Starclan

Starclan is a Clan made up of the deceased, former members of the Clans who live on in a spiritual form of themselves after passing away. They watch over the living cats, no matter where they may end up, as long as they believe in Starclan, or have a cat who believes in them. There is no set leader of Starclan, though there is a system of leadership, lead by former Nurses and Leaders. They are responsible for sending signs, omens, and prophecies to the living cats.
==Description==
Starclan are the deceased ancestors, descendants, and Clanmates of the Clan cats. Cats are only allowed to join Starclan when they die if they have lived an honorable life and followed the warrior code, and or believed they'd been doing so, in some exceptional cases. If a cat doesn't live an honorable life, then that cat will end up in The Dark Forest. Starclan cats don't have to be in a Clan at the time of their death to be welcomed to Starclan, though it is necessary that they believed in Starclan at some point in their lives to be welcome.
When a Clan cat dies, they will be guided to Starclan by a deceased cat who played an important part in their life, such as a mentor or a cherished family member. When a cat dies and goes to join Starclan, they merely close their eyes and reopen them. When a leader loses a life, that life appears in Starclan as a very faint copy of the leader, though no cat is able to interact with this spiritual version of said cat until they've lost their final life, and the spirit is unable to interact with others until this.
Starclan cats leave starry paw prints, their eyes shine like stars, and their pelts glow with a strange light that makes them look like they have stars in their fur. Frost sparkles at their paws and glitters in their eyes. Their pelts shine like ice and carry all the scents of the seasons: the tang of leaf-bare, the green scent of greenleaf, the musk of leaf-fall, and the sweet blossom of newleaf. The cats' spirits remain in Starclan until they are forgotten by all living and dead cats over a long time and earned their own peace, causing them to fade away to little more than ghost-like images of themselves. It is possible for a Starclan cat to be killed again, but they vanish forever; going elsewhere.
Starclan has the power to control the weather, cats believe. Cats will also thank their great ancestors after catching prey. Cats believe no battle blessed by Starclan would occur during a storm, and they are generally seen as a bad omen. When Starclan disapproves of something, they will cover the moon with clouds.
Cats who join Starclan have the ability to remove or keep any scar left on their body. Scars can appear as they did when the cat was alive, or as a bundle of stars around the area, though much fainter than the death wound. Death wounds that are not open wounds on a cat's body, such as a heart attack, greencough death, or frostbite for example, will cause different areas of the body to be more abundant with stars than the other areas. If they had a disability when they lived, such as a loss of the ability to walk or a broken leg, they have the option to return their ability to walk like every other cat in Starclan. Deaf or mute cats can gain the ability to hear and speak respectively, in the cases of Minnowkit and Littlekit, etc.
For a cat who passed away from a heart attack, such as Ford, a collection of stars will appear around their heart, causing the inside of their body to glow brighter than the outside.
For a cat who passed away from cancer, such as Littlebird, a collection of stars appears where her tumor and the spread of the tumor had been, lighting her belly and causing her inside to glow brighter than the rest of her.
For cats who died from open wounds such as cut throats, a bundle of stars will appear on their throat, making the outside of their body glow brighter than the rest of them, etc. The effected area that caused their death will also glow brightest. Lungs for greencough, open wounds for death from battle, etc. 
==In Relation to the Living==
Starclan act somewhat like guardians to the living Clan cats, often warning them of dangers ahead or to guide them in times of need. Ancestors usually watch over the living cats of their former Clan, and especially over cats who were close to them in their lifetime; for example, Valleystar visiting Bloompaw and Tansypaw, warning them of the upcoming events and preparing them for what is to come. Living cats visit StarClan in their dreams, although StarClan cats are able to appear even in the waking world, but such appearances are rare, and should be limited.
Nurses are specially bonded with Starclan, and they are the cats who are usually contacted by their ancestors. They will send signs to the leader and healers, warning of possible dangers or interpreting signs for their clanmates. The Nurses of Sunlit Prairies have become the sole spiritual role that fills the clan over the years, with them taking over the former ranks of Prophet and Seer that were present in the distant past. 
