

They followed theirprofession by stealth, hiding away in glens andcaves, hunted by prize seekers as wolves were huntedin days of old. But Lynch underrated hiscountrymens secretiveness and tenacity.Throughout the penal days, following the acces-sion of Ti11iam of Orange, down to the middle ofthe eighteenth century, poet and minstrel shared thefate of the persecuted clergy. Lynch, in his Cambrensis Eversus,says that, After 1641 the harp was broken wher-ever it could be found and thus all memory of itsform and materials will be unknown and lost to ourimmediate posterity. Whenthe Cromwellians gained the upper hand musical in-struments of all kinds were destroyed, organs inchurches because the Puritans thought the organgodless, the harp because it helped to keep alive thenational spirit. These verses are an account ofwhat was actually taking place under the eye of thepoet, himself marked out for destruction.Fallen the land of learned men,The bardic band is fallen None now learn the song to sing For long our fern is fading.Scan the schools made hard to steerIn Ulsters land and Leinster Southward tis so nine in tenFrom fine and foe have fallen.Connacht, crafty forge of song,Is also hurled headlong.Doom and gloom have hushed the harp For us no room, no rampart.During the war between Charles and the Crom-wellians, harpers, minstrels and wandering musicianshad to carry letters of identification, made out by themagistrate of the place to which they belonged.Without those papers they could not travel. About 16 2O, OGnive, chiefbard of the Nials of Clanboy, composed a lament forhis bardic brethren.
#Wandering minstrels hand of fate mac
A bard ofthe North, in the service of Aedh (Hugh) Mac Ang-hosa, who had fled the country, leaving his dependantprotectorless, exclaims.:If a sage of song should beIn the wage of court or king,Hal the gallows bars the way,Ah! since Ae from port took wing.Under the rule of James the First the persecutionof bards and minstrels went on hand in hand with theplanting of the lands of the Irish chiefs with Eng-lish and Scotch settlers. Discovering unique combinations of weapons, armour, and abilities is one of the keys to mastering Hand of Fate.34 THE SONG LORE OF IRELANDTHE BARDS AND MINISTRELSperience of Mac Marcuis was typical of the fate thathad befallen the whole tuneful brethren. There are no "Sword + 5% damage" instead there are weapons that become more powerful the weaker you get, shields that shoot fire when you block, artifacts that create a whirlwind of destruction, and many more. The guiding principle for Hand of Fate is that every piece of gear should be a game changer. Armour ranges from pure defensive, to magically enhancing your abilities and attacks. Artefacts provide the player with special abilities that can be triggered during combat, while magical weapons have their own intrinsic powers. The weapons range from brute force apparatus to magical devices of destruction. The player will come across a variety of weapons, artefacts, and armour to assist in their travels, but where the cards fall in the end is up to chance. As the player explores the world, he or she will face a variety of encounters, both good and bad. A host of challenges and equipment wait to be discovered in the Hand of Fate world.
