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L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#WIPSnips The word for November 25th is SYSTEM

This snip is about the Rill, which plays a major role in the final book, THE RILL LORD (it's in the name!). In this snip, the Rill is having... problems. As one might expect given what's going on.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Triempery

Screenshot of text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April 2026) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. The snip describes the Rill god/transportation system having problems.

Quirin’s communications with the Seven Houses had been strained. Dorilian’s threats to Chyralane, widely repeated, had silenced some Houses, but Quirin learned news that chilled his blood.
The Rill had faltered in terrible, unforeseen ways. The blue glow of the Permephedon and Sordan core arrays had blazed, then darkened. Transports had been stranded at Hestya and Dazunor-Rannuli—and two charysi had failed completely, one a passenger vessel. Two hundred people had died. For many hours, the Rill had lingered in a torpor, dull flickers permeating blackened Overlays. Only communications had remained intact, and that function had experienced unprecedented disruption. Although the system had stabilized before another day had passed and service resumed, the Brotherhood had reduced operations. Panic remained high.

November 25, 2025 at 3:45 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#NovemberWorldbuilders 25: War that is over.

A great war between the Aryati and the newly created Highborn race occurred at the dawn of the Second Creation.

The Three, sons of Amynas and Leur, fought the last Aryati survivors. They won and founded kingdoms that became the Triempery.

Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 1d

#NovemberWorldbuilders Does your fictional world have any wars in its history that are now over? What was the conflict about? What were the repercussions of it?

#NovemberWorldbuilders prompt card

Hosted by Kira of the Wind
Week 4: HISTORY
25. A war that has ended

The image in the background is a blurred picture of a foresty/rocky landscape with lightning and a mountain in the background

November 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#FantasyIndiesNovember 25: Share artwork

Today I'd like to showcase the work of artist @margawart.bsky.social
.
The collage is of illustrations she did of some of artifacts found in the Triempery series. Lower right is the Rill Stone and in the center is the Undying Crown. More in the alt-text.

Collage of six illustrations done by artist Margarita Bourkova of artifacts from the Triempery series of epic fantasy novels by L.L. Stephens.

Center: The Undying Crown, the god-infected device that gives villain Nammuor his powers

Clockwise from top left:

1. The Gweroyen Sword, forged by Leur in the core of a star; icy metal with blue-green gems and fantastic design
2. Aubrey Amanda's gold leather pouch of rune stones; gold-hued pouch sits atop a red-covered book and there are blue rune stones scattered about
3. The Rill Stone on the hand of Dorilian Sordaneon; the Rill Stone's center green gem is said to be fashioned from the eye of the Rill God, Derlon. The setting is formed of talons, evoking the Sordaneon eagle symbol.
4. Two cupped hands holding the Wall Stone. The ivory-colored Wall Stone is shaped like the top bone of the human sternum--because it is made from the sternum of the Wall God, Ergeiron.
5. The Leur's Ring is white and glowing on the hand of an old man. The man is wearing a blue robe.

November 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM

Reposted by L.L. Stephens

JCM Berne; author of Wistful Ascending

@jcmberne.bsky.social

Gift giving season is fast approaching!
Want to make people happy? Nobody needs more socks, ties, or peanut butter logs.
Buy them the Hybrid Helix and bring true joy back to the holidays.

November 24, 2025 at 4:49 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#WIPSnips The word for November 24 is DEBUT

Though there are many "debuts" in the Triempery series, none use that word. So I went with "show up."

The scene in THE SECOND STONE where Dorilian shows up and Hans and Arne first see him is a good one.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky

Screenshot of text excerpt from THE SECOND STONE, book 3 of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snip is of Hans and Arne witnessing the arrival of Dorilian Sordaneon at a disrupted event.

