Zua's Floating Apple Tree

Awldor      Continental Island of Lluvia      The Golden Plain      Zua's Floating Apple Tree

The lone floating sky island of the The Golden Plain hosts a single apple tree. The apple tree is among the largest apple trees that are known anywhere in the continent and the sky island itself is not large enough to support anything else. It was noted by Zua Sunflare- a famous Helian poet present at the founding of Sol- after whom the tree was so named. Zua's poem on the tree continues to be passed down through the generations by the original descendant's of Helia's founders. The floating island upon which the tree rests is not stationary but travels in a roughly circular motion around the plains surrounding Sol. None can say for certain what anchors the sky island to this particular region.

Fey Apples

This apple tree is unusual in that it bears fruit during all seasons. In fact, it seems that each season produces a different kind of apple. Green apples can be seen in the spring, golden apples in the summer, orange apples in the autumn, and then red apples in winter. This behavior has led many to conclude that this tree is of fey origin and that is probably an accurate assessment. At the end of every season the tree sheds its apples- an act that doesn't wholly give in to gravity. When the apples fall they slowly drift down to the earth as if enchanted with feather fall. So far, the apples have been safe to eat. A seasonal ceremony is observed at Sol that celebrates when the apples fall from the tree- the golden ones in particular- and to collect the falling fruit to produce once-in-a-season deserts at the palace (though not all apples find their way to the palace). The word "falling" is used in that last sentence as part of the ceremony is a game that challenges people to catch the fruit while they are still in the air.
This ceremony has been falling in importance as a Helian tradition as King Vimak Helia III began yet another campaign of conquest- such as happens whenever Helia goes to war.

Sol's Founding

It is said that Zua's apple tree and the apples it provides was part of the reason Sol was founded where it is. The early peoples of Helia took a seemingly endless source of apples as a sign of plenty. In fact, this apple tree can be found in many designs dating from that period. These same designs, including the evolution of which, can be found in the art collections of Helia's elite. Zua's tree is a prominent feature of the Sunflare family crest.

Type

Island, Floating

Note(s) from the Archivists:

It seems to be a long way from the fey forest I know. How did it get there? - Archivist Rena
It is probably another remnant of the collapse? - Archivist Savitri
First the island that remained in the air, the seed that had enough to sprout, and the fact that said seed was enchanted with magical properties. This is either a very fortunate or a very determined apple tree. - Archivist Rena\
If only Helia hadn't taken the path of war. It has become difficult to appreciate these landmarks of Sol in recent times. - Archivist Savitri