The
Fir Bolg are the
dead hosts of Anwyn. They are spirits doomed to eternally wander Anwyn. Some
have preserved their ancient flesh by feeding on the living, others must bind
themselves to skeletons from the graves and battlefields of Goria, in order to
once more walk the ground above. In the past this was Anu’s curse on her
firstborn race, but those accursed perfected the black art of necromancy and
have spread the horror of living death to any other creatures or folk they deem
useful to their war effort. The majority of the Fir Bolg people are these
discorporated spirits, enduring the horror of exile in Anwyn until their chance
comes to join a raid on Goria, and they can pass through the gates of hell to
assume temporary command of the skeleton of some long dead warrior.
The Fir Bolg cannot help who and what they are—the firstborn race of the
Goddess’s children, who because of the ambition of their leader and the malice
of Crom were cursed by Anu. This terrible punishment has warped and maddened the
Fir Bolg, and their perceptions have been totally altered by interminable
centuries in the darkness and pain of Anwyn. They burn with the desire for
revenge on Anu and they hate the living. At the centre of their campaign against
Goria though is Crom’s great lie. Namely that by providing him with blood
sacrifices he will lead them to victory over Anu and dominion over the Land of
the Ever Living, where they can finally be at peace.
The majority of Anwyn’s hosts reside in that dark, otherworld realm where they
have been banished to by the Sidhe and other races of the living. However, there
remain parts of Goria, near the major gateways into Anwyn, that the living have
never managed to rid of the Fir Bolg threat. Saiber Frith, Mag Slecht, the
Mounds of the Old Kings, and Kluruch’s Marsh are but some of the places where
the dead haunt the land, and the Fir Bolg hosts can emerge from Anwyn to raid.
When the Fir Bolg march to war they are a terrible and awesome sight. They rely
on overwhelming numbers to destroy their enemies and the rank and file of the
Fir Bolg have no fear of destruction—skeletons are only temporary carriages,
whilst zombies are simply dead flesh to which sundry spiritual fragments have
temporarily been bound. They are relentless in battle, and even though the
average living warrior is physically more than a match for a skeleton or zombie,
living warriors know fear and panic. Perhaps even more terrifyingly, Fir Bolg
priests and heroes can raise the dead from the battlefield, including the dead
of previous conflicts that may be mouldering in the soil below. Even when the
victory looks assured for the living, the Fir Bolg can bring more forces to bear
in this way
