Boiling Isles

## Boiling IsIes

* Debut
* Epilogue

“
**Eda:** *"The bones of the Isles. Up close, the Isles can be slimy —"*
**King:** *"And very stinky."*
**Eda:** *"And gross. But if you look at it from a different perspective..."*
**Luz:** *"It's beautiful."*
**King:** *"Yeah."*
”

—Eda, King, and Luz, "Witches Before Wizards"

The **Boiling Isles** is an archipelago in the Demon Realm. Situated in the Boiling Sea,it is formed from the decaying remains of a certain fallen Titan and populated by magical creatures, predominantly witches and demons. The Isles serve as the main setting of the series, with the titular Owl House situated on one of its bluffs.

## Geography

As aforementioned, the Isles are an archipelago formed along the skeleton of a fallen Titan. As the Titan's cadaver is humanoid, many of its landmarks are named for their location on its body. One such area is the Knee, literally the Titan's raised right kneecap, which is raised to an altitude that facilitates freezing temperatures, thus making it mountain-like. Other such areas include the Forearm Forest, home to the Looking Glass Ruins; the mountain-like Knee, the "Swampy Toes"; the "Cuticle Valley"; etc. Despite the immensity of the Titan's body, the Isles can be traversed in a relatively short amount of time, especially by air. Many areas on the Isles are imbued with the Titan's natural magic, which has survived for ages.

The natural scenery of the Isles is equally fantastical and macabre; it boasts plagues rather than a typical weather pattern and veritable swaths of magnificent, if incredibly dangerous, fauna and megafauna. The residents of the Owl House, Eda especially, hold the natural beauty of the Isles in high regard.

The map of Boiling Isles from the book *The Unauthorized Boiling Isles History* shows the directions of north, east, south and west; the Titan's head points northward while its hands are east and west, respectively.

## Society and culture

The inhabitants of the Boiling Isles are remarkably prejudiced against humans. Despite this, the society which has flourished on the Isles mirrors human civilization considerably. The people of the Isles boast many common societal conventions, such as the employment of language, writing, and commerce; an established economical unit, the snail; and a ruling authoritative body, presided over by a head of state. Human conventions, such as electricity and technology, while not unknown on the Isles, are rarely utilized, although supernatural analogs of technology, such as crow phones, crystal balls, and Scrolls, exist for communication.

Certainly, the most significant distinction between the culture of the Isles and that of Earth is the permeation and acceptance of magic. The ability to wield magic is considered a tremendous gift from the Titan itself, and to misuse it is culturally taboo. By the laws of the land, magic is misused when different "types" of it are blended. To avoid this, it is customary for witches to assign themselves to a coven once they come of age. This ordinance is a relatively new convention, being extant a mere fifty years prior to the arrival of Luz. Prior to this era was the Savage Ages, a time in which witches and demons were free to practice wild magic and blended practices to their pleasure. In most cases, witches must seal away aspects of their magic which are unrelated to their chosen coven; for example, Luz witnesses a witch joining the Illusion Coven and subsequently having his other magic forcefully curtailed. Unrestrained magic is still practiced by the Emperor and his coven legally, and illegally by wild witches who refuse coven membership. School-age witches choose tracks to best prepare themselves for the covens they'll eventually join; thanks to Luz's influence, Hexside allows students to study multiple tracks at once.

According to Hooty, all life-forms on the Isles can either be classified as a witch or demon, both of which evolved as a consequence of the Titan's decomposition. Among demons, three types (known also as the "Three B's") are noted: the "bug type"; the "beast type"; and the "biped type". A fourth classification which covers "hybrids" also exists.

As of the finale the authoritarian government ran by Emperor Philip "Belos" Wittebane was deposed, the current ruling party of the isles is unknown though multiple changes in government and culture were seen. For instance the main military and law enforcement body known as the Emperors Coven removed their helmets and may or may not have been disbanded; an increase in intersecting magic cultures and complete dissolution of the coven system was seen, after three years after researchers discovered a way to safely remove the coven sigils, allowing for those with one to freely practice magic once again.

Interestingly members of the researcher team, the headmaster of Hexside and former Coven Heads sport an emblem with a horned skull similar to King Clawthorne’s head, suggesting that it is the current symbol representing the new regime of Boiling Isles.

## History

Before the advent of witches and demons, a magical Titan which roamed the Boiling Sea died and fell where it stood. The ancient magic at the Titan's disposal was so immense that the life which evolved from the Titan's remains was imbued with magic as well. Eons later, witches and demons alike recognize and revere the Titan as the progenitor of their magic. Even Luz, foreign to the Isles, recognizes magic as a "gift" from him.

During the prehistoric times, a period known as the "Hecktaceous Period" happened. The known inhabitants during that time were Stonesleepers. Similar to Earth in the Hadean era 4.6 billion years ago, the area was filled with volcanoes and molten lava, which comprised the Boiling Sea in that time period.

