conversations.from: human
conversations.value: What could be a title for a book about Fantasy, Ballantine, Adult with the genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy?
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: A title for this book could be 'Hrolf Kraki's Saga'
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: a plot for a book titled Hrolf Kraki's Saga
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Hrolf Kraki's Saga: The story is presented as if related by a female story-teller in an Anglo-Saxon court, the author feeling it would have been about that time that the legend would have reached its fullest development, and such a teller would have been least likely to abbreviate it.\nThe Danish king Halfdan is murdered and his position usurped by his brother Frodhi.\nHalfdan\'s young sons Helgi and Hroar go into hiding to escape his fate, successfully eluding Frodhi until they reach adulthood and can take vengeance on their father\'s killer.\nOn attaining the kingship themselves they rule together.\nHelgi, a warrior and sea-rover, visits the equally warlike queen of the Saxons, whom he woos overbearingly.\nSent packing, he later returns and rapes her, a union resulting in a daughter, Yrsa, who years later becomes an instrument of vengeance when Helgi encounters and marries her.\nOnly after they are wed does her mother reveal Yrsa\'s parentage.\nHaunted, Yrsa leaves Denmark to wed Adhils, King of the Swedes, and Helgi is ultimately killed in battle attempting to win her back.\nHrolf, the son of Helgi and Yrsa, is raised in the household of Hroar, becoming his adherent and supporter.\nAfter Hroar\'s death Hrolf eventually becomes his successor.\nHe builds up the realm and assembles a band of famous warriors, most notably Hjalti and Bodvar Bjarki, a were-bear and one of a trio remarkable brothers, the others being Elk-Frodhi and Thorir Houndsfoot.\nThe story goes on to relate the personal tales of these champions.\nAfter a reign notable for prosperity at home and successful war abroad, Hrolf visits the court of Adhils to see his mother and attain recompense for his father\'s death.\nFeigning hospitality, Adhils does his best to destroy his unwanted visitors through rigged tests of their prowess, while Yrsa warns Hrolf of his treachery.\nAt length the animosity is brought into the open and the Danes fight their way out of Adhil\'s stronghold, taking his treasure with them.\nPursued by the Swedes, they scatter the treasure along the ground to delay them and successfully escape.\nThis "sowing" of the field of Fyrisvellir later becomes a famous incident in Norse legend.\nBut during this adventure Hrolf has managed to offend the treacherous god Odin, giver of victory.\nHe returns to Denmark knowing he must henceforth avoid war, as his luck in battle has left him.\nThe end comes through treachery from Hrolf\'s half-elven half-sister Skuld, a witch married to Hjorvard, one of his sub-kings.\nInciting her husband to revolt, they secretly raise an army and rise suddenly, besieging Hrolf in his hall.\nHrolf\'s champions are roused from sleep and rallied by the chanting the Bjarkamál, a famous Old Norse poem whose origins supposedly lie in this event; it has been largely lost, but Anderson presents a partial reconstruction as part of his story.\nHrolf\'s warriors fight valiantly, but the witchcraft of Skuld prevails, and after a long, terrible battle the defenders fall.\nHjorvard does not last long as king, being killed by Vogg, a weakling Hrolf had befriended who in consequence had sworn to avenge him.\nSkuld herself is soon overthrown by an army led by Elk-Frodhi and Thorir Houndsfoot, come to avenge their brother Bodvar Bjarki.\nThe realm goes to pieces, to be eventually pulled back together in part by a remote kinsman of Hrolf\'s.