In the night, there was a touch of fear the hung over the System. Some Leviathans did not sleep, and those who did had trouble. The Choosing Ceremonies for the Sixty Eighth Battle were tomorrow and with no male or female ratios, only having your name in once, it was anyone who could be chosen. The normal humans slept soundly, as did those on the Council, for they knew they were safe from the terrors that the Gamemaker had created this year. No one ever knew what he was thinking, what horrors that he could come up with each year to destroy fifteen innocent lives and brutally terrorize one. No one understood how he could do what he did and still sleep at night, but he could.
Each year, the Gamemaker would watch from his control room near the edge of the Arena and watch as his creations, his madness, came to life to chase down many young Leviathans in the Arena, and every year he did not fail to bring his unique style to the Battle. He was so good at his job that he has never been replaced since he replaced the old Gamemaker when he was twenty years old, during the Sixtieth Battle, one that was special as it marked the sixth decade of Battles. The theme for that year was every even Sector got to send in one more person than the opposing Sectors. To help balance things out, as the Council wanted an amazing fight, he created a mountain, having each Sector, starting on the opposing sides of the mountain. Sector Three won that year, but no one could forget it. And they have kept him on as Gamemaker since.
The sun began to rise, extending golden streams across the dark blue sky, calling awake those who could not sleep and those with troubled nightmares of previous Battles. Children curled up tighter in bed while of-age Leviathans clambered slowly out of bed, knowing that if they were late to the Choosing Ceremonies, they would be severely punished by the Council. Many of them, as they were not required to but chose to all the same, put on nice clothing for the cameras and everyone that would be there. The remain few put on comfortable clothing, ones that they could be able to run in, as one year the Battlers complete skipped training and went directly into the Arena in the stuff that they had worn to the Choosing Ceremonies. The ones in nice clothing failed to win, but those who had chosen to where comfortable, maneuverable clothes lasted for awhile.
All across the system, the sun woke up each of the Sectors, even the Shadow Sectors, and called all to its morning song. The Choosing Ceremonies would be starting soon, all at the same time, with Sector One beginning at noon and Sector Eight beginning at seven P.M. their time with all the other Sectors in between. All of the times would line up, thus people would be able to see who was chosen at the exact same time. All around the country, people worried, waited, staring at the clocks with anticipation, before each clock struck their pattern, signalling noon in Sector One, one in Sector Two, two in Sector Three, three in Sector Four, four in Sector Five, five in Sector Six, six in Sector Seven, and seven in Sector Eight. Crowd had gathered from all over to watch the short Ceremonies.
It was time to begin.
Once the Battlers were chosen, they all would be lead to a train, each one different from any of the other Sectors. They would all depart at the same time, heading all to the same place, but all of them feeling very different things. The trains would take them to the Training Facility, which resided outside of Sector One. That way they could all be in the same time zone, same place, and they would get to know each other. They would stay there for a few days, each on a different floor coinciding with their sector, before getting thrown into the Arena, which no one even knows what the Arena looks like. As they train in the Facility, the Leviathans will inevitably hear and see hints about the layout and design of this year's Arena. But for the general public, the citizens of each of the sectors, it will be a secret until the moment the Battle begins.
Throughout all of the festivities, however long they might be, as they could be headed right into the Arena or going for just a few days, or going to the Facility for a few months, cameras would follow the new Battlers, almost everywhere they go, even into their rooms and into the Arena, though the Arena cameras are stationary or controlled by bots. The ones in the Arena will not be as visible as the ones following them, but the glint of the glass on the lens would be unmistakeable. Alliances would be forged, hearts would be broken, sweat, blood, death, and tears would all go into this, but the outcome could not be predicted until people watched the bits of the training over their television screens.
Everyone, even the humans, knows what the point of the Battle is for the Leviathans: Get in, Be the Best, Survive, and Stay Alive.
But only one can walk out of that Arena.