AUTHOR'S NOTES: And now we kick off the 2nd Golden Age as we reach the final stretches of the Victors' Chronicles. As the title and number of this chapter suggest, this is year 91. Much like '74 and '75, I have a full-length version of this story that goes into even greater detail than this chapter does, and so if you like this chapter, I strongly recommend reading the full account in my story "The 91st Annual Hunger Games". Hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Happy Reading!
The 91st Annual Hunger Games
After nearly a century of Hunger Games, the Capitol had a pretty good idea of what did and did not work, and even the tributes usually became pretty savvy as to how the games worked. Volunteers were still fairly rare outside of the career districts of 1 and 2, but even the tributes that got reaped had a tendency to still perform well. Scores were often very high, and even tributes from the outer districts had figured out ways to put the week of training to use.
The 91st Annual Hunger Games were considered one of the best years in Hunger Games history, even after the fact, and was almost universally accepted to be the year that kicked off the "2nd Golden Age" of the Hunger Games. Full of drama, intrigue, backstabbing, friendship, and heartbreak, they had the perfect makings for a glorious game, and the magnificent arena that they would be taking place in would only make them even better. The year before had been a hit with the dynamic oceanic arena, but this year was not only expected to outshine it—but was expected to fully blow it out of the water.
Panem knew that there would be intrigue this year the moment they laid eyes on the District 12 reapings. From the glass bowl emerged two very similar names: Wesley Togisala and Aveline Togisala. Anyone who saw the tribute pair on the stage could tell at once why this would be a heartbreak—the two Togisalas were siblings. Ava was a particularly tiny little thing a few inches shy of 5 feet despite being 15 years old, and so it was easy to confuse her for a child.
Apart from the usual volunteers from '1 and '2, a large boy from District 10 and a small girl from District 4 actually volunteered as well, bringing interesting flavors to the tribute pool. One the other hand, the career pack this year looked to become very large: District 1's Zaffre Jade and Lazuli Cohen had not only recruited Chaco Haden and Chel Colorado from District 2, but they had also taken in District 3's Samuel Fukui and Alice Kahn. Shortly afterwards, Cress Tallulah from District 4 joined them, as did his little volunteer partner, Iris Durango.
True to the Capitol's predictions, most of the tributes scored high. Chel Colorado, the mighty girl who towered above most women (at 6'2"), scored perfectly, as did the cunning little 14-year-old Iris Durango. Wes and Ava, the little Togisala siblings, scored a 7 and a 5, and so many of the gamblers began to overlook the two of them. Wesley was fairly sure his sister had held back, given that she had spent most of the training time with the career pack, apparently getting into most of their good graces, particularly with Chel. If they could have a powerful ally like that, perhaps they would be able to give the mining district another much-needed victor.
The remaining careers scored between 9 and 11, with Cress even scoring a 9, and the District 3 boy and girl scoring an 11 and an 8 respectively. Magnolia Chang, a girl from District 7, scored an 11 as well, while a District 8 boy named Roy O'Donnell scored a 10. All in all, it was clear that there were cunning and powerful tributes this year.
The day of the games finally arrived and the tributes found their arena to be a vast series of mountain vistas and forests that was actually rather beautiful to behold. It was almost like a target—There was a mountainous outer ring, followed by a river valley, then an inner ring with another valley (this one only had small brooks and streams, however), and then the bullseye of the target was the cornucopia plateau. All of this was covered in breathtaking greenery and trees, contrasted delightfully against a blue sky with large, puffy blue clouds that had the tributes staring in awe. Of course, they only spent about 59 seconds gazing at it in such awe and wonder before the gunshot went off and the games began.
True to some people's predictions, Wesley did not survive the opening minutes. However, his sister Aveline, as well as the decently-scoring District 11 pair (both 8s) managed to escape. Aveline's escape was not only surprising, but also remarkable. She betrayed the short-lived (if even existent) career alliance by shooting Cress in the head with an arrow. It was this action that caused his partner Iris to slay Aveline's brother (as she learned later on), but at the moment, she was fleeing from them. Interestingly enough, Chel also defected from the pack, joining Ava. As they were cornered on the edge of a cliff, Chel grabbed Ava and dove over the side of the cliff and into the river below.
Remarkably, they survived, albeit slightly waterlogged. However, they managed to find shelter for the evening where Ava learned her brother did not survive. All this did, however, was harden her resolve and increase her determination to return home.
The days passed, and the gimmick of this year's arena began to show. The large river that formed a circle around one "ring" of the arena, was rising. Chel, Ava, and the others all wondered what would happen when it reached the top, but they focused on the here and now rather than the subtly rising river.
The days wore on, and while Chel, Ava, and the remaining careers were unable to confront each other, Roy and Magnolia met their demises within a few days as well: the former at the hands of Ava, shortly after he had killed the latter himself. By this point—the 9th day, the river was nearly at the outer peaks of the inner mountain ring.