Hearing the call of tens of thousands, Hans blanched. Like rolling thunder, the chanting gathered force and took on a disturbing, threatening note.
“This isn’t good.” Arne tugged at Hans’ shirt and urged him to listen. “We’re in a seat of trouble already. And more if that one shows up! He’s more like to kill us all than put things right. Murder is what he does! Let’s get out of here. There’s some here look just about mad enough to take a shot at him.”
Thinking Arne might be right, Hans resolved to leave. A loud clatter on the steps above him and a sudden deep hush—unexpected and commanding—made him stop. And look. And freeze.
Ruddy firelight bathed the Rill steps and also the ivory horse that pranced precisely down the stairs. Blue hoofs overlaid with silver filigree tapped sharply on each step so that each report resounded across the dead quiet of the Dekkora, where now only the fires raged. The horse’s polished harness shone like silver, and yet it was plain and functional, purpose without pageantry—but the dark green cloth beneath the saddle blazed with silver thread and white gems in a pattern of sweeping ellipses, sword and eagle too majestic to be anything but royal.
The crowd’s silence became deeper still. Hundreds—no, thousands… tens of thousands—dropped to their knees. Many bent to the ground.
A breastplate of silver wings spread across the man’s chest and a circlet of cold metal and icy gems rested upon his brow—but Hans did not need to attend to the crowd to know that he looked upon the Hierarch Dorilian.

Book cover of THE SECOND STONE, book 3 of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Shows two young men on a sailing boat going toward a fantastic city in the distance (Sordan) along with other ships.

November 24, 2025 at 1:09 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#NovemberWorldbuilders 24

Both Hans and Dorilian are shaped by decisions the Wall Lord Endurin made in breaking Essera's succession in favor of Marc Frederick. Hans is Marc Frederick's grandson. This MATTERS.

Dorilian's ancestors were literal gods, Amynas and Leur. And the Rill. This matters too.

Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 2d

#NovemberWorldbuilders Let's talk about how the world's history directly impacts your main character (or some other important character in the world you're developing). Do they have an important ancestor? Was there a specific event, say a war or diaspora, that impacted their current life?

#NovemberWorldbuilders prompt card

Hosted by Kira of the Wind
Week 4: HISTORY
24. An event/ancestor directly connected to your MC or another important character

The image in the background is a blurred picture of a foresty/rocky landscape with lightning and a mountain in the background

November 24, 2025 at 12:42 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#FantasyIndiesNovember 24: Do I listen to music as I write?

Seldom. But some scenes have benefitted from having certain music in the background.

I often use music from the Altiplano of South America for Sordan.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl4o...

Condores Bolivianos

YouTube video by Los Calchakis - Topic

www.youtube.com

November 24, 2025 at 12:31 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#WIPSnips The word for November 23rd is GLOBAL

"Global" doesn't appear in the Triempery series, but there's lots of talk about the "world." Here's a bit from THE RILL LORD in which Dorilian lays a global, as in "encompassing," truth about the series' villain, Nammuor.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky

Screenshot of text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April 2026) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. This snip is from POV of Dorilian Sordaneon, addressing skeptics about the nature of their enemy:

“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.”

November 23, 2025 at 12:49 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#NovemberWorldbuilders 23

Endurin Malyrdeon, the last Wall Lord, used that Entity to sift through timelines both past and future. He sought to set into place both bloodlines and persons toward resolving a looming catastrophe.

Endurin is revered but some of his actions were divisive.

Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 3d

We're talking about our fictional world's history this week, #NovemberWorldbuilders. Tell me about a ruler or leader who made an impact in your world. How are they remembered by those living in the future?

#NovemberWorldbuilders prompt card

Hosted by Kira of the Wind
Week 4: HISTORY
23. Long-dead rulers/leaders

The image in the background is a blurred picture of a foresty/rocky landscape with lightning and a mountain in the background

November 23, 2025 at 12:34 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#FantasyIndiesNovember 23: Dealing with imposter syndrome

I've always written for joy and never felt like an imposter except when moving in certain social circles... but about my writing, never.

My advice is to proudly be what you are. An author. A writer. A creator. A unique, wonderful human.

