This is the long-overdue human equivalent of Benefits of Boomerang Enchantment on Items.
On an item, the Boomerang Enchantment allows an item to fly back to their owner's hand after being thrown, usually in a loop (for inexperienced users) but also straight back-and-forth for more experienced users (like a yo-yo)! It also leads an item to teleport (safely) back to the owner's hand when dropped, taken away, or left behind, in the same time it would take a thrown boomerang to return over that same distance.
However, on a human, the Boomerang Enchantment acts a bit differently. Such people are called 'Bouncers', because when you jump as a Boomerang, you are throwing yourself off the ground. A Bouncer can choose to 'bounce' back to the ground after jumping (specifically after reaching the peak of one's jump), and after landing they can choose to 'bounce' back up into the air.
This also makes it rather hard to kill a Bouncer, as when they realize they are in a dangerous spot, they can bounce one 'jump' back. "Wait, what's a jump?" A jump is a unit of measurement, which is different for each Bouncer as it is measured by how far an individual Bouncer can jump. Whenever a Bouncer uses their power, they bounce one jump away, and a Bouncer can generally only bounce to a nearby location if they had been there at some point in the past. Also, a jump is essentially teleportation, allowing someone to jump back to where they were in one second.
However, Bouncers who've maxed the Boomerang Enchantment (title pending, would love suggestions) can 'throw' themselves to another location one jump away, even if that location is in the air, and then 'bounce' back to whatever they bounced off of. This enables wall jumping and double/triple jumping (as seen in video games). All well and good, right?
However, the Boomerang Enchantment is also well-known to Enforcers, due to its potential for exploitation. Remember, the Boomerang Enchantment makes it basically impossible to lose an item, and while having slaves isn't legal in Alendyias (my setting) the Boomerang Enchantment makes it basically impossible for a slave to escape, let alone do something about it.
This is because high-level mages exist and can alter held Enchantments. In this case, the alteration causes a Bouncer to 'bounce' back to their owner after reaching a certain point (usually the threshold of an exit, but can be specified as another point), much like a boomerang returns to whoever threw it after being thrown.
There are limits to this, however; if a Bouncer just keeps running (and if they run fast enough), momentum will allow them to keep going forward instead of teleporting back, but this is pretty difficult to pull off. Also, just as a boomerang cannot return if stopped by something, a Bouncer cannot teleport if restrained-tied to something, tangled up in something....just a ball and chain will do the trick, but at the cost of severely restricting mobility.
If a Bouncer on the run does not immediately restrain themselves, then they'll start jumping back to their owner's location, except their jumps will cover miles instead of feet (as they normally would). These jumps can be interrupted by sprinting away and restraining oneself, but once the jumps start, they're hard to stop.
In both cases, running away or interrupting a jump sequence, one feels like one is running underwater, with ghostly hands grasping at the body. If a hand takes hold, then the unfortunate Bouncer must struggle against the pull or end up 'jumping' until they break the hand's hold.
Specifications For Best Answer:
- The best answer will analyze the benefits of being a Boomerang for Bouncers, and determine if the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. That's all, thanks for your input!
