Beneath Ceaseless Skies #372, January 1, 2023

“What is Owed and What Can Never Be” by Ariel Marken Jack

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

This special New Year’s Day issue contains a single work of fantasy. A second story, “Xalash” by Jonathan Louis Duckworth, has been removed at the request of the author.

The protagonist of “What is Owed and What Can Never Be” by Ariel Marken Jack was rescued from a fire while a young girl. The man who saved her now owns her soul. As an adult, she slowly pays the fee to earn her soul back by hunting animals, each one with an extra body part, that dwell in a special part of the wild. Her efforts seem hopeless, until she receives a lesson from an ageless woman whose lover is the wind.

As this synopsis may indicate, the story’s fantasy content is a mixed bag of unrelated concepts. The animals, such as a deer with five legs and a bear with two heads, run the risk of seeming grotesque or ludicrous. (The protagonist herself has a sixth finger.) In all other ways, the story is quite serious.

The author excels at describing the setting, particularly as the seasons change. The explanation for why the ageless woman does not share her wisdom with the protagonist earlier in the story is a weak one. Although very well-written, this quiet tale seems a bit too long for its relatively simple plot.

Victoria Silverwolf has a first name similar to that of the main character in this story.