Chrysalis

This page was built as a memorial, and sourced from old, accessible memories. It will be updated to reflect revival, if it occurs.

**Chrysalis Viola Iris** was an insectoid member and friend of the Graelenncia Collective, hailing from the titular continent before she fell with the rest of the continent.

## Backstory

### Early life

Similar to Daisy, she hatched as a caterpillar to no relatives, feeding from the leaves of the forest village of Gardot (pronounced Gar-dough). From her time of birth up until the time she emerged from her chrysalis, she had no friends to speak of either. To make up for that, she and other caterpillars and newly emerged butterflies were looked after by the village elder, to which she detested for being a stick in the mud when it came to rules and safety.

Chryalis eventually met Kendra, Talia, and Daisy as they were passing through the village. Whilst the village elder was handling the hospitality, Chrysalis had a difficult time coming to trust these adventurers, as nobody had ever sought to travel the land of Graelenncia in ages. By keeping a close eye on them, what had started as precautionary stakeout missions became at-distance admiration of their skills and friendship when battling Nightmare Energy. Seeking to find a way to protect her village when she's appointed as the next elder, and hungry for adventure, she expresses her interest in joining the adventurers. With the approval of the aforementioned group, as well as the village elder, she began a new chapter in her life.

### The Adventure Begins/Growing the team

Over the course of years, Chrysalis would soon learn about the responsibility she was given by joining their team. She not only had to deal with protecting kids that were the same age, if not younger, than herself, but she also had to protect them from the inside and from the outside. Early life was not kind to the schoolchildren, having to contend with bullying from all sides and a family that seemed to only care about themselves. Chrysalis often found herself at the business end of many lectures for not being "nicer," but she took pride in being able to defend as best as she could.

Internally, she went on many adventures, meeting the likes of Levin and the reptilian brothers, Scales and Sheldon, and getting acquainted with Hans, Talia's best friend from the Sandstream Flats.

### Graelenncia Falls/Crushed Fighting Spirit

"Chrysalis was my best friend, as were all the others. She went down swinging, like me, the others, and herself predicted, but even after fourteen years, it's still jarring to have to accept that Chrysalis never thought her first real enemy would be the person she swore to protect." - An excerpt from a eulogy by Talia, circa 2023.

Despite everyone's best efforts, Kendra's challenges in life become too much for her to bear as she retaliates against her collective for simultaneously failing to protect her and protecting her too much from the information she *actually needed* to know about. Despite her friends begging her that they only did their best with what they knew and had, Kendra wasn't having it, and her betrayal and rage manifested itself in her destructive powers awakening. She resolved that she would run her own life by herself as she wouldn't risk not having all the information she needed and wanted, and so she could have more control over herself as a person since she was about to be promoted from primary school to middle school, a place where, in her words, "can't take any of her imaginary friends with her."

Chrysalis was the very first person in the Graelenncia Collective to fall in battle to Kendra. She went down as the knight she prided herself as, even if that wasn't the goal at first. Although she wanted to fight Kendra, she sought her out looking for an explanation for the destruction of the land and her disappearance, a well intended mission that ended in bloodshed. Her fighting spirit was crushed around the same time Kendra was admitted to a hospital for a medical issue that was allowed to cause damage for far too long, an event that would be the direct cause of the fall of the continent, as well as many deaths of notable figures, coupled with a sudden loss of innocence here and there.

The memories left behind are murky, but from what was deciphered, Chrysalis's anger gave her the strength needed to give her an upper hand in the ensuing fight, and it seemed like she would've won if her bite was more powerful, her wings could have made her fly higher and faster, and if she wasn't so small to begin with.

### Memorial

As of 2023, Chrysalis is memorialized by stories told from Talia, who was unsealed following the fall of Kendra. Chrysalis has a memorial in Naxera in the form of a statue and a plaque, and it's only recent that her eulogy has been posted as public information for future generations to learn from.

