Queen Mebd nodded and the three men left.
I resumed my natural form.
"You were saying?" Mebd asked.
I nodded. "I will handle Ulster's champion. Do not worry about him. But King Conchobar is reckless with his wealth, and he trusts that none of his enemies would dare attack him so long as Cú Chulainn remains his champion. He has neglected his armies who, now a generation removed from any meaningful battle and hardly trained at all, lack the skill to match your warriors."
"It is not a question of skill, Divine Morrigan. It is a question of numbers. Even if he has no army of his own he has the wealth to acquire whatever mercenaries he requires."
"But such takes time. If you were to develop an army capable of assaulting Ulster's walls, if you took them by surprise you could claim the city before he had the chance to bolster his numbers with hired warriors."
Mebd shook her head. "Our scouts watch Ulster constantly. And every day their champion, Cú Chulainn, patrols the city's perimeter. And still, supposing you managed to remove Cú Chulainn from the city for a time, even if I raised up every male of age in all of Connacht we wouldn't have enough men to conquer Ulster's walls."
"He is not the only monarch who might hire mercenaries."
"But he is the only one who can afford to."
I grinned widely. "As I said, he is reckless with his wealth. He sells off the bulls of his herds, the bulls who come from Donn Cúailnge's stock."
"But he would never sell those bulls to me. He sells them only to roving herders, men without aspirations to ever challenge his dominance over the Isles."
I quickly changed shape—I took the form of a man, dressed in humble rags, and carrying a single staff. "Indeed, he does sell his bulls to roving herders... those who might appear like this..."
Queen Mebd smiled slyly. "And you will purchase the bulls from Donn Cúailnge's stock on my behalf?"
"I will," I said. "While you may not accumulate wealth in the sort of excess that Ulster boasts, if you invest your proceeds wisely, you can raise up the army you require."
"Very well," Queen Mebd said. "But I must ask, why would you come to our aid? Our people have never revered you, or any of the gods for that matter."
"Suffice it to say, good queen, that I care little for your success as a kingdom. But I do have reasons that are my own to see Ulster challenged and fall. It just so happens, I believe, that you are the monarch in all the Isles best suited to accomplish what I desire."
33
MOST MATURE BULLS can cover thirty cows in heat. No wonder so many men petitioned the Morrigan that she might allow them to be reborn as bulls in the next life.
If anyone ever envied a bull's life, on account of its many lovers, Donn Cúailnge was on a whole other level. Not only could he cover more than three times the cows a normal bull could handle, but his progeny were especially virile. None of the bulls born from Donn Cúailnge's herds quite matched his production—but in the decade and a half since Donn Cúailnge had belonged to Ulster their herds had multiplied a hundredfold. The herds had grown so numerous that every patch of the once-grassy groves surrounding Ulster had been stripped bare. And the smell of manure had been so strong, for so long, that most in Ulster had grown accustomed to the odor.
But King Conchobar still refused Queen Mebd's requests.
And, as Cú Chulainn had rightly observed, the Queen of Connacht had far more wits about her than King Conchobar. In addition to his deteriorating memory, the king was drunk more often than not. He'd grown fat from feasting, no doubt attributable to the gross wealth Ulster had amassed.
Meanwhile, if what the scouts reported was true, Mebd had acquired many of the bulls produced from Ulster's herds. While Conchobar never sold them directly to Mebd he'd sold many bulls to roving herders, many of them likely proxies for Connacht. Thus, while Ulster had grown wealthy, Connacht had grown in power. Only, unlike Ulster, Mebd sold off and slaughtered her herds for meat to cull her herds to a reasonable size.
Ever since Donn Cúailnge had been given to Ulster, by some mysterious benefactor who'd meant to bless Cú Chulainn's marriage to Emer, it was likely Ulster would become a target. Cú Chulainn had warned King Conchobar from the beginning that spurning the requests of others, especially one with the ambitions of Queen Mebd, was unwise.
