The Aspidochelone, or turtle-island
Here’s some more mythical sea perils that Lewis left out of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Or, as a reader suggested to me, might have inspired him. Part 1 is here.
I also forgot a trope that relates to giant whirlpools. Which is — a trip to Atlantis! More than one pulpy story, comic book adventure or movie/cartoon/TV show features a ship that descends into the maelstrom only to wind up in the lost world of Atlantis. According to TVtropes, it’s known as a Portal Pool. The Wood Beyond the World in The Magician’s Nephew is, of, course, the portal pool to end all portal pools.
Perils of the Narnian Sea
| Aspidochelone | The official name for a sea turtle that is so gigantic it appears as a small island, often with trees, soil, and other features. It’s also used for other titanic beasts with vegetative back coverings. Anyway you slice it they are perilous for sailors because they are fooled into going onshore only to find the ground shaking and the island sinking as the turtle moves. Which, in much of the folklore, ensues because someone foolishly lights a fire on the island. |
| Icebergs | Though Caspian & crew were sailing in southern waters it’s not unusual for an iceberg or two to appear. Driven by rogue currents, these massifs can travel a long way before finally melting. Such an occurrence could tempt the crew with the promise of fresh water.
But icebergs are dangerous as the majority of their mass is invisible and underwater. The ship might breach on an ice shelf or be damaged by hidden outcroppings; there would also be dangers as the iceberg melts and breaks up. More than one iceberg could trap the ship within their midst and slowly crush it. Finally, there might be things living on the iceberg: polar bears, aggressive elephant seals, yeti, hostile tribesmen, or ice dragons (or cold-drakes, as Tolkien would say.) |
| Swallowed by a whale | Another trope that’s been featured many times, all the way back to the Old Testament and the story of Jonah. Sometimes it’s another creature, like a giant fish or sea dragon, but the concept is the same: the entire ship is ingested and stranded inside the whale’s innards, facing a dreary existence of living off periodic intakes of fresh fish. Such was the fate of Gepetto, Pinocchio’s father.
In folktales as well as modern retellings the ship and crew can escape by merely starting a fire inside the beast, which annoys it enough to vomit them out (or expel the characters through its spout if it’s a cartoon. Yes that’s anatomically impossible.) Notably, the Aspidochelone is irritated by the same thing. Alternately, the characters can wander through the beast’s internal organs (ala Fantastic Voyage) and even meet other travelers stranded there. In truth Lewis used aspects of this trope in the Dark Island adventure the ship and crew experienced. |
| Tsunami/Rogue wave | A real-life danger especially near coasts, where the ship could be capsized or stranded many miles inland. |
| Fish men | These beings have many names, but are basically humanoids with fishlike features. Lovecraft’s Deep Ones are one type; the Kuo-Toa of AD&D fame are another. The Creature from the Black Lagoon is perhaps the archetype. Fish men can breathe water as well as air and are prone to attacking ships, rising up from the sea to claw their way up the hull. They are usually bestial and primitive, but not always. |
| Disappearing island | Like an oceanic version of Brigadoon, the disappearing island is there and… then it’s not. The island may be an Aspidochelone creature or have a sinister purpose, like H. P. Lovecraft’s R’lyeh.
The myth was likely born from sightings of the real-life Fata Morgana. The same optical phenomenon is responsible for floating cities and ships. Because it’s so otherworldly looking here’s a pic.
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