Beneath Ceaseless Skies #376, February 23, 2023
“Our Grandmother’s Words” by M.H. Ayinde
“Your Great Mother Across the Salt Sea” by Kelsey Hutton
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
The 376th issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies has two short stories, one of which is a novelette.
“Our Grandmother’s Words” by M.H. Ayinde
In this short fantasy, Outlanders are taking over her village beside the sacred river. These invaders come with strange magic. As her people use a word, the Outlander Scribe removes it from her people’s knowledge. Her grandmother is the village’s storyteller, but even she finds herself unable to tell any of the old tales.
As the villagers lose their old language, they must speak the Outlander’s tongue or not speak at all. But her grandmother begins humming the tunes that once accompanied the stories, and the villagers remember the tales, even if they cannot speak them. Slowly the people wage a war of silent words as they cling to their culture.
This story held the reader’s attention as a parable of invaders who destroyed the culture of the people they defeated.
“Your Great Mother Across the Salt Sea” by Kelsey Hutton
When Miyohtwāw creates a garment in this fantasy novelette, she sews her intents into the cloth. She could imbue any dress with safety, strength, or a good memory. So when invaders begin oppressing her people, they send Miyohtwāw to petition the Great Mother across the ocean.
Her people send gifts to the Queen, and Miyohtwāw presents a dress that gives the queen vitality, hoping to win the Great Mother to her cause. But it creates a want in the vain queen, who commissions Miyohtwāw to create another dress to seduce a courtier.
Miyohtwāw obliges the queen, but it soon becomes clear that the ruler is happy to accept the charmed dresses but isn’t willing to help Miyohtwāw’s people across the salt sea. Miyohtwāw had one last trick to try on the self-centered monarch.
The plot followed a well-traveled path until the end, when it gave an enchanting twist to this fantasy trope.
You can follow Kevin P Hallett’s writing on www.kevinphallett.com. There are links there to join his mailing list for a weekly newsletter on the recent release of his second novel, The Fifth Kingdom.