The Tithe of Esra’Nell
The settlers of Arcana have been promised prosperity and freedom from the Fae creatures which have assailed humanity for the past millennium. Reality is somewhat different, as the young warrior-priest Bugen discovers when he is summoned to deal with the fall-out from a spate of unexplained kidnappings and murders.
About The Tithe of Esra’Nell
It was the 30th of November, 2013. I was sitting with a group of friends, about half-way into my first tabletop role-playing game session. “Wow,” I thought as I madly scribbled down notes and drank a soursop smoothie. “I’m taking so many notes, it’s like writing a book!” The end result is this novel, ‘The Tithe of Esra’Nell’, which I am quite excited to share with you.
The story follows the adventures of Bugen, a reserved warrior-priest who is forced to work alongside the suave showman Alfazar, an erratic mage named Artyom, and an uncouth Fae hunter known only as Ed. The four find themselves caught up in scandals both new and old, leading them deep into the uncharted, mystical regions of Arcana.
The story is available in print and audio formats. In the former, you have the choice of hardcover, paperback, or epub. You will get to enjoy the fantastic artwork of Kyle de Silva and the great cartography of James Roberts in all formats . The print books ship with beautiful initial characters (dropcaps or lettrines) by Tania Crossingham, which will not appear in the e-book due to technical limitations. E-book readers will instead enjoy some excellent illustrations by Louise Horsley.
I have endeavoured to capture the character and the spirit of the game in this novel, whilst also fleshing out the world and adding my own twist to proceedings. Seasoned roleplayers will no-doubt spot the fickle hand of the dice at times.
Of course, tabletop role-playing is a form of collaborative storytelling. In this case the world and its many inhabitants were conceived of by Louise Horsley. The primary exceptions are Ed, Artyom, and Alfazar, who are the creations of Dominic Caltabiano, James Roberts, and Blake Thomas, respectively. Thank you to all of you; your support through this endeavour — and your gracious permission to re-tell our story — has been most appreciated.
Numerous other people have been involved in this project, as acknowledged in the book, audiobook, and below. Thank you all for your contributions!
An Excerpt from The Tithe of Esra’Nell
Higgens was shackled to the far wall, and if the man’s wrists were not bound above his head by thick chains he would have been able to reach out and touch Ed and Bugen, even though the two stood with their backs to rock. Despite the shackles and the confinement, the city guard evidently looked out for Higgens’ well-being; just as well, thought Bugen, for the man was imprisoned through no fault of his own.
“It’s never just one,” came tumbling from the deposed priest’s lips. Bugen could not tell if there was a spark of recognition in the man’s eyes, or if he, Bugen, just wished to find some signs of sanity in his counterpart. “She always needs more. Never just one.”
“Friend, I am Bugen of the Sun house,” said Bugen solemnly.
“Never just one!”
“I have come to Arcana to help,” continued Bugen, speaking slowly and clearly.
“Always more. One in ten; She needs at least one in ten.”
“What did you see?” asked Ed directly. Even he was moved by Higgens’ condition.
“The Reaper! I saw Her…” The man strained against his chains, pupils suddenly dilating in fear. “She always needs more!” he fairly screamed. “Every hundred years… one in ten!” The grating of metal on rock filled the room as Higgens continued to writhe against his constraints, still jabbering rapidly and affirmatively.
Taking pity on the man, Bugen stretched out his left hand and placed it on the thin prisoner’s chest. “Friend, may Sol give you her peace,” he intoned. A brief glow came from his buckler and left hand, then Higgens slumped against his restraints, spent.
“Every hundred years,” the dazed man murmured. “Every hundred… She needs more. It is coming.”
