Character Deaths and the Afterlife

[Broadwaykat]

The Mysteries of Death

Let's face the fact; your cats, eventually, will die. They are not immortal, nor should they be. The loss of one character allows for the development of others. However, as warriors know, death is not necessarily the end. When a cat dies, they will end up in one of two places:

Starclan

Starclan is the heavens of the clans: the eternal reward for all cats who lead good, honest lives and have died for their clan, or have remained loyal to their clan for their entire life. Cats of all four clans end up here unless for some reason they never believed in Starclan in the first place: for some reason, disbelief in life means that a cat will not become an ancestor, never mind if they lead a good or bad life.

Starclan cats look identical to how they lived in life, with only a few changes: cats who were old, infirm, or seriously injured in life will appear to be in the prime of their lives: any scars or injuries that they wish not to be shown on their pelts will be removed. They will revert to looking exactly as they did at the happiest moment of their lives, while a starry sheen seems added to their pelt, and an extra glow hints in their eyes. The only exception to this choosing is that a cat can look no older than the moment they died; this means that stillborn kits will remain kit-sized, and apprentices apprentice-sized for eternity. They will still develop wisdom and knowledge, but their bodies will remain as they were in life: just healthy and hearty.

Prey is abundant here, and hunting essentially non-existent save for sport. Here, clan borders mean nothing, and those who were apart in life due to clan borders can cross them freely. The only living cats who are able to visit Starclan, aside from incredibly rare circumstances, are leaders and Medicine Cats.

Once every quarter moon, Medicine Cats will gather in order to see their ancestors and commune with them. Occasionally, they will be given missives in between these times, if the need is dire enough - but for the most part, they will be given at this time.

Leaders will visit Starclan truly only once: when they receive their nine lives. While cats from Starclan will converse with leaders between this times, it is almost always through dreams, or by passing missives to their Medicine Cats. However, as leaders have nine lives and can therefore die nine times before they officially die, each time their spirit passes on, a phantom of themselves takes up residence in Starclan. This pale ghost or imitation does not communicate with other Starclan cats, but can be found stalking Starclan’s lands until the final life is given and the cat’s full consciousness joins with the spirit - at this point they become like any other Starclan cat - whole and healthy in the heavens.

A Starclan cat remains so long as there is a cat alive who remembers them. As the cohorts age and pass on, and the memory of them begins to fade, so too will their heavenly body until they decide to rest for good; then they will dissipate into nonexistence with their family members, comfortable in the knowledge that the next generation of ancestors will keep them safe. The longest-lasting members of Starclan tend to be Medicine Cats and Leaders long past, as the stories of what they did and who they were are passed around as legends and such among the clans; but a few regular warriors achieve this status as well.

Dark Forest

The dark twin to Starclan, literally. Here is a forest that itself is actually dead and diseased at it’s core. While it’s inhabitants do not need to eat, there always seems to be a gnawing hunger in their bellies. Any prey that runs over from Starclan fades away before their claws can reach it, taunting them.

Unlike with Starclan cats, the cats of the Dark Forest are constantly trying to trick or regain some semblance of life in the waking world; while some may want to atone for horrible deeds, most of them want others to suffer as they do. It is possible for a sleeping cat with a strong enough mind to accidentally pass into this land in a nightmare - and rarer still for them bring something back with them. Such activities will often make the cat in question physically ill.

The cats who were here hold the injuries or modes in which they died here: if they drowned, for example, their fur seems to constantly drip with freezing water, their throats feeling tight and chests heavy. Serious wounds and scars litter those who died violently, dripping black shadows rather than blood. While cats of Starclan fade away peacefully when there is no one left to remember them, the cats of the Dark Forest will get no such reprieve; they will fade away, yes, but eventually their consciousness will be all that remains, and they will forget what they are and become only tormented disembodied voices: knowing only that existence is pain and they are being punished for something that they don’t even remember themselves.

Cats here are punished for what they did in real life, not limited to but including:

-- Infanticide (murder of their own, or another's kits)
-- Fratricide (murder of their fellow Clanmates, or Family Members even cross-clan borders (without extenuating circumstances which are to be deemed or determined by staff))
-- Murder (the cold, calculated murder of any cat - showing a necessary venom or needless plotting)
-- Manipulation of others to cause any of the above.
-- A vile attitude that threatens or causes physical injury to others.
-- An in-life distrust of Starclan or turning their back on their 'good' ancestors in some way.

How Do I Determine Where My Cat Ends Up?

Generally, several factors go into where a cat will end up when they die:

1. Did I Live a Good Life? If you followed the code - within reason - and never purposefully harmed anyone, you will likely be guaranteed a life in Starclan.

2. How Old Am I? The longer a cat lives, the more chances for mistakes they have to make. You will never, ever see a newborn kit in Dark Forest - similarly, apprentice rarely find their way here in death; they have had few chances to make irreparable mistakes. This doesn't mean there are no apprentices among their ranks; just that it is exceedingly rare.

