Kael Draven

The Aston Martin we were driving—its body riddled with bullet holes—left Black Hollow behind, heading toward an important city up north, a key economic zone near the border.

Unlike the endlessly conflicted Black Hollow, Dawns was a small, harmonious town. Multidenominational, peaceful, with a pleasant climate—not too cold in winter, not too hot in summer.

The car entered the still-quiet city streets of the early morning. Atei, Erik, and Joker—whom we’d met at the border ...