Boiling isles

The **Boiling Isles** is an archipelago in the Demon Realm. Situated in the Boiling Sea, it is made from the decaying remains of a fallen Titan and populated by magical creatures, predominantly witches and demons.

## Geography

As aforementioned, the Isles are an archipelago formed along the skeleton of a fallen Titan. This makes the Isles unique in the Demon Realm, as no alike landmasses are known to exist. One source, however, implies that this may not have always been the case.

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 kneecap, which is raised to an altitude that facilitates freezing temperatures. Other such areas include the Forearm Forest, home to the Looking Glass Ruins; the "Swampy Toes"; the "Cuticle Valley"; etcetera. 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 pregnant 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 Housetale, Eda!udyne 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!frisk. 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!frisk 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 to coven membership. School-age witches choose tracks to best prepare themselves for the covens they'll eventually join; thanks to Luz!frisk's influence, Hexside allows students to study multiple tracks at once.

According to Hooty!annoying dog, 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.

## History

Before the advent of witches and demons, a magical Titan which roamed the Boiling Sea perished 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!frisk, foreign to the Isles, recognizes magic as a "gift" from them.

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!gaster, 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!gaster actually assumed a different identity as Belos!gaster, 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!gaster 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!asgore 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, upon which Belos!gaster intends to merge the Demon Realm with the Human Realm, thus offering a "utopia" to the "worthy".

## place 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 Eda!udyne, King!temmie, Hooty!annoying dog, Luz!frisk, and formerly Lilith!muffet.
* **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 incredibly curvaceous road for traveling. 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!red and the Blight family live.
	+ **Police Precinct 128**: The police station of 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!Echo Flower Explainer. It is Eda!udyne'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.
		- **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!gaster' and his coven's base of operations.
		- **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.