I love the idea of Ed and Al being in Xerxes, so this came about. (A lot of the cultural aspects here are going to be used in my pirate au, 'The Peacemaker'. I was impatient to get to that part, so I wrote this to keep myself contained.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Riza asked after taking a long sip from her canteen. Her hair, once pulled up in a tight bun, was loose and flowing over her face. Her clothes were dirty and the hems were lightly tattered. Roy's looks weren't all that different.

"Yes, I'm sure." Roy responded with a bit of irritation in his tone. They'd been wandering through the scorching desert for several weeks, living from inn to inn. The past few nights they had no choice but to sleep on the abrasive sand, unable to find any sign of civilization. Their water and food supply was dangerously low, if they didn't find people soon, they'd be in trouble.

"Really?" Riza pointed to a large acacia tree with a burnt branch to their right. "I feel we've passed this before." The way the dead branch twisted was a unique feature, one he unfortunately recognized. They were walking in circles.

"Dammit!" He swore and kicked uselessly at the sand. There was a gentle breeze that smoothed out the sand and covered their tracks. They'd perish at this rate if they didn't figure something out. "Let's rest here for now, we shouldn't be travelling with the sun so high anyway."

"I agree." They rested under the tree and watched what few clouds there were pass by slowly. The sun creeped across the sky, but the heat only seemed to intensify. A brown tarantula scuttled out of its burrow and crept up the tree. In the distance, Roy saw what looked like a line of camels being led by two people.

"Do you see that, or am I hallucinating again?" Roy strained his eyes and nodded his head towards the camels. It wouldn't be the first time in the desert a mirage lifted his hopes.

"It's a caravan!" Riza nearly cried it out. "What should we do?"

"We're almost out of water. If they're friendly, maybe they can help us. If not, we can always take whatever they have." So it was decided; they needed water and they'd risk greeting the caravan, hoping they weren't the enemy. Together, Riza and he jogged to the people, who had thankfully stopped when they spotted them.

When they were roughly ten feet away, Roy took note of several things. The two had burgundy scarves with little yellow designs wrapped around their dark blond hair. Their brown skin was riddled with black tattoos of various runes and elemental smaller of the two had more runes relating to earth and metals while the taller one seemed to have more relating to wood and plants. Their eyes were such a light shade of brown that they appeared to be gold. Separate, their features wouldn't have been concerning, but together, Roy knew what they were. Xerxians. He recoiled and started focusing his energy into his runes. On his right, he noticed Riza holding her hand over her holstered gun.

"Hello, fellow travellers. You two lost?" The taller one asked. That surprised Roy, he was informed Xerxians would attack all non-natives. Surely this was a trick to catch him and Riza off guard.

"Yes we are." Riza spoke up and lied smoothly, "We were on our way to Xing and we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere."

"You must be incredibly brave or stupid to travel so recklessly in the desert." The shorter one commented with a chuckle. Roy had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from protesting. "There's some people here who don't take kindly to interlopers."

"We're aware." Riza said and she let her hand fall away from her gun.

"You're lucky we were the ones to find you." The shorter one remarked with a grin. "I can take you to the capital, they're accepting of vagabonds."

"Thank you-" Roy started to say, but the shorter one interrupted him.

"For a price." He cocked his head slightly to the side and Roy was nearly tempted to slap that smug look off his face.

"Of course." Roy gritted his teeth and started pulling silver coins out of his pocket.

"Ah ah." He wagged his finger at Roy like he was a dog that peed in its master's home. "We don't accept Amestrian money." Then what could he possibly want? All he had with him were the clothes on his back. "I couldn't help but notice your runes. A fire Summoner, are you? Show us your runework and I'll accept that as your payment for me being your guide." Roy nodded and refocused his energy into the runes on his necklace and gloves.

He summoned a stream of fire and willed it to take the shape of a massive dragon. It flew in the air for a few minutes before dissipating into a burst of blue light. Roy started to slump, but thankfully Riza was at his side to support him, she always was. He never enjoyed how defenseless and out of breath he felt after Summoning. Both of the Xerxians clapped, clearly pleased with the display.

"You're next." The shorter one pointed to Riza. She frowned and continued to support Roy. She was his Protector, it was her job to make sure he stayed safe from harm before and after he completed a Summon.

"I'm not a Summoner."

"I don't understand." He genuinely looked confused.

