From the hush only accompanied by the unusual tempo of your panic-altered heartbeat, the metal plate rises into place. You wait a few moments for your eyes to adjust to the light before greedily absorbing the new setting.
The land before you has no end. Moors stretch unceasingly towards the sky-line. A few pockets of seclusion can be found where the slight roll of hills dip into descent. But at this moment you feel as if the entire world is stretched out before you in infinite continuation. Heather paints the moor in a purple hue. All plants here are tough, scratchy and made to withstand the harsh climate.
You find the explanation to the quick adjustment of your eyes in the distinct lack of sunlight. Mirroring the ceaseless nature of the land the muggy grey sky has no end. There is a small patch of feeble light where the sun lies behind cloud, but it is losing the fight to break free. The wind tumbles unimpeded and hits your back with a forceful push. It whips the hair in your eyes and replaces the silence with a roar of passing air. The air is not biting cold; even worse it is an aching cold that settles into your bones. Not extreme, but intensely uncomfortable. You find yourself beginning to shiver. There is a dampness in the air to accompany the cold that seems to suggest the future arrival of rain. In the distance the unforgiving height of craggs loom; scree and boulders lie at the base of these cliffs. Here the landscape is nature untamed. Wild, unpredictable and an oddly melancholic beauty in its bleakness. (See cover for example).
"Welcome to the arena. Please take a moment to consider your carefully built surroundings. You'll soon find these Games are designed to celebrate the Gamemakers who work tirelessly to decide your fate. After all, things operate best when they revolve around me..." A tittering of self-indulged laughter can be discerned above the noise of the wind. You immediately recognise it to be the voice of the newest addition; Pandora.
'These moors are here to celebrate the ancestral home of Alithia Warwell's past relations. Beautiful are they not? I have my stylist tracking down the exact shade of heather to be used as eyeliner as we speak. But beware, much like Alithia, this terrain does not suffer fools gladly. The countdown is beginning, the Games are drawing near; all that is left is to wish that the odds remain ever in your favour. May no one ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the soon-to-be sleepers in the quiet earth...' The monopoly of sound in the arena is once more replaced by the wind as Pandora concludes.
Your attention turns to the cornucopia; it soon becomes apparent that supplies are oddly scarce. An ancient building lies in ruin. The structure still retains a faded image of its once grand existence. You can still detect the pointed arches, the space where elaborate glass once flooded in light. In the centre of this quietly crumbling abbey lies the collection of supplies. It is obvious that many a foot has tread under the no longer existent roof and many a hand has glided upon the worn rocks. It is up to you to decide if you will undertake the same journey. Waiting is over; the countdown has ended. (See picture).
The cornucopia holds a limited supply of items. Only those with sponsors will receive one item requested in private training:
Diamond Fabulo - Sponsored by Alithia - A pointed metal nail file
Apollo Leier - Nothing
Blissia Valiant - Sponsored by Vinella - A sheath of throwing knives
Xavier Waven - Nothing
Piper Corbet - Nothing
Gizmo Glitch - Nothing
Coral Beaudelaire - Sponsored by Khave - A trident
Marine Scales - Sponsored by Pandora - A trident
Shay Nameless - Nothing
Elmo Wattson - Nothing
Akiya Uri - Nothing
Merry Stake - Nothing
Nymphadora Dryadia Hamadry - Nothing
Fern Espalior - Nothing
Devin Chiffon - Nothing
Tristen Grain - Nothing
Vixen Axwell - Sponsored by Vinella - A knife
Bo Meadows - Sponsored by Alithia - A Sword
Teal Sears - Sponsored by Pandora - An axe
Hyde Link - Nothing
Maia Trillium - Nothing
Elias Uriah Pique - Nothing
Thicketrose Nightlock - Nothing
Tyler Palmer - Nothing
Amaranth Oceania Myrdith - Nothing
Solum Magnus - Sponsored by Khave - Bow and arrows
This task requires you to witness or cause FIVE deaths within your written entry. In a separate message to your entry please include an additional two names (that cannot include the tributes killed in your entry). This will create a total of seven deaths each; five in the entry and two deaths that shall be kept secret. The limit is 1,200 words. Do NOT exceed this limit.
The deadline for this task is in a week: the 6th of April at 8pm GMT. Due to the disappointing turn out of the last task we are considering imposing stricter measures against those who do not hand in. If you anticipate a busy week ahead I suggest you begin writing now. 'I was busy' is not an acceptable excuse. The only acceptable excuse is: 'there was an apocalypse and I was too busy running from the burning rubble of ash and destruction'.
On that note I wish you good luck!
- Pandora Kleio/Just
YOU ARE READING
Author Games: Memoranda Of Terror
FanficNew President, new Gamemaker, new rules (ish). From the account that brought you 'Author Games: Trial by Fire', 'Author Games: Seasons' and 'Sirens' comes the latest in a series of writing competitions. Unlike previous Games, we have reverted back t...
