L.L. Stephens
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L.L. Stephens
@triempery.bsky.social
1.8K followers 570 following 2.3K posts
L.L. Stephens, author of epic fantasy Triempery Revelations series and other SF&F fiction. SFWA member. Player of board games and painter of minis!
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L.L. Stephens @triempery.bsky.social · May 10
Five out of six books are now published! I'm hip deep in editing Book 6 for release in early 2026...

◾️Gods coming of age
◾️Transformations
◾️ Betrayals
◾️ Everything will be on the line

#epicfantasybooks #Sordaneon
Graphic shows all five published books of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens: (from left to right) SORDANEON, THE KHELD KING, THE SECOND STONE, THE GOD SPEAR, THE WALLED CITY. The main heading says "What changes him changes EVERYTHING. The subheadings say (from left to right above each book): Dorilian inherited a god... Stefan a throne... Hans wanted to fix what they broke. He thinks maybe he did. Dorilian is about to find out.
Reposted by L.L. Stephens
bookspotlight.bsky.social
📝 400+ pages
🥀 urban fantasy
🌃 set in washington state
🔥 slow burn
🤍 romance and angst
🗡️ demons and vampires
📕 first in a duology

🔖 universal link: mybook.to/D3rL5
💌 itch.io link: rebecca-crunden.itch.io/the-wish-and...
📖 goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/23...

[ #booksky ]
Cover for The Wish and the Demon, book one in the Half Swallowed by Shadows duology, by Rebecca Crunden. Cover shows three men's silhouettes standing in the middle of a road in winter. There's dark red trees and snow on the ground. One figure is approaching the other two, surrounded by shadows.
January 27, 2026 at 6:32 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WritingInJanuary 27: Snip I'm proud of...

I rather like to use seasonal imagery and symbolism to convey theme in the series. This snip from THE GOD SPEAR is a good example of that. I'm not sure "proud" is the right word for what I feel, but I do like it.
#WritingCommunity
On the left is a text except from THE GOD SPEAR, Book 4 of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens: In the warm sun that drenched the orchard, they breathed air heavy with an odor of apples decaying among fallen leaves, of summer’s passage and the structure of the orchard crumbling back into the stuff of Creation. Essera, sifting down into essential elements, struggled toward a new order and would never again be as it was. The fruits of its glory had been consumed or lay spoiling in full ferment among the ruins of what had been. And Dorilian Sordaneon refused to see it. He still saw Essera in terms of the Highborn Triempery of old, damaged but viable. On the right is a meme of writing prompts for authors of fantasy fiction.
January 27, 2026 at 1:13 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for January 27 is STORM

So many "storms" in THE RILL LORD. Snow. Ice. Emotional. Dorilian is a projective empath. When his emotions get stormy, people feel him powerfully. As in this scene, but Hans is used to him by now and trying to reach him.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky
Text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snip is of Hans dealing with an angry, hurt Dorilian, trying to explain: “I was already having dreams even before that.” Even without the Dazunor Crown, Hans found himself grappling with the storm surge of Dorilian’s turbulent emotions. Anger, grief, betrayal thrown up like walls. And against these was pitted his growing fear that perhaps he had pushed too far. Dorilian had refused, at every turn, to recount his memories of Permephedon. Perhaps, as Zel had intimated, he could not. But Hans could. “I think I felt it when it happened,” he revealed. “Marc Frederick’s death haunted my childhood nightmares. It’s why my mother agreed for Marenthro to send me away. But I never stopped dreaming about it. Broken images, voices. Your name was in those dreams, and I didn’t know why. I made Marenthro show me. It was my condition for coming back at all. I had to know… to be sure I wasn’t coming here to…. I made him show me.” The laughter that answered him dripped with scorn. “And you think you could make him do anything?” “He wanted me to return. He knew I meant it when I said I wouldn’t unless he showed me the truth.”
January 27, 2026 at 12:51 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#JanuaryWorldbuilders 27: Siege engines or large weapons

The most prominent large weapons are the giant beasts Nammuor has engineered and controls by arcane means. Aquatic or land-based, the beasts are mobile and can do immense damage to cities or armies.
kiraofthewind.com Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 21h
Heya, #JanuaryWorldbuilders! Today's military/warfare question: What are some large-scale weapons or siege engines used in your world? Have you ever written a scene with those? Also, feel free to yap about siege warfare in general. What other strategies do they employ?
MonthlyWorldbuilders prompts daily feed card #JanuaryWorldbuilders Hosted by Kira of the Wind Week 4: Military/Warfare 27. What are some large-scale weapons or siege engines used in warfare? The background image shows a blurred magic tree with a waterfall coming down between two halves of its trunk. It’s nighttime and the night sky is magical with lots of blues and pinks and purples
January 27, 2026 at 12:41 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#FantasyIndiesJanuary 27: How has your WIP changed since you first came up with it?

