Heroes of the Valley
Jonathan Stroud
 Halli loves to hear stories from the days when the valley was a wild and dangerous place, besieged by the bloodthirsty Trow. Now farming has taken over from fighting Trows, and to Halli's disappointment heroics seem a thing of the past. But when a practical joke rekindles an old blood feud, he sees a chance for a daring quest of his own. The Story starts with the Battle of the Rock being told to a child. This is where twelve heroes of the valley join together to fight the ruthless Trows (man eating monsters) that devastate the land. They form a battle plan and wait for the Trows to come. They take up positions on a large rock and are finally attacked by the Trows, which they fend off all night. In the morning, when the people check to see what happened all are dead, Trows and Heroes, including the main hero Svien. The heroes are buried under cairns along the borders of the valley with their swords, so that, even in death, they can guard the boundaries from the Trows. As long as no one crosses the cairn border, the legends say, no Trows can enter the Valley. Many years later Halli is born. He is a very short, stout, young, and headstrong boy who longs for the days of the Heroes, when a man could fight for what he wanted and take what he could win. He longs to leave the valley, which is now ruled by a Council of women who demand peace and equality in the land. They have outlawed swords and other weapons to discourage wars. Halli looks very much like his uncle, Brodir, whom he adores. He is the third and last child in his family. His family are Arnkel, his father and Arbiter of Svien's House, Astrid, his mother and Law-Giver of Svien's House, Lief, his older brother who is immediately in line for the Arbiter after Arnkel, Gudny, his sister and Brodir his uncle, who is the only member of his family that seems to get along with him. When his uncle is murdered by a rival house, the house of Hakon, Halli sets off to avenge his uncle. Finally, he thinks that he will have a hero's quest of his own. Along his journey, Halli realizes that he isn't the guiltless avenging murderer that he thought he could be. His interference and thirst for revenge leads two men to their deaths, and he becomes sick with guilt. He returns home to his relieved yet angry family, and his distrusting and fearful fellow villagers. His actions eventually lead to an attack on his house by the House of Hakon, and he alone can accept responsibility and take charge of his defenseless village. He proves that he is a great leader. When the enemy arrives, they have an obvious advantage... swords. Halli realizes that his people's only hope is if he leads the enemies obliviously past the cairn boundaries. He does so with the help of his friend and crush, Aud, and to his relief, it works. The Hakonssons are eaten by monsters in the moorlands. However, Halli and Aud come under attack from the unknown enemy. Much like the heroes of old, they take their last stand on a large rock and wait to discover the identity of the monsters. When the nature of the attackers becomes clear, Halli and Aud face something far worse than the Trows of legend... and they will be lucky to survive the night.