The Hollow States
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Last published Sat, May 24, 2025
Every truth has a cost. Every city wants blood.
In the year 2036, America collapsed-not in a sudden explosion, but in a slow, grinding unraveling of trust, civility, and power. The Second Fracture War-fought not just with weapons, but with data, riots, and betrayal; shattered the nation into seven sovereign city-states. What rose from the ashes wasn't peace, but a brutal new order.
Now, in 2137, each of the Hollow States governs itself with paranoia and punishment, bound only by an ancient, blood-soaked tradition: The Coronation. Once every year, seven new rulers are crowned-chosen by lineage, power, or fate, and must decide the fates of their cities' condemned: the Sinners. Four from each seven cities. Guilty or innocent, judged by vote.
But this year, in Ironroot, all four are found guilty.
Their replacements-once chosen as symbols of hope, are instead revealed to be their mentors, the only outside contact they'll have during the Trials. Some are allies. Some are traitors. All have their own agendas.
Thrown into a gladiator system cloaked in ritual, the Sinners must navigate deadly alliances, hidden betrayals, and the shifting loyalties of their own city mates-unsure whether the enemy is the sword at their throat or the voice in their ear.
Survival is not just a matter of strength. It's a matter of trust. And in the Hollow States, trust is the rarest weapon of all.
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survivalofthefittest
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