And Bres swore by the sun and the moon, by the sea and land, and by all the elements,[XXXVIII.] to fulfil his engagement; and on these conditions Luga granted him his life. Then the Fomorians, seeing their chief overcome, dropped their arms, and sued for quarter. The Fomorian druids and men of learning next came to Luga to ask him to spare their lives; and Luga answered them-- "So far am I from wishing to slay you, that in truth, if you had taken the whole Fomorian race under your protection, I would have spared them." And after this, Bres, the son of Balor, returned to his own country with his druids, and with those of his army who had escaped from the battle. FOOTNOTES: [XXXVII.] _Ath-Luan_, now Athlone; _Ros-Coman_, now Roscommon; _Moy-Lurg_, a plain in the county Roscommon; Curlieu Hills, a range of hills near Boyle, in Roscommon; Kesh-Corran, a well-known mountain in Sligo. The "Great Plain of the Assembly" must have been near Ballysodare, in Sligo. [XXXVIII.] A usual form of oath among the ancient Irish. (See, for an account of this oath, the author's "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," Series II. chap. XIV.) CHAPTER IV. THE ERIC-FINE ON THE SONS OF TURENN FOR THE SLAYING OF KIAN. Towards the close of the day, when the battle was ended, Luga espied two of his near friends; and he asked them if they had seen his father, Kian, in the fight. And when they answered, "No," Luga said-- "My father is not alive; for if he lived he would surely have come to help me in the battle. And now I swear that neither food nor drink will I take till I have found out who has slain him, and the manner of his death." Then Luga set out with a small chosen band of the Fairy Host, and he halted not till he reached the place where he had parted from his father. And from that he travelled on to the plain of Murthemna, where Kian had been forced to take the shape of a pig to avoid the sons of Turenn, and where they had slain him. When he had come near to the very spot, he walked some little way before his companions, and the stones of the earth spoke beneath his feet, and said-- "Here thy father lies, O Luga. Grievous was Kian's strait when he was forced to take the shape of a pig on seeing the three sons of Turenn; and here they slew him in his own shape!" The blood that they spilled, The hero they killed, Shall darken their lives till their doom be fulfilled! Luga stood for a while silent, pondering on these words. But as his companions came up, he told them what had happened; and having pointed out the spot from which the voice came, he caused the ground to be dug up. There they found the body, and raised it to the surface; and when they had examined it, they saw that it was covered all over with gory wounds and bruises. Then Luga spoke after a long silence, "A cruel and merciless death has my beloved father suffered at the hands of the sons of Turenn!"