#BTB Afterlife

[cat-alyzing]

Some BTB thoughts I’ve fully settled on but need to flesh out more

The Risen in the Star Scape (Starclan Cats) are a mix of good and not so good cats. Getting in is more so based on the current councils feelings on a cat’s life instead of one a more just system. Currently it is led by the ancient Moonmouth (Moth Flight), Star Plumpelt (Redstar), Star Duskwater (Darkstar, MSV), Sagewhisker, and possibly a few more cats. Some cats are swapped out if they have certain specific biases that may convolute the decision but it usually stays the same with the ancient cat, two or three leaders, two medics, and possibly a oracle if necessary (tho in Moonmouth’s case she was a oracle and the chosen ancient cat)

The Dark Forest is entirely cut it doesn’t fit the feel of BTB. Instead all cats that are allowed to “rise” are trapped in a version of the ground below. They walk the same world as the living but it’s a lot colder and sometimes even darker compared to what it’s like for the living. Particular ghosts that wander the world can affect certain aspects of nature like how The River’s Wraith can control the currents or The Fallen Star sends storms when disturbed to cover the stars above the cats. The Star Scape itself is just a copy of the world below but brighter and shifts slightly to accommodate its specific residents needs as well as having a direct access to the real world that’s used by the risen to send creatures or fall back down to the normal world.

Think of the Star Scape like a Mist that hangs over the real world. It’s not connected directly to it but it still shapes to the ground and is connected to it. While all ghosts simply are trapped in a darker version of the world

[apptowonder]

Btw, what happens to both believers and non believers in the Orthodox afterlife?

The short answer is “God only knows.” The long answer is...complicated, and depends on who you ask. By and large, there is support in our tradition for the belief that after the separation of the soul from the body (which is a temporary separation, btb), everyone goes to be in the presence of God. One’s relationship to God determines one’s experience. Many believe that it is possible for someone to turn towards God, life and wholeness even after the death of the physical body. Some (myself included) believe that eventually all will be reconciled to Christ and made whole, and that Hell itself may only be a purifying fire, a very painful one at times, but ultimately something that the God of love will use to refine us like gold in the fire. I need to dig up my sources, so feel free to message me if you’d like to talk more!