AUTHOR'S NOTES: Not all subsequent chapters will be this long, but as this one is still part of the "Golden Age" (golden decade) of Hunger Games, it gets to be fairly long. No Chaff or Brutus yet, but they are both not far off from here. Once I get to some of the simpler chapters, my updating schedule my increase. I will hopefully not cut down on quality (because that's way more important than quantity), but I have so many chapters written that I look forward to posting them all when their times come.
Happy Reading!
The 47th Annual Hunger Games
After the events of the previous few years, the Capitol was rather proud of itself (a very easy task, considering its ego) given the performances seen in the last few years of Hunger Games. Of course, viewership increased each year with Panem's population considering that viewing of these games was mandatory, but some games got talked about more than others; and even years later, the 5th decade of the games was still popularly considered one of the best of its kind.
The 47th Annual Hunger Games nearly disrupted that trend at first. While it had the makings of a great game, considering the wild arena and the powerful tributes, there were times when it almost seemed to fall flat with a few lengthy delays and diversions when there were multiple tributes remaining. Whatever the case, it was clear that when Valour Drazen and Aurum Zianja reached the stage in District 1, that they were going to make sure to put on a show. It didn't take an expert to predict that their stylists and mentors would take them down the glamour route, considering their flowing hair (Valour's being brown, Aurum's being golden), slender, shapely forms, their dazzling smiles, and overall good looks.
Over at nearby District 2, Nolan Solaris and Alana Drogo were the 'victors' of the volunteer challenge that the career districts had yearly considering the pool of would-be Hunger Games volunteers that spawned from these districts. While not as glitzy and glamourous as the District 1 pair, these two were not too hard on the eyes, and both of them were built like tanks.
Glamour was something that found presence even in the chariot parade, as the glitzy, revealing outfits from District 1 took the center of attention and practically absorbed it in its entirety. Nolan and Alana seemed unfazed by this, although they did whisper a little to one another.
"We've definitely got competition." Nolan pointed out.
"We had competition getting to the stage," Alana quipped. "we'll be fine."
"here's to us then." Nolan took Alana's hand and raised it skyward.
"May the odds make it true that when you're mortally wounded in an excruciatingly painful way, your body goes into shock so that you don't feel anything when you die." Alana smirked, causing Nolan to do the same as the chariot parade continued.
In training the duo quickly proved that they were just as formidable as their district 1 counterparts, which was a relief, but also a bit unnerving. On one hand, they expected that the District 1 pair was at least somewhat competent considering they ousted their peers to be able to volunteer to be here at all; but on the other hand, Valour and Aurum seemed to not only be beautiful but also dangerously skilled at what they did. Lucky for them, there was an alliance between the two of them. Also joining the career pack this year were Nemo and Marina from District 4, who had also volunteered. Their comrades from District 3 were not in the same boat, and it seemed that this year the alliance would go unopposed.
A few formidable tributes rose up in the form of District 11's Ricardo Carter and Joanne Kader; as well as Farro and Jessica from District 9, but other than allying with their district partners, they didn't form any alliances with each other, and it was clear that all four of these tributes were out for themselves. The only other actual alliance was an unusual trio consisting of District 8's Lodan Tracey, District 3's Lever Mendez, and little Lynx Chantrea from District 12. Citizens of the latter district wondered if she would be the one to break the trend that had been seen lately: in the last 7 years of games, the female tributes from District 12 had all managed to escape the bloodbath. In fact, Aralynn, Ariana, Iris, Sophie, Kyla, Hazel, and Isikiro had all ranked at least 8th or higher. Perhaps their year to shine was approaching, although doubts set in as little 12-year-old Lynx was called to the stage. On the other hand, perhaps allying with the two 16-year-old boys from District 3 and District 8 might give her a chance.
