Fomor

The Fomor are an ancient race of water-dwelling creatures. They first appear in "Even Hand".

Description
"We labored for centuries to cultivate this herd. I will not abide a horde of toady, has-been poachers."

- Lara Raith, on her reasons for fighting the Fomor

They are "exiles from myth and legend, the outcasts of the gods and demons of every land bordering the sea. Defeated giants, fallen gods, dark reflections of beings of light. They are many races and none, joined together beneath the banner of the Fomor in a common cause." Their common cause is revenge.

By the appearance in Aftermath, Fomor are humanoid, of medium height, with sallow skin, greasy black hair, and an extremely wide mouth. They have dark, watery, bulging eyes, small sunken noses, long scrawny limbs, and very, very wide hands. They also have flaps of skin on their neck that they breathe air from. They look like a vicious frog, earning them the sobriquet "Frog Men".

It is stated that their abilities include sorcery, shapeshifting and clairvoyance. They practice entropy magic, and are not hampered by running water like most magic users. They give off a heavy anti-technology field. They are weakened by iron, as they used to interbreed with the faerie "before the Sidhe Wars."

They rarely deal with humans and appear to be ruthless and everyhere. They have been known to trade their handiwork for favors and influence. For some reason, the Fomor are especially prone to giving long winded, gloating, self praising monologues. They are probably the creators of the beasts used by the Denarians.

They are signatories of the Unseelie Accords. They are related to Jotuns. It is unclear if there is a distinct leader of the Fomor, though both King Corb, whose court is located in Lake Michigan, and the Empress seem to be possible rulers.

The Fomor easily have the resources to withstand the severely downsized Wardens, who have lost many of their best from the war with the Red Court. They have successfully kidnapped and murdered many of the less talented practitioners, who are now relying on the Paranet to stay safe, and the Wardens are too short handed to do much about this. The Fomor have prominent positions in most large cities in the USA and Europe as we are told in Aftermath and Even Hand. Although we are told in Cold Days that Carlos Ramirez was severely injured and Wild Bill Meyers has been "giving them Hell". They, however, do not have the resources to remove the Brighter Future Society, also called the Chicago Alliance.

They are known to use sea urchin-like projectiles that spew acid, and nuclear sea-shell bombs as weapons.

History
Bob told Harry Dresden and Waldo Butters that before the time of the Sidhe Wars, there were all kinds of stories about the Fomor, the Daoine Sidhe, the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Tylwyth Teg, and the Shen — alliances, betrayals, battles and weddings were on an epic scale.

The Leanansidhe said that they were once the enemies of her people, both Winter and Summer courts. The Sidhe banished them to to the sea.

Push for power
In Aftermath, within hours of the fall of the Red Court, groups like the Fomor began to try to seize power and engage in genocidal tactics similar to those employed by Vittorio Malvora; only the Fomor do not kill, they twist and enslave.

In Ghost Story, their advances into the states and cities bordering large bodies of water have been the motivation for Baron John Marcone forming the Chicago Alliance between the Paranet, the Alphas, the Brighter Future Society, the outfit, the Einherjaren, and local White Court nobles. Their goal is revenge and therefore they seek power as their means—made easier to garner by the demise of the Red Court.

As of Cold Days, the Fomor have a strong foothold in Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, and Boston. The White Council is fighting them mainly in Europe, and are at a stalemate. In the USA the Wardens in Baltimore, San Diego, and especially Wild Bill in Texas are fighting them off. In Chicago, Karrin Murphy, Lara Raith and Gentleman Marcone and their people together have also pushed them out.

"Even Hand"
In "Even Hand", Justine is sent by Lara Raith to deliver documents to King Corb under the protection of their courier. After departing, Cantrev Lord Mag of the Fomor drove away the courier and abducted her. As part of her mission from Lara, Justine stole account numbers, security passwords, and other records from Mag while freeing prisoners from Mag's home in order to cover up the theft.

