Spirits Beyond

The Spirits Beyond is a group of deceased cats. They are the spirits of those departed from the Lake Alliance, and they watch over the living with signs and omens. The opposite of the Spirits to Come, they are represented by the moon.

General
After death, cats in the Lake Alliance become spirits of the Spirits Beyond. While they gain the power to create signs and omens, they lose a level of consciousness compared to the living. The Spirits Beyond isn't another dimension, so the cats in it wouldn't fight each other - their only jobs are to pledge their spirit to Captains, reincarnate, and float around in the afterlife, as well as watching over the living. The Spirits Beyond has no strict morality tied to it, letting both "good" and "evil" cats join their ranks.

Relation to the living
While the Colonies in the Lake Alliance are very different, they share common beliefs such as the Spirits Beyond. They hold the Spirits Beyond in high regard; making sure that all major life changes, such as assessments for new-claws, advancements to ranger status, and more, are handled on the day of the full moon so that the Spirits Beyond may see and deliver their approval.

In return, the Spirits Beyond guide the living, though their influence is limited to signs and omens. Cats in the Spirits Beyond can reincarnate into kittens, though some believe "evil" cats reincarnate on the night of lunar eclipses.

Herbalists
Because they spend much of their time in solitude and contemplation, herbalists are most likely to receive signs and omens from the Spirits Beyond, though they are not the only cats capable of doing so and are not guaranteed to do so. Despite this, their connection to the Spirits Beyond is no greater or lesser than any other cat's, generally. While some cats are more spiritually attuned than others, they are not always herbalists, such as Thornheart.

Captains
When a cat becomes Captain of their Colony, they are blessed by the Spirits Beyond. The Spirits will pledge their souls to the living cat as a new life, imbuing the Captain with power, wisdom, and durability to lead their colony justly and courageously throughout their extended lives. It has been said that a single Captain can withstand receiving the souls of up to nine Spirits, and that this once happened to a legendary figure, but no cat truly knows how many new lives a Captain carries but the Captain themselves. Spirits can also rescind their gift to punish Captains who abuse their power, and if they disagree with the choice of Captain, they may refrain from pledging at all.

New Captains are invited to meet with the Spirits Beyond. There is no special location that new Captains must travel to in order to gain the blessing of the Spirits Beyond; it is more of a personal connection that Captains share with the spirits when they are ready to lead, so a cat can go to sleep on the night the old Captain was laid to rest and wake up having had their "ceremony" and the strengths of the spirits who pledged to them. The Spirits also share the Captain’s new title with the Captain during their "ceremony", and a Captain wakes up from their ceremony with a knowing sense of their title. Their title is indicative of their achievements and actions that have earned them their place as Captain.

While technically, there is nothing stopping the Spirits Beyond from pledging their soul to any cat, the Spirits Beyond are just as beholden to the Ancestors’ Law and the traditions of the Alliance Colonies as any living cat. It would be highly frowned upon to play favorites in this way, and it would lead to chaos if any and every cat had the potential to have multiple lives based on nepotism alone. Spirits pledge to Captains only because of a combination of tradition, cultural beliefs, and practicality; they pledge to the Captain for the good of the whole Colony.

When the Spirits Beyond pledge their souls to a Captain, they expend energy to keep the Captain from serious harm to an extent. For example, if a Captain is in a fight with a dog and would have received a fatal bite wound, one of the spirits can expend their energy to prevent the bite from piercing vital organs. The Captain would still be injured and would need time to recover, but it would be less severe than if they were a normal ranger. Once used, this energy can’t be regained, and the spirit returns to the Spirits Beyond once all the energy in their soul is used up.

List of cats in the Spirits Beyond
Note: this list is conjectural and is subject to change at any given time upon further confirmation.

Trivia

 * The spirit Clan "StarClan" from the Warriors series is likely a direct inspiration to the spirit group "Spirits Beyond" in Clouded Moon's separate IP.
 * Both are the main afterlife of the cats in their respective series, both grant lives to the cats becoming leaders, both grant said leaders new names, and both watch over the living through signs and omens.
 * Another Warriors spirit group, the Place of No Stars (informally known as the Dark Forest), is for cats who commit great crimes. This has no equivalent in the Clouded Moon series.
 * Similarly, the "ghost residence" is another Warriors spirit group, acting as a purgatory of sorts. The Clouded Moon series has no known equivalent.
 * Star Cat Studio's developers prefer that the cat afterlife to not have strict morality tied to it, making the system more open to morally grey and evil characters; making the good characters better because they aren't being good just to be "rewarded in the afterlife." A non-moral based system encourages Colony cats to view "might is right" as a morally good position, which the team feels suits their culture better, noting that cat morality may not be the same as human morality.