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Eivor using Gae Bolg to fight a Púca and the Children of Danu
The Gae Bolg was the personal spear of the Irish mythological hero Cú Chulainn and was purportedly made from the bones of a sea monster.
Contents
Description
The spear had the appearance of a bident, having a tip of two-prongs. The prongs themselves were relatively wide and had an array of rather sharp pointed barbs at the base of the spearhead, as well as a few smaller barbs at the opposing end. It also stood at a height slightly taller than the average person.[1]
The spear possessed special abilities as well, being able to shock the users' enemies with lightning after every third consecutive hit.[1]
History
Cú Chulainn wielded it for most of his life, until he met the ancient Fomorian being known as Balor. Cú Chulainn was slain in the resulting battle, but not before lodging his spear deep in Balor's back, though the god took care to invisibly cloak it so as to conceal his weak spot from future heroes who sought to kill him.[1]
During her visit to Ireland in the 9th century, the Viking jarlskona Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan consumed a psychoactive mixture prepared by the Druidic priestess Deirdre Na Linni from amber shards collected from the Children of Danu, a pagan cult that was run by fanatical druids. The drink sent Eivor on a hallucinogenic vision where she fought and defeated a manifestation of Balor for possession of the spear.[1]
Weapon statistics
| Class | Quality | Attack | Speed | Stun | Critical Chance |
Weight | Perks | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf | Mythical | 152 | 54 | 169 | 115 | 10 | Lightning shocks the enemy after 3 consecutive hits |
Complete Amber Sun |
| Description | ||||||||
| Gifted to the demi-god Cú Chulainn, said to be made from the bones of a sea monster. | ||||||||
Behind the scenes
Despite its name and description, the spear has no real connections to the mythical weapon. According to the 11th-century manuscript known as the Book of Leinster, Gáe Bolg was given to a young Cú Chulainn by his combat instructor, the warrior-woman Scáthach, after training in either Alba or the Isle of Skye. Unlike an ordinary spear, Gáe Bolg could only be used by launching it from the foot, and upon piercing the target, instead of emitting lightning as depicted in-game, it would immediately spread barbs throughout the victim's entire circulatory system so that recovering the weapon required cutting away all the flesh surrounding the thorns.[2]
The spear is possibly being conflated with Gáe Assail, the spear of Lugh, Cú Chulainn's father and the slayer of Balor, which supposedly had lightning powers.
Appearances
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Wrath of the Druids – Amber Sun
- ↑
Gáe Bulg on Wikipedia
