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Quartet 1976, Chris Achilleos
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The Bull and the Spear (1973)
I
With his wife Rhalina having passed away (due to natural causes), Corum now lives his life as a recluse at Castle Erorn. One night, he begins to have dreams of
strangers in a circle of oaks, asking for his help. Eventually Jhary-a-Conel
returns, and his arrival helps relieve Corum of some of his boredom and
depression.
Jhary convinces Corum to heed the call
of the people from the oak circle, explaining that these descendants of
Rhalina’s are being threatened by the Fhoi Myore, the “Cold Folk”. When
Corum responds to the dream supplicants’ call, they help him traverse the
planes of time and space to reach their worship site, a monument to the
legendary Corum Llaw Ereint (Corum of the Silver Hand).
King Mannach greets Corum and hosts him at Caer
Mahlod, fortress home of the people of Cremm Croich (Corum’s Mound). He
tells Corum that the supernatural "Cold Folk" have been driving humanity
from out of their cities. However, a prophecy states that Corum will use
the Spear of Bryionak to tame the Black Bull of Crinanass (the last Sidhe
Bull), which will in turn fight the Cold Folk. Thus, Corum is first asked
to obtain the Spear of Bryionak from the Sidhi smith Goffanon.
II
During Corum’s stay he is intrigued by King Mannach’s
daughter Medhbh, who exhibits uncommon intelligence and independence. One
day, mysterious harp music is heard from an unseen source. Soon, a
foreboding white mist rolls in, bringing with it the vicious Hounds of
Kerenos.
Corum and his friends manage to hold off the
Hounds of Kerenos, and during the battle the returned hero of legend saves
Medhbh’s life. After Kerenos retrieves his Hounds, Corum agrees to seek
out the Spear, although he desires to first see his old castle.
Corum and Medhbh make love within sight of the
ruins of Castle Erorn (now only a broken cliff fragment separated from the
shore). The mysterious harp sounds are again heard, this time from the
interior of the ruined castle.
Corum heads southeast towards the rumored location
of the Sidhe smith Goffanon. He eventually finds an immobilized army of corpses,
frozen in mid-march by the Fhoi Myore's powers over cold. One survivor, Ieveen the Seeress, warns
Corum to fear a brother, a harp and beauty.
Corum is soon attacked by more of the Fhoi Myore hounds,
led by a Ghoolegh (zombie). Outnumbered, he is nearly overwhelmed
by the undead creatures before a wizard named Calatin arrives and uses a
special horn to drive off the hounds and the Ghoolegh.
Calatin invites Corum to his home, situated
on what used to be Moidel’s Mount (Rhalina’s original fortress home). He
allows Corum to take the protective horn with him on his quest, asking
only that he obtain some of the Sidhe’s spittle for him in return.
Corum sails to the idyllic land of Hy-Breasail, where
the Sidhe Goffanon is rumored to live. Corum uses Calatin’s horn to drive
off the Hounds of Kerenos, who have just been chasing a giant, soon
revealed to be Goffanon.
Goffanon reveals that he and his oversize Sidhe
compatriots had come to this world in order to help their relations the
Vadhagh (Corum's people) fight off the Fhoi Myore, who had invaded this
plane from Limbo (a region "in between" the planes). Now, Goffanon is
probably the last Sidhe, the Vadhagh are all dead, yet seven Fhoi Myore
remain. Embittered, Goffann will only give up the Spear of Bryionak
(actually a relic from the Sidhe plane) for Calatin’s horn. After the
trade, Goffanon also grants Corum his request for some spittle in thanks
for the earlier rescue from the Fhoi Myore Hounds.
III
Corum returns to Moidel’s Mount and gives
Calatin the Sidhe’s spittle. When Calatin learns that Corum has also
traded away the horn controlling the Hounds, he forces Corum to give him
his Vadhagh cloak as a penalty.
Corum encounters a Fhoi Myore tree-man ("Brother to
the Pines") named Hew Argech, who tells him that he is too late, the Fhoi
Myore have already begun their attack on Caer Mahlod. Corum hurls the
Spear Bryionak at Hew Argech (driving him off), after which the spear
flies back into his hand.