Justine sought protection from Mag's pursuit from Freeholding Lord John Marcone, who granted it in order to protect the child she brought with her when she escaped. Once Mag arrived in force to take Justine back, Marcone killed him, and sent his body back to King Corb along with a weregild of approximately $250,000 in bullion.

Aftermath
In Aftermath, Fomor are kidnapping low-to-mid talented practitioners and causing nightmares in many magical beings. The disappearance of Georgia and Andi Macklin prompts William Borden and Karrin Murphy to investigate. Setting up a trap, they manage to track the two Alphas to a warehouse where they discover that the victims will sooner or later be converted in servitors. Engaging in battle, Murphy and Borden manage to bust the operation and stopping the operation in Chicago.

Ghost Story
In Ghost Story, Abby reported at the Chicago Alliance meeting that there missing Paranetters in Oregon, they fear that the Fomor has abducted them. Murphy told Harry Dresden's ghost how they pushed back a Fomor incursion since his death. Butters told Dresden's ghost how Molly Carpenter has made the difference between life and death in two battles against the Formor and, how the Netters need the Chicago Alliance Headquarters as a safe place from the Fomor. Carpenter fights a pack of their servitors as part of Lea's combat training. Carpenter told Dresden's ghost what the Fomor and their Servitors have been doing, how they hurt and kidnap people; even children. Dresden eavesdrops on the Grey Ghost iscussing her bargain with the Fomor's Lord Omogh with his servitor, Listen. Lea told Dresden that the Sidhe banished them to the sea.

"Bombshells"
In Bombshells, a party is thrown to celebrate the signing of a non-aggression pact between the Fomor and Svartalves. A faction of Fomor smuggles a bomb into the Svartalf headquarter in Chicago to explode around the time of the signing; while searching for Thomas Raith, Molly Carpenter manages to defuse the bomb, earning a favor from the Svartalves.

Cold Days
In Cold Days, Thomas Raith informed Harry Dresden that the Fomor situation is the worst in the cities of: Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Miami and Boston. They have not gotten a solid foothold in Chicago because of Karrin Murphy's people, John Marcone's people and Lara Raith's people.

Skin Game
In Skin Game, Fomors disguised as caterers attack Harry Dresden, Hannah Ascher and Anna Valmont, as they are after Valmont. The ensuing battle allows Dresden, Ascher and Valmont to extricate themselves from the battle in no small part thanks to Ascher's use of fire magic.

The Fomors have joined the White Court, the Svartalves and other players bidding for a place in the Chicago supernatural community, and paying for information, allowing Valmont to make a handsome earning in the trade. John Marcone's protection is insufficient to stop them, as it is too expensive for many people.

Basis in mythology
Fomor (or "Fomorians") are a race of sea-based gods in Celtic lore. They are hypothesised to have been in Ireland before Partholon's invasion of Ireland, and engaged in long wars with the newcomers - Partholon's army, followed by his decendents the Nemedians, then the Fir Bolg, and lastly the Tuatha de Danaan. They are generally considered to represent the older native gods of Ireland, similar to the Greek Titans or Norse Jotunn. They are constantly defeated, in myth, but are never entirely vanquished; they're the equivalent of Celtic cockroaches. If cockroaches were amphibian magical badasses.

Arguably the most well-known Fomor of myth is Bres, the half-Fomor half-Tuatha who was given the role as the first High King of Ireland, in the hopes of finally uniting the two warring races. He turned out to be a tyrant who favored his Fomorian side, and was overthrown after a seven-year reign. His later defeat and death by Lugh forced the remaining Fomor to give up, and they allegedly returned to the sea.

External references

 * Fomorians - Wikipedia
 * Weregild - Wikipedia
 * Mystical Mythology from around the world
 * Ireland’s First Mythical Inhabitants: The Fomorians | Faerie Lore
 * The Fomorians - Irish Mythology Wiki
 * Fomorians - Encyclopedia Mythica
 * Fomorians - shee-eire.com
 * Jötunn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 * Jötunn - Mythology Wiki
 * Jotuns Norse Mythology