#Cú Chulainn’s charioteer

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1919 – The birth of Cairbre, the MGM lion, in Dublin Zoo. He wasn’t African or even Californian, he was a genuine Dub and was named after Cú Chulainn’s charioteer, or a High King of Ireland.

Cairbre, later re-christened Leo and the first MGM lion to roar on the silver screen. The problem is, there were at least 5 MGM lions, all of whom were rechristened Leo. The most likely candidate is this one, photographed being filmed in the early 1930s. Hear him roar (or gently growl) in the MGM video. Cairbre is recorded in the RDS records as having sired 24 cubs, before being put down in 1944…

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

it's always a magical and inspiring experience to be in the very land of the ulster cycle, with its stories woven into the placenames, featuring such fantastic and historic locations as: enniskillen bus station

[lavendernix-art]

Here's a better look at that WIP from earlier! Thanks tumblr for killing my resolution, you're a real champ

[werewolfetone]

Hi my name is cú chulainn who is sétanta the son of sualdam and conchobar's sister dechtire and I guard the house of culann (that's how I got my name) with hair that stands on end and one eye that closes and one eye that pops out like limpid tears and a lot of people tell me I look like my father sualdam (a/n if you don't know who that is get da hell out of here!). I'm not related to láeg but I wish I was because he's a major fucking hottie. I'm an ancient celt and my teeth are straight and white. I have pale white skin. I'm also an undefeated warrior, and I fight for the army of ulster where I'm the only one not afflicted by the curse (I'm seventeen). I'm the strongest warrior in ireland (in case you couldn't tell) and I wear mostly black. I love scáthach and I get all my weapons from her. for example today I was carrying my ball and my javelin and my hurley stick. I was being driven in my chariot to áth grena. it was snowing and raining and there was no sun, which I was very happy about. a lot of connachtmen stared at me. I put up my middle finger at them

[finnlongman]

Send me an event you think happens in the story of Cú Chulainn's death, and I'll tell you whether it's on Oidheadh Con Culainn (15th century) or Brislech Mór Maige Muirthemne (~9th?? century). Or neither.

The Morrígan tricking him into eating dog meat!

Sort of neither. There is a dog meat incident in both texts; the Morrígan isn't involved, and Cú Chulainn doesn't actually eat it.

In BMMM (§11 in Kimpton's ed.), Cú Chulainn comes across three witches (origins unspecified) cooking a dog. A geis prevents Cú Chulainn from not going towards a cooking fire like this, but also prevents him from eating dog meat. One of the witches (identify unspecified) shames him into joining them and passes him some of the meat. He takes it and places it next to his leg; the hand and leg that touched it are weakened.

In OCC (§30 in Van Hamel's ed.), Cú Chulainn comes across the daughters of Cailitín, among them Badb ingen Cailitín (not to be confused with the other Badb, but it's so easy to do so), cooking dog meat. He turns the chariot away to avoid them, so Badb ingen Cailitín takes the cooking spit and yeets it directly at Cú Chulainn. Cú Chulainn catches it and raises it above his head to throw it back, but as he does so, a drop of blood drips from it onto him. This blood, we're told, is 'poisonous'. He then throws it back and impales Badb with it (wounding, not killing her).

In both texts they are using spits made of rowan wood. Rowan often shows up in conjunction with magic in medieval Irish texts (e.g. in Tochmarc Étaíne it's rowan wood that Étaín is struck with to transform her) so I assume that's presented to flag that it's a supernatural situation, but I have no particular source for that assumption.

BMMM explicitly sets this situation up as a matter of trying not to break one geis and being forced to sort of break another one; OCC doesn't actually use the word geis at any point in this section or say that he's forbidden to have anything to do with dog meat, that's merely presented as an Ominous Detail and it's the 'poisonous' nature of the blood that's the issue. It may be poisonous because of a geis, but since this text usually doesn't hesitate to mention them and there are a bunch more of them than there are in BMMM, it's slightly surprising that it doesn't say that here!

For a detail that shows up in every retelling ever, it's surprising how differently this scene actually goes down in the text.

[Caveat with all of these asks is that I am basing my answers on the manuscripts of OCC edited by Van Hamel and so anything to do with names and terminology is specific to those manuscripts. There are a lot of manuscripts of OCC and it's possible some use slightly different phrasing or names.]

[rotomartsblog]

Ever After High OCs let’s gooo!!1!

Info dump is undercut because holy shit it got long

Madra Chulainn, the Daughter of Cú Chulainn.