Corum joins some Mabden refugees on their way to seek
King Mannach’s protection at Caer Mahlod. They are soon attacked by
ghostly ice phantoms who freeze their victims with a touch. Corum uses the
Spear Bryionak (now glowing red) to dissipate some of the Ice Phantoms.
The other refugees then use torches to drive off the remaining phantoms.
Corum and the refugees arrive at Caer Mahlod just
ahead of the massed Fhoi Myore army. Medhbh takes Corum to a strange Sidhe
rock and instructs him to recite an ancient chant. The Black Bull of
Crinanass appears out of the nearby sea.
Corum leads the Bull back to Caer Mahlod, which is
now completely surrounded by the army of the Fhoi Myore. On the outskirts
of the battlefield Corum is surprised to see Prince Gaynor the Damned
among the Fhoi Myore. Gaynor explains that he had been able to return when
this plane had been breached by the Fhoi Myore. The Black Bull then
rampages through the Fhoi Myore army, decimating it. Corum and Medhbh
eventually make it through to Caer Mahlod, but the Fhoi Myore soon begin
to attack. The one-eyed Fhoi Myore Balahr uses a ray from his eye to
instantly freeze some warriors, but Corum uses the Spear Bryionak to wound
him. The Black Bull then kills one of the Fhoi Myore, causing the alien
invaders to retreat. The Bull then asks Corum strike it with the Spear,
after which it races around the area, spilling blood out of its wound and
restoring vitality to the frozen land. It then leaps into the sea with the
Spear still embedded in its body.
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Grafton 1986-87, Art: Mark Salwowski
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The Oak and the Ram (1973)
I
Two months after the Fhoi Myore have been driven
away from Caer Mahlod, King Mannach’s old friend from the west, King
Fiachadh, arrives with a large entourage. Fiachadh intends to unite the
remaining kings of the Mabden to destroy the Fhoi Myore at their
stronghold, Caer Llud. However, Corum must first liberate their leader the
High King Amergin from Caer Llud.
Corum is gifted with the Sidhe cloak of Arianrod,
which renders its wearer invisible. The next day he heads east towards
Caer Llud.
Prince Gaynor the Damned lures Corum into a trap
where he is ambushed and almost defeated by the Hounds of Kerenos.
Fortunately, help arrives in the form of Jhary-a-Conel.
Corum and Jhary escape the Hounds and
reach the safety of Craig Don, a legendary Mabden stone circle which the
Fhoi Myore fear to trespass (they believe it has the ability to send them
back to Limbo).
II
After Corum manages to trick the Hounds with a
diversion, Corum and Jhary fleeing eastwards, and make it to the outskirts
of Caer Llud. Corum uses the Sidhe invisibility cloak to sneak through an
army of the wooden Men of the Pines towards Caer Llud.
At Caer Llud, Corum evades Ghoolegh zombies and
kills a strange mutated lump-beast (he also spots the wizard Calatin and
the Sidhe smith Goffanon in discussion). Corum eventually finds Amergin's
prison, but the High King acts like a dumb animal.
When Goffanon spots Corum through the
Sidhe invisibility cloak, Calatin orders the enslaved Sidhe to kill Corum.
Corum knocks out Calatin out (breaking his hold over Goffanon) and
retrieves Calatin's Horn. He then brings Goffanon and Amergin to Jhary,
after which they then race towards the shelter of Craig Don.
Goffanon explains that the spittle that Corum
had obtained from him and given to Calatin had allowed Calatin to gain
control of his mind. Jhary and his cat Whiskers enters Amergin’s animal
mind and learn that, in order to break the Fhoi Myore spell, they need the
Golden Oak and the Silvern Ram, Sidhe talismans at Tuha-na-Gwyddneu
Garanhir in the north.
At Craig Don, Corum has a foreboding dream of
Medhbh, a golden harp-playing youth and a double of himself. Later, Jhary
heads southwest in order to bring Amergin back to Caer Mahlod, while Corum
and Goffanon head to Garanhir to retrieve the talismans.
