Architect of Ash and Empire

I woke up with a sword at my throat and a stranger's memories in my head. They called me Nyla of House Kestus, the talentless disgrace born with 'ash-touched' hands, unable to wield the luminous Aether that defines our world's nobility. My new family despises me, my new life is forfeit, and only my frail younger brother, Timon, shows me any kindness. But I remember another life - a life as a chemical engineer, filled with knowledge that this world deems impossible. With it, I can turn worthless soil into a bounty, common rock into unbreachable fortresses, and black powder into a weapon that will make even the most powerful Aether-wielders tremble. They wanted to discard me. Instead, I will become the architect of their ruin and forge a new future for my brother. My plans draw the eye of the Grand Magus, Valerius Solon, a man whose power is second only to the gods. He sees a mind unlike any other, but as I dig deeper into Nyla's past, I uncover a terrifying ritual and a final, desperate message. What if this wasn't an accident, but a summons from the very girl whose life I now live?