No sooner did the druid finish her speech and with the branch of a mighty oak consecrate the marriage did a shout come from the city walls.
"An army approaches from the south!"
Cú Chulainn squeezed his bride's hands as he held them. "The other warrior can handle this. This is our day."
Emer shook her head. "No, husband. You are Ulster's greatest and noblest warrior. The lives that will be lost if you do not fight... I do not want our wedding night to be stained with blood!"
Cú Chulainn sighed. "Very well. I will make short order of this army... and I will return that we might consummate our marriage before the sun rises on the morrow."
"Promise?" Emer asked, smiling at her husband.
"With all that I am."
Cú Chulainn gave Emer a quick, but passionate kiss, as he shed his robes and mounted a horse that had been readied for him only seconds after the lookout had sited the approaching army. The armorer tossed Cú Chulainn his spear and he grabbed it in his hand before charging out the city gates.
How long had it been before anyone dared attack Ulster? Sure, King Conchobar had led armies against foes all across the isles but never had an enemy been so bold as to march upon Ulster itself.
No matter, Cú Chulainn gave his horse a quick kick sending it into a gallop. If he got there ahead of the rest of the Ulster's warriors he hoped his presence might thwart a clash of arms. The best way to achieve a victory is to prevent bloodshed from the start... at least that's what he'd always been told.
Cú Chulainn crashed through the front lines—this wasn't an experienced army, what made them so bold as to wage a war on Ulster? Reaching deep into his will Cú Chulainn called upon the ríastrad. The wolf responded obediently and came to the fore.
With the ríastrad invigorating his frame, Cú Chulainn leaped from his horse and with a single swipe from the blunt end of his spear took out a row of five soldiers.
He hadn't killed them.
Probably knocked them out.
He didn't want any more soldiers to die than was necessary. Frighten them enough so they will retreat in horror... war is a dreadful thing, it leaves children without fathers and, sometimes, without mothers, too. He wouldn't wish such a fate on his worst enemies.
Indeed, many brutes conquered armies by the sharp end of their spears or the sharp edge of their blades. But if Cú Chulainn was destined to be a warrior he intended to be a hero. What if he could conquer an army without shedding blood?
Cú Chulainn twirled his staff overhead as the soldiers, jaws dropped, stepped back away from him.
A shock struck Cú Chulainn's body. He went into convulsions...
A man in a black robe and hood appeared—he was channeling lightning from the end of his staff, which he gripped tightly with both hands.
Cú Chulainn released a howl as the ríastrad took full control, fighting against the sorcerer...
"It's him." The sorcerer spoke with an echo to his voice. It sounded as though he'd spoken from within a cave, but he was standing in the middle of a field. "Seize the beast."
The men he'd taken out before quickly threw ropes over his body. Had it been just a few ropes they wouldn't have been able to hold him under the ríastrad. But the power that had seized him—this wasn't druid magic, it was something else.
The sorcerer released his spell. More than a dozen ropes now constricted his frame.
"Sétanta of Ulster," the sorcerer said. "By the authority of Manannán mac Lir you are under arrest."
Cú Chulainn knew that name. Where had he heard it before? Manannán mac Lir...
It dawned on him. That was the name of the Faerie King... the one whom Fand was supposed to marry.
Cú Chulainn released the ríastrad and returned to his normal size. It gave him enough slack in the ropes to quickly leap out of them.
The sorcerer raised his staff again.
"Wait," Cú Chulainn said. "I have no quarrel with the Faerie King. I will face whatever charges have been levied against me willingly. There is no need for constraints."
The sorcerer nodded and lowered his staff. "Very well, but if you resist..."
"I won't," Cú Chulainn said. "Take me to the King."
22
THREE FOMORIAN WARRIORS, called from the depths of the sea. Called by the Faerie King, Manannán mac Lir, himself. I could use these creatures.
