CHAPTER IX
THE CHAMPION AND THE KING
"Sing, O Muse, the destructive wrath of Achilles, son of Peleus, which brought countless woes upon the Achaeans."
--Homer.
Concobar Mac Nessa sat one day in his high chair, judging the Ultonians.His great Council sat before him. In the Champion's throne sat FergusMac Roy. Before the high King his suitors gave testimony and his brehonspleaded, and Concobar in each case pronounced judgment, clearly andintelligently, briefly and concisely, with learning and with equity.
"Right glad am I, O Concobar," said Fergus, "that thou art in the King'sthrone, and I where I sit. Verily, had I remained in that chair ofhonour and distress, long since would these historians and poets andsubtle-minded lawyers have talked and rhymed me into madness, or into mygrave."
Concobar made answer--"Dear foster-father, the high gods in their wisdomhave fashioned us each man to illustrate some virtue. To thee they havegiven strength, courage, and magnanimity above all others; and to me,in small measure, the vision of justice, and the perception of herbeautiful laws. A man can only excel in what he loves, and verily I lovewell the known laws of the Ultonians."
A great man just then entered the hall. His mantle was black. In thebreast of it, instead of a brooch, he wore an iron pin. He came swiftlyand without making the customary reverences. His face was pale, and hisgarments torn, his dark-grey tunic stained with blood. He stood in themidst and cried--
"O high King of the Ultonians, and you the wise men and sages of thechildren of Rury, to all of you there is now need of some prudentresolution. A great deed has been done in Ulla."
"What is that?" said the King.
"The abduction of the Beautiful Woman by Naysi, son of Usna. Verily,she is taken away and may not be recovered, for the Clan Usna came lastnight with a great company to the dun and they stormed it in their mightand their valour, and their irresistible fury, and they have takenaway Deirdre in their swift chariots, and have gone eastwards to theMuirnicht with intent to cross the sea northwards, and abide henceforthwith their prize in the land of the Picts and of the Albanah, beyond thestormy currents of the Moyle."
Fergus Mac Roy, when he heard that word, sat up with eyes bright-blazingin his head. Dearer to him than all the rest were those sons of Usna,namely--Naysi, Anli, and Ardane, and dearest of the three was Naysi,who excelled all the youth of his time in beauty, valour, andaccomplishments.
"Bind that man!" cried Concobar. His voice rang terribly through thevast chamber. Truly it sheared through men's souls like a dividingsword.
His guards took the man and bound him. "Lead him away now," saidConcobar, "and stone him with stones even to the parting of body withsoul."
The man was one of Deirdre's guard.
A great silence fell upon the assembly after that and no man spoke, onlythey looked at the King and then again at the Champion, and, as it were,questioned one another silently with their eyes. It was the silencebehind which run the Fomorh, brazen-throated and clad with storm. Wellknew those wise men that what they long apprehended had come now topass, namely, the fierce and truceless antagonism of the King and of theex-King. Well they knew that Concobar would not forgive the Clan Usna,and that Fergus Mac Roy would not permit them to be punished. Therefore,great and mighty as were the men, yet on this occasion they might belikened only to cattle who stand aside astonished when two fierce bulls,rending the earth as they come, advance against each other for themastery of the herd. In the high King's face the angry blood showed astwo crimson spots one on either cheek, and his eyes, harder than steel,sparkled under brows more rigid than brass. On the other hand, the faceof the Champion darkened as the sea darkens when a black squall descendssuddenly upon its sunny and glittering tides, wrinkling and convulsingall the face of the deep. His listlessness and amiability alike wentout of him, and he sat huge and erect in his throne. His mighty chestexpanded and stood out like a shield, and the muscles of his neck,stronger than a bull's, became clear and distinct, and his gathering ireand stern resolution rushed stormfully through his nostrils. The Kingfirst spoke.
"To the man who has broken our law and abducted the child of ill omen, Idecree death by the sword and burial with the three throws of dishonour,and if taken alive, then death by burning with the same, and ifhe escapes out of Erin, then sentence of perpetual banishment andexpatriation."
"He shall not be slain, and he shall not be burned, and he shall not beexiled. I say it, even I, Fergus, son of the Red Rossa, Champion of theNorth. Let the man who will gainsay me show himself now in Emain Macha.Let him bring round the buckle of his belt."
His eyes, as he spoke, were like flames of fire under a forehead darkcrimson, and with his clenched fist he struck the brazen table beforehis throne, so that the clang and roar of the quivering bronze soundedthrough all the borders of Ulla.
"I will gainsay thee, O Fergus," cried the King, "I am the guardian andthe executor of the laws of the Ultonians, and those laws shall prevailover thee and over all men."
"All laws in restraint of true love and affection are unjust," saidFergus, "and the law by which Deirdre was consigned to virginity was theunrighteous enactment of cold-hearted and unrighteous men."
The Coming of Cuculain Page 11