While crossing the sea towards Garanhir, Corum
and Goffanon spot the Fhoi Myore army of the Pines heading towards
Garanhir from another angle (causing the water to freeze in their wake).
While trying to beat the Fhoi Myore to Garanhir they are ambushed in a
gorge by Prince Gaynor and are surrounded by an army of the Pines.
Ilbrec, a gigantic but youthful-looking Sidhe (whom
Goffanon had thought lost) suddenly arrives and saves Corum and Goffanon
from Prince Gaynor and his ambush forces. Ilbrec joins their fight against
the Fhoi Myore.
Soon after the three heroes finally
arrive at Caer Garanhir, the army of the People of the Pines approaches,
followed by Gaynor and ranks of Ghoolegh armed with battering rams. The
Fhoi Myore forces are unaffected by the Mabden’s arrows and begin
breaching the castle walls.
Corum rallies the Mabden in order to
attack the wood army with fiery brands, causing Prince Gaynor and his
Ghoolegh army to retreat. Ilbrec then uses the Sidhe sword Retaliator to
conjure a ring of black fire to protect Caer Garanhir from the Fhoi
Myore's advance. Caer Garanhir's King Daffynhe gives Corum the Golden Oak
and the Silvern Ram.
III
Calatin appears and forces Goffanon to attack
Ilbrec. Meanwhile, Corum faces off with one of the Fhoi Myore, the
sword-wielding Sreng. Although Corum injures Sreng, he is eventually
trapped. Fortunately, Ilbrec manages to kill Sreng with Retaliator
(although Calatin escapes). Ilbrec’s Sidhe horse, Splendid Mane, then
carries the heroes back to the mainland by finding solid pathways over the
sea lying in adjacent planes.
The heroes reach Caer Mahlod where they find Amergin
on the brink of death. They decide to bring Amergin to Cremmsmound, where
Corum had been first summonsed to this plane.
At the Mound, Goffanon uses an ancient
Sidhe song to summon the "Oak Woman", paying homage to the “Dagdagh”. The
Golden Oak grows into a tree, from which the Oak Woman emerges. She guides
the animal spirit possessing Amergin’s body into the Silvern Ram, after
which Amergin's consciousness is able to return to his own body.
In the ensuing days, news of Amergin’s return spreads to
the surviving Mabden strongholds and the Mabden prepare for war against
the Fhoi Myore. On a brief visit to Castle Erorn, Corum is troubled when
he hears the sound of a harp and glimpses a golden face in one of the
castle windows.
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Berkley 1978/1983, Art: Wayne Barlowe/?
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The Sword and the Stallion (1974)
I
Mabden forces gather at Caer Mahlod,
although Jhary is concerned that the Mabden may be over-estimating their
chances with the Fhoi Myore.
Corum visits Ilbrec and King Fiachadh’s son Young
Fean. Ilbrec considers seeking out more soldiers from a more supernatural
quarter. Corum and Medhbh visit Goffanon and the Mabden smith Hisak who are
working on a new blade for Corum.
After a final feast/war council before the attack on Caer
Llud, Goffanon takes Corum and Jhary to Cremmsmound in order to give Corum
his newly-forged sword.
Under a full moon, Goffanon explains that the
sword was made by combining the pieces of an ancient recovered Sidhe sword
with Mabden iron. Corum seems drawn to the weapon and dimly recognizes the
white blade as a twin to another (that one black).
Fyean sea raider survivors from a battle arrive and
claim that their people had been massacred by a person who looked exactly
like Corum.
Artek (the leader of the
red-haired pirates) reports that Corum’s double had attacked them at the
haunted Shadow Isle of Ynys Scaith. Goffanon and Ilbrec tell Corum that the
mysterious and forbidding people of Ynys Scaith are from another plane, who
had arrived at the same time as the Sidhe.
Corum decides to go to
Ynys Scaith in search of possible allies. Although Goffanon disapproves of
the plan, Ilbrec joins Corum on this quest (Jhary remains at Caer Mahlod to
help protect Goffanon from Calatin’s influence).
