Young outsider boy in college (?academy) of magic/mind-control. Part of curriculum is one-on-one mind battles with loser being a slave to winner? Post-apocalyptic world of "techists" and "mages"? Mirrors that talk?
Young outsider boy in college (?academy) of magic/mind-control. Part of curriculum is one-on-one mind battles with loser being a slave to winner? Post-apocalyptic world of "techists" and "mages"? Mirrors that talk?
I'm very unsure whether it's the one being sought but UC:Fates by amaranth immediately sprang to mind.
AJ
Thank you guys o pointing me to really good story.
It was so good that I couldn't stop reading it till the end, and can really recommend it as good read :)
Have any of you read other stories by the same author?
Amaranth is a purple-red color. When Murat was King of Naples at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, his troops uniforms had Amaranth-red facings. I believe one reason was so that when the troops were bleeding it was harder to see they were injured, the facing color and blood were similar. I also understand British uniforms were red so the blood was harder to see.
I wonder if the author chose the pen name for similar reasons to Murat? The story under discussion had lots of violence.
I also understand British uniforms were red so the blood was harder to see.
This is a modern myth of unknown origin. British uniforms have been red since 1645, and there were occasional uses of the colour for at least two centuries prior to that, such as the Yeoman of the Guard (1485).
It's possible that the colour was taken from the coat of arms of one of the royal families, but it might just have been economics. There's a 1594 ordinance stating that coats "be of such colours as you can best provide".
Unfortunately did not have time. My job is eating more and more of my time :(
Have already bookmarked this author and hope to get some more time to read another of his stories...
The standardized red coat uniform dates from the foundation of the New Model Army in 1645. Wikipedia says, "Red was chosen because uniforms were purchased competitively from the lowest bidder, and Venetian red was the least expensive dye." I recall reading many years ago that red uniform coats were common among Cromwell's forces during the Civil War and were adopted as the standard when the New Model Army was formed. Maybe both are true.
I kind of figured that might be the case(cost of the color, but that could have gone either way), as that was back in the era of more natural dyes being used rather than the wonders of chemistry most have been using since the 19th century.
That also is why in more ancient times, certain colors tended to end up with certain associations. They were either really easy to produce, and quite common, or difficult to produce in which case use of them denoted wealth and power.
Such as the color choice for the Parthenon in Ancient Athens, which included a lot of reds, with indicators for greens, and blues as well as smaller amounts of other colors turning up.
Although of course, the most popular and best known form of such displays are in need of no explanation. As that was the use of gold and other (rare/precious) metals and materials in elaborate displays as well.
But there are reasons why you end up with wealthy and powerful figures dressing like peacocks when they're able too once you go back more than a couple centuries. It wasn't just about committing crimes against eyeballs. It was all about 1 upping the Joneses, with better quality fabrics, better tailoring, and more elaborate as well as expensive color schemes to go with them.
The advent of common artificial dyes thankfully turned that practice largely into a fashion crime, but it was what it was.
My, that's a long one, 7 acts, each of 3 or 4 chapters, 35,000 to over 40,000 words per act. I'd estimate over 250,000 words. If anyone reads it, let us know what you think about it. I won't hold my breath, likely it will take a long time to read all of it.