Another fairly new development was that Chel and Aveline had become more than just allies—they had become friends. Chel's amiable and playful demeanor meshed harmoniously with Ava's witty and sarcastic persona, and with Aveline's intelligence and speed, combined with Chel's cunning and strength, the two made a rather formidable pair. Ava also revealed that she had in fact been holding back during her private session, noting that she had practiced the weapons with her right hand, when in reality, Aveline was left-handed. Perhaps this would one day serve to her advantage.
In the meantime, the two tributes remained on the move, with Ava's survival skills helping them stay safe, and Chel's strength helping them stay protected.
Sooner or later though, they had a confrontation with the six remaining careers: the girls from Districts 1, 3, and 4; and the boys from Districts 1, 2, and 3. They split Ava and Chel apart, with Iris, leading two of the others after Ava, and the other three going after Chel. They chased Ava towards a ravine, knocking her into it as Iris' knife landed in Ava's arm. The tiny girl fell motionless to the bottom of the pit and remained there, as a cannon went off. Chel heard it, and assumed it to be Ava, which in turn made her fight hard enough that the remaining careers fled, despite Iris and the other two rendezvousing with them. Chel even cracked Iris' arm, but she let them flee as she regrouped to get ready for what she suspected would be a more proper 5-on-1 battle. After all, Alice Kahn didn't survive Chel's wrath. The others decided that mocking Ava the way Alice had done, was not a good idea.
The Capitol deliberately did not show who had actually died, in order to build suspense. In truth, a District 5 girl named Violet Crossley had bled out at this exact moment from Chel's throwing axe lodging itself in her shoulder. Only later in the evening after the anthem played did they show the faces. Upon realizing that Ava was not dead, Chel got up from her camp and immediately began hunting for her little District 12 friend in the dark.
She found Ava at the bottom of the ravine, soaked in water and covered in mud, but the young girl was still alive, and so Chel wasted no time carrying her back to her camp and trying to nurse her back to health. She knew that there would have to be a final confrontation soon. The last time they had attempted a final confrontation, a forest fire (surely triggered by the Gamemakers to prevent the last 8 tributes all dying at once) separated them, and this time, none of them were going to let that happen again. The next time they met would be the last time they met.
Sure enough, soon cannons for the District 11 pair rang out and their faces graced the sky that night, alongside Lazuli, who had likely died in the fight. By this time the water from the river was looming ominously at the peaks of the inner ring mountains, as if about to flood over—but 13 days in and no such thing had happened yet. Early that next morning, Chel and Ava confronted Zaffre, Chaco, and Samuel, deciding on an end-all duel here and now. Incidentally, Ava was the one to start this fight, grabbing Chel's axe right out of her hand and sending it whizzing through the air and into Zaffre's chest. Chaco and Samuel were fierce (and even respectable) fighters, but they were overpowered by Chel and Ava, who now just needed to hunt down Iris.
Before they were able to run into the scythe-wielding killer from District 4, however, they ran into a black-clad humanoid figure that, for a moment, they thought was a tribute. Instead, it turned out to be a mutation of sorts—designed in the likeness of a woman, except with claws on its hands and feet, bright red eyes, greyish brown skin, and pointed ears. It was swift and vicious, and nearly shaved three years clean off of Aveline's life before she and Chell killed it by stabbing it repeatedly. These creatures, dubbed "Night Witches" by some, had surfaced on and off, most notably being first seen around the 45th Hunger Games. There was thankfully only one of these creatures in the 91st arena, but the fact that they were making a comeback was an ominous thought indeed.
Chel and Ava returned to the cornucopia, figuring that day 14 would be the final showdown. Every game since the 87th had lasted 14 days, after all, and so perhaps it was a more streamlined trend as well.
The 14th morning came and the arena finally flooded, covering the valley in water just as well, leaving little more than the large cornucopia plateau above the waves. Chel and Ava quickly deducted that if a cannon had not gone off, that meant Iris was either flailing in the water somewhere off in the distance, or she was hiding somewhere on this otherwise featureless plateau (now island).
They had hardly suggested this to each other before Iris sprang out from behind the cornucopia and attacked, leaving several large lacerations on Chel before attempting to kill the massive girl slowly and painfully. Aveline, furious at the aspect, tackled Iris and managed to overpower her, forcing her head under the water and nearly drowning her before venting on this girl—with her fists. Only after she saw Iris' battered face and her submissive, weary expression that had accepted defeat, did Ava put Iris out of her misery and end her life.
By this time, however, Chel was dying from blood loss and perhaps a bit of poisoning from the venom that had apparently been on Iris' blade. Before Ava could put her out of her misery, however, a gigantic bird rose out from the water, coming right towards them.
