Fictional Story of Cú Chulainn

Since I'm so new here on Byline, I'm still trying to figure out what the audience wants to read. I have published my autobiography in two parts with mixed readings, last week's podcast, and this weekend, I thought I might try a short story to see what kind of engagement I get. What do you think? Do you like short fictional stories? Let me know. If I get enough readers, I'll post more.

My first story for Byline, is written with a mix of both English and Irish languages. I wrote this short story a few years ago and I offer it here to see if anyone likes stories like this. I have more if there's an interest.

An Fhiach

By T. Ó Domhnaill

A fictional story of Cú Chulainn, who went on a hunt and came home with a prophecy.

Cú Chulainn and Laeg Mac Riangabra stood around the field waiting for Fergus Mac Roich to release them for the hunt. As members of the Craebh Ruadh of Ulaid (Red Branch Knights of Ulster), they needed his permission to hitch the horses to the chariot and set off for the forest nearby to hunt for the King’s Hall.

It had been a long winter and with Imbolc passed and the equinox near upon them, according to the Druids, it was time for a Spring hunt to bring fresh meat to King Conchobar’s court. Several other knights who had wintered at the king’s hall were also waiting for word to head out.

Conall Cernach was eager to go and trying to rouse everyone with tales of glory to be had chasing stags through the forest. He wanted everyone to place bets on who would bring back the biggest stag in the forest in order to gain the most glory and praise from the king.

Some were taking those bets but Cú Chulainn wasn’t interested. He’d dreamed of meeting someone else in the forest on this hunt and he was a little apprehensive. He had told his friend and chariot driver Laeg about his prophetic dream so they were both a little quieter than usual.

Finally, about mid-morning, Fergus came out to the field and gave everyone the blessing to go. They all hitched the horses to the chariots or put their padding on their horses and set out for the nearby forest.

This forest had a reputation for swallowing people who didn’t heed the warnings so Cú Chulainn told Laeg to be more watchful than normal. As Laeg knew about the dream his friend had the night before, he just nodded and off they went.

The plan was to arrive and set up a hunting camp before starting the hunting on the morrow. They all knew that it would be near dark once they arrived at the spot to set up the camp, so all agreed. No one wanted to be in those woods after dark. That was a sure way to invite disaster with a chance encounter with the Áos Sidhe, who were known to come out to play after dark.

Any mortals captured by them were never to be seen again so everyone was careful not to offend them on purpose. Their fae magic was more than their hunting weapons could stop so all agreed to set up camp nearby and hunt after sunup.

Once they arrived and set up camp, it was all about making the jokes, playing games and eating a little before settling down for the night. Night guard was determined by age and experience. The youngest and least experienced took first watch. Which was Cú Chulainn and Laeg Mac Riangabra.

 The next morning just as the sun rose, everyone stirred and made ready for the day’s hunt. The plan was for everyone to team up, with both members of the team taking the credit if they won Conall’s bet.

Cú Chulainn and Laeg had already decided to pair up due to the prophetic dream so the two of them headed into the woods as everyone else split up to do the same. Everyone was to meet back at the camp by sunset at the latest.

As the two heroes walked into the forest, they noticed that the dense trees and brush seemed to close in tighter around them. Maybe it was all an illusion but the two young hunters became more nervous as they quietly continued their hunt.

As the morning went by, they didn’t see anything worthy of bringing home. All they saw were little rabbits and other small animals that scurried away into the brush as the two men quietly walked down the narrow animal paths. Then, Laeg held up a hand and waved them to a stop.

He motioned in front of him and Cú Chulainn carefully stepped up to look. Both had hunting bows and spears and were ready for anything. Up ahead, in a small opening between the trees, a huge stag was grazing around a big oak tree.

Both young men watched for a minute to make sure no one else was around, then started to creep forward to get close enough to take the huge stag down. They were both looking at each other and thinking the same thing. This huge stag would definitely give them bragging rights when they returned to Emain Macha.

As they slowly crept forward, the stag looked up and both of them stopped and froze where they were, hoping that they hadn’t been sensed yet. That would be the worst thing that could happen to them right now, to lose such a prize by being too noisy. As the stag looked around a bit, he put his head back down and continued to graze.

With that, both men decided to split up a little to try and prevent the stag from escaping if something went wrong. At least one of them might get into a good position to bring the stag down. Cú Chulainn went right and Laeg went left. Himself with his bow and an arrow nocked. Cú Chulainn hefted his spear to make ready to throw.

Both silently crept toward the old oak, moving slowly to keep from spooking the stag. As Laeg signaled that he was in position, Cú Chulainn edged close enough to throw his spear. Just as he was ready to throw, a dark cloud quickly passed overhead and the forest got very dark. At that, the stag quickly raised his head and made ready to run. Just as he started to jump, Cú Chulainn threw his spear and hit the stag in the side bringing him down.

As the stag went down, Laeg jumped up and ran towards the fallen animal. Cú Chulainn started to move towards the stag as well when he spied someone standing in a darkened spot off to the side of an opening behind the old oak tree. As he stopped to look, the someone stepped out of the dark a little bit and the young man held his breathe in fear.