November 23, 2025 at 12:22 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#WIPSnips The word for November 22 is CRYSTAL

Crystals serve to house arcane energy in the Triempery series. Here in this snip from THE RILL LORD, we see such crystals used in battle. On the field of battle, Dorilian contemplates the source of the attack.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky

Screenshot of a text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April 2026) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. This snip shows Dorilian on the battlefield contemplating the source of a magical, deadly attack:

“Get the men on their horses.” Dorilian barked the command. A second assault from the fortress, on the horrible heels of the first, had just burst through the southernmost shield. “You too, Tutto,” he said.
The old retainer planted his feet. “I stay with you.”
“Not now. Not where I go.”
“Whatever you do, you’ll need help after. I’m not about to let you die along with our hopes.”
Frightened, the men left. Dorilian barely saw their faces as they ran for the horses but noted that Robdan’s was among them. Tutto and Legon stayed in a hollow just behind him, keeping hold on three horses.
Elithegh loomed like a fire-crowned tooth across a plain seething with death.
Dorilian traced the fortress’s structure within the World’s firmament, the weight of it, the dimensions of its walls and towers; his study was but a template of the massive edifice. Even from here, he discerned the solar array, its crystal linkages and amassed energy. Only an Epopte of the highest Order could have set such high-level magic.

November 22, 2025 at 12:25 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#NovemberWorldbuilders 22

The Triempery series has DEEP history and lore. The civilization of the Aryati existed before the current story and committed acts that destroyed the original Creation.

Ruins? A ruined World. The Rill. And three Cities.
#epicfantasy #Triempery #worldbuilding

Image shows three travel posters done by the artist Lazare. Posters show the three Cities raised by Leur in the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens.

From left: Permephedon (blue), Sordan (green and tan, with lake), and Mormantalorus (red, with volcano).

November 22, 2025 at 12:07 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

L.L. Stephens
@triempery
#FantasyIndiesNovember 22: Saturday Snippet

This snippet is from the 5th book of the Triempery Revelations series, THE WALLED CITY. In it, Dorilian does a bit of crypt-robbing. Why? You'll have to read the book...
#epicfantasy

Left side of image is a meme with a pink background bordered by flowers and books; white text in the meme is a list of daily writing prompts for authors of fantasy fiction.

Right side of meme is a text excerpt from THE WALLED CITY, book 5 of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. The snip shows main character Dorilian doing a bit of crypt-robbing:

None had known about him, this Highborn scholar buried with his books at the foot of Stauberg’s storied Tree, where school children sat to learn their lessons and stare up at the silver boughs. Now that tree reared a ghostly canopy and Dorilian contemplated the unthinkable.
Forgive me, brother. I do what I must.
Sheathing the sword, Dorilian reached into the jagged opening he had created and placed his hands on the ancient alabaster. Focusing through the Sordan Coronal he wore, he brought forth the power that was in him, reached for the Rill, and envisioned Permephedon.

November 22, 2025 at 11:52 AM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#WIPSnips The word for November 21 is DIRECTION

Battlefields are chaotic. Finding "direction" is vitally important and sometimes difficult. In this bit from THE RILL LORD, Arne finds himself needing to make decisions.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky

Screenshot of a text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April 2026) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snip is of a battlefield scene:

Arne knew he had to assume command, at least until someone better qualified stepped up. At the moment, all those men were on the field. He had to let Nalf Rhys know, and Orem Darm. Raphelon. And the Sordaneon too. He dreaded that one most but saw it as a good place to start.
“You got to go to the Hierarch, Uncle.” He pointed in the general direction of the Sordani troops. “He trusts you, more the hell than he trusts any of the rest of us. Tell him what you saw and pray he believes it!”
“He’ll believe it.” Robdan gathered up the reins. Riding into the battlefield surely terrified him, even if he would be behind their own lines.
Arne saw one thing as clear: Their forces needed leadership more than any of them needed safety. No matter what others of his people believed, Arne knew Dorilian capable of providing it.

November 21, 2025 at 12:42 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#NovemberWorldbuilders 21

The Illumination of Amynas takes place in Sordan, on the shore of Sarkuan Lake, every spring. First Day is a feast. Second Day is fasting and a sacred play. Third Day celebrates the New Year.