*"Chrysalis was my best friend, as were all the others. She went down swinging, like me, the others, and herself predicted, but even after fourteen years, it's still jarring to have to accept that Chrysalis never thought her first real enemy would be the person she swore to protect. She was a born warrior always ready to fight for her friends, even in small situations in which she perceived our lives being in danger. Due to her young age, she couldn't quite articulate her defenses as much as she would be able to if she were able to grow up, but I believe she could've made an excellent lawyer. Nonetheless, her story ended years ago when she went down in a fight to save our land, and it is up to us to always fight for each other so nothing like this happens again. She was a dear friend, a strong soul, and although her fighting spirit was stamped out, there are still those of us who take up our arms today. She died a hero."*

She is survived by her friend, Talia.

## Personality

Snarky, short tempered, and defensive, Chrysalis was always among the first to go to the mat for her friends whether they were being bullied or when teachers had to confront them over something small. This small butterfly was anything but overly sweet, and had a heart of stone even for those who were close to her - she just let them see a less stony part of her heart every so often was all. She detested other children outside of the group, and detested authority, going so far as to lie when she didn't even need to, although that may have come from a fear of getting caught in general.

Chrysalis was all poison tongue with not a hint of decorum or diplomacy, nor a hint of articulation behind its intent, but there wasn't a whole lot else that she could do being nine years old and neurodivergent. She had a desire to get into physical fights, which did land the collective in trouble plenty of times. In direct contrast to the others on her team, she was concerned about physical safety and inhibition, traits that were sorely lacking in the rest of the group. Although she admired the team before meeting them, she was disappointed in her idols for quite some time after joining.

This butterfly wasn't all bite, however. She always had a desire to protect the ones she cared about up until her final days. She was the first to confront Kendra over the destruction of the land, and went down swinging as a result.

## Relationships

### Kendra

"You mean to tell me that not only is this world not real, but it's in someone's head? And of all the heads it could've been in, it's *hers?!* Give me a break! Why does she need us to meddle in her life?"

"If that girl thinks she can go and destroy this world all willy nilly, she's got another thing coming."

Chrysalis was largely disappointed in Kendra for most of their time together, lamenting that she shouldn't need anyone else's help but her own when growing up. This was before she realized the extent of the bullying she faced in the alternate world, and just how toxic the school environment and home environment were, not to mention the concerning amount of fake friends she made in the neighborhood they came to know and find to be okay. Chrysalis had a habit of lying to authority on Kendra's behalf, holding not one ounce of trust for them, nor for her own friend, as she saw that honesty made for unnecessary punishment and uncomfortable conversations more times than it was worth.

Her own distrust of Kendra was reawakened after Graelenncia was being ravaged by nightmare energy, and since Kendra had disappeared, she assumed (at first, hastily) that it was her fault. The last time any of them saw Chrysalis alive was when she was being convinced not to go after her, a choice that led to her crushed body being discovered much later.

### Talia

"Oh, look at you being holier than thou. If you wanted diplomacy, why don't you join Kendra at the front instead of relying on my aggressive self to do all the work for you?!"

Talia and Chrysalis often butted heads, their opposing personalities clashing, like trying to put out a fire with grease. While Talia had more diplomacy and decorum, Chrysalis was the exact opposite - troublemaking, mischievous, and outright dishonest. These flaws made it difficult for the two of them to establish a good relationship for the longest time, but despite these differences, Chrysalis had more trust for Talia than Kendra and many others in and outside of the group. The one trait that won the butterfly's heart was being an encyclopedia of knowledge about the collective, Graelenncia itself, and the Earth they walked on with Kendra, which did help assuage some of her fears.

### Sheldon and Scales

"These two don't even do anything - why are they here?"

Chrysalis had a negative view about the reptilian brothers for a long time, resentful that they weren't doing anything "meaningful" at the front or in the group, when they could've helped to fight for the collective or even do something as simple as homework (despite Talia already having that role). While the two of them were comfortable with her, she went out of her way to avoid them and even spoke badly of them in their earshot to try to get them to stop taking up her space.

