The Navigator Sinks

[Fantasy voyage, road-trip story, feel-good heroine] At an inn, a traveler who had spent half a lifetime on the road smiled at the human woman he'd just met. "Elves spend their whole lives bound by their feelings. Don't be too cruel to them." The human woman took off her red hood and smiled. "Thanks for the warning." The traveler pointed to a wine cup beside him. "Take the elf who made this cup, for example. He's spent half his life searching for her shadow." She lowered her eyes and looked away. "I've heard all kinds of legends from human stories, too. If there's some bit of lore you want to know about, just ask me." "How the pirate Fros made laws, and how he sank into a storm with his entire shipload of gold." "The outbreak of the Spotted Plague and the rise of the Aigleyne family." "The prophet was half-mad and half-seer, drifting along the river of time." The human woman asked, "The Dividing Sea?" The traveler froze. "No one has mentioned that in a long time..." "They say Sailor L died at the bottom of the sea long ago," the traveler said, shaking his head. "But I don't believe it. How could someone with navigation skills as brilliant as hers..." She said, "No one can escape death." The traveler sighed. "But..." Yet the Misty Isle was empty, and there was no answer. * Navigator Ayton's job was to pick up lost ships along this route: ships from different times and places, crewed by different races. [1. A very feel-good story with multiple romance routes. 2. A nautical road-trip story with world-building.] As a castaway on a "desert island," half a Robinson Crusoe, she first built a little wooden cabin. Then she got her "Friday," though the "ironclad Ayton" had a revolving cast of Fridays... Eventually, she got an energy base and a military base, too. Everything on her island was great, except that the guests along this route were a little ungrateful. Her "Friday": The island's perfectly normal? You mean those plants that move to a different district according to the zoning plan? I don't go to the worlds. Thousands upon thousands of worlds come to me. * [Note:] 1. Everyday construction and fantasy adventures intertwine. 2. Not Japanese-style. An original world, with original races and a vast setting. 3. The main plot: the mystery of the Misty Isle, the mystery of the races, and the mystery of their fusion. 4. Aside from common plants, all other plants are made up by the author. 5. Feel free to ship anyone you like, since none of the routes end up going anywhere. I'm cruel. 6. It starts slowly. If a scene seems illogical, it may be foreshadowing. Every clue will pay off when the mysteries are revealed. 7. There are no difficult names to remember. Two-thirds are names from Chinese fantasy. -A further explanation: 8. There may seem to be few female side characters because most settings take place in premodern times, when women rarely went to sea. Also, this is a feel-good story, so there are more interactions with male side characters. All the female side characters have their own careers: captains, pilots, researchers, poets, priests, pirates, and knights. Almost none of the women have anything to do with romance. 9. It's a feel-good story, but there's no romance, only work. If you want romantic sweetness, look for it in the characters' interactions. Message: Embrace life and cherish your time.