He'd attempted to counsel the king that great wealth did little more for Ulster than make her a target of envious kingdoms and, lest Ulster acquire more warriors and strengthen her fortifications, the richer the kingdom became the more likely it would be Ulster would fall. Still, on every occasion Cú Chulainn attempted to warn his king accordingly, his worries were dismissed.
"What do we have to fear?" King Conchobar would ask. "We have you, Cú Chulainn! We have a hero with the blessing of the ríastrad!"
While Ulster's wealth had been spent largely on luxuries for the people—and even Cú Chulainn could admit that life in Ulster had become quite leisurely—Mebd had spent her wealth to secure champions from the various tribes and to grow her armies. Meanwhile, Ulster's supposed warriors had grown fat and reckless. Few of any of them had seen a single battle. In short, all of Ulster had grown complacent. They'd taken their security and riches for granted.
But Cú Chulainn knew better. He'd heard and even told many tales of those whose wealth had become their downfall. It was a matter of time before Ulster would fall—and if Cú Chulainn couldn't defend the whole city alone it would likely be a bloodbath.
In truth, Mebd didn't need Donn Cúailnge. She'd managed to grow her kingdom and her armies strategically and wisely. After a decade of having her requests turned down by Conchobar, Cú Chulainn expected it was only a matter of time before she'd attack. Not that she needed any of Ulster's riches—but on account of principle. When Mebd first approached Conchobar and requested Donn Cúailnge's services her kingdom was starving, they needed aid and Conchobar had refused her requests, time and time again. She'd attack now purely for the sake of revenge. And, while Cú Chulainn hoped she wouldn't attack, he couldn't blame her if she did.
"Come to bed!" Emer said.
"I cannot. I must train, then I need to patrol the perimeter."
"How long has it been, my love? We've been married fifteen years and more often than not I have slept alone while you obsess over an enemy who might never attack."
"Mebd will attack, Emer. It's not a question of if. It's a question of when."
"And in all these years of patrolling the perimeter of Ulster, have you ever encountered more than a few bands of roving bandits?"
Cú Chulainn shook his head. What Emer said was true. But in his gut, Cú Chulainn knew an attack was imminent. He realized his concern had masqueraded as an obsession. He understood that nearly no one in all of Ulster, not even his wife, shared his worries. But he had to be ready...
"Come, lie with me tonight," Emer said. "It has been more than a year since I've known my husband and my passions are growing restless!"
Cú Chulainn cocked his head. Had it been a full year since he'd last made love to his wife?
Even a year ago, Cú Chulainn hadn't been as obsessed as he was now. But with every passing day, it was likely Mebd's armies were gaining in strength and Ulster was only becoming more vulnerable. King Conchobar was practically useless as a monarch—if Mebd attacked the armies of Ulster would be slaughtered, both on account of their lack of training and due to a lack of leadership. The only thing that had prevented Mebd from attacking, Cú Chulainn believed, was she knew he'd been on the lookout. She feared Cú Chulainn—as most did. Conchobar knew as much which was one reason why he'd neglected Ulster's armies.
What Emer didn't understand was the whole weight of Ulster rested on his shoulders. If he was distracted, for even a minute, and Mebd knew it... nightmares of the possibility had haunted Cú Chulainn's nights.
So, Cú Chulainn trained himself to exhaustion. With Ferdiad's aid, he'd come to master the broadsword. He'd grown nearly as competent with the blade, if not moreso th
an he'd ever been with a spear. Even without calling upon the ríastrad, no warrior was likely to best him. At least none he'd ever sparred. Even Ferdiad, who'd initially prevailed in nearly half of their sparring sessions, barely prevailed in one out of a hundred matches.
And since Ferdiad had returned to Scotland, Cú Chulainn hadn't entertained so much as a single challenge an aspiring warrior. After all, few young men were more interested in training for battle than they were in the frivolities life in Ulster provided.
Even Cú Chulainn had grown weary of telling tales to Ulster's citizens. They were too blind by their luxuries to hear the lessons the tales were meant to teach. Sure, he was a skilled storyteller, his performances were always welcomed and celebrated, but he felt he'd failed as a bard. What good is a bard, Cú Chulainn though, if his tales did nothing more than entertain?
