The Fourth Annual Writer Games: Canon

Task Four - The Quell

"And so there shall be a period of rest following each Gamemaking intrusion of at least one day, unless the Games are required to be sped up or there is a desire for an increased pace." Book of Panem, XXIV.I.I

There's murmurs that have been emanating from the Gamemaker's Suite since the fire. By now, the response is overwhelming. Each tribute has devoted followers. Each replay is scrutinized and fawned over. And though each mentor has screen time, Caesar and Julius have made sure to limit the time Haymitch has on screen.

Instead they focus on the Games itself. Caesar compares it more than once to last year's arena without ever mentioning tribute names. He chats to Orvan on the program about how every element is designed just so, each a contrast to last year. He questions Clautilda on how she thinks the tributes will react when they find their food spoiled.

But as the coverage rolls to the morning, the chatter turns to the two who perished:

District 4, Ara Beaufort [written by HeadOnJackwards], and

District 10, Kyrien Moldesang [written by fiery-hallows].

But the chatter is only momentary, a ripple on a sea of waves.

Instead as the sun rises in the Capitol and the tributes rise to the near-hidden sun, today is the day for discussion. Betting and odds are getting higher as fifteen remain. There's much to be covered on the news.

For the tributes, however, Orvan simply orders one thing: "Alright, time to flip it around."

--

THE TASK

What happens: The fire is long gone, noon risen already (though noon in the arena can never be truly deciphered). Tributes might be beginning to feel tired, weak, hungered. They might even feel as though the day seems to be shorter, though nothing can be confirmed without a watch. Either way, they've recovered as they can from the previous night. The forest is scorched more than it already had been, though the brambles remain intact. Ash covers the ground but it did not kill the critters that live within the hollows of broken trees or the water hidden beneath fertile ashen soil.

Unfortunately, as some of you may have figured it out (and as it was written in the arena description), the time is up for your food supplies. Slowly as the day weans to afternoon, the spoils of the bloodbath spoil. The food so carefully rationed expires quicker than natural processes would ever allow. By the time mid-day strikes (see about an hour after the task begins), all the food is beyond salvageable, turned to mold or dust or rock.

Without food and without water, there is no life.

Welcome to survival.

The time parameter: This task occurs from the arena noon after the fire to the next noon/mid-day. This is deliberately vague, just don't, like, write an obviously out of time parameter-ed entry. This would start about six-eight hours after the fire ravaged the arena with an entire day span. Again, write a portion or all of it.

What you must do: If the fire did not destroy your supplies, odds are the tributes exerted themselves pretty hard. They need food and water in order to have any chance of surviving. Many probably have not went more than several hours without a meal. Unfortunately, now odds are it's likely been since just after the Bloodbath—well over a day since they thought to eat or drink. And if they did eat or drink, they cannot starve forever. Because this is the task where all foodstuff expires. Not many of you would have gotten fresh water, either, considering the rain was watery ash last evening, or you've otherwise consumed it or used it to soothe any burns received.

So this task is about finding such sustenance. As stated in the arena description, there's a fine assortment of completely edible insects, grubs, and critters hiding out amongst the hulls and trunks of trees and amongst the forest floors. If you're lucky there might even be rodents scattered about, but no game bigger than a considerably large rat or mole. As for water, rain doesn't seem likely, but if tributes are savvy enough (questionable?) they'd find that because the fire turned most of the ground into a nice bed of ash and dead grass and soil that if one digs deep enough there will be water, muddied yes, but muddied by charcoal from the years of decay and fire. It is clean. Dehydration can kill in, like, three days, and dehydration effects set in within hours, including headache, fatigue, etc.

You have essentially a whole day to write and explore the arena and do whatever you please, whether that's fixing yourselves up, finding other tributes, whatever, so long as you include the realization that their spoils (if they have any) are quite literally spoiled, and the descent to man's primal state by finding food and/or water when it is known they have none. This is meant to first of all give you a break on action, but also an opportunity to explore the psychological of actually being stuck in the arena and realizing you have to survive the arena before worrying about other tributes.

BALLOTS/DEATHS

The total amount of in-entry deaths/private ballots must equal THREE. That means you can have any combination of ballots/in-entry that you wish, so you could have all three used in-entry or all three used solely as ballots or any mix otherwise of both ballots and in-entry so long as it adds up to THREE. It's up to you. Reminder cannons are also allowed to signal deaths.

NINE people will have the chance of going up for votes, with seven going up, and four being eliminated.

WORD LIMIT

Do I even need to say none any more or do you consider it a given? Because it is a given.

SPONSORS

Congratulations to the three people who have been sponsored graciously by the Capitol and District citizens: Dioria Rose, Mellory Suede, and Sable Warren. For Dioria Rose, the citizens of One and the Capitol have taken to you, enamored by you. As such, no expenses are spared here—at the cusp of hunger and long after the realization there is no food (read: at night, if you so write that part), and for the citizens not wishing to see you convert to such barbarism, you've been gifted three small tablets in a small pill box—eat one and hunger shall be gone for twelve hours. Of course that means you're only saved for a little while, and you're most likely still out of water. And don't forget the other Careers, greedy as they are. For Mellory Suede, a loaf of bread from Eight and a small cannister of water arrives in the early morning of the following day, should you write to that point. And for Sable Warren, who could not be enamored by you and your will to survive? In the evening hours as the anthem plays you'll find a cannister of animal crackers enhanced by Capitol nutrients along with some soup common from Ten. While these commodities may not keep you alive for long, they are enough. I do expect to see the realization there's no food however, as each of these gifts come after a significant amount of time has passed from the expiry of the foodstuff.

DUE DATE

Saturday July 21, 9pm ADT.

Good luck and as always, may the odds be ever in your favour.