Through Valley and Vale

Magic is rare, and functionally unused by the average person in the modern day. There's little reason to learn alchemy when a pharmacy has more potent medications, and why take years to study magic when almost all of it can be replicated with existing technology? Occult magic is rarer still. Forbidden by both law and practicality, the only practitioners are those seeking to harm others. Vale, however, is a savant of all branches of magic, eagerly studying every facet of magic around her in search of a universal theory to unite it. She considers herself a scholar, and believes that the only thing more dangerous than knowledge is the lack of it. Naturally, she was sentenced to fifty years in prison for her numerous violations of the law. With rising occult practices growing on the fringes of society and secrets swirling around ominous figures, what is the military to do except hire a specialist? The only problem is that there's really only one person Counter-Magic knows of who can help. The sixth entry into the Critterverse, but a fully standalone story. This story also prominently features LGBTQ+ themes, including a transgender protagonist and a lesbian relationship.