In the training center, however, she proved that she was surprisingly deft with ropes of any kind, excelling to the point where she used a collection of ropes and nets to crawl up into the rafters, and swipe weapons from tributes including the careers, multiple times during the week. A prankster at heart, her friends Lever and Lodan did not think that she had it in her to become a killer, but she proved that she had uses, and so the three of them settled on an alliance when all was said and done.
Scores this year actually made history. while Nolan and Alana both scored 11s, Valour and Aurum made history that day by being the first pair from any district where both tributes scored perfect 12s. As fairly egotistic individuals themselves, they were pretty happy and proud of this achievement, and they had rights to be. They had not only outperformed every other tribute and district, but they had also made history as being the first district to do what they had done.
Nemo and Marina scored a 9 and 10 respectively, and District 9's Jessica and Farrow surprised many of the others by earning the same respective scores. Lever, Lodan, and even little Lynx all scored 8s, which meant that even the seemingly harmless little girl may have had some fight in her.
Of course, as was the case every year, time would tell. Scores were hardly more than numbers and indicators on who the Capitol should invest money and resources on, while the true test lay within the arena itself, where nearly two dozen tributes would breathe their last.
Sure enough, within a few fierce minutes of the gong going off to signal the start of the games, 8 tributes lad dead, many killed at the hands of the careers. To the surprise of many, little Lynx managed to escape with her life, joining her friends Lever and Lodan as the little trio disappeared into the wilderness. The careers took over the cornucopia of course, and it was after the fighting had subsided that they were finally able to take in just what kind of environment they had been tossed into.
This was District 4's territory: glistening sands bathed in golden sunlight, an aroma of saltwater flowing through the air. Palm trees filled the blue and gold scenery with green and brown, and the sound of waves against a shore filled the tributes' ears. The picturesque arena was definitely memorable, and had an eerie appeal even when the bloodstained sand around the cornucopia was taken into account.
The careers analyzed the supplies in the downtime, realizing that while there was a surplus of items like tridents, spears, and nets, that the supplies were fairly standard fare this year, with plenty of food and such to subsist on for a while.
While they remained a tightly knit pack who hung around the cornucopia, the other tributes were on the move. Farro and Jessica were not sticking together, although both of them were hunting down other tributes to remove from the games. Valour and Aurum did not let this deter them, and so instead, they led the career pack around the arena, getting an idea of what it was like.
It appeared to be divided into 14 islands. There was shallow water dividing the cornucopia clearing from two larger islands that formed semicircles around the cornucopia. Outside of this small ring were a dozen other islands, connected with durable wooden bridges over potentially deep and dangerous waters. Other times, it was worth swimming around in to beat the heat, and since the career tributes from '1 and '2 were trained to swim just as well as in other fields, they were able to join the District 4 pair in the water a few times.
Farro nearly ambushed the group, but surprisingly, the District 9 boy was careful and elusive enough that even as he threatened the careers, he seemed to never be there when their swings or shots attempted to connect with his face or body.
"we're not always fodder," he taunted, watch your back, '1."
As tough as Nolan and Alana were, they knew that Farro was right in his evaluation of the largest threat as he disappeared back into the palm forest. The pair from District 1 were the most dangerous and powerful tributes in the arena, which meant their scores had not just been for show.
The next couple days passed with minimal event. Ricardo from District 11 lost his life to Jessica, but she was then cut down by Ricardo's partner, Joann, who wielded a pair of katars to great effect. There was no sign of Lever, Lodan, or Lynx, but they were only 4 days into the games.
The 5th day was another day of action, but it was also the harbinger of the slow times that would later follow. The career pack ran into Edison and Cara, a boy and girl from District 5 and District 6 respectively, who, in following examples from a nefarious set of District 3 tributes from 2 years ago, had gone and built a simplistic lightning machine. It kept the careers on edge, but only briefly. Suddenly, Edison fell to the ground with a dark in the back of his neck, causing the careers to freeze.
