore, Dariusia, and Clermont managed to track down Rhonda, camped out a few turns southeast of the central Cornucopia cavern. Clermont sliced off her arms, letting Dariusia finish the job by jabbing her in the chest repeatedly with her katana. Dariusia and Tomas had been close, and the girl had be distraught after finding his bloody corpse. Now the semi-Careers had been cut down to only three.
Rhonda Jackman, District 4 Female; 13th, Killed by Clermont and Dariusia, Day 5
Days 6 and 7 were deathless. Day 8, two deaths occurred when a newly minted alliance of two wandered down a tunnel that was falling apart. The one threw a rock, and it hit a crumbling wall, triggering a chain reaction of crumbling rock that crushed both tributes, killing them immediately.
Boxer Goolee, District 6 Male; 12th, Crushed by collapsing tunnel, Day 8
Routera May, District 3 Female; 11th, Crushed by collapsing tunnel, Day 8
Day 9, Dariusia went to scout ahead of Shore and Clermont while they were hunting, and she wandered into the cave filled with bloodthirsty bats. They swarmed her and devoured her despite her best attempts to ward them off. Shore and Clermont heard her screams and the screeches of the mutt bats, and sadly left her to her dire fate; to be eaten alive by fanged bats.
Dariusia Crone, District 2 Female; 10th, Killed by bat mutts, Day 9
Day 10, a small, weak boy was discovered by Clermont, trying to steal supplies from the Cornucopia. Clermont decapitated him easily and threw his dismembered head down the tunnel where he'd come from. A girl, his ally and District partner Matilda, shrieked, and ran away before Clermont could catch her.
Pallor While, District 8 Male; 9th, Killed by Clermont, Day 10
That left the Top 8: Clermont Lackrey from District 1, Septon Dallas from District 3, Shore Feller from District 4, Ebby Monahugh from District 6, Matilda Thomas from District 8, Seltica Moraain from District 9, Rae Bentworth from District 11, and Coalson Black from District 12. Many of the survivors had been purely hiding, yet to be discovered by Clermont and Shore.
Day 11, the first to go was Ebby Monahugh from District 6. She'd been living off of the bioluminescent fungi in one cave for the past week and a half, and she'd run out. She traveled to a different cave and did not remember that type of fungi being edible from her time at edible plants, but she was starving and it looked almost the same as the fungi she'd been eating previously. She ate the poisonous mushrooms and died hours later.
Ebby Monahugh, District 6 Female; 8th, Killed by poisonous fungi, Day 11
Day 12 was deathless. Day 13 had an astounding three deaths.
The first occurred when Shore and Clermont finally discovered Columna's killer, Coalson, with his ally Rae. Clermont, raging, cleaved open a sleeping Coalson's skull, screaming in rage. Rae scrambled to her feet, trying to escape.
Coalson Black, District 12 Male; 7th, Killed by Clermont, Day 13
The next death occurred moments later as Shore plunged his spear into a distraught Rae's chest.
Rae Bentworth, District 11 Female; 6th, Killed by Shore, Day 13
The last death occurred several more moments later as Shore stood after retrieving his spear from Rae's corpse. He turned to feel both of Clermont's machetes pressing against his throat.
"It's time to part, Shore," he growled, and he beheaded his loyal ally with a single chop of his two blades. Now all that remained between Clermont and Victory were three weaker tributes who hadn't made any kills, not to mention any strategical moves, in the entire Games.
Shore Feller, District 4 Male; 5th, Killed by Clermont, Day 13
It was all over Day 14 as collapsing tunnels sent the other three tributes to Clermont, where he was waiting at the Cornucopia. One tribute was crushed by debris and died a minute before the other two tributes reached the Cornucopia cavern.
Matilda Thomas, District 8 Female; 4th, Crushed by collapsing tunnel, Day 14
As Septon and Seltica emerged from neighboring tunnels, both ghost white and clutching small daggers, they knew they were out of luck. Clermont was three feet away, roaring. With one sweep of both blades, he decapitated both simultaneously. Septon died a second before Seltica.
Septon Dallas, District 3 Male; 3rd, Killed by Clermont, Day 14
Seltica Moraain, District 9 Female; 2nd, Killed by Clermont, Day 14
"Clermont Lackrey of District 1, you are the Victor of the 15th Hunger Games!" Cadmus cheered into the cavernous arena. Clermont just grinned, raising both bloody machetes in the air in a return cheer.
Aftermath
Clermont was cherished by his District and the Capitol for being the very first Career Victor. He was the third Victor out of District 1, the first District to produce three Victors. His massive Victory seemed too easy, and it sparked many Academy students to want to volunteer. In fact, the next year, the competition still held today of running to the stage was established after three males and two females tried to volunteer for the Games from District 1. Districts 2 and 4, who saw District 1 as a key ally, and were also jealous, built Academies of their own. District 2 would enter a male Career tribute the next year, District 4 a female Career tribute. By the 20th Games, Careers of both genders would be coming consistently out of all three Districts. Clermont would be much help to the many Career tributes he would Mentor.
Clermont would live to age 58, dying from drug overdose. He struggled with drug abuse after his Victory and would fall victim to its whims later in life. He would die three weeks after the 55th Hunger Games. He would marry once and have three children.
The payouts for his Victory weren't the best, since 40% bet on him.
His Victory Tour was nice, and he received thunderous applause in Districts 1, 2, and 4, as well as in the Capitol.
Fun Fact: Clermont made a record breaking 9 kills this year.
Victor's News
Clermont moves into the Victor's Village of District 1, in the house next to Salandra.
Vissarion's second child, Grover, is born.
Dillon's third child, Nadia, is born.
List of Victors
1st: Kelan Thather, District 4 (1, 1 Male)
2nd: Dillon Tripp, District 9 (1, 1 Male)
3rd: Tugra Ertra, District 5 (1, 1 Female)
4th: Noor Tuskararus, District 2 (1, 1 Female)
5th: Ishania Patel, District 7 (1, 1 Female)
6th: Guild Tonneroy, District 1 (1, 1 Male)
7th: Chaplin Nastaro, District 3 (1, 1 Male)
8th: Irmentrude Marley, District 5 (2, 2 Female)
9th: Vissarion Chamantel, District 11 (1, 1 Male)
10th: Greason Trails, District 6 (1, 1 Male)
11th: Mags Flanagan, District 4 (2, 1 Female)
12th: Salandra Valour, District 1 (2, 1 Female)
13th: Barcelona Sepias, District 10 (1, 1 Female)
14th: Freeha Indepp, District 11 (2, 1 Female)
15th: Clermont Lackrey, District 1 (3, 2 Male)
A/N: And so the Career Era starts! What do you think of Clermont, our first Career Victor? Thanks for reading!