The creature didn’t look quite human. It was taller than anyone he had ever seen, covered in green fur with vines wrapped around its body. Its hands were thick and its arms and legs huge. The scariest part were the stag antlers on its head. Cú Chulainn readied his bow but the creature stepped back into the dark of the woods and quickly disappeared.

Cú Chulainn shook it off as just something out of a brief dream state and went over to help Laeg ready the stag to take back to camp. As he arrived, his friend asked him if he was alright and he replied, “Yes, I thought I saw something in the woods but it turned out to be nothing after all.”

Cú Chulainn said a quick prayer to the Goddess to send the spirit of the stag to the summer lands and helped Laeg get the stag ready to take back to camp. As they were working, Cú Chulainn couldn’t help but think,” This kill was a little too easy” and said as much to his friend. He also felt like they were being watched.

They normally would have had to hunt a least a day or more and travel into the woods a lot farther than they had today in order to find such a magnificent stag for their feast tables. Cú Chulainn wondered if this had anything to with his dream and that creature, he thought he saw at the edge of the deep woods. He quietly pondered that as they carried the stag to the camp.

As they arrived back at the camp, they looked around and realized that they were the only ones there, it being so early in the day still. It was just mid-afternoon now. They grabbed the stag’s body and set it up in the chariot to take back home, then decided to wait for the others.

As the afternoon was a little warm, and they had worked pretty hard to get that stag back to camp, they lay down in the shade to wait and Cú Chulainn closed his eyes for a rest. He dozed off and started to dream. In his dream, he was back under that oak tree standing expectantly. As he waited, the fae creature he has seen before came out of the dark woods and walked up to him. He started talking to Cú Chulainn in the old tongue of the Tuatha Dé Danann and told him, “You have killed one of my kindred and for that you will have to pay for your crime. The punishment will come to you when you least expect it and it will be a life for a life.”

With that, Cú Chulainn woke with a start, sitting up abruptly in a cold sweat. His friend Laeg looked at him and asked him, “Are you alright?” Cú Chulainn looked at him, shook his head and told him about the dream. Both young men looked at each other and vowed to look after one another from then on to circumvent the prophecy.

When dealing with the Áos Sidhe, no one ever just shrugged off their warnings without consequences. As they were discussing what to do, the rest of the hunting party started to return from the woods with nothing to show for their efforts. As they came into the camp, they could smell the stag and Conall went over to the chariot to look.

He exclaimed, “How did you find such a huge stag this soon after starting the hunt?” As the rest of the hunters gathered around to look, the two young men responded by telling Conall, “We just got lucky and the Gods favored us.”

With that, the hunt was over for the two heroes. They needed to get the meat back to Emain Macha before it spoiled. They readied the chariot, hitched the horses and waved good bye. The others decided to stay and hunt some more with Conall bragging that he would find a stag bigger than theirs but everyone knew that was unlikely. They still needed the meat though, no matter what they found.

Cú Chulainn and Laeg Mac Riangabra arrived at Emain Macha that evening and delivered the stag to the kitchens before reporting to Fergus. When they found him, they relayed what happened and that the other hunters would be back in a couple more days with their own game for the kitchens. Fergus nodded his head at the two young men and told them, “Go take care of your horses and get cleaned up.”

As the young men worked, they discussed the prophecy and what it might mean to them. For both were tied together over this no matter what the Áos Sidhe creature had told Cú Chulainn in his dream. Laeg had sworn to defend his friend no matter what and no matter when.

They both came to the conclusion that they would not know the day or manner of the punishment for this crime, only that it would come for both of them and it would mean their deaths when it did. There was nothing they could do about it except accept their fate when it came for them.

Although the story I have just told is purely fictional, this footnote is not so fictional. When Cú Chulainn was approximately 27 years old and had become the most famous warrior in all of north of Eire, the two friends’ fate finally came to them. After the famous cattle raid over the brown bull of Cúailnge and other famous battles with the Connacht people, himself and Laeg were killed by Lugaid Mac Cu Roi, a Connacht warrior sent by Queen Mebd, who was himself then killed and beheaded by Conall Cernach, Cú Chulainn’s cousin in revenge at the battle sight. Cú Chulainn’s headless body was taken back to Emain Macha by Conall and buried there by all accounts.

To this day, the heroic feats of Cú Chulainn are still told under the village oak trees and pubs around the world wherever an Irish Seanchaí sits down to tell the tales. The most famous of them, in one of the oldest written accounts of the hero Cú Chulainn, was called the Táin Bó Cúailnge. In English, the Great Cattle Raid of Cooley.

As for the other heroes of the Craebh Ruadh, they all died relatively young as well. Some over treachery, others in battles with the Connacht, Leinster and Munster kings and queens. Such was the life of warriors back then. If you were famous for your battle skills, your head usually became a trophy in someone’s place of honor long before you achieved old age.