Life as me…
Chapter 1: Page one
The sudden thunderstorm was an ecstatic, if not shocking, surprise to the residents of the drought-ridden village of Kuyrai. For fifteen years now, the villagers had gazed at nothing but blue, cloudless skies and the scorching golden sun that beat down upon their hard, weary backs as they worked diligently on their parched-up and dry lands in the hopes that one day the rain god would glance down upon them with favor from his high perch up in the sky.
So it was no little amount celebration and joy that was running rampant from every tavern corner and street. Most of the residents had come out of their houses, their universal blue-red eyes literally bulging out of their heads as they soaked up the sight of such a tremendous miracle. They danced; they sang, and thanked their holy lord for hearing their prayers and granting their wishes.
The rain poured down upon their heads in harsh, slicing sleets as they stood two days later in the village square. A tall, rectangular, cemented stage, recently roofed was the village's square. It had been built in the late seventeenth century and was believed to have been used mainly to execute people as there were ancient chains still soldered to the center of the block. Recently it had been roofed-in, but still the people refused to take shelter inside it. Their joy at the gift they had just received triumphed over the cold, bone-shilling wind, but every one of them had sworn that they would not carry an umbrella for it would be an insult to their hard-won miracle.
So there they stood, their rain-drenched clothes clinging to their wet backs, waiting in the village square for the head priest to begin with the speech he had prepared to put their miracle into perspective and to push the constantly-increasing atheists in the right way of God and religion. And if the recent news was to be believed, this speech was a long time in coming.
As the head priest, Father Laggan, waited inside the ancient church built beyond the village square, he pondered upon the recent rising to the west. Kuyrai, tiny enough to avoid the Military's eagle eye, but large enough to house a population of nearly 1200 people, bordered the dreary, desolate deserts just south of what remained of Ishbal. Although the entire village was completely surrounded by a thick, brick wall which acted like a fortress for the villagers, 'twas still a miracle how the tiny village had survived the Military's assault upon Ishbal. Father Laggan made the sign of the cross, sending up a quick prayer of gratefulness for protecting His precious children and prayed for all the souls that had departed this beaten earth in that war.
But that was not what worried him now. There was still the Military and if the movement to the west gathered force and support from the Military… Only God could truly know what would happen then….
"Quite a turn out, eh?" a voice called out behind him.
Father Laggan turned around and smiled at his newly appointed subordinate, Father Matthew. Father Matthew had long blond hair that hung just below his collar and the most unusual violet eyes anyone had ever seen. He wore the long white robe of their clergy that signified that they were men of the cloth, a long black cross hanging from the sacred chain hanging around his waist. Laggan had first been unsure about appointing this young man to such an elated position of guard and assistant to himself, and to all the future head priests of Kuyrai, but he had soon overcome his reticence and skepticism when he saw the younger priest's diligence and enthusiasm at being asked to serve his master.
Laggan smiled again but this time his smile was sad, one that didn't wrinkle the corners of his periwinkle eyes as it always did; Laggan was still caught up in his own worries and anxieties about the future of Kuyrai.
"Yes, quite right, Father Matthew."
Laggan turned away to glance at the crowd behind partially opened white-washed doors. With a forlorn sigh, he pulled the doors open, knowing he could no longer procrastinate in addressing the crowd. When the crowd caught sight of their head priest, applause such as that that would rival the thunder above their heads roared up from the crowd. Shouts, good-humored jeers, and some banner waving heralded his arrival as he slowly made his way down the church steps to the slick wooden platform they had constructed from the church steps to the village square just for this occasion. As soon as Laggan started down the steps, about five priests sprang up from their position beside the great white-washed doors of the church and flanked him on either side, meaning to protect him from any stray bullet or arrow, if the atheists were so inclined. One held up an umbrella in preparation to make the short walk from where the eaves of the church ended to the village square, so that the priest wouldn't get his robes wet, but just as soon as he had gotten it open he was jeered and yelled at cruelly by the crowd to lower it down. Laggan signaled him to lower the umbrella, plastering a wide smile upon his face for the sake of the crowd.
"Father-," Father Matthew, who had just now joined the group of five, began but stopped abruptly when the head priest held up one hand to silence him.
"If you're worried about the atheists, don't be. This speech will change their minds about insurrection." Laggan smiled once more as he slowly stepped out onto the platform. The rain instantly drenched his white, clerical robes but he held on tight to his resolve and would not dare to show the people his discomfort.
