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A Four-Book Epic Fantasy Saga

The Saga of Arendon.

A vast world of ancient kingdoms and elemental magic — phoenixes, dragons, dwarves, krakens, and the fate-bound scepters that bind them all. Begin as a middle-grade adventure. Finish as a young-adult reckoning.

4 Books
Ages 8+ Grows w/ reader
Kirkus Reviewed
Top 20 Amazon YA Fantasy
Start with Book One → Explore the World
About the Series

Epic fantasy that grows with the reader.

The Elementalists began in 2017 as a single sheet of paper covered in tight pencil — a synopsis written by my third-grade child, Blue Risho, for a novel they wanted to exist in the world. Two-and-a-half years of writing together later, the first book arrived in 2020. Today it's four books. One continent. Dozens of kingdoms. A saga that starts with middle-grade adventure and grows darker, deeper, and more daring with each volume — the way Harry Potter grew up with its readers.

Written together as a parent-and-child team for the first three books. Finished solo by Ephie. Anchored by a Kirkus-reviewed debut that hit Amazon's Top 20 in YA Fantasy.

Read the Books Meet Ephie & Blue
Ephie and Blue Risho signing books at a launch event
The Origin
"It started as a third-grade homework assignment."
The Four Books

A saga in four volumes.

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Each book is a standalone adventure. Read them in order and they build into something much larger — a reckoning that spans oceans, centuries, and twelve fate-bound scepters.
★ Amazon Top 20 — YA Fantasy
Phoenix Rising — Book One of The Elementalists
Book One

Phoenix Rising

A village in peril. A girl who won't sit still.

When her village is threatened, a young woman sets out alone to find help — and stumbles into a far darker scheme than anyone imagined. A hidden circle of wizards is pulling strings across the kingdoms of Arendon, and she's about to become the first thing standing in their way. A coming-of-age epic fantasy and the opening volume of the Elementalists saga.

★★★★★"If you start this book, I predict you will finish it in nearly no time at all, like it is magically unfolding before you."

— Reader review · Goodreads

★★★★★"Loved it! Fun quick read. I can't wait to share it with my daughter. Really looking forward to the next book."

— Reader review · Goodreads
Middle Grade · 8+ Epic Fantasy Kirkus Reviewed
Book details → Read Chapter One
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Book Two

Crodor the Ancient

The capital is falling. Only a dragon can save it.

A goblin army is marching on Arendon's capital, and its only hope may be a dragon old enough to remember the last war. But Crodor has his own reasons, his own grudges, and his own idea of what "saving the day" should look like. The young elementalists must find him, convince him, and pray he doesn't make matters far worse. A mythic dragon tale woven into a kingdom on the brink.

★★★★★"Even better than the first book!"

— Reader review · Goodreads

★★★★★"As a lifelong reader of science fiction and fantasy, I am happy to have found this new series and eagerly await the next installment."

— Reader review · Goodreads
Middle Grade · 9+ Dragons · Goblins Co-written with Blue
Book details → Read Chapter One
Buy: Amazon Apple Books Barnes & Noble Kobo
Crodor the Ancient — Book Two of The Elementalists
Secret of the Kraken — Book Three of The Elementalists
Book Three

Secret of the Kraken

Open seas. Darker waters. A secret older than the kingdoms.

Stopping the wizards' grip on the world won't be possible from land. The brave elementalists must cross oceans and continents, face the Kraken in open water, and unveil a secret ancient enough to shake every throne in Arendon. The series opens up — wider world, heavier stakes, the first hints of the reckoning to come.

★★★★★"This book has one of the best world-building I have read till now."

— DarkFantasyReviews

★★★★★"Oh my gosh, I just love this series. My son and I are addicted!"

— Reader review · Goodreads
Middle Grade · 10+ Seafaring · Monsters Co-written with Blue
Book details → Read Chapter One
Buy: Amazon Apple Books Barnes & Noble Kobo
Book Four · Finale

The Twelfth Scepter

Twelve scepters. One spell. Everything to lose.

Twelve scepters. One spell. The wizards need every last one of them to seize ultimate power — and the young elementalists are the only ones standing in the way. The saga's finale pulls every thread tight: dragons, phoenixes, dwarves, the sea, the kingdoms, and a generation of heroes who've grown up across four books. Written solo by Ephie.

★★★★★"Risho's writing is awesome — it paints such a clear picture and keeps you hooked with all the action."

— DarkFantasyReviews

★★★★★"By far, the most thrilling, heart-pounding book in the series. There is non-stop, exciting action on virtually every page."

— Reader review · Goodreads
YA · 12+ Series Finale Solo by Ephie
Book details → Read Chapter One
Buy: Amazon Apple Books Barnes & Noble Kobo
The Twelfth Scepter — Book Four of The Elementalists
Explore the World

Explore the world of the Elementalists.

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Click any map to view full-size.
Map of Arendon
The Kingdom

Arendon

The kingdom where the saga begins. From Amber's small coastal town to the great cities and elven hubs, secrets lurk behind every corner as goblins and the Phoenix awaken.
Map of Lugo
The Capital

Lugo

The capital of Arendon. An army of goblins, giants, and wizards attacks Lugo. Can an ancient dragon protect the city, or will it make matters worse?
Map of the Six Dwarven Kingdoms
Beneath the Mountains

The Six Dwarven Kingdoms

An ancient map will guide the elementalists across the seas to the dwarves' six great kingdoms to solve a puzzle of the past and learn the secrets to stop the wizards with the fiercest creature in the world.
Ephie and Blue Risho, co-authors of The Elementalists
The Authors

A parent-and-child writing team.

In 2017, Blue — then in third grade — handed their parent Ephie a single sheet of paper with the outline of an epic fantasy novel. Instead of filing it away, they wrote it. Together. Two-and-a-half years later, Phoenix Rising arrived in the world.

Books One through Three are co-written by Ephie and Blue Risho. Book Four, the saga's finale, was written solo by Ephie while Blue turned their attention to their next adventure — middle school, high school, everything that comes with growing up alongside a four-book series.

The result is a saga that literally grew up with its authors — and with the reader lucky enough to start in third grade and finish in high school.

Author
Ephie Risho
All four books · solo on Book 4
Co-author
Blue Risho
Books 1–3 · originated the saga
Read the full origin story →
Amazon Bestseller List
Phoenix Rising reached the Top 20 in YA Fantasy on Amazon.
Book One of The Elementalists
Kirkus Reviews
"An imaginative fantasy that will appeal to young readers ready for their next adventure."
— On Phoenix Rising · 2020

Where to start.

Read in order for the full saga arc. Each book is written to stand alone — but the scepters, the kingdoms, and the friendships only fully add up if you start at the beginning.
Book 1
Phoenix Rising
Book 2
Crodor the Ancient
Book 3
Secret of the Kraken
Book 4
The Twelfth Scepter
Phoenix Rising — free sample chapters
Try Book One Today

Step into Arendon.

Drop your email and I'll send you the opening five chapters of Phoenix Rising — the Kirkus-reviewed, Amazon Top 20 opening volume of the Elementalists saga. You'll also get Surviving Dinner and Other Occupational Hazards, a free standalone novella, when it drops in May 2026, plus regular notes from Ephie on the writing life, the worlds behind the books, and whatever else is worth sharing.

Delivered instantly. Novella arrives May 2026 via BookFunnel. Unsubscribe any time.