A reluctant servant of Pharasma, Salim is no missionary. Yet when a desperate eidolon seeks his help in saving his master's soul, Salim has little choice in the matter. Saddled with a strange curse, this mysterious snake-man's creator is no longer in control of his actions—yet they may still weigh on his soul when it comes time for Pharasma's judgment. Only Salim can put a stop to events before they go too far. But are some souls really worth saving?
From critically acclaimed author and game designer James L. Sutter, author of Death's Heretic, comes a story of depravity and devotion set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
I'm a huge fan of James Sutter's work after reading the City of Strangers (Kaer Maga) sourcebook, so I was looking forward to reading Faithful Servants, his free four-part series of web fiction (available here). I wasn't disappointed, as I was instantly thrust into a harder edged, darker part of the Pathfinder mythos than usual. Faithful Servants starts with a scene set on another plane of existence (Axis), and it really seems like an alien place. Not knowing a lot about the cosmology of the Golarion campaign setting, there were some elements I just didn't understand. But, it's good to be challenged and I stuck with it and enjoyed the tale overall. A major character from the story apparently appears in Sutter's novel, Death's Heretic, so this would be a good one to read before that. I should also make mention of the artwork, which is a cut above what usually accompanies these stories.
SPOILERS
The main character in Faithful Servants is a worshipper of Pharasma named Salim. In a bar on the lawful plane of Axis, Salim is approached with a curious request for aid: the eidolon of a powerful summoner on the mortal plane wants Salim to intervene because the summoner has unwittingly donned a cursed artifact and has turned towards evil necromancy! This was the first time in Pathfinder fiction I've seen a depiction of the bond between an eidolon and a summoner, and I really appreciated the angle here that Sutter took (even if I'm still not a fan of the class). There's some interesting stuff about Salim's relationship with Pharasma and her servants that I didn't completely get on a first read-through, so this is one I'll have to revisit just before reading Death's Heretic. Anyway, if you like planes, curses, summoners, or necromancy, this might just be the story for you!
There are two "Faithful Servants" in this story: Salim and Connell. One unwillingly serves a (presumably) deserving mistress. The other willingly serves an undeserving master.
Connell is deliberately made likeable. He is compared to a puppy. Who doesn't like puppies? He obviously cares deeply about his master. Can eidolons love? The title of Chapter 4: The Greatest Gift, puts in mind John 15:6 - "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.NLT" I would say, yes, in James Sutter's view, an eidolon is capable of love. This is further supported by the two outsiders in the Clever Endeavor who are engaged in a relationship that is somewhere on the spectrum of lust to love.
Salim is initially made somewhat unlikeable. He is violent, gruff and rather unsympathetic. He gets somewhat more likeable over the course of the story.
Overall the story is good. We get a fun romp through Axis and Ustalav. We get to see some of the stranger outsiders engaging in somewhat illicit behavior. We also get to see the common folk of Ustalav. This story is also the first with an eidolon as a main character! I give it 4 stars!
