The Ancestors

# **Starclan**

> *"...the wise and dutiful."*
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> The Ancestors
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> Starclan
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> ### Members
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> The Dark Forest
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> ### Members
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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. If a cat doesn't live an honorable life, then that cat will end up in the Place of No Stars, also known as the Dark Forest. Starclan cats don't have to be in a clan at the time of their death to be welcomed to Starclan, kittypets, rogues, and loners can be accepted into Starclan.

When a 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, but they are unable to communicate in any way to other Starclan cats until the leader loses their final life.

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 Starlan cat to be killed again, but they vanish forever; going to a different place.

# **The Dark Forest**

> *"...the wicked and cruel."*
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There is no prey and cats feel no hunger. Instead of walking the skies with friends and family like in Starclan, cats here are banished to walk through the forest in solitude. Much like in Starclan, cats of the Place of No Stars who are forgotten by all living cats fade away to little more than ghostlike spirits, who haunt the Dark Forest. Time also passes strangely, with residents often losing track of how much time has passed.

Several Dark Forest spirits can walk in the dreams of living cats, though it is a skill that must be learned. Usually in the dream, the cat finds themselves in the Dark Forest with the deceased cat. There seems to be no limitations on who the Dark Forest cats can visit, although if a cat consciously decides that they don't want to be visited any more, it seems to prevent it from happening again. Upon waking up from the dream, they will retain all characteristics acquired; for example, if they get wounded in the Dark Forest, they will have the same wound in reality as well. This also applies to fatigue and skills practiced in the dream. This also includes death, as cats who are killed in the Dark Forest die in real life. At times, cats can dream themselves into the Dark Forest without a spirit guide, by harnessing on dark thoughts and being open to negative emotions, such as anger and hatred, fear, anguish and hopelessness, and jealousy. Cats can enter with their physical body by being dragged by a spirit cat through the Mooncave.

Starclan cats are able to pass into the Place of No Stars if they need to, but by doing so, they risk the chance of becoming lost and never finding their way out again. From StarClan, there is a barrier of sorts consisting of a great cloud of mist, which eventually leads to the Dark Forest. Living cats are able to visit the Dark Forest when guided by a Starclan cat, although on occasion cats are able to see it without any Starclan cat to help them. Dark Forest cats can also sometimes materialized into the living world though on rare occasions.

It is said that only clan cats, or cats having some correlation with clan life, can find their way to the Place of No Stars.