This is where the Perspective Flips: Now it's Skylar's turn to tell the story. Now for the game, I just threw them all in a generator. That might change a little when I write this. First though, we have the pre-game stuff. So they discuss things with the mentors and then move to the parade. Of course, the end might get a bit rambly as they just start listing off spells. I hope I got the characterizations of Moolinda Wu and Zander correct. Remember I haven't played that far in the game yet, nor played with a life student that much. Anyways, enjoy the Chapter!
In the Hunger Games book, there was a long train ride before the tributes reached the capitol. This gave them time to investigate the other tributes, get to know their team members (if they wished), and discuss strategy with their mentors.
Of course, this is the Spiral, where portal doors take you places as fast as going through a doorway. We were lined up in front of the portal door, the key to the world we would be staying on was inserted and the door opened. We were then marched through the door one by one. Showing up on the other side I saw we were on a dark world, with jagged rocks designed like buildings. We were on Morganthe's home world.
We were marched through the streets passing the insect-like people. We ended up walking until we made it to a dark cave. We were marched through the cave; luckily lights were lit so we wouldn't lose our way. Once we were through the cave, the other side of it was a spectacle. It looked just like Ravenwood, except there was no Bartleby in the center, so there was no portal door to escape. There were houses encircling a big field, the field sectioned off so each part represented the house of magic it was in front of. This Ravenwood had extra buildings, Along with the seven original schools there were buildings for the Astral schools, shadow school and dueling school.
"You and your mentors will stay in the buildings for your school, and all tributes will train in the field. All amenities will be provided for you," said the lead spider guiding us. "For today, you will remain in your houses and discuss strategy with your mentors. Tonight there will be a parade; you will be sent to Wysteria where you will be dressed up, and then be paraded all the way from Wysteria towards Avalon. This is where the games will be announced."
Well I guess that's a way to make this spectacular. This will be a multi-world event. I just hope Emily and Genevieve will be okay. They promised to pick up where they left off, and that would be in Avalon. Hopefully they are not caught.
A spider began to usher both me and Carson towards the Life building. Once we were inside, the doors were locked behind us; Just a little reminder that we were prisoners here. The inside of the building did not look like the Life School; it looked like a suite that was life school themed.
In front of us were a couple of brown couches, as well as pillows, no doubt because our mentors preferred them to couches. The walls were green and covered in leafs. There were crystal balls and scrier pools filled with green fluid that oozed life energy. If I didn't already know that I was here to fight to the death, I felt this room alone would give me life. Beyond the couches was a brown dining table with green chairs and brown cushions. Lining the room was an assortment of plant life, tended to by Sprites.
There was already a bunch of food laid out on the table, as we haven't had lunch yet. An assortment of salads, vegetables, and noodles; seeing as our mentors were a Koala and a Cow, it made sense that there was no meat. Not to mention, Life school screams vegetarian food.
I was hungry, but considering everything, I wasn't sure if I could eat. Carson and I sat down at the table and looked at the food. We were mulling over our situation.
"We'll probably survive," I said hopefully. "We have life magic on our side."
"Did you know I was corrupted once?" said Carson.
"I think I knew that," I said, not sure why he was bringing this up.
"I hurt a lot of people when I was. I would've killed Emily and Genevieve when they came to save me, but they snapped me out of it thankfully."
We were quiet.
"I'm scared Skylar; Yes I have life magic, but it can just as easily hurt as much as heal. What if I become that person again?"
"You were corrupted by a cursed page," I assured him. "That isn't you."
"But to survive, what if I-"
"We'll just use healing magic, and shields, we should be fine without attacking people."
I looked back at the food in front of us. My stomach growled. After being put at ease with that fact, I felt okay to eat. I helped myself to a somewhat warm bowl of noodles, while Carson took a helping of fruit salad. Once my noodles were done, I moved onto a garden salad, while Carson ate some Endame. I drank a hearty helping of juice, and moved onto to dessert. They had orange cake, cream puffs, jam tarts and fruit pies. I helped myself to some fruit pie, Carson had some jam tarts. I had one as well once my pie was done.
"I read the book this was based on and this is the part where we'd check out the other reapings and past games."
"We were there for the other reapings and there were no past games," said Carson. "This was based on a book?"
"Yeah, there was a book about it where I'm from. In a sense, we need to understand our opponents and what might happen."
"Well you read the book, what happens usually?"
"They place us in an arena styled off a certain terrain, or world in this case. When the gong sounds, we rush off our pedestals, some heading to the cornucopia for the bloodbath, others running away to safety."
"Why would we run into a bloodbath?"
"Because of the Cornucopia, it will have stuff to help us survive there: Weapons, food, water, supplies. It'd be much harder to do that in the arena without it. Once the bloodbath is over, they will sound out how many people have died with cannons to signal how many contestants are left. At the end of the day, they will tell us exactly who has died so we can know who else we have to worry about."
"What if we decide not to attack each other?"
