Location from A Practical Guide to Evil by ErraticErrata
The Evil empire — a nation of diabolists, scheming nobility, and reformed legions, where being Dread Emperor means following in the footsteps of people who named themselves Maleficent and Sinistra and thought it was a good idea.
Praes is the Dread Empire — Evil-aligned, ruled from the Tower in Ater by whoever managed to murder the previous occupant with sufficient style. Traditional Praesi culture celebrates diabolism, blood sacrifice, and sorcerous superweapons. The nobility — primarily Soninke — have ruled through magical supremacy for centuries. Amadeus's Reforms tried to change this: professional legions instead of magical armies, institutional power instead of noble privilege, greenskin citizenship instead of second-class servitude. The tension between traditional Praes and reformed Praes drives half the series' politics. Three major ethnicities: Soninke (dark-skinned magical aristocracy), Duni (European features, commoners), Taghrebi (olive-skinned desert warriors). Orcs and goblins are citizens — technically — but the reform of their status is recent and contested.
The Wasteland dominates its center — barren land created when Dread Empress Sinistra tried to steal Callow's weather and the ritual backlash destroyed her own territory. Ater rises from this desolation like a declaration of intent. The Green Stretch is fertile. The Steppes roll endlessly. The contrast between wasteland and plenty defines the empire.
Also known as: Praes, Dread Empire, the Empire