Early Irish Myths and Sagas - Jeffrey Gantz [27]
After that, she was taken to the king. Her fosterers went with her, and she was betrothed to the king; he gave seven cumals to her and seven to her fosterers. The fosterers were ennobled so that they became of the ruling class; thus, there are two men called Fedilmid Rechtade. The woman bore the king a son – Conare son of Mess Búachalla – and she requested of the king that the boy have three fosterages: the men who had fostered her and the two men called Mane Milscothach and she herself. And she said to the men of Ériu ‘Those of you who wish anything from the boy should contribute to the three households.’
Thus Conare was reared. The men of Ériu knew him from the day he was born, and three other boys were reared with him: Fer Lé and Fer Gar and Fer Rogain, all sons of the fían-champion Dond Désa, a man of supporters for the support of the boy.1 Conare possessed three gifts – the gift of hearing and the gift of seeing and the gift of judgement – and he taught a gift to each of his foster-brothers. Whenever a meal was prepared for him, the four would go to it together; and even if three meals were prepared for him, every one of them would go to his meal. And all four had the same garments and weapons and colour of horses.
After that, the king, Eterscélae, died. The men of Ériu then assembled at the bull feast: a bull was killed, and one man ate his fill and drank its broth and slept, and an incantation of truth was chanted over him. Whoever this man saw in his sleep became king; if the man lied about what he saw in his sleep, he would die. Now four charioteers were playing by the Life, Conare and his three foster-brothers; and Conare’s fosterers came to take him to the bull feast. The bull-feaster had in his sleep seen a naked man coming along the road to Temuir at daybreak and bearing a stone in his sling. ‘I will follow you shortly,’ Conare said.
Later, Conare left his foster-brothers playing and turned his chariot and charioteer towards Áth Clíath; there he saw huge, white-speckled birds, unusual as to size and colour. He turned and followed them until his horses grew tired, and the birds always preceded him by no more than the length of a spear cast. Then he took his sling and stepped from his chariot and followed the birds until he reached the ocean. The birds went on the waves, but he overtook them. The birds left their feather hoods, then, and turned on him with spears and swords; one bird protected him, however, saying ‘I am Nemglan, king of your father’s bird troop. You are forbidden to cast at birds, for, by reason of birth, every bird here is natural to you.’ ‘Until now, I did not know this,’ said Conare. ‘Go to Temuir tonight, for that would be more fitting,’ Nemglan said. ‘There is a bull feast there, and it will make you king. The man who naked comes along the road to Temuir at daybreak with a stone in his sling, it is he who will be king.’
Conare went forth, then, and on each of the four roads that led to Temuir there were three kings waiting with garments, for it had been prophesied that the king would come naked. He was seen on the road where his fosterers were waiting, and they put the clothing of a king round him and placed him in a chariot, and he took their hostages. The people of Temuir said ‘It seems to us that our bull feast and our incantation of truth have been spoilt, for it is a young, beardless lad who has been brought to us.’ But Conare replied ‘No matter that. A young, generous king is no blemish, and I am not corrupt. It was the right of my father and grandfather to take hostages at Temuir.’ ‘Wonder of wonders!’ said the hosts. They conferred the kingship of Ériu upon him, and he said ‘I will inquire of wise men that I myself may be wise.’
All this Conare said just as the man on the waves had taught him to. This man had said to him ‘Your bird-reign will be distinguished, but there will be gessa