Dawn of the Alchemist
- episode 1 -
Alchemy. Some used it for good – some for evil. Some even made great sacrifices, just for the rewards that alchemy gave them. Blood was often spilled during the use of alchemy – it was a practice only for the strong and elder. Or so they believed.
"Miroko, are you sure about this?" asked Sango yet again. He brushed some of his brown locks out of his face. His hair was never obedient. He knew that alchemy was not something to fool around with. He knew what his brother was doing was dangerous.
"Alchemy is forbid-"
"He killed our father." Miroko's voice was cold and stern.
"We cannot destroy him unless we use alchemy."
He shoved a chain into Sango's hand. The silver, small chain had a locket attached. Opening the locket, Sango saw a picture of Miroko staring out at him.
"-Hey!" Sango yelled as Miroko's long, black knife pierced the thin tissue on his forefinger. His black-haired brother squeezed his finger hard above the picture in Miroko's locket. Blood dripped down the image of Sango's face. Miroko pierced his own flesh without a sound, extracting his own blood into his brother's locket. Sango stared at his sibling. The loss of their father had made him so cold. Their mother and father had divorced years ago – then their mother had fallen a victim to disease. Darcia was the man responsible for their father's death. Darcia was known for being cruel and unforgiving. He was an alchemist – his powers were nearly invincible.
But why would he kill Sango and Miroko's innocent dad? It was a mystery to the boys. But that didn't stop Miroko from wanting revenge. Sango was a bit afraid of Miroko's emotionless face. Why couldn't he just cope with the loss of their father? Sango took it rough, and still was a bit shaken up, but Miroko was taking it in another way entirely.
Sango continued to hold his finger in pain from the knife's cut. Miroko's lips were forming unknown words that he read from a book.
"Mir-" Sango began to be interrupted.
"Quiet!" came the sharp voice, efficiently silencing Sango. Miroko continued to silently say the words from the red book. The Book of the Alchemist was an ancient book, simply named. Miroko had found it in the same room that they now stood in.
The room was hidden in their living room. Sango had found it first – the door was hidden just behind the pair of wooden bookshelves. It took both Sango and Miroko to open the large double doors. They were elegant and many designs were cut into the stone. Inside was a huge room, made completely of stone. Many books were on the stone, built-in bookcases. Other strange objects were scattered here and there on the rock table. A large, white circle with many designs was on the floor.
"Miro, we shouldn't be doing this!" Sango protested yet again. There was no reply from his brother. His spiky, black hair was falling over his eyes as he looked down at the book. He seemed to be in a sort of trance. The look on his face was stern and serious. A frown was upon Sango's face. He sat against the stone wall of the room, looking at the silver locket.
"Miro, what are these lockets for?"
"In case we get separated. They will always connect us to each other," replied Miroko, not even looking up from The Book of the Alchemist. Sango was beginning to feel worse and worse about this.