Tyranna Vale(President of Panem)

I can understand why Celine is hesitant to agree with my decision, after all, I'm bucking over a hundred years of tradition by doing this but in my heart of hearts, I know it's the right thing. Not only is this the right thing but it's one hundred percent legal too, then again I think that might be the most unsettling part of this for her, the fact that it's legal.

"I understand your objections Ms. Minos, and while I will concede that some of them are rationally grounded I refuse to let fear dissuade me from my course, this is going to happen so you need to get on board."

"Madam President I'll do as instructed so there's no need for concern on that point, I just wanted to be on record with my dissenting opinion on the necessity of doing so. I can't help but feel this is more of a knee-jerk reaction to last year's incident then a necessary step to stabilize the Games going forward."

"Celine I appreciate your concern and rest assured I don't take this step lightly, but I also cannot abide dissension in the districts."

"Ma'am I hardly think one insolent boys actions qualify as dissension."

"I wasn't just Willock last year, it was Precious the year before and that little snot Callum the year before that. I can excuse one as an outlier but three, that's a trend, and that trend screams straight towards complete and total disregard for the established rules that keep our society whole."

"You're very passionate about this aren't you Tyranna?"

"I am, the security of the nation is of paramount importance and if tributes think they can buck the established order of things in the arena then what's to stop others from doing it outside? How far do I let this go before we slide back into the lawless anarchy of the dark Days? It's a slippery slope and it's one I refuse to allow the nation to go back down, not while I'm in power."

"I understand ma'am, and once again I didn't mean to come off as if I was questioning your judgment on the matter. I simply wanted to make sure I fully understood the reasoning behind it."

"Well, then I trust I've adequately allayed your fears?"

"Completely ma'am, and as always your Game Makers stand ready to deliver to you and Panem the celebration you both so richly deserve."

"Excellent Celine, now show me what you've got planned for this year."

She offers me a wry smile before fishing a small holodisk out of her pocket and presenting me with my first look at the finished product that is this year's arena. To my pleasant surprise, everything turned out far better than I imagined it would when she presented me with the plans in the days immediately following the end of last year's debacle. To say her aims were ambitious would be an understatement, hell even after everything she's done I still though the plan was insane, but once again she's proven me wrong and delivered something that manages to be breathtakingly beautiful and sinisterly evil at the same time, I'm going to have to stop doubting her in the future.

"It's everything you said it would be and more Celine, you and your team should be very proud of what you accomplished in such a short time."

"Thank you, ma'am, though your niece deserves a great deal of the credit. It's been shocking how much she's changed from one year to the next."

"Well, Centaura's always had a flair for things like this….It's half the reason I put her on your staff in the first place."

"If you don't mind me asking ma'am, what's the other half?"

"A bold question, and it deserves a bold response. The truth is I needed a way to ease her into the spotlight without giving her too much power too soon, and with the stellar team, you had already I knew placing her with you would be the safest bet."

"It certainly didn't seem like it last year….With all due respect."

"No last year was certainly less than smooth, but I trust she performed well enough in the end?"

"Above and beyond ma'am, above and beyond."

"Excellent, now I'm sorry but I have to cut this short, I've got to address the nation about the changes to this year's Games. Again excellent work on the arena and do pass on my congratulations to your team."

"Thank you, Madam President."

She quickly switches off the holo and slips it back into her pocket before quietly slipping out of the room without another word. Taking a moment to enjoy the peaceful silence I quietly ponder if it wouldn't be better to hold off on my declaration, I mean the arena this year is sinister enough without me adding to the sense of dread and foreboding but every time I try to convince myself I keep getting drawn back to the faces of the three little shits that threatened to undermine everything I've accomplished and my resolve hardens.

For a moment I manage to lose myself in my thoughts but almost as quickly as I slip into my visions of a truly perfect and peaceful Panem and soft rapping at my door snaps me back to the cold reality and reminds me just how far off my perfect world really is.

"Enter."

"Ma'am the tech crew is here to set up for the broadcast. Shall I send them in?"

"Yes and have the steward send up some tea while I wait."

She offers me a curt nod and quickly closes my door leaving me alone to stare at the groundbreaking proclamation I'm about to deliver to the nation.

Kimma Reece(District Nine Mentor and Victor of the 102ndHunger Games)

I can't remember the last time a president addressed the nation on the eve of the reapings, and if Oatis is correct it's not supposed to happen outside of a Quarter Quell. I mean I can't imagine it's anything good, I mean it's not like she's going to cancel the Games or anything like that so it's not like I have anything to get excited about, no it's more likely that my life is about to get a whole lot more complicated than it already is.

