The celestial bodies
The Celestial Bodies refers to those who preside over space, the planets, and the stars in the sky. They are referred to as gods or goddesses, and are worshiped as supreme deities of the Pantheon.
Solis
With it burning as his right eye, Solis is the goddess who directs the sun through the sky unfailingly each morning, throughout the day, until night falls. He presides over the elements of earth and fire, as well as dawn. He is the goddess called upon for protection from predation. Solis is the guardian of StarClan, taking the traditional roles expected of a leader and a deputy. He takes the form of a lion.
Lunae
With it glowing in her left eye, Lunae is the goddess who hangs the moon in the sky during the night, casting her light down to the earth. She presides over the elements of water and air, as well as twilight. She is the goddess called upon for guidance in motherhood. She is the oracle of StarClan, taking the traditional roles expected of an oracle. She takes the form of a tiger.
In the beginning, bound by duty, Solis and Lunae were barred from each other’s embrace. The stars of which Solis came, engulfed by tradition, viewed their affection for one another as dangerous, for should they forsake their duties as gods, life on Earth would cease. The two were cursed to forever chase each other in an endless cycle, each being on opposite ends of the Earth. But the curse could not break them apart, for their love was so strong, they willed the sun to pass in front of the moon, or the moon to pass in front of the sun, as often as they could, to meet each other in secret. Eons passed, and once the entanglement of the stars’ tyranny was broken, Solis and Lunae, bound forever in love, brought forth peace in StarClan and together created the Pantheon of the Stars.
the forces of nature
The Spirits of Nature refer to those that preside over the natural world and the fates of those within it. They are referred to as daemon, and are typically not worshiped. While they are prayed to occasionally, the daemons are not seen as true gods by the majority of the Clans – but instead as divine beings who assist the Celestial Bodies in their duties and guide the living.
Leporis
As fleeting as life, the daemon Leporis presides over beasts, justice, and strife. Quiet as a mouse, but as strong as an ox, he cuts across the land, leaving chaos, then resolution, in her path. He is an amalgamation of all the beasts that walk the land, for she is the parent to them all. She takes on the form of a cheetah.
Orionis
Cunning by nature, the daemon Orionis presides over flora, luck, and fate. With each stride, he leaves a trail of blooming flora in his wake, easy to follow, but hard to traverse. Ever changing, he brings upon the changes of the seasons to the soil and to his own appearance. He takes the form of an ocelot.
It is said the trickster Orionis is the one carrying immortality with him, blessing the trees and the soil lucky enough for his gaze or his tread; while he presides not over death, it is him who decides the fates of those living. It was in this pursuit the swift Leporis tracked Orionis to steal a piece of immortality from him to give to the beasts of the land. She plucked a leaf from his pelt and fled as fast as her paws would allow; Orionis, ever clever, had let the cheetah steal a piece in order to fuel an amusing game of cat and mouse. He pursued her to the ends of the Earth, capturing the thief at last and snuffing out her life. With the piece that she stole, she imbued the gift of cyclical life to all fauna, and thus she reincarnated with immortality lingering on her fangs. The chase began anew. Fate may always catch up to the beasts, but the pursuit of the fullest life is inevitable.
Auri
The mountains, strong, towering, and unyielding, manifests as Auri, the daemon of travel, of time, of vast mountainsides and treacherous cliffs. Their pelt is made of cold stone, with cracks and imperfections littering their pelt, and their tufts of fur sticking up like mountain peaks. They take the form of a lynx.
Ceti
The ocean, deep, vast, and unknowable, manifests as Ceti, the daemon of temperance, of retribution, of tides and turbulent sea. Her regal pelt flows like the current, her tail crashes like the waves, and her fur as shifting as the tides, yet she is always dignified in stature. She takes the form of a bay cat.
