"I know no apology can change what I did. Nothing I can say will bring them back. But I'm sorry, anyway. I always will be."
A Capitol soldier during the rebellion, Vester entered the Hunger Games along with several former rebel soldiers. He made his mark early, promising during the interviews that he would bestow a slow, painful death on every rebel in the arena - a promise that resonated well with a Capitol audience hungry for vengeance. Once in the Games, Vester proved true to his word, killing quickly only when necessary, torturing the rebels to death as slowly as his skills would allow. Despite his efforts to prolong it, Vester's victory came swiftly; he was crowned after only three days, a record which stood for over forty years.
His first year as a mentor, however, opened Vester's eyes to the horrors he'd had a hand in unleashing. In the following years, as he lost tribute after tribute, Vester spiraled into depression. Once, after losing a tribute - a rebel he was determined to save, and thus redeem himself - he nearly committed suicide, but was stopped by Lander, who always kept a close eye on him during the Games. Vester's condition continued to deteriorate, until, to everyone's surprise, Talitha's victory pulled him back from the brink. Having someone at his side during the Games softened the pain, and, nine years later, they brought another tribute home, providing a second replacement mentor for Vester, who has since retired from mentoring completely and distanced himself from the Games as much as possible. He knows he will never forget. He will never be rid of his guilt. But, at last, he can begin to move on.
Age of Victory: 18
Reaped
Training Score: 9
Kills: 7
Arena: Battlefield
Length of Games: 3 days
Current Age: 67
Successful Mentorships:
Talitha Cadence
Talitha Cadence
Victor of the 12th Hunger Games
"I never wanted this. I did what I had to, I survived, but I never enjoyed it. I don't understand how anyone can."
Trusting, good-natured, and endlessly optimistic, Talitha quickly won over the Capitol audience - but not Vester, who claimed her willingness to trust would be the death of her. Following the death of her district partner - and sole ally - during the bloodbath, Talitha fled and hid for days before encountering the thirteen-year-old girl from Seven. Unable to bring herself to kill the girl, Talitha offered an alliance, instead, readily sharing her supplies with the starving child. That night, however, Talitha awoke to find her new ally's hands around her throat. Talitha lashed out blindly and, in her surprise, bashed the younger girl's head against a rock, killing her.
After this near-fatal encounter, Talitha became much more cautious, and, the next time a tribute crossed her path, she ambushed and killed him without a second thought. A few days later, two tributes perished in an avalanche, leaving Talitha in the final three along with the girl from Eleven and the boy from Five. When the three of them were driven together by large roadrunner mutts, Talitha was the last to arrive. Finding the other two already fighting, she waited until the girl slew the boy. With her opponent already injured, Talitha quickly overpowered the girl and claimed the victor's crown.
Following the Games, Talitha's merciful nature proved to be a source of resilience, as she quickly forgave not only the tributes who tried to kill her, but herself as well. All that she did, she did simply to survive - not out of any malice or desire for blood. She shares Vester's disapproval of the Career system in District Two, and, following Ariadne's victory, retired from mentoring completely, leaving such duties to those who actually enjoy them.
Age of Victory: 15
Reaped
Training Score: 6
Kills: 3
Arena: Canyon
Length of Games: 12 days
Current Age: 53
Successful Mentorships:
Mortimer Obsidian
Mortimer Obsidian
Victor of the 21st Hunger Games
"If you're good at something, there's no shame in wanting to use that skill."
From a young age, Mortimer firmly believed he had been born in the wrong district. By the time Mortimer was thirteen, District One had three victors and a fully developed Career system, and Four was swiftly moving in the same direction. Mortimer dreamed of the same glory for District Two, but someone needed to lead the way. The leader of the first full Career pack - six trained tributes from One, Two, and Four - Mortimer was an early favorite and never lost that lead. After killing three tributes in the bloodbath, he led his allies methodically around the arena, quickly dispatching any survivors and only suffering two casualties themselves - the boy from Four and Mortimer's own district partner. At last, the alliance turned on each other, and, after a bloody battle, Mortimer and the boy from One were left to vie for the victorship. Before the fight was over, both tributes were grievously wounded, but Mortimer held on a little longer and claimed his tenth and final kill - breaking Ivy's record and becoming his district's first Career victor.
Since his victory, Mortimer has worked tirelessly towards his goal of training Careers. Following Jade's example, he opened a training academy. Initially the sole instructor, he was soon joined by several war veterans who had sided with the Capitol during the rebellion and were eager to share their skills. Eventually, his fellow victor Harriet joined him as an instructor, tempering Mortimer's focus on brute strength with a knowledge of strategy and survival. Between the two of them, their experience and insight are invaluable to potential tributes
Age of Victory: 18
Volunteered
Training Score: 10
Kills: 10
Arena: Tar Pits
Length of Games: 7 days
Current Age: 47
Successful Mentorships:
Ariadne Lindell
Harriet Bard
Ariadne Lindell
Victor of the 28th Hunger Games
"I don't regret what I did. But, to be frank, I want nothing more to do with the Games. I just want to live my life in peace."
The Careers' leader from the start, Ariadne's no-nonsense attitude and fiery temper kept her allies in line. Determined not to let her pack fall prey to internal conflict, Ariadne kept them always on the move, always making progress towards the end of the Games. But, beneath the surface, tension was brewing, with her allies beginning to worry that the audience might consider her an obvious choice for victor. The Career split came after nearly two weeks, as the pack battled the untrained but well-armed and well-supplied pair from Ten. Half the pack broke off and fled, leaving Ariadne, her district partner, and the boy from One to face the pair from Ten alone. The three Careers prevailed, but not without losses; Ariadne's district partner was killed, and the boy from One was badly injured. Knowing he wouldn't be much help from that point on, Ariadne quickly killed him.
