Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye (novel)

Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye is a novelization of the titular game. Written by Nadine Crenshaw, it was published on 1995 by Prima Publishing. The story revolves around Queen Medb, ruler of the Sligo Tribe, and her struggles in building an army to save Eire from the evil Fomors.

Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1= The tale begins at Connaught where Medb receives an unwelcome visit from a Fomor expecting tribute. The weary ruler gives in to the creature's demands, believing it a small price to pay for some semblance of peace in her region. She briefly reminisces a time when her father King Aed was still alive.

Back then, Medb had been betrothed, albeit unwillingly, to King Treon of Sidhe Fuait in order to secure a lasting peace between their respective tribes. On the day of the wedding, Balor and the Fomors attacked Connaught. Many lives were taken including Medb's mother and brothers. After witnessing her father be destroyed by Balor's Evil Eye, the traumatized princess is unceremoniously abducted by Conann who seeks to make her his mistress. Back in the present, Medb goes to the burgh to assess how much her tribe had lost during the last Fomor visit. Gwawl and Li Ban, two of Medb's closest retainers, are concerned for their friend as the villagers openly express their resentment towards her. They feel that her isolationist policy would only lead them to a slow demise as they run out of resources.
 * -|Chapter 2=

Hearing them out and weighing the risks involved, the young queen reluctantly allows some of her men to travel beyond their borders for information on new lands and the other tribes. She later sets up a tent to welcome visiting warriors and potentially add them to her ranks.

The arrival of spring marks Gwawl and Li Ban's marriage, though news of King Treon raiding Sligo-owned territory has Medb hard-pressed for allies. She meets two possible recruits, one of whom mentions her past as a swordswoman-in-training under the tutelage of the renowned Skatha. While uninterested in sharing her backstory, this gives her the idea of dueling the warrior Arawn for his loyalty; if she could land a hit before he could, the man would agree to join her tribe without any protests. This chapter focuses on the events that transpired after Medb's ruined wedding. As her Fomor captors make their way to Tory Island, the unconscious princess is awakened by a man named Ysbaddaden who secretly followed the group's tracks. After desperately plunging themselves into the sea, the two of them quietly wait for the Fomors to leave them for dead before departing together.
 * -|Chapter 3=

Accompanied by her savior, Medb finds herself on a seemingly aimless journey where the pair travel through the wilderness like vagabonds, eating whatever they can find. They eventually find refuge at Ben Skellig where Skatha offers them hospitality and the opportunity to train them in sword fighting. Medb consents to her proposal if it means being able to defend herself.

As she and Ysbaddaden hone their swordsmanship skills, they later learn of a shocking revelation from the priestess Ceridwen. According to her prophecy, the Goddess Danu has chosen Medb to lead the people of Eire against Balor. Skatha proves this claim by presenting the divine sword Answerer as proof of Danu's choice. Although Medb is encouraged by Ysbaddaden to accept her destiny, she cannot help but balk at the idea. Medb braces herself as she duels Arawn for his fealty. Despite being weaker and out of practice, the young queen remembers the disarming technique Skatha had taught her and uses it to lightly draw blood from Arawn's thigh, resulting in her victory. The warrior yields as promised, though Medb alleviates his pride by handing him an important position at Donegal. Sligo begins to grow as Medb recruits more champions and consolidates her current domains.
 * -|Chapter 4=

As the tribe celebrates their newfound prosperity with a banquet, their mood is spoiled by the presence of Fomors who bring with them a child slave to incite outrage. While Medb manages to prevent further violence from both sides, Gwawl confronts her for not standing up for the people. She is reminded of Ceridwen's prophecy and decides to expand her kingdom for their sake. Thanks to Medb's change of heart, the influence of the Sligo rises among the other tribes except for the hostile Meadhe led by Nuada. The young queen seeks to change that by heading to Ahascragh where Grainne, her childhood friend, serves as its steward. There, she learns firsthand of Nuada's men stealing countless cattle and dishonoring several handmaids. Upon taking one of the raiders captive, their prisoner is goaded by Medb into bragging the full capabilities of the Meadhe champions, giving Sligo the information they need to strategize.
 * -|Chapter 5=

Up until now, Medb had solely relied on diplomacy for the greater good, but a gift from Danu inspires her to take up arms for once. She leads her forces to Gort and easily subdues the Meadhe with a surprise attack. The battle ends with Nuada banished from his lands while the rest of his retainers defect to the other side.