Okay so first things first, me making her is dooming EAH!Ulster to go to war every generation so. Keep that in mind

Her time as an EAH student is a mix of during and after her training with the next Scathach, her first two years would be during it and her last two would be after.

That does mean during her final years she could possibly be married to the next Emer.

Let me try to explain her family because it gets weird. She’s not technically the daughter of Cú Chulainn. The last Cú Chulainn, let’s call him Gadhar, would’ve died young and way before she’d be born. Her mother is Gadhar’s Emer figure, but her technical father is Lugh, following the story of Lugh magically putting a baby in Cú Chulainn’s mother’s womb without actually having sex with her. So her mother was the previous generation’s Emer, her technical father is the god Lugh, and Gadhar Chulainn is her already-dead stepdad and technical half-brother through Lugh. However, in the story Cú Chulainn is not only Lugh’s son but also an incarnation of Lugh, meaning Cú is an aspect of Lugh himself. So Madra is both Lugh’s technical daughter and an aspect of Lugh himself, and Gadhar is her already-dead stepdad, technical half-brother, and also a past incarnation of herself. Also, she has like way too many foster parents.

This does make her a demigod of sorts.

The fact that she’s a girl does make people be extremely doubtful if she’s capable of being the next Cú Chulainn, but no one can really deny she’s supposed to be Cú Chulainn because of the whole, y’know, Lugh thing.

Much like Cú Chulainn himself, Madra got the name Madra Chulainn after acting as a guard dog for the Culann house. Her name before that was Síthmaíth.

Madra is freakishly strong. To give an example, in the story Cú once broke about seventeen chariots because they could not withstand his strength.

Madra does go into a ríastrad/battle frenzy like Cú did. This has banned her from the Bookball team.

Madra cannot refuse food given to her by a girl. If she does she’ll become physically weaker.

She weirdly acts like a dog at times despite not actually even being part dog.

She has a loud personality and she’s very active. She also gets very violent when shocked or just caught off guard. She’s definitely broken someone’s nose when they surprised her. She’s also prone to fits of anger and gets irritated very easily.

She plays Camogie and wants to introduce it to Ever After High.

Her pet is an Irish Wolfhound named Dorcha.

Madra would like to Rebel against destiny but she doesn’t think she can. She’s been fated to everlasting fame but dying young ever since she was a child, and once she graduates Ulster will go to war with Connacht because of the next Medb, and Madra will have to fight because otherwise Ulster doesn’t stand a chance. She doesn’t think she can stop the war from happening so she doesn’t think she has a choice other than living out her story. Not only that, she worries that if she doesn’t go through with her story she’d be going directly against the will of her gods, especially Lugh, and she knows that eventually The Morrígan will seek her out, so to her it’s better if she just goes through with her destiny instead of trying to fight against it.

She’s roommates with Momoko. The two do them get along relatively fine, but they’re not particularly close.

Momoko Hana, the Daughter of Momotaro

Momoko attends Ever After High as part of an exchange program. She used to go to a school in East Asia.

In between the years Momoko attended Ever After High, she would complete her destiny during the summer, as Momotaro is typically depicted as a teenager when he sets out on his expedition.

People were shocked that she was a girl, but like Madra her destiny can’t be denied because of her unique birth, coming out of a giant peach.

Momoko struggles to understand people. She wants to make people happy but she’s really bad at conflict resolution, especially since her main method is just giving people Kibi dangos.

Momoko is one of the few girls to be taking Heroics classes. Other girls in the class would be Madra and Jillian.

Momoko is extremely skilled with weaponry, especially sharp ones such as knives and swords. She’d be able to cut down a tree in just a few swings.

Momoko, surprisingly, does not dislike the Oni.

Momoko has spoken with her gods before.

Momoko believes it is impossible to go against destiny and that even the act of going against the set stories is the work of destiny itself.

A lot of people, both Royals and Rebels, are annoyed by Momoko because she kind of refuses to look at destiny at a deeper level. She’s very dismissive of the conflict and sees herself as above it, thinking of it as a silly Ever After thing that’ll blow over at some point. She gets proven wrong about this pretty quickly though.

Momoko doesn’t see the word of the Grimm family as absolute law, since she is not from a place where they have influence over the native fairy tales.

Momoko’s only respect for Milton Grimm comes from the fact that he’s an authority figure. If they were on equal standing she would absolutely destroy him.

Momoko has three animal companions. A monkey, a pheasant, and a dog named Nashi, Yuzu, and Ume respectively. They’re not pets, being capable of speech and human level intelligence, and they live with Momoko in her dorm room. They do not get along with each other.