Had Cú Chulainn's desire for Emer waned? Not at all. He wanted nothing more than to give himself over to a night of unrestrained passion with his wife. But how could he enjoy a single night when all the while his worries about what armies might be lurking outside Ulster's walls occupied his mind?
34
MEBD'S ARMY WAS ready. It had multiplied in size. With my blessing, she scoured the countryside and acquired champions from many regions. Other kings and queens offered their best that she might finally conquer Ulster. She was a wise queen, she promised that should she usurp King Conchobar as the strongest monarch she would gladly share of her spoils, she would grant stud bulls from her herd to any who petitioned her for it. She had visions of unifying the isles and more than one monarch was willing to lend her their best champion to see Ulster fall in her quest to realize it.
None of these champions were a match for Cú Chulainn, of course. But they would strengthen her army, no less. It wouldn't take long, at all, to overwhelm Ulster provided Cú Chulainn was sufficiently distracted...
Yes, he'd erased Fand from his mind. The potion had done that. But he hadn't forgotten her in his heart. If he saw her, just once...
Or, someone who looked like her...
I could do that. I could be her, and more than that, I could capture his affections for a night. My stomach churned in excitement at the possibility. I'd loved him for so long, and the chance to spend a night with him... in time, I'd reveal to him I was the woman he'd want. I'd come to his aid to defeat Mebd's assault and offer him the chance to flee Ulster forever...
Our affair would remain a secret. I didn't want to harm Emer. But she and he had grown far apart already and it was by his action, his obsessions that their marriage was strained. I could not compel him to lie with me. That would be his choice.
I saw my beloved patrolling Ulster's perimeter as he'd done many nights before.
Mebd's armies were ready... she'd march once I'd lured him away from his patrol.
I appeared in front of him as if I was the faerie Fand...
Cú Chulainn stepped back and shielded his eyes as the glow from my faerie form nearly blinded his eyes.
Faeries don't always glow, of course. They can when they wish to, when they are evoking their magic. I didn't wield faerie magic, but I could mimic it.
My divine heart fluttered as I beheld him up close. All three of us, as the triple-goddess, were drawn to Cú Chulainn for different reasons. Macha was enthralled by his beauty. Anand was attracted to his valor as a warrior and champion. Babd swooned over his mastery of verse. While each of us had found different men appealing, for different reasons, Cú Chulainn was the only man we'd ever encountered who claimed our heart as one. Each of us loved him for different reasons, but together, we loved him with a depth no mortal could possibly comprehend.
Cú Chulainn cocked his head. "You... you seem so... familiar..."
I nodded. "My love... how long I've desired to appear to you, that we might finally be together."
My heart skipped a beat as his eyes traced every contour of my faerie frame. In my natural form, I'm an impressive specimen, no doubt. I am a goddess, after all. But the faeries have a different sort of beauty. Their bodies, dainty in appearance, do not exhibit strength or power although they are quite powerful in their own way. If this was the shape my beloved most desired it would be but a small sacrifice to remain this way.
"I don't understand," Cú Chulainn said, his voice softer than I'd ever heard him speak. "Something about you..."
I pressed my finger to his lips. "No need to speak... I am yours already..."
He took my hand in his, our fingers intertwined, and kissed me on the lips.
"Is there someplace we can go?" I asked.
"Come with me," Cú Chulainn said, breathing heavily. "We will get lost in the forest... and we will conquer the night."
35
HOW HAD HE allowed it to happen? One single night, lured away by a mystic creature... she wasn't human, she couldn't have been human. The glow about her when she'd appeared. The power he'd felt coursing between their bodies as they united beneath the moonlight as it pierced the canopy of the forest, barely illuminating her perfect body.
And he returned to find Ulster aflame, Queen Mebd having likely slain his ailing king...
It was his worst fear...
Cú Chulainn crushed a boulder with his blade. So many nights without so much as a hint of her armies on the horizon... and now, he abandons his patrol for a single night, one night of pleasure and bliss...
This was his punishment. It was what he'd deserved for betraying Emer for the sake of an alluring woman, the strange creature who'd captured his passions in an instant.
