Beneath Ceaseless Skies #407, May 16, 2024

“Gods and Monsters and Brothers” by J. Bridges

“Sever and Bind” by Amanda Helms

Reviewed by Mina

Two stories on the intricacies of selling your soul.

In “Gods and Monsters and Brothers” by J. Bridges, the narrator has a brother always getting into trouble and debt. One day, he is dumped in the Red Desert by his debtors. The narrator ignores his call for help initially, but then goes to find him. To survive, her brother has made a deal with a lesser God (demon?). Months later, she finds herself still helping him trap others bargain away their souls in an attempt to win his own back.

The story is very simple on the surface but it’s a good study of the psychology of the “giver”. We can all think of situations in our lives or in the lives of our family and friends where one person keeps giving beyond the point of sanity, whether it’s money, emotional support or both. Why does that person keep giving? Here we see the loyalty that remains even when the remembered love does not, the guilt, hope and stubbornness of “if I give just a little more it will all turn out fine”. And the giver can be blinded by these things to the point of ruining their own life. To stop then would make that sacrifice worthless. The author reserves judgment yet presents us with a chilling, cautionary tale.

“Sever and Bind” by Amanda Helms is an intriguing look at the magic of binding. Nevaline awakes to find her mother’s spirithound, Shade, in her room. She sets up a magic circle to find her mother, Tala, but instead is visited by the Lord of the Dusklands, Koriss. He tells Nevaline that her mother escaped his hold by committing suicide and tasks her with bringing Tala’s soul back to him. How can Nevaline succeed without losing her own soul? She is the only character to want no power, only her freedom from those who would consume her for their own ends.

This tale also challenges the myth that all mothers love their children above all else. Tala wants only power and to save herself, either attempting to sell Nevaline’s soul or to wrench it from her. This is something many people refuse to examine closely in real life, that some people care for nobody but themselves and will do anything, sacrifice anyone, for their own benefit. In this, both tales in this issue echo each other.