Along with being skilled in martial arts and weaponry, she also like the theatre and acting.

When Momoko first came to Ever After High, one of the biggest culture shocks she experienced was the fact that she was important. Obviously in Japan the story of Momotaro is extremely popular and influential, so Momoko was a highly respected figure in her homeland. In Ever After though? Very little people knew of the Momotaro story. She thinks it’s unfair, since Ever After’s stories are also very popular in Japan but not the vice versa. It wouldn’t bother her so much if it weren’t for the fact that some students are very dismissive of her influence and importance in her homeland, since she’s not a famous figure in Ever After.

She’s roommates with Madra. Their dorm is as clean as a dorm housing four animals and Madra can be.

Lucia Wick, the Niece of Lucignolo

Starting with the obvious. The reason she’s to niece of Lucignolo instead of daughter is because the Lucignolo from the generation before went missing after turning into a donkey, so it was his sister that had to continue the story.

Lucia is a childhood friend of Cedar. According to the story the two of them should be best friends so they were often paired together whenever they were younger. Despite this the two of them never really clicked with each other.

Since Lucia was expected to be a troublemaker, the adults in her life didn’t define the boundaries of what’s right or wrong as much as they did with other children.

A good portion of her time at Ever After High consists of taking detention.

I’ve recently been imagining her with a New Yorker accent.

Sometimes, Lucia’s ears will turn into donkey ears. This mostly happens when she sneezes but it can be triggered by other things.

Lucia is afraid of her destiny because of the uncertainty around it. Her uncle went missing after being turned into a donkey and this is a pattern with the Lucignolo destiny. Most of them went missing and of those who were found, most of them would end up dying as donkeys. Of all the Lucignolos from way back to the 1880s, Lucia only knows of one that was saved and transformed back. It’s because of this uncertainty and not-very-good chances that Lucia aligns herself with the Rebel cause.

Her fear of her destiny began around the time she was a preteen-tween, when she was starting to actually comprehend it, and because of this she started to distance herself from Cedar, hoping to delay her ending for as much as possible. During her first year of Ever After High she actively avoided Cedar. However, she also feels partially guilty that perhaps she’s also delayed Cedar’s story. Almost every Pinocchio became a human when they were young so Lucia worries that her trying to escape her story might have messed up with Cedar’s.

She’s really into embroidery and textile arts.

She also likes using incenses.

She’s very clever and quick-witted.

Lucia likes causing mischief around the school, especially towards the professors but also just to anyone who annoys her.

She has a pet salamander called Matchstick

It’s very hard to convince her to do something that she wouldn’t derive personal enjoyment from. Because of this she often ever does her school work or assignments.

Lucia doesn’t think she has many friends, despite hanging out with a lot of people, because she has pretty high standards.

She’s roommates with Hannah. She thinks Hannah is very bothersome, especially with her music. She’d considers Hannah her best friend.

Hannah Hedgehog, the Daughter of Hans My Hedgehog

She’s the same age as the others, she’s just short.

Don’t draw attention to the fact that’s she’s short, even in a joking manner. It really pisses her off.

Hannah doesn’t shift between her humanoid form and an animal farm, like Bunny or Duchess. She’s stuck in her hybrid form.

Hannah does curl into herself when scared, angry, or just upset.

As hedgehogs are nocturnal, Hannah has a more erratic sleep schedule than others.

Hedgehogs hibernate for six months starting in October/November. During that time Hannah sleeps most of the day and only gets up for classes.

Hannah is firmly a Rebel and has a genuine disliking towards the Royals.

Hannah spends most of her time in the woods.

She plays the bagpipes.

Hannah chooses to rebel, despite having a typical happy ending, is because she disagrees with the ending itself. In the end of the story, Hans would be rid of his hedgehog half and live on as a human man, finally being accepted. Hannah doesn’t want to give up a part of herself simply so others would see her as an equal. She’d rather have people treat her respectfully the way she is.

Hans My Hedgehog’s parents treated him awful and unfortunately, that is the same for Hannah. Her parents are ashamed of her being half hedgehog, despite her father himself having been half hedgehog in the past. They make her sleep by the stove and neglect her.

During the time she attends Ever After High, she isn’t living with her parents. In the Hans My Hedgehog story, Hans left to live alone in the woods when he was eight, so when Hannah was young her parents forced her out so she would follow her story.

She has a pet rooster called Rusty.