"Kimma will you push me on the swing?"

"I can't right now Rook the President is about to speak, but as soon as she's done we'll go out and play."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I affectionately ruffle his honey colored locks as my mom quickly leads him out of the room and toward a big plate of gingerbread men he's been impatiently waiting on to cool for the better part of an hour just as the Anthem of Panem rings out from every speaker in our cozy little house. My head quickly snaps around as I focus in on the T.V. in an almost trance like state as the National Seal quickly fades away and is replaced by the smiling face of our beloved President.

"Good Evening Citizens of the Twelve Districts of Panem. Tonight I come to you with grave and unfortunate news regarding this year's Hunger Games. Now as most of you have no doubt noticed we've had an unsettling trend over the last three years with regards to volunteers committing unspeakable acts in the arena, the kind of acts that bring disgrace and shame to the nation as a whole. In order to rectify this issue today, I'm issuing Executive Order P23356-1A, this order lays out a substantial shift for the next few years of the Games.

Effective Immediately I Tyranna Vale, President of Panem am hereby placing a twelve-year moratorium on volunteering for the Hunger Games. That means that the next time tributes will be eligible to volunteer for the games is the One Hundred and Fifteenth Games. Furthermore, for this year's Games the One Hundred and Third annual Games the eligible reaping ages have been adjusted from their normal twelve to eighteen range to just twelve to thirteen.

Tomorrow the Reaping will continue as planned but only the aforementioned age groups will be checked in and only those groups will be drawn from. This is done as a reminder to the districts that while competing in the Games is an honor and a privilege it is also a punishment, and it will remain one until the districts have adequately repented for their sins during the Dark Days.

Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

I can't believe I just heard her say that, I mean this isn't the kind of thing anyone can do lightly and for the President to do it herself, I….I don't know what to think. Luckily no one else in the room seems to know what to say either, my mom is slack-jawed and my dad is grinding his teeth so hard I'm afraid he's going to break them. The three of us just sit in silence while Rook plays a little game with his food, we might have sat like this forever if a hard rapping at the door hadn't snapped us out of it long enough to realize that the world was in fact still moving.

My dad quickly makes his way to the door where a very flustered looking Oatis stands with one of the fakest smiles I've ever seen plastered on his face.

"Good evening Mr. Reece, Mrs. Reece. Might I have a few quick words with my partner, as long as I'm not interrupting that is."

"No Oatis you're fine. Kimma why don't you and Oatis go talk in your study while your mom and I finish fixing dinner. Would you care to stay Oatis, we're having beef stew?"

"Thank you, sir, but no, I have a small salad at home with my name on it."

My parents offer him a warm nod and quickly slip away into the kitchen even as I motion for my old mentor to follow me into the small study across the hall from Rook's play room. He doesn't say a word until the door is safely shut and even then his voice is hardly above a hushed whisper.

"I'll assume you saw the announcement."

"Yes, but why is she doing this now? More importantly, can she even do it?"

"To your first question I can only assume she's trying to crush any perceived rebellion in the Districts, and unless I miss my guess forcing careers to sit out a dozen years while wasting years upon years of training will help her quickly weed out any problems there. As to the other districts, I think the fear of seeing the youngest among them slaughtered will quickly eviscerate any hint of the desire to fight."

"Ok that's….Awful but, at least, it makes a sick kind of sense. What about my second question though?"

"The better question is who's going to stop her from doing it? Anyone with the pull in the Capital to do it wouldn't dare try after that speech. In one fell swoop, she destroys any hint of disloyalty in the districts and forces the powers that be around her to toe the line or die as a traitor."

"So what do we do Oatis, how do we prepare for tomorrow?"

"We hope for surprisingly talented tributes or an exceptionally weak field. Beyond that about the only thing we can do is prepare to sate the Capital with the blood of our young."

A/N: Welcome everyone to my 4th SYOT The Altar of Blood: The 103rd Annual Hunger Games. As you can see we're all in for a bloody good time and I can't wait to take this journey with you :)

Now as it says above and on the tribute forum on my profile the ages for these games us 12-13 and absolutely no volunteering so please keep that in mind when submitting. Now this isn't a first come first serve but if you ask me to hold off on picking a tribute for a district so you can submit to it I will so long as you get the tribute submitted within 3 days of asking. Also everything on the forum is required and please be as descriptive as possible, the more you give me the closer to your expectations your submission will be :)

Other than that thank you for looking at my story and I hope you submit and decide to take this journey with me :D