One Sundered Soul

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	One Sundered Soul
Author(s):	Carolyn Spencer
Date(s):	1992
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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One Sundered Soul is a K/S story by Carolyn Spencer.

It was published in the print zine Scattered Stars #4.

Summary

"Two Vulcan youths, one dark, one fair, grow up to be warriors and plan to bond until one, becoming the leader of their people and meeting a prophet of logic, decides to follow this new way."

Reactions and Reviews

I have a weakness for pre-Reform stories but an usually disappointed by what I read because they tend to stretch credibility even in the a/u context. And I'm burned out on pre-Reform stories where either Kirk or Spock are slave/ master. Thankfully, wonderfully that isn't the case with "One Sundered Soul". The story pulled me in from the first paragraph and never let go until the last sentence had ended. This writer has a rare talent for creating a time and place so realistically that one cannot help but find themselves enthralled. This is a story you read with all senses: one can almost smell the smoke of the campfires, the heat of the desert noon, and the sound of night wind. The writing is superb, the plot flowed without any jerky or awkward or dead parts. The characterization of Kirk and Spock in a/u stories can often be way out in left field. But in this story the personalities were unaistakably the two protagonists I am so familiar with. It is so delightful to read a story by someone who has evidently done their homework. I will admit I was a little thrown off by the meaning of the word 'durma.' (did it mean weeks or days?) but I attribute that to my being slow on the uptake. The characters of Kalen and Jorath are fully fleshed out, well rounded personages, and what makes them so endearing is that they are not perfect beings able to solve their problems easily, but flawed characters with their own unfulfilled dreams and passions and failings, which makes them very real. The choice they are forced to make after Kalen accepts Surak's tenets is heart rending. If anyone is the villain in this story it is fate rather than Ba'ar. Kalen and Jorath are victims of change, and as helpless to staunch that change as a sand castle can the tide. Above all "One Sundered Soul" is a story of an abiding love that endures even beyond the grave. While I have read other stories dealing with this type of ending, this time, it fit so well and brought the story full circle to its conclusion that I was left with a feeling of completeness and hope. So far I have read the story three times, it is that engrossing, Just at a time I was bemoaning the profusion of 'bland' stories in recent K/S zines, along comes one that jump starts me out of my ennui. This writer has a way with the English language that is both lyrical and powerful at the same time. I hope to see more stories by Ms. Spencer, for I will surely read whatever she writes.

I very much enjoyed this reincarnation story. Although the lives of these earlier incarnations of kirk and Spock end in tragedy, the story ends on an optimistic note. Our heroes need not repeat the pattern. They do have a second chance. I also appreciated the fact that the situations of the characters were reversed. Kalen, the incarnation of Spock, is a respected figure with authority even though his willingness to accept change causes him to be viewed as a maverick by the clan's conservatives. Jorath, the incarnation of Kirk, is the only Human surrounded by Vulcans and suffers from feelings of alienation. This reversal works. The characters are portrayed powerfully and consistently. Most of all, I was glad that Carolyn did not shy away from the homophobic consequences of the Reforms, and how they would impact on the relationship between Kalen and Jorath which began in a Pre-Reform context.

This a/u story is about Jor and Kal, two Vulcans on about-to-be reformed Vulcan. They are linked to Kirk and Spock, but to explain how ruins the ending, so you'll just have to trust me. The characterizations are excellent. The depiction of Vulcan society is really interesting. And the story has a gripping plot. I myself would have left it at the sad ending, but most fans will be happy that Ms. Spencer found a quite ingenious way to make it end happily after all.

Place: Vulcan. Time: about 20 years PS ([equals] past birthdate of Surak) Warning: somebody is dying but it is still a happy ending! A tribe of Warriors let by Tovar, lives in an oasis in

the desert. There is plenty of water and game and that's why other tribes want to have that place.

One day there is a terrible sandstorm, and when the Warriors go out hunting they find a newborn child between the bodies of his parents. It is a strange child—fair hair, skin lighter than their own, ears not so nicely pointed. He is called Jorath.

The child grows and becomes friends with the war leader’s son Kalen. Their friendship becomes closer and closer and as grown ups they become shield mates and lovers. But before they can bond the warrior way, Surak is coming in their lives, making Kalen decide to bond with the girl Pring instead of his lover Jor. Jor decides to leave. Trying to warn Kalen for a plot against his life he is killed. Kalen kills the murderer in a combat. Then he goes off in the desert to die.

Far in the future, the Vulcan Spock is standing in the transporter room, about to meet his new captain. When his eyes first meet the eyes of this human for the first time, he has suddenly visions of an old savage time long ago, a terrible loss and guilt. His captain shows something of puzzlement, too.... This story is written like a saga, an old tale. The author has created a very vivid community, with very plausible characters. Jor and Kalen are very recognizable as Kirk and Spock, and yet they two totally different persons. The past and the future are connected through the visions of both Kalen and Jor in a perfect 'logical' way. I have read more stories about Kirk and Spock living in Vulcan's past as warriors, but I never read one so plausible as this. Jor and Kalen are not copies of Kirk and Spock in a different time and place, they are living people reacting due to their own time and culture.

The death scene was very sad, and the way Kalen contemplates his life with Jor and his guilt is so wonderful sad. His decision to go to the desert seems the only right thing to do.