History Literature / APracticalGuideToEvil

** The Classic OurElvesAreBetter trope gets played to it's logical conclusion: The Elves are technically aligned with the side of good to such an absurd degree that they consider basically all non-heroes to be evil scum and are so xenophobic and isolationist that any human who comes close to their kingdom in the Golden Bloom is killed without warning. They are nevertheless, undeniably, better, with a small unit of elven troops reportedly able to slaughter batallions of conventional troops with no casualties.
** The Dwarves, rather than a dwindling remnant, are depicted at the height of their power, with an empire that spans the entire continent of Calernia beneath the surface. All of their traditional negative traits are amplified- they believe that no one but a dwarf can actually own property and so dwarves travelling the surface customarily steal everything that isn't nailed down, with surface dwellers generally too fearful of the power of the Kingdom Under to object. They are also in the habit destroying entire surface cities when vexed.
** Little is known of the Gnomes, however their general BunglingInventor hat has been replaced with an overwhelming technological advantage over all other civilizations. Generally the only time Calernia hears about the gnomes is when they send cryptic threats to any nation dabbling in technology they deem forbidden. Any nation ignoring their first 2 warnings is eradicated without a trace.

** The people of Callow hate the Praesi, as a result of centuries of war and decades of occupation. Many have a particular contempt for the Greenskins (orcs and goblins) partly motivated by the Greenskin's habit of [[ImAHumanitarian eating people]].
** The Praesi consist of at least 5 different ethnic groups, most of which hate each other in some way or another. The two dominant cultures, the Taghreb and the Soninke, have a sort of cordial contempt for each other born out of mutual chauvainism and a long history of conflict. They share their bigotry against the Orcs and Goblins, who aren't the human's biggest fans either. The orcs and goblins seem to be only mildly suspicious of one another, probably because their lands are on opposite sides of the empire and they both hate the humans more. All 4 groups despise the Duni, the light-skinned inhabitants of the western border lands, as they are associated with the ancient Miezans and the Crusader kingdoms that occupied Praes in the past.
** The Orcs also hate Deoraithe, who hold Callows northern border against them and with whom they have fought many wars over the centuries. Their preferred epithet for them is Wallerspawn. Interestingly if Breagach is any indication the Deoraithe Watchers don't seem to hate the orcs all that much, viewing them more as [[WorthyOpponent WorthyOpponents]].

** The Orcs also hate Deoraithe, who hold Callows northern border against them and with whom they have fought many wars over the centuries. Their preferred epithet for them is Wallerspawn. Interestingly if Breagach is any indication the Deoraithe Watchers don't seem to hate the orcs all that much, viewing them more as WorthyOpponents.

->''"It doesn’t matter how flawless the scheme was, how impregnable the fortress or powerful the magical weapon, it always ends with a band of adolescents shouting utter platitudes as they tear it all down. The game is rigged so that we lose, every single time: Half the world, turned into a prop for the glory of the other half.”''

* BadassArmy: The Legions of Terror.

* EldritchAbomination: Demons (as opposed to Devils) are like this: intruders from outside Creation that warp and pollute it by their mere presence. Interestingly, [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Angels]] are arguably just as horrifying.

* VillainousFriendship: Black Knight and the Empress are genuine friends and have been since before she was taken into the Imperial Seraglio. [[spoiler: This may not prevent them from turning on each other, however.]] Likewise the Five Calamities are [[TrueCompanions by friendship and trust rather than fear or ambition as might be expected.]] Catherine follows her mentor's lead in this when she gets her own minions.

* ClifftopCaterwauling: Catherine has a moment where she screams at the sky from a balcony in the Tower after she gets outsmarted by her rival in court.

** Little is known of the Gnomes, however their general BunglingInventor hat has been replaced with an overwhelming technological advantage over all other civilizations. Generally the only time Calernia hears about the gnomes is when they send cryptic threats to any nation dabbling in cryptic technology. Any nation ignoring their first 2 warnings is eradicated without a trace.

** The Classic OurElvesAreBetter trope gets played to it's logical conclusion: The Elves are technically aligned with the side of good to such an absurd degree that they consider basically all non-heroes to be evil scum and are so xenophobic and isolationist that any human who comes close to their kingdom in the Golden Bloom is killed without warning. They are nevertheless, undeniably, [[BadAss Better]], with a small unit of elven troops reportedly able to slaughter batallions of conventional troops with no casualties.

* PragmaticVillainy: The hallmark of the empire's Reformist faction including the Calamities, the Legions and the Empress.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Many, some quite blatant. Callow is clearly a standard MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting and it's people are white with generally English names. The Duchy of Daoine is based on Wales/Brittany- an autonomous border region with celtic-inspired names and culture. The Empire of Praes is made up of several different ethnic groups including the Taghreb (Berber/Bedouin inspired), the Soninke (Central Asian) and the Duni who don't have a clear analogue. There are many other equivalents in the past history of the setting and more distant regions. The references to the three Licerian Wars between the Miezan Empire and the Baalite Hegemony seem to be a reference to the Punic wars, which in this setting were won by the Carthage equivalent.

