Dragon-Bound
The Dragon & Human-Bound Overview
Humans are weak creatures in comparison to dragons and their minds are no different. Once one reaches the adolescent stage, a dragon can bind almost any human it comes across, willing or unwilling. Dragons can issue their Dragon-Bound a command and the human has no choice but to obey it. Their will now belongs to the dragon. Bindings occur as long as dragon makes the decision to do so; there are no 'accidental' Dragon-Bounds.
Once bound, a dragon can access the human’s thoughts and memories, as well as share in its emotions and physical responses (sight, hearing, pain, etc). They can also shut these out at will. The human can also share in its master’s thoughts, emotions, and memories, but if the dragon wills it these can be blocked away. In addition, a human shares a dragon’s lifespan. Its age is stopped at the time it is bound and it will retain that age for a very long time, aging as slowly as the dragon itself. Humans can also use dragon magic as the dragon will channel the magic and give it to its Dragon-Bound.
The main advantage to even having a Dragon-Bound is that without one, dragons cannot fly. The ability of flight is mostly magical and is trapped within a human soul. Without the merging of human and dragon there can not be any flight.
Dragons and Dragon-Bound that have strong relationships will often start to resemble each other. Human traits will start to appear in the dragon’s personality and the dragon traits will appear in the human’s. Some pairs will even share their minds fully so that their very thoughts intertwine and they act as one entity. Few achieve that level of cooperation, however.
How does a dragon actually connect themselves to a human?
It is a magical process where the dragon uses their innate magic to 'reach' into a human's mind and find the part that was taken from them long ago. Once found, they take control of it and thus bind the human to their will, creating a link forged by dragon magic. That is why dragons control the link - it was created by their magic and humans cannot use dragon magic.
As mind-altering magic is delicate and takes a lot of focus, physical contact with the human to be bound helps the process along and is almost required. However, if there is some reason that the dragon does not want to make physical contact, a ritual can be substituted and this will be of the dragon's design, as magic is merely magic until it is shaped and given definition by the wielder. A ritual is a focus, just as physical contact is.
When the binding is completed, no matter the form, it leaves both the human and dragon weakened, vulnerable, and drained of energy.
Effects of Death & Separation of a Bound
If a Dragon-Bound dies, the dragon experiences the human’s death and continues living with the knowledge of what was lost, an empty place in their mind where the other once resided. Some dragons have become immune to this effect, however, and care little for their human’s well-being so long as they still have the ability to fly. Dragons can take another Dragon-Bound if their former one dies, but how they will react to this new one depends on the dragon's personality.
How the death of a dragon or release from a bond by a willing dragon affects a human bound is a completely different tale. Most do not survive the trauma of their dragon's passing. The few that do suffer serious mental impairment. There has been no record of any such humans that having escaped either fate.
Breaking a Binding at Will
Usually death is the only thing that separates a dragon from a Dragon-Bound though there are exceptions. Sometimes a dragon will become tired of their current bound, sometimes Bounds are swapped, and some will attempt to 'train' or prepare a human for another dragon.
Whether a human is separated from their dragon through the dragon's death or by the dragon's choice, the result at being 'Unbound' from a dragon remains the same. Because of the consequence to the human, such actions are only taken by the Fallen or those dragons with Fallen tendencies.
Multiple Dragon-Bounds to a Dragon
Dragons can bind more than one human. It also follows that one human can be bound by more than one dragon.* Be forewarned that both are extremely dangerous as a mind can only take so much. It's difficult enough for one dragon and one human to share a mind, so try and imagine what would happen if a dragon tried to share with multiple minds or a human was shared amongst multiple minds. The sheer strain of it would either kill the human or drive them insane. Dragons don't bind multiple humans as it's a good way to kill their Dragon-Bound and is viewed as a perversion by their own kind. Humans aren't bound to multiple dragons for the same reason.
*(For rp purposes, either scenario MUST get approval first before it may be rp'd.)