== Powers/Abilities ==
At a basic level, all Starclan cats are given the power of the stars. The power ranges drastically between members, with the main leaders of Starclan holding the most, with most average clan cats only being given a small taste. Starclan cat's powers have rarely been seen being used, making it difficult for cats to really recount on what they might have or might not have done. Over the moons of the clan's existence, cats have become strongly reliant on them, with those open-ended questions leaving room for cats to greatly exaggerate, or underappreciate their ability. There are many misconceptions with Starclan cat powers, so this will be a list of everything that is possible for them to do.
=== All-Knowing ===
Upon ascending and being accepted into Starclan's ranks, cats are often flooded with infinite knowledge over just about any topic they desire, with little limit being given to their expanding minds. Gaining the ability to access a living cat's mind, it is entirely possible for Starclan cats to listen in on specific cat's thoughts, invading their physical form and taking up their own through a manifestation in the living cat's dream. They can speak to cats without appearing to them through this, as well as gather information on them without them having a clue of what was happening. 
=== Realm-Padding ===
Though the strength of the stars can be argued, there is little denying that Starclan cats are the most powerful among any spiritual remains of their ancestors. Upon being accepted to Starclan, each cat is given powers that enable them to manifest themselves in different locations, as well as giving them access to freely roam the spiritual plains according to their own preference at the time. Cats of Starclan have complete power over the cats of the Dark Forest and Purgatory, and though this may be seen as an advantage, Starclan remains impartial, choosing to keep their paws out of the business of other realms due to various factors that vary from cat to cat. If one spiritual realm where to collapse or otherwise fall, each spiritual realm is destined to follow suit. Though they can choose to tread among other realms, cats of Starclan usually prefer to stick to their domain, as it is where their power thrives.
Cats of Starclan that choose not to move on immediately are weaker in spiritual power, though they still keep the ability to navigate the territory within the blink of an eye, these cats overtime may lose the capability to manifest themselves back into Starclan, resulting in spirits occasionally becoming stranded. It is implied that at least on a few occasions a Starclan Leader has been required to retrieve these stranded souls, manifesting in the waking world for a brief period of time before a new star seems to join those above, sparking radiantly as it's power floods back into the spiritual form of the cat.
=== Controlling Weather ===
It's no secret to any cat that Starclan can control the weather. Starclan often uses the weather to convey their emotions, using storms to show their disapproval and bright, warm weather when they remain pleased with the clan. Upsetting Starclan is seen as severely dangerous for cats of Sunlit Prairies, as they are very susceptible to violent weather conditions due to their bare territory and few places of shelter. In the most severe of circumstances, Starclan may even strike a cat to death with lightning, or use it with the intention of killing a genuine threat.
=== "Silkstar Give me Strength!" ===
Starclan can to some degree provide strength for those it chooses to listen to. Though the strength they provide is mainly in skill rather than power, it appears very scarcely due to the spiritual energy required to channel into a cat.
=== Taking Prey's Life ===
If Starclan believes that the cats of Sunlit Prairies are being ungrateful for the prey they've been given, Starclan has been known to send it away as a way for the clan to learn a lesson about respecting life and only taking life when necessary, and not for simple pleasantries such as a toy. Signs have been known to be sent as well in the form of birds of prey dropping down to snatch prey directly from under a cat's muzzle if Starclan sees them as ungrateful or unworthy.
=== Providing a Life, a Gift ===
This is often considered once of the most spiritually powered events, as it is the joining of nine souls to a new leader's, granting them select gifts based on missing qualities a leader will need to properly succeed in their leadership. The Nine Lives ceremony selects the cats that are in charge of giving up portions of their spiritual strength to mend the leader once they've fallen, or preventing something that might otherwise be fatal, saving their life current life but stripping the next. Cats who are closest with the select leader are usually chosen for this task, though most any member of Starclan is willing at any given point to give a life to fill gaps that may form. It is considered an immense honor to take part in a Nine Lives ceremony.
=== Healing Powers ===
Despite being praised often for their spiritual ability, the strength of the star's healing is in actuality quite dull. There are many wounds that are out of their paws, though as of now none of these wounds are currently known. Healing with spiritual energy is not only weak, but it also drains the spirit channeling, taking longer due to periods of constant refreshing in terms of sporadic rest in between constant work. They are capable of mending bone, healing most wounds, and recovering otherwise fatal injuries that may be received by a leader, or another cat that has spiritually linked with them.
