Salt's Guide to Resurrecting a Goddess | ONC 2025 Finalist ✔

Salt destroyed the world. Now, he must sacrifice his wife to save it.
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A fatal drought ravishes the land after Salt insults the water god. Jaded, reluctant, and driven more by obligation than hope, he travels the brittle, dying land in search of the solution: a favor from a god, which he can gain by resurrecting one.

Unfortunately for him, gods need bodies. Even more unfortunately, his wife makes the perfect cadaver.

With the help of Calista---a witty delegate to the death god---they set out to track down the fallen goddess of peace, love, and war. But when a mysterious force rises, bent on wiping the gods from the playfield forever, Salt realizes that to restore water to the world, he'll have to confront more than just a rebellion.

He'll have to confront the past.

A fantasy humor novella about grief, gods, and doing the right thing too late.

ONC Prompt (2025):
When you challenge a magical being, the rules are simple: you must finish what you've started, no matter the cost.

ONC Awards (2025):
♫ Round 1 Winner
♫ Ambassador's Pick
♫ Long List
♫ Short List
♫ Finalist!! Second Place