Shadow Realms

Known also by innumerable names. The most notable one being the 'void'. There is no official name for it, and no god has claimed ownership.
Shadow realm is a pocket dimension associated with black/dark mana. For the living, it is incredibly difficult to enter the shadow realm, and often it can only be possible in special locations in the world, each being a secret known by only a few. Most locations that enable entry are in the The Black Forest which shares a strong connection with the Shadow Realms. However, the concept of distance and euclidean geometry do not apply to the shadow realms and as such the entrance could be found anywhere in the world.
Most describe the Shadow Realms an empty endless expanse of white sand, with a blackened sky. Others say it is filled with black sand and a whitened sky. There is only one shadow realm, yet most experience the shadow realm as their own. All black mana stems from this place, violating all known laws of nature and gods. It is most notably due to the Shadow Realms that shadow magic is considered a taboo.
The Shadow realms are inhospitable to all life. Food decays into tasteless dry ash, and all liquids evaporate quickly. Prolonged exposure to the shadow realms, shrivel those who enter into mummified husks, forced to shamble the endless dunes for all eternity. This does not mean that the Shadow Realms are completely empty and void of all things, and there are ways to protect from the decaying influence of the dimension. Some whisper of creatures living there. Other have seen monuments, buildings or even vast forests. However, there are no living records of the place beyond its empty description as a field of nothingness.
Most notable feature of the Shadow Realms is that it is possible to traverse forward using thoughts and visualizing where you want to go.
Drowning is the most common way of entry into the Shadow Realms. Coincidentally it is the only way for people to accidentally discover the existence of Shadow Realms. For many unfortunate souls, this is a one-way trip into eternal damnation and denied afterlife.

Leaving the Shadow Realms

Usually returning back to where you came is sufficient to leave. Some experience arriving to the Shadow Realms emerging from an infinite black sea into white sandy beach, in such cases it is sufficient to simply return back to the black sea. In other cases it may be similar to waking up from a dream. For those blessed with black mana , leaving is much easier and safer and they will always have an intuitive understanding on how to leave the dimension.
Those who return back to the living world, find their bodies cold and chilly. As if they had been deceased. Time does not flow the same way in Shadow Realms as it does in the real world. However, those who overstay in the Shadow Realms may find they don't have a body left to return back to.

Type

Abyss

Location under

The Black Forest