Long ago, the land and sea were one. Auri's mountains lay within the depths of Ceti's ocean, forever bound in each other's embrace. For life to prosper above the sea, however, meant the two must separate indefinitely; for once the land was raised, the world would surely drown, should they embrace ever again. The two came to the sorrowful decision, for the good of all beasts of the land, to be torn asunder. Auri rose the land from the depths of the ocean, and Ceti washed the waters over it, breathing life into the stone to give rise to flora and fauna alike. As Ceti trekked the depths, Auri traversed the peaks. In the midst of her loneliness, Ceti throws her waves against the mountainsides, as Auri's mountains crumble into the sea in their solitude; separate as they may be, their hearts will always be one.
Delphine
Mysterious and cryptic, the prophet Delphine's body made of pure light shines extraordinarily, with his fur flickering and adhering to any surfaces lacking shadows, at strange angles. As the daemon of light, they reign over prophetic vision and renewal. They take the form of a leucistic caracal.
Lyrus
Surreptitious and enigmatic, the hunter Lyrus' body made of pitch black shadow is like a void, with her fur adhering like a calm current to anywhere lacking any light. As the daemon of shadow, they reign over change and death. They take the form of a melanistic serval.
The twins of light and shadow were born of the sun and the moon, opposites forever bound to be each other's shadow, for to separate them would destroy them both. Delphine lit the world, while Lyrus cloaked it in shadow. The two, while inseparable physically, began to drift apart in other ways, for Delphine took issue with the crepuscular nature of death, while Lyrus took issue with his halcyonian view of life. The two, in the midst of an argument, decided to split apart from one another. As the two distanced, Lyrus was swallowed by the void, while Delphine was consumed by illumination; they became truly formless, extinct. The two returned to one another, for their separation meant their destruction: without light, there cannot be dark.
the calamities
Vis
The harbinger Vis brings disasters, whether be they natural or not, in his wake, for those unlucky enough to catch any glimpse of their form. Dark wings hide their face amongst the feathers, and their fur flickers with embers, as though it were alight from within. Each step of their paws creates flames to burn the ground itself, and their shadow betrays huge wings upon his back. They preside over disasters, omens of death, and brutality. He is the ruler of the Dark Forest, taking the traditional roles of the leader and the deputy. He takes the form of a black footed cat.
Hyd
The blight Hyd brings disease upon the lands as she slinks through them, following the fiery footsteps of Vis. Their silhouette betrays their deteriorating body, appearing as though they are just a sickly cat; up close, insects buzz around their bloody, half decaying form, their skull exposed and her bones jutting out each time they take a wispy step. They preside over disease, decay, and neglect. She is the augur of the Dark Forest, taking the traditional roles of the oracle. She takes the form of a jaguarundi.
Those unfortunate enough to lay eyes upon the true forms of those within the Dark Forest are said to be cursed to die within the cycle. Before calamities begin, Vis is said to appear, gazing over the lands and looking for the living. It is said if one spots Vis, one should shut their eyes as quickly as they can; for when those catch a glimpse of him, their wings reveal their glowing red eyes, and a violent fate is sealed. As time marches on, Hyd pathetically meanders through the world, each strange step approaching the misfortuned one to have viewed Vis' eyes, and leaving the land sickly. She masquerades as a cat in need of serious help, hiding their true self until the victim is close enough; they then strike, dragging them to their violent death. Some say that being killed by Hyd seals one to the Dark Forest, no matter their actions among the living.
Creation of Life
In the beginning, there was no life on the Earth, and only one god: Lunae, a tigress of moon. Each time she tried to cultivate the lands, the plants would wither without light, and the animals would starve without food. She wept each time she failed to cultivate life, flooding the world with her tears. The spirits of the animals who died under the cold rays of the moon began to populate the stars, and organize themselves into a new god: a leopard known as Astron. They saw Lunae’s vision for the world, and shone starlight down onto Earth for warmth; though the light of the stars proved too intense, and life withered under its harsh conditions. With this failure, the two gods banded their powers together: light the world half with stars, and half with the moon. Thus, life was born and cats were created in the god’s image, and StarClan made for the cats who followed the code of the gods.
