"Saving my own life was easy. It's saving others that's hard."
Orphaned during the Rebellion and left to fend for herself, Ivy saw a chance to become the master of her own fate ... and became the Hunger Games' very first volunteer. A Career in all but her lack of training, Ivy was a favorite with the sponsors, and the arena that year was perfectly suited to her needs: a simple field of tall grain, providing shelter and food, but filled with poisonous snakes. After gaining a crossbow in the bloodbath, Ivy spent the rest of the Games lurking in the field and picking off tributes one by one, her crossbow bolts dipped in the snakes' venom. The final battle between her and the boy from District Seven was quick and one-sided; he only managed to graze her leg with a knife - Ivy's one injury during the Games - before receiving an arrow in the throat. In the end, she tallied nine kills, a record that stood for nearly twenty years before it was broken by Mortimer.
But winning the Games was the easy part. As a mentor, Ivy had much less success, and, despite a few close battles, District Eleven failed to produce another victor for more than twenty years. Year after year, Ivy struggled, nearly consumed by her anger - at the Capitol, the tributes, and at herself for being unable to save them. But, at last, Ivy secured another victor, and, only three years later, another followed. Ivy retired from mentoring, leaving the two younger, more energetic mentors to take her place.
Age of Victory: 18
Volunteered
Training Score: 10
Kills: 9
Arena: Open Field
Length of Games: 4 days
Current Age: 66
Successful Mentorships:
Elijah Whitaker
Elijah Whitaker
Victor of the 24th Hunger Games
"I did what I had to do. I survived. I moved on. It wasn't easy, but maybe it was worth it."
A loner by nature, Elijah was shocked when three different groups, including the Careers, approached him with offers of an alliance. At Ivy's behest, Elijah finally decided to join the Careers, but, after leaving the bloodbath without a single kill, Elijah feared his allies would decide he wasn't pulling his own weight. That night, while he was on watch, he packed a small bag of supplies and struck out on his own, putting hours behind him before the Careers realized he was missing.
Elijah remained a lone wolf for the rest of the Games, living off the supplies stolen from the Careers and, eventually, the supplies of two other tributes he found and killed. As the second week drew to a close, only four tributes remained: Elijah, the girls from One and Two, and the boy from Three. The two Career girls, each believing they could handle the remaining tributes alone, turned on each other, and, finally, each dealt a killing blow, leaving Elijah and the boy from Three. With his opponent weak from hunger and injured by mutts, Elijah quickly overpowered him and claimed the victory, breaking a three-year streak of Career victors.
After the Games, Elijah did his best to return to a normal life. His family welcomed him back with open arms, grateful for his return - and for the life of plenty he had brought them. After years of just scraping by, life as a victor was a welcome change, despite the guilt. He'll never forget what he's done, but everything he did, he did to survive, to come home to his family. And that, he believes, makes the price worth paying.
Age of Victory: 16
Reaped
Training Score: 7
Kills: 3
Arena: Seaside Village
Length of Games: 14 days
Current Age: 42
Successful Mentorships:
Tamsin Lane
Tamsin Lane
Victor of the 27th Hunger Games
"If I had to do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing."
Orphaned at the age of nine, scrappy and street-smart, Tamsin had no plans to volunteer for the Games ... until her best friend, Marion Whitaker was reaped. Tamsin hastily volunteered, and, over Marion's objections, took her place in the Games. On the way to the Capitol, Tamsin confessed her true feelings for Marion to her mentor, Elijah. Despite Elijah's suggestion that the Capitol might be moved by her situation, Tamsin chose to keep their relationship quiet. Instead, she relied on her wits and her allies, the pair from Seven. Together, they escaped the bloodbath and took refuge in a treehouse on the edge of the playground.
As the second night fell, however, the Careers found them. Tamsin and her allies hurled makeshift weapons down from the treehouse, but, soon, the Careers set the base of the tree on fire. As the flames spread, Tamsin and her allies leapt to the ground. Using burning branches, the girl from Seven held the Careers off long enough for her allies to escape, sacrificing herself to save her friends. After a few days, the Careers stumbled upon a large sandbox that turned out to be quicksand, which claimed two of them while the others escaped. Another group set up camp at the cornucopia in the Careers' absence, and the ensuing fight left only one survivor: the boy from One. With only three tributes left, Tamsin and her ally agreed to attack the Career together. With their opponent already injured, the fight was short, and they were left to face each other. The fight that followed was long and bloody, but, in the end, Tamsin emerged victorious.
Following her return to District Eleven, Tamsin confessed to Marion the real reason she volunteered, and was surprised to find that Marion felt the same. Now neighbors in Victors' Village, Marion left her own house a few years later and moved in with Tamsin, officially welcoming her to the Whitaker family. They've been together ever since.
Age of Victory: 16
Volunteered
Training Score: 5
Kills: 2
Arena: Playground
Length of Games: 6 days
Current Age: 39
Successful Mentorships:
Violet Levine
Violet Levine
Victor of the 46th Hunger Games
"I just want to forget."
Quiet and hardworking, Violet never wanted to stand out from the crowd. Reaped along with two seventeen-year-old boys - Fabian and Cyril - she quickly formed an alliance with the pair of them and faded into the background once more. But while her allies were flashier and more confident, Violet was the one who was willing to do what had to be done. After snatching weapons and fleeing the bloodbath, the trio set up camp on the opposite side of the vineyard and, under Violet's direction, began acting like a miniature Career pack, hunting down any tributes unfortunate enough to find themselves within striking distance.
The three of them did quite well until faced with the actual Career pack, who quickly slew Cyril and surrounded Fabian as Violet fled. Without her allies, Violet grew much more cautious, avoiding the Careers, living on supplies she and her allies had stolen, as well as grapes from the vineyard. When the Careers finally found her, only two of them remained - the only other tributes in the arena. Violet led them on a chase through the thickest part of the bramble, outrunning them long enough to double back and catch them from behind, killing one and injuring the other before they realized what was happening. The injured Career fought back, but it was too late. Violet only had to wait for him to bleed to death.
Violet returned to District Eleven physically sound, but haunted by the faces of the allies she left to die. She quickly turned to drink for a relief, longing to forget their faces, the blood, the guilt. She can sometimes be found wandering aimlessly around the vineyards of Eleven, searching for her allies.