Link below to the full version.
Short version: The Triempery series started out as stories I told to my sister on our way to and from school. It was an oral story, then written. Now published.
#WritingCommunity
January 27, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by L.L. Stephens
triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for January 26 is COMMIT

Readers have known Robdan for six books now. They know him to be a gentle, scholarly man. But the events he encounters in THE RILL LORD do change him somewhat. He becomes a killer and a thief and isn't happy about that.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky
Text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snip is of a character reflecting on his much altered life. Once on the road, the going was a good deal easier. The mare followed his lead with her head more often at his shoulder than at the end of his arm. She really is a good horse, Robdan decided, having suspected it from the first. However necessary the theft had been, he still felt guilty for having stolen her out of a comfortable barn. In all his life he had never stolen so much as an apple off a tree or killed any creature more significant than a beetle. And now, in two days, he had killed two men and committed his first theft. Sadly, the latter act hadn’t improved his lot in any great measure. Among other things his stomach was empty again. He’d taken only a small bag of dried carrot nubs from the farm, where he had found them hanging on a hook outside the little mare’s stall. As things looked right now, though, he might soon be eating them himself.
January 26, 2026 at 12:56 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WritingInJanuary 26: A stranger punched my MC in the gut while filming it. Says "It's just a pran--"

The stranger never gets to finish "prank" or hit send. Legon kills him.

Dorilian confiscates the filming equipment/device. He doesn't know what it is yet but he'll figure it out.
January 26, 2026 at 1:04 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for January 26 is COMMIT

Readers have known Robdan for six books now. They know him to be a gentle, scholarly man. But the events he encounters in THE RILL LORD do change him somewhat. He becomes a killer and a thief and isn't happy about that.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky
Text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snip is of a character reflecting on his much altered life. Once on the road, the going was a good deal easier. The mare followed his lead with her head more often at his shoulder than at the end of his arm. She really is a good horse, Robdan decided, having suspected it from the first. However necessary the theft had been, he still felt guilty for having stolen her out of a comfortable barn. In all his life he had never stolen so much as an apple off a tree or killed any creature more significant than a beetle. And now, in two days, he had killed two men and committed his first theft. Sadly, the latter act hadn’t improved his lot in any great measure. Among other things his stomach was empty again. He’d taken only a small bag of dried carrot nubs from the farm, where he had found them hanging on a hook outside the little mare’s stall. As things looked right now, though, he might soon be eating them himself.
January 26, 2026 at 12:56 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#JanuaryWorldbuilders 26: Military type/traits

Some of Sordan's army units are defensive, but those described in the series are designed to attack enemies in the field. Nobles field cavalry units, which accompany infantry.

Khelds, until recently, were purely infantry with few horsemen. 🧵
kiraofthewind.com Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 1d
#JanuaryWorldbuilders Describe some specific features of your military. How are squads arranged? What are some ranks? What are some tactics they might use? Are they more offensively-directed or defensive? Do they know formations?
MonthlyWorldbuilders prompts daily feed card #JanuaryWorldbuilders Hosted by Kira of the Wind Week 4: Military/Warfare 26. Describe some specific feature of your military, like squads, rank, and tactics used The background image shows a blurred magic tree with a waterfall coming down between two halves of its trunk. It’s nighttime and the night sky is magical with lots of blues and pinks and purples
January 26, 2026 at 12:44 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#FantasyIndiesJanuary 26: Memories my characters cherish

Dorilian embraces his time with Marc Frederick. Memories of the man stay with and guide him in powerful ways.

