Cú Chulainn
Sétanta. CG demipower of personal challenges, heroism, battle (He/Him)
Pantheon: Celtic (Tuatha de Danann)
Symbol: Spear or chariot
Realm: Outlands / Tir na Og / Wandering
Cú Chulainn (pronounced ku KULL-an) is a Celtic blood of legendary prowess, and a demipower of the Celtic pantheon. He’s associated with personal challenges, particularly when fisticuffs are involved. Born Sétanta, he earned the name Cú Chulainn (literally ‘the hound of Culann’) by killing the ferocious watchdog of a cutter called Culann in self-defence—in order to pay reparations, Cú Chulainn offered to take the place of the guard dog until a new one could be trained.
Originally born a mortal, the life of Cú Chulainn was filled with impressive feats. He was trained by a warrior named Scáthach. Under her instruction, Cú Chulainn learned to wield magic and also earned a magical weapon called the Gae Bolga, a deadly spear thrown with the foot which has lethal barbs that make it almost impossible to remove.
He single-handedly defended a province by standing in a ford and challenging an invading army to single combat one-on-one; chant goes he fought for days until he was eventually victorious. His secret? A power called ríastrad, where he undergoes a terrifying transformation in battle to become an unstoppable force, growing in size and ferocity.
After his death—in battle of course, tied to a standing stone so he could face his enemies even as he died—the Daghdha sent a psychopomp to accompany him straight to Tir na Og, where he was adopted as one of the Tuatha dé Danann and made a demipower. His relations with the rest of the clan have been a little up and down; let’s just say his affair with Fond, the wife of Manannan mac Lir, hasn’t helped matters.
Cú Chulainn doesn’t maintain a realm; his role is to protect Tir na Og from invasions, and he wanders that part of the Outlands seeking out and fixing trouble.
Source: Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