"They'll have ways of making us kill each other, if not the arena itself will attack us, if not that, we'll die due to natural causes. When there are only a few of us left, the cornucopia will supply us with what we need in an attempt to draw us together again. Sometimes, in the end, there's a big event that pushes us to kill the remainders."
"That's twisted."
"That's the games." I decided to be optimistic. "Of course, the books I read had happier endings. Sometimes there's a way to cheat the system and have more than one victor."
"Let's hope something like that happens," said Carson.
"It is best to be hopeful," said a new voice. It was Zander, he and Moolinda Wu had just come into the room. "Yes, instead of seeing this as a bleak time and place you should instead have hope for life to prevail."
"Who know if we will," said Carson.
"If more than one survives, it will be a victory in itself," said Professor Wu. "If you do not make it, you will live on in your friends. The Carpe Diem Society will remember you Carson, Ceren will treasure that memory."
"Ceren wanted to volunteer for me," said Carson. "But he didn't."
"You didn't wish for him to, and he understood that," said Zander.
"How did you-?"
"I'm a telepath; as such I can access the thoughts and feelings of others. Like you for instance," he said looking at me. "You're friends with the saviors of the spiral. They promised to save you and as many others as they can by stopping Morganthe and thus these games."
"That's right," I said. "But doesn't determine if I'll live or die, they might be too late to save me."
"True," said Zander. "You shouldn't worry though. I've read the minds of other tributes and they've already decided to be your allies because of your friendship with the saviors."
"It helps to know people I guess," said Carson.
"I don't feel right having people sacrifice themselves for me," I said.
"They each have their own reasons for doing so, but since the saviors are not in the game and are in turn trying to save them presently, they least they can do to repay them is protect you," said Zander.
"Some of these people are their friends from this world, who's to say I can't repay everything they've done by protecting them."
"That is not the mindset to have, young one," said Professor Wu. "The key here is to try to survive, not try to sacrifice oneself."
"I want to live," I said. "Just not at the cost of someone else."
"They intend to live for as long as they can as well," said Zander. "Their main mission is to protect you from those who are not your allies."
"I guess a good practice would be to stick with you then," said Carson. "If so many people are looking out for you, I guess I should look out for you too. It would put us all on the same team."
"That is the spirit young ones," said Ms. Wu.
"I don't want to be entirely protected like I'm helpless though, that will make them see me as an easy target. They'll choose to go after me."
"That thought might change," said Zander. "Everything before the games start will affect your chances of survival."
"First, there will be a parade," said Ms. Wu. "This will create an impression of you for the audience."
"The audience will be full of sponsors," said Zander. "Sponsers will send you weapons, food, medicine and supplies, all to help you win the games."
"If the audience likes you, if the audience wants you to win, it will increase your chances of survival," said Ms. Wu.
"This is where Charisma will be a major factor," said Zander. "You have to believe everything you say, believe in all of your actions, believe you are going to win."
"You also cannot be bitter with the game, you cannot be angry," said Ms. Wu. "You have to be charming, happy, content, and friendly, be a friend to the audience. Be their victor, their champion, and they will not want you to die."
"You'll have two chances to win the audience," said Zander. "There will be the parade, where your actions can impress them, dazzle them, and then there will be an interview, where you can win them with your words."
"That is everywhere where Charisma can help you," said Ms. Wu. "The rest will come from skill. You will train for most of the week, you will mainly train with Life as it is your school, but you can also train in other areas."
"Other people might come to your area to learn how to heal and shield," said Zander. "These are where you can measure the compatibility of your opponents, see who can be your ally during the games, and who will be definite threats."
"On the second to last day before the games you will be judged on your skill if survival, and then ranked on a scale of one to twelve," said Ms. Wu, disheartened, probably not a fan of this kind of labelling.
"This type of labelling could either help or hinder you," explained Zander. "A Low score implies you have a low chance of survival, which either means they'll leave you alone as you are not a threat to them, or they'll pursue you for easy pickings."
"Meanwhile a high ranking score is the same," said Ms. Wu. "They'll pursue you as they'll see you as a threat or they'll try to avoid you."
"So we're hoping for an average score," said Carson. "That way they'll leave us alone."
"That might be a detriment though," said Zander. "As we said, what audience member would support one with an average score of survival? Do your best to impress the judges, they will make a score once they've seen everyone."
"What about when we're in the arena? Any tips for then?" I asked.
"We have all week for that," said Ms. Wu. "You sure are an eager one."
We both sat eagerly and waited. Zander leaned forward.
"There will be wisps in the arena, sparse wisps, but they'll be there. Try to keep near them."
"Blue wisps will be everywhere," said Ms. Wu. "Whilst red wisps will be sparser than before, they will be removed, and natural healing at the cornucopia will be slowed."
"It will do nothing to keep you warm though," said Zander. "You need shelter and cover. If you are to light a fire, try to make it smokeless, if not, make it a quick fire. A small fireball if you can."