Hannah hates being treated differently in any way for being half hedgehog. Obviously she doesn’t like being treated unkindly like her parents and a lot of others have, but she also doesn’t like how a lot of people in Ever After High treat her, where it’s in the opposite direction and they’re infantilising her.

Because she tries so hard to be seen as equal to others, she hates asking for help since she sees it as a weakness on her part.

She’s roommates with Lucia. She thinks Lucia is irritating, especially when she’s using incense. She’d consider Lucia her closest companion.

[pulpsandcomics2]

Cú Chulainn Riding His Chariot into Battle by J. C. Leyendecker

[matchanne]

I find it interesting and probably hilarious to a degree about how Emer has several moments where she seems ‘larger than life’, which puts the common assumption of her being a mere mortal into doubt sometimes. Well, for me at least…

I mean…

Her father and aunt having the ability to shape shift and send a horde of demons(?) to kill Cú Chulainn (Come to think of it, isn’t she the grand niece of Tethra through her father?).

Her marriage condition for her future husband is to ‘kill an army’ (To summarize it at least…)

Was able to outrun the other wives during Bricriu’s feast on the ‘basis of her speed’, usually described as ‘faster than a chariot’ (Do you think she could outrun Achilles or Atalanta on Nerofest?)

Describes her husband’s warp spasm as ‘beautiful’ (Lady, you’ve got some uhh ‘interesting’ kinks going on over there 😅)

Has the balls to kill her love rival who is a fairy queen. Heck, she even challenged her husband to a fight 🤯

Like…Emer you sure you’re really ‘normal’???

[nickandros]

at what point when you're writing/conceptualising historical fiction does the mythology become as important as the history. at what point does the line blur. chariots likely didn't exist in early iron age ireland but is that fact more important than cú chulainn's inextricable link to his chariot and charioteer? if a reader expects something to be present based on an assumption formed by historical revisionism or misconception, is there an obligation to address it?

[stairnaheireann]

The Legend of Cú Chulainn

There are a number of versions of the story of Cú Chulainn’s birth. In the earliest version of Compert C(h)on Culainn (The Conception of Cú Chulainn), his mother Deichtine is the daughter and charioteer of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and accompanies him as he and the nobles of Ulster hunt a flock of magical birds. Snow falls, and the Ulstermen seek shelter, finding a house where they are…

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

here's the thing okay. when you start looking at a body of material, you look for patterns, right? and say you get three texts that do a thing and one that doesn't do that thing, well, then, that thing is the pattern and the one that doesn't is the exception. "medieval irish texts about X do Y, except for this one outlier". "A means B, except for an occasional C." except then you look at five more texts and it turns out those five don't do the thing. more outliers? maybe. after all, you found one more that did the thing, reinforcing the pattern, and there's a reason the other texts don't: they're late, they're from a specific area, they're influenced by another tradition, they're in an unreliable manuscript, they're not as good. and you think Ah Well There's A Reason, So That's Okay. you narrow the rule. "twelfth century texts do X." "ulster cycle heroes do Y."

but then over time you get more and more outliers, far outnumbering the ones that do conform to the pattern, and they can't be neatly put in a box, and you're constantly creating exceptions and caveats. and you have to ask yourself: is this pattern actually useful anymore? or did we make some wildly incorrect assumptions at the very beginning of the process, based on what we thought were representative samples but what were actually the outliers?

but by that point it's been a century and everyone is really attached to that pattern! they believe that pattern! they might have refined it since the beginning, and they'll look down on the pop-history books taking the clumsy Victorian iteration of the pattern as if it's definitive, but they still, fundamentally, believe that the pattern exists. but it doesn't. and then somebody comes along and goes "hey your pattern is wrong. the actual pattern is X. Y is just a weirdo but you read about that first so you thought it was normal"

and that's HARD because nobody wants to admit that the Greats of 100 years ago were that far off the mark but sometimes you gotta

[dancyrilkingston]

Cú Chulainn Riding His Chariot into Battle by Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1911)

[byneddiedingo]

Cú Chulainn Riding His Chariot into Battle

J. C. Leyendecker, 1911

[finnlongman]

Hello Tumblr, how would you feel if I told you there's a text in which Cú Chulainn used to be Fer Diad's charioteer

[maevefinnartist]

my coloring book was vulture culture themed with Irish mythology elements to it, now I'm working on a tarot deck with an Irish mythology theme and vulture culture elements to it

so if anyone has any ideas about which cards could represent which myths I'd love to hear them ♡ I'm going to switch some things up, like instead of Emperor/Empress I'm doing Ard Rí/Ard Banríon, instead of The Hierophant I'm going to do The Saint, etc. An Ard Banríon is going to be Macha Mong Ruaid but I can't decide which High King I should draw. Or which saint. The Chariot is obviously going to be Laeg & Cú Chulainn (or maybe a scene from Táin Bó Regamna?)

