Fomorians

These texts associate Samhain with bonfires and sacrifices, and sacrifices meant exactly what you think.

According to the Labour Gabala Eireann, one of Ireland's oldest texts, each Samhain, the people of Nemed, had to give two-thirds of their children, their corn, and their milk to beings called the Fomorians.

Scholars described the Fomorians as representing the harmful powers of nature, chaos, darkness, death, blight, and drought personified.

Parents in ancient Ireland heard this story by firelight, knowing that the tribute paid to Named's people represented actual sacrifice offered at winter's beginning, when dark powers held sway.

Later texts, written by Christian monks who had no reason to exaggerate pagan brutality, became more specific.

These texts associate Samhain with bonfires and sacrifices, and sacrifices meant exactly what you think.

According to the Labour Gabala Eireann, one of Ireland's oldest texts, each Samhain, the people of Named, had to give two-thirds of their children, their corn, and their milk to beings called the Fomorians.

Scholars described the Fomorians as representing the harmful powers of nature, chaos, darkness, death, blight, and drought personified.

Parents in ancient Ireland heard this story by firelight, knowing that the tribute paid to Named's people represented actual sacrifice offered at winter's beginning, when dark powers held sway.

Later texts, written by Christian monks who had no reason to exaggerate pagan brutality, became more specific.

Now, one more thing I want to say about, about the roots of this is that in the medieval Irish invasion legends, um, It's a seasonal moment, and it's tied to two groups of ancient Irish inhabitants.

The first is called the Fomorians, and the second are called the Tuat de Danann.

So the Fomorians are this hostile supernatural race.

They're often described as giants or monstrous beings who come from the sea or the underworld.

In fact, the etymology of Fomoria, Fomorian comes from likely either a word for the sea or the underworld.

And in biblical theology, those two are deeply related to one another.

One tradition has them imposing an annual tribute on later, earlier settlers precisely at Samhain.

So that would, if that's true, that dates back way, way B.C., There we find that two-thirds of the children born that year plus a share of the corn and milk have to be dedicated or sacrificed to the Fomorians.

Well, they call it the land of valor.

And on that island, there is a princess who has been captured inside of a tower by a great giant named Fomor.

She will only be freed if a warrior is willing to go and fight for her.

Oisin says, oh, could I be that warrior? Please let me go fight.

But according to the Celtic writing called the Cathmage Turid, the Dagda and Morrigan met and had sex around Samhain.

And the text indicates that this was an annual event that occurred before the final battle against the Fomorians, securing the Morrigan's protective influence and military advice.

The union represents the sacred marriage of life, represented by the Dagda's abundance and fertility, and death represented by the Morrigan's rule in the battle and the underworld.

And the Morrigan's dominance, as I was saying, of the underworld is why the barrier between the worlds is thinnest.

And part of that was this element of like...

There were different Irish clans, but they weren't necessarily super antagonistic against each other, but rather they were fighting against these, these evil, you know, creatures and monsters, um, commonly referred to as Fomorians.

And so from the, from the get go, they pitched to me this concept of like a two player.

kind of war area majority game, but there's also a third faction that you have to deal with and you have to compete against.

You see a map.

You see Ireland.

You see monsters and Fomorians and these units that you control.

And it's just more relatable.

Their towering headdresses glittered.

We are come, cried they, from the court of Balor of the mighty blows, king of the Fomor.

A fame and a rumor of the Goban Sayer, the wondersmith, has come over the black waters into the country of Balor.

It has stirred the mind of the king.

But the son, too eager to start, did none of these things.

He was choosing a travelling cloak.

May every day delight you till I come back bringing a gift from the Fomor, he cried to Anya, and ran out.

The Goban Sayer followed.

One game, for example, you show up and it's, again, you're playing against the Savage Saplings.

It's, like, two giants known as Fomorians, their captain a satyr, and a quickling.

Strength, cunning, and speed.

They are just so overpowered that this game ends up being a total bloodbath.

Yeah.

Are there giants coming through? Fomorians?

They're flag sized people, you know.

Hello.

Yes.

Where this is different is you've got differing maps, so different maps for different players, but you also have Fomorians, which represent a NPC faction in the game.

So what you'll have to do is not just fight everyone else for dominance of Ireland, you will also have to fight off the Fomorians.

The barbarians in Civ, basically.

Yes.

Yeah.

Kind of, yeah.

But you have different types of Fomorians as well, so they've got different powers and they can be mixed and matched, is my understanding.