Not even as a goddess am I privy to knowledge about the origins of these strange sea-dwelling people. Some believe the Fomorians are gods. Like me, in fact, they are capable of changing shape. Either the most beautiful creatures one might ever set his eyes upon, or the most hideous. In their natural form, they were human-like in stature, bipedal with all the features a man might have. Though their heads are typically long, twice the length of a human skull, and their skin, while leathery to the touch, resembled the bark of a mossed oak.
But there is a spark of divinity within them, a magic of a sort. It's of a different sort... drawn from the wellsprings of the Otherworld and coursing through the sea. Ancient magic, older than even most of the gods, much older than me. Perhaps they came from the void that was before the world came to pass. No one knows, for certain.
According to Anand, when father led the Fianna against the Fomorians there were faeries there, too. The Faerie King, Manannán mac Lir—whose name meant son of the sea—had some kind of connection to these sea-dwelling Fomorians. Was the Faerie King one of them? Given the meaning of his name, it made sense. Perhaps the Fomorians were to the sea what the faeries were to the earth. Keepers and guardians of the magic that courses in each domain.
When I found the faerie, Fand, she was already wandering the countryside near the coast. She simply couldn't stand to be with her own husband, Manannán mac Lir. Ever since she'd encountered Cú Chulainn, she too was enraptured by his presence. Her heart beat for him as mine had come to do. What was it about this strange warrior that drew the affection of the likes of both a faerie and a goddess? Was it the power he wielded in the ríastrad? Was it the whimsy with which he told a tale? It was none of these things, but all of them. He might have been a warrior and a poet—but combined he was a poem of a kind himself, a complex array of verses that alone meant very little but when taken in concert had so much depth a goddess could lose herself within it. That was Cú Chulainn...
And like mine, Fand's affections for Cú Chulainn did not wane over time. They only grew... grew until she couldn't stand it anymore. Until she could no longer tolerate the presence of her husband.
Manannán mac Lir was not at all oblivious to this. Surely he wasn't. And he knew where she was. The three Fomorian warriors were but scouts, in fact, sent by the faerie king to keep tabs on her whereabouts.
How could I cast the final blow between Fand and Manannán mac Lir? I had to drive a wedge into the gap that had already formed between them, to drive them apart further still. I needed to set this up so Cú Chulainn would arrive and appear the hero.
I realized there was a risk, of course, in bringing Cú Chulainn and Fand back together. This was the one love he harbored in his soul that could not be easily untangled. But even on the night of his wedding to Emer, should he find occasion to come to the rescue of his long-lost love... well, in that case, his marriage would be doomed. And still more, if I wanted to free his heart from the faerie, if I wanted him to ever love me I had to bring them together even if only that I might find cause to separate them. So long as their love for one another lingered in the realm of fantasy they'd never let it go. So long as he harbored dreams of one day being with Fand, his heart would never be mine.
Again, I had use for Aife. Three Fomorians lurking along the coast...
Hunt them down! I whispered in her ear. But do not kill them! They will believe it was Cú Chulainn who came after them in defense of his beloved, Fand! By so doing, you will set all the Faerie Kingdom against Cú Chulainn, and still more, you will drive a wedge between Cú Chulainn and his new wife, Emer!
It was the last part, I t
hink, that convinced her to act. If she could lure Cú Chulainn out to defend Fand on the very night he was supposed to have married Emer, the marriage would likely be doomed from the start. It was only the first part that gave her pause. She did not want to see Cú Chulainn fall to the Faerie King. She wanted vengeance herself... for the sake of their child.
Do not worry, my faithful warrior. I will protect him from the Fae...
Indeed, I'd have to... the Fae had magic at their disposal that could overpower Cú Chulainn even if he were in the ríastrad. It was that power I'd need to use to draw him into this affair. But I couldn't allow them to imprison him or, worse, kill him. I'd need to act. I'd need to intervene...
There was only one way I could do that...
I'd have to reveal myself to my beloved...
23
"WHERE IS FAND?" Cú Chulainn asked, kneeling before King Manannán mac Lir.