Upon returning to the cornucopia near dusk, she found her former allies already there. Before she could make her move, however, mutts swarmed the three of them, catching them off-guard. Grateful for the distraction, Ariadne charged into the fray and finished two of them while the mutts took care of the third. With the other Careers gone, only one tribute remained, and Ariadne had no difficulty finding and dispatching the younger girl from Seven.
After returning to District Two, Ariadne spent a few years teaching with Mortimer at the academy, but quickly discovered it wasn't for her. She continued to mentor, however, even after Balthasar's victory, as the younger boy had no interest in taking her place. Years of mentoring and losing tributes of her own have left her mellowed and disillusioned with the Games, and, following Harriet's victory, Ariadne has retired from mentoring and is content to live the rest of her life in peace, far away from the Games.
Age of Victory: 18
Volunteered
Training Score: 9
Kills: 6
Arena: Forest Paths
Length of Games: 12 days
Current Age: 40
Successful Mentorships:
Balthasar Doyle
Balthasar Doyle
Victor of the 32nd Hunger Games
"Eight days in the arena, and the Capitol rewards me for the rest of my life. How could I say no to that?"
Dismal, sullen, and always second-best, Balthasar wasn't anyone's first choice for the Games - including Mortimer's. But, mere hours before the reaping, Mortimer's chosen volunteer fell mysteriously ill. Mortimer had no choice but to accept Balthasar as a tribute, but the other Careers had no intention of doing so. Despite his exile from the Career pack, Balthasar made his mark early in the Games, picking up two kills in the bloodbath before fleeing from the pack. Balthasar spent the rest of the Games one step ahead of the Careers, picking off weaker tributes along the way, leaving some of them alive as bait to draw the Careers off his trail. On the eighth day, only Balthasar and three members of the Career pack remained. Believing they could hunt Balthasar down alone, the pack turned on each other. After a bloody fight, his district partner Agathe emerged victorious, but when she finally found Balthasar, she was already wounded, and Balthasar was unharmed. The fight was long and hard, but, in the end, Balthasar emerged victorious.
Upon returning to District Two, however, it was quickly obvious that Balthasar was not the victor his district had wanted, and he was equally disinterested in both the training academy and mentoring. For a while, rumors spread throughout the district. Rumors that he poisoned the intended volunteer, that he never really wanted to survive the Games, that he somehow procured the skulls of his victims and keeps them in his study for company. Balthasar doesn't mind the rumors; they're much more interesting than the truth: He was just a lonely, solitary boy who happened to get very, very lucky and doesn't mind mooching off the Capitol for the rest of his life. After all, he's earned it.
Age of Victory: 18
Volunteered
Training Score: 9
Kills: 5
Arena: Giant Town
Length of Games: 8 days
Current Age: 36
Harriet Bard
Victor of the 37th Hunger Games
"I set out to prove what I could do to the other Careers. I ended up proving it to myself. That's even better."
Shy, bookish, and unassertive, Harriet was overshadowed by her stronger and seemingly more competent allies during the Capitol festivities. But in a frozen, weaponless arena low on supplies, Harriet's survival knowledge and resourcefulness quickly propelled her to a position of authority in the Career pack. The others soon found themselves following her orders without question, conserving their strength by only hunting a few hours a day, relying on the fact that, though their supplies were low, they could still outlast the other tributes. Unbeknownst to the others, however, Harriet had a secret stash of food buried beneath the mouth of the cornucopia. Careful to appear weak around her allies, Harriet continued to thrive as they slowly dwindled away. On the seventeenth day, without warning, a blizzard struck, hurling blinding snow across the arena. In the confusion, Harriet slew her two remaining allies, then set out to locate the final tribute. By the time she found the boy from Ten, he was nearly frozen to death, and the sharpened branch she bludgeoned him with was almost a relief.
Since returning from the Games, Harriet has taken her place alongside Mortimer at the academy, teaching classes in survival skills and makeshift weaponry. Some of the stronger, tougher Careers-in-training still scoff at the idea of fighting with a branch or a brick, but Harriet no longer cares. She has nothing left to prove. She won the Hunger Games, and if that's not enough to earn their respect, then their respect isn't worth having.
Age of Victory: 17
Volunteered
Training Score: 7
Kills: 6
Arena: Tundra
Length of Games: 18 days
Current Age: 30
Successful Mentorships:
Toshiro Koyama
Toshiro Koyama
Victor of the 43rd Hunger Games
"They always tell you the Games are a thrill. What they don't tell you is that, after the arena, everything else seems so dull."
Always excelling at the academy, but never quite at the top of the class, Tosh developed a reputation as a jack-of-all-trades. It was his drive to succeed, rather than his skill in any particular area, that convinced Harriet to push for his selection as a volunteer. During training, he managed a high training score, but not a perfect one. He impressed the audience, but didn't amaze them. He secured his position in the Career pack, but never had a desire to lead. Once the Games began, however, his adaptability worked in his favor. Smart enough to recognize a good strategy but flexible enough to abandon it if things went wrong, Tosh quickly became the voice of reason in a pack thirsty for blood, and, after six days, was the only Career remaining, fleeing from a trap set by the tributes from Three just in time to save his own life, but too late to warn his allies. Two days later, only Tosh and the pair from Twelve remained, but, with both his opponents untrained and weak from hunger, Tosh quickly overpowered the younger pair, claiming his victory with only three kills to his name.
Since returning from the Games, Tosh has spent his time searching for something fulfilling to do with his life. He has no real interest in training other Careers, and Mortimer and Harriet both seemed more capable mentors, anyway. He's watched other Victors try to return to a normal life, but a normal life was never what he wanted. He wanted to win the Games. Now that he has, he isn't quite sure what comes next.