| “ | I’d been marked for death since before I was born. | ” |
–Fin on being a child of Cumhail in My Life as a Child Outlaw. | ||
Finn McCumhail is the son of Cumhail and the protagonist of My Life As a Child Outlaw.
History[]
Finn was born in Cumhail, leader of the Fianna, and Muirne Fair-Neck. His father was already married by the time he met his mother, but he abandoned his current wife to wed Muirne. During a battle his father’s trusted adviser stole his supplies and he was killed by leader of Clan Morna, who placed a bounty on all of Cumhail's children, including Finn, when he was still in his mother's womb.
Finn was left to be cared for by Bodbmall and Líath Lúcachra at a young age and resided in a tent in the woods. At six he could outrun a deer and clip a duck's winds with a spear. He spent time decapitating deer carouses with a spear, something he found to be difficult.
Around that same time he met his mother, who remarried the King of Lamraige, who had the resources to protect her from the Morna, and was pregnant with his son.
The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities: New Stories About Mythic Heroes[]
My Life As A Child Outlaw[]
When Finn is resting in his tent at age eight, Bodbmall, one of his foster mothers, tells him fifty members of Clan Morna are coming for him and he must flee. He says he can fight, but Bodbmall insists he run as she holds them off. As Finn runs, he encounters the Líath Lúcachra, his other foster mother. Finn says he is running downstream to get away from the Clan Morna, but she says they are coming from downstream and tells the boy to go east and that she and Bodbmall will reunite with him one day. Concerned by her words, Finn runs as he only has a spear. He inadvertently runs off a cliff, but a donkey breaks his fall only to fall off and hit his head. Finn hears a group of men talking about him as he passes out. Finn wakes up riding on the men's donkey. Thinking they might be slavers, he keeps still until they stop. However he notices he is not bound. When they stop, Finn tries to run, but cannot as his legs are half asleep. The men, who are all carrying tools and covers in pockmarks and rashes, invite him to stay for dinner and Finn accepts, telling them his name is Demne. He realizing they are áes dána, traveling craftsmen. The travelers introduce themselves as Futh, Ruth, Regna, Madhfeá, Ailbe, and Rogein. Fin catches a rabbit for dinner and the áes dána sing about the Battle of Cnucha, where the leader of Clan Morna decapitated Finn's father. After dinner Finn decides to travel with the áes dána.
Finn spends the next six weeks traveling with the men, learning their trades and losing his hair to disease before growing back. However as they finish helping a man as they travel through the Crotta Mountains, he warns them of a robber killing travelers and to find another way around. The group ignored the man and heads forward. They spot the robber charging at them in broad daylight and kills all but Finn, who wounds his leg. The robber, impressed by Finn's skills, asks for his name and if anyone can pay a ransom for him. Finn withholds his name but says Bodbmall and the Líath Lúcachra raised him. After learning this the robber introduces himself as Fíacail and drafts Finn into becoming his assistant. Finn spends several months with Fíacail, cleaning loot and learning to fight with a sword and to better throw a spear. A year after being separated from his foster mothers, the three reunite as Fíacail lets the women take him, but keeps the boys weapons. Finn and his foster mothers then return to Slíab Bladma.
They return to the forest they fled, but in a different spot, and Finn is told to go do his chores. As he does, he thinks of the year he spent away from his foster mothers, longing to experience something like that. Finn desires to take his father’s place as the leader of the Fianna and wipe out the Clan Morna. He eventually asks Bodbmall to teach him to be a druid, but loses interest after learning he must memorize the history of every clan in Ireland. The Líath Lúcachru refuses to teach him new fighting techniques as her feet hurt. Finn eventually asks about the man who betrayed his father, but they claim to not know his name and only know that he fled to Greece. As his foster mothers keep making excuses to not move their camp, Finn spends more and more time exploring the woods, often spending a couple of days away at a time. During one of these outings, he finds a large settlement, Mag Life, and sees twenty boys his age play a game of hurling. Ignoring his better judgement, he introduces himself as Demne and asks them if he can play with them. The leader of the group, Mahan, puts him on the team opposite him, captained by a boy named Lugaid. When they start, Finn scores multiple goals and breaks the opposing teams bones. At Lugaid's urging, Finn runs into the woods before the other boys beat him. He returns the following day and Mahan reluctantly agrees to let him play. He does not break any bones and scores goals again, but the boys are still Leary of him. Finn return again where Mahan has Finn play against more and more boys. When Finn returns again Mahan says he told his father about him and was told to kill the boy on sight. Finn escapes into the woods. He lies low for a few weeks before returning in the summer, Finn finds the boys playing in a lake and asks to join them. They tell him to leave but Finn get in the water anyway. The boys try to drown him and he fights back, after escaping their grasp most of the boys are either unconscious or dead, including Lugaid, and Finn leaves Mag Life.