''[[https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/summary/ A Practical Guide to Evil]]'' is a YoungAdult ([[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids Allegedly]]) HeroicFantasy WebSerialNovel written by erraticerrata. Started in 2015 the book is presently (November 2016) entering the final arc of Book II out of 5 planned books. A key element of the setting is that many HeroicFantasy tropes are enforced by the universe's laws. BlackAndWhiteMorality is an objective reality with individuals, species and nations that are clearly and [[CardCarryingVillain Unapologetically]] Evil and Good. Individuals are able to gain superhuman powers and a certain degree of plot armor by embodying certain archetypes or 'Names' (Capital 'N'), most Names are clearly associated with good and evil though some are neutral and/or common. Named individuals are both more powerful than normal people (able to kill dozens or hundreds of Nameless {{Mooks}} or RedShirts single-handedly) and more important to Fate (i.e. the plot). Fate tends to play out in predictable patterns that can be manipulated by particularly GenreSavvy individuals.

The Series follows the exploits of [[YoungAdult 17-year-old]] Catherine Foundling a.k.a. [[BastardUnderstudy The Squire]]. Orphaned a few years after her homeland [[TheKingdom The Kingdom of Callow]] was annexed by their perennial foe [[TheEmpire The Dread Empire of Praes]] following a short and [[CurbStompBattle utterly devastating]] war of conquest Catherine was raised at the Imperial House for Tragically Orphaned Girls. Though she resents the greed and corruption of the imperial governor of her home city she is cynical about the prospects of rebellion, instead planning to join the Imperial Legions of Terror in order to improve the system from the inside. However when she manages to impress the Empress' most feared general BlackKnight she is offered a chance to join the ranks of the Named by taking the role of The Squire.

But the BalanceOfGoodAndEvil is reasserting itself. Where previously a new Named Hero might have appeared in Callow once every few years, they are now popping up every few months, at such a rate that even Black Knight's supremely efficient spy network can no longer keep a lid on them. Meanwhile the very [[PragmaticVillainy reforms]] that made it possible for the Dread Empire to triumph so completely are stirring unrest among the [[DeadlyDecadentCourt nobility]] of Praes who seek a return to the StupidEvil ways of the Empire's past. To make matters worse the powerful neighbouring [[TheFederation Principate of Procer]] has emerged from the long, debilitating civil war that has crippled them for so long, seeking revenge for the Empire's role in prolonging that conflict. As all of this threatens to boil over into a continent-wide war Catherine must navigate her own, and her country's, path through the turmoil.

* AffablyEvil: It's pretty much the trademark of Praes' reformers. All of the Calamities we've seen are perfectly decent guys as long as you don't interfere with their plans. The Empress Malicia also has this going for her. The Protagonist, even after she becomes evil, is probably too snarky to qualify, though she is [[AFatherToHisMen A Mother to her Legionnaires]].

But the BalanceOfGoodAndEvil is reasserting itself. Where previously a new Named Hero might have appeared in Callow once every few years, they are now popping up every few months, at such a rate that even Black Knight's supremely efficient spy network can no longer keep a lid on them. Meanwhile the very [[PragmaticVillainy reforms]] that made it possible for the Dread Empire to triumph so completely are stirring unrest among the [[DeadlyDecadentCourt nobility]] of Praes who seek a return to the StupidEvil ways of the Empire's past. To make matters worse the powerful neighbouring [[TheFederation Principality of Procer]] has emerged from the long, debilitating civil war that has crippled them for so long, seeking revenge for the Empire's role in prolonging that conflict. As all of this threatens to boil over into a continent-wide war Catherine must navigate her own, and her country's, path through the turmoil.

* EqualOpportunityEvil: The Legions of Terror operate this way, there is still some racism between the different Praesi species and ethnic groups and against Callowans but institutionally these attitudes are suppressed and the XV legions has officers from all the major human ethnic groups in the empire (Callowan, Taghreb, Sonninke, and Duni) as well as Orcs, Goblins and Ogres. Every other faction, good or evil, is openly bigoted against one group or other.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Many, some quite blatant. Callow is clearly a standard MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting and it's people are white with generally English names. The Duchy of Daoine is based on Wales/Brittany- an autonomous border region with celtic-inspired names and culture. The Empire of Praes is made up of several different ethnic groups including the Taghreb (Berber/Bedouin inspired), the Sonninke (Central Asian) and the Duni who don't have a clear analogue. There are many other equivalents in the past history of the setting and more distant regions.

* OurElvesAreBetter: Apparently they take GoodIsNotNice UpToEleven, considering every non-elf non-hero to be scum. They are certainly very powerful though, a single elf can be expected to wipe out a company of soldiers.