"It's Farro again!" Alana shouted, only for Cara to cheap-shot Marina in the brief pause. She fell, twitching and somewhat paralyzed, but the other five careers raced to her defense as Valour put an arrow through Cara's chest. Farro, however, had escaped.
"Bloody coward…" Aurum swore.
"Coward or not," Nemo pointed out, kneeling next to his partner to see if she could he helped, "what he's doing is working. In the meantime, not to go all District 4 on everyone here…" he paused, "but if we could return to camp so we don't lose an ally, that'd be great."
There was a mumble of consensus from the careers, who returned to the cornucopia. Immediately they knew something was wrong.
"Someone's dug up the mines again," Nolan warned, "either it's that kid from '3, or that boy from '5 has them hoarded somewhere. Stay on your guard—they might have put them around camp."
To their relief, there was no sign of any mines in the camp itself, but that also meant that unless the piles of dirt and sand around the pedestals were superfluous, that one of the tributes had the mines with them.
Another cannon fired on day 5, and the face of Shelia Daniels from District 8 appeared in the sky. The next four days were fairly uneventful on all parts apart from some stormy weather that kept a trio of tributes busy. While the careers sheltered themselves in the cornucopia, Lever, Lodan, and Lynx were working hard to fight the storm.
Lodan's woodworking and training with axes in the training center had helped them obtain ample amounts of wood. A few sponsor gifts had given them a few other materials, but most of the vessel they had constructed had been from their own ingenuity. Lever had helped make sure that things worked the way they were supposed to, and he and Lodan both made sure that the boat was easy to control. Lynx, who had been sponsored a great deal of rope, helped skillfully tie everything together to keep it in place. The youngster had a rather impressive talent with knots and ropes, and so as the three of them battled the storm, she was the one manning the sails and pulling the ropes.
The real prize and bragging rights this little trio had though, was the ship's cannon. A sturdy, wooden thing; the mines that Lever had dug up were used as projectiles, and more than once they had fought off a great sea monster because of it. These were the rumbling explosions that the careers heard on day 7 and day 8. That night, Nemo and Marina volunteered to scope out the place tomorrow.
The rumblings seemed to grow closer as day 9 opened up, and while the rain was reduced to a light drizzle, the careers stayed put one more afternoon due to the lightning. Later that evening, a cannon (belonging to the Gamemakers this time) fired, shortly followed by another similar one. In the sky an hour or two later, were Farro and Joann, who had been dueling one another before they had been ambushed by Lever, Lodan, and Lynx, who used their ship's cannon to take them both out. A 3rd cannon that evening was a sign that Nemo wasn't coming back.
8 tributes still lived by day 10: the five surviving careers, and the three "sailors". Marina's wounds had healed, and while the careers had gone on another search for the three other tributes, all they were able to find were hazards and a few mutts. To make matters worse, Lever actually managed to hit Marina with one of their bombs, removing her from the games that afternoon.
The games got slow again as day 11, day 12, and day 13 all passed with little event other than the careers spending their nights on different islands each time. Day 14 was the beginning of the end, as the Capitol made an announcement.
"Attention, Tributes. There will be a final feast at the cornucopia this afternoon. Those who show up on time might gain an edge over their brethren. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
A powerful storm destroyed the little trio's boat, but they were undeterred as they made their way to the cornucopia to hopefully beat the careers. Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case this time: the Gamemakers made obstacles appear or disappear to help time their arrivals.
This was when the combat broke out, and it was short-lived. Lever and Lodan were both taken down with two deft swings from Aurum, while little Lynx cowered in fear and essentially surrendered. She wasn't a fighter and she knew it.
Alana was the one whose heart was softened. She approached the youngster, inviting her over in a bout of reassurance. It hurt her to do it, but after putting her arms around the little District 12 girl and cradling her a moment, she stuck a knife to her throat, killing her swiftly and cleanly.
