The Search for the Panacea – Chapter 1
Waking up with a bang, Tseng the Alchemist crashed to the floor.
"Ouch!" he cried.
Standing up swearing, he walked over to his window. It was a Dark and grey night as he thought of his complex experiment he done the night before. The screaming of the creature, he shuddered.
"I can't believe I fell asleep again..." He sighed
Next to him in the tank, the Homunculi were asleep...
It was later that day that he bumped into his friend Kazzar.
"How's things?" the Water Alchemist said
"Could be better..." Tseng replied
"Why?" replied Kazzar
Tseng's mind wandered back to that experiment yesterday, the putrid smell of the creature's pus. It made him ill. He was normally good at Alchemical experiments but this one got him stumped. He could not figure out how to stop the creature dissolving when he spliced the Soul into it.
"I'm gonna go for a walk...get some air, I'll be back later..." Tseng said negatively
He thought of the on-coming of Winter. He thought of the many Rituals he would have to perform and sighed. Shaking his head he walked along the road. It was silent. He thought it was unusual considering this place was populated with birds and animals.
Suddenly, a roar was heard. Turning round, his bushy tail swished and stared at the monstrosity before him. It was a 30 – foot tall Earth Elemental. It roared and swung its rock-like arms around. Tseng was shocked. It was the first time one of the more peaceful Elementals attacked. With his heart full of sorrow, he raised his gun and ran forward.
The Elemental picked up a rock and threw it towards him. Tseng saw it and moved to the left. Pulling up his cannon he put three Fire Element Bullets and a Water Element bullet into the cannon and fired. The mix produced a Lava Bullet and shot into the stomach of the Elemental. It roared and fell back into the ground.
With a sigh, he put his Cannon away and walked home.
It started to rain. Tseng looked up and closed his eyes. He thought of his home and of his mate. He longed to be with them, but his Pact to Alchemy kept him here. He felt the hunger, the pure, animal hunger that kept him to the search for the Panacea.
The Panacea, a wonder medicine, capable of curing any ailment that befalls them. This is one of the goals of any Alchemist. For many years they have tried to make this, yet so far none have succeeded.
He thought of the fame and glory he would achieve if he managed to produce a working Panacea. He thought of the money that would pay for the education of his pups. He thought of his mate, her beautiful, glossy fur. He remembered where they met: a tranquil lake where he relaxed after a hard day's work. She was wandering through the forest getting samples of herbs, when she was attacked by a marauding Earth Beast. It was then that he seen her in distress and ran to help her. Lifting his Cannon, he packed Five Fire Element Bullets into it and fired off a Magma Geyser Shot.
The Lava roared up the creature dissolving it inside out. The creature fell dead instantly. The Vixen turned to look at Tseng. Her eyes shone with awe, then
Tseng said "Are you okay?"
Stuttering, she replied "I-I'm f-fine. Thanks f-for s-saving me."
"What's you name?" asked Tseng
"N-Naomi" she replied rather embarrassedly.
Tseng then walked her home. Later on, they made a regular occurrence of meeting each other when he wasn't studying. She was always desperate for their meets, she loved doting on him. A year later they decided to become mates. Things led on and she gave birth to a litter of three pups. Tseng named the two male pups Luna and Umbra, after the spirits of the moon. Naomi named the female pup Lucreida.
After Tseng became a fully-qualified Alchemist, he had to leave to go to the nearest study Castle. Naomi was sad, but didn't stop him as she knew how much he hungered to research and to find out what the world held...