Shadow and Bone unfolds across an intricate fantasy world with multiple countries and cultures, and, while the show isn't as in-depth with explaining the geography of the world, the Grishaverse books explain the map in detail. The show is based on the massively popular Grisha trilogy and Six of Crows books by Leigh Bardugo, who built a sprawling second-world fantasy with political and cultural underpinnings all its own, drawing influences from real-life people and places.
While most of the series takes place in Ravka, home to Alina Starkov, the story also strays into or touches upon the other countries on the map and features characters from several in-world cultures. Ravka’s situation is also complicated further because of the Shadow Fold that cut through the country, the looming threat that Alina may be able to destroy for good with her newfound power as the Sun Summoner.
Much of Shadow and Bone’s plot hinges on Ravka’s long war with Fjerda and Shu Han. However, the Six of Crows characters hail from Kerch, and other countries are mentioned as either the homelands or the escape routes of Shadow and Bone’s many characters. While the show often has few reference points for the map of locations and cultures within its world, quickly bouncing from one country to the next, the Grishaverse books can fill out that information for viewers who have not read the Shadow and Bone books.
Ravka
Ravka, the main setting of Shadow and Bone, is a monarchy located between Fjerda and Shu Han, and the three nations have long been at war along their constantly shifting borders. Ravka has two armies: the First Army, comprised of ordinary soldiers, and the Second Army, the Grisha forces led by General Kirigan. The Grisha are the series' equivalent of magic-users, though their abilities are rooted in science at the molecular level. The nation’s capital is Os Alta, where the royal family’s Grand Palace residence and the Second Army’s Little Palace residence and training ground is located. Leigh Bardugo drew upon 18th-century Tsarist Russia for many aspects of the politics, culture, language, and aesthetic of Ravka.
Ravka is home to most of the Grisha, who are usually discovered as children by traveling Grisha testers and brought to the Little Palace to train as a member of the Second Army. Grisha have been persecuted in Ravka in the past, but are now considered elite members of society due to their importance as soldiers in Ravka’s wars.
Centuries ago, the Shadow Fold, a sea of pure darkness populated with monstrous, ravenous creatures, cut Ravka in two when the Black Heretic created it with uncontrollable corrupted magic. Since then, the majority of the country has been cut off from the port cities in West Ravka, forcing Ravkans to make dangerous supply runs through the Fold. Because West Ravka has been separated for so long, some West Ravkans want to secede and form an independent nation, a movement led by General Zlatan in the show.
Ravka is also the usual home of the Suli, a nomadic people who often work as carnival performers and fortune-tellers. Inej and Zoya are both Suli in Shadow and Bone. Both Ravkans and Suli revere the Saints, martyred figures who often performed miracles or died for their faith, and many consider Alina Starkov a living Saint because of her incredibly rare Sun Summoner power and potential to destroy the Fold and bring liberation to her people.
Fjerda
Fjerda is the icy nation north of Ravka, based on Scandinavia. Fjerdans believe that the Grisha are dangerous witches and send their witch-hunting soldiers, called Drüskelle, to capture Grisha and deliver them to Fjerda for trial and execution. Many Drüskelle, like Matthias Helvar, came to hate the Grisha because of Fjerda’s bitter war with Ravka’s Second Army, but also due to generations of being told the Grisha are in league with demons and nothing but abominations. Fjerda’s capital is Djerholm, where the seat of nobility, the Ice Court, is located. The Ice Court is a major setting in Six of Crows, as Kaz Brekker and the Crows were hired to pull off a heist in the Fjerdan fortress.
Fjerdans worship the god Djel, who they believe built the Ice Court and works through ash trees, which are sacred to Fjerdans. Fjerdans are commonly buried at the roots of an ash tree according to religious custom. Fjerdan society also has strict traditions about gender roles and courtship. Women are kept at home while men fill the public roles in society, and women are expected to be demure and modest, which is why Matthias initially finds the brash Ravkan Nina Zenik so shocking.
Shu Han
Shu Han is the nation to the south of Ravka, a country devoted to scientific and technological advancement. Shu Han’s name is taken from a real historical Chinese state, and Bardugo drew upon China and Mongolia as an influence for the Shu. In the show, Alina Starkov is half-Shu, which brands her as the enemy in Ravka because of the war between the two countries.
Shu Han is separated from Ravka by a mountain range, which has kept Ravka from attacking at the border, but it is connected to the island of Kerch via land bridges. The country is a matriarchal monarchy, ruled by a queen. The Shu are a common source of world-shattering advancements, like the addictive jurda parem drug in Six of Crows that enhances the power of the Grisha. However, there are potentially darker reasons for their scientific and technological prowess. The Ravkan government has accused the Shu of inhumane treatment of its Grisha, including experimenting on and dissecting Grisha to find the source of their magic and power.
Kerch
The island nation of Kerch is home to Kaz Brekker and the Crows, who fight for control of the criminal underworld of its capital city, Ketterdam. Kerch has not taken sides in the war between Ravka, Fjerda, and Shu Han, as the culture of Kerch values money and trade above all else. The Southern Colonies, the land south of Novyi Zem, also currently belongs to Kerch.
The Kerch worship Ghezen, the god of commerce and trade, and they considered work and trade to be a form of worship. The main place of worship in Ketterdam is the Church of Barter, built in the shape of Ghezen’s hand. Although slavery is technically illegal in Kerch, slavers still sell people to the wealthy merchants of Kerch under predatory indentures that bind them to a merchant until their debt is paid off. An unindentured person can also offer their own indenture up for auction in Kerch. Kerch has several real-life historical parallels it draws from, including the 18th-century Dutch Republic, New York, Las Vegas, and Victorian London.
Novyi Zem
Novyi Zem is a large nation on the opposite side of the map from Ravka and Fjerda, set between Kerch’s Southern Colonies and the Wandering Isle. It is based on historical colonies like the United States and Australia. The separation of the expansive True Sea has kept Novyi Zem out of the conflict on the other side of the world, allowing it to prosper with a nation of rough but industrious people. As a young and vibrant country with an expansive frontier, Novyi Zem has become a refuge for those fleeing the war and persecuted people, including Grisha. The Zemeni are known for farming jurda, a harmless stimulant. Jesper Fahey, the Crows’ sharpshooter, comes from Novyi Zem.
The Wandering Isle
The Wandering Isle is located north of Novyi Zem, across the treacherous Bone Road sea passage from Fjerda. It is based on Ireland, and its people, known as the Kaelish, are commonly pale and red-haired. Pekka Rollins, Kaz Brekker’s nemesis in the Ketterdam underworld, originally comes from the Wandering Isle, as does Jesper’s father. Little is known about the Wandering Isle compared to other locations in the Grishaverse, except that it's supposedly led by a military commander and the rumors that the Kaelish consider Grisha blood a medical cure-all and kill Grisha for their valuable blood. Shadow and Bone takes place in a wide and complex world, and any upcoming seasons will explore even more of the Grishaverse map.