"Father, I think-"Father Matthew began again, intent on telling Laggan what was bothering him.
"Father Matthew, if you're worried about the speech notes, don't be. I have them in my pocket."
"Yes, Father, but the problem-"
"The problem? We haven't a problem my good man! Everything is fine. Don't worry so much!"
"But, Father, can you see-?"
"The colorful banners people are waving at me to show their good spirits? Yes, I can see them clearly. I don't know what you're so worried about Father Matthew, because the people are all here, even the atheists, and they are all in good cheer even though they are standing in this cold rain,"- his teeth began to chatter then as if to imply his point-" and I have my speech notes. What more could I ask for?"
"Yes, Father, but you-"
"Father Matthew, I've had enough of this. Stop trying to interrupt me."
Father Matthew instantly shut up, his face going beat red from barely suppressed rage. i 'I'm interrupting b him /b ? Well, he can't say I didn't try to stop him.' /i
The procession stopped when they reached the edge of the stage. As soon as they entered the roofed-in stage, they started shake themselves like a dog would shake to rid itself of the wet raindrops. They separated, three priests going to the right and the rest going to the left as the head priest walked up to the black mike to make his all-important speech. Father Matthew watched as Father Laggan slowly tapped the mike to see if it was on and cleared his throat as he took out his speech notes. He held them up, over the mike, and squinted down at them. A frown marked his countenance, but he began anyway, squinting horribly at the card before him.
"I would…. Uh…. Like to bank… uh, no… thank all of you for cumming… good lord,… uh, thank all of you… for coming here to-day. If I may… afford… uh,….. offer… an apoplexy…. Mmm…. an apology… for…. Peaking…. Um, being…. Subject to this atrocious speech." The priest shook his head, as if trying to shake the sin from the words he had just uttered. Cumming? Peaking? How was he ever going to live this down?
i 'Well, he can't say I didn't try to stop him from making the speech without his spectacles.' /i
The tavern Dunzing was alight with celebration and raucous laughter. As the thundering rain pounded against the roof and walls of the tavern outside, the people sat inside, sprinkled in cozy circles either in arm chairs or sitting at the table playing a friendly game of cards. The mood in the tavern's common room was one of joy and friendly bluster as one after the other reiterated the priest's speech word for word. Drink- ale, beer whisky and for the classy "out-of-towners" blue-red wine- flowed freely as the bartender poured drinks after drinks for his thirsty customers as the whores flamboyantly offered an entirely different type of refreshments to the customers.
The door suddenly slammed open and two strangers, their face hidden from the candlelight that burned inside the tavern, stood at the threshold, their backs glistening as the rain pounded upon them with an almost harsh cruelty. They were both such a contrast to each other that the villagers couldn't help gawking at the strange pair. One was short, only five feet tall or even less while the other was easily over 6 feet, maybe even seven. The short one was normal in build compared to his friend, who was huge.
Light suddenly caressed their faces as they entered the tavern and closed the door on the wind and the rain. The candle glinted off the small one's golden hair and people watched mesmerized as he made his way over to the bar, shaking the rain off his red coat. They had never seen one like the likes of him before. It was an unusual occurrence for anyone to visit their little town since it wasn't exactly known for anything. They weren't overly rich; their land was good for farming but since rain had never graced their fields the visitors usually didn't come for buying land around here. So why was the little boy and his friend here?
The crowd in the tavern turned as one to look at the other visitor. They were even more taken aback than with the first.
"An armor!" A whore gasped. She was sitting on the lap of richly dressed gentleman who also openly gaped at the armored visitor, the weight on his lap long-forgotten.
"Yes, he's in an armor," The boy at the bar responded a bit irritated. "They won't do anything but gape," the boy called to his friend. "Come over here and sit down, Al." He indicated the stool to his right.
"I know, brother," called out the armor as he started to walk across the bar, trying to ignore the whispered conversations that swirled around him.
"He can talk!"
"An armor that can talk? That's unreal… I think we should.."
"Idiot, didn't you hear him? There's a person inside that armor…"
"Yes, an armor can't walk by itself, can it now? And he did call the short one there, 'brother'. Do you think they're brothers?"
"That's atrocious! They are nothing alike!"
"And how would you know?"
"Obviously, that one there likes wearing an armor and the shorty doesn't. That should tell you they are not brothers… really…"
"Maybe he's a magician or something…. Magicians know how to make an armor walk…"
"Maybe he's just fooling us…"
"Why did they come here? We never get visitors!"
