Read Under Legacy :: Chap. 6. THE CHRISALIDE (Kybalion - exterior of planet Earth)

Kayla was getting ready for class, gathering her folders and portfolios. She pulled her long black hair into a high ponytail that highlighted her delicate neck, and left her house, closing the door behind her. She forgot, the pearl barrette her father had given her. She went back inside the house, and placed it carefully in her hair.

She taught at the Cheops Academy, an incredible place on the top of the mountain. That old mansion with its dark façade, so gloomy and shrouded in darkness but so majestic at the same time, was a vestige of ancient times. It had two tall towers in the gothic style, rising slenderly out of the grey mist of the landscape. It was reached by crossing the forest of birch, beech and fir trees that separated it from Kybalion city.

As he entered the thick forest, where the path was closed in by the leafy tops of the beech trees, he walked to a clearing, where a large lake surrounded by willow trees presided. There was the rustle of the breeze as the branches banged against each other, causing the leaves to fall, fluttering in the air, and dropping faintly to the soft ground. An undergrowth that was covered with grasses, ferns and moss, forming a colour palette of a thousand greens. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. In the dark, all the sounds could be heard better, the songs of the small birds like the coal tit and the blue tit, the murmur of the water lapping on its descent down the hillside, jumping between stones and roots, until it reached the placid lake. The contemplation of the sweetness and magic that surrounded her, united her with the beyond.

He climbed a gentle slope to the top of the mountain. Two hundred yards before he reached Cheops Academy, moss-covered cobblestones of dark stone, accompanied on the margins by bearberries, blueberries, wild strawberries, brambles and shrubs of all kinds, welcomed him to the gate of the mansion.

He walked up to its stone façade, hardly distinguishable among the luxuriant vegetation that climbed its ramparts. Leaves and stems of the ferns of the climbing plants covered all the spaces, leaving hardly any openings to the elements. Except for the innumerable windows that glistened as clean as the clear water of the stream that rose there, which splashed and wiggled along the stones, bordering the walls. So close was the course of the river that on sunny days, the reflection of its waters danced sinuously across the surface of the glass windows, giving the impression that the house radiated a life of its own. On that day, however, a damp, leaden grey sky covered the house.

He reached the solid oak double door. He took his hand out of his pocket and stroked the ancient wood, it was rough and damp, strong but soft where it was covered with lichen. The rainy microclimate that existed only in that part of Kybalion favoured the flourishing of plants everywhere. In fact, one could still smell the thunderstorm, with a familiar and reassuring aroma.

She was happy for the warm energy that always enveloped her after crossing that entrance. She had known this place since her parents brought her here when she was very young, to study like so many other children.

She entered without further ado, and was greeted by a rectangular room, with ceilings curiously lower than one might expect because in reality, they were the same height as any ordinary house, yet the place was most unique.

Whether you looked up or down, up or down, everything was full of unusual objects, original and valuable because they were unique and unrepeatable. Some indescribable things that even if you didn't know exactly what they were, you could sense their immense value and antiquity. The Cheops Academy was brimming with wonders of archaeological, esoteric or spiritual significance that went beyond any unimaginable economic cost.

She walked slowly, almost reverentially. She looked at the large glass case that rested its years against the wall. It was very old, she mentally tried to guess what century it was made in, perhaps the nineteenth century she thought, yet it was in perfect condition, except for the thin layer of dust that covered it. It was hand carved from walnut wood, glass, crystal, and burnished in gold. Its four lion's claw feet supported its massive weight. Two turned glass doors enclosed the interior, giving it the appearance of a large belly. The interior was divided into four mirrored shelves that further reflected the objects that slept inside. Such unique treasures held a fascination for all the students at the academy, including her. She could recognise at least a few of them, among others those small coloured eggs carved in gold and precious stones, forming geometric shapes. The spherical figurines rested on their respective circular wooden bases, or on tiny turned legs, giving them a foothold to keep them from rolling off. They were amazing, so much so that he felt the irrepressible desire to pick one up with his hands even though it was forbidden.

She turned her gaze elsewhere, discovering the new objects that explorers brought back with them on their journeys to the far reaches of the earth. In a way he felt like Howard Carter opening Tutankhamun's tomb for the first time, knowing what he would find there, and knowing that reality often used to surpass fiction. Looking at these relics is like when space-time stops to merge with the enigmatic concept of eternity - Vega thought. The atmosphere conveyed by that place conjured up the past, present and future of humanity, the beginning and the end.

