Kelly asked G.J. Kelly:

Hi Mr. Kelly! First off, let me say book five was amazing and I can't wait to read more of the Shi'ell series!! So I just had a quick question: how old is Sten? I know he's younger, but I can't seem to recall an exact age. I have an approximation or exact age for everyone else, so I'd love to have his, if at all possible. Thanks, and good luck with the next draft :)

G.J. Kelly Hi Kelly, thank you for your kind words about 'Cometh The Scythesman'. Alas, it was always intended to be the final chapter of the Longsword/Shi'ell saga; I don't have any current plans to continue the story 'in the darkness beyond which none can see'. Everyone's destiny is now in their own hands, and like Tales of Wonder, Wit and Wisdom, it's nice to think that by keeping the book closed, the characters can go about their lives in relative peace. :) But who's to say that one day I might not catch up with Argovayne et al again? For now, though, I've already begun work on a new book, with new characters, set in an entirely different 'world' to the Longsword/Shi'ell series.
As for Sten's age, it's true I've been deliberately vague concerning ages of the D'ith and the Viell. In King of Ashes, for example, Allazar declares to Gawain on Tarn Point: "You cannot possibly know how old I truly am." He also says that even he is considered 'young' by the senior brethren at the Hallencloister. Much is deliberately left to the reader's imagination, for that's where stories truly come alive, and where characters live out their lives. In my own mind, Sten is younger than Allazar, but older than Met Corax; Sten is a Master of Sek after all. When all's said and done, the vision you have of Stentennen in your imagination is as true as mine or anyone else's :)
Y'know, age is a relative quality past a certain point; I still think of myself as a dashing young fellow until I bend over to tie a shoelace, and then the full horror of the passage of time makes itself keenly felt!

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