Audiobook Credits
Many thanks to everyone involved in ‘The Tithe of Esra’Nell’ audiobook project. The primary narrator is Timothy Mew. In addition, we have the voices of;
| Elizabeth Bennett | Yasmin Eyre |
| James S. Bennett | Bugen-Kynes |
| Amazed Sailor #1 | |
| Helmsman | |
| Evergreener #1 | |
| Waite | |
| Trimblewind | |
| False Guard | |
| Mark Bennett | Bugen’s Father |
| Monika Bennett | Bugen’s Mother |
| Rebecca Bennett | Elanor |
| Ann Bui | Nature Priestess |
| Overworked Maid | |
| Dominic Caltabiano | Ed |
| Prudent Sailor | |
| Teacher | |
| Findlay | |
| Kyle de Silva | Kelpie |
| ‘Metallist’ Fae | |
| Craicte | |
| Gnome | |
| Fae of Insanity | |
| Centaur | |
| Christopher Godwin | Innkeeper |
| Sanguinar | |
| Joshua Harbort | L. G. Wright |
| Clive | |
| Zachary Harbort | Ignatius Davenport |
| Brett Silverstone | |
| Willem | |
| Tree Geezer | |
| Louise Horsley | Oho! |
| Speck |
| Courtney Landers | Aha! |
| Evergreener #3 | |
| Spinoza | |
| C. L. Mitchell | |
| Lucy Morgan | Dryad Woman |
| Sophia C. Morgan | Priestess Sabine |
| Jessica Mullins | Flavia |
| Sol | |
| George Prince | Hupert Ainsworth |
| James Roberts | Artyom Tilin |
| E. A. Tilin | |
| Pamphlet Man | |
| Grunting Guard | |
| Laughing Geezer | |
| Smith | |
| Concerned Dryad | |
| Franciska Schmoll | Dell |
| Vera | |
| Dryad Prisoner | |
| Macy Somerton | Narratress |
| Curious Crowd Member | |
| Evergreener #2 | |
| Matthew Sorensen | Prisonbreak Onlooker |
| Blake Thomas | Alfazar d’Barouse |
| Amazed Sailor #2 | |
| Guard | |
| Gramps | |
| Mouse Masticator | |
| Paul Williams | Alfonz Higgens |
| Tobey Williams | Crow’s Nest |
| Evergreener #4 | |
| Stable Boy. |
We also gratefully acknowledge freesound.org and its contributors whose work has been used in this audiobook.
Sounds used under the Creative Commons 0 License have been sourced from Aeonemi, Adam_N, aglinder, Alcappuccino, AlecCorday, alfuture, anagar, Anthousai, Aurelon, benjaminharveydesign, BinaryMonkFlint, BMacZero, borralbi, BurghRecords, carroll27, casemundy, Christopherderp, contramundum, danhelbling, DasDeer, davilca, DesignDean, DimitrisM, DNABeast, Doctor_Haz, domasmo, Dvideoguy, Ellenskellington, EpicWizard, FableVision_Studios, felix.blume, folkart films, fuzzpapi, gfrog, giddykipper, Halgrimm, IPaddeh, ivolipa, JacksonML, jayfrosting, jorge0000, joshs, jrssandoval, juryduty, j1987, keweldog, Kinoton, klangfabrik, krissyeliot, Kubuzz, kvgarlic, LamaMakesMusic, LampEight, le_abbaye_Noirlac, leonelmail, ldezem, LittleLuigi, lostchocolatelab, maadmacs, Marissrar, martypinso, mediagruppen, MikeRat, misjoc, moffet, Navadaux, nebulasnails, OtisJames, Paracelsus, reg7783, scottemoil, simon.rue, SkeetMasterFunk69, SoundColectah, SoundsForHim, SpliceSound, spookymodem, ssierra1202, stijn, straget, syrvive, TheFilmLook, tcrocker68, vckhaze, voho, Vortichez, wogelife, worthahep88, zaneclampett, zolopher, 1ratatosk1, 13GPanksa_Langerova_Lucie, and 221Beimesche.
Sounds used under the Creation Commons Attribution License are sourced from altfuture, BurghRecords, CASCHMI, CGeffect, CosmicD, daenerys, Daxter31, dobroide, duckduckpony, ERH, everythingsounds, fauzansensei, FreqMan, GB01, GregorQuendel, harrietniamh, Hitrison, Hoerspielwerkstatt, Imjeax, inchadney, InspectorJ, Jagadamba, jamesrodavidson, jorickhoofd, juskiddink, kev_durr, kevinkace, kingsrow, Kyster_sounds, lefthandwinnie, leosalom, Lorddiagram, luffy, MAJ061785, Motion_S, MrAuralization, nicStage, NoiseCollector, n_audioman, panfluterman, qubodup, raguanu, RICHERlandTV, sandyrb, Satoration, Sea%20Fury, SoundEnsemble, soundmary, soundscalpel, TobiasKosmos, tychobrailleur, Uminari, unchaz, unfa, VlatkoBlazek, 3bagbrew, and -sihiL. Many of these sounds have been converted to mono, combined with other sounds, shortened, or pitch-shifted. If you have queries, please get in contact.
Recording was performed by Gregory Olley and Matthew Sorensen, with editing and mixing done by Matthew Sorensen.
Thanks also to Steve and Kasane Teenis of Guitar Exchange (and their staff) for providing a recording venue.
Prefrontal Press is a proud sponsor of Swordplay ’19.
Swordplay is Australia’s longest running Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) competition event, running continuously since 2009.
Prefontal Press was also a proud sponsor of Swordplay ’17
Future Projects
Are you sick of science-fiction where all logic and actual science are thrown out of the airlock? I am aiming to remedy this with ‘Mourning Star’, a hard sci-fi novel which will blend myth, faith, and real-world science. This is a work-in-progress, and will likely take some time!
Keep up-to-date with us on Facebook at facebook.com/prefrontalpress.
Here’s a piece of concept art by Kyle de Silva.