"Guess we should study in the fire area as well," said Carson.
"Ice area might help in making a shelter or balance could," I added.
"Balance is a good thing to know," said Ms. Wu. "Balance can keep you hidden, and works well in protecting you."
"You'll also need things to eat and drink," said Zander. "Life can help you there."
"Storm could give us water," I added.
"It might also reveal you child," said Ms. Wu. "Be careful where the lightning strikes and the rain falls."
"Your best bet is to look for a natural spring," said Zander.
"What if it's not clean?" asked Carson.
"Balance could help with that too, or Life."
"What if we need fish oil or something?" I asked. "Wouldn't storm help there?"
"Or Myth?" asked Carson.
"The best healing remedies come from plants," said Ms. Wu. "But if you must fish, use your magic sparingly."
"Now onto the uncomfortable subject," said Zander. "The means of defense and attack: How many spells do you two know?"
Carson struggled to remember them all. He was a couple years older than me.
"I know seventeen different attack spells, some of them also heal."
"Which ones?" said Ms. Wu.
"Hunting Wyrm, Hungry Catapiller, King Artrious, and Wings of Fate."
"How many healing spells do you know?" asked Zander.
"Eighteen, the same four also hurt."
"Support spells?" they both asked.
"Twenty six, four also heal."
"Which ones?"
"Guardian Spirit, Tranquility, Meditation, and Jinn's Affliction: the remove wards, lingering damage, and can bring someone back from death."
"Hold onto those," said Ms. Wu. "What about you Skyler?"
"You would know, I only have two years of study."
"Still, tell me."
"Eight attack spells, one also heals."
"Hunting Wyrm," said Zander. "A reliable spell for the two of you; how many healing spells do you have?"
"Nine, you know which one also does damage."
"And Support?" they both asked.
"Twelve: some shields, wards, traps, and one that removes lingering damage. One can summon a sprite to defend you." The sprites in the room turned their heads. Zander and Ms. Wu looked at each other, maybe talking inside their minds.
"Carson, you are obviously more skilled than Skylar is. If you wish to look out for her, you must be unafraid to bring pain," said Zander. "As for you Skyler, you need to improve on what you know, either that or search for treasure cards. I take it you also know some fire and balance spells?"
"Yes," I said.
"They may come in handy to make up where you cannot defend."
"I'll keep that in mind." Zander and Ms. Wu got up from their seats.
"Once you meet your opponents, we can try to understand them and how they'll fare with you."
"You have until four o'clock," said Ms. Wu. "That's when you'll have to go Wysteria to prepare for the parade. Until then, get to know your new living quarters and go over what you know."
They then headed off into their quarters. Carson and I took that to heart and went to see our rooms. My room was nice enough. It had a green leafy comforter, and a dark wood bedpost, it had actual ferns running along it. Inside my room was a Scrier pool. Looking inside of it, it was showing images of the reaping. I bet if I stirred it, I'd be able to hear sound too. Was Morganthe broadcasting this across all the pools, letting everyone know who the contestants are?
I had a wardrobe in my room. Inside I found a variety of green and brown clothes fashioned for girls. There was wool cloak that looked comfy enough, so I put it on. I then began to go over every spell I knew.
There was Imp, which might be a good distraction. Leprechaun might blind someone for a bit. The Legend Golem would protect me from Death and Myth as well as ward off threats, best against other Spirit schools. I could summon a Seraph; that might seriously wound someone. The Hunting Wyrm would chase someone off, and that could get me distance as well as heal my injuries, best for when I'm done for the count. There's the Earth Walker, a good Golem Guardian, to clear the path. Maybe use that when there's a dire threat in front of us. Then there's a centaur, a hunter that never misses his mark, impaling foes with splinters and an arrow. It's a good finisher. Hopefully I never have to use it. Most likely, everyone would rely on the Treant spell, good at moving rocks out of the way, or crushing or impaling people.
Let's not focus on that, there are my healing spells which would probably be a lot more helpful. Minor Blessing can help with scratches; Fairy can heal others, while pixie can heal myself of illness and burns. Unicorn can heal the whole group if we have many people with us, which might be important. Sprite might be helpful if we have a lot of time on our hands and not a lot of energy. Regenerate is if we had more energy (note to self: save on energy to rely on this one). Dryad heals you based on what you have to offer, I wouldn't try my luck with her. Then there's the satyr, if we have lots of energy and little time it's good for major healing.
These are my keys to survival. Of course, who could forget about the handy Spirit Armour. That will keep us alive for long periods. There are others, but they would only be necessary if I was going up against Carson. As long as I can last until Emily and Genevieve come to save us. I might be able to get through this without hurting anyone.
The next parts won't be so rambly I swear, except for maybe going over the fire and Balance spells she knows. It's mainly going to be written content not listed content. They're going to try winning the crowds in the next few chapters, will they see Emily and Geneieve again, who knows? You'll have to stay tuned and find out!