Page 49 of Rise of the Morrigan

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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 lovemeI 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 think, 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...

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