The Rootbound Legacy

Sixteen-year-old Ayla Jennings lives and breathes the emerald symphony of Ilrath, a twilight jungle where ancient Ironwood trees weave an eternal dusk.  She feels the forest’s every pulse — the rustling anxieties of the trees, the playful curiosity of orchids, and the deep sorrow of the Great Banyan, the heart of Ilrath. This isn’t a gift; it's the Rootbound Legacy, a lineage of Keepers bound to safeguard the jungle’s sentient soul.  But this sacred harmony is shattered when the Kryll Corporation, desperate to save their dying world, invades Ilrath, extracting luminite, the very lifeblood of the jungle's interconnected consciousness.
Finnigan Hayes, a Kryll cartographer burdened by guilt, witnesses the devastating price of his people's survival. He sees not just veins of luminite on his maps, but the slow, agonizing ecocide of a living world.  Driven by a desperate hope for a future beyond destruction, he defects, seeking a path of coexistence that neither side has considered.
Their paths collide with Maren Thorne, a warrior-priestess whose tattooed skin whispers tales of ancient pacts and forgotten rituals. She recognizes the untamed power within Ayla, the volatile energy of the Rootbound Legacy that could either save Ilrath or consume its Keeper.  Maren’s training isn't about combat; it's about understanding the subtle language of the forest, a language that Ayla must master to survive.  As the Kryll push deeper, the jungle fights back, its flora transforming into venomous defenses, fueled by Ayla’s growing power.  But each surge of power threatens to strip away her humanity, turning her into the very force she seeks to control.
Finn becomes her anchor, reminding her of the shared fragility of life, even within the Kryll's desperation. He speaks of symbiosis, a way for both worlds to survive. But Maren reveals the terrible truth: to wield the full power of the Legacy is to become the jungle, to forfeit her very self.
As a Kryll scientist uncovers the true, sentient nature of luminite and leaks her findings, a civil war erupts within the Kryll ranks, mirroring the escalating conflict tearing through Ilrath.
Torn between the jungle’s consuming rage and Finn’s plea for understanding, Ayla must make an agonizing choice.  In the heart of the Great Banyan, she faces the ultimate test: embrace the destructive power of the Legacy and annihilate the Kryll, or forge a new path, one that may demand the ultimate sacrifice, not from the invaders, but from the Keeper herself.