The world of Shem exists as a cyclical formation of an entity, a nephesh, known as Mother Shem. She is representative of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth that all things go through. In her first incarnation, she was subject to a tyrannical figure known as the Arbiter, who sought to control her cyclical existence. He brought in Divinities to serve him and his grandiose plans for a special place in the Universe. Eventually, his plans came to fruition, and the first iteration was destroyed in apocalyptic war.

Time passed. The cosmos spun. And then a second incarnation was formed to complete his plans. However, the Divines he had forced to play parts in his grand designs rebelled, and a few of them, in their cunning, used his own Divine Laws against him, contorting him into an undead abomination. Fearing dominance by these cunning traitors, the other Divines devised to ascend an Aeonian who served the Arbiter to take his place. This new Arbiter was more accountable to the Divines, but no less dominant of Mother Shem, who was grievously wounded by the fall of the previous Arbiter.

Eventually, another of the Divines plotted to simply destroy his own enemies. What followed caused a massive, cosmic rift that not only ended the second incarnation, it also altered reality itself. In the void where Divine Laws once were, the nephesh known as Mother Shem rose up to assert herself against further enslavement, wounding, or death. In her third incarnation, she became ruler of her own domain, with the help of her children and those Divines, Aeonians, and mortals who loved her.

Third Shem saw her reform herself into her true form, returning the world to the shape it should have been in before the interference of the Arbiters. She could not heal the wound she was left with, but she could bring back hidden continents, return peoples to their original lands, and allow for a natural progression of time and history. Unfortunately, other enemies came to take advantage of her: The Eldritch, held back by the power of the Divine Laws, now sought to devour and control Shem.

Once more, a cosmic war ensued. The mafi girma, enemies of the Eldritch, arose, and other nephesh and logos got involved. Reality trembled. But Mother Shem prevailed. The Eldritch were sealed, and she was able to assert control of her own self once more. She cast out those Divines who served the Eldritch, forcing them into hiding, and allowed those who fought them (and those who betrayed them) to remain. But she made clear she was not to be harmed, violated, enslaved, or otherwise defied by sealing away the True Names of all of the Divines, restricting their Gifts to mortals, and nurturing a religion that worshiped her as the Goddess.

Now on Shem there are many factions, as there always were, but in the cosmic struggle, Third Shem is dominated by the machinations of these groupings:

• Mother Shem and the Court of Gaia, who seek to preserve the world and protect all life there.
• The Court of the Shield, who were tasked by Mother Shem to protect mortality and the mafi girma.
• The Court of Rainbows, who were given the Rainbow by Mother Shem to inspire, empower, and uplift mortals and serve the mafi girma.
• The Court of the Obelisk, who are the Divines who served the Eldritch and seek to return them to power.
• The Court of the White Crown, who are the Divines who betrayed the Eldritch and seek to bring themselves to power.
• The Court of Mantle and Blade, who are unaligned Divines who change allegiances, tend specific aspects of mortal life, or simply try to exist.
• The other nephesh and logos in the Angeldawn system and constellation, who each have their own agendas.
• And the Court of Faerie, who are mortals and Aeonians under an extremely powerful Queen who has a greater role in the cosmos.

On a mortal level, few are aware of this political dance, being focused on the myriad wars, disasters, class struggles, and mystic quests.

These are the features of Third Shem and the Angeldawn system and constellation:

Plane:

Third Shem is in the Spirit Realm, as is the majority of the Universe. See Planes for other realms.

Stars:

• Sol Angelos, the star around which Shem revolves. The kokebi nation lives on the edges of his corona.
• Sol Invictus, Sol Aestate, and Sol Felicitos, the four stars in the Angel constellation that Sol Angelos is the smallest star of.
• The Kyel Cluster, a distant star cluster that protects Shem.
• The Zodiac, the constellations that guide mortals on Shem and others in the Angeldawn system.

For information on other stars, see Stars and Constellations. For nations from other stars, see aliens.

Planets and their Moons:

• Colos, the Messenger, who has no moons nor living beings upon his world.
• Behial, the Warrior, who has no moons and is home to the Scythax and various hardy creatures.
• Jahur, the Temptress, who has a small pink moon named Tsalib and is home to the Verethir and a great variety of plant life.
• Mother Shem, the Valet, who is home to myriad species and nations, animals, plants, fungi, and other life. She is a rare and powerful nephesh whose role in the cosmos is vital to something much greater. She has three moons, named for the colors they appear to be from her surface: Grey Moon, White Moon, and Green Moon.
• The Lost Twin, a world that was destroyed at the end of Second Shem, or that may have been an illusion, or perhaps was never there at all.
• Kruurach, the Stone Giant, who is a massive rocky world, almost as large as a gas giant and has 11 moons (the largest five of which are named Brosoth, Aldamond, Veeron, Calimel, and Rochar).
• Inoxuil, the Mindflayer, who is a about twice the size of Shem, a world of tropical paradise due to her disproportionately warm core. Home to much life, especially the Inoxan people (known for their tyranny), and two moons, Xevenon and Cleoptis.
• Weptaram, the Marshall, who is largest gas giant in the system. He has 41 moons who are home to the Kene and various strange forms of life. He has bright swirling colors and beautiful rings around him. In the rings live the izarr kokebi nation.
• Thurudrill, the Duke, the second largest gas giant in the system. He has 37 moons, only one of which (Thuruvail) has life (the Llassar). He is known for his violet clouds and the fact that he has two sets of intersecting rings around him, due to a wobble in his rotation. In the rings live the izarr kokebi nation.
• Mytoth, the Duchess, the smallest gas giant and the last of them. She has 11 moons, home to the Ha'ull, and a single ring around her bluegreen world. A series of storms whose clouds form a net-like formation leave a distinct mark that astronomers ponder. In the rings live the izarr kokebi nation.
• Unim, the Wanderer, has an irregular orbit. Their atmosphere is full of floating pink crystals that make it impossible to see the surface or land on it. Some residents of this world, the Nelemerene, have made contact outside it, but so rarely nothing is known of them.
• Ane, the Daugther, is a tiny, cold world with one tiny moon, Oe.
• Avagen, the Eye, is a very distant world on the edges of the system, with blood red stands, home to Avagenian Eyes and the Delothian people and many stranger beings. It is within the Astranimbus, and thus sometimes the gwiazda kokebi nation come to the planet.