Hans cherishes memories of his adopted moms, Irmgard and Geraldine. The social values they taught him remain strong.
January 26, 2026 at 12:24 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WritingInJanuary 25: First kiss or hug

Dorilian's first kiss occurs in SORDANEON. I put the snip below. He's twenty. She's his wife to whom he's been married for four years. And romance has nothing to do with it...
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Sordaneon
Left side is the book cover of SORDANEON, book 1 of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Cover is golds and browns showing a young man facing a fantastic city with a glowing core of power at its center. Right side is a text excerpt from SORDANEON in which the main character Dorilian shares a first kiss with his wife of four years: It was his first kiss, and he should have felt something other than her coldness. No tenderness for him moved Daimonaeris, none at all. It was ever the Highborn curse to know where passion existed and where it did not, and the passion on her lips bespoke nothing of desire. It touched his lips as might a snake’s cold venom, imparting sight, allowing Dorilian to see her clearly by means he had not employed before then. Hers was a new attack upon him, no less deadly for being concealed.
January 25, 2026 at 1:10 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for January 25 is NOTICE

Dorilian is safest when no one knows who he is, so being not "noticed" is a... good thing? This snip is from THE RILL LORD. Dorilian has just arrived in his ally's camp.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky
Text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snip has Hans talking with Dorilian, who has just arrived in his camp... to a major uproar. Dorilian too seemed inclined to settle in. He’d walked back to the command tent through a camp that had worked itself into a frenzy, and no one had seemed to notice him at all. Dressed in travel gear, he’d been nearly as incognito as in Amallar, but that state of affairs was not likely to last. The farmhouse was a safer location than the army camp and Arne had posted a strong guard to ensure no one would disturb them. “Wandering off like that is one good way to cause trouble.” Hans had feared the worst upon arriving back at his tent. “When Legon couldn’t find you, he practically turned the entire camp upside down.” “He will always look first to my well-being.” If Dorilian felt any remorse for having distressed his commander, he had yet to show it. Legon had insisted on posting his own men alongside Farrl’s Trongorians at the gate and Arne’s Kheldish guards at the door. Legon had himself taken to standing at ready downstairs. Having found his Hierarch again, Legon was ill-disposed to leave his side. “Has it occurred to you that your well-being is best served by not giving people opportunities to harm you?”
January 25, 2026 at 12:50 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#JanuaryWorldbuilders 25: Military training

The Triempery books don't focus on military; they're more about the politics of wars. No training academies or details about practice.

Most armies involved are professional or semi-professional. They are taught by masters how to use their weapons.
kiraofthewind.com Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 2d
#JanuaryWorldbuilders. Hello, friends! Today's military worldbuilding question: what kind of training do troops go through? Do they learn to use weapons? Go through obstacle courses? Do they do drills or learn discipline? Or are they thrown into the frontline as cannon fodder?
MonthlyWorldbuilders prompts daily feed card #JanuaryWorldbuilders Hosted by Kira of the Wind Week 4: Military/Warfare 25. What training regimens do troops go through? The background image shows a blurred magic tree with a waterfall coming down between two halves of its trunk. It’s nighttime and the night sky is magical with lots of blues and pinks and purples
January 25, 2026 at 12:32 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#FantasyIndiesJanuary 25: Animals in WIP

Horses have nearly character roles in some Triempery books. There's a special horse in THE RILL LORD.

Other animals appear sporadically in the books. For some reason, none of my characters have pets -- save Ionais with her yappy little dogs. 🤔
January 25, 2026 at 12:27 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WritingInJanuary 24: Where do I see my writing journey improving?

More readers. 😊 More illustrations. More sales would be nice.

I would like to write more humor. My birth family thinks I'm quite dull (not true... I'm QUIET), but I can be funny sometimes.
January 24, 2026 at 1:02 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for January 24 is BONE

