Rule of Reason

I WASN’T BORN THIS WAY. They changed me, the Touched, by killing the person I could’ve been over and over again. So, yes, I’ll show everyone just how touched by darkness I truly am.Raf Lengahr’s father has one ambition: for his son to rise above any of his forebears. So, while his mother wilts under the weight of the choices she’s made to survive under the Hand of Reason, he rejoices when Raf is offered a place at the prestigious Academy of Stonehelve, where only those tested and declared free of Touched power can achieve the education required to become a leader within the cruel regime of the Hand of Reason. From his education at the Academy to his apprenticeships both in Reor itself and in the territories newly conquered by the Hand, in Rule of Reason, Raf meets stalwarts of the regime who help him cement his beliefs in the righteousness of the Hand. He also encounters rebels who’ve suffered unmentionable cruelty under the regime, and also those who cower in fear under the Hand’s recent conquest of their homelands, knowing that it’s a matter of time before they light the pyres on which they’ll burn the Touched by Light. But Raf also comes across some who are Touched, whom he was taught to despise throughout his childhood and then grows to hate through his own experiences. Plagued by his northern looks, in Rule of Reason, Raf endures suspicion and torment from his peers and turmoil and doubt from within as he comes across the trail left by his Touched uncle, Peryst de Arranu, and his daughter, Maia, both rebels against the Hand of Reason. Their seemingly constant reappearance in his life and their increasing importance within the rebellion lead Raf to harden himself further against the Touched. Faced with options regarding his future, Raf will need to choose between discarding his father’s expectations, his own dreams, and the path determined by his education, or embarking on a journey into darkness to prove he’s a the most faithful son of the land of Reor and a true servant of the Hand of Reason. For readers drawn to dark themes, villain origin stories, and the rise of cruel empires seeking to dominate the known world, Rule of Reason asks the terrible question: Are monsters born or are they made? Let Rule of Reason show you that it’s not as simple as ’good and evil’. 6