The Trials of Empire

The Empire of the Wolf is close to collapse. Sir Konrad Vonvalt, once the most feared of the Emperor's Justices, and his clerk Helena must look for allies beyond its borders: the wolfmen of the southern plains and the pagan clans of the north. Old grievances make every alliance fragile, and some of these peoples stand to gain if the capital, Sova, falls.

Their enemy is the zealot Bartholomew Claver, who wields infernal power granted by a mysterious demonic patron. Any help Vonvalt can call on from beyond death may come at a terrible price. The story builds to a final reckoning in Sova and the spectral plane, which will decide whether the two-headed wolf of the Empire is reborn or crushed.

The Trials of Empire is the third and concluding novel of Richard Swan's Empire of the Wolf trilogy, a dark fantasy with strong horror elements, following The Justice of Kings and The Tyranny of Faith.