Beneath Ceaseless Skies #457, May 14, 2026

“Slayer of Dreams” by Auston Habershaw

“Through the Corpse Door” by R.I. Sutton

Reviewed by Seraph

“Slayer of Dreams” by Auston Habershaw

I am unsure how many seemingly similar stories I’ve read that just didn’t work, many of which were focused on making highly aggressive lectures about some perceived modern societal evil. This one did it right, full stop. As far as I understand, the concept is to take something vaguely historical or familiar, something that you can relate to easily, and then twist it into something (various degrees of) extreme to make a point. Usually, the story devolves quickly into unintelligible mockery, but here the world makes sense and the writing never stops being anything but just really solid. The Enemy is real, the Threat it poses is ever-present and inescapable, and the relevance to modern humanity never gets lost in the noise. If you can suspend your initial disbelief, everything else should follow. Here, it follows perfectly and I want more. Katatha has returned to Avissos, the city of many arenas and endless fights. It is ruled by a psychically vampiric monster of endless hunger called Onierarch, the Dream Tyrant. People live here with infinite entertainment, but their very dreams are stolen by the near-omniscient Onierarch as they sleep… leaving them listless zombie-like shells without passions beyond their obsession with being entertained. Little escapes the monster’s gaze or control, but Katatha did. Imprisoned as a child for her talents, she returns far more powerful to wreak her vengeance upon the creature that enslaved her, to wrest away control of the very slaves upon which it feeds nightly. One of the best things about this story is that the characters and the plot remain the focus, and never stray from it, and from the moment Katatha walks into the city until the moment the story ends, it begs to know who ultimately triumphs. It’s so cleanly written that it doesn’t clear the bar, it sets it.

“Through the Corpse Door” by R.I. Sutton

In Himinheim, adrift upon the White Sea, þrælar toil upon the lowest level of the floating fortress city. These thralls carry out the work those upon the higher levels deign not to, and unrest is stirring. Wilhelm Strong is a glassblower by trade, though supplies are scarce since the city has been out upon the water for many months. When a powerful noble from the highest levels arrives with a copious amount of high quality materials and marvelous new methods of working glass, Strong is overwhelmed but does the work that is asked of him. But when the outspoken from amongst his own people go missing, his attention turns to the corpse doors that exist within every abode. Openings in the floor through which the dead are committed to the sea, bound in leg irons so as not to rise again… or have they been? The story was enjoyable throughout its length, and while the pacing felt as though it struggled to find a rhythm it was never so much so as to detract from the overall writing. The ending is one of catharsis, though not one of triumph… but in a setting such as this, it is enough.