"Brother," The taller one reprimanded, "in other countries, not everyone is a Summoner."

"Right. Sorry, that was rude of me." He bowed quickly and looked sharply at Roy. "You still look worn out." He clapped his hands and touched the ground. Instantaneously, a well was formed from the sand. The rocks that formed the well had intricate patterns of dragons etched into them. He lowered a bucket into the well and poured the water into a canteen when he reeled it back up. Once he was done, he handed the canteen over to Roy, who took a tentative sip out of it.

"Brother, stop showing off." The shorter one shrugged in response and brought up more water for the camels to drink. Roy was astounded by the performance; the boy didn't act like he was exhausted and he hadn't taken a moment before the Summon to concentrate. It seemed the rumors of Xerxians being masters of the runes were true.

"What are you staring at?" The shorter one asked when he noticed Roy had left his gaze on the well.

"Why has it not crumbled yet?" Physical Summons were the hardest to do, and they were the most draining on the body.

"The well? I'll leave it up for other travellers to use."

"It doesn't drain you to sustain the Summon?"

"What are you on about?" He looked like he was trying to explain a simple topic to a small child. "The Summon has been completed. It's a permanent thing, you know." Roy didn't know. That's not how the runes worked. Physical objects were difficult to Summon and usually crumbled after a few minutes. That's why protective runes were seen as more useful as they didn't take as much energy and they only needed to be reapplied every other month or so.

"Brother, you know not everyone knows the way of Xerxian runework." The taller one pointed out and the shorter one snorted and began retying the camels into a line. "Sorry about him. That's my big brother, Ed. My name is Al."

"I'm Roy." He said after taking a deep breath. His strength slowly returned to him and he eventually was able to stand on his own.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Riza." She bowed and grabbed the canteen that Al offered to her.

"Alright, enough chatter. We need to get to the city before nightfall." Ed proclaimed and he started leading the camels along. As they walked over the massive dunes, Roy started having second thoughts. While the brothers seemed nice enough, it could be a ploy to double cross him and his Protector. Xerxians were said to be rather barbaric, he wouldn't put it past them. If they truly meant no harm, however, then his mission was about to be a hundred times easier. Riza and he hadn't been sure how they were to infiltrate Xerxes without being detected, but now it seemed they wouldn't have to worry about it.

"What's the capital like?" Riza asked Al as they trudged through the desert. She'd always been good at gaining intel by disguising it as simple conversation.

"Oh, it's wonderful. It's not perfect by any means, the slums need drastic improvement, but it's a great place to live."

"You're sure we'll be welcomed there?" Roy asked suspiciously.

"Of course! There's actually a lot of foreign immigrants in the city, we take anyone in."

"Hell, the King's sons had an Amestrian mother." Ed commented.

Roy still had his doubts. After a few hours, they finally arrived at the city's wall. It was far more massive than he'd thought it be. The walls were made of thick limestone and had intricate golden runes carved into the bricks. They were at least twenty feet high, but he could still see some spires poking above them from within the city. The entryway doors, also carved with gold runes, were swung open.

Ed clapped his hands and placed them on a glass mosaic plate directly in front of the doors. The runes in the glass glowed a pale blue and the soft sound of a bell seemed to emanate from it. Roy didn't recognize most of the runes, but it was clear to him that it was protective in nature.

Two guards approached them and bowed. Ed mimicked the action, although he rested his right fist on the back of his open hand as he bowed. It must have been sort of custom for entering the city.

"Al and I have returned from the Temple. These two travellers will be under our protection during their stay here." As they walked through the doors, Ed and Al took off their head coverings. Roy could feel the runes activating as he passed through the archway. Safety. Home. Friend. He'd never felt runes like those attaching to him before, it made him feel warm and at ease. "Congratulations, you've made it to Akhcha."

"The City of Gold." Riza supplied. The buildings were large and the roofs were painted gold. The city seemed to shimmer and it was full of life. It had a well earned name.

"It seems luck is on our side." Roy said as he resituated himself in his leather chair. The brothers had dropped them off in a lavish hotel a few hours earlier and even provided them with a small sack of coins made out of pearls and obsidian. He'd been a little surprised to find out the Xerxians didn't use copper, silver, or especially gold for their currency. Al informed him that gold was a pure element used for runework and decoration, but outside of that, it had little value. Apparently gold was so commonly mined outside of the city that it didn't make sense to the Xerxians to use it for money. Currency made out of hard to find materials had far more worth.

