Risembool was sleepy this time of year, it was fall and the trees were blank. In the distance I could see the smoke rising from chimneys. The driver I had hired hardly spoke a word the whole time I was in the back seat, he was probably pissed that he had to come with me but orders were orders. I decided to make a little small talk.
"I was born here you know." I told him.
"That's nice sir, it seems a lovely place to grow up." The driver said plainly. He remained silent until we reached our destination, "Here you are sir, Rockbell AutoMail."
I tipped him and told him he could leave whenever, and that I was grateful for his service, he smiled at the tip and drove off. I turned toward this place that I had seen all the time when I was younger, it had a warm feeling that reminded me of my mother. 'I should really check up on her' I thought to myself. She would not be happy when she saw me, missing an arm, gone for weeks; I would get a huge lecture. I opened the door with my right arm; the good one, and stepped inside.
The short old woman looked up from her newspaper, "Welcome to Rockbell Automail how may we-" She paused when she saw my face. "James? Is that really you?"
I nodded my head, "Hello Pinako, how are you?"
The old woman got up and walked over to me, I was almost twice her height and she still scared me. "Where have you been? Your mother has been worried sick, and here you are visiting me first!" Her screaming stopped when she saw my left arm. "What did you do to yourself?"
I faked a smile, "Don't you remember, I promised I would become a sword master," I paused, "Mission accomplished."
Pinako hit me over the head with her pipe, "You call this a mission accomplished? I call it three days of work for me!"
I smiled, "I didn't even ask for the surgery yet," I took out my wallet "I hope this will be enough." It was my whole life savings.
Our conversation was interrupted by a blonde girl walking into the room and freaking out. "James?" Winry asked, "Is that really you?"
Pinako answered for me, "Yes Winry, the fool has gotten himself into trouble."
My name is James Luna; this is the story of how I became a State Alchemist.
My whole life I only wanted one thing, to master the art of the sword. I achieved this, through hard work and determination. I was born in a small town called Risembool, my current age is 17. I knew about the Elric brothers, hell I was friends with them, and I was friends with the Rockbells. My mother did her best to raise me, and I'm grateful.
When I finished my training, I was drafted. I was taken to a small town called Leor, and ordered to fight for the military. I hesitated before a kill and lost my arm, I suppose it could be worst, the left arm was lost but I'm right handed anyway. For my acts of "Bravery" I was awarded the title of Lieutenant. My mother was proud until she found out what the sacrifice was, she then ordered me to get home as soon as possible. So here I am, undergoing surgery to get automail. I never had any intention of becoming an Alchemist until the day I returned home.
I was exhausted after the surgery and could hardly move the new arm nor did I want to. Winry was nice enough to walk me home and we did a little catching up on the way. When we arrived at my mother's small home I felt happy for the first time in a while, until I walked in. Inside was a man, who I recognized, I saluted him for he was my commanding officer.
"Hello Colonel Mustang!" I said formally, "what brings you here?"
Instead of treating me as a subordinate he looked at me like an old friend, "Lieutenant, how good to see you, nice arm." The last comment wasn't even sarcastic.
Lieutenant Hawkeye was with him, she smiled at me, "Nice work in Leor kid."
My mother had a large smile on her face, "well go on and tell him!"
The Colonel looked at me, "after a review of your record, we have decided that you are eligible for the State Alchemist exam!"
I started to laugh, "Y-you're serious? I don't know the first thing about Alchemy!"
The Colonel smiled at me, "What is using a sword all about?"
I thought for a moment, "Balance."
Mustang crossed his arms, "It took you a year to master one art requiring balance, so how long will it take for you to master another?"
I thought about this; State Alchemist's get access to important research, as well as a large pay increase. "But I don't know where to start!"
I saw an evil look in the Colonel's eyes, "Well that's just fine, because you will be under the instruction of the finest alchemist the State has to offer!"
"Armstrong?" I asked just to put his ego to shame.
I should never have made that comment, because training with the Colonel was like boxing a grizzly bear, you knew you were going to lose, you just never knew when. As soon as my physical therapy was done, we began physical training; climbing a mountain every day, crossing a desert once a week, survival on an island for a month. I thought I was going to die, one day I just gave up.
"You're just doing this so you'll have someone to collect debt on!" I confronted him.
"Why would I do that?" He asked sarcastically.
"Equivalent exchange," I said "For every action you do there is a reaction, and every time I would rebel you would just say 'after all I taught you?"
Mustang smiled at me, "Congratulations, after a year, you finally understand alchemy. Now do it!"
I was confused but did as he asked; I drew a simple circle on the ground and pressed my hands against it. A spark of light, then, before me stood a wooden sword; one of the floorboards was missing a chunk.
I knew this was only the beginning, the power I felt wouldn't be ignored; not with the state alchemy test in a few weeks.