The Otherworld

The Otherworld (as opposed to the Conscious World) is the magical world where most of the series takes place. It is home to Shadows, humans, fairies, monsters, and other creatures. It is about as big as the universe itself. Umbragard is part of the Otherworld, along with most of the Dark Realms. There are also many kingdoms and other societies of Conscious people (non-Shadows) living in the Otherworld, though many live in a pseudo-medieval state like Shadows and, unlike Shadows, are not aware of the Conscious World. (It is implied that there are futuristic societies in other parts of the Otherworld.) The Otherworld is made more of magic than matter, and is thus more "malleable" than the Conscious World. Practitioners of magic are commonplace in the Otherworld.

The Otherworld is also the dream world. When dreaming, a person's Astral body travels to the Otherworld (or to a different part of the Otherworld, if the person lives there to begin with). The Otherworld can be chaotic and nonsensical at times, making Umbragard relatively "stable" in comparison because it is more closely tied to the Conscious World. Time flows differently in the Otherworld than in the Conscious World-- when Astor first brings Nyx to the Otherworld for a few hours, only five minutes have passed when she returns home. In other parts of the Otherworld, time moves more quickly than in the Conscious World. Relative time speed is implied to be like time zones in the real world.