"Do not pretend yourself ignorant!"
"I know not of what you speak, your Highness." Cú Chulainn kept his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him. He was not sure what Faerie custom dictated, but when brought before an earthly king under any sort of accusation it was deemed inappropriate to look him in the eye. An odd custom, when Cú Chulainn thought about it. After all, it is often the guilty who divert their eyes away from their accusers. No wonder it was rare any who stood accused before a king would ever be deemed innocent. Tradition, itself, demanded the suspect assume a posture of guilt.
"My own army sent to recover you saw you in your true form! You are the one with the ríastrad who captured my own wife's affections!"
Cú Chulainn grinned a little. Fand still had feelings for him? All the times he'd fantasized about finding her again. Imagining their touch... their kiss... the magic flowing between them. He'd thought it little more than a fantasy. Surely she'd forgotten about him soon after their encounter... at least he'd presumed as much. But to hear she'd been longing for him as much as he had for her, that her love for him had driven a wedge between the man she'd had to marry.
For a moment, Cú Chulainn's heart soared. Then, it sank into the depth of his gut. He'd just married Emer... But the marriage hadn't been consummated. Until it was, he'd have an out... but did he want to take it? To do that to Emer after all she'd been through? After all he'd promised her? His heart longed for Fand, but his honor, his virtue, all of it told him he should follow through with his commitment to Emer. Cú Chulainn swallowed his thoughts. He was getting ahead of himself. He had to survive this ordeal before even considering what he would do.
"I confess," Cú Chulainn said. "I do have the ríastrad. And I do love Fand... I've always loved her. Since the moment she quieted the beast within me."
"And you dare assault my Fomorian scouts on her behalf? What was it, some feeble attempt to impress her, to lure my wife to your side?"
Cú Chulainn cocked his head and raised his eyes—meeting the king's gaze straight on. "Wait... what?"
"Again, you imagine you can fool me with your feigned ignorance?"
"I do not know what you're talking about."
"My Fomorian scouts, whom I sent to keep watch over Fand. They tell me that they were assaulted by one with the ríastrad."
Cú Chulainn sighed. Aife, it had to be Aife... was this her way of getting revenge on him? Turning the Faerie King against him? How did she know he harbored a love for Fand? Cú Chulainn's blood boiled in his veins. Not only had Aife killed Forgall, but now she was conspiring against him. Would he ever rest? He'd never kill the mother of his child... at least not until his son came of age. But so long as she lived she'd seek ways to avenge what she thought was a betrayal.
"Your Highness, there is another with the ríastrad. A warrior, a woman. I trained with her under the warrior-queen Scáthach."
"Our kind can sense the presence of a ríastrad when it attempts to usurp a human mind. It is why Fand came to you to begin with! That the beast would be tamed."
Cú Chulainn nodded. "That's because the beast has no need to usurp this woman's mind. She and the ríastrad are both monsters of a sort. Their union... it's more like they willingly share the same body."
"Preposterous!" the king bellowed. "You expect me to believe when one with the ríastrad appears to thwart my Fomorian scouts... who attempted to free Fand from their presence... that this other warrior who supposedly has the ríastrad was the one who did it when it is you who has harbored affection for my wife all these years?"
The king wasn't wrong. But how did he know what he felt for Fand? "Why do you think I love your wife, your Highness?"
The king rolled his eyes. "Of course you do. A faerie cannot love a human who does not love her in kind. We are not capable of such sentiments. That my wife still pined after you meant beyond a doubt that you felt the same. Otherwise, her love for you would have waned and she would be at my side still!"
"I never knew," Cú Chulainn shook his head. "How was I supposed to know she loved me, too? That my loving her would have such consequences?"
"Which is why I never came for you until now. Not until you assaulted my scouts. Not until you attempted to play the hero and lure her to you again."
"I told you," Cú Chulainn said, rising to his feet in defiance. "It wasn't me!"