Starclan cats are not capable of healing select wounds, however. If a cat has lost or seriously damaged a vital organ, lost mass amounts of blood, had their body battered to the point that their bones no longer meet, or lost a limb, there is little Starclan can do to change the outcome. 
=== Spiritual Linking ===
Spiritual linking, also called "true-sight" in some instances, refers to the bond that may form between specific cats and Starclan. Spiritual linking varies in degrees of intensity, with severe forms being of cats being capable of seeing spirits in waking worlds, much like a Nurse might due to prolonged contact with Starclan. The weakest form of a spiritual link with Starclan is the form of catching faints shimmers of light in the form of Starclan cats padding among the living, with the strongest being the cats who hear Starclan speak to them, where they will appear to them, as well as the possibility of them catching sights of spiritually aligned cats in their day to day life. 
Spiritual links are caused by close constant contact with Starclan, with over-exposure to them making the cat more bonded with Starclan than they might even their living clanmates. It can also be caused by frequent visits from Starclan, as well as the rare, albeit possible that a sign may be intercepted, creating a new link with a cat that may have never been meant to have one to begin with. Spiritual bonds tend to fade in it's weakest form, though the more powerful takes of it, as in seeing spirits among the living, are the most difficult to shake. Cats may be plagued with visions and spiritual experiences their whole lives, though most cats will go their entire lives without a single one.
=== Cats Known to Hold This Power ===
Below is a list of cats either implied, or directly mentioned to have this connection with Starclan.
Petalpaw, received a small portion of Ravenstar's spiritual energy after being injured during a spat with her clanmate. She's capable of seeing spirits and receiving messages from Starclan through the waking and living world via her blind eye for waking.
Wishwanderer, born with this spiritual connection.
Halfdusk, born with this spiritual connection.
Velvetkit, albeit in it's weakest of forms, Velvetkit was provided life by means of spiritual power through Silkstar after being born stillborn.
==Ceremonies==
All Clan ceremonies are believed to be supervised by Starclan. The Clan leader performing a ceremony calls upon the warrior ancestors, and promotes a cat to their new rank by the powers of Starclan. The leader asks that Starclan welcome them by a new name, such as when a kit is named an apprentice.
Starclan has the greatest role during leadership ceremonies, giving the new leader their nine lives and new name. Each of the lives are granted by a single ancestor, usually a cat the new leader had cherished when the cat was alive such as a loved family member or mentor. When a life is granted to a leader, they are given a special gift or attribute to make them a good leader, such as endurance, courage or strength. There is times during a leadership ceremony as well that a warning will be served to the future leader of the clan, giving information of possible dangers that the new leader may have to face. They are accompanied by a [./https://clan-of-hanging-canopies.fandom.com/wiki/Clan_Hierarchy Prophet] during this ceremony. This takes place in a wide open starry field, where nine cats maximum will give a leader her lives, while others may crowd around to watch, including possible passed kits or friends of the leader, to congratulate them and wish them a strong, and lengthy reign.
==Reincarnation==
Reincarnation is a mostly unknown and unspecified ceremony. Cats have been reincarnated for reasons cats are unsure of, and when questioned, Starclan gives them no answer. Cats have speculated Starclan will give cats a second chance who died too young, or were never truly happy in life. Cats who died before they lived their full life out include Damian and Fallenhollow, after the pregnant queen and her mate fell into a ravine and passed. Starclan revived Fallenhollow, where she was able to give birth to her kits and return to her clan.
Reincarnated cats will receive the memories of their past self, with a strong example being Littlekit reborn as Littlebird. Born to Minkpaw after her untimely demise, she keeps her exact appearance she had while living, though her former inability to speak had been reverted. While she grew, it became clear she preferred her former adoptive fathers, Hiddenflame and Crowdusk, over her birth parents. She remained unaware of her differences until she was 4 months old.
Recalling this, she remembered her death and even found her past grave. She was horrified and upset by this, and for the rest of her life cursed Starclan for returning her only for her to live with the trauma she hadn't even lived in this life in her next.
==Sacrifice of the Stars==
The Sacrifice of the Stars is a mostly unused concept in the roleplay, and is somewhat unfleshed out. This is when a Starclan cat chooses to give up their life force to revive a passed cat. Depending on how old either spirit may be, more than one cat may need to volunteer to send the cat back to Starclan. This is a permanent death for the sacrificed cat, and they would never return under any circumstances.
