Beneath Ceaseless Skies #431, May 1, 2025

“The Messengers of Despair” by Jordan Kurella

“The Tale of How You Were Born” by Eleanor Elizabeth Fog

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

Two stories featuring characters with supernatural parentage appear in this issue.

The narrator of “The Messengers of Despair” by Jordan Kurella lives with her father until a strange being arrives to take her to her mother’s home in the forest. It is soon revealed that her father is Despair and her mother is Hope. The narrator learns of the unusual relationship between her parents, and acts in a way that changes the situation.

With characters who are apparently the incarnation of emotions, it seems evident that the story is meant as an allegory. Exactly what the lesson to be learned may be is unclear. Hope and Despair seem to be both enemies and lovers. Hope, who exists as both a woman and a living house, is a more interesting character than Despair, which may be intentional. The work as a whole is intriguing but enigmatic.

In “The Tale of How You Were Born” by Eleanor Elizabeth Fog, a woman who is pregnant without having been with a man arrives at the home of a witch. The witch learns from her animal familiars that the unborn child will grow up to be a hero and a destroyer of witches. The witch must decide whether to kill the infant at the moment it is born or to run the risk of raising it in such a way that it will not be a threat to her.

The reader is likely to predict what the witch will choose to do. (The fact that the story is narrated in third person to the child is a strong clue.) The woman’s magical pregnancy remains unexplained, although there is a suggestion that it is the work of a sorcerer. The conclusion is open-ended, raising unanswered questions about what will happen next.

Victoria Silverwolf is of usual parentage.