Blood and Amber - Chapter 03 ArtworkMarscaleb on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/marscaleb/art/Blood-and-Amber-Chapter-03-Artwork-984794134Marscaleb

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Blood and Amber - Chapter 03 Artwork

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Character  Amber DarkwoodCharacter  Erwin Greenfield

Description

Artwork I drew for my story, Blood and Amber.  This is a scene from Chapter 03; mostly I chose this scene so that I could show a representation of the flight packs the Army uses.
I think this one came out better than the others, but I'm still struggling to to properly capture that "tone" look from Manga art.

If you're interested in reading the story, you can find it on Royal Road, Scribble Hub, Penana, Space Battles, and Wattpad.

Just for fun, here's the portion of the story where this scene takes place.

- - -

Colonel Greenfield pointed and spoke with a smile in his voice.  “Why, look over there, Amber!  There are some mages running some training exercises!”

'Ah, so this is why we're taking a different route back.  Did you arrange this when you went back in your office, or were you just checking when they would be here?'

Amber looked across the field, and the shallow smirk on her face gave way to genuine awe.

The soldiers in the field were flying.  They were not in planes, they were just flying.

“What...  But...  Colonel, they're flying, they're in the air and they're flying!

The smirk in Greenfield's voice was just as strong as the one on his face.  “Yes, that's what air mages do.”

“They are wearing jet-packs!”

“Jet...?  They are called flight-packs.  We used to use ones that had wings on them, but these are the latest models.  You need a power level of at least 65 to be able to fly one of those, but we are trying to develop better ones that more mages can use.”

“But how is that possible?!” Amber asked.  'Everything I've seen in this world has looked like turn-of-the-century technology, 1920's at best.  I saw them the day they installed electricity into the orphanage.  How do they have freaking jet-packs on their soldiers?!'

Colonel Greenfield nodded his head and replied with a single word.

Amber had read that word in the dictionary; she looked it up when they spoke about the results of her physical.  It described a source of power and energy that was used in a variety of ways.  She could never quite figure out what its English counterpart was.

But she did notice that it had an archaic definition, one that referred to mystic, supernatural, and perhaps superstitious activities and power.  That archaic definition sounded as if the word meant “magic.”  But since it seemed people were using this power for actual activities, she had written off that connection.

But now...  Seeing people flying through the air with jet-packs when airplanes were invented less than twenty years ago, using a power source that was only available to certain people gifted with its use...  Could it be?

Could it be that this word really did mean “magic?”

“Magic...” Amber softly repeated.  Magic, a source of power.  Mage, a person who can use magic.  Mana, the energy consumed to perform magic.  These words she had read began to form new meaning in her head, as at last they all seemed to come together.

'...What else did they say about magic?'

“Colonel Greenfield,” Amber asked, “Mages...  They need to wear a special orb in order to use magic?”

The colonel nodded.  “That's right.  Perhaps I can get one of them over here and you can see for yourself.”  The colonel waved his arm in the air until one of the mages responded and flew down to them.

The mage touched down on the grass just a couple yards away from them on the other side of the fence, and quickly walked the few steps to get close.  The mage was a woman in her early twenties.  She stood at attention and saluted.  “Sir!  Did you need something from me?”

“At ease, Corporal, and... relax,” the colonel said in a casual tone.  “What is your name?”

The mage undid the strap on her aviator cowl and gently shook her hair out.  “Corporal Kris Bodmer, sir!”  She then placed her arms behind her back.

Greenfield gestured to Amber and stated “Corporal Bodmer, this is Amber.  She just recently learned that she is a mage, and I wanted to show her what mages are capable of.”

“Your hair is purple!” Amber called out.  She looked up at the colonel.  “Does the military really let soldiers dye their hair like that?”

Both the adults started laughing.  Amber's face grew confused.

Greenfield said “It's not dyed, that's just one of the side-effects of using magic.”

Bodmer responded “When a mage uses enough magic, it changes the color of their hair.”

Amber looked up at the mage.  “So, my hair is going to turn purple?”

Bodmer smiled.  “It's a different color for everyone.  No one knows why; it's just one of the quirks of magic.”

'Oh my word, they are magic soldiers with anime hair!  This can't be real!  I died and woke up in an isekai anime!'

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