The Permanence of Trauma

This is a story concept I thought of the other night.

It's set in a world where there's a species that can love and attach normally, as humans do. But when they suffer trauma or abuse, their response is to permanently bond with the cause of it. A lifetime emotionally chained to whoever gave them that feeling of fear or pain. This connection is unshakable, regardless of willpower: the victim will always tend to obey or be drawn toward whoever induced the bond.

Within the world, this is used as part of their pair-bonding ritual. They are strictly monogamous and use this biological facet to induce an enduring bond that can weather hardship. In these cases, the trauma is consensual and mutual. I picture elves for the appearance of these beings, though elves are overused.

However, problems begin when they encounter other species who aren't subject to this rule and, worse, find this species highly desirable. As a result, you begin to have them forcibly bonded to beings who are not obliged to reciprocate. Worse, you can have more than one bonded to the same person, which goes against their psychology. They become highly valuable slaves, since slavers have to take care not to trigger their bonding process before selling them.

The main character of the story: a male of the species who, when young, was forcibly pair bonded with an older woman. She was later killed, which freed his body but not his mind. Her ghost now haunts him as he travels the land dedicated to a mission: to free as many of the slaves as he can. He knows he cannot undo their past, but he can at least stop the torment they are experiencing in the moment.

The main internal conflict would be the war of his mind. On one hand, it is still possible for him to love and feel emotions for others, However, the assault rendered him unable to permanently attach to anyone, because his attacker is always in his mind. He fights her influence, which asserts itself especially in his low moments.

Thematically, the obvious theme is the impact of abuse: physical, sexual, and emotional. The different forms abuse can take are explored, as well as different coping mechanisms and societal reactions. I picture it being a serial in nature, similar in construction to an ongoing manga with different arcs portraying different instances and a small constant cast.