Creation of Light
In the many cycles of ruling StarClan together, Astron and Lunae grew close; however, as Astron was leader, and Lunae an oracle, the Warrior Code forbade their union. Conflicted, part of Astron split into the star that shone upon the Earth, known as Solis, a lioness of the sun, who was made the deputy of StarClan. Still, their relationship was forbidden, but they still spent all their time together. Astron grew fearful of their arrangement, reasoning with them that should they forsake their roles in StarClan, all life on Earth would cease. Thus, they banished the lovers to the opposite sides of the Earth – doomed to always chase one another, but never quite meet. In secret, the two still found a loophole: once in a great while, the sun may pass in front of the moon, or the moon may pass in front of the sun, and the two could once again embrace, even if for a fleeting moment.
Creation of Darkness
It was said a darkness always lurked around the shadows, never quite banished once starlight was shone upon the Earth. As the world aged, the dark grew stronger, threatening to plunge the world into a permanent dark. This darkness was known as Vanus, a panther made of shadow. Lunae had sympathized with the darkness that had festered while she tried to build life on her own, but Astron was not misled. While Vanus overtook Solis and plunged the world into eternal night, he could not conquer the stars. Once Astron defeated Vanus, they banished him to a realm separated from StarClan, known as the Dark Forest. Vanus vowed for revenge, someday, somewhere.
But the Clans were deceived. There never was a Vanus, who threatened to overtake the skies. Instead, there was one cat – Wolfhowl, a founder of the original Clans – who defied Astron, and was punished. When the founders made their way to StarClan, Astron offered to absorb them into themself – for each star in their pelt was a particularly honorable cat who had been given the honor of joining a hivemind. While the other founders agreed, Wolfhowl was alone in disagreeing, valuing his individuality. This enraged Astron. They attacked Wolfhowl, leaving him a shadowy, wispy form of a cat, and banished him to the Dark Forest. They could not remove his zodiac from the sky, but they could banish it to obscurity – to become only seen during the blood moon, and to be unknown to the Clans below. The Dark Forest had become not only a place for evil cats, but a prison for those who disagreed with Astron or refused to merge with them. Astron then created the story of Vanus, to scare the cats of the Clans of an encroaching evil that only Astron could defeat.
It took many, many cycles for Wolfhowl to gather the strength to contact those of his zodiac. The first cat he reached out to was Marbledsun of MarrowClan, who falsely interpreted the vision as from StarClan; he then interrupted Genetfang of MarrowClan’s leadership ceremony, giving him his last life in place of Astron, and explaining his plight. However, when Genetstar attempted to tell the Clans, Astron struck him down, and refused to revive him. This created a cascade effect that weakened the cat’s faith in StarClan, and empowered the Dark Forest. Astron and “Vanus” began to war more actively, instigated by Astron in an attempt to stamp out the growing rebellion – but the Clans had turned their back on Astron once Wolfhowl was finally able to send a vision to the Clans of the truth.
Nine cats – whose identities are still unknown to the Clans – were gathered by the Dark Forest to participate in a ritual to kill Astron: a leader, a deputy, an oracle, and three warriors from BarkClan and MarrowClan. Wolfhowl sacrificed his godly power, gathered from years of belief from the cats of the Clans, to give this deadly ritual the power to kill a god. Astron was effectively killed, shattering the sky and weakening the veil between the living and the dead. The battle which ensued, between BarkClan, MarrowClan, the Dark Forest, and StarClan taking place at the Star’s Fall, was known as The Battle of the Stars. After StarClan emerged victorious in the Battle of the Stars, Solis became the new leader of StarClan. He and Lunae used their powers to shape the gap in the stars left by Astron into a new pantheon for StarClan, consisting of Solis and Lunae, their children Lyrus and Delphine, and Ceti, Auri, Orionis, and Leoporis. Cunningly, some spirits within the Dark Forest managed to steal part of the power that was imbued by Solis and Lunae, creating the gods of the Dark Forest, Vis and Hyd.
Cats now refer to Astron as “They Who Are No More”. Opinions on whether or not Astron was a tyrant, or was unfairly accused, or something else entirely, varies upon individual cats within the Clans.