She was sitting around at the Shrike, drinking weak beer with her friends. "It makes what I'm doing feel pointless."

Newroot was busy with a salad. "It sounds like something from one of your stories."

"Yeah, sure, but that means these things don't need me involved. Sure, I could probably sell parts like the rubber I made, but if I don't there are plenty of other Alchemists. My special knowledge doesn't matter."

Sunflare was abstaining from the beer lately, saying he'd "trained enough". He leaned back in his chair, occasionally flapping for balance. "Just because the gods told you strange things doesn't necessarily mean you're meant to be the only important person around. In fact, are you sure you're not meant to be a Bard?"

Newroot said, "Could you tell us anything you remember about ships like that?"

"Maybe that's the point," Selen said, fiddling with her drink. "Share what I know, hope it inspires somebody. I can tell you already that ships like that are prone to exploding if you don't know what you're doing."

"So he's wrong to build them?"

"Not at all. It's just dangerous to get started." She nibbled on a kebab. "Imagine that these ships become big and reliable. Think about what that does. You can sail against the wind and current, you can carry huge cargoes, and you can explore the whole world or ride to another continent just to look around."

She talked about bits of history, war, exploration, trade, the work of missionaries and the building of canals. Her friends listened, looking puzzled.

Sunflare eventually said, "You have this all worked out in more detail than I'd expected."

Selen shrugged. "It's one thing to talk about a single ship, and another to think about what happens when there are a hundred. We might be in for a future where that happens and more, and it's best to plan for it. Just for starters, the Two Hoots business could expand much farther." Rolling her eyes she added, "Maybe that's my purpose. Founder of Feathered Express... gah, the pun doesn't work."

They looked at her strangely. As everybody would, for the rest of her life. That's me, the crazy outsider.

#

The first day of winter came to Grandbridge. Selen sat in her room, holding a borrowed magicite shard. The stone was about two inches long, hexagonal like quartz, and it emitted a frosty chill that numbed her fingers. She concentrated and its pale blue glow darkened, drawing in light until it was surrounded by deep black fog. Then she tuned it again and felt it prickle with barely contained voltage, glowing yellow-white like lightning.

"So this is my future," she said. She'd finally mastered the trick of tuning the gems herself, a worthy feat for any junior spellcaster.

Which was her best path in life, it seemed. Not trying to climb the infinite mountain of starting a technological revolution, because others were already doing that and her role was small. Maybe she could contribute something, so long as she didn't expect to be hero material somehow. Her real accomplishments were going to be in the slow spread of education and maybe this world's attitude toward commoners like her.

Selen dutifully went to the temple to improve herself. There, she sat before the altar of these alien gods and tried to clear her mind. She had gained a skill of Meditation and was using it now. She'd also taken lessons in the pushback skill called Repel Magic, and tormented herself to learn Resist Hunger. Those were all Will-based skills, good for more Health and Mana when she spent them -- which she did right now. [Will +1!]

As she'd been told to expect, increasing a class made another benefit appear.

[

Congratulations on your second level of Mage! Select a feat as your reward. Details available by focusing on an option.

-Updraft Mastery: Maintain an upward wind spell efficiently, at half the Mana.

-Amplified Darkness: Dark spells create twice the effect for 50% more Mana.

-Stabilize: An easy emergency healing spell to prevent death.

]

It was nice, at least, to see the System's mystic benefits for playing by its rules. The first option would give her better flight with her Rising Wind spell, and a boost to whatever else one could do with an updraft. The second choice would empower that darkness element, which still puzzled her. It seemed like an absence of energy, yet acted as a clinging, syrupy fog with its own uses. It'd be interesting to explore more. The third offer, the healing power, was a nod to her old life's skills. She'd done little with healing in the last year.

She thought back to her first appearance in this world, in the spring. It'd been a good time so far. Flight felt like the best thing to improve, for now, because it was part of this new identity. And if she kept going with wizardry there'd be plenty of chances to learn different powers. She picked the Updraft Mastery power, then sensed its inoffensive fine print like a flicker of wind beneath her. She felt vaguely sturdier as well from the extra Health. Then came her updated profile, showing the numbers.

[

Selen Moonlit, Aves Female

Mage 2, Alchemist 1

Physical: Agility 1

Mental: Learning 2, Wits 1, Sanity 2

Social: Charm 1, Will 1

Feats: Slowfall, Updraft Mastery

Skills: Dodge (Agility), Flight 2 (Agility), Staff (Agility), Hiking 2 (Toughness), Bureaucracy (Learning), Elemental Magic 2 (Learning), Force Magic (Learning), Literacy 2 (Learning), First Aid (Wits), Fashion (Charm), Storytelling (Charm)

Health (Toughness + Will): 25/35

Mana (Sanity + Will): 45/55

Stamina (Toughness + Sanity): 45/45

]

Less than four seasons lived so far. Four levels gained, counting the one she'd converted to Alchemist, and four stat points earned. Plus various skills waiting in her wings to be upgraded or traded or whatever. In the System's terms she was doing wonderfully.

She wondered what it was that the System had seen in the original Selen, and what her own God had seen in her, and whether there was any meaning in it. She could at least find her own meaning.

For now, she prepared her formal application to the Mages' Guild to better fit in with her new people.