Something old and dark lurks in Ireland something older than the first people to walk the land and
Something older than the children of the Danu a race whose strangeness is only matched by their magic
They are the Fomorians and the children of the Danu who have just put themselves in their hands
Ireland is one
The Fir Bolg lie broken and shattered the children of the Danu have achieved their destiny
But with Nuada having lost a limb and no longer being eligible to be their king the children of the Danu?
Elected the beautiful and valorous Bres to lead them
Some hope that this would cement them for an alliance with the mysterious Fomorians, but instead it only one them servitude
Bres's father was a Fomorian and he forced the children of the Danu new to give so heavy a tithe to the Fomorian
that it was said that there was not smoke from a roof in Ireland that did not pay them tribute and
Even the greatest of the children of the Danu who had to work for them
Ogma one of the most eloquent of the children of the Danu was made to carry firewood all day and the great Dagda was
Set to digging ditches
The Lords started to grumble and the bards began to mock Bres soon
There was a rising the greatest of the children of the Danu who threw Bres from the throne
so Bres ran to his Fomorian father and asked for aid and his father sent him to Balor the Bale Eye a
cyclops whose eye when uncovered cast withering fire upon his foes and Balor took up his cause
But during Bres's rein Miach
son of the great healer Dian Chect had come to new Duada the former king of the children of the Danu knew and
offered to heal his arm and
For nine days, he worked and at the end of the ninth day new Duada had an arm of bone and flesh
Not the silver that his father had given him but Dian Chect thought this an abomination or perhaps was just jealous of his son's skill
Let's be real and so when he saw the new arm
He took his sword and struck
His son across the head the wound merely cut flesh and Miach's healing was so great that he healed it back up
But his father swung again this time cleaving bone Miach, though, healed that too
So again his father swung and this time it bit into Miach's brain
but even this he could heal finally after a comical amount of tries his father took one last swing and
Cleaved his son's head in two.
This injury no God or man could heal but this was all beside the point as Duada's arm was whole he could once again
Lead his people and so out to battle again went to the children of the Danu on
the plain of
Towers on sow and night they met the strange Fomorian host the ancient megaliths that split out of the landscape cast long
shadows in the moonlight and at dawn they would be the silent witnesses to war as
The Sun broke the two hosts let out a mighty roar and charged
Javelins crashed into shields swords caught swords spears pierced flesh or broke and shattered on the armor covering it
Day after day the battle
continued but as it went the Fomorians noticed that while their swords dulled and their shields became little more than kindling as
their ranks diminished and their
Javelins dwindled the children of the Danu who seemed every day to come out with fresh warriors and new forged weapons
So they sent a spy to the camp of the children of the Danu
ooh a half Fomorian half Danu warrior who could pass as one of the Danu hosts when he arrived he was
Astonished to see three mighty Smith's who with merely a turn of their hand could fix the weapons of the children of the Danu
He also saw the wounded being thrown into a great healing spring that would return those even at the door of death
to full vigor
so this Fomorian asked the smiths for a spear saying his had been broken in battle as
Soon as they handed him one
He ran it through the first of them ripped the spear out and then hurled it into the chest of the second
He then returned to his camp and told the others of the healing well
Balor's son ordered each Fomorian to gather a great stone and together
They hurled them into the spring stopping it forever
But not before the children of the Danu could heal one of the Smiths
With the spring stopped the battle began in earnest the heroes of each side were arrayed in all of their majesty
Duada on his side in gleaming armor Balor towering over his legions with his great eye closed the Dagda
Wielding his mammoth Club that could kill nine men with one blow the Harpers sang
The druids called the Thunder the sorceress of the children of the Danu sapped the Fomorian's
strength and the two great witches who served Duada called to life the trees and the stones to march as a
Terrible army of their own for the two sides clashed like none before
Then in the center of the melee Balor and Duada came face to face
Eye still closed Balor roared and charged Duada was strong of arm as any man
But the great Cyclops was too much for him even as he died another stepped over him Lugh
Master of all arts issuing a challenge to Balor the Bale Eye
The giant bellowed to the four Fomorians that rode on his shoulders
Lift my lid so that I may see
Who?
challenges me
And the for Fomorians scrambled forward to take hold of the giant hook that pierced his eyelid and straining
Heaved it up as they began to lift
warriors felt sick and weak as the lid lifted halfway those in front of him began to retch and
finally when the naked eyes stared out its
Deathly flames began to engulf the children of the Danu but Lugh whirled his sling and fired
the stone flew with such force it tore the eye through the back of Balor's head and
Sent it smashing amidst his own troops who began to be consumed by its flames
the Fomorians began to waver
Just as they did the Morrigan flew over the battlefield on wings of night
Crying out a poem that filled the children of Danu with battle lust and shattered the remaining resolve of the Fomorians
It was a rout in the pursuit Bres was captured and Lugh said to him
"Why should we spare you," and he responded, "because I will teach your people how to plow and sow and reap," and
these terms were accepted and thus
agriculture came to Ireland
With that done the Morrigan proclaimed the greatness of the victory and all acclaimed Lugh their new king
then the host asked the Morrigan for a tale and amidst the field of the dead she began to tell of the end of
the world
But you know that story's a bit of a downer so why don't we save it for another time