Lloyd
Safe through Heroes of Ravenford Book 3
Main text: Book 1. Books 2–3: collapsed sections below.
Characters
Lloyd Stealle is a human spiritblade, a master of sword and spirit, and the heart of the companions in Ruins on Stone Hill. At eighteen, he stands 6’2″ with broad shoulders, tousled brown hair, and deep blue eyes, clad in red leather armour. He wields two oversized blades with whirlwind speed, and the blades can burst into flame — not from enchantment alone, but from a martial discipline that trains body, mind, and spirit together until a warrior can call on spiritual essence to enhance strength and agility.
Lloyd is the youngest son of a well-to-do Penwick family. His father is Lord Kratos Stealle, and Penwick’s history — pirate wars, fleets, and the Stealle name — travels with him even when he would rather be judged on his own merits. After earning the title of spiritblade, Lloyd left home to make his own way and help others. He was headed toward Tarrsmorr for work when he vaulted, literally, into a battle to save Glolindir, Aksel, and Seth from monstrous foes, and chose to stay with them afterwards.
In Ravenford, that choice becomes public. At Ravenford Keep, Lloyd is revealed as young Lord Stealle, a revelation Book 1 treats as a turning point: the helpful sell-sword is also nobility, with a Penwick name the court recognises. It changes how Ravenford sees him, and it matters in Andrella’s orbit as well. What does not change is his manner. Off the battlefield he is gentle and easygoing; on it, he is the companion the others rally around when a giant, a golem, or a dark mage makes the odds look final.
Lloyd’s Book 1 arc is about earning a name rather than inheriting one. By the end of the book, Ravenford knows both names — Lloyd, and Stealle — and he has earned the first in front of witnesses who matter.
See Andrella for Ravenford‘s heir, and Glolindir, Aksel, and Seth for the friends who saw Lloyd fight before they knew his surname.
Spiritblades
In Lloyd’s own words, a spiritblade is ‘kind of a martial disciple of the sword’. Spiritblades learn to use their minds and spirits as well as their bodies to wield their weapons, and the spiritual energy can make what they do look like magic. The training is long and physical: Lloyd did not touch a blade for his whole first year, which was given over to conditioning. Spiritblades also learn to ignore pain. Book 1 treats the title as something earned, and having earned it, Lloyd left home.
After Book 1 — spoilers for Book 2, Serpent Cult
In Serpent Cult, Lloyd dives to the sunken ships off Cape Marlin, breathing underwater with the help of Aksel’s spell. Back in Ravenford he stays close to Andrella once there is reason to fear she may be a cult target.
At her gala he and Donatello hold the giant serpents at bay. Lloyd kills one, then speaks a single word to his cape (‘Fugere’), flies up after the revived Voltark, and cuts him in half in midair. When he lands, Andrella kisses him in front of the whole courtyard.
After Book 2 — spoilers for Book 3, Dark Monolith
Dark Monolith turns Ravenford’s gratitude into a test of honour. Sir Fafnar Strakentir of Dunwynn accuses the companions of assaulting his guard, and Lloyd challenges him noble to noble. Andrella ties her red scarf, embroidered with her initials, around his arm. Lloyd’s fire meets Fafnar’s ice in a spiritblade duel in the keep’s arena. Lloyd wins, Baron Gryswold drops all charges, and Andrella kisses him again. He then withdraws from the tourney to join the mission.
In the monolith’s elemental chambers, Lloyd uses a technique his father called Stealle Skin, a thin layer of tensile steel that protects him without slowing him down.