Artem Cole (WIP)

History: A son of Constantin Cole, a master blacksmith, and Irina Cole, an officer of Panem's Peacekeeper Corps., head of District 2's peacekeepers. As such, he is a member of an unusually divided house. His father, an outspoken opponent of the use of District 2 as Panem's military headquarters, has been more than troublesome for his wife over the years. Irina, a woman slated to be one of the first female flag officers in peacekeeper history, has had to keep her husband safe over the years by keeping his various exploits from reaching the ears of the capitol. She's called in more favors than most people ever have to parlay. Still, if it weren't for Constantin's position and skill, he would have been made example of long ago...

This dynamic has effected Artem and his brother, Rion in many a way as well. Artem, has become his father's only ally in the household, supporting his parent and teacher in his position, a position he himself holds. Rion, meanwhile, has become Irina's advocate and has even gone so far as to volunteer for service in the peacekeepers. He was quick to adopt a militant mindset and isn't so much helping his mother to protect Constantin as he is looking for a way to destroy him. The family politics get more complex from there.

However, for his part, Artem spent most of his childhood tagging along on his father's heel, visiting the mines to inspect the available iron and materials, helping wherever possible around the forge. He became something of an artist at his father's suggestion, always scribbling down an idea on whatever scrap of paper he had available. When he became old enough, his father adopted him as his apprentice and began teaching him how to smelt steel and other alloys and work it all with hammer and anvil.

But all this took a back seat a bit when he reached the age of thirteen. As was bound to happen eventually... he fell in love. Dana. She was an old friend, but they'd never really seen each other in that way before. They became boyfriend and girlfriend and he put his training aside quite a bit, though he never stopped scribbling those ideas. His father didn't interfere. He found the whole situation rather amusing. It continued right up until the very day of his fourteenth birthday, the Reaping. Dana was chosen. For some reason, no female tribute volunteered to replace her.

Artem couldn't at the time figure out why she did it. To this day, he doesn't know. As he stood there, trying to figure out some way in which he could volunteer in her place, a futile effort, he saw it happen as if in slow motion. As they brought her up to the stage, Dana drew a knife from within her sleeve and plunged it into the District 2 Escort, Valena Dierdek's neck. Artem watched as she stabbed another person, this one a peacekeeper he didn't know, and another. However, as they all fell away from her, the sound of the shot came and she collapsed, dead, on the spot. Artem still returns to the spot where he sat thereafter for hours that day, staring at her lifeless body before the soldiers decided it was time to take her away. It wasn't until weeks later that he learned the shooter who had killed her was none other than Irina Cole, his own mother. He hasn't spoken to her since and never plans to again...