By Cady Inabinett, Editor in chief 

Gold Side’s “To Live and Die” follows two gods, Moros, the god of death, and Elsya, the god of life, who are sent to Earth on a quest to find Ordea, the god of order.  

Opening on Eterna, the realm of the gods, the gods introduce themselves through the song “To Live and to Die.” The audience is introduced to Chroana, the god of time, and Intuvius, the god of intuition, as well as Moros and Elsya. 

As the song ends, Chroana speaks to Intuvius and tells him that she can sense Moros and Elsya have become restless. She has a plan to combat this—a plan that will require Intuvius’s help.  

Meanwhile, Moros and Elsya discuss how they’ve become disenchanted with their roles. Elsya is tired of making new lives just for them to end and Moros is tired of ending them.  

The pair sings the song, “Our Purpose,” before Chroana enters. After Elsya threatens to quit, Chroana reveals that she is sending her and Moros to the human realm to find Ordea—a god who was once the ruler of Eterna, but who left. The pair has eight hours to locate her, in a mission Chroana says will help them understand their purpose. 

In the human realm, a girl, Olive, is being helped into bed by her brother, Jack, and two friends, Rowan and Quinn, after being released from the hospital following a heart transplant. Jack is still worried about Olive, and sets up to spend the night in her room. 

After Rowan and Quinn leave, Olive goes to sleep. While Olive is sleeping, Jack pleads with the universe to let Olive be okay after her surgery. 

After Jack falls asleep, Moros and Elsya appear. A yellow orb, Olive’s soul, rises from her body. Olive has died and it’s Moros’s job to take her soul back to Eterna. Since they are on a timed mission, and do not have time to go back to Eterna, Elsya shoves Olive’s soul back into her body—giving her life again. 

Olive sits up, gasping for air, and wakes Jack up. The two notice Moros and Elsya and demand to know who they are. Moros and Elsya introduce themselves as gods, but Olive and Jack do not believe them. To prove it, Moros removes Olive’s soul and Elsya puts it back in. 

Both Olive and Jack believe that Moros and Elsya are gods now. The two gods explain that they’re trying to find Ordea through the song “What We Gotta Do.” Olive and Jack decide to help them with their mission. 

Together, they go to a marketplace where Rowan is working. Olive introduces Moros and Elsya to her, and the two show her a photo of Ordea. Rowan says that she’s never seen her before, but suggests that they ask around. Through the song, “The Place to Be,” the gods ask different vendors at the market about Ordea, but nobody knows her. 

Finally, they speak to a man—Intuvius in disguise—running a pretzel cart. He says he recognizes Ordea and tells them she goes by the name Gwenyth Vines. He suggests that the group go to the library, Heatherly Archives, to search the local records for more information. 

The scene transitions back to Eterna, where Chroana announces to the gods of emotion that Moros and Elsya are busy with their mission. This causes a wide range of reactions and turmoil among the group of gods. Together, they sing “Not a Clue.” 

At Heatherly Archives, Olive, Jack, Moros and Elsya approach the librarian, who is Intuvius in disguise, and ask for information about Gwenyth Vines. The group searches local records while he goes in the backrooms to find more information. As the group searches, they sing “It’ll be Alright.” 

The librarian returns as the song ends, telling them Gwenyth Vines owns Onyx, a nightclub. Olive is excited, saying that she and Quinn used to frequent that club. 

At Onyx, the group asks the bartender—Intuvius in disguise—about Gwenyth. The bartender tells the group that Gwenyth is no longer the owner of Onyx. She now owns a nearby coffee shop.  

Moros and Elsya get up to go find her, but Olive stops them. She encourages them to relax while they’re at Onyx. Olive notices that Rowan and Quinn are also there, and the group gets drinks before dancing to the song “Cloud 9.” 

The scene transitions to Ordea’s coffee shop. Olive and Jack leave Moros and Elsya to talk with her. Ordea prompts them to explain what has been bothering them. They tell her that they’ve lost motivation to do their tasks.  

Ordea tells them about a time before life and death, where humans were immortal. Together, the gods sing the song “In Between,” and come to the conclusion that life and death are necessary in defining humanity. Elsya and Moros decide that their purposes lie in helping humans find meaning. 

Elsya and Moros return to Olive’s bedroom. They tell Olive and Jack they’re happy they got to share their adventure with them. 

Chroana and Intuvius show up at the edge of the scene, and Chroana pauses time. Intuvius remarks that everyone looks happy, but he has a bad feeling. Chroana sends him off so she can speak to Elsya and Moros and unfreezes time for the two gods. 

Chroana congratulates them on finishing their mission and asks if they found what they needed. The two gods confirm that they did and apologize for their earlier cynicism. 

Chroana breaks the news that Olive’s time is up, and that they must take her soul back to Eterna. Moros and Elsya protest against it, saying that they’ll just put her soul back in her body again, but Chroana says that would upset the balance of life and death. Moros and Elsya sadly go to tell Olive and Jack. 

Olive accepts that it is her time to go through the song, “Farewell.” As the song ends, Olive lies back on her bed and her soul rises out of her body.  

The scene transitions and Jack begins the song “Finale.” It’s been four months since Olive’s passing. He says that he misses her, but is comforted by knowing her soul is in Eterna. He has realized his life will go on. The ensemble of gods gradually join in to sing about what it means to live and die.