"Bone" is used in this snip of Dorilian telling a battle committee they're mistaken about what Nammuor, the sorcerer/enemy, wants. And reminds them of Nammuor's powers.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Triempery
Text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Dorilian tells the battle committee they're all wet and don't understand Nammuor, the sorcerer/enemy at all: “You don’t even see Nammuor for what he is, none of you do—or can.” Dorilian’s outward calm was thin and white and cold. “He is the terminus of a race memory intent on revenge. The Diadem he wears is not even of this World! It holds a god’s slaughtered vengeance that has sought to destroy the Creation since the beginning of Time. It is not without intelligence or cunning. Now it has twisted Nammuor into a vessel for its designs, which, believe me, do not include Khelds in any way. You are merely mortal—and no matter how much you try, you cannot harm it. Our only chance is to kill Nammuor himself. Nammuor’s goal is not to rule Essera as we know it, but to destroy it. He will amuse himself with the pieces. He has been amusing himself all along, even at Stauberg, where he watched like a cat to see what a grasshopper would do with the Wall.” Hans swallowed. He hadn’t told Dorilian what Marenthro had revealed at Gustan. But Dorilian’s incisive grasp of both Nammuor and the Diadem held no mystery—his own history intersected at every point with that of the Diadem. A murmur of fear, undercut with discontent, moved through the crowd like a current. They were nervous enough to start, facing battle with an enemy whose powers few had ever directly witnessed but which all knew to be deadly. Sudden fire and mist that dissolved meat from men’s bones. Floods in winter and dangerous crystals that destroyed the men who bore them. They didn’t need Dorilian reminding them that they were inconsequential to a man who wielded such power.
January 24, 2026 at 12:51 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#JanuaryWorldbuilders 24: Notable generals

These appear in the Triempery series:

Bersyas - Sordan. Younger, innovative, horndog
Pandaros - Sordan. Older, experienced, calm
Legon - Sordan/Eagle Guard. Reserved. Dorilian's good friend.
Fran - Kheld. Younger, hothead
Nalf - Respected, bluster, crafty
kiraofthewind.com Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 3d
Hello, #JanuaryWorldbuilders! We're doing military/warfare week in our fictional worlds. Do any of your armies have a notable general or commander? Who are they and what are they like? Are they well-respected or feared by their soldiers? How strategic are they?
MonthlyWorldbuilders prompts daily feed card #JanuaryWorldbuilders Hosted by Kira of the Wind Week 4: Military/Warfare 24. Who are some notable generals or commanders in your world? The background image shows a blurred magic tree with a waterfall coming down between two halves of its trunk. It’s nighttime and the night sky is magical with lots of blues and pinks and purples
January 24, 2026 at 12:41 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#FantasyIndiesJanuary 24: Saturday Snippet

Arcane powers take center stage in THE RILL LORD. Here's a non-spoiler snippet. 😊
Text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snippet is of Dorilian pondering his powers versus those of Nammuor, his sorcerer enemy: Dorilian understood the mechanics. Shield energy possessed thresholds, in this case ambient Rill energy channeled through mortal flesh—his flesh—while the Diadem he faced was fueled by power from the sun itself. Power channeled not through a mortal body but an array of devices. Enough power to overwhelm Rill skin. Nammuor had chosen this place for battle because he had created a way to feed his unholy device. I could stop the battle, wait for night. But Nammuor, Dorilian knew, would not let him do that, would not let him escape. He thinks he has me.
January 24, 2026 at 12:31 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for January 23 is TRANSFER

THE RILL LORD is about creation and destruction, endings and beginnings. But "transfer" plays a part in that. Here's a conversation between Hans and Tiflan, explaining... quite a lot.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #epicfantasy
Text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snip is part of a conversation between Hans and Tiflan about Dorilian and the role of hope: “Gustan,” Hans said to Tiflan, identifying the pivotal point. “It was never about Bellan Toregh. Not really. It was always about Marc Frederick. His vision. After Permephedon, Dorilian remembered the promise, but he rejected the price.” “Wouldn’t you? Look at his teacher.” Tiflan paused, golden head turned, eyes softened. “Marc Frederick was more Dorilian’s father than the man who sired him. Deben never gave his son anything but life and the cold gift of hate. It fell to your grandfather to teach hard lessons about love and beauty and pain, the meaning of a human life. Dor’s human life—that he was not just other than godborn. That he was more. That he was deeper and truer and had an entire Creation from which to give. People only wanted the Rill. Marc Frederick wanted everything. Dorilian responded to Marc Frederick’s belief in him, his complete faith that Dor would do what was right. If any man should be thanked for what Dorilian has become, it’s Marc Frederick. Dorilian never took a greater leap than the one he took for your grandfather, nor took greater wounds than as a result. What happened at Permephedon branded him with terrible lies. That is why I tell you this: do not overlook your part in his healing. He was able to transfer his hope to you. Without hope, people cease to strive against their fates.”
January 23, 2026 at 12:34 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WritingInJanuary 23: Does your MC's attire/weapon have magical properties?

