Bonding
In the Underland, two creatures can "bond". When a human bonds with a bat, they are together forever. They promise that they will defend each other to the death. The punishment for forsaking a bond is banishment to be thrown into the Dead Lands alone which means almost certain death. To bond with one another, the human and bat must recite a poem pledging their promise, while holding hand in claw. This is done in a large scale process.
The human says: (Bat’s name) the flier, I bond to you.
Our life and death are one, we two.
In dark, in flame, in war, in strife
I save you as I save my life.
The bat then says: (Human’s name) the human, I bond to you.
Our life and death are one, we two.
In dark, in flame, in war, in strife
I save you as I save my life.
However, bonding doesn't always have to be with bats. It can be with any creature, but it is mainly only bats that the Underlanders bond to. But you can be bonded to more than one creature, In Luxa's case, she was bonded to Ripred, and Aurora.
Read more about this topic: The Underland Chronicles
Famous quotes containing the word bonding:
“The bottom line on bonding with multiples seems to be that if you see bonding as a static event—a moment in time at which you must have eye contact and skin contact simultaneously with two or more infants—you may indeed be in trouble.”
—Pamela Patrick Novotny (20th century)
“At the heart of male bonding is this experience of boys in early puberty: they know they must break free from their mothers and the civilized world of women, but they are not ready yet for the world of men, so they are only at home with other boys, equally outcast, equally frightened, and equally involved in posturing what they believe to be manhood.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)
“Attachment to a baby is a long-term process, not a single, magical moment. The opportunity for bonding at birth may be compared to falling in love—staying in love takes longer and demands more work.”
—T. Berry Brazelton (20th century)