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StarClan is the afterlife specific to the clan, it is where their warrior ancestors from years past reside and it is the source of power that bestows leaders their lives and mortal cats unique abilities. StarClan played an accidental part in the clans being unable to escape their tragic fate prior and as such have taken a more reclusive stance interacting with the current clans out of fear of leading them astray. They will offer cryptic warnings and advice, but will never deliberate push a choice on the clans unless they fear they have no choice. StarClan cats are not all powerful and all knowing despite their ability to oversee the forest territories, they are simply cats who have passed and watch over the clans to the best of their abilities; flaws and all.

While mostly benevolent this does not mean StarClan is not without its own problems and struggles and the cats there may not be 'evil' but they aren't necessarily all good either. StarClan is an entity on its own that oversees this specific branch of the afterlife, if has rules and expectations of the cats within it and will not hesitate to punish even well-meaning decisions. It is a force of true neutrality, whether bad or good it will not break from its self-assigned code of ethics and morals.

StarClan as a concept has the ability to bestow powers upon a cat and it does this through cats that are in StarClan passing it on or through simply blessing the cat with no warning. StarClan's powers are not determined by the cat bestowing it but by what StarClan itself deems appropriate for that cat - so often times a cat giving a power won't even know what it is offering.

Powers are primarily beneficial and meant almost as a penance from StarClan for what happened to the previous iteration of the clans.

These powers are not active constantly and may not exist passively - they must be actually 'activated' to work in order to avoid accidental powerplaying/metagaming. Activating a power requires you to have permission from the person it is being used on. In-character we explain this as StarClan still healing from having been dormant for so long, their gifts are not very powerful. Your power may not be activated for longer than a few minutes at a time (or an entire sleep cycle for Dreamwalking) as doing so will cause your cat to experience fatigue and pain.

StarClan's Powers come in the following two variations. Enhancements, well, enhance a character - gifting them better hearing, sight etc... While Spiritual leans more into the supernatural side of gifts and includes things such as seeing into the future and detecting lies.

The inbetween, limbo, the void, it has many names but overall it is a place that accepts all spirits of the deceased from clan cats who refuse to join StarClan to kittypets and loners of all kinds. The inbetween brushes alongside StarClan, allowing the two sections of the afterlife to engage with one another and Purrgatory acts as a barrier between the stars and the darkness below. This no-mans land of the afterlife is a place where both StarClan and normal spirits may roam, the Dark Forest is kept at bay with a barrier of light but sometimes...a crack might form. Rumor has it when such disruptions occur an odd little cat wearing a white sheet over his head and upper body will appear to fix it.

Purrgatory is essentially our middle ground, it is neither good nor bad nor does it harbor only cats who might be considered atheists. There are many reasons a cat can end up in Purrgatory, perhaps its own faith is hidden here away from the stars and shadows, perhaps they were in StarClan and disagreed with a decision made there, perhaps they redeemed themself from the Dark Forest and are living their afterlife in peace. Purrgatory is there for any weary soul so long as their heart does not fester with ill intentions. Anger is fine, sorrow is well, but a cat with cruel ambitions won't be permitted.

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The place of no stars, dark and foreboding where only the cruelest and most vile cats are sent upon their death. It is an expansive forest with hardly any prey, wreathed in thorns and decay. Cats can spend years in its depths and some have the chance to be redeemed, lamenting their actions in life and seeking penance in any way they can, but others thrive in the rough and violent environment. Cats are sent here for committing heinous acts in the pursuit of self-glory, killing on its own is not enough. Breaking the Warrior Code (when it properly exists) is not enough to warrant a cat being sent here, they must also do so deliberately, callously and for their own self-gratification.

The Dark Forest is an entity that holds the souls of those who lived dishonorable, cruel lives... or the unfortunate victims of bargains gone wrong. This entity in itself cannot impose its will the same way those of physical being, thought and memory can and uses them as vessels to wreak havoc, ensue chaos and ultimately compile more souls into its grasp. In this way, the souls damned here tap into this entity's raw power and channel it in the form of curses, hauntings and something yet to be discovered....

The Dark Forest as an entity deals with themes of ableism, abuse and manipulation.

While StarClan offers powers in an attempt to aid the living, the Dark Forest instead presents power in the form of 'curses' they have wrapped to look like gifts. By accepting a curse, whether willingly or through deception, you will pay a cost for the power received. These curses will often leave a cat lacking in one of its senses, its ability to speak, its life shortening, its memories...in exchange for heightening another, granting them another means of supernatural power.

As a whole we do not consider disabilities to be a punishment and members should take care in how they are presenting these themes through their writing.

The Dark Forest in itself is cruel and intends to take from a character to build its own power, so how your character engages with and responds is entirely up to player discretion. We refuse to take away the option to explore these themes in their entirety from the positives to the negatives and your character's struggles must be played respectfully and with appropriate tags. Does your cat give in and internalize its suffering and struggles as the Dark Forest wants or do they forge a new path adapting and adjusting to their new circumstances and finding peace with themselves? That is your story to tell.

Cats of the Dark Forest granting curses may very well not be aware of what exactly they do, it is through this ignorance of its purpose that the Dark Forest spreads its influence hoping to further trick the living into paying the tolls for its 'gifts' to continue fueling itself.

When playing a Dark Forest cat and cursing another, it is entirely the player's choice and decision if they are aware of what they are affecting or if they simply view it as 'giving power' to another without realizing there is a cost. Simply because your cat is in the Dark Forest does not mean it will agree with the Dark Forest's view on disabilities as a whole.