"It would seem so. This should make our mission less challenging." Roy nodded and sighed. There were a few objectives and tasks they were given; one: learn more about the Xerxian runework/ how to dismantle them. Two: find the Golden Elixir, a potion said to be able to cure all sicknesses and transform any object into gold. Three: find the location of the royal family and discover what power they held. Once those tasks were complete, he was to report to his superiors so they could enact the fourth and final task: takeover.

Things weren't as black and white as he was led to believe. The runes were far more complex than Amestris thought they would be. Summoners were powerful here, although the people were not cruel like he was informed they would be. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, but he couldn't quit now. Not with the military's runes of loyalty and submission permanently marked into his back.

"That's true. It's been a long day, I'm going to get a drink from the bar. You're free to stay here."

"Thank you." She yawned and wrapped herself in a silk blanket. Roy quietly left the room and went into the main lobby. He made himself comfortable within the small crowd of people and enjoyed a fine glass of Xerxian wine. As he drank, he listened in on several different conversations.

"Did you hear?" An older Xerxian man asked his younger friend. "Apparently Prince Hadi was in Lowtown today." Roy listened in, curious to find out any information on the royals he could get. They were an elusive family, and the military had no information on them, not even their names.

"Oh? What of it?" The younger one replied after taking a chug of his mead. "Did he destroy another building? Perhaps he accidentally released the bulls this time."

"Nothing like that. He was setting up protective runes and fixing some of the damaged homes."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"There were plenty of people who saw him there. I don't know what it is you have against him."

"He's nothing more than a cocky child. He'll be a poor leader." The younger man seemed to be rather bitter.

"You're right about one thing, he's still a child. Don't you remember yourself at his age? All children are troublemakers, some are more obvious about it than others."

"Prince Mahdi is far more respectful, it's a shame he's not the older one of the two."

"The King is in excellent health, Prince Hadi still has many years to mature before he is crowned."

"That zharsi will lead us to ruin."

"Mind your tongue." The older one hissed and looked around suspiciously. Roy kept his head low and tried his best to not stand out, which was hard seeing as he was the only non-Xerxian in the room. The men took sips out of their drinks and changed their topic to the weather and projected crop yields.

Roy wasn't yet sure what to make of it. The royal family didn't seem to be hated, nor did they seem to be blindly loved. There was a sense of respect surrounding them, however. He had plenty of time to learn more about the family, he wasn't going to dwell on it too much.

"So you take the energy from yourself instead of the earth?" Roy asked while fiddling with the fire rune on his necklace. Ed and Al had agreed to teach Riza and him the ways of Xerxian runework. Apparently Riza and he were under a probation period, and that's why Ed had claimed protection over him upon entering the city. If Ed hadn't done that, then the runes around the city walls would have prevented him from entering. Now it was the brothers' jobs to watch over them and teach them the ways of being a Xerxian, until they were deemed worthy of being citizens.

"That's right. A Summon is more personable when it comes from inside the caster. When you force the earth's energy to cast for you, it rejects it. That's why your Summons crumble. Here, try it for yourself." Ed tossed him a gold chain with metal related runes carved into it.

Roy held it in his hands and tried to pull the energy from himself instead of his surroundings like he was accustomed to. He willed the gold to change into the shape of a bird, but it was rather deformed. During the Summon, Roy felt invigorated instead of drained. That was strange.

"Not too shabby for your first try. How did it feel?"

"Different. I feel more energetic, but the Summon is imperfect." While taking energy from the earth was exhausting, the Summons as a result were never faulty.

"A proper Summon requires a clear mind. You have to want and visualize whatever it is you cast. Keep practising, you'll get it eventually." Roy bowed a proper Xerxian bow, with his open hand resting on the fist of his other. When Ed bowed, he did it the opposite way, but he didn't feel bothered to ask why that was. "Well, I should be going. Do you have any questions?" There were many things he wanted to ask. He could talk to Ed for hours and still be left with more questions than answers.

"I do, unrelated to Summoning." Ed nodded for him to continue. "A couple nights ago, I heard some people talking about your Princes. They mentioned a word, zaircee, I think."

"Zharsi, you mean?" Ed blinked and had an unreadable expression.

"Yes. What is it?"

"It's a derogatory term for someone who isn't fully Xerxian. Take care not to call anyone that, you might get punched in the face."

