The Book

A heist with a kingdom's history at stake

Devlin Crowe is a thief, and a good one. Quick hands, quicker mouth, and an instinct for being somewhere else when trouble arrives. The Crimson Tear should have been just another job: in, out and paid. Instead it's the job that won't let him walk away, because something far older than the men who hired him knows of the jewel, and it wants it.

Joined by Caper, a swordsman built like a small building and twice as stubborn, Kane, a ranger and skilled archer and tracker, and Sian, a healer carrying more than bandages in her satchel, Devlin finds himself part of a crew he never asked for, embarking on a journey across Oerthia he never planned to take. Whatever is following them doesn't tire, doesn't bargain, and doesn't stop. And the closer they get to understanding what the Crimson Tear actually is, the further they get from "just another job."

Book 1of the Tales of Oerthia series

Epic FantasyHeist & pursuit, with teeth

Kindle, Paperback & HardbackComing August 2026

The Series

Tales of Oerthia

One continent. One unfolding story. Four books that build on each other from the first page to the last.

Book One · Available Now

The Jewel and the Thief

The series opener. A thief, a vault beneath Greyspire, and a jewel that isn't finished with its own story.

Book Two · In Progress

The Ranger and the King

The next chapter of Oerthia is being written. Join the list below to hear when it's ready.

Book Three · Planned

The Fighter and the Forger

The third tale of Oerthia, coming once Book Two is told.

Book Four · Planned

The Sorcerer and the Healer

The continent is larger than one book — there's more of Oerthia left to walk.

For Readers of Oerthia

A free tale from the world of Oerthia

The Weight of a Bad Hand is a Devlin and Caper story set before the events of The Jewel and the Thief. A card game, a rude merchant, and a theft that goes wrong in every direction at once. Free on Kindle now.

Read it free on Kindle →

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The Author

Callum Ashcroft

Callum Ashcroft grew up in the north of England, where grey skies and long winters gave him plenty of reason to stay indoors and read — a habit he never quite grew out of. The Jewel and the Thief is his first novel.

He lives in Cheshire with his wife and their three children, and is currently at work on Book Two.