"I'm sorry, Lynx Chantrea…" she whispered, laying the little girl down. Being trained as a would-be Peacekeeper, Alana always tried to take the least contentious route out of a problem, but was not afraid to kill when necessary.
At this point, it was a career ending. District 1 and District 2 turned on each other, resulting in two duels that left Valour and Aurum as the 'victors'. The two of them decided to settle it between one another: whoever was knocked down from injuries first, lost. Valoura tried to keep Aurum at a distance, but Aurum was too swift and got right up in his face with her melee attacks. Both of them seemed evenly matched for a while until Aurum managed to get a good strike on Valour, knocking him down. He knew he was beat, and Aurum knew it too. As such, she stabbed him swiftly, ending his life and ending the games with a final cannon. Aurum was the 8th victor from District 1, and the 47th victor of the games.
The 47th Hunger Games were unusual because of the "Two bloodbaths": the one at the beginning, and the one at the end where Lever, Lodan, Lynx, Alana, Nolan, and Valour had all died, leaving only Aurum in return. The Gamemakers learned lessons, but they also gained a cute and beautiful victor who became something of a poster child for Capitol fashion and modeling for a while, a hobby and pastime she enjoyed as well. Aurum was an everyday career, who had trained like one, fought like one, and won like one. Her kill count, perfect score, and good looks would be some of the main things that she was remembered by, and even if the games had humbled her a bit, she still couldn't help but be a little proud of herself all things considering—and she had all rights to be: she had earned it.
VICTORS BY YEAR:
1HG: Fukaya Kerezaki (#1, District 5)
2HG: Lucy Takamatzu (#1, District 11)
3HG: Naseru Litzak (#1, District 3)
4HG: Naisha Szasz (#1, District 2)
5HG: Jade Prima (#1, District 1)
6HG: Cedar Hardin (#1, District 7)
7HG: Susan Jackman (#2, District 5)
8HG: Malcolm Reed (#1, District 6)
9HG: Mags Cohen (#1, District 4)
10HG: Faren Dragmire (#2, District 1)
11HG: Maius Karuha (#2, District 2)
12HG: Iunius Karuha (#3, District 2)
13HG: Hilda White (#1, District 10)
14HG: Minali Otoyome (#2, District 3)
15HG: Willow James (#3, District 1)
16HG: Lark Chandnea (#2, District 11)
17HG: Woof Casino (#1, District 8)
18HG: Leah Holden (#2, District 7)
19HG: Zeruda Mezkiel (#2, District 6)
20HG: Muscida Lee (#2, District 4)
21HG: Kada Lahka (#4, District 2)
22HG: Gleam DiFronzo (#4, District 1)
23HG: Ivette Coronado (#3, District 5)
24HG: Olivia Thurman (#1, District 9)
25HG: Laurel Fox (#1, District 12)
26HG: Daron Armstrong (#5, District 2)
27HG: Cobalt Evans (#5, District 1)
28HG: Lyme Golding (#6, District 2)
29HG: Ash LosDias (#3, District 7)
30HG: Challis Worth (#2, District 8)
31HG: Beetee Latier (#3, District 3)
32HG: Fletch Crossley (#4, District 5)
33HG: Seeder Howell (#3, District 11)
34HG: Price Emerson (#6, District 1)
35HG: Leto Irizari (#7, District 2)
36HG: Jackson Kjelle (#5, District 5)
37HG: Zerviah Hawke (#3, District 6)
38HG: Wiress Plummer (#4, District 3)
39HG: Nephi Lott (#3, District 4)
40HG: Miriam Luxio (#7, District 1)
41HG: Marcelina Kovac (#6, District 5)
42HG: Niles Lincoln (#8, District 2)
43HG: Blight McKay (#4, District 7)
44HG: Sagittaria Svenja (#4, District 11)
45HG: Dezna Meraxa (#4, District 6)
46HG: Alice DeSiete (#3, District 8)
47HG: Aurum Zianja (#8, District 1)