anastasia lumiere || district one || fin

Anastasia Lumiere, one of the last living people to have been born before the conclusion of the Dark Days, turns eighty years old today.

As well as being one of the last living people in the Districts to carry this title, she also has the unique distinction of being the daughter of a notorious rebel leader and the niece of an equally notorious Capitolist loyalist that fought in the Dark Days. Though today the names Alia and Awreon Lumiere may have long been forgotten to all but the most studious of historians, there was no denying the effect that the twin warriors made a lasting effect on the history of Panem itself. Awreon had been one of the last rebels to defect to the loyalist side, and there are many who agree that without this defection, the capitulation of One would have very likely been a much more difficult and deadlier endeavor.

After Alia was tried and pardoned for crimes against the Capitol, she took on a profession as one of the first Career trainers in the luxury district. One of her first students was Anastasia herself, who starting at the age of eight was personally taught in the numerous arts of combat by her mother. The young Anastasia would quickly grow to be a formidable force in the training center, and by the time she had reached her late teens there were many who predicted that the headstrong young woman would volunteer by her eighteenth. The claims were not far fetched - at eighteen, it had become apparent that much of the mother had made its way into the daughter. With platinum blonde hair and pretty, almost delicate features, she looked practically like a carbon copy of her mother and her aunt in their youth. A skilled duelist, her skill in the sword and the spear was matched by few in that day and age, and her wit had proven to be as sharp as her blade.

She was the ideal candidate for the Games, which was why it came as such a surprise when she ended up declining to volunteer for her final eligible Games.

There are several theories as to why a girl who was practically the Julian Bryze of her age group had passed up on such an opportunity. Some believe it was due to her mother's influence, for even then Alia was reported to be fiercely protective of her only child. Some believe that despite her confidence and obvious skill, the act was merely a facade, and that deep down, the girl abhorred violence and bloodshed. Still others believed it was out of affection for a boy in her class, one that she had become enamored with to the point where she was unwilling to risk her life because of him.