Disclaimer:
I do not own the FullMetal Alchemist manga or anime. Neither do I own any of the characters or places in the FullMetal Alchemist world. (with regret.)
This fanfic takes place in Xing. It's a story about Ling before he leaves to Amestris, and the search for another alchemical object to gain immortality. Ed and Al aren't in the story, but they're mentioned.
It was Ling's thirteenth birthday. For a prince, that was nothing good. It meant him having to risk everything so he could prove that he was worthy enough to rule the country. This went on from months to years.
The way to prove that you were a worthy king was finding something your country needed. Sometimes it was riches, other times it was medical discoveries, but Ling wanted to do something that would change the course of Xing forever, and give him a guarantee to becoming king. He wanted to find the secrets of immortality.
He had just woke up. His mother, Princess Yao, walked into his large and decorated room.
"Good morning, son. I suppose you know what today is, correct?" She asked in Xing tongue.
"Yes, mother." Ling replied in the same language. There was a sound of regret in both of their voices, for they both knew that they would not see each other until Ling proved worthy of becoming king, yet there was always the possibility of Ling dying on his secret quest, or, if Ling brought any shame to his clan at all, he would be banned from all of Xing, never to return.
His quest started in Drachma, a strange and secretive country north of Xing and the neighboring country Amestris. He was looking for a legendary island. It is said that the people of the island built a bunch of rivers that all start in the very center of the island, and end just before they meet the ocean. The water is disputed from a large fountain, and, as legend has it, a great alchemist created the fountain, and placed many purification (transmutation) circles around the fountain, changing the water into a substance so pure and divine it can create human souls, minds, and bodies, as well as regenerate the cells of a normal human, prolonging their life. If he could get hands on that…
So, Ling began walking. He lived in southern Xing, and, since Drachma was above them. it would take about two weeks to get there. He had a backpack filled with food, water, clothes, and a map. He bed his mother, father, and siblings farewell, and left.
He walked that entire day without food or water. He needed to save that for later. He managed to leave his city, but that left him with the problem of having nowhere to sleep.
"Ah, no need to worry!" Ling said with a smile on his face. Xing was basically a giant jungle, and he could easily climb up a tree or something like that. "Thank God that I don't have guards like my siblings, they would be all over me..." Ling said to himself. Guards were only given to request by request from the prince, unless the prince got them assigned to him by a higher up, that being his father, the king, or his mother.
Ling threw his bag up into a tree, then pounced up as well. He had been trained for combat all his life, thus making Ling strong, quick, and agile.
"Ah, there, nice and cozy." Ling said with a grin. He made himself comfortable in a large space between three branches. He was about to fall asleep, when he heard a loud and deep noise. There was silence for a while.
Must be the wind. Ling thought. The noise came again, but this time it came from just behind him. Slowly, Ling turned around.
"AHHH!"