The Mystical Floating Island of Tír na nÓg
by Cab DavidsonThe floating island Tír na nÓg is certainly not the largest, but it is perhaps the most remarkable of all of the flying lands of the Hollow World, and has many features that set it apart.
It orbits well above the surface of the Hollow World, higher than the other floating continents, and it is unique among the floating continents in that its axis is tilted seventy five degrees relative to the ground (its own gravitational axis being unaffected), and it has a circular roation around its own axis once every 24 hours. Its orbit takes it from the polar regions to the equator, a complete orbit of the Red Sun taking two years. Hence it is perhaps the only place in the Hollow World to have regular diurnal and seasonal variation. Across most of Tír na nÓg there is something akin to a dawn, as the Sun rises above the rolling green hills or the mighty trees, and the dim twilight of evening becomes the misty light of morning. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter are experienced over the course of 12 months as the island moves from polar to equatorial parts of the Hollow World. The rotation of Tír na nÓg has many implications for life thereon. Firstly, bodies of water are impacted by this, creating dangerous circular currents in lakes and rivers. Secondly, the motion influences weather patterns profoundly, with what passes for late afternoon always creating mists that become clouds that coalesce into rain freshening and clear the air as evening falls. The days are a regular cycle of beautiful, clear mornings seamlessly morphing into misty evenings without ever truly knowing the full sun or the night. There are however deep valleys in the heart of Tír na nÓg that know only shadowy darkness.
The island itself is roughly circular, being 60 miles across, with a cave riddled depth of 8 miles. Geologically it is also unlike any of the other flying continents, having rich veins of tin, copper, lead, silver and precious stones. Gold can be panned from rivers, and the hewn rock itself varies in tone from green, to yellow, to almost white. And, again almost uniquely, Tír na nÓg is almost entirely devoid of useful iron ores. For all of these reasons, fey folk have made Tír na nÓg their home in the Hollow World. Accordingly, many fey spirits that choose to become fairies of kinds not normally encountered on the Outer World make their home there, building their own complex society away from the prying eyes of humans and their ever interfering priesthoods.
Tír na nÓg is a land of mystery and legend. It is both easier to get to and harder to leave than other parts of the Hollow World. It is a land of contradictions, and of continual but timeless change.