"Lies!" the king shouted, before turning toward the sorcerer—the one who'd debilitated him with his spell before. It was while under the ríastrad the sorcerer had bound him before. He probably didn't stand much of a chance in a re-match with the strange, veiled, magician. Still, his odds were better escaping with the aid of the ríastrad than in his mortal form.
No sooner did he change his shape did the sorcerer raise his staff and take aim directly at Cú Chulainn. He'd anticipated it... he tried to run, the flee... his only shot was dodging the sorcerer's attack. One zap from the sorcerer's staff was all it would take...
He dodged the spell once.
But the second time... he tried to move out of the way. But as fast as he could move the sorcerer's magic was faster, as fast as lightning. Cú Chulainn winced—he was done for.
Then, silence...
It was like the world all around him had stopped... like time, itself, had frozen in place.
The sorcerer's spell—a single, powerful, beam of lightning was suspended in mid-air, not three feet from where he stood. For a moment he simply stared at it, mesmerized by the power of the jagged beam of magic that coursed from the sorcerer's staff and had nearly taken him out.
Then someone... something... appeared in front of him. Only Fand, of all the creatures he'd ever seen, human or otherwise, exceeded this figure in beauty. She was tall—taller than he was, even when under the ríastrad. Her skin had a purple hue to it as if this creature belonged to the night itself. Her hair, long, black, and flowing... she wore golden armor as if she were a warrior of a sort. But her face. She looked upon him with kindness. With affection, even.
"Cú Chulainn," the woman said. "You must flee and return to your beloved. For the Fomorians have been dispatched to kill her on account of her love for you."
"What?" Cú Chulainn said. "How is this possible... what is happening... and who are..."
"I am the Morrigan," the woman said.
"The Phantom Queen?" Cú Chulainn asked. He'd heard her name referenced amongst warriors as of late. He figured she was something of a superstition. Lesser warriors were known to invent deities of their own, powerful but imaginary beings that they claimed would come to their aid in battle. Never did he think once that she was real...
"This is not the first time I've appeared to you, my love."
My love? Not only was this a goddess—but she loved him? Certainly, not a romantic sort of love. Why would a goddess love him in that way? Rather, it was the kind of affection a god or goddess might have for a mortal whom she cherishes, who for whatever reason, she has seen it fit to protect. That had to be it.
"The raven... you are the raven..."
The Morrigan nodded. "I am."
"You were there
at the wall when Forgall fell."
Again, the goddess nodded. "I was. For when a warrior falls I appear that I might usher him into life thereafter."
"And at my wedding... you wouldn't stop crowing."
The Morrigan smiled wide. "My apologies for the disturbance. I only meant to warn you of the approaching army."
Cú Chulainn took a deep breath. "You could have been a bit more obvious about your warning. Why not appear then as you are now?"
The Morrigan shook her head. "Perhaps I could have. But I did not want to interfere with your wedding. And my appearance tends to unsettle most mortals. There were many people gathered that day."
"Then why come to me now, to tell me that I might go and rescue Fand—the creature who has held my heart since I was barely a man?"
"It is not my place to tell you whom you should love, my love. I did not wish to interfere in your marriage, nor do I wish to see the faerie Fand die on account of Manannán mac Lir's jealousy."
"But if I go to save her, how will I know what I should do? Should I follow my heart and remain with Fand? Or should I do the honorable thing and remain with my wife?"
"As I said..."
"It's not your place. I know. But a little wisdom wouldn't hurt."
"In matters of the heart, young bard. We are all but fools."
That this goddess had addressed him as a bard, not a warrior, made him smile. Yes, this goddess saw him for what he was. Not for the role destiny had forced upon him. Cú Chulainn chuckled to himself.
"Are even the gods fools in matters of the heart?"
The Morrigan pressed her lips together. The question had perturbed her. Cú Chulainn hadn't meant to cause offense, certainly not against this goddess who'd mysteriously appeared and spared him from the sorcerer's spell.
Gates of Eden: Starter Library Page 125