Word of the Sligo's feats reaches Balor's ears, though the Fomor warlord does not care whether the young queen's benevolence or Treon's warmongering triumph so long as the people continue to turn against one another. When he sends one of his minions to intimidate Medb, it only bolsters her desire not to be at their mercy again. With the Sligo and Sidhe Fuait competing for dominance, Treon sends his follower Cowynn to barter peace with his former fiancée, hoping to renew their marriage oath in the process. Medb, on the other hand, remembers how Treon had abandoned her the night the Fomors attacked. Though she cordially rejects the eloquent Cowynn's rhetoric at first, their negotiation incites the former to anger when the legitimacy of her leadership is brought into question. This leads the queen to vow her enmity on Sidhe Fuait if they ever step foot on her lands.
 * -|Chapter 6=

Aware of Treon's response to her threat, Medb seeks to establish her presence in Moate by forging an alliance with the local tribe leader Ilbreach. As she fondly remembers the good times she had at Ben Skellig, a familiar face from the past comes to Treon with the intent to serve him. Although the king is aware of his visitor's past with Medb, he is assured that the queen is no match for them. The warrior, who is revealed to be Ysbaddaden, is then accepted into the king's forces. Ysbaddaden recalls his first meeting with Medb, having grown fond of her the more they trained together under Skatha's watch. He had high expectations of the young princess only to be bitterly disappointed by her sudden departure. After completing his sword training, he set out to work under different chiefs, though each one left him more jaded than the last. While keenly aware of the animosity between Treon and Medb, the warrior was willing to face the latter in battle if it meant uniting Eire against the Fomors.
 * -|Chapter 7=

Meanwhile, a druid named Lleflys attempts to dissuade Medb from fulfilling Ceridwen's prophecy, believing that Treon would be more suitable for the role of High Ruler. He rattles the queen even more with news of Ysbaddaden's allegiance to Treon, making her wonder if he had done so out of spite. Before pondering this revelation further, she is forced to immediately confront the Sidhe Fuait when they defeat Ilbreach's tribe.

Medb comes up with a daring plan to divide Treon's army by using herself as bait to draw Ysbaddaden out. Though the Sidhe Fuait had stronger men, the Sligo steadily overwhelm them with superior tactics. While observing the battlefield around her, Medb is caught off-guard by a water spell sent her way. Although Ysbaddaden proves indomitable for the Sligo champions, Treon's men find themselves at a disadvantage as Medb survives the water attack and corners their leader. With Treon captured, his retainers follow suit and their fates are decided by the victorious queen. After punishing her sworn rival with exile, she recruits the remaining champions including Cowynn to her side. Upon turning her attention to Ysbaddaden, he calmly agrees to fight alongside her if she vows to fulfill her role as Eire's savior once and for all.
 * -|Chapter 8=

The tension between them fades after they help save Gwawl and Li Ban's new baby boy from an unexpected Fomor raid. Having killed a Fomor for the first time and acquiring the Stone of Might as proof, the queen decides to begin her coronation as High Ruler and rally the people before Balor can retaliate. At the Grand Oak of Eire, the spectators watch as Ceridwen conducts the rituals required for Medb's ascension. Upon being given the fabled Lia Fail, Medb can only wonder how she ended up in this position. While grateful for the champions who helped build her kingdom, a part of her regrets not fully reconciling with Ysbaddaden for their past strife.
 * -|Chapter 9=

The festivities are interrupted by a panicked Nuada who informs the crowd of Omagh's destruction at the hands of the Fomors. Having learned the true extent of their enemy's cruelty, the newly-inducted High Ruler wastes no time summoning the strongest warriors and druids to her side. Representatives from the other tribes, including Skatha, willingly answer the call.

After Medb and Ysbaddaden share a private moment together, they arrive at the ruins of Omagh with an army of their strongest allies. There, they clash swords with Conann who had been sent to deal with the resisting humans. Thanks to a vision from Danu, Medb realizes that Conann's Gae Bolga is the key to finally defeating Balor. The Sligo army gains the upper hand against the Fomors with their coordinated attack formations and spells. As Medb seeks out Conann on the battlefield, she is aghast at the sight of Gwawl dying at the hands of her target. Enduring his taunts and her own grief, she allows her allies to ambush him from all sides before personally delivering the finishing blow herself.
 * -|Chapter 10=

The two sides proceed to struggle over ownership of Gae Bolga once Balor arrives. Although Balor's hounds prevent Medb from taking the enchanted spear, her comrades yank it from him through a combination of spells and attacks. After holding a funeral pyre for Gwawl and the fallen, it was time for the Sligo to lay siege on Tory Island. Approaching their destination by boat, Medb looks on with concern as Ysbaddaden's obsession with killing Balor grows more intense. Faced with the danger of Balor's Evil Eye, Medb takes on a roundabout approach by running around in circles to distract him while the others clash with the remaining Fomors. For his part, Ysbaddaden gives in to his bloodlust and impatiently breaks through the enemy lines. However, he gets struck down from behind by the female Fomor Domnu. His allies retaliate by throwing her into quicksand with a powerful wind spell.
 * -|Chapter 11=

With Ysbaddaden wounded and Medb kept occupied, it falls unto Skatha to wield the Gae Bolga. The pair give their former instructor the opening she needs to hurl the spear at the Evil Eye, causing Balor to explode in a violent flash of light. His death results in Tory Island collapsing entirely. The Fomors helplessly sink into the bottom of the ocean while Medb's army successfully escape with their lives intact.

The death of their oppressors signals the beginning of a new era for Eire and its people. Although Medb finds herself invited to multiple feasts and banquets, she is simply content to remain in Connaught to watch over her kingdom from a distance. While focusing on her royal tasks, she is greeted by a recovered Ysbaddaden who takes her to the place where they had first met. Filled with longing and affection, the two of them confess their own misgivings and become lovers. It is implied that they become husband and wife in the near future.