What is a body without a soul? In The Will and the Wilds, Charlie N. Holmberg attempts to answer that question by means of a fantasy-filled tale. She introduces us to Enna, a young woman residing in the small village of Fendell with her father whom she looks after. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been in full possession of his faculties since descending to the monster realm to acquire a stone they both refer to as the Telling Stone. After a battle in which the creatures from the monster realm — otherwise known as mystings — threatened to conquer Fendell, her father sought a way to ensure they were never found unprepared again. The Telling Stone helps them know when mystings are near, growing warm or cold with their proximity.
Things get out of control one day when goblers from the other realm keep materializing near her. Enna suspects they’re after her, but she doesn’t know why. At a loss for options, she decides to summon one of the smarter creatures from the other realm to bargain for their protection against the predatorial goblers.
A narval named Maekallus appears and requests a kiss as payment, but Enna is no fool. Thanks to a journal with information about mystings, kept by her grandmother while she was alive, she already knows a narval feeds exclusively on souls.
“What is a soul if not an extension of the heart?” ― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Will and the Wilds
Though Maekallus eventually agrees to accept only gold and coins in exchange for his help, their deal goes awfully wrong when he encounters not one but two goblers hunting Enna. He’s able to defeat one, but the second injures Maekallus and leaves him to die, physically binding him to the spot where he made the deal with Enna as punishment for betraying his kind.
Maekallus convinces Enna that they are bound by their bargain. If he dies, so will she. To keep him alive while they find a way to see the bargain through or end the binding curse, Enna finally provides the kiss Maekallus desires. This helps Maekallus, but only for so long. Enna, however, feels the effects of giving up part of her soul immediately. She must now find a way to save him and get her soul back, but every attempt at fixing the situation seems to either fail or make matters worse. Before Enna can ever hope to recover her soul in its entirety again, she comes close to losing it completely.
Creating a compelling fantasy story that doesn’t feel rehashed can often be a hit or miss endeavor. Yet Holmberg hits every mark on the bullseye, with an imagination that is to be revered, as she conjures up this unique story with all of its original elements.
Though refreshing and fascinating with brand new lore, there are many threads started within the story that are left open-ended: Why was Enna’s grandmother fascinated with mystings? Why did the mystings try to take over Fendell the first time around? What exactly happened to Enna’s father while he was in the other realm? How are the two realms connected and why do they exist separately?
Ultimately, at the heart of the story is a heartfelt tale about the power of the human soul. Maekallus, originally a selfish being, driven solely by mischief and recklessness, begins to develop a conscience and empathy with every piece of Enna’s soul that he takes in. He even begins to take on more of a human appearance while also regaining lost human memories from a past life. Enna, on the other hand, even though she never turns into a mysting, becomes cold and almost zombie-like as she slowly loses bits of her soul trying to keep Maekallus alive. Still, she willingly gives Maekallus every bit of soul that she can as long as it means saving him. This selflessness is something the soul-devouring narval begins to understand as sharing Enna’s soul changes him.
The Will and the Wilds is captivating enough that the reader will be willing to ignore all the unanswered questions. They don’t affect the heart of the story, even if they do leave us itching with curiosity. The story of Enna and Maekallus is enough to satisfy us for now. Should Holmberg ever wish to revisit this new world of hers, there’s still plenty of ground left to discover.