Eventually, the Isles descended into a 'lawless' time known as the Savage Ages, in which the people of the Isles blended different forms of magic with abandon and without restriction. Though modern historians claim that this was apparently a time of unrest, it was actually a period of prosperity for the Isles.

In the 1600s (also known as the "Deadwardian Era"), Philip Wittebane, a human, lived in Bonesborough. Beholden to the Demon Realm, he sought to find a bridge between his native realm and the Demon Realm. The specifics of his quest were documented in his diary, which was later donated to the archives of the Bonesborough Library. Though the human supposedly disappeared, Philip actually assumed a different identity as Belos, who used fearmongering and manipulation to scare witches and demons into following him. He orchestrated the destruction of cities and claimed that wild magic only brought destruction. The future Emperor preached that mixing magical arts was wrong, and that only he had that right as a supposed emissary of the fallen Titan. Belos eventually rose to prominence as the ruler of the Boiling Isles and implemented a new charter of laws regarding the 'proper' way to practice magic. He would officially declare the Isles as an empire on Scabuary 40th, fifty years before the start of the series, ending the Savage Ages and ushering a new imperial age.

Presumably around this time, Hexside School of Magic and Demonics launched a successful conquest of their rival school and built its current campus atop this school's ruin. As a student of Hexside himself at the time, Hieronymus Bump and Frewin were significant combatants in this crusade.

The present-day Boiling Isles are promoted as peaceful and prosperous, though this sentiment is not universal. Order is kept through the Emperor's personal coven, and dissenters are contained in a prison meant to conform them to societal ideals. The strictures of the coven system stipulate that all eligible magic-users belong to a coven, or else risk imprisonment or worse. While this is promoted as a celebration of unity, the true purpose of this system (besides simple subjugation) is preparation for the forthcoming Day of Unity, which Belos claimed was an effort to merge the Demon Realm with the Human Realm, thus offering a "utopia" to the "worthy". In reality, it was merely a cover for a Draining Spell designed to wipe out all life on not just isles, but all the Demon Realm.

This was prevented by the reality warping entity known as the Collector after they made a deal with the titan known as King Clawthorne starting a new era of history for the isles where it was governed by aforementioned entity. They would move to capture and transform most of the citizens of the Isles into dolls for entertainment with King, leaving most of the isles as an abandoned wasteland with a few sparse settlements including Hexside, which was now lead by a combination of the head of the school's former grudgby team and former member of the Emperor's Coven, Kikimora. Later, when the overthrown Emperor returned to his kingdom he manipulated the Collector into believing that he had been betrayed, leading to the containment of a entrance party led by Luz Noceda. The Emperor continued to use recently learned knowledge from the Collector and their ongoing "game" with the party to subtly take control of the heart of the Titan, giving him effective control over the isles. During this short period he seemed to possess a sort of parasitic nature as his body spread throughout the isles to puppet its corpse. Initial engagements with the Emperor in his new form were proven fruitless resulting in the apparent death of Luz Noceda after the Collector tried to forgive Belos. She would later returned with power invested from the last remnants of the Titan to finish off Belos for good. Afterwards, the Collector seemed to have installed infrastructure for easy travel between the Boiling Isles and the Human Realm as well as leaving to learn more from the stars. The government and culture of the Boiling Isles immensely changed without the former emperor and although some were interested in keeping the status quo, this was met with resistance and prevented as the Boiling Isles entered a new age of peace and harmony.

## Places of interest

As was stated, the Titan's body serves as a natural standard by which the Isles are mapped.