Any input or ideas are completely welcome!

edit to add: I've already done Death, High Priestess, The Magician, The Moon & Star, and The Hermit. I'm focusing on the Major Arcana for now and then doing one suit at a time once I finish those (it's going to take foreverrrrr)

[oddnub-eye]

Fanservant: Laeg Mac Riangabra (Rider)

Picture Made in This: https://picrew.me/ja/image_maker/19158 Picrew

Laeg Mac Riangabra

Class: Rider/ “Grand Buddy”

Title: The King of Charioteers 

Gender: Male

Source: Irish Mythology (Ulster Cycle)

Region: Europe (Ireland)

Alignment: Neutral Good

Height: 186cm

Weight 70kg

Natural Enemy: Enkidu

Parameters

Strength: C+

Endurance: B

Agility: C

Mana: D

Noble Phantasm: B

Luck: E (By Association)

Class Skills

Riding A++

The most renowned Charioteer in Irish Mythology - he can operate any kind of vehicle or creature, including dragon kind. 

Magic Resistance B+

While Laeg's magic resistance is not as "effective" in regards to canceling spells outright (in that respect, he only has Rank C Magic Resistance) but he possesses a borderline sixth sense for detecting magic and magecraft, and that talent allows him to avoid magic and magecraft incredibly easily.

Personal Skills

King of Charioteers A+

The idea that Laeg was the greatest charioteer in Irish legend. It allows him to perform all the functions of a charioteer perfectly. While this primarily takes the form of an exponential increase to his riding skill (he’s treated as having two “Riding A++” skills that multiply with each other) it also enables him to effectively store weapons and instantly gain a lay of the land.

Hero’s Sidekick B

The ability to effortlessly work alongside a Hero. When forming a partnership with another heroic spirit (or even a mortal being worthy of the title “hero”), Laeg gains the ability to perfectly synchronize with them. He will not be able to fight alongside them as a “partner” but he will be able to support and fight around them flawlessly. Laeg would even become able to ferry around a rampage Berserker in his chariot with ease.

Incitement (Taunting Words) C

A skill that typically serves to incite the masses with words. In Laeg’s hands, it becomes a skill that targets a specific individual, mocking them until they get worked up enough to put their all into something. This skill works best on individuals Laeg has partnered with through [Hero’s Sidekick].

Noble Phantasms

Búainid Carbat: Circuit of VictoryRank: B

Classification: Anti-Army

The scythed chariot of Cú Chulainn, pulled by the horses Liath Macha and Dub Sainglend, and driven by the King of Charioteers Laeg Mac Riangabra. A Noble Phantasm quite similar in function to [Trioas Tragodia: Tempestuous Storm Chariot] where it gains speed and power the longer it is deployed. By announcing the true name of this Noble Phantasm, Laeg can deploy a second ability of the Noble Phantasm, the “circuit of victory” - derived from the three charges Cú Chulainn and Laeg made against the Connacht army in retribution for the Boy Troop of Ulster, and the three charges Liath Macha against the conspiracy to kill Cú Chulainn after being fatally wounded.

Once activated, a “route” is selected, and Laeg must circle this route three times. Within this route, [Búainid Carbat] becomes “unstoppable”, gaining increased speed, power, and destructive ability. Not even destroying the land [Búainid Carbat] is traveling on will interrupt this rampage. During this rampage, Laeg gains the equivalent of an A-Rank [Battle Continuation] (although if he is fatally wounded during his ride, he’ll immediately die following its completion). The most effective way to stop the Circuit of Victory is to force its end by facing Laeg head on and destroying the chariot. Good luck.

Like many things about Laeg, his Noble Phantasm is stronger when partnered with another hero. If Laeg uses [Búainid Carbat] while partnered with a “hero” via [Hero’s Sidekick], the skillset of the Hero partnered with Laeg will be enhanced by Circuit of Victory’s effects, gaining all the benefits he does, as well as “custom” buffs to allow them to take the stage.

This Noble Phantasm will instantly fail if used against any Cú Chulainn aside from Cú Chulainn (Alter), as Liath Macha and Dub Sainglend will refuse to attack him.