"That doesn't mean they aren't brothers…"
"That doesn't mean they are either…"
"Maybe it's just…"
"What you'd like shorty?" The bartender asked, wiping a glass clean and placing it in front of the small one. He missed the vein bulging from the short one's head as he said, "shrimp cocktail?" The common room erupted into laughter at that joke.
"Who-are-you-calling-a-shrimp-that-just-waddled-in-from-the-seas-because-all-the-other-shrimps-think-he's-too-short-to-be," the short one exploded, his fists furiously banging against the tabletop as he struggled against the armor's tightly locked arms and fought furiously to have a go at the bartender.
"Brother, calm down. He didn't say anything like that." The armor let go of the short one and patted him on the shoulder to get him to calm down.
"Ok," the short one mumbled as he lowered his head and took a sip of his drink, muttering vague, incoherent promises of revenge into his drink.
"Did you hear how the atheists all laughed during Father Laggan's speech. Poor man. If I were him, I would give up my position instantly and go hide in one of the turrets," a villager sitting to the short one's left was saying to his companion as he took a swig of his drink. "They are really a violent lot. I don't know how Father Laggan keeps insisting upon them to come to mass every Sunday."
"Yeah. But Father Laggan is really brave and a good man too. He can protect us. And God will also protect us. He always says to put our problems in the hands of God and that He will take care of it for us. Isn't that nice?"
"Yes, but if the Military gets word that Father Laggan used to… You know," he shifted his eyes towards the two visitors and silently pleaded that his companion wouldn't tell what Father Laggan had done to the Military. He was now remorseful that he had brought up the subject in front of strangers.
"Excuse me?" The short one tapped the man on the shoulder. "But I was just wondering…" he trailed off, hesitant for a second before plunging on ahead, "what about the Military?"
"Well, shorty boy, it's none of your business what our Father Laggan did or did not do with the Military." The man sent a look at his companion as if to ask, 'where did this boy come from anyway?'
"Stop calling me shorty. My name is Edward Elric and I'm not a boy," the short one said. He lifted his coat and picked up the state alchemist watch the Military had given him. "I'm in fact a State Alchemist!" He grinned proudly.
The other man's eyes bulged out of his head as he looked at the watch. "A State Alchemist?!!"
"A State Alchemist, eh?" his companion snorted in disgust. "So you here to spy on us?"
"No! No, nothing like that!" The armor hastened to assure them. "My name is Alphonse Elric. We are here to help you."
"Just let me get this straight, Alphonse Elric. The Military. Helping. Us. Where were you born, boy? The Military only seeks to crush us, not help us," the bar tender spoke up, hatred glowing in his blue-red eyes.
"Do you think us so ignorant that we'd actually forget what happened to our neighbors? The Ishbalans?" the man to Ed's left yelled, his voice bitter.
"You're right," Ed said, deciding that a hasty agreement would placate their flared tempers. They looked to be big men and he didn't want to hurt them. " We were just curious because our superior sent us here to suppress the Atheist movement. He would like to avoid bloodshed. We are just trying to find out what started this Atheist movement in the first place."
"The Military is trying to suppress the Atheists? Well why didn't you say so, boy?" the bartender asked, his eyes again turning cheerful and friendly as he slapped a hand on the Ed's shoulder.
"I'm not a boy. I'm a man." Ed muttered.
"How old are you anyway?"
"Fifteen going on sixteen."
"You're still a boy," the bartender declared. Ed looked as if he were going to hit him but Al patted him on the shoulder again and Ed nodded.
"You're brother must've been about 20 or something when you were born then. Look how tall he is," the bartender remarked refilling Ed's cup.
"He's fourteen," that muttered resentfully.
"WOW!" The bartender look Al with amazement in his eyes. "What kind of-?"
"Well, let's get on with the Military business, shall we?" Ed suddenly interrupted, irritated.
"Yeah, well what do you wanna know?"
"Start with how the Atheists were formed."
"Well, Kuyrai was a peaceful village until a man named Gary Lester arrived about 15 years ago. He took up residence at the house just opposite my tavern, and I must tell you me and my wife feared him. He had such an unusual look about him and every time he passed someone they always got down on the ground and made the sign of the cross. He was such an awful man with the most unusual violet eyes and brown hair. After he arrived, Kuyrai was plagued by bad luck. We had no rain and our crops were all dying. That's when the drought started. People believed that Gary was responsible for bringing God's bad favor upon them and they wanted to banish him."
