"Now," continued the cat, "there is nothing more difficult than changing an animal's mind. But I will say, in case I can change yours: humans are more useful to us outside our bellies than in." Perhaps. After the Calamity, the animals thought the humans had managed to do themselves in. But, it turns out, a few are left cowering in makeshift villages. So the animals have selected ambassadors to vote on whether to help the last human stragglers......

Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband's back. Freya's dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region's jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess's blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable...