In a small winter valley where two old roads meet, a quiet baker named Crumb is asked to do something he’s never done before: leave the safety of his ovens and carry a lantern into the dark. When strange signs trouble the Crossroads and the stone circles on the hills begin to stir with old stories, Crumb finds himself drawn into a calling he never wanted—to become the first Pathfinder of his age.

This book follows Crumb, Liora the Candlekeeper, Osric the Miller, and a handful of apprentices as they learn what it means to “keep the roads” when the world would rather choose sides. Broken circles are mended, new ones are lit, and the simple acts of sharing bread, light, and listening become the bravest magic of all.

Winter settles over the valley, and the first Pathfinder is gone. In the thirty days before and after Crumb’s death, the people he gathered now have to decide what happens to the road when the one who started it is no longer walking beside them.

Liora, the candlekeeper, finds herself pulled between voices who want clear rules carved in stone and others who fear that writing anything down will trap something that was meant to stay living and unfinished. Around the Lantern Vigil, old grievances, quiet kindnesses, and unexpected visitors all press the same question: What does it mean to be a Pathfinder now?

The Way of the Pathfinders follows Liora, Ash, and the growing circle as they stumble through grief, argument, and small acts of courage to shape something like a shared Way—one that honors the man who began it without turning him into an idol, and leaves space for those who will walk the road after them.

Chapter 1 Out NOW