Bondage

There were many trees that just couldn't be swallowed by the root, instead, it tried tearing pieces from them, sometimes he would notice that tree would try something similar, attempting to absorb the root instead. it had happened a few times during the journey, he found the root wasn't interested in the trees or plants.. it stopped all together with consuming, seemingly overfed.

Errit took the opportunity to thrust out the root into the dirt and under an herb he was watching from a distance. It looked like an onion, it smelled like a foot. He wondered it if was anything like an onion. The whole onion, along with most of its roots was grabbed by the root. It left the onion in Errit's hand and prepared itself to be thrown out again. 'what do you want?' Obvious changes were taking place inside of the vine, its aura gradually became dimmer, like it was dying, struggling through a hard change.

'Aww, don't die.' Errit was just getting use to the root, he really wanted to keep it. The changes were happening a lot during the night when the flowers bloomed under the moonlight. It shrank, and distorted.

Errit didn't know what to expect, he was a little sad to see it wither. He thought about the Moonflower pool, its properties were intensely wonderful for the plants that surrounded it. Searching through his ring, he pulled out a bunch of the crystals that were caked in the mud from the pools.

The root had been staying close to his side the entire day.. quietly ripening and hardening itself into a husk. It seemed to be dying. He laid it into the muck, the dirt and crystals had been spread out. It looked like it might be at a stage in its life where the plant would start to produce fruit or seeds, but nothing came, the root just sat idle waiting for some sort of command. It didn't even run back up his arm, dry and brittle.

A thin green strand started to break through one end of the first root. It looked just like the stone he had swallowed in color. It rolled its way out of the old husk and through the muck as it made its way onto Errit's hand.

Softly, it curled its runners up his right arm and rested. Like a baby snake wrapping its body around something warm, the root appeared to feel. 'Sentient plant?' Errit had seen something with the Jungle before, but he wasn't sure. Only now was he questioning his own reactions.

Much thinner than it had originally been, the new root chain had started seemed to glow and pulse for a bit. Sharp pain could be felt under the root, boring to the marrow of Errit's arm, he dropped and rolled across the muck in abstract pain. '$#!@^#$&!' Cursing inside, the feeling burned. It burned like fire that boiled his blood.

Small boils came onto his arm, and he passed out on top of the crystal muck.

He stood in his dreams, sweating. A deep unforgiving heat was surrounding him. The Phoenix Lord's Feather floating in his vision. 'Fuck, this is hot.'

He looked around, there green chains everywhere, green chains that matched his aura.

'What is this?' the question seemed rhetorical, the feather in the distance flew closer. Carried on a bed of hot winds it rested in front of Errits feet. Picking it up, Errit felt another voice. It blared in his head like a megaphone, with each word the space in his vision shook.

The Chains rattled tempering under the heat.

"Listen. Child." The voice of the Phoenix lord, Errit was expecting it earlier but he thought maybe he would dream about hearing the strand.. which, was still very much attached to his arm.

The burning sensation didn't change its pace, the pain started to wrack his thoughts inside the dream. caught off guard and feeling the precursors to shock, Errit kept his mouth shut and tried to listen.

"So quickly you rush for power, a body can break from such things. My blessing tempers you but you rush what was. I see a new life starts with you as its host. It tempers with your aura, belonging to you. Just as you received my blessing, so have you received this.. wandering chain and its blessing of sorts." The phoenix lords voice stopped. He blew flickers of his flames to the chains, tempering them further, faster. "Bonded. It will not retreat. Tear it away if you choose, but lose a piece of yourself. My feather, it will be consumed by this meeting. I had hoped it would raise you stronger before its expiration but I felt the shift in your life forces. This all I can do for you, should fate find you near my flock again, remember my name, Izushi."

The feather vanished, its flame lingered on the chains, a blue tint came into the aura. Once a vibrant green turned marine in some places and flickered with fire.

'This is unusual, even for a dream.' The pain started to subside. Errit was still standing there in the vision, walking up to the chain for a closer look, he placed his hand around one of the ends. that poked out from the revolving mass of chains. It was like a wall.

the Chain raised its edge like a snake and dove into his arm. A mystical effect, it seemed to swallow into his body. The links pulsed as they flew inside, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of links of chain burrowed their way into his body and circled his arms. There was an increase of weight in his arm for a moment, but only a moment. feeling the tide like force of the mass throwing him down, Errit wondered when the influx would stop.

The Dream went on. A warm sensation, different than the last started to fill Errit's body. Like he was embraced gently. The Chains hugged at his body and then retreated inside. Errit watched as the last link disappeared into the skin on his arm, his energy more than doubled. A Green Chain Tattoo came across his forearms, filling them entirely with color and the pain stopped.