Balor of the Evil Eye

In the dark ages of Irish myth, Balor was the terrifying king of the Fomorians, a race of monstrous giants. He possessed a single, terrible eye that remained closed most of the time. When opened, it unleashed a beam of destruction so potent it could wither whole armies and scorch the earth. A druid's prophecy warned Balor that he would be slain by his own grandson, so he locked his only daughter, Ethlinn, in a high crystal tower on Tory Island to prevent her from ever meeting a man. But fate is not so easily tethered. Cian, a warrior of the Tuatha Dé Danann, managed to reach her with the help of a druidess. From their union, Lugh was born. Fearing for the infant's life, he was spirited away to be raised in secret. Years later, during the epic Second Battle of Mag Tuired, the Fomorians faced the Tuatha Dé Danann. As seven men strained to lift Balor’s heavy, poisonous eyelid with iron hooks, the young hero Lugh stepped forward. With a single, expertly aimed stone from his sling, Lugh struck Balor’s eye with such force it was driven through the back of his skull. The eye’s deathly power turned backward upon the Fomorian army, ending their reign forever and fulfilling the ancient prophecy.