Friday, October 9, 2015

Chimera: Class of 666 | 1.5.0 | Part One "Waking Up" | Chapter Five "The Chimera"

Story: Chimera: Class of 666
Part: One "Waking Up"
Chapter: Five "The Chimera"
Authored by: 
Hannah Nyland (The Irreverent Revenant
All Rights Reserved.

Chimera: Class of 666
By Hannah Nyland and Jerad Sayler


Chapter 4: The Chimera
Jamestown, North Dakota
 26 December 2013

Totally exhausted, I sleep most of the way back from Beulah the next day. After we get home, I wait for the perfect moment to broach the subject before trying to smooth things over with my parents. As I expected, it’s a very long talk, but still easier than I anticipated it being. Obviously, I’ve picked up a few tricks about deception from my conversation with Casstiel. While I’m not wholly comfortable lying to them, it’s better than leaving things up in the air.
Settling back into my normal routine takes a few days. Being back in school, where my hallucinations started, makes me jumpy, and I’m still having trouble sleeping at night. Now that I’m more cognizant of my surroundings, I notice the odd looks I keep getting, the way many people are avoiding me. It doesn’t concern me too much, as I’m spending most of my time alone. Present circumstances have made me too detached from everything to attempt much interaction. It’s just school, home, and then karate if I have it. I do make an effort to hang out with my family in the evenings, hoping to assure them that I’m really okay.
Three days in, I get a black leather trench coat in the mail. A late Christmas present. My parents know me well indeed.
When not playing at being normal, I’m obsessively doing one of two things; practicing the Mage SIghts I know or researching a new shadow name for myself. I’ve got a few books that are perfect for the latter. With so much extra time on my hands, I have plenty to spare on flipping through them. After a few days, I arrive upon a name I’m satisfied with; Chimera. Dozens of mythical creatures stalked through my head during my childhood, but I always kept coming back to that one, and still do now. Of course, now I have no way of knowing how many of those creatures are not so mythical after all. I’ll have to ask Casstiel later.
I started with a basic definition:
Chimera (/kīˈmi(ə)rə,kə-/):
1. A fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology having a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
2. An imaginary creature compounded of incongruous parts.
3. An illusion or fabrication of the mind; an unrealizable dream.
Synonyms:  illusion, fantasy, delusion, dream, daydream, pipe dream, figment of the imagination, castle in the air, mirage

I also came across a number of quotes that spoke to me from symbolism webpages and classic literature: “This can be the very best of creatures, or the very worst.”
After about an hour I descided to hone in on the symbolism behind the chimera’s heads more specifically.  I started with the lion head, that seems to be a strong symbol (or potential to be a strong symbol) representative of what Casstie referred to as Mind Magic, and something I should be able to get good at.  I found a few snippets here and there:
“They are creative and influential forces and have the internal power to make positive (or negative) changes in their lives and the lives of others around them.”
“Lions as dream symbols indicate we may feel as though we are being preyed upon, or we are in a position to defend ourselves. Dreaming of lions may also be a sign of our need to get in touch with our emotions, and tame them if necessary.”
“When we observe the lion in nature, we detect an easy strength and a natural dignity. The lion is born powerful, and power comes naturally to it. There is no false bravado as the lion has no need of it. When the lion comes to us it is a sign for us to step into our natural birthright of power.”
Next I focused on the goat-head aspect and its symbols.  Something about what I found made me think of how those silvery threads connect everyone I know into this infinite web of association and connection:
“The goat is a powerful animal totem and closely related to the sheep, in particular the ram, but his symbolism is different. Unlike their sheep and ram siblings, goats aren't particularly communal, often grazing alone and spreading themselves far apart.”
“Often times, the solitary path leads us to great discovery. Goats respect distance and space. They also encourage independent adventures and explorations of high vistas for the sole purpose of personal/individual knowing.”
“Symbolic goat meaning also deals with curiosity and inquiry. Goats are insatiably curious. They will poke and prod at everything within their environment. Often this prodding comes in the form of looking for weak links in their enclosures (if domesticated). Goats encourage us to engage and entertain our own sense of curiosity.”
“Speaking of vistas, goats love great heights and this symbolizes spiritual ambition. Goats also love to climb and climbing speaks to us of progress and achievement.”
Lastly, the snake-head symbol, which I already knew symbolized knowledge and wisdom.  The helix of the snake shape in common symbols also reminded me of an hourglass:
“The ancient Celts were extremely nature-wise too, and approached snake symbolism from the behavior and life cycle of this magnificent creature. From the Celtic perspective, the snake was a symbol of secret knowledge, cunning and transformation.”
“In the keen Celtic mind, snake symbolic meaning of transformation came from the shedding of its skin. Physical evidence of leaving its form behind (casting off the old self), and emerging a sleeker, newer version made the snake a powerful symbol of rebirth and renewal.”
So really, the snake was a symbol for becoming, advancement of true wisdom used by the Celts as well as the Pharaohs.  Its obvious association with Satan in the Garden of Eden tempting Eve was not lost on me either.
Chimeras were Greek mythology, specifically Bellepheron killed the Chimera on his flying horse Pegasus by mounting a block of lead on his spear and ramming into the beast’s throat. Her fiery breath melted the lead and caused it to block her air passages, suffocating her. As a result of all his great deeds he became arrogant (a vice of Pride) and decided that he deserved to visit Olympus, land of the gods. He flew there on Pegasus, but Zeus was furious at this prideful action and struck him down with thunderbolts; the fall to the ground crippled and blinded Bellerophon for the rest of his life.
The chimera is a creature of dichotomies (or maybe tri-chotomies?), a bunch of bizarre and conflicting aspects all shoved together to make one creature. The question is, do all the disparate elements make it something more, something less, or both? 
I would come to see later that each of this elements was a warning and a blessing.  There is strength in emotion, but it must be tempered (lion-head).  You can aspire to great works and be ambisious but if you are not careful you may fall, or at least have no friends left when you get there (goat-head). The path of wisdom is the path of self-transformation but you will be tempted to use your knowledge for selfish ends (snake-head).  Even the story of Bellperon was a lesson.  He turned a monster’s power against itself but became hubristic and was punished by the gods for it.
There is no sudden revelation, I don’t have any freak out sessions, and contrary to my expectations, nothing clicks into place.  I just decide Chimera fits.  It’s me.  Either I’ve already subconsciously accepted this whole situation, or I am in very deep denial. The former seems more likely, considering that I’m using my powers and in contact with a magical item every single day. I doubt that denial can stand up to that degree of evidence.  Either way, Chimera seemed like it was the right fit, it suited me and kept a link with my old life, my fastly fleeting childhood.  Even adults don’t have to deal with this stuff.

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