Status: Not sure if this will be tragic or not. Hoping to keep going with this.
Bound
A promise that is slowly being forgotten from Kariin's past is suddenly coming back to haunt her eleven years later. Having thought that her childhood friends Rune and Cyra had died in an accident caused by her carelessness, Kariin has been carrying the weight of loneliness on her shoulders, trying to make up for her past by doing everything she can for others. In fact, she's ingrained it so far into her system that it has become second nature. But second nature is not going to help her when Rune suddenly shows up in her city, saving her from an incident that didn't go as planned. He gives no explanations, no news, answers no questions. Instead, he claims he must stay by her and protect her, but Kariin can't help but wonder what happened to Cyra, where does Rune go when he disappears, why are people suddenly attacking Kariin without warning, and what does all of this have to do with her?
Kariin
Rune
Cyra
Pouch
The Bind-- being Bound is a ceremony that requires the mixing of blood between the Waker and the Sleeper, a vow to love and cherish the other person forever. Doing this properly and in a certain way results in a Bind, resulting in a permanent tattoo over the heart of both participants. A Bond can only be completed when the participants are true Wakers and Sleepers. A "fake bond" can be created called a "String", but the resulting bond is not as deep and no tattoo is created. The tattoo is two hearts, one upside down, one right-side up and one cannot be created without the other, just as a Sleeper cannot survive without their Waker.
Sleeper-- a Sleeper is a fragile being. Born with a twin who is the complete opposite in looks, gender, and personality, the Sleeper is like a good luck charm for the world. If one dies, the balance between good and evil shifts and allows certain portals to be more accessible to outside influences such as demons. There are normally no more than two Sleepers on the Earth at any one time and a new set is born every other generation at the exact same time with their paralleling, ancestral twins. Sleepers are reliant on their counterparts known as Wakers. When a Sleeper hits the age of fifteen, he or she normally goes into what is called Slumber--a comatose state that they cannot be woken up from without their Waker. This coma lasts three years until their eighteenth birthday. If they have not found and been Bound with their Waker by then, they die. Through proof of love--any type of love, though that translation has been lost--the Sleeper can be awakened again. A Sleeper is greatly tied to their Waker. Easily, they can die from a broken heart if rejected by their counterpart, but this has only happened once when a Waker died in an accident before their Sleeper. In every other case, the Sleeper and the Waker die at the same time.
Waker-- a Waker is someone who is pure of heart, body, soul and blood who literally becomes the Sleeper's life-force. Always the opposite sex of the Sleeper, it is often that the Sleeper and Waker get married and stay together for their entire lives. They are also tied to the twin of the Sleeper, known as a Hunter, though when the Bond is created the Sleeper and the Waker become reliant on each other. Even if a Sleeper never finds their Waker, if the Sleeper were to die, the Waker would feel it no matter where they are and would never be complete for the rest of their life. Just as the Sleeper, the Waker will never feel complete until they find their "other half". If, however, the Waker is Bound and the Sleeper were to die, the Waker may die, but no one knows for sure because that case has never come up before. Because a Waker's blood is pure, it is desirable to demons and even Hunters. They are often killed for that reason, because it is said to ingest their blood or even bathe in it will enhance one's abilities. There are rare, but severe cases where the Hunter has killed the Waker because they cannot control their want.
Hunter-- the twin counterpart of a Sleeper. Always the complete opposite of their twin in looks, gender, and personality. They are the best friends of Wakers and normally stay so. Hunters are exactly what they sound like. They "Hunt" down the Wakers so that the Sleeper can create the Bond, and should they somehow become separated or the Sleeper fall into their Slumber, it is the Hunter's job to find the Waker again and keep the Sleeper and Waker together. Perhaps the reason the Hunter has been the same gender as the Waker is because, though their ultimate duty is to protect the Waker, the Hunter is drawn to the Waker's blood. It is, after all, a power booster, and Hunters have an array of powers ranging from higher speed, hearing, strength and sight than normal to being able to "hear" the Waker's blood from anywhere in the world once the Bond is created. With a Waker's blood being so attractive, it is the underlying friendship and love between them that keeps the Hunter from killing the Waker and their twin. Never in history has a Hunter been the same gender as their Waker. Their main job is to protect the Waker and Sleeper no matter what the cost.