"Duly noted."

Roy felt terrible. He really didn't have a choice. He and Riza had been in Xerxes for more than half a year and learned about their culture and customs. The people had accepted them as one of their own, despite their differences.

He learned the Golden Elixir was merely a myth, he'd even been laughed at when he brought it up. After months of practising, Roy understood Xerxian runework. He could Summon fire and objects with ease now. It pained him when he was forced to tell his superiors everything he knew, including how to counter the protective runes that surrounded Akhcha. Obey. Submit.

"Hey!" Ed stormed through the door, looking panicked. "We're under attack, we need to go to the shelter." There was a large temple in the middle of the city, protected by mysterious runes that only the royal family knew about. His superiors decided they'd storm the city and surround the temple until the Xerxians inside ran out of food and surrendered. Those who resisted would be struck down without a second thought.

"Where's your brother?" Roy asked his superiors for the protection of the brothers, and they thankfully obliged.

"He's with Dad," His face scrunched into a pained expression, "paying his last respects. He was assassinated by those Amestrian monsters." Ed looked down and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Roy was confused. The military wasn't supposed to harm any civilians unless in the case of an emergency, at least not until the royal family was found. From the little bit Ed had told him, his dad wasn't much of a fighter. "Listen, bring Alphonse here. The military has promised to me they won't harm either of you." Ed took a step back, he looked mortified.

"Prince!" A voice called out, Roy could hear doors slamming open and shut down the hallway. "Hadi Ed!" A man clad in armor and sporting dual swords burst into the room. "There you are. Are you hurt?"

Roy stared at Ed incredulously and he grasped his fire rune, feeling the tension in the room build up. One of the things he'd been searching for had been in front of him the whole time. Ed grabbed one of the swords out of the guards hands and pointed it at Roy.

"You've betrayed me." He said with more malice and pain than Roy knew was possible. He charged, yelling as he ran. Roy easily dodged the teen and he Summoned a wall of iron in an attempt to trap Ed in the corner. Ed saw it coming and rolled out of danger. He nimbly rushed behind Roy and sliced at his shoulder blade. The cut was shallow, but immediately he felt relief. His rune of loyalty had been damaged. Obviously Ed didn't know about the rune, the placement of his swing was purely coincidental. He charged again, this time aiming for Roy's chest.

In an instant, a shot rang out. Ed dropped his sword and grabbed his bleeding hand. At the doorway, the guard was on the floor, most likely dead. Riza was standing in the entryway, her gun was still trained on Ed's shaking form. Roy took advantage of the general confusion and cast several runes against Ed to render him defenseless.

"Why?" He croaked out as Roy and Riza led him out of the building and into the streets. Amestrian soldiers were everywhere, keeping the Xerxians from fleeing. People were against the walls with their heads between their knees, many of them were crying. Some of them looked at Ed and bowed their heads respectfully, while others seemed to leer at him.

They paraded the prince through the city, many of his fellow soldiers cheered him and congratulated him. Neither he or Riza were anywhere close to celebrating.

When they finally reached the center of the city, an arena to be precise, Roy's superior officer greeted him with a smile. Hundreds of Xerxians were rounded up in the clearing, though they were eerily silent. He could see Al was bound and situated next to a podium. The sight left Roy nauseous.

"Great work, Mustang." His superior said quietly as he grabbed Ed by the arm and set him next to his brother. "King of Xerxes," His voice echoed loud enough for all of the Amestrians and Xerxians in the area to hear. "Do you surrender?"

Ed looked as his brother and then to his people. If he didn't submit, many of them would be killed. Roy knew it, and so did the teen. After a couple long, quiet minutes, Ed bowed, this time with his fist underneath his open hand. Roy still didn't know what that meant, nor would he likely ever find out.

"I yield." He finally broke the silence. He glanced at Roy and Riza once more, his eyes were full of defiance. Ed looked straight ahead towards his people and huffed out his chest. Even though he'd been beaten, he was still proud.

Roy, on the other hand, felt nothing but guilt and sorrow. Since his loyalty rune was damaged, he couldn't stop questioning himself and his dishonorable actions. Ed and Al had given him a home and taught him the proper way to Summon. They'd accepted him as one of their own. They'd given him their trust, and he threw it on the ground like it was trash. He'd never be able to forgive himself.

He was a monster.