The Spear of Lugh

Other Names: Slaughterer, Areadbhair, Crimall
Prophesiesed Owner: Aiden Finnegan, Lugh
Historical Significance: One of the Four Jewels of the Tuatha De Danann
Location: Lugh’s Armory, a chamber beneath Lia Fáil on the Hill of Tara in County Meath, Ireland. The Armory was entrusted to The Naga; only to be released to the true heir of Lugh.

Properties: Male Sa’angreal of above-average strength, Unbreakable, Unquenchable fairy flame (function.)

Physical Description: Spear-head is made of Cuendillar, about a foot in length and shaped like a slender spade. The Ogham letter, iodhadh, is engraved at the center of the spearhead on both sides; when a flow of Fire is channeled into this marking, the entire spearhead erupts into a blaze of blue fire, it acts as normal fire does but cannot be extinguished save for severing the flow of Fire being worked into the symbol. The haft is yew wood enchanted with a powerful keeping weave, covered in layers of maroon paint, Ogham letters are etched along its length and filled in with gold gilding. Small rubies are embedded into a golden ring that connects the head to haft. A tan, braided leather cord is tied around the haft, beneath the ring, it’s length trails out a foot and a half, three eagle feathers are tied to the ends of the cord.

(iodhadh)

Modern History: Also known as ‘the finest/famous yew of the wood,’ said to have been made by Esras in the northern city of Gorias. Lugh used it to kill his Formorian grandfather, the giant-king Balor at the Second Battle of Moytura (although some versions of the story claim he used a sling). It has been suggested that Lugh’s spear, the spear Crimall which blinded Cormac mac Airt rendering him unfit (not ‘whole’) for rule, and the Lúin Celtchair are one and the same weapon, although there is no concrete evidence to back this up.

‘Mythical’ History: Upon being named High King of the Tuatha De Danann, the 5^th and 6^th Age God, Lugh, sought a worthy weapon to act as the symbol of his office. Three years into his rulership, and into his quest, a neighboring King declared war upon Lugh’s island domain (what is considered present-day Ireland.) Being a cunning individual, Lugh used the powers of Illusion and Compulsion to sneak into the other King’s castle. Lugh sought to drive the rival King into submission with the very same powers, posing as a poor, hunchbacked crone in need of aid.

Upon arrival in the opposing God-King’s audience chamber, Lugh came to discover that the rival King held a closely guarded secret. The rival was in possession of a male Sa’angreal in the form of a Cuendillar spearhead. He had it fashioned and enchanted by a foreign blacksmith, with the intent of using it upon his rival God-Kings. The spearhead could amplify one’s own power and even conjure flames, but the rival was of middling strength and only gained his throne through cunning and ambition, but Lugh was trickier than this puny rival.

Dancing his way through poetry and prophesy, Lugh enchanted the rival with his words. He came into a daze and Lugh took that moment to seize the Sa’angreal from its marble pedestal. Channeling his mastery over the five elements into the spearhead, Lugh transformed the rival God-King into a Yew tree, effectively ending the war between the two kingdoms with one well-placed attack.

With another swipe of the Power, Lugh seized a branch from the tree and fashioned it into a fine haft for the spearhead, joining it with another flow that had melted some gold coins. Seeing his work, Lugh was satisfied and proclaimed this weapon to be fit his station, naming it Areadbhair, the Flaming Spear of Lugh.

Lugh ruled over the Tuatha De Danann and the land now known as Ireland for over an Age. He had been met with much opposition within and outside of the kingdom, winning war after war, the Areadbhair often being the deciding factor in whether or not Lugh had seized victory. It was not until the second half of the Sixth Age that Lugh was met with a formidable foe, the Gae Bulg, a monstrous dragon controlled by the Atharim cult.

The Gae Bulg was tamed through the means of a Third Age artifact, a black metal collar connected, by long silver chains, to two matching bracelets. The original intent behind the artifacts was unknown by the Sixth Age, but a daring Atharim ‘scientist’ and his assistant bore the bracelets and were able to hook the dragon with the corresponding collar in a clumsy battle. They discovered that the Gae Bulg was able to Channel, and through the collar, the Atharim were able to control the dragon and it’s magic, ultimately wielding it against a small contingency of God-Kings and their armies. (This ‘experiment’ was not sanctioned by Atharim officials, but after the favorable results they gladly claimed responsibility, although the cult  cleaned up all mentions of Channeling in subsequent retellings of the account.)

Lugh was the last God-King standing in the war, the Gae Bolg having disposed of every other leader and their armies with ease. Through military campaign, Lugh and his armies were lead into a narrow ford, in Ireland, by the Atharim forces. Things had been swinging in Lugh’s favor, until Gae Bulg was lead onto the battlefield by his captors. For a week and a day, the battle raged while the Scientist tried to conjure Balefire and Lugh fought to foil every attempt at the deadly weave.

Eventually, the Scientist prevailed due to Lugh’s exhaustion. With one, white-hot firey blast from Gae Bolg’s muzzle, Lugh was no more. The war for Ireland had ended with the Atharim taking control of it in the second half of the Sixth Age. After the battle, Gae Bolg was said to be overcome with bloodlust and snatched the Areadbhair from the space that Lugh had previously occupied in the Pattern. The dragon flew off from the ford, killing the Scientist and his assistant in the process. Legend has it that Gae Bolg flew to the seat of the Tuatha De Danann kings, the Stone of Destiny, Lia Fail; the monster burying into the stone beneath the Lia Fail, burrying the Spear of Lugh deep beneath the ground, guarding it from the tamperings of any mortal for Ages to come.

Factual History: (WIP)