The Severance of the Past Self
"With every passing day, I feel as if I am losing a bit of my touch. My heart. My humanity." "That is only natural, my nephew. It is because of Amarise's blessing that flows in our family blood - it blends us within two realms, instead of the one that your father and brothers knew. Even though you are King, you alone can decide where you wish to sit, or where your heart lays. Only you can choose who you want to be." "... what did you choose, Aunt? Did you put the Marks on your body?" Lifting up the sleeves of her shirt, the Second Princess reveals the marks of Severance that adorn her arms, to the nephew she so loves and feels a common kinship towards. "I have, my dear Jacob. But even though I left my old life behind, your uncle and cousins still love me, regardless. Something like that can never change, no matter which identity you take."The Severance of the Past Self is the ritual that is undertaken by therianthropes living on the Louthian continent. It represents the discarding of their previous identity as one species, and the full embracing of their new state - a blend between their human form and the animal form that they can now adopt at will. It is considered a "coming of age", or a "coming of realization", to those who have undergone full therianthropic transformations. It is a declaration that they are no longer fully human, nor are bound by the laws and social restrictions that full humans are usually subjected to. To those who have studied therianthropy and its effects on the psyche and culture, the Severance is considered the maturation of not only the mastery of their newfound power, but the psychological stabilization of the existence of two forms, and the newfound fluidity of their body.A conversation between King Jacob Mitfield and his aunt, Clarisse Mitfield-Cross
History
When Amarise first bonded secondary patterns onto the souls of the humans who were found worthy in her eyes, one of the items that escaped her foresight was the issue of two patterns of world views combating for dominance in a person's soul. Thus, to her horror, the first therianthropes she blessed in such a fashion destroyed themselves in spectacular and gruesome ways, as their minds were unable to bear the strain of two different patterns and systems of views being incorporated into one.
Utilizing her knowledge of the soul and its limitations from her sister Anais, Amarise got to work, utilizing her Runes to devise a means of separating the patterns that she imparted into those that caught her eye. Over the course of a year, Amarise and her first Creators devised the system that would partially seal the patterns of a person's first existence, allowing their new existence to take root and properly develop before the first system seal could be lifted, enabling a gradual transition.
Execution
The Severance is performed in three stages:
- The overseer of the ritual ascertains the therianthrope, and begins by cutting the rune for 'human' into their flesh, on a spot of the therianthrope's choosing;
- Beside the 'human' rune, a second rune depicting the type of therianthrope is carved in, and the two runes are then encased in a Severance array;
- With the Blessing of Amarise, the Severance Array combines the two runes, forming a new rune that is unique only to that therianthrope, signifying their Severance of their old life and the starting of their new one, coming into their prime.
Components and tools
The tool that is necessary for the successful take of the Severance rune is the symbol dagger, carried by Amarise's Designers, Inventors, and Creators.
Very few consumables are ever needed for such a ritual, other than dressings and bandages to take care of residual bleeding.
Participants
The primary participant of the ritual is the therianthrope who is surrendering their past.
A Designer or Inventor of the Order of the Architects must also be present to confer the sealing marks and to confirm the rune with the blessing of Amarise.
Witnesses in the form of family members or trusted persons may also attend the Severance.
Observance
The Severance is observed whenever a therianthrope makes the full mental commitment to their new state, and adopts the reality of their condition to their own means.
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