3. Was I a Clan Cat/Did I Believe in Starclan in life? If you had no faith in Starclan or the Dark Forest during life, you will not live on there when you die. It is that simple. This includes Loners, Rogues and Kittypets who were not born or became found by the clans; they will go to another place, in which will not be talked about in roleplay and cannot be talked about.

The Death Cap

1. Any cat who is born on-site, spends at least three (3) months being roleplayed, and then dies either in the process of a long-form roleplay or a one-shot exceeding 300 words will be placed in Starclan or the Dark Forest, depending on how they acted in life. They can be roleplayed in the respective heavenly lands - but are unable to reach other to the living without certain items being purchased (see below). The slot in which that living character once held then be freed up, and the roleplayer in question will be allowed to create a new (living) character.

Ex.1 Josie the Roleplayer has roleplayed Nofur for three months, and decides that they should die during a site-wide plague event. They lived a good life, and therefore they can go to Starclan. Josie is now able to create a new living character, Fernsnout.

Ex. 2 Josie the Roleplayed roleplayed Nofur for three months, and for those two months he schemes to overthrow his leader. During a one-shot, Nofur accidentally falls off a cliff and drowns. He goes to the Dark Forest, and Josie is now able to create a new living character, Fernsnout.

2a. If you make a character, and then IMMEDIATELY kill them off in less than a month, we will assume you are just killing them off for the sake of killing characters. While this is not necessarily against the rules, staff will consider this character as STILL taking up that character slot that they held in life. 

Ex. 3 Josie creates Nofur, roleplays with them in one thread, then kills them: she then tries to make another character, but is unable to as she already has three other characters, and Nofur has not been on-site and living long enough to be considered part of the 'meaningful death' cap.

2b. The only exception to this rule is if you purchase the Ghosted item in the shop. This item can only be used for one character every three months, but it will clear out a character no matter how recently they were created and leave the rper with an open character slot.

3. If you wish to make a character which is already residing in either Dark Forest or Starclan from the get go, it WILL count towards your character slot limits.

Ex. 4 Nofur of Starclan is created. Josie now has four characters. If she would like to make another, she must purchase a character slot.

Interactions with the Living

When a Character is dead, they can only be interacted or talked to by other dead cats - the exceptions being Medicine Cats, Deputies and Leaders under direct permission by Staff. If they wish to have interactions with the living who do not fall under these categories, the living character must purchase one of the following:

Cursed by Dark Forest

Blessed by Starclan

 Spiritwalker

It stands to reason that, depending on the item purchased (Blessed/Cursed) - only the dead residing in those realms can interact with them. Spiritwalkers can see both.

Ex 1. Nofur of Starclan wishes to visit his nephew Greeneye. As the warrior is Blessed by Starclan, he can visit and speak with him in his dreams.

Ex 2. Evil Nofur wants to train with Greeneye and turn him towards the dark. The warrior, however, does not have an item, so while he can watch over the cat in a one-shot way, he cannot in any way shape or form interact with him - no if ands or butts.

Dead cats without staff permission are limited to 1 thread between one another or 1 one-shot in their former clan lands once a moon (month). The only way that a spirit cat can interact with the living over and above these allowed interactions is to purchase: 

Dead Cat Walking

This Item allows a dead cat to walk among the living as much as they want for three (3) moons (months) - making multiple threads, one-shots, etc. After 3 moons is up, they will either have to purchase the item again, or go back to having limited interactions with the living.

With this item in place, the only cats who can see them, however, are those living cats who have one of the above connections.

Reincarnation

There is an item on this site that allows for a cat to be reincarnated as a newborn kit; this item can only be used by a roleplayer who's cat has recently died a meaningful death; they must be born within a 1 moon (month) period in which the 1st cat died. They cannot remember that they were this cat in a previous life unless the 'I Remember' Item is also purchased. The dead cat will not reside in Starclan at the same time that their spirit has been reborn on earth.

Ex. 1 Nofur dies, but lived such a good life that he is allowed to be reborn as a kit. His daughter, Fernsnout, gives birth to a tomkit who looks strangely similar to her far, whom she names Furkit. Nofur's spirit does not reside in Starclan now, but inside the newborn kit.

Aging and Retirement

While we don't necessarily require you to kill off your characters when they reach a certain age, we do want to keep things realistic. Those who are seriously injured would not get to remain warriors: the same goes for the extreme elderly. Therefore:

-- Cats who are over the age of 75 moons and lose a vital sense (limb, eyesight, scenting ability, hearing, etc) will be at higher risk of becoming an Elder or being retired by their leaders. This varies on a case-to-case basis and who is in charge of the clan at the time.
-- Cats who are over the age of 150 moons will be immediately considered Elder and retired from duty.
-- Cats living over the age of 230 moons are susceptible to many more diseases, injury and decay - and therefore their roleplayers are strongly encouraged to move them on to the afterlife they so desperately deserve.