This raises questions about the relationship of our own world and the stories we tell here to these other worlds, and about the nature of time -- how can Snow White or Dr Frankenstein be currently living persons despite having featured in stories for well over a century, for instance. These will probably not be answered.
Black Fairy's Realm
The realm to which the Black Fairy was banished appears to be one of eternal darkness (6.16). She acquires children to use as slaves to mine fairy dust for her. Time moves very quickly in this realm, so that 28 years pass there in a matter of days for the LWM. Although she can leave it briefly to steal children, her long-term absence can only be accomplished by the powers of a Savior, channeled into the sword created by the Blue Fairy.
Black and White World
Whale/Victor Frankenstein's home (2.05). This world "has witchcraft, but it's feeble, neglected stuff" (Rumple, 2.12).
It has never been explained how Victor got swept up in the Dark Curse; was he back in the EF at the time, looking for another heart, or something else that might help Gerhardt? Frankenstein's story is not in Henry's book.
The Enchanted Forest
The point of origin for most of the characters, an unlikely grab bag of story settings have been mashed into one realm here:
- Imperial China, per Mulan
- Arendelle, per Frozen
- Camelot (some local oddities may be due to the use of the Sands of Avalon)
- DunBroch, per Brave
- Agrabah, per Aladdin
- Killian's native land, which appears based on early 1800s England
- Any number of Hollywood-medieval kingdoms, including those of Snow White, King Midas, Aurora, Belle's family, etc.appear to inhabit one tightly-packed mountainous region
I feel it’s best not to think of this as a single landscape but a place in which space is elastic. Every place appears to be a day's ride from every other place; time appears to work differently in some parts of the land (like Camelot) than others; technology levels vary wildly from one place to another.
Notable features of this realm include the Infinite Forest and Lake Nostos.
(See also this post on the history and geography of the place, mostly speculative.)
Kansas
Dorothy Gale’s home was confirmed as a fictional land by Adam Horowitz via Twitter on 4/4/15 or thereabouts, following the 5.16 episode airing.
The Land of Untold Stories
Recently home to Jekyll & Hyde and an unknown number of other characters who had no other home. The nature of this realm is uncertain and sure to be explored in S6, but it is a land with magic.
The Land Without Magic (LWM)
Earth as we know it, although the name is a misnomer; there is a small amount of magic here, evidenced by Emma's early life and the character of the Dragon. This realm appears to be the permanent destination for the Dark Curse.
London (1920s)
The home of Cruella de Vil (4.18), a world without time. This realm has significant differences from the other London(s), and can therefore be assumed to be its own world.
London (Peter Pan)
Home of the Darling family and briefly of Baelfire when he used the bean to leave the Enchanted Forest. I'm calling this a world of its own because otherwise his timeline doesn't work at all.
It’s possible that Alice is also from this version of London (OUaTiW), or that there are many slightly different, eternally unchanging versions of London scattered about the multiverse.
Neverland
Before the days of Peter Pan, Neverland was visited by children in their sleep. "In my sleep I would travel to the most wonderful place.... Neverland." (Malcolm, 3.08)
The magic locator globe (2.22) shows substantial land masses, but the only part we visit in canon is the island. Since Malcolm became Pan, the island has become a grim version of the boys' imaginary land envisioned by Barrie. Neverland consists mainly of a jungle island populated by the Lost Boys (children who feel themselves to be abandoned and are lured away by Pan's pipes), ruled over by Peter Pan and his Shadow.
Magic in Neverland is very strong -- if one believes in it. On his first visit, Rumple thinks of cake and a piece appears in his hand (3.08). Henry transforms a stick into a sword. Pixie dust occurs there naturally, allowing the user to fly. Pan's own magic renders him proof against any defeat (in theory), and he is aware of all that transpires on the island. Once you reach Neverland, the only means of leaving is via the Shadow (2.22).
Among other threats, Neverland is home to dreamshade, a thorny vine that produces a potent poison (3.02). Hook used it as the base for the poison for Rumple. The poison affects Liam in a matter of minutes, but takes days to bring Charming to the brink of death (3.05). Rumple is able to devise an antidote for Charming after their return from Neverland (3.10).
Notable features:
- The Dark Jungle (3.02)
- Deadman's Peak -- The central mountain on which the magic spring is located (3.05). "These waters are rich with the power of Neverland. It's what keeps this land and all on it so young. If one was to drink directly from it, its power could cure any ill" (Pan, 3.05). Having done, so, however, one can never leave Neverland.
- Echo Cave -- "The only way to rescue someone from inside is to reveal a secret.... Your darkest secret. Echo Cave derives its name from an old saying, 'the deeper the lie, the more truth in its echo.' The cave demands that you reveal a truth about yourself, a secret you would never admit to anyone" (Hook, 3.06).
- Dark Hollow -- The darkest place on the island, populated by not just Pan's shadow, but others (ones that the shadow has taken from their owners?) (3.07).
- Skull Rock -- Te magical heart of Neverland, the place where Pan's hourglass lies (3.08). It was created when Malcolm decided to stay. The hourglass represents the magic fueling his youth; once it's gone, he will die.
- The Pixie Woods -- Contains Pan's Thinking Tree, the one he climbed in search of pixie dust and the original site of his transformation (3.09). The vines around the tree become animated by regret.
This was identified as "another world" from the Enchanted Forest by the Walsh the Wizard (3.16). However, travel to and from this realm seems remarkably easy, even if one doesn’t have a cyclone handy. Ruby and Mulan are able to reach it (5.18), as is Cora (5.19) by means unknown, and Zelena banishes Glinda likewise. It is possible that this is due to its nature as a place of strong magic.
The Underworld
The abode of the dead, loosely based on Greek mythology as reimagined by Disney in Hercules. A portal to it exists in Storybrooke, and the blood of someone who has been there and returned can be used to summon the ferryman, Charon (5.11). This realm can also be reached via Oz cyclone.
The term "Underworld" is used to refer to the holding area for souls who have unfinished business to resolve. Hades crafted this area to resemble Storybrooke in order to please his would-be love, Zelena. Hades dwells in a cavern below the library, at the source of five rivers (Styx, Acheron, Lethe, etc.). As one might expect, the landscape beyond the town is fluid to say the least.
The dead who resolve their business cross a stone bridge and move on to what appears to be individualized ideas of heaven (Olympus for Hercules and Megara, a ship on the ocean for Liam and the crew, etc.). If one fails a test, annoys Hades, or is very unlucky, one might instead end up in the river of fire.
Notable features include the graveyard, which acts as a population index and indicates the current disposition of the named person (upright stone = in the UW; tipped stone = better place; cracked stone = worse place), the River of Souls, in which unfortunate souls are doomed to eternity as "tormented husks", and the ambrosia garden.
Wonderland
More or less as described in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a surreal landscape populated by strange creatures, ruled over by the Queen of Hearts (Cora) and the Red Queen (Anastasia). The most significant aspect of this realm is that “anything is possible in Wonderland.” The laws of magic as known elsewhere can be broken there (at least briefly). Karma, however, remains unavoidable.
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