It was clear why this would become one of the most memorable games in history a moment later. Chel mustered her strength and threw Aveline at the bird. The tiny tribute clung to it, knowing that Chel had not been trying to feed her to the bird—but that she had been trying to get Ava to land on it so that she could kill it.
A tiny little 15-year-old was now flying on the back of a gigantic phoenix mutt that was trying to shake her off. It managed to nearly kick her off its talon, but she launched her grappling hook, a tool she had received from a particularly generous sponsor the previous day, and reeled herself back onto the bird-mutt's back. Using her knives, she stabbed her way up the bird's back before reaching its head, plunging the blade right into its skull and killing it.
Next came a several hundred foot freefall, but luckily for Ava, the bird softened her fall and so all she suffered were a few bruises, and was a little shaky on her feet. Chel, however, was growing pale and Ava knew that she was going to die. It hurt her deeply to have to kill her best friend, even if it was to put her out of her misery. However, Chel begged Ava to do it, assuring her that she died happy, and that she had done what she had come here to do. After a few more parting words, Ava plunged the blade into Chel's sternum and ended the games, tears flowing freely down her face as she lamented the loss of her best friend, and her brother as well. However, Aveline was another of several victors that were greatly improving her district's track record. She had just become the 5th victor from District 12, and the 91st victor of the Hunger Games.
Ava's trauma was mostly connected to Iris Durango, and her victory tour stop in District 4 gave her trouble. She never fully got over the loss of her beloved brother Wesley or her wonderful friend Chel, but Ava was a strong-willed type, like most of District 12 was. Despite having killed both tributes from District 2 that year, she was fairly well-received, because she had honored the fallen tributes with sincerity, explaining that it was business—part of the games. That was the District 2 mentality that they used, and so to see someone from such an unlikely place as District 12 preach that, actually garnered approval from most. Besides, everyone knew that Ava would not have killed Chel if she had had a choice in the matter. But, there could only be one victor, and the gigantic girl was dying at that point anyways, and so Ava ended her life quickly instead of watching her suffer.
On the other hand, Ava's victory was just one of many that was starting to set things in motion that could not be undone. The revolution whose seeds were planted by Alice DeSiete nearly 50 years ago had taken root, and the days of their dormancy were drawing thin.
In the meantime, Ava Togisala was quite fine with biding her time like the rest of her fellow citizens and comrades. District 12 had easily become the most rebellious and anti-Capitol district of Panem by this point, but like Ava in the games, they were discreet about it, downplaying their own strength and smarts to look less threatening, and thus the Capitol left them alone. As long as they could keep up this ruse, they would be able to last—and remain out of the Capitol's spotlight for the time being…
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)
48HG: Layla Aranai (#9, District 2)
49HG: Chip Sangster (#5, District 3)
50HG: Haymitch Abernathy (#2, District 12)
51HG: Derrick James (#7, District 5)
52HG: Chaff Mitchell (#5, District 11)
53HG: Brutus Gunn (#10, District 2)
54HG: Tiffany Waxler (#2, District 10)
55HG: Zak Dreggite (#4, District 4)
56HG: Zoroka Chandaki (#9, District 1)
57HG: Cecelia Sanchez (#4, District 8)
58HG: Meili Meisha (#5, District 6)
59HG: Zhin Lyautey (#6, District 3)
60HG: Lucas Drazen (#10, District 1)
61HG: Kara Petersen (#5, District 7)
62HG: Enobaria Taos (#11, District 2)
63HG: Gloss Zianja (#11, District 1)
64HG: Cashmere Zianja (#12, District 1)
65HG: Finnick Odair (#5, District 4)
66HG: Elroy Trujillo (#12, District 2)
67HG: Varric Svenja (#6, District 11)
68HG: Carver Tabris (#2, District 9)
69HG: Bethany Shanza (#8, District 5)
70HG: Annie Cresta (#6, District 4)
71HG: Johanna Mason (#6, District 7)
72HG: Immanuel Cox (#3, District 10)
73HG: Paige DeSiete (#5, District 8)
74HG: Clove Kazera (#13, District 2)
75HG: Katniss Everdeen (#3, District 12)
76HG: Johnny Stallings (#9, District 5)
77HG: Ikki Ortolani (#7, District 3)
78HG: Ryuka Satoru (#6, District 6)
79HG: Nailah Zoraki (#13, District 1)
80HG: Zenzi Tallarico (#7, District 11)
81HG: Kaede Raiden (#14, District 2)
82HG: Katsuo Raiden (#15, District 2)
83HG: Mandy Ikezhen (#7, District 4)
84HG: Vigo Zakatau (#4, District 12)
85HG: Resin Balthezar (#7, District 7)
86HG: Marian Greene (#3, District 9)
87HG: Connor McIrish (#6, District 8)
88HG: Ian Nelson (#8, District 3)
89HG: Kozue Sowa (#8, District 11)
90HG: Gill Wainright (#8, District 4)
91HG: Aveline Togisala (#5, District 12)