Golgmarsh Ocean
The Golgmarsh Ocean was a vast body of water that lined the coast of Rislandia and separated it from the Zenwey continent and the Zicree Continent. It also lay off the southwestern coast of the Wyranth Empire. It was one of the defining geographical features of the region and bore the name of the legendary giant credited with its creation. The ocean also appeared in old stories connecting it to the Areth (Continent), which giants were said to have crossed to in ancient times.
Description
The Golgmarsh Ocean stretched along the Rislandian coastline and the southwestern coast of the Wyranth Empire, forming a natural boundary to both kingdoms. When traversed by airship, the crossing took a matter of days, with the view described as showing nothing but blue below and blue above. At night, stars shimmered against its waters. The ocean had not been explored by Rislandia in many years at the time of the events of The Blood of Giants. The harbor of Carnait Cove opened onto the Golgmarsh Ocean, and the ocean's southern waters were navigable by steamship.
History
According to an old children's tale, the Golgmarsh Ocean came into being when the giant Golgmarsh the Giant fell. As the tale recounted, Golgmarsh wanted to touch the tip of the sky and climbed to the highest peak of the tallest mountain; however, the ground beneath him could not support his weight, and he fell. The thunderous boom of his fall cracked the world, and water spewed forth from beneath the ground, flooding the coastal region and forming the ocean that bore his name. As recorded in the text: "Water spewed from beneath the ground, which created the Golgmarsh Ocean that lined the coast of Rislandia."
The ocean also featured in old stories and children's tales about giants more broadly. These accounts described giants crossing the Golgmarsh Ocean to the Areth (Continent), and giants coming from over the ocean in the distant past. Further historical context regarding the formation of Rislandia's geography may be found in A History of Rislandia.
The father of the narrator of The Blood of Giants had previously traveled across the Golgmarsh Ocean, establishing that crossings, while rare, were not without precedent.
Role in For Steam and Country
In For Steam and Country, the Golgmarsh Ocean was referenced in connection with the legendary origins of Golgmarsh the Giant, providing mythological background to the world of Rislandia.
Role in The Blood of Giants
In The Blood of Giants, the Golgmarsh Ocean played a central role as the body of water separating Rislandia from the Zenwey continent. King Malaky XVI dispatched the narrator's group with the directive: "The King wishes us to travel across the Golgmarsh Ocean to the savage lands beyond." The mission was described as a peaceful one; upon arriving in Zenwey, the narrator stated, "we are on a peaceful mission from across the Golgmarsh Ocean."
Zaira von Monocle, as sole proprietor of an airship, was noted as the only one capable of making the crossing. The airship The Liliana (Airship) carried the group across the ocean, a journey of a few days' duration. Flying over it, the ocean presented an expanse of blue in every direction, and at night its surface shimmered with reflected starlight. The Liliana also crossed the ocean on the return journey to Rislandia.
Ivan, the Iron Emperor believed there might be peoples or giants across the Golgmarsh Ocean who had studied the scientific properties of giant blood, lending the crossing additional significance beyond its diplomatic purpose. The ocean was also referenced in the old stories of giants crossing it to the Areth continent, as well as in a children's tale: "the children's tale about giants. They came from over the Golgmarsh Ocean."
Role in The Fight for Rislandia
In The Fight For Rislandia, the Golgmarsh Ocean was referenced at the outset of the story, when the crew of The Liliana (Airship) had just returned from a long mission across it. As the narrator recounted: "We'd returned moments ago from a long mission across the Golgmarsh Ocean." This crossing represented the Liliana's final ocean crossing before the events that followed in Rislandia. The children's tale of Golgmarsh the Giant and the ocean's legendary origin was also recounted in this volume, consistent with earlier accounts.
Role in The Iron Wedding
In The Iron Wedding, the Golgmarsh Ocean was established as lying off the southwestern coast of the Wyranth Empire, expanding its known geographical extent beyond the Rislandian coastline. The harbor of Carnait Cove opened directly onto the ocean. The W.S.S. Adventurer (Steamship) traveled through the ocean's southern waters during the events of the novel, demonstrating that the ocean was navigable by sea as well as by air.
The ocean also appeared in a story that Zaira von Monocle's mother had read to her about giants crossing it, consistent with the broader tradition of children's tales and old stories featuring the Golgmarsh Ocean as a boundary crossed by giants in ancient times.
Role in The Steam Knight
In The Steam Knight, the Golgmarsh Ocean was referenced as the body of water that must be crossed to reach the Zicree Continent, expanding its known geographical significance beyond the Zenwey continent. The crossing was treated as a notable undertaking, as reflected in the exclamation: "All the way over the Golgmarsh Ocean?"
On the world map
On the official world map, the Golgmarsh Ocean label sits west of Areth and south-west of Zenwey, near the compass rose, with Velt Island in its waters. The water directly between Zenwey and Areth is labelled the Crosswinds Sea. Whether that is part of the Golgmarsh Ocean is not stated.
In A History of Rislandia
According to A History of Rislandia, the Golgmarsh Ocean occupies a central place in both the geography and the legendary history of Areth, and the sourcebook provides considerably more detail on the ocean than the novels alone.
Formation and Legend
The sourcebook's account of the ocean's origin is broadly consistent with the children's tale recorded in the novels: when Golgmarsh the Giant fell, the earth cracked open and "the cracks filled with water, forming the Golgmarsh Ocean along the western coast." A History of Rislandia adds one detail absent from the novels — that Golgmarsh's bones may lie at the bottom of the ocean. The sourcebook also connects the ocean's formation to a broader cosmological event, noting that Zenwey shamans hold that it was formed by the catastrophe of the Great Sundering, lending the legend a grounding in the world's creation mythology beyond the single tale of the giant's fall.
Geography
A History of Rislandia describes the Golgmarsh Ocean as lying along the western coast of Rislandia and as the vast ocean separating Areth from Zenwey. It bounds the Iberanth Peninsula to the west and north, and forms the western boundary of the Wyranth Empire. The Border River flows into it. Portsgate was built near it on the southwestern coast of Rislandia. The sourcebook also notes that the Islands of Fae are located in the western Golgmarsh Ocean. Frequent storms blow in from the ocean, and it is described as producing violent storms that affect the Westerly Spine. Pirates and smugglers make use of the many coves and inlets along the western coast.
Crossing Time
A History of Rislandia states that crossing the Golgmarsh Ocean takes weeks by ship, which conflicts with the novel-based account on this page's statement that the crossing takes "a few days by airship." The sourcebook does not specify airship travel times; the weeks-long crossing appears to refer to sea travel.
Dangers and Creatures
The sourcebook records that sailors crossing the Golgmarsh Ocean report sightings of massive serpentine creatures in the deep waters, and that strange creatures have been pulled up in fishing nets from it. Ships occasionally disappear without a trace. The sourcebook quotes: "Sailors across the Golgmarsh Ocean report sightings of massive serpentine creatures in the deep waters."
The Merchant Ship Windward
According to A History of Rislandia, the merchant ship Windward was navigating the Golgmarsh Ocean when it was blown off course toward the Fae island — a reference consistent with the Islands of Fae being located in the ocean's western reaches. The captain of the Windward is listed on the known pages as Gregor (Captain of the Windward).
Strategic Importance
The sourcebook notes that control of the Golgmarsh Ocean means control of trade routes, framing it not merely as a geographical feature but as a strategically significant body of water in the broader politics of Areth.