There are grand scenes in two books set in this event.

Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 5d

Howdy, #NovemberWorldbuilders. What special events take place near the river/lake in your fictional world? Do they have any festivals or annual traditions? How do your characters engage with these events?

#NovemberWorldbuilders prompt card

Hosted by Kira of the Wind
Week 3: RIVER/LAKE
21. Festivals/celebrations by the river/lake

The image in the background is a blurred picture of a foresty/rocky landscape with lightning and a mountain in the background

November 21, 2025 at 12:32 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#FantasyIndiesNovember 21: Comfort movies or TV shows

My husband and I watch mindless reality dating/marriage shows like Love Is Blind or, most recently, Married At First Sight.

I feel really good about having found and married him when watching those shows! He's a keeper!

November 21, 2025 at 12:27 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#WIPSnips The word for November 20 is SPECIAL

THE RILL LORD uses this word several times. One of the best is this passage with Cortogh, a Dog Man, as the POV character. The Dog Men are lots of fun, especially their differences from humans.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Triempery

Screenshot of text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April 2026) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snip is a paragraph in the POV of Cortogh, a Dog Man, showing his thoughts as he waits among humans for an audience with the Prince.

Cortogh crouched just inside the door of the Prince’s antechamber. The room, the first entered upon reaching the Manor’s State wing, was crowded. Many visitors waited to see the Prince. Generals and lords, weary Staubaun couriers, and sullen Kheldmen occupied every chair while the remaining tired bodies rested against paneled walls. Fine woods had gone into the making of this house, and Cortogh detected their subtle rich fragrance beneath the ripe smells of unwashed bodies. The stink of humans disgusted him and struck him as disrespectful. He had himself gone to great lengths to wash his body thoroughly and had taken special pains grooming his reddish hair and whiskers. Markers of clan rank, carved of antler and bone fitted with gold and woven with strips of colored cloth, caught the light where he had braided them into his hair. He had also carefully trimmed his heavy, curved finger and toenails, presenting them dully. No Hen Kyon would have approached a Highborn Prince otherwise. That Cortogh had been dirty from ranging the field, his clothing rough and fur matted upon first meeting the Prince in the Kragh, made him frown whenever he thought of it. He had made a poor impression.

November 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#NovemberWorldbuilders 20.

I've been using Sarkuan for this week so will talk about its settlements.

Sordan is a City raised by the god Leur. It's home to the Rill and great enterprises.

Other settlements sit on the lake. Bartulu is a grain port. Batraz is pink. Rhondda is Dorilian's retreat.

Travel poster of Sordan, a City in the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Art by Lazare.

Poster shows a scene of a tan island across a lake of pale green water with sailing ships. The city on the island is one of fantastic towers. Words at the bottom say VISIT SORDAN -- HOME OF THE RILL

November 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#FantasyIndiesNovember 20: Where do I find inspiration?

Life. People. History. Art. Current Events. Everything is inspiration. Everything I touch and know becomes part of the matrix of creation.

November 20, 2025 at 2:47 PM

Reposted by L.L. Stephens

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#WIPSnips The word for November 19 is THIRD

In this snip from THE RILL LORD we see Aubrey grappling with rune reading. Princess Emyli also reads runes but the two women have different ways of reading them... so of course they reach different conclusions.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Triempery

November 19, 2025 at 12:51 PM

Reposted by L.L. Stephens

Stephanie Burgis

@stephanieburgis.bsky.social

This week's Wednesday snippet comes from Woing the Witch Queen, in which Felix - a sweet, nerdy archduke in disguise - has been hired to be the witch queen's new librarian of magic.