How could he have been so weak... how could he have ever succumbed to such a sensual temptation... he loved his wife. But even as he regretted it he couldn't cast this strange beauty from his mind.
Had Queen Mebd sent this woman to him, to distract him for a night? It was such an unlikely coincidence Cú Chulainn didn't think it possible it had been purely a matter of bad luck. This was one of two things—a scheme concocted by Mebd, or a punishment afflicted upon him by the gods...
After all, the goddess, the Morrigan, had blessed his marriage... she must have been angered he'd betrayed his wife...
How could I have been such a fool!
Cú Chulainn gripped his broadsword by the hilt. Could he storm Ulster and re-claim the city? What would be the point? How many lives had been lost already? He could only pray Emer was still alive. She likely would be. She wasn't a threat to Mebd's warriors. But if Mebd realized she was his wife...
Cú Chulainn shuddered at the thought. Mebd would use Emer as leverage. If he assaulted the city head-on all she had to do was bring out Emer, a knife to her throat, and compel him to lay down his sword. And he'd gladly do it. He hated the fact he hadn't been faithful to his wife. He regretted the fact he'd neglected her desires for so long. But he would gladly die, if it came to that, to spare her life.
Of course, there was the possibility Emer was unharmed. He'd lived with her in what was once Forgall's fortress. While it wouldn't stand forever against Mebd's army, the fortress wouldn't be Mebd's first target, either. Presumably, once she'd claimed Ulster and ousted Conchobar, she'd have other more pressing matters to attend to before concerning herself with the fortress. Eventually, she'd want to likely install one of her own nobles or champions there—but until then, Emer was safe... hopefully.
Then again, Mebd knew Cú Chulainn was out there, it was just a matter of time before he'd come to Ulster's rescue. If Mebd was smart, and she was, she'd make seizing Emer a priority.
Still, Cú Chulainn wasn't inclined to gamble with Emer's fate either way. Storming the city was foolish, even under the ríastrad, he'd be powerless if by chance Mebd had found Emer.
But there was one tradition that he could evoke. One that would spare lives.
Cú Chulainn entered Ulster—his broadsword sheathed to communicate his peaceable intentions. Cú Chulainn gasped. Half the city had been set aflame. The bodies of Ulster's men, many of them dismembered, littered the streets. These men weren't
warriors. They'd never been adequately trained.
This hadn't been a battle. It had been a slaughter.
"Queen Mebd!" Cú Chulainn shouted as he walked through the streets. Enemy warriors stood by the perimeter, none of them bold enough to dare confront Ulster's only champion. "Face me, Mebd! I have a proposal!"
Whispers passed from warrior to warrior. They weren't sure what to do.
Queen Mebd appeared from behind one of Ulster's buildings—her armor was stained in blood, as was the blade she carried at her side.
"Cú Chulainn, the hero of Ulster," the queen declared. "It seems you chose an odd time to indulge in the pleasures of the Fae..."
Cú Chulainn cocked his head. The Fae... that's where he knew the woman who'd appeared to him. That's right. She was the one who'd appeared before. The one who tamed the wolf within him... it had been years and he could barely recall the incident. But that must be why she'd seemed so familiar...
"What is done is done," Cú Chulainn said. "Tell me, what of Ulster's women and children?"
"I'm not a brute, Cú Chulainn," Mebd said. "None of them have been harmed. Not yet, anyway. Not even your wife."
"My wife..."
"She is well... and she will remain so if you drop your blade."
Cú Chulainn shook his head. "And the prize you seek, Donn Cúailnge?"
"We've acquired the stud bull already."
"They why do you remain in Ulster. You have won. Leave these people be."
"And leave you alive to one day seek me out to get your vengeance for the fallen of Ulster?"
Cú Chulainn sighed. "I could fight my way through your army. I could find and slay the bull myself..."
"You could," Mebd said. "And I could execute your wife..."
"Then it seems as though we are at an impasse... might I offer a way to resolve the matter once and for all?"
"I will listen to your proposal, Cú Chulainn."
Gates of Eden: Starter Library Page 129
