The Cattle Raid (Part 3)

Medb sent forth her third warrior. This time, she decided to take a trip of her own to find the Brown Bull while Cu Chullain was occupied with the warrior. He was not busy for long, as he quickly killed the warrior. He sensed that something was fishy about the situation, so he raced off to locate Medb. She took a large group of about fifty warriors with her for protection, but Cu Chullain dismantled them one at a time. Each warrior delayed Cu Chullain in his pursuit of Medb, though. When Cu Chullain came upon the last group of twenty-four men they were well armored. Cu Chullain asked the men's names, and they replied with a snarky comment. He then threw a spear through the leader's armor, piercing his heart. All of it was in vain, as Medb had already captured the Brown Bull of Ulster and escaped.

Medb's troops rejoiced at the sight of the Brown Bull. Their mission had been accomplished, and they had not personally seen the wrath of Cu Chullain. What they did not know was that their fight was not over just yet.

Medb did not want to disengage. She could sense Cu Chullain had started fatiguing. She violated their previously established terms with no remorse. The day after stealing the Brown Bull, she sent six men after Cu Chullain. In anger, he took up his sling. He knew that Medb had broken their terms and he was more angry now than ever before. Cu Chullain was out for blood, and nothing could stop him.

Medb didn't send anyone else that day, and Cu Chullain retreated to grab food and drink. He came upon an old woman milking a cow. He asked the old hag for some milk. She kindly gave him several drinks from the cow, and each time Cu Chullain poured blessings over her. Each time the old hag became more whole. Her body was slowly healing, which should have alarmed Cu Chullain because his victims can only be healed with his blessing. He should have known that it was The Morrigan in disguise trying to trick him into allowing her to be healed. She would return later.

The following morning, Medb sent one hundred troops at Cu Chullain. He easily slaughtered them, and Medb became enraged. She knew that it was a disgrace for her men to be slaughtered so easily.

Cu Chullain was furious that Medb would continue to break the terms they had agreed to. He prepared his weapons that night, sharpening his blades, repairing his armor, and so on. He let out a screech in the night while preparing his weapons, and everyone in Ireland heard his yell. The men in Medb's camp trembled, and again another hundred of her men fell out of fear.

For months Cu Chullain had been battling Medb's troops in many more battles than have been outlined in this story. As Medb had predicted, Cu Chullain had started fatiguing. Though he could still slay any of Medb's troops, his wounds had started to stack up and he had gone many months on end without sleep. Medb's troops had the luxury of sleep every night, but Cu Chullain was tasked with keeping watch every night, as he had been trained since the time he slayed Culann's hound. The night of Cu Chullain's yell, a friend of Cu Chullain's - a fairy - came to his aid. The fairy had sensed Cu Chullain was distressed, tired, and angry. He told Cu Chullain to sleep for a few days since he had not slept in half a year. The fairy vowed to defend Ulster until Cu Chullain was awake again. As the fairy wished, Cu Chullain took on a deep sleep. When he woke up he was quite refreshed and felt stronger than ever before. There was some bad news though...

The youth of Ulster, like the boys he used to play with in the fields, decided to attack Medb's troops to give Cu Chullain some relief. They knew he was tired, and they wanted to help. While it was a noble effort, all of them died except for just a handful. Cu Chullain felt horrible. He felt as though his reputation was tarnished forever because he was not there to aid the youth in their effort. His chariot driver and his fairy friend consoled him and encouraged him. He set out to avenge the death of the youth.

Cu Chullain told his chariot driver to prepare the scythed chariot, fit with armor for each horse, weapons attached, and more. Cu Chullain called upon the men of Ulster, as it was time to defend their homeland and avenge the youth who fought for them. The men prepared for themselves for battle. They gathered everything they needed as quickly as possible, and they made their formations on the riverbank where they opposed Medb's army on the other side. Cu Chullain was present, along with his chariot driver and their scythed chariot. The Morrigan taunted each side speaking of death and the horrid things to come for so many of the men.

The battle began the following morning. It went very poorly for the men of Ulster. Medb's army pushed forward three times, and the casualties were starting to rack up for the men of Ulster. Cu Chullain was severely wounded from previous battles, so he had not been in the fight. He saw how his homeland was faring in the battle, and he knew he couldn't sit around any longer. He took up his arms around midday and burst into battle. He flew in on his chariot, slaying Medb's army by the hundreds. Seeing this, Medb called for a retreat and asked her men to shield her as she fled. Cu Chullain caught her as she was disengaging from battle, but he caught her from behind. Being the noble fighter that he is, he would not strike her from behind despite all she had done to his homeland. She begged for mercy, and Cu Chullain obliged as she hurried away to her homeland with the remnants of her army. As they traveled away, Cu Chullain took a swing at the tops of three hills that Medb and her army had passed over. The tops of the hills popped off, and Cu Chullain could see Medb's continued retreat. He had saved his homeland. The bull was stolen, but his home was safe. The people of Ulster had no-one to thank other than Cu Chullain for their lives, land, and peace.... again.

Author's Note: This is the end of the Cattle Raid.

You can see the fatigue coming to Cu Chullain over time. He is otherworldly powerful and strong, but even he can only take so much wear and tear over time. Still, in a time of need he rises up with a courageous effort to save his homeland of Ulster.

For those who were confused, the men and children of Ulster do not normally have to fight. They usually rely on Cu Chullain to handle their affairs, but with Medb's army they didn't have that luxury. They needed to fight this time, and since they don't normally fight, they didn't do too well.

You also get a taste for Medb's true character as she breaks the terms of their engagement pretty early on in the process. It enrages Cu Chullain, though, and it starts to work against her.

I don't understand why Medb didn't want to just leave when she retrieved the Brown Bull of Ulster, but she decided to stay around and lost a lot of troops in the process. She made many foolish decisions while leading her army into this battle...

Thank you for reading my storybook!!!

Image: The Morrigan by Smitegame.com

The Ancient Irish Epic Tale: Tain bo Cualnge by Joseph Dunn