At the far end of the rectangular space, two corridors opened at either end, one to the left and the other to the right. The corridor on the left was lit by a white light from an artificial spotlight. He made his way down the corridor towards the classroom where he taught his students, but as he went a few metres further, he stopped for a moment in front of the Chrysalis room.

It was an elongated space about 10 metres wide by 30 metres long, giving it an elongated and narrow shape. Inside, the roof was pitched in the style of a garret. The plain, white, unadorned walls gave the impression of a nondescript place, except that in reality, the Chrysalis was the most important place in the whole mansion. It was where children became adults, overcoming their own weaknesses of character, recognising their own virtues and extolling their strengths.

Memories of his own experience came to his mind. He was just over fourteen when he entered the Chrysalis. Her parents smiled wishing her luck, she disappeared behind the door. Their support gave her courage then, when she was still too young to find enough courage on her own.

Once inside, had it not been for the eerie detail, and the disturbing surprise, of finding three magnificent lions right there, she would have said that the room was of no interest. One of them, lying on the right side of the room, was lying on the floor, drowsy and sluggish, and hardly noticed. He merely squinted at the intruder, in a gesture that implied he was aware of her entrance, for her intensely human scent spoke for itself. That was the most he could do with any movement. On the other hand, to his left, the two remaining felines stood on all fours, perfectly awake and alert to the invasion of their territory. Less calm than their former companion, they swung their long tails parsimoniously this way and that, making gentle waves in the air, changing the rhythm from time to time with a sudden jerk, like a whip that cuts the air violently. They neither roared nor moved, yet the kings commanded with their quiet presence, and she would not want anything but immediate obedience and obeisance, prostrating herself on her knees if so commanded. She felt her heart in a fist, cramped by the terror of that stillness, akin to the suspended breath of a condemned man awaiting his final coup de grâce. The atmosphere chilled the blood of the bravest of mortals.

With slow steps she finally reached the other end of the room. Noiselessly she discreetly placed herself in a corner. Sitting there, wishing to disappear and letting the minutes pass, she listened to her agitated breathing and the pounding of her heart, while the lions, either out of boredom or acceptance, began to lose interest in her. She thought then that an attack was imminent, for the aggressive instincts and tendency to attack with which they were born were incompatible with control and calm, at least that is what she thought at the time.

However, she spent the time sitting like that, hugging her own knees, when she realised that those three beasts became four, being herself a lion as well. She understood that the test was to learn to control her own primitive instincts. Learning to keep quiet and observe the situation in silence, trying to control her own wild will. Creatures that were nothing more than a reflection of his own character, his alter ego. A quiet, somewhat lazy lion and two aggressive ones that were waiting for the moment when she would get up in fright, running like a mouse towards the door, taking advantage of the opportunity to mortally wound her.

Luckily in time she understood the real message. The secrets of silence and patience, of waiting for the right moment to act and take full advantage of the situation. That test was to understand what her strengths and weaknesses were. For her, courage and strength, against her, laziness, pride and lack of self-control. Sitting in her corner, her heartbeat calmed and her power assured, she waited patiently, knowing that she would pass.

She rose slowly, once she had the chance. Her companions watched her from the corner of her back. So close that their breaths brushed against the back of her neck. Accessing an inner control that would allow her to be calm under stressful circumstances was the only way that would allow her to get up and leave the room without hurting herself. She did so, with a queenly fortitude but without any of the pretensions of a sovereign, with courage but with poise. From then on, the animal that represented her Spirit, the lion, would accompany her forever.

All Kybalion youth, when they reached adulthood, had to pass the Chrysalis test in order to continue their studies. If they succeeded as she had done, the Spirit manifested itself physically to become a guide and protector. It was like meeting a friend who could be trusted, who gave strength and support in the face of adversity. The lion chose her, because she had qualities to learn from, and traits and weaknesses to be guided to overcome. When she left the Chrysalis she felt the connection with her Spirit, a bridge between two minds; the animal mind connected to mother nature and the human mind; which, linked by a transparent and unbreakable thread, formed a single unit.

She remembered returning safely back to the hallway, happy to have become a woman, and seeing her parents who proudly presented her with a beautiful white pearl barrette.