The Dark Forest [TB AU Lore] (Patreon)

Since The Broken Code arc is done, and it's elaborations on the nature of the Dark Forest and StarClan are now canon (for now :P), I thought perhaps it was time to do a little talking on the Dark Forest in the TB AU!

I'll try to be as vague as possible for now; Like Fire, Bluestar's Super Edition that I have cooking in the deep, deep background, will deal with these topics more directly and elaborately, along with the third arc, which is still some ways away.

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The Dark Forest is not quite the place it is in canon - in the beginning, as the Clans were first forming, there was only StarClan.

Sometime along the way, however, it became clear that some cats harbored evil in their hearts in death as well as in life. The catalyst for this event is unclear, and a closely-kept secret in StarClan, but it is believed that these dark spirits attempted a coup, to wrest the stars away from their brethren and control the Clans below.

These dark cats did not succeed - as they were captured and contained, a new place had to be formed to put them until they faded from living memory. The Dark Forest came to be upon the underbelly of StarClan; a dark, twisting, starless reflection of the otherwise paradisiacal afterlife: Where StarClan's groves were evergreen, the Dark Forest was in constant leafbare. Where prey and water was plentiful in StarClan, in the Dark Forest such resources were scarce and frequently battled over.

And so they remained. StarClan passes judgment on no cat but those who show a great, deep darkness in their hearts - all are welcome otherwise.

The Dark Forest's paths are influenced by those who walk within it. Trapped as they are, these dark spirits often have little choice but to look inward, and thus their paws often wander the same trails again and again... The less introspective, however, might find themselves searching for others - living or dead - and, maybe, finding them.

Yet the Dark Forest cats are not without hope.

Somewhere along the way a deal was struck. The cats of the Dark Forest, though arguably the worst warriorkind had to offer, still had something of value - through training cats from the living world to put their skills to use for the good of their Clans, these dark spirits might find a place in StarClan by turning deadly ambitions into a tool for prosperity.

None of the dark spirits are sure when this accord happened, and some believe it never happened at all. But it was enough to bring together a group willing to try - something unheard of in this forsaken place.

Known Dark Forest cats:

• Bluestar
• Darkstripe
• Brokentail/star
• Clawface
• Jaggedtooth
• Mapleshade

Rumored Dark Forest cats:

• Mistystone
• Silverhawk
• Kitestar
• Silkfur