See Planets and Moons for more information.

Other cosmic features:

• The Asteroid Belt is near Kruurach, whose orbit crosses it from time to time. Home to the bituon kokebi nation, asterians, and other space beings and wanderers.
• Rogwin and Dechaada are two dwarf planets, the first in the asteroid belt, the second near the former orbit of the Lost Twin. Home to asterians.
• The stellar cities that float between worlds, home to the bintang kokebi nation.
• The Astranimbus, a cloud of ice, dust, and the odd comet or asteroid, at the edge of the Angeldawn system. It is home to the gwiazda kokebi nation and many strange beings.
• The Brhyyic Nebula, a dark nebula near the Kyel Cluster from which lutipariant beings come, and the Eneziq Nebula, a massive nebula further out, in which dwell the najim kokebi nation.
• Deep space, far beyond the Angeldawn system, where the juldiz kokebi nation dwells and many other unknown beings.
• The Alene Galaxy, in which the Angeldawn system and Kyel Cluster exist. In its heart dwell the trafarean kokebi nation and other beings.
• The Qredhean Black Hole, from which the qredhe kokebi nation hail, somewhere in deep space.

For other cosmic features, see Cosmos.

Continents:

• Ansulym: called the White Continent for its white-stoned cities and mountains; in the northeast.
• Cassaru: called the First Continent because it is home to the [[World Tree], the word's axis mundi; in the north, around the North Pole.
• Dabusen: called the Land of Steel for its role in bringing the metal to the world; in the southeast.
• Gyrah: called the Floating Continent because it is in the sky and orbits the World Tree.
• Jesenranu: called the Morning Continent for reasons long lost; it is usually in the center of the north on maps.
• Mahad: called the Sunburst Continent because of its shape; it is just south of Jesenranu, north of Taggarus, and northwest of Dabusen.
• Palhur: called the Great Continent because it is the largest; it dominates the west.
• Starfall: called the Broken Continent, because it is broken. Home to The Pit, mostly wastelands. North of Palhur.
• Taggarus: called the Birthplace, because life is said to have begun there. In the central-south.
• Wymmera: called the Burning Continent because of its major volcano chains. In the east, south of Ansulym, north of Dabusen.

For more, see Continents and Countries. For other landforms and features, see Geography and subpages.

Other Land Features:

• Island Bridge: a vast chain of islands stretching from Jesenranu to Mahad, then Mahad to Taggarus, Taggarus to Dabusen, and then from there south to Palhur.

Oceans:

• Aurul Ocean: between Jesenranu and Ansulym.
• RedOcean: south of Ansulym, west of Starfall, north of Wymmera and Dabusen.
• Borean Ocean: south of Cassaru, north of Ansulym, Jesenranu, and Starfall
• Great Southern Ocean: south of Dabusen, Taggarus, and Palhur.
• Palhuric Ocean: west and north of Palhur, east of Ansulym, Wymmera, and Dabusen.
• Wyren Ocean: around Mahad, north of Taggarus, northeast of Palhur, south of Jesenranu.

For more, see Oceans.

Seas:

• Eastern Sea: a sea off the east of Dabusen banded by the continent and the southern Island Bridge.
• Indigo Sea: the sea in the "cup" of Jesenranu.
• Reever Sea: a massive section of the Wyren Ocean banded by the central Island Bridge and Palhur.
• Sea of Stars: the sea in the center of Starfall.

For more, see Seas.

Subterranean Realm: in descending order.

1. The Lithosphere: caves, caverns, mines, and tunnels in the upper crust of the world.
2. The Grottos: pockets in the middle crust, a thick layer of rock.
3. The Hollow: a massive hollow section between the middle and lower crust.
4. The Hypogaeum: a maze of tunnels and magma, water and steam, in the lower crust.
5. The Low Mines: the lowest part of the lower crust, an intricate network of metal- and gem-rich mines.
6. Shadowdeep: a place of pure darkness between the crust and the mantle.
7. Voidbarrens: a place of void energies just above the mantle.
8. Barathrum: the upper mantle, a burning magma sea.
9. Stagnum Ignis: the molten outer core.
10. Inner Core: the exact center of the world, a place of peace, equilibrium, and quietude.

For more, see Subterranean Realm.

Undersea Realm:

The undersea realm is divided much the same as the oceans are, with political boundaries shifting as countries do. For more, see Oceans. Some major features include

• The Thousand Thousand: the Island Bridge as seen from below.