"Makes sense. Is there any magic I'll be able to do without specifically picking it?"

"Only your angelic properties and miracles. Though you would be able to use any magical devices that anyone can use, which are reasonably common in Virata and quite rare in Abyssia and Noctis."

"Okay. Foundations are expensive enough that I should probably not get too attached to any of them that didn't sound exciting unless exciting blessings are thin on the ground for some reason. Tentatively the full stack of quickness of mind and at least two steps of magic unless I'm very strapped for points and decide to go to Astrata about it. Next?"

"There are many more blessings, but I shall mention for now only the ones I think might appeal.

Fortune, four, it is good luck. You might have fortunate meetings with one who becomes a good friend, or notice the light glinting off a hidden foe's armor.

Immunity is a categorical and total invulnerability to a specific type of damage- Costs are various, depending on type. Immunity to direct mental manipulations, including mind reading, lie detections, illusions that work on the mind rather than creating light, mental attacks and charm effects, and so on, costs four. You can have multiple immunities.

The Hearth, a wide range of ordinarily lethal temperatures are perfectly comfortable for you, two.

Log-Raah-Kot- Any fast moving projectiles coming towards you stop before they impact you, whether they be guns, bombs, spells, or miscellany.

The Soul Eye- You gain an extra sense that sees the spiritual layer of the world. This will allow you to detect Demons perfectly, see through moderately thick walls, and in almost all cases find hidden people, and so on. It also helps with using magic. Costs five.

Rebirth, costing nine. Like Jesus Christ, should you be slain, you will rise again in three days. Should you be slain a second time in the next year and a day, that death is permanent.

The Lord Protector. When people have faith and trust in you, all your other abilities grow ineffably. Miracles spread further, magic is greater, blessings stronger, your mind a bit faster and body a bit better in all ways. As a beloved empress, you would be mighty indeed, even if less personal connections contribute less. It costs six.

The Psyche- This is Astrata's version of magic. It is not magic but psionics, a purely mental power that can affect others' minds, communicate with them, read them, or produce telekinetic force and in rare cases precognition. It costs six.

The Depths. You can breathe underwater, and are untroubled by the cold and pressure of the seas, and are as adroit beneath them as you are on the surface."

"- definitely want the mental immunity if I'm going anywhere that this could be a concern. Which it sounds like includes Astrata. Lord Protector sounds nice. Why does the projectile one have a non-English name when the others were all translated or whatever?"

"It is the name of the inventor."

"People invent these things? Who can do that?"

"Heaven-born angels do, for the most part. Log-Raah-Kot had responded to the laments of angels who had been shot with sniper rifles while trying to broker a cease fire, by developing his blessing. I can show you some of the math if you wish."

"How complicated is the math?"

"Above college level. Somewhat akin to distributed programming or robotics in implementation, but much reliant on math and - divine physics? - for design."

"Then I probably wouldn't understand it. Does it protect vehicles I'm on?"

"It acts in a radius of seven feet and three inches around you. In the driver's seat of a small car, it would protect the front and the rear seat, but not the trunk."

"But if the trunk then, say, exploded, the shrapnel would separately stop before getting close to me."

"Yes. The threshold for what counts as a 'fast' projectile is 19.8 meters per second - a bit faster than most football throws, but considerably slower than a baseball pitch. Forty five miles per hour. Anything faster is stopped or slowed greatly, anything slower is let pass. Large projectiles traveling at just the right speed can still threaten you. For example, a car could hit you at below this speed and would not be stopped. If you fear this sort of attack, I recommend investing also in the Foundation of Durability to reduce the effect of pressure waves and cover edge cases."

"I was thinking about it as a ship to ship combat defense in Astrata but if it won't work for that I'm not as interested. I'll circle back later maybe. Is that everything likely to be up my alley?"

"Everything I think might be interesting. I am not you, of course. Do there seem to be any notable gaps, to you?"

"Let's see... do I have to learn all the languages of my new world the long way?"

"You will be optionally granted an understanding of the dominant local language where you appear regardless. There is a Blessing called Babel, which allows you to speak all languages as if you were a native speaker. I had not mentioned it as it is a modification of your mind. It also comes with impressions of the speakers' culture and manners. For example, you might find yourself bowing unconsciously when you intend to make a polite greeting, had you been conversing in Japanese. Theoretically, I could separate this out and have the blessing provide only literal meaning each way and not any of the connections to context and culture, but it would still cost two quintessence."

"I think I'm actually okay with mental stuff that's just giving me new skills."

"Perhaps also then the Golden Tongue, which makes your voice easily controllable, beautiful, and capable of being quite loud, costing three. It also installs a sort of glibness of speech, ensuring you are never completely flat-footed when called upon for something to say. Should you be aimed for Astrata, the chain of Mercury might be of interest. It would allow you to withstand outer space without harm, and travel the stars at superluminal speeds under your own power, with an intuitive understanding of stellar navigation. However, the full chain costs thirteen quintessence."

"That is pretty expensive; how does it break down?"

"All three levels of enhanced wings- Cost, nine in total. They become a wholly divine manifestation, cannot be injured, can be hidden and revealed immediately, only interact with physical objects at your whim, and you can fly in any direction at speeds superior to a fighter jet without becoming tired at all, turning and accelerating on a pinhead. Two, the blessing of the void, to harden yourself completely against vacuum, heat and cold, speed your flight a thousand times over when not in an atmosphere, and make it so you do not need to breathe so long as you can see stars. Two, the blessing of Mercury, giving you an unerring sense of direction among the stars and planets, and allowing you to travel between them at immense speeds."

"How's that compare to top of the line ships in Astrata? And do any blessings stand out as handy if I go Virata instead? Those are my top choices right now."

"You will be faster in interstellar travel than all ships save perhaps cutting-edge couriers specifically designed for speed, in Astrata. Much faster, in many cases- A journey typically made in a month might take you a day. Upon Virata, the Soul Eye stands out as seeming useful to me. For discerning demons against all other sorts of magic, to aid in your own magical learning, to see past disguises and deceptions."

"Gotcha. So, bare minimum expenditure is going to be five toward wings and halo, and nine points of quickness plus the immunity to mind-affecting at four, leaving me with twenty-two to play with. Virata wants nine points in Magic at least and maybe also the five point soul eye, and Astrata would benefit from the thirteen point Mercury chain and if I'm going to be able to stow my wings I might want a hideable halo to match. Babel and Fortune and Lord Protector are nice-to-haves anywhere, but if I have spare quintessence I can turn it into Virtue one to one and get more miracle powers to sling around, right?"