Some doors close only when we ask. Thirty-nine years ago, the Host descended upon the Plain of Ending and banished The Darkness. The Kingdom of Light now blooms—golden meadows sweep to the sea, and the horrors of the screaming sky linger only in fading tales told to children. But victory never erased choice. In quiet corners where old grudges fester and small resentments are carefully nursed, Shadowtide—the subtlest and most insatiable sin—takes root. A slow corruption seeps into villages, steel, and even crowns. Those who still remember the cost of that hard-won peacenow face a bitter truth: many have forgotten the need to ask. Shadow Vague, Book Two in the Dawn Shadow saga, is a haunting meditation on lingering shadows, the fragile grace of memory, and the mercy Timeless offers—waiting only for the ask.