Heck yes. Dorilian wears the Rill Stone, literally a piece of a god, on his finger. His crown (which he doesn't wear all the time, only as needed) is the Sordan Coronal, a greater enhancer of magic. His sword is god-forged.
Illustration by Margarita Bourkova. Human hand (young, male and fair-skinned) wearing an elaborate ring with a green gem and eagle talon setting.
January 23, 2026 at 12:25 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#JanuaryWorldbuilders 23: Military food and medical care

The armies of the Triempery are imperial with well-organized food distribution/medical care, i.e. mess tents, quartermasters/logistics specialists, and hospitals.

Khelds don't have these established systems. But they quickly adopt them.
kiraofthewind.com Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 4d
#JanuaryWorldbuilders! Today's military/warfare related Q: How does your world's military handle food and medical care for its soldiers? Do they have MREs, or the medieval equivalent? Supply lines? Foraging off the land? What kind of skills do the medics have?
MonthlyWorldbuilders prompts daily feed card #JanuaryWorldbuilders Hosted by Kira of the Wind Week 4: Military/Warfare 23. How is food and medical care handled for soldiers? The background image shows a blurred magic tree with a waterfall coming down between two halves of its trunk. It’s nighttime and the night sky is magical with lots of blues and pinks and purples
January 23, 2026 at 12:09 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#FantasyIndiesJanuary 23: New beginnings in WIP

THE RILL LORD is an ending (final book of series)... but it does have new beginnings. Except... spoilers.

I like the new beginning for Palimia in THE KHELD KING. When Stefan boots her from Essera, she finds an unexpected new start in Sordan.
Left side is book cover of THE KHELD KING, book 2 of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Cover is blue and gray and shows a man looking up at a mysterious city atop somber foggy cliffs. Right side is a text excerpt from THE KHELD KING: Dorilian had just reached the door when he turned back to her and flashed another of his smiles. “A year from now, you are going to thank me for setting you free. It’ll be fun. You’ll see.”
January 23, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by L.L. Stephens
servantand.bsky.social
My short story, The Fairy Soldier's Last Request is in the Tales Untold anthology.

It's the story of a sellsword, excuse me freelancer, who gets pulled into a debt of honor with a Fairy soldier. He's also Bi. 😁

www.amazon.com/Tales-Untold...
Tales Untold: Mythos Around the World
Tales Untold: Mythos Around the World - Kindle edition by P. Menon, Rashmi, Authors, Multiple, Caruso, Kimberlee. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Tales Untold: Mythos Around the World.
www.amazon.com
January 22, 2026 at 12:17 PM
triempery.bsky.social
#WritingInJanuary 22: A flaw my MC hides from everyone

Most of Dorilian's flaws are front and center. He doesn't hide much. But he does hide that his "impure" breeding has given him a body that has... facial hair.

The hiding starts in THE KHELD KING. It's a fun scene.
Left side is the book cover of THE KHELD KING, book 2 of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Cover is blue and grays, a somber view of a man looking put at a mighty city atop cliffs. Right side is a text excerpt from THE KHELD KING, wherein Dorilian discovers that he is growing a beard--a sign of low birth: There was the reason. Dorilian’s thrice-cursed grandfather. And his mother. Both had been born of Nemenor mothers—a race known to sprout beards. Only Staubaun men of pure blood, like their Aryati predecessors, were truly free of facial hair. Yet again, as with his eyes and coloration, Dorilian failed to meet the royal standard. Tutto lowered his gaze. “I see puberty has arrived upon your chest also. And probably under your arms.” “Yes, but I can hide that.” Dorilian sighed. “And I already know how to make sure it doesn’t happen again, not on my face. My problem is that I need to get rid of this particular outbreak. I tried to get my skin to reabsorb it, but that didn’t work.” “So I see.” “It’s ugly, a sure sign of low birth. I need it off my face.” “Easily done.” Tutto unsheathed the shorter of the two daggers he wore and displayed the edge.
January 22, 2026 at 12:46 PM