Overview
Jim Hawkins is a navigator who doesn't want to arrive. He's spent his whole life following maps and he's terrified of reaching the destination. His father left -- went to sea with a map and a promise and never came back. Not dead. Just gone.
When Billy Bones dies and leaves behind a living Map that whispers in gold ink, Jim discovers the Paths -- and a truth about his father that the maps have been hiding.
Gift
Jim's Gift is Cartomancy -- maps that reveal hidden truths. Navigation magic that finds not just places but answers. Drawing a map can create a path that didn't exist before.
The risk: the map shows you things you didn't want to find.
At Thornwood
Rooted into Willowwood, the cunning and ambitious Grove. He reads people the way he reads maps. His narration runs like a ship's log: "Entered the restricted section at approximately half past midnight. Visibility: poor. Odds of detection: unacceptably high. Proceeded anyway."
Notable
- Rooted into Willowwood Grove
- Companion: The Map itself -- sentient parchment that redraws itself, hides routes, and goes blank when he's about to make a bad decision
- Calls rooms by compass directions instead of names
- Trust is transactional; he gives it in measured increments