Much like Reincarnation, this cat will hold memories of the cat that had given up their life in Starclan for them. In the series, this has only been done twice so far.
The first appearance of the concept is when Crowdusk and Minnowkit pass away from [./https://clan-of-hanging-canopies.fandom.com/wiki/Greencough greencough]. Minnowkit is initially unchalant about Starclan, and very disinterested in anything but seeing his siblings again. He is now no longer deaf when he joins Starclan. Crowdusk expresses a desire to return, and the Starclan cats offer him the option to return with a Sacrifice of the Stars. A cat will die in Starclan to give up their life force to revive the body of a passed on Starclan cat. Minnowkit offers himself for the ceremony, and though Crowdusk is hesitant, Minnowkit promises he wants to go through with it. The ceremony is begun, and the words are spoken by Minnowkit to send him home; "And by the power of Starclan, I send you home."
Crowdusk revived with the memories of his deceased adopted son, and he would never join Starclan after that, causing Crowdusk's spirit to also be just as weak. He still would require recovery time for his body to become used to life returning to it.
A sacrifice of the stars can also create a new body for a cat who had been long dead, such as Ravenstar. When Hiddenstar lost his final life and requested to be sent back to Starclan, Ravenstar was enraged. She stepped up and requested herself to be sent back, and it is referenced she must've asked in that past to no avail. She requests that she and Hiddenstar are sent back together. Her to save her dying clan, and Hiddenstar to return to his family, who still needed him. All of Coveclan bands together to sacrifice themselves to rebuild a new body for Ravenstar, giving her the ability to return to her clan and revive what she could of Rippling Streams after the famine that destroyed her home. Her new body is created, and she is sent back, though completely weak. She would never grow old, and she was unable to bear kits with her new body, or it would kill her. She regained her strength and later reformed her clan, naming them Desolate Tundras after they merged with the Tribe that inhabited the mountains above the Clan of Falling Skies' territory. She has the memories of her great ancestors, and feels all the more connected to them than she had in the past.
==Nine Lives Ceremony==
Once a leader passes, the leadership will pass down a line of succession, beginning with the leader's heir. If no heir has been chosen, is fit for the position, or isn't present/alive, the leader's deputy will take up the role. They will travel to share tongues with Starclan, receiving their nine lives. The lives given by Starclan are chosen qualities that a leader may lack, and it is up to them to gift each leader with lives that will further improve the quality of the leadership, as they're aiming for them to be noble, respectable, and fair.
Any Starclan cats that exist are capable of giving lives to a new leader, though usually the cats closest to them in their lives will be selected. This ceremony is the most important a cat may ever go through, and is arguably one of the most spiritually powerful of all of the ceremonies Starclan does. 
==== Known Lives ====
Acceptance - Dawnstar
Compassion - Dawnstar
Patience - Dawnstar
Altruism - Dawnstar
Trust - Dawnstar
Sense - Dawnstar
Forgiveness - Dawnstar
Resilience and Love - Dawnstar
Wisdom & Faith - Dawnstar
== Leader Revival/Healing Time ==
When a leader loses a life in succession leading up to their last, they have varying outcomes depending on differing factors. In some circumstances, Starclan may be standing by and using their connection within the leader to begin the healing process of their wounds before their death occurs, giving them only a brief heart-beat, if any, time is spent dead. Though if the wound is severe enough, even Starclan may need time to heal it.
Leaders that have broken bones, such as Valleystar when she lost her 8th life to a falling tree, have been known to spend days in Starclan, their body kept preserved among the Starclan cats that work tirelessly to heal them. If a leader does have time to spend dead, they will be transported to Starclan's hunting grounds, where they are greeted upon arrival, often before they have a moment to open their eyes. Starclan often explains that their wounds appear as crystal shapes penetrating through their pelt, though they explain that it's simply temporary if it is a leader's first time. They are welcome to the lush prey of Starclan, and are free to speak with their fallen clanmates, as well as look down upon the living through a reflective pool mirroring the one used to share tongues with Starclan. Leaders learn upon their first visit to Starclan that a spiritual form of them exists in the realm, simply appearing as a one to one mirror of the cat, as part of them dies with each life lost. Losing a life means losing the gift that came alongside it, with the spiritual manifestation of this form strengthened by the gift, it results in the spirit of each leader padding between two realms almost permanently. 
