A/N: Greetings, reader! It's me again, and I didn't take eight months to update this time! First off, I'd like to thank everybody who followed and/or reviewed the story, I really appreciate it! Second off, I'm going to dump a bunch of information into this author's note in response to Shilo Moon's review from the last chapter. Thanks for the constructive criticism, it was really helpful! I wasn't completely satisfied with my previous chapters, but I didn't know how I could improve it. I'm going to edit the prologue so that the story flows a bit better, but for now I want to write more chapters before going back to edit it. Also, this story doesn't follow the normal plot. I really didn't see the point in writing the same story but with a few minor differences, but there will be a few similarities. I didn't do any research when I wrote this, so I completely forgot that the military and military ranks wouldn't blend well with the medieval setting. I'm going to keep it that way for now though, since I'm more familiar with it. As for background, I completely forgot to explain it. Here it goes:
When Ed and Al were little, their father left to explore a distant land and told them to never expect to see him again. The boys grew up with their mother and all was well until she one day "disappeared". The Elric brothers were told that she had died under mysterious circumstances and as a result, they found a teacher to improve their understanding about magic so that they could bring her back. Their attempt however, failed and the brothers end up in their current predicament. After Ed becomes a Royal Mage, the brothers find several leads that may lead them to the Philosopher's Book. However, a year later, magic was banned and the brother's search become a lot more complicated...
I'll add this information to the prologue when I get around to editing it. If anybody else has any constructive criticism or questions, please tell me! I think that's all I have to say in this over sized A/N. Well, without further ado, let the story continue!
Disclaimer: I totally own FMA! (Laughs nervously) Why would you ask such a silly question? ("Liar!" my conscience tells me)
Chapter 2: Welcome to Ishval
Ed fell to his knees when the dragon finally landed. Swallowing his pride, the young mage kissed the ground, nearly relieved to the point of tears.
"Oh sweet, sweet land! How I missed you!" Roy rolled his eyes at the sorry sight.
"For such a loud and disrespectful shrimp, you sure are dramatic." He said, sighing in exasperation and mentally regretting that there was no way for him to save this moment forever. It wasn't everyday that one gets to see the all powerful Fullmetal Mage kiss the ground.
Ed completely ignored him and continued to talk to the earth. Meanwhile, Roy decided to do something progressive and took out a large bag full of money as he saw a figure descending from the sky to collect the fee required for them to cross over to this strange land. When the person was close enough to be seen, however, Roy suppressed the urge to groan and just walk away.
The figure landed and laughed loudly as he proceeded to pulled the Dragon Mage into an one armed hug.
"Hey Roy! Didn't expect to see you so soon! How have you been? How's Gracia doing?" Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes said cheerfully.
"I didn't expect to see you so soon either..." Roy muttered under his breath before resigning to the fact that he was going to be stuck with his loud friend for awhile. It wasn't that Roy completely despised the man, but he wasn't very handy with magic and tended to be rather noisy, which was the last sort of ally he was needing at the moment. Hughes, knowing this, wasn't at all offended by his friend's apparent displeasure at his presence.
"The others were all preoccupied at the moment so they sent me to let you in." Hughes said as he took the bag of money. He then studied the bag. "You did put exactly a hundred coins in here, right? I know that neither of us want to recreate that incident again."
"Of course I did, I'm not as careless as I was then." Roy huffed, grimacing at the unpleasant memory. "I still can't believe I was punished for being one coin off. Ruby's a greedy creature..." Maes shrugged.
"Dragons will dragons. Besides, Ruby is in charge of who goes in and out of this place. She's a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to her job. It keeps this land safe."
"Speaking of safe," Roy said, looking at Hughes with a bit of concern. "Is the King aware that you're here?"
"Nope, I had one of my subordinates tell him that I was sick with a highly contagious disease and would be gone for a few days."
"And you seriously believe that he would buy that?" Roy asked disbelievingly. "The King's no fool and that's the oldest trick in the book!"