Grab it now in ebook, paper, or audiobook:

stephanieburgis.com/books/wooing-the-witch-queen

#romancelandia

In one corner of this image is the British cover of Wooing the Witch Queen, by Stephanie Burgis. The illustration shows a man in a cloak riding headlong through the night towards an ominous castle with an illuminated, crowned female figure in its doorway and bats flying overhead in the moonlight. A potion vial surrounds that central image and is further framed by leaves and branches. Crows sit on the branches, and a tagline reads: Love can be a witch. A blurb from Sangu Mandanna reads: ‘Warm and lovely’.
Above and around the cover is this snippet of text, with a drawing of four books piled underneath it:
Carefully, he tucked those delicate, lost sheets back into their damaged casing, and gave the book a reassuring stroke. “Don’t worry,” he murmured as he rose to his feet. “You won’t be mistreated again. None of you will.”
Already busy making notes in his head, he strode towards the ordinary, nonmagical satin bell pull that hung by the door, muscle weakness entirely forgotten.
His attempts to sort out his own life might have gone catastrophically wrong, but with a fountain pen, a supply of black ink, and blank paper—a good deal of blank paper, he amended—he might just be able to sort out this broken library of magic after all.

November 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM

Reposted by L.L. Stephens

Andi Kennedy: Art & Words

@andria-kennedy.com

Mine came Monday, and it is so beautiful.

If you need a 2026 calendar, pop in. 👇

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 7d

Hi, it's me again

I have these calendars. They are so pretty. @megstampede.bsky.social made them. They have a bunch of animals on them, like crows and humpbacks and cuttlefish and salamanders.

Each month has facts about the animals AND actions you can take to help them

Get one at Squidfacts.net!

Sarah holds up an advent calendar showing a page with an anglerfish that says "Light up the darkness"

November 19, 2025 at 1:48 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

Today is Book Quote Wednesday and the word is JAM.

Here's an action scene from SORDANEON, in which Dorilian rides in a pelekys match, a brutal game which is played on horseback. He makes his move but doesn't come out of it unscathed.

#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #bookqw #Sordaneon

Left side of image is the book cover of SORDANEON, first book of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. The cover shows a fantastic city with something powerful glowing at its core, being looked on by a small human figure. Golden, rich colors.

Right side is a text excerpt from the book showing a scene from a game played on horseback:

Dorilian lurched back into the saddle, picked up the reins, and slid his left foot back into the stirrup. Shifting his body’s weight again, he signaled his horse to bear hard to the left. Aleistes bellowed as their two horses collided while the rider bearing the axe spurted past both into open field.
Somewhere on the perimeter, human voices cheered. Dorilian ignored them. He jammed the toe of his boot against the other horse’s ribs and eased his tight grip on the reins, giving his mount its head. The mare recovered ground, then ran at the gray again. Aleistes, now furious, swung his whip and tried to break free of the harrying. The whip found Dorilian’s face, whistling and then stinging as it sliced across his cheek and jaw. The bastard! He shot Aleistes a glare as blood welled and dripped down his face.
The big man laughed. “Wear that, pretty boy!”

November 19, 2025 at 1:15 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

#WIPSnips The word for November 19 is THIRD

In this snip from THE RILL LORD we see Aubrey grappling with rune reading. Princess Emyli also reads runes but the two women have different ways of reading them... so of course they reach different conclusions.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Triempery

November 19, 2025 at 12:51 PM

L.L. Stephens

@triempery.bsky.social

Sarkuan lake carries a lot of economic worldbuilding! So does the entire Triempery series.

Sarkuan surrounds Sordan island. Sordan's a HUGE Rill port. Travelers, food, luxury goods, lumber, and every other commodity travel by lake to or from the Rill.

The impact? Immense--a river leads to the sea.

Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 7d

Alright, #NovemberWorldbuilders, this is the nichest of niche questions. If you have a notable lake/river in your world, how does it impact the economy? Do people fish from it? Are there any other resources they use? Maybe barges use it for transporting goods?

#NovemberWorldbuilders prompt card

Hosted by Kira of the Wind
Week 3: RIVER/LAKE
19. Fishing/economy/resources

The image in the background is a blurred picture of a foresty/rocky landscape with lightning and a mountain in the background

November 19, 2025 at 12:24 PM

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