Shortly after turning ten, Finn and his foster mothers spot a heard of deer as they dry out badger hide. Finn is surprised that his foster mothers do not want to hunt them, so he does so. He returns with two stags and he notices his foster mothers watching him butcher the carcasses. When Finn asks them if they want it get married to have an easier life, they laugh and say they enjoy the equality their lifestyle brings them and marriage would ruin it. The Líath Lúcachru brings up his father as an example before Bodbmall scolds her. Finn then fears he will be the one to care for them for the remainder of his life.
Soon after the Líath Lúcachru returns after a week long absence to inform Finn and Bodbmall that Clan Morna knows where he is after speaking with villagers at Mag Life. His foster mothers tell Finn to head to Benntraige as the king will give him work. Finn runs as his foster mothers hold off the Morna. Finn travels west for a few days before reaching Loch Léin, the home of the Benntraige. Finn easily gets an audience with the king, who asks what he can do. Finn says he can hunt and returns with a dozen deer. Impressed, the king remarks that he knew a man who could do the same thing, Cumhail, and says he knows of one of his son's working for the King of Scotland. Finn inadvertently reveals he is a son of Cumhail and the king forces himself to turn the boy away from the safety of his tribe.
After staying with a shepherd and his family for a few days in Ciarraige for a few days they directly him to their king, who hires him on the spot as a cleaner. He is content with this life until the king asks him to play a game of fidchell. Finn wins seventeen times in a row and the king realizes he is Cumhail's son. The king says his uncle Crimall is hiding in the wilderness of Connachtwith what is left of Cumhail's forces before kicking Finn out. Within a week of learning of his uncle, Finn comes across Lóchan, the chief blacksmith of the Uí Chúanach tribe, and his daughter Cruithne. The smith agrees to take him on as his apprentice and never asks for Finn's name. Soon Cruithne asks Finn to kiss her and the two start to date. Eventually Lóchan tells Finn to stay away from Béo, a wild boar terrorizing the country side. Finn then asks Lóchan to make him some spears for “self defense”. Finn goes out early the next day to kill the boar. However Béo finds him first. It takes Finn three spears, but he manages to kill Béo and spends the rest of the day cutting off the head. He returns expected praise, however Lóchan scolds him for missing a day’s work and Cruithne is repulsed by the head. The father and daughter pack him and bag and tell Finn not to return as Cruithne says she will instead marry a shepherd from a neighboring village. Finn leaves heartbroken.
After traveling for a few days, Finn comes across a sobbing woman who says her son was killed. Finn decides to avenge her son's death and the woman points him in the direction of the killer and Finn goes off. He finds the man, who looks familiar to him, and, gathering all the fear and rage that has built up in him in his decade of life, confronts the man. The man says he knew Finn would come as Finn throws his spear and impales the man, suddenly the man's form shifts and turns into the Líath Lúcachru. A shocked Finn soon sees a white bag, the bag that was stolen from his father before be was killed, and realizes that the Líath Lúcachru betrayed his father. With her dying breath, she says she was saving it for him and to seek out his uncle. She dies before Finn can learn if she truly cared for him. Finn buries his foster mother and seeks out his uncle.
Appearance[]
Finn is a tall child with brown hair, however after contracting an illness, his hair falls off and grows back blonde and patchy.
Personality[]
Finn is a brave child.
Abilities[]
- Superhuman Speed: Finn is fast enough to outrun a deer.
- Marksmanship: Finn is a skilled marksman, being able to throw a spear at a duck to clip its wings without killing it. During his time with Fíacail his skills improve.
- Hunting Skills: Finn is a skilled hunter for his age, being able to catch a rabbit with relative ease.
- Mending skills: During his travels with the áes dána, Finn learned how to mends pots, shoes, and roofs.
- Swordsmanship: During his time with Fíacail, Finn learns to fight with a sword.
Items[]
- Cumhail's Bag: After killing the one who betrayed his father, Finn obtains his bag. It can hold an infinite amount of items as long as it can fit into it. No matter how full it gets, the bag is always light.