A Practical Guide to Evil

The Dread Empress reigns supreme over Callow, her conquered kingdom now the jewel of a golden age—but beneath the glittering surface, the empire teeters. Wasteland nobles scheme behind silk curtains, rebels whisper in Peren Woods, and the fractured west considers holy war. Yet the true threat emerges not from armies or conspiracies, but from a single meeting in the empire’s shadowed heart. A nameless orphan sits across from the most dangerous man alive. He offers her a knife, a choice, and a path to power. Catherine Foundling takes it. Ambitious, ruthless, and too clever for her own good, she navigates a world where stories have weight and villains often win—but the line between hero and monster is thin, and her plans may damn the empire she means to save.