"Well, it's completely plausible considering that there's been a bit of an epidemic in East City." Hughes said reassuringly. "You worry too much Roy! The King may not be a fool, but neither am I."
"It's your funeral." Was Roy's only response. His friend laughed and walked over to Ed, kneeling down to observe the young mage.
"I take it this is the Fullmetal Mage you've been talking about." Roy nodded. "Didn't you say he was a skilled and powerful mage?" Hughes asked, an eyebrow raised.
"First of all, Riza said he was skilled and powerful. Second of all, he's a bit shaken from his first encounter with a dragon." Roy gestured at Claw, who flapped his wings, as if to say hello. "He doesn't do well with animals."
"I can see that clearly." Hughes said. Ed, who had finally come to his senses, was then suddenly aware of the stranger kneeling before him. He hurriedly stumbled to his feet and brushed the dust off his pants, a bit humiliated. Unfortunately, he expresses his embarrassment through anger and violence.
"Who the hell are you?" He demanded, pointing at Hughes accusingly. The soldier grinned and offered his hand.
"The name's Hughes. Maes Hughes. I'm here to let you in here through the gates." Ed glared at him, reaching for his wand.
"He's also an acquaintance of mine." Roy hurriedly explained before Ed could turn their new companion into a toad. "He's here to help."
"I sure am! My best buddy, Roy here, told me all about your situation. Don't worry, I'm sure that you'll find something useful here."
"And where exactly is here?" Ed asked, eyes narrowed.
"You didn't tell him?" Hughes exclaimed incredulously to Roy.
"We were in a rush and I couldn't explain anything to him on the way here, considering the fact that he was screaming the entire time."
"I was not." The young mage huffed, but was mostly ignored.
"Well this might be a problem." Hughes said, looking a bit irritated.
"The shrimp's gone through much worse surprises." Roy said defensively.
"Would somebody please tell me what's going on?" The two older men turned to look at him before looking back at each other.
"Roy will fill you in while I go get this to Ruby." Hughes said and before anyone could respond, he floated off towards the top of the high walls behind them.
Ed looked at his fellow mage expectantly. Roy sighed and gestured for him to follow him. He stood up and did exactly that. As they walked, the young mage realized that they were at the top of a big hill, for he soon saw a golden plain of sand spread out before them. There were a few sparse oasis and plenty of buildings, but the feature that stood out the most was the diverse array of creatures that prowled in the desert like environment. There were dragons of all sorts, soaring in the skies and roaming the sand dunes. A flock of orange, red, and yellow birds, phoenixes, flew as they dragged floating chariots behind them. More strange beings could be seen doing all sorts of chores or just roaming the land. Ed, as a mage, was elated at the sight. It was a land of magic. But his joy was to be short lived.
"Welcome to Ishval, shrimp." Roy said and his mood took a long trip south.
When he was very young, before Al had been born, his father used to sit down occasionally and tell him ancient legends about magic. He doesn't remember most of the stories, but he vaguely recalled his father's tale of how magic was discovered. He was told that there were two possible origins for magic. Some say that an ancient kingdom called Xerxes had invented the earliest form of magic. Others insisted that magic has always been apart of the very earth itself and that all magical creatures came from one place. They called this place Ishval.
Then, decades ago, the legendary home of magic had been discovered and Amestris had attempted to conquer it. But seers from both Ishval and Amestris had foreseen a long and bloody fight if they were to start a war. As a result, an uneasy period of peace came in the wake of a treaty. The treaty stated that Amestris would have limited access to Ishval so long as Amestris didn't attack and allowed Ishval to remain independent. That agreement however, was not to last. Just a year after the treaty was signed, a young Ishvalan mage was killed when an arrow struck her heart. That arrow had a blue feather attached to it, meaning that it could only belong to a soldier from Amestris. War broke out, but neither of the two kingdoms were winning. Ishval had powerful creatures of magic to defend them, but Amestris had superior weapons and technology. Then, the King recruited a handful of Amestrians who had learned a bit of magic before the war and eventually, the Ishvalans were defeated.