II
Corum and Ilbrec ride Splendid Mane to Ynys
Scaith. As they penetrate further into the island they encounter strange
flora and fauna. While crossing a stone bridge they are attacked by a swarm
of small flying reptiles.
Corum and Ilbrec eventually encounter the
sole ruler and native of Ynys Scaith, a desiccated being named Sactric,
Emperor of the Malibann.
With the Malibann’s illusions
lifted, Corum and Ilbrec realize that the island is covered with wreckage
and skeletons. A boat eventually arrives carrying Calatin (apparently the
Melibann’s ally), Goffanon (once again entranced by Calatin) and a third,
hidden figure. Calatin reports that the Mabden armies have been defeated,
and that the few remaining survivors have found refuge at Craig Don.
Sactric orders Goffanon to
reveal the whereabouts of an item which Goffanon had once stolen from Ynys
Scaith on an earlier visit. When refuses, Calatin panics and orders the
hidden figure from Calatin’s party to kill Sactric. This figure turns out to
be a Karach, a duplicate of Corum created by Melibann sorcery (created with
the scarlet name-cloak that Corum had once been forced to give up to
Calatin). Goffanon kills Calatin with Corum's new sword, after which the
Karach walks into the sea with the wizard’s body. Goffanon then reveals that
he had been faking his enslavement the entire time, and offers to return to
Sactric the item which he had stolen (and which Sactric needs to return to
his own plane) in return for the Malibann’s aid against the Fhoi Myore.
III
Goffanon leads Corum, Jhary, Ilbrec
and Sactric (whose consciousness is carried by Jhary's cat Whiskers) to a
cliff on the mainland where he reunites Sactric with the still-living head
of Terhali, Sactric’s beloved sister. At Craig Don, the Mabden confront
Corum, whom they believe had betrayed them while leading them in the great
battle at Caer Llud (it had been, in fact, the Karacch posing as Corum).
Ilbrec summonses the great Yellow Stallion of Laegaire.
When the Sidhe Stallion allows Corum to mount it, the remaining Mabden
(Amergin and Medhbh among them) are convinced of Corum's innocence. After
Amergin promises to help the Malibann return to their own plane, Sactric
agrees to use Malibann illusion against the Fhoi Myore. Medhbh puts a charm
on Corum’s silver hand.
The last of the Mabden forces ride out of
Craig Don to engage the Fhoi Myore and their army in a final battle. Corum
engages Gaynor who is troubled when he sees Corum’s new sword (now named
Traitor). Corum manages to injure the one-eyed Fhoi Myore Balahr. Sactric
conjures up a forest of flaming oaks, terrifying the Fhoi Myore.
The confused Fhoi Myore and their allies flee inside
the circle perimeter of Craig Don. The circles of standing stones begin
spinning, causing a vortex to suck the Fhoi Myore back to Limbo. Gaynor uses
Traitor to kill Goffanon and then escapes.
After returning to Castle Erorn with Medhbh, Corum
encounters the Karach and, being evenly matched, they duel for an hour,
until an exhausted Corum drops Traitor over the cliff side. Just before the
Karach strikes a death blow, Corum’s silver hand, still enchanted by
Medhbh’s charm, independently flies to Traitor and then uses it to stab and
kill the Karach. Corum then enters his old home and faces the youthful,
golden Dagdagh playing the harp, as well as Prince Gaynor. Gaynor tells
Corum that they now have the opportunity to find peace if they depart with
the golden youth. Corum refuses to leave Medhbh and heads back outside. On
the shore, a mesmerized Medhbh appears and hits Corum with a projectile made
from rock and human brain remains found under Cremmsmound (Corum’s
gravesite). Thus, the seeress Ieveen's prophecy is fulfilled: Corum was told
to fear a harp (which had entranced Medhbh), beauty (Medhbh herself), and a
brother (Medhbh’s brain-tathlum). Corum tries to attack the Dagdagh in a
final gesture, but Corum’s enchanted silver hand uses Traitor to kill its
former owner. The Dagdagh proclaims that this world is now free of all
sorcery and all demigods.
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