Kariin
Rune
Cyra
Pouch
The Bind-- being Bound is a ceremony that requires the mixing of blood between the Waker and the Sleeper, a vow to love and cherish the other person forever. Doing this properly and in a certain way results in a Bind, resulting in a permanent tattoo over the heart of both participants. A Bond can only be completed when the participants are true Wakers and Sleepers. A "fake bond" can be created called a "String", but the resulting bond is not as deep and no tattoo is created. The tattoo is two hearts, one upside down, one right-side up and one cannot be created without the other, just as a Sleeper cannot survive without their Waker.
Sleeper-- a Sleeper is a fragile being. Born with a twin who is the complete opposite in looks, gender, and personality, the Sleeper is like a good luck charm for the world. If one dies, the balance between good and evil shifts and allows certain portals to be more accessible to outside influences such as demons. There are normally no more than two Sleepers on the Earth at any one time and a new set is born every other generation at the exact same time with their paralleling, ancestral twins. Sleepers are reliant on their counterparts known as Wakers. When a Sleeper hits the age of fifteen, he or she normally goes into what is called Slumber--a comatose state that they cannot be woken up from without their Waker. This coma lasts three years until their eighteenth birthday. If they have not found and been Bound with their Waker by then, they die. Through proof of love--any type of love, though that translation has been lost--the Sleeper can be awakened again. A Sleeper is greatly tied to their Waker. Easily, they can die from a broken heart if rejected by their counterpart, but this has only happened once when a Waker died in an accident before their Sleeper. In every other case, the Sleeper and the Waker die at the same time.
Waker-- a Waker is someone who is pure of heart, body, soul and blood who literally becomes the Sleeper's life-force. Always the opposite sex of the Sleeper, it is often that the Sleeper and Waker get married and stay together for their entire lives. They are also tied to the twin of the Sleeper, known as a Hunter, though when the Bond is created the Sleeper and the Waker become reliant on each other. Even if a Sleeper never finds their Waker, if the Sleeper were to die, the Waker would feel it no matter where they are and would never be complete for the rest of their life. Just as the Sleeper, the Waker will never feel complete until they find their "other half". If, however, the Waker is Bound and the Sleeper were to die, the Waker may die, but no one knows for sure because that case has never come up before. Because a Waker's blood is pure, it is desirable to demons and even Hunters. They are often killed for that reason, because it is said to ingest their blood or even bathe in it will enhance one's abilities. There are rare, but severe cases where the Hunter has killed the Waker because they cannot control their want.
Hunter-- the twin counterpart of a Sleeper. Always the complete opposite of their twin in looks, gender, and personality. They are the best friends of Wakers and normally stay so. Hunters are exactly what they sound like. They "Hunt" down the Wakers so that the Sleeper can create the Bond, and should they somehow become separated or the Sleeper fall into their Slumber, it is the Hunter's job to find the Waker again and keep the Sleeper and Waker together. Perhaps the reason the Hunter has been the same gender as the Waker is because, though their ultimate duty is to protect the Waker, the Hunter is drawn to the Waker's blood. It is, after all, a power booster, and Hunters have an array of powers ranging from higher speed, hearing, strength and sight than normal to being able to "hear" the Waker's blood from anywhere in the world once the Bond is created. With a Waker's blood being so attractive, it is the underlying friendship and love between them that keeps the Hunter from killing the Waker and their twin. Never in history has a Hunter been the same gender as their Waker. Their main job is to protect the Waker and Sleeper no matter what the cost.