"But, as you can see your bad luck has run out…," Ed pointed a finger at a misted window near the door.
"Yes," the bartender got an ominous gleam in his eyes," But Gary died three days ago. At the exact moment the rains started."
"Oh."
"Yeah. But when Gary was alive, he was so angry that the people wanted to banish him, he formed a group of young soldiers and attacked the village. He called himself God and told us that he alone had the right to let or take the villager's lives and no one could stop him. But their attack wasn't successful. We were trained to protect the village in case the Military decided to attack us. But the group did get away with murdering one old couple who lived in the very outskirts of the village and kidnapping their 10-year-old grandson."
"What happened to the boy?" Al asked.
"No one knows. He just disappeared."
"When did this happen?" Ed asked, his tone grim and serious.
"Twelve years ago."
"So the boy must be about 22 now, right?" Al asked.
"Probably. But no one knows where he is."
"Interesting. So what happened to Gary Lester?" Ed asked.
"He was imprisoned, but we gave the boys a chance to come back and live peacefully. You see, after they left to join up with Gary Lester they were changed. Our village has been a purely catholic community. But these boys… they diverted from the right path. They wanted to believe that God had forsaken them and that Gary Lester was now their God. Gary began preaching about his own religion then, with him as God, and we knew he was crazy then. He was imprisoned in the village's one cell prison and the boys refused to come back home to their parents and now live in an isolated house near the west gate."
"So what do they do now that their leader is dead?" Ed asked.
"They just walk through the village, mocking and pushing people. They never hurt them, they just try to scare them and run off laughing their heads off and screaming about a great reward awaiting them. They've become just as crazy as their leader. But we can't do anything about it. They are just children and we never kill children. That's why the head priest Father Laggan is trying to get them to convert to catholic by forcing them to come to mass every Sunday. They usually sit in the back row and sleep off or make raucous noise. It's really terrible and disrespectful to Father Laggan, but they don't care."
"Now the Father has to fear for his life." The one sitting beside Ed told him.
"Yeah. Now he has to have these five other priests guarding him day and night after that incident where the Atheists tried to shoot him in bed late one night. He was ok, since he wasn't really in bed that night and they got Father Martin instead. That was really sad but still our Father was saved. God really looked out for him!" the other finished and took a gulp of his drink.
"They wanted to hang the Atheists then, didn't they, Arl?" The one sitting beside Ed said to his companion.
"Yeah. They should've hung them. They are crazy."
"Yeah, they are crazy. But Father wouldn't let them. He's too kind-hearted by half."
"What I don't get is, where is the boy now?" Arl asked to his companion.
"Did they convert him then? Into Garyism?"
Ed leaned back as the bartender bustled away from them to take care of another customer's order. He tapped Al and pulled him down to whisper, "I don't think we'll find the Philosopher's Stone in this village. They are simple farmers. Mustang was wrong in sending us this way."
"Excuse me? You're looking for the Philosopher's Stone?" a feminine voice heralded their attention to a cloaked figure to Al's left. A girl of about 14 was sitting there, silently sipping her drink. Her expression was grim and Ed could see that she remained isolated from the celebration. She had long dark hair that framed her heart-shaped face and pert little nose. She had the familiar blue-red eyes that signified her a Kuyrain.
"Yes," Ed said, gulping down hard to keep from showing his excitement at having found a lead, or what looked like a possible lead. "Do you know where we could find one?"
"I might," the girl said evasively.
"Please, could you tell-"
"My name is Li." The girl suddenly said, smiling. The change in topics was palpable, even to him.
"I'm Edward Elr-"
Li held up one hand to stop him. "I know who you are. You're famous."
"Yeah? I might've done a good deed or two. Not too much, 'cause I don't want to strain myself, but hey, I do like helping-"
"Brother! The stone?" Al poked him in the side.
The girl suddenly laughed.
"You tricked me, didn't you? You deliberately tried to distract me!" Ed said, a vein popping in his head.
"Now brother calm down! She wasn't.-"
"Come on, Al! She's just trying to get us all worked up about a possible lead. She probably doesn't even know what a Philosopher's Stone looks like."
"I know what it looks like because I've seen it. And I know where you can find one," Li said, her voice grim as if she were announcing someone's death. "But I have one condition."
"Name your price," Ed said, his heart racing once more.
"I'll give you the Philosopher's Stone, but," Li hesitated before blurting out, "in exchange I want you to kill me."