The making of a villain · dark fantasy

Ingrid Valmor

In the Empire of Asteria, a promise is carved into stone: “Everyone has the right to become a mage.” Ingrid arrives from a farming village with a mysterious gift and a stubborn faith in magic. At the Grand School she will find friends, teachers, secrets and reasons to question what she once believed. The reader has already glimpsed the terrifying woman she will become. The mystery is the road that takes her there: a road shaped by suffering, but above all by choices.

Ingrid Valmor

The novels

INGRID VALMOR — THE BROKEN PROMISE — BOOK I

BOOK I · Completed novel · planned release: November 1, 2026

INGRID VALMOR

THE BROKEN PROMISE

Evil has a history. That does not make it an excuse. The making of a villain.

Before the mask, Ingrid Valmor was a little girl who made a barren field bloom just to see her mother smile. In Valdara, her gift felt like a promise; at the Grand School of Asteria, it should have opened the way to a better life. There, at least according to the words carved in stone, everyone has the right to become a mage. Ingrid believes them. She finds friends, teachers and an ancient grimoire—but also privilege, secrets and hostility she does not yet know how to recognise. The reader has already glimpsed the terrifying figure she will become. What losses, encounters and, above all, choices will carry that child so far from who she once was? Evil does not come from nowhere. That does not make it inevitable.

INGRID VALMOR — THE BETRAYAL — BOOK II

BOOK II · Completed novel · planned release: November 1, 2026

INGRID VALMOR

THE BETRAYAL

Friendship, power and secrets. When the world changes, every choice leaves its mark.

At the Grand School, Ingrid has found people she thinks of as family. But in Asteria, friendship can be seen as an insult—and talent as a threat. New trials rekindle old rivalries; ancient secrets raise questions about what the School teaches and what the Empire would rather leave unsaid. As Ingrid’s world expands, the ties she holds most dear are tested. Who can you trust when power makes every decision harder, and no one can choose for you?

Behind the story

From innocence to shadow

The cinematic trailer for Book One is in production. From the flames of Valdombra to the flowering fields of Valdara, it contrasts a hopeful childhood with a figure who inspires fear. No spoilers for Book Two.

Young Ingrid in a flowering field
Valdara
Masked figure amid burning ruins
Valdombra