The Ishvalans weren't just going to let Amestris take their land, however, so the most powerful of all creatures, the dragons, had gathered to create a wall and magical barrier between the two kingdoms. Since then, there's been an unstable period of peace between the two worlds, neither of them capable of attacking the other and only dragons have had the freedom of going in and out of Ishval, during certain periods of the day.
Now that he thought about it, Ed was surprised that he hadn't realized what this place was earlier. There were dragons and giant walls! How much more obvious could it be? Then he remembered another important bit of information.
As a result of the war, Ishvalans despised Royal Mages.
Ed turned to look at his fellow mage, eyes wide.
"Are you insane?" He hissed angrily. Roy sighed.
"I know what your thinking Fullmetal, but everything's going to be-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Ed snapped. "We're in a land full of dangerous, magical creatures who would want to kill us on sight if they knew who we were! That is not okay!" The Ex-Colonel rolled his eyes.
"I'm called the Dragon Mage for a reason, Fullmetal."
Al walked beside the intimidating lady that had possibly saved his life, fighting the urge to run away. The other enchanted citizens had been magically transported to an abandoned castle in Northern Amestris this morning after being assured that if they were discovered, there was an underground tunnel system they could use to escape. Al, however, had been told to stay with Lady Hawkeye for reasons that he hadn't been told yet. Now, he was struggling to keep up with his guide as they went down a road. He could see a distant house ahead of them and assumed that it was their destination, considering that the rest of the surrounding area was an empty wasteland. He was itching ask Lady Hawkeye why he wasn't going to the Northern Castle yet, but he couldn't gather enough courage to even attempt to talk to her. Hawkeye seemed to be a scary person.
Many awkward minutes passed without any sounds besides, their footsteps. Finally, they reached the three story house, which seemed to be falling apart before their eyes. Riza, as Colonel Mustang had called her, took out a key and unlocked the door. There were two men sitting in the living room when they entered. Both stood up and bowed in response to the presence of a the Noblewoman.
"Lady Hawkeye, it's a pleasure to see you again." The taller of the two men said.
"The pleasures all mine, Warrant Officer Falman" Riza said quietly. "I trust that you and Master Sergeant Fuery are prepared?"
"We are, but according to our informants, there are already soldiers in all of the towns nearby. We'll have to wait a few days before we can continue with the plan." Riza frowned.
"I don't think Hughes' excuse of being sick is going to last much longer. King Bradley's already suspicious."
"It'll take awhile for him to return from Ishval anyway. Could you buy us anymore time or find somebody else to guide us to the estate?"
"I'll see what I can do." That said, the two men, Falman and Fuery relaxed and turned their attention to Al, who was looking at them with wide and confused eyes. The shorter of the two men approached him with a friendly smile.
"Hello, you must be Alphonse. The Fullmetal Mage's brother, correct?" Al nodded mutely. The Master Sergeant offered him a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you. The Colonel has spoken highly of you. I'm Master Sergeant Fuery, but you could just call me Kain." Al shook his hand as the other man approached them.
"You must be confused, Alphonse." He said, not unkindly. "Come and sit. We'll explain a few things to you."
A/N: Done again! I decided to post this a day later than I was supposed to since I wanted to edit it a bit. I originally didn't plan on editing, but when I read this over, I found too many grammatical errors. In this chapter, I included a bit of Al's side of the story. I didn't plan on having any of Mustang's subordinates (Well, in this story, they're just his friend's who happen to be in the military. They aren't exactly a team yet.) enter the story at this point, but I decided that I wanted to include Falman and Fuery. I think that they deserve more attention, since they're barely in any fanfictions. Please write a review, follow, and/or favorite... I'd like to know that I have people actually still reading this fic at this point considering the fact that I abandoned this story for half a yeaar and then completely changed it's summary. Was this chapter/story good? Bad? How can I make it better? Thank you curligirl0896 and Shilo Moon for reviewing last chapter and thank you to anybody who followed this story! Until the next time, I, EndlessStars, bid you farewell!
