"I'm no expert," he says, looking down from the buildings and back to her. He's only noting it, though, and continues without much of a pause. "You'll want to look into this yourself, too, if you're doing it. But it'll hurt nothing to start you off. This kingdom isn't only its capitol city. It's got baronies too - districts, they call them here. There are, ah, twelve." If that 'ah' sounds a little odd, well, it's meant to. Because the most influential district is the one the Capitol likes to pretend does not exist.

"The districts rose up against their Capitol. I don't know the details of that war. What I do know is what I was told - that the Capitol began their games as a reminder. Every tribute who wins gains food and wealth for their district, and those districts - as well as the rest of us - are reminded of just how generous the Capitol can be." Generous. He doesn't expand on that. Easy enough to read between the lines there, he's certain.

"But your own world. In all my travels I've never heard of a place with no tradition. Even my Gilead, with all its lost history, had a fair few. What kind of place do you come from, if you don't mind the question?"