Sunless Sea

The Sunless Sea is the great underground body of water that the travelers cross by boat in near-total darkness. It is both a route through Underland and a danger in its own right: the pale lantern reveals only a little of the water ahead, and, after the Lady of the Green Kirtle is killed, the sea rises into the city and floods the road to the surface.

Setting and Character

The sea belongs to a world of enclosed darkness beneath the surface. Its existence is foreshadowed by the distant sea east of the marshes, where salt in the wind identifies the direction of the coast; far below, the Sunless Sea is reached by a journey through the underground realm. Rilian explains that he has travelled by ship across it whenever the Witch took him to one of the outlets leading to the surface. He has never made such a journey alone, and the familiar route has always depended on the Witch’s presence.

Crossing in Darkness

After the travelers descend beneath the Ruined City, Earthmen take the oars and move their ship across the water. A pale lantern hangs amidships, but its light reaches only a short distance. Ahead, the travelers see smooth, dark water disappearing into absolute blackness. Jill despairs at what may become of them; Puddleglum steadies her by pointing out that they are again following the instructions, having gone beneath the ruined city as directed. In this scene, the water’s obscurity makes the crossing feel perilous, while the boat and the light mark a narrow, fragile passage through it.

Route and Strategic Importance

The Sunless Sea connects the underground castle to routes leading up to the surface. Rilian says that the Witch had taken him by ship to several outlets, but those journeys had always been under her control. The newly dug passage intended for an invasion of the Overworld lies on the same side of the sea as the castle, only a few miles away. This contrast makes the sea more than scenery: it is an established corridor through which the Witch has moved her captive, while the travelers’ escape depends on finding another way out without relying on her ship or authority.

Flood and Escape

After the Witch’s death, ships are driven out of the harbour and into the city as the sea rises. Rilian recognizes the advancing water and identifies it as a flood; Puddleglum infers that the Witch had arranged for her kingdom to collapse when she was killed. The water surges through the streets, making the destruction immediate rather than distant. The travelers flee on horseback along a rising road. At the valley bottom, the tide is already racing upstream; it is only a foot or two deep when they cross, but even then it swirls around the horses’ legs, and a later crossing might have forced them to swim. Behind them, the expanding flood turns the hills of Underland into islands and extinguishes lamps one by one. The sea that had served as a passage through the darkness thus becomes the force they must outrun on their way back to the surface.