My second essence map! I'm still having trouble dividing mind from soul... but I am told it's not critical as long as I understand the character himself.

Nathan's a bit of a trouble character for me, to make him unassuming without being pathetic and unlovable, so any opinions on his map would be appreciated.

***
NATHAN

{APPEARANCE}
-HAIR
--color
---Brown
*curls of shaved chocolate
*undyed brown wool
--Texture
---Curly, Thick
*uncarded wool locks
*a brown sheep

-EYES
--color
---Brown
*coffee beans
*melted chocolate
--Depth
---Dull
*a lifeless portrait
*a nonresponsive victim
---Observant
*an elderly man quietly sitting on the street corner
*a person, alone in the booth, watching out the coffee shop window
---Distrustful
*a teenager living on the streets
*a betrayed soldier

-BODY
--Build
---Average
*a healthy domesticated dog
*a small shade tree
--Height
---Short
*a stunted tree
*a preteen child
*a miniature horse

{SPIRIT}
---Calm
*a cloudless sky
*a low stone wall around quiet gardens
*a shelf of dusty books
---Simplistic
*a nicked kitchen table
*an unadorned hearth
*an all-purpose black cloak
*dust floating in a shaft of sunlight
---Content
*a full-grown oak
*a sleeping cat
*a stump in the middle of the forest
---Adaptable
*a transplanted bush
*versatile basic tennis shoes
*a chameleon
---Durable
*clay cured by fire
*a battle-hardened soldier
*a stone smoothed by weather
*a salty, experienced sailor in the face of a storm

{MIND}
---Bitter
*a defeated soldier after the war
*dried, hardened bread
*splintered ends of worn wood
---Resigned
*a death-row prisoner
*awaiting judgment after pleading guilty
*calling off a war by agreeing to unconditional surrender
*shouting insults at the mute
---Hiding
*a moth camouflaged in the trunk of a tree
*a disguised prince blending with the populace
*a venomous snake lying camouflaged on a dirt path
---Withholding
*a book of revealing history written in a foreign language
*an undetected code hidden in the text of a mundane letter
*a locked chest

Wow - I love just about all of your MIND metaphors, but this one stuck out to me as one of the best:

an undetected code hidden in the text of a mundane letter

eruheran

Aw, thank you, Drew! I'm glad that one made sense... it was a bit of a cumbersome concept to explain.

That was really good!
I started today with essence maps, and mine were kind of... startling.

Thanks, Elly. I'm checking out yours.

Thank you very much, Lady E! I'm glad you like Nathan... sometimes I worry that I've made him such a wimp that nobody will appreciate him.

Thank you for the tip - I didn't know that about X-level maps. However, for this purpose I did toss that one in there for the sense of danger. It's not a big element of his personality, but it is there. For some people, he's a ticking bomb waiting to be triggered. His very presence could ignite a war. Also, while he tends to be reclusive, he has a volatile store of bitterness, anger, and a hint of revenge that can spark. So by including just one metaphor with a sense of danger I hoped to convey that subtle thread of rage.

I'm glad of that. Thank you!

Thank you, Irisis! I'm glad to hear it was comprehensive enough, coming from someone that's not familiar with the character.