Beastiary: Mortal Fauna (bes·ti·ar·y / moɾ-tal faw-nuh)
Classification
Mortal Fauna in Tir na nÓg are neither mundane nor lesser—they are the pulse of the land, the breath between branches, the rhythm that keeps the forest floor alive and the high skies in motion. These beings, often closest in form to those found across the many corners of the mortal realms, are not measured by their rarity or power, but by their profound interconnectedness with all life. In this realm, their presence is not ordinary—it is essential.
From the soft-footed foragers of the underbrush to the vast gliders that ride thermals above cliffside winds, Mortal Fauna engage in the daily, sacred choreography of life. Their migrations shape the flowering of meadows. Their calls become the lullabies of dusk. Their bones return to the soil with grace, feeding the roots of trees that once shaded their kin. No movement is wasted, no presence accidental.
Each creature—whether scaled, furred, feathered, or bare—exists in relationship. They are not pets, prey, or property. They are neighbors. Communities of Tir na nÓg do not draw lines between civilization and wilderness; instead, they live within the song of the land, guided by the instincts and adaptations of the fauna who’ve long known its truths. Mortals learn from their ways of watching, waiting, hunting only with reverence, and retreating without fear. The elegance of a fox’s stillness, the patience of a deer at the stream, the chatter of tree-dwellers overhead—each behavior is its own form of wisdom.
Mortal Fauna are teachers of cycles. They show what it means to live without need for more than enough. They demonstrate how to adapt with grace, how to raise young with ferocity and gentleness, how to meet death without dread. Some may possess unusual colors or behaviors in Tir na nÓg’s uniquely resonant environment, but these variations are not anomalies—they are local truths.
Their value is not measured in magic or might. Their gift is their *presence*—steadfast, rooted, honest. To walk beside a creature of the land, to share breath with it, to learn its pattern and respect its needs, is to understand the very foundation of belonging.
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
Ainmhí;
