The Walker

The Walker, also known as John Dee, is the main antagonist of the Stoneheart Trilogy. As punishment for trying to chisel away at the London Stone, he is cursed by the Stone, forced to wander the city of London and unable to keep still. His assistant, the Raven, is an immortal bird who acts as his eyes and ears.

The Walker continues to cause trouble for George and Edie throughout the series. He has help from many different taints across the city, whom he summons to dispose of the children.

History
The Walker as a character is based off of the sixteenth century occultist John Dee. In history, Dee was also a mathematician, magician, alchemist and astrologer. Dee had a fascination with magic; he even believed that the London Stone had magical properties to it. The real Dee also had an interest in mirrors; he had an Aztec obsidian mirror imported from Mexico that he used for his occult research. In the Stoneheart Trilogy, Dee tried to chisel away at the London Stone, and as a result he was punished by the Stone, forced to walk the city streets forever. (Hence his name "The Walker"). The Walker bound a bird to him named "Memory" or "the Raven" when he was a mage. There was a red string tied around Memory's neck in the books. Edie broke this curse by cutting the string with her teeth, and Memory repaid her. Memory remembers everything and forgets nothing, hence the name "Memory".

Appearance
The Walker is described as being a tall man wearing an old faded overcoat and a grimy green hoodie with a John Deere logo on it. His long dark hair hangs out from under his hood a little. He has dark violet eyes and a beard with a goatee on the end of his chin, and he is almost always scowling. He has a hippyish look to him and he is said to resemble a "magician turned pirate", but he still manages to appear ominous and mysterious. A stone (a piece of the London Stone) attached to a silver chain hangs from his neck, and he has a pearl earring in one ear. He carries an old dagger with him.

The Walker is constantly moving around, and he never stays completely still. When he stands in one place, he rocks back and forth on his feet in order to continue moving. When he rests, he is actually pacing in an enclosed area.

Personality
The Walker is crafty, and he is fond of dry humour and full of tricks. He is usually well-composed, but certain situations can drive him into a rage, such as the conversation he has with the Gunner about his curse. He frequently insults other characters, commenting on what he finds to be their insignificance and stupidity. He comes across as arrogant and boastful, and he often underestimates the capabilities of others, even those of the Raven.

While he may be arrogant, the Walker shows great determination in his quest, as he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals, and he will harm as many people as it takes to do this. He lacks sympathy, and he is known to be merciless when hunting glints. He has a bad reputation among the spits of London.

Abilities
One of the Walker's features is that he is always walking. Although this is part of his curse, it allows him to be virtually unnoticed by common pedestrians. It appears to be a rare occurance when somebody actually notices him. Also, the Walker is always forgotten by people who do see him. The Walker also has some form of influence over people's minds; he can drive ordinary people insane by merely speaking to them, or he can put thoughts into their head that cause them to act differently from the way they normally would.

Because he is forced to walk the streets of London forever, the Walker does not seem to age at all. It is stated that for many generations he has been serving the Stone, which has also given him plenty of time to perfect his ability to stay hidden from pedestrians.

The Walker is highly intelligent and clever, and he can quickly find an upper hand in a situation. He also seems to have skill with the dagger that he carries, as well as with the pair of mirrors.

Role In Plot
(Warning: contains spoilers)

Stoneheart
The Walker is first seen when he is moving along Cannon Street. He moves past a woman in a red coat, and when the lady hears the Walker speak, she begins to scream uncontrollably. The Walker then listens to the London Stone, and he informs the Stone of his plan to bring George to it.

When the Walker goes to George's apartment along with the Raven and the cat gargoyle, he passes a couple of Kay's friends on the way to the elevator. He humorously tells them that they "forgot the wine", causing them to become unhappy and leave the building. It is shown after that he took the wine from their hands. The Walker inspects George's apartment, but George and Edie are already gone, having exited into the parking garage before the Walker arrived.

The Walker appears at the base of the Monument to the Great Fire of London as George is re-climbing the tower to find Edie's heart stone. The Walker explains to the Gunner the mix-up between the children, the Minotaur having grabbed the wrong child. He then tells the Gunner to bring George to the Minotaur's lair so that the children can be exchanged. This is all part of his plan for George to trade places with him, so that he will be free from the Stone. In anger, the Gunner tries to shoot the Walker, but the man is unharmed; only the letters "re" on his John Deere hoodie are damaged. Because this happened, the Walker forces the Gunner to hand over his bullets so that nothing will happen when they meet with the Minotaur. The Gunner reluctantly agrees, and he was also forced to swear an oath that he would not use any of his bullets. The Walker then leaves the scene.

The Walker goes to the Stone and waits in an alley for George to arrive. He sends an annoying newspaper vendor home by telling the man that he is sick. When George and Edie get to the Stone and wait for the Gunner to scout the area, the Walker appears behind George with his dagger. The Walker then demands that George hands over the dragon head. After Edie distracts the Walker by yelling at him, George jabs the dragon head into the man's face. The Walker blindly slashes at George with his dagger, and only grazes the boy. Edie then glints the stone around his neck, which shows her what he did to earn his curse. The glinting shocks the Walker, apparently taking energy out of him. Before he can do anything to the children, the Gunner appears behind the man and grabs him.

George is about to make amends on the Stone, but he hesitates. The Walker then makes a rude remark about how insignificant his decision really is. After George decides to stay, the Walker pulls his two mirrors from his pockets and falls into them, taking the Gunner with him.

(Awaiting completion; still in progress, missing many scenes right now)