Chrysalides

The Chrysalides- also called Swans- are a Legacy among the Thyrsus and the Seers of the Throne that deals with creating a perfect self as a substitute for their original self. The Ideal Form of each Chrysalide is designed upon achieving membership in the Legacy, and although its traits can be improved with experience and Attainments, they do not otherwise change. The Ideal reacts as though it were the Seers’ real body to supernatural powers. The Chrysalides draw upon the Life Arcanum in order to achieve their desired state.

Mindset
Every Chrysalis has a dual identity — the nature of the Legacy is such that they can transform from their real self, which they call the “Husk”, into an idealized self created from the imagination and self-loathing of the Seer. Each Chrysalis only has one “Ideal”, one alternate persona, chosen on joining the Legacy. After the initial act of creation, the Ideal can be improved further — granted beauty, cleverness, wit, physical superiority, anything the Seer believes his real form lacks. But it comes at a price. Every improvement is taken from the real form, which degrades as the Ideal perfects, and there are no take-backs and no second chances. Eventually, a Swan becomes both Beauty and the Beast, the Ideal a living Goddess and the Husk a withered crone. The Legacy sees it as a worthwhile sacrifice, hurrying through the time they spend as the Husk before they are able to transform again. To begin the transformation, the prospective member of the Legacy offers obsequious prayers to the Raptor, thanking the Exarch for allowing the transformation (it is unclear if she ever takes note of these prayers) before meditating on the person he wishes to be. The new person must be imagined down to the last detail as the supplicant’s soul is linked to his mentor’s, allowing the first Attainment to take hold. Many Swans become more than a little unhealthy mentally, seeing the Husk and the Ideal as two different people and disassociating with their own identities. The self-loathing that drove them into the Legacy gnaws at them, and the Chrysalides become ever more obsessed with the pleasures they have twisted their real bodies and spent their souls’ potential to acquire. If they were to admit that the new life they bought loses its attraction with time, they would be confronted with the horror of what they’ve done to themselves.