Once everything is gone over that a leader would like to learn from them, Starclan will only offer- rather than force- a leader to return to the living. Upon revival, leaders with severe injures- such as the example of Valleystar- come to learn that their bodies are heavily weakened by Starclan's power, with the longer they're out doing more and more damage to the body, with a maximum time of a week of failed attempts by Starclan to save them before the leader slowly begins to drain of their remaining lives. Valleystar's injuries, which had been severe in the form of crushed internals, took two days to heal, with the bulk of her muscle mass having been destroyed within the time.
Injuries healed by Starclan are never fully recovered, and a leader will never return as good as they once were before losing their first life. Alongside losing the gift that came with the life, damages to the body such as broken bones, the loss of mass amounts of blood, and heavy blunt-force trauma will usually always result in a long-lasting issue that remains in the leader. For example, after losing her first life to a broken neck and shattered hip by a badger, Dawnstar has a permanent crack upon turning her neck, causing slight pain and irritation. Her hip is also mended, though it remains a weak-point in her permanently. Starclan cannot heal everything, and it is entirely possible for a leader to die once without returning. Their healing powers are thought of as spectacular in the minds of Clan cats, though some beg to differ upon seeing the result of some of these healing attempts.
==Life in Starclan==
Once a cat reaches Starclan, they learn all about the territories, including the stories from the past clan, since faded, Gurgling Waters, Coveclan, Carnivalclan, and Horrorclan. Cats in Starclan are restored to the age in which they were happiest; for example Stan and Ford are old, as they were happiest at the end of their lives, with their kin in Falling Skies, and Littlebird is young, as she was happiest when she first became deputy. They also do not age in Starclan. Cats who die keep their name they had at death, unless they passed as a kit or apprentice, and choose to be ranked up. They can choose their own final name in Starclan, or have a Starclan cat grant them with a name.
There is always plenty of prey, so hunting is easy, and cats have no defined tasks (such as hunting, training, etc). They are free to do as they please, so they are mostly content, Though it is common to see cats doing such tasks either way, as they prefer it this way. Cats such as Littlebird choose to hunt in Starclan whenever possible, and healers may choose to pick herbs in Starclan to keep a storage like they'd been alive, to keep some sort of routine.
In Starclan, cats usually stay mates until they've faded. There are many areas to have tranquility with your mate. Starclan cats cannot have kits, but may become mates with other cats, or choose to pick a mate in Starclan. Queens who pass away and go to Starclan while pregnant will have her kits there, though they will stay young kittens, not aging.
Starclan cats do not usually feel pain. They do not grow hungry if they do not eat, and they do not feel pain. Until recently, when cats have begun to fade away early, receiving wounds like living cats do. Because of this, Starclan is more distant than ever to their living clanmates. They are unsure of why this has begun to happen, and they are fearful of Starclan being lost because of it.
Once a Starclan cat ceases to be remembered by any living or dead cats, they will slowly seem to appear as the faintest star and will live their life in Starclan peacefully and alone. Usually, they do not send dreams to any living cats except on special occasions. 
==Territory==
The Clan of Sunlit Prairies' variant of Starclan is much different to their bordering Clan's access to their ancestors. The Clan of Sunlit Prairies has less access to them recently due to an unknown entity scaring them away. Currently, no living cat has been known to walk within Starclan, and their only access has been to one part of the territory, the place all cats go when Starclan brings them to their territory, though it is impossible to leave this area.
Realm of Aspiration
==Known Residents==
Below is a list of every cat in Starclan, including limited information about them. Cats from the Great Ancestors are not going to be included here.
Starclan Residents 
==Trivia==
*The Sacrifice of the Stars concept is created by Cove, also known as Simbalvr123 in the Discord. Go give her some props!
==Mistakes==
*There is plenty of confusion with The Sacrifice of the Stars concept. There has been plenty of controversy surrounding it, with others unsure if the spirits of the cats entirely fade, come back half faded, or are unaffected. Minnowkit is said to have lived in Starclan after his death, an obvious retcon to the sacrifice he made for Crowdusk after he'd been transferred to a new roleplayer.