Personality

Laid-back and brimming with dry humor, Laeg is a man content to let others take the spotlight. He is, in essence, a “sidekick”, someone who is more comfortable in a supporting role, yet not taking a backseat entirely. If the role of a healer is to support a hero from the backline, Laeg is best suited to supporting a hero from right at their side.

While laid-back in attitude, in nature, Laeg is as bloodthirsty and proud as his best friend. He takes his role as a charioteer, and in particular, the best of the best of them, very seriously. Given someone to fight alongside, Laeg will never turn down the opportunity for a fight, and he will never turn down an opportunity to show off.

Laeg’s penchant sarcasm and dry-wit comes from his perception of himself as the smartest person in the room at any given time. Whether this perception is actually true depends wildly on who he’s surrounded by at the moment.

Motive and Attitude towards Master

Laeg’s motive for fighting is more or less to “show off”. He doesn’t have any real desire for the Holy Grail, just so long as he gets to show off his talent with charioteering. This can potentially cause friction with his master, as he’s fundamentally more focused on demonstrating his skill than actually winning, but thanks to Laeg’s laid-back nature and preference for playing “second-fiddle”, he can work with most master’s easily enough.

That being said, he’s not afraid to turn his wit on his master.

“Come on Master, you summoned a charioteer -- a sidekick. If you were really trying your damnedest to win, you would have just summoned Cúcuc, right? Exactly. So just hold on tight and let me take you for a ride!”

Bond Craft Essence

Rejected Brindle

They'd never done it before. Even though they were Cúcuc's horses, they felt like mine. So when Liath Macha refused to allow himself to be harnessed that day...something felt wrong. But Cúcuc got ‘em harnessed and I ignored it. Willfully. Everyone knew why Liath Macha was refusing to be harnessed, everyone was trying to keep Cúcuc from riding out that day. Well, everyone except me. Does that make me a bad friend? To see the writing on the walls, to know why everyone was trying to restrain Cúcuc that day, and to ignore it all? To treat it as if it'd be just another day, another ride, another battle? I'd say it wouldn't, but I'm a biased party. But sometimes, when it's late at night, and my gut hurts, even though there's no possible way it could still be wounded...I'm happy to have driven Cúcuc out that final time. I'm happy it was at least able to start as just another ride for us. 

Historical Depiction

Cú Chulainn’s charioteer, and best friend (there is a man with horny skin who would contest this assertion). The greatest charioteer in Irish Mythology, earning the title of “King of Charioteers”. He accompanied the Hound of Ulster on practically all of his adventures, with the only one he was not involved with in some way being the Hound’s training at Dun Scaith. Once Cú Chulainn returned home and they officially became partners, however, they were a practically inseparable duo. Be it retrieving Emer from her father’s lands, traveling to the realm of Fand to fight her enemies, battling Queen Medb during the Tain Bo Cúailnge, or even his final battle, Laeg was always at his friend’s side.

During Cú Chulainn’s final battle, Laeg was speared by the first spear thrown by Lugaid Mac Cú Roi, which would prove to be a fatal blow for the King of Charioteers. Although Cú Chulainn attempted to order Laeg back to Ulster, Laeg remained to watch the rest of the battle. After Cú Chulainn tied himself to a standing stone for his final stand, he caught sight of Laeg and made one final plea to his friend to return to Ulster, if only to tell Emer of the news. Laeg reluctantly agreed, arriving back at Ulster to deliver the news, and pointing Conall Cernach in the direction of the battle, before finally passing away.

Relationships

Cú Chulainn - Laeg’s best friend and partner. In spite of his familiarity with Cú Chulainn, Laeg mocks him relentlessly, their banter being filled with good natured ribbing and put-downs. Faultlessly loyal to Cú Chulainn, Laeg stood by his friend until the very end, even until his death. Truly, they could be said to be the personification of “Ride or Die” (or, for these two, maybe it would be more accurate to say “Ride and Die”).

Cú Chulainn (Alter) - Although Cú Chulainn Alter is not the Cú Chulainn Laeg knows, Laeg has decided that he is Cú Chulainn nonetheless, and shall not be spared Laeg’s barbed tongue. It is not an uncommon sight to find Cú Chulainn Alter enduring comments about “trying a little too hard” and grumbling empty threats of violence in return.

Queen Medb - Laeg holds no ill-will towards Medb for organizing the conspiracy that led to his death, but he will never forgive for getting Liath Macha killed in the process.Achilles- A hero Laeg notes as being incredibly similar to Cú Chulainn, Laeg is often spotted hanging out with the Hero of the Trojan War in his off time.

Art of Cu and Laeg