Synopsis [A trans fantasy story brimming with intrigue, shadowed with romance, and simmering with (wait for it) smut.]  Eli—or Ellie, as she would like to be called, someday—is a young alchemy student from a bleak border town who has pinned all hope on the Imperial merit exam, and its potential to unlock a portal to other possible life-ways. Like every child in the Common City of Opali, Mila chose her gender. City of bells, salt breezes, and cats, Opali is far beyond the Imperiat’s reach. Opali has many herbalists, but no alchemists or sorcerers—and Mila wonders what would be possible for her and others like her if that was different. Roxa grew up hunting and riding in the Duchy of Waterfalls. Her mother, the Countess Monir, renown as a sorcerer and a diplomat without peer, has just accepted a post in the Imperial Capital, and Roxa sees an opportunity to finally escape her mother’s shadow.  All their paths will intertwine deep within the Imperiat, at Harmine University For Sorcery, Alchemy and Medicine. They will match wits and secrets and lies in dangerous waters, where the powerful prey on the vulnerable and loyalties are traded like coin.  [This story contains sexual content and is meant only for those who are 18 or older.] [This story is a trans story. It is also a lesbian romance story with (mostly but not only) lesbian smut and sexual content. The sexual content is absent from most of the first twelve chapters and then picks up very abruptly after that. Themes that run through this story, including some of the sexual content, are: power exchange, sex across a power differential, ambiguous consent or ambiguous ability to consent, and other such ethically dicey situationships. If that isn’t something you are comfortable with, this story may not be for you. I will put content warnings at the beginnings of chapters.] [Anyway, this story has been so much fun to write and I hope you enjoy reading it. I was heavily influenced and inspired by amazing trans author Casey Plett and the queer fantasy marvel that is The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson. I highly recommend both.] [This story is cross-posted to Scribblehub!]