The coin in Jake's palm pulsed lightly, guiding him towards a hill where stones stood in a circle. As he approached, the stones brightened, each answering the coin's pulse like a quiet breath. The figure beside him tapped one, revealing a hollow coated with soft dust.
Jake placed the coin inside. The stones shifted, forming a compass. A trail of light rose, sketching a path across the land – not roads, but symbols that sparked something half-remembered in him… a tree that hummed, a market of ribbons, and a door that opened only for those who returned what they borrowed.
The scrap of light in his hand pulsed once, then folded into a thin string. Jake tied it to his wrist. He hesitated, wondering if he could read what wasn't written. Then he felt it, a map written in trust.
He pressed the coin's edge.
(A phrase surfaced in his thoughts: "Ask before taking. Return before leaving.")
He felt it, without speaking it.
The figure touched his hand, a gesture of permission. Jake understood (this place didn't choose heroes. It chose learners.)
He walked back to the shelter with the bracelet on his wrist and the phrase in his chest. That night, he wrote the words onto the wall. He hesitated, wondering if he could read what wasn't written. Then he felt it – a map written in trust.