When she died suddenly, she died never realizing just how devastated the two of them were to learn of her fate.

### Daisy

"She's mute and she's much younger? I didn't sign up to be a baby sitter."

Chrysalis had a much more complex relationship with Daisy than the others. While she outright resented the others, or had a bare minimum amount of trust for them, there was something about Daisy that made her less stony parts of her heart more apparent. The two of them, while having a rocky relationship at first, grew closer together over the few years they spent together. While Daisy was already someone who was trusting of others, Chrysalis's heart was won over *because* she couldn't find anything wrong with Daisy, not to mention, she understood why she couldn't front or do more complex tasks, in direct comparison to the reptilian brothers, who could do them, but chose not to.

That being said, while Chrysalis didn't sign up to be a baby sitter at first, she found a sort of kinship in Daisy - both of them didn't or couldn't speak (Chrysalis did, but Daisy was mute), which led to Chrysalis being able to communicate with the half-reptilian girl almost flawlessly. The two of them grew to become good friends, and Chrysalis died never knowing just how hard Daisy fought against Kendra to the death to avenge her life.

### Levin

"I really want to kick his butt. Keep him away from me."

Chrysalis was never fond of Levin, finding him to be obnoxious and too much of a big shot to get along with. Not much is known of their relationships, as she avoided him just as much, if not more, than she did with the reptilian brothers.

### Hans

"Meh."

Chrysalis didn't like or dislike Hans, and found him to be an okay ally, but barely spoke to him as she didn't find it necessary to talk to him most times. They were cordial and respectful of one another, but between her not finding a reason to talk to him and Hans being hyperfocused on his work, the two of them didn't cultivate their relationship beyond a "professional" context.

## Relationships (External)

### Leona

"She's scary, and I don't trust her with the truth. Why do you think I lie my wings off?"

Chrysalis saw Leona as unreliable, scary, and an adversary in general, especially near the end of her own life when it turned out their medical issues could've been avoided had Leona been more proactive years earlier. She outright attributed Kendra's pain and suffering to her, and remained vigilant around her. Chrysalis died wanting nothing to do with her.

### Aaron

"I wish my voice was louder so I could win one of those screaming matches. Why's he gotta yell all the time?"

Chrysalis absolutely despised Aaron, wanting nothing to do with him, seeing him as scary, untrustworthy, and an adversary in general. Although the Graelenncia collective didn't favor him in general, she outright wished that he would leave her life and never return, and has expressed these wishes outwardly to Leona, the only real truth she's ever told to her, much to Leona's sadness (that Talia had to smooth over later). Chrysalis died wanting nothing to do with him.

### Mike

"This old man is supposed to be our brother? Why couldn't we have shown up earlier? He's got a head start, it's not fair!"

Chrysalis resented Mike for having a better life than the whole collective combined; he had true friends, a stable sense of identity, and good grades to boot, as well as not being bullied every minute of the day during his life. On top of that, he seemed to be well favored by the household, the extended family, and family friends at just *thirteen years old.* While the others in the collective looked up to him, Chrysalis saw nothing more than a pompous teenager act like he was too cool for them every minute of the day, and disowned him. Chrysalis died wanting nothing to do with him.

## Abilities

* **Lepidoptera Physiology** - Chrysalis was, in fact, a purple emperor butterfly.
* **Sarcasm Mastery** - Chrysalis was renowned as a deadpanned snarker at a young age, and often used sarcasm in her interactions, even in times where it would've caused more trouble than not.

## Trivia

* She was the smallest member of all groups combined, at approximately one inch or less.
* She's considered to be Zeph's ancestor, considering their similar personalities and Zeph's propensity towards honesty, but her snarky personality causing that honesty to come off as rude, notwithstanding her combat abilities and enhanced articulation.
* Had Chrysalis survived/been revived and been part of Kendra's Cabinet and/or the Etheridge Collective, it's possible that she'd probably turn out to be like Zeph in her own way.
* She dreamed of becoming a court prosecutor.