Fomorian/Bio & Battles

"And thus was that vessel: a single warrior, dark, gloomy, devilish, on the stern of that good ship, and he was laughing roughly, ill-fatedly, so that every one saw his entrails and his bowels through the body of his gullet."

- Extract from The Training of Cú Chulainn about the Fomorians. The Fomorians were deformed giants who served as the original gods of Ireland. Ruled by the merciless Balor, who was able to kill anyone he looked upon with his single eye, the Fomorians were the enemies of the Tuatha de Danann, newcomers to Ireland. After hearing a prophecy that his own grandson would kill him, Balor ordered his daughter locked in a glass tower. However, with the aid of a druidess, the Tuatha Cian gained access, and fathered Lugh, a sun god and the eventual father of the hero Cuchulain.

The Tuatha de Danann made war against the Fomorians, but were losing badly because of Balor's power. However, Lugh stepped up with a sling, and, just as Balor's massive eye was opening, hurled a stone with enough force to push Balor's eye back through his head, turning his power against his own troops. The Tuatha de Danann rose to power as a new generation of gods, and the remaining Fomorians were exiled.