* **The Owl House**: A small cottage located on the cliffs outside Bonesborough. It is the home of Edalyn Clawthorne, King, Hooty, Luz Noceda, and formerly Lilith Clawthorne.
* **Bonesborough**: The largest town on the Isles, wherein many structures are the repurposed remains of monstrous creatures.
	+ **Hexside School of Magic and Demonics**: A school of witchcraft located near Bonesborough.
	+ **Dead Man's Curve**: An overpass road with several bends and sharp curves. It is supported by pillars made of bone.
	+ **Bonesborough Library**: An immense literary and cultural hub of the city. It houses historical records going back centuries.
	+ **Night Market**: A black market which gathers under the cover of darkness to deal in dangerous and illegal substances.
	+ **Blight Manor**: A mansion where Amity and the Blight family live.
	+ **Police Precinct 128**: The local police station for Bonesborough, run by the Emperor's Coven and local guards to hold prisoners before they are sent to the Conformatorium.
	+ **Mr. Elixir**: A potion stand owned by Morton. It is Eda's main supplier for her elixir.
	+ **Grimgrub's Pub**: The town's local pub which sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, complete with mounted trophies of various creatures.
* **Latissa**: A town outside Bonesborough. An outpost of the Emperor's Coven exists here.
	+ **Police Precinct 206**: The local police station for Latissa, run by the Emperor's Coven.
* **Glandus High**: A school of witchcraft found at the center of the Isles.
* **St. Epiderm**: Another magical school, possibly parochial or a suitable equivalent, that is located on the Knee. Its banner implies a focus on the healing branch of magic.
* **The Conformatorium**: A heavily-guarded prison. It was built to hold dissident witches, demons, and oddballs who are too weird (even for the Boiling Isles).
* **The Knee**: Literally located on the giant skeleton's right knee, this is a snowy, cold region where the natural magical energy of the Boiling Isles is very strong.
	+ **Witch arena**: The witch arena is a gathering place located on the most mysterious part of the Boiling Isles: the Knee. Set within the ruins of a castle, groups will meet here for rituals and social functions.
	+ **Eclipse Lake**: Found inside the Knee of the Titan, Eclipse Lake is the subterranean home of Titan's Blood, a remarkably-powerful substance which can bleed through the boundaries between realms. Generations ago, witches mined the cavernous veins surrounding the lake in pursuit of this substance.
* **Lake Lacuna**: A large lake with sandy shores, surrounded by forest and the giant skeleton's ribs. Children learn how to swim at this location.
* **Emperor's Castle**: Built in an area with high volcanic activity around the still-beating heart of the skeleton, it is Emperor Belos' and his coven's base of operations.
* **The Archives:** formed by the collector atop the Titans head, it has the shape of a crown and was the Collectors base of operations during the short period where the Isles was his plaything
* **Blight Industries**: A company owned by the Blight family that provides a variety of abomination-based accessories for home security and specializes in weaponry. It is a subsidiary of the Abomination Coven.
* **The Looking Glass Ruins**: An ancient illusionist graveyard and the location of the Galdorstones
* **Palm Stings**: A desert region located on one of the palms of the Titan. The area is home to Kikimora's family.

## Trivia

* The design of the Boiling Isles was inspired by various European painters, including Template:W, Template:W and Template:W, who was best known for his surrealistic depictions of hell. Series creator Dana Terrace also took a lot of inspiration from the art and architecture of medieval Europe, namely illuminated manuscripts and drolleries.
* The design of the woods was originally going to be much more dominated by black colors, but since it was "melting" with Luz's hair too much, the creators went with "bloody red" for the trees.
* The concept of a landmass being formed from the carcass of an ancient being is a recurring story element found in several real-world mythologies, such as Mesopotamian, Chinese, Norse, and Hindu, to name a few.
* According to Dana Terrace, the Boiling Isles is roughly the same size as the US state of Template:W.
* The Boiling Isles can be seen inside the journal in *Gravity Falls: Lost Legends*, albeit partially obscured.
* It is revealed in "Through the Looking Glass Ruins" that the Boiling Isles has existed since at least the 1600s.
* Homophobia or any other kind of enmity against members of the LGBT+ community doesn't exist on the Boiling Isles, according to Dana Terrace.
* As implied by the business card Odalia gave Luz in "Escaping Expulsion", the average citizen is aware of civilization beyond the Boiling Isles and there is at the very least postal traffic between them.
* The Isles supposedly stinks, possibly due to its nature as a rotting corpse.
* At the beginning of "Wing It Like Witches", there are 42 crosses on the sheet of Boscha's calendar, which could mean that there is at least one month of the Boiling Isles that has 42 days. This is later confirmed in "Them's the Breaks, Kid", when a younger Eda reads a flashcard about Belos, stating that he made the Boiling Isles an empire at the 40th of Scabuary.
* According to the memories of the Owl Beast shown in "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door", there seems to exist at least one other titan corpse archipelago besides the Boiling Isles. However, the anatomy of the second skull differs drastically from the Titan's skull shape and appears to be more animal-like. In addition, *The Unauthorized Boiling Isles History* states that the Titan of the Boiling Isles is the only known complete skeleton of a titan. Either the Owl Beast archipelago doesn't consist of the skeleton of a titan or it is a archipelago that is completely unknown to the inhabitants of the Boiling Isles.
	+ The latter would also be supported by the fact that apparently none of the inhabitants of the Boiling Isles know anything about the species of the Owl Beast.
* The rain of the Isles can burn anyone except titans which are impervious to the burning effect of the rain.
* Hair dye exists in this realm, as Lilith Clawthorne, Willow Park, and Amity Blight use it.
* It is currently unknown what forms of government the Boiling Isles possessed both prior to and following Belos’s reign as emperor. According to Bill, however, there was, at the very least, a “Carcass Kingdom” somewhere on the Boiling Isles in the past.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cox, Chris (June 27, 2019). Infestation: Annecy Animation Festival 2019: The Owl House. Retrieved on May 25, 2023.
2. ↑ Trumbore, Dave (January 10, 2020). The Owl House' Creator Dana Terrace & Art Director Ricky Cometa on Their Fantasy Tale. Retrieved on May 25, 2023.
3. ↑ Interview With Dana Terrace and Matt Braly (April 8, 2021).