Hey Kendo here! (Yep, the one and only KendoS)
Note:I'm not gonna apologize for the religious context, but I'm letting you know that on the whole it's not a dig against religion
Note 2: Edward is about Eight at this time.
Disclaimer: (I'm only writing this once). I do not own Full Metal Alchemist in any way or form. If I did, I'd probably pretend I don't own it anyway to uphold my hidden identity XD. I also don't own anything I use that isn't mine, but I do own the storyline.
Sins
Chapter One
D E L I B E R A T I O N
Golden eyes were sheltered as the host blinked. A seemingly trivial feat, but an annoying defeat when one was attempting to defy nature by not blinking. Edward Elric pouted, and clambered off the edge of the pew onto the cold marble floor, where he began his staring of the stain glass windows, trying desperatly to ignore the droning " voice of God " from the pompous idiot Bishop, once again reminding them that it was wrong to sin and that anyone who did sin would immediatly go to hell, child or no. This, when preached properly, would strike fear into most children Ed's age, but Ed had heard it so many times now that he had looked beyond the story and more into the logic of the theory. How was a Bishop, a lowly human, supposed to know? Had he spoken to God and asked him the dos and don'ts of mankind? Edward frowned. Also, if he commited sins and was banished to hell as the devil's creature, surely it wouldn't be that bad if he was actually a creature of the Devil, why would the Devil punish his own followers for doing the one thing he wanted them to do? It didn't make sense! Besides, all this preaching coming from a religion that believes it's wrong to murder, but thinks it's fine for God to send a flood to kill all the humans of the world.
If Edward were older, and knew more about these kind of actions, he would have rolled his eyes, but his teachings and naivety had made him ignorant. Instead, he poked his tongue out at the bishop when he suspected he wasn't looking. This pointless action (due to the fact that he was both short and hidden from view behind the pew) cheered Edward up considerably enough to continue his attempts with his staring contest with Jesus on a crucifix, hung on the upper wall region. He lasted considerably well for about two minuted before his eyes began watering and he had to blink. He glared, then broke out into a confused face. Had he pulled the right face for a glare? Was it like how the other village boys performed it? He hoped so, he'd been practicing it for ages. Maybe, when he was feeling bold, he'd try it on the Bishop. Right now however, he was feeling hungry. He really wanted some bread, really really badly, but the only "Bread " was those funny round disk things that everyone took after the service, along with wine. Edward cringed slightly. Why would someone want to drink and eat something that was portayed as someone's body and blood? Edward cringed and decided that reading would be a better use of time. Maybe in feeding the mind he could trick his stomach into believing it had eaten. Not likely, but the logic of a child is elusive.
He pulled out a worn bible and opened it up, revealing a neat and well kept copy of alchemy for beginners. Edward survived on this trick, as alchemy was a forbidden art to the southern areas. He had even written a few quotes from the bible in case he ever got caught and had to read aloud. The only thing he regretted was ripping the front cover off of a bible in order to hide the truth. He wasn't sure that God was impressed with that, but consoled himself with the thought that God was all forgiving. He thumbed through the pages already read. Obviously, he had scanned through the book, looking at the headings, and was rather excited at reaching the area of human transmutation. He'd forced himself to read it chapter by chapter though, in order to gain a clear understanding of the basic principles of alchemy. He'd only transmuted a few minor ornaments, but it was a start. The important thing was that he had the skill.
" Know thyself. Self-knowledge follows closely behind the knowledge of God, and self-knowledge for anyone means knowledge of sin.We are all sinners, and we do not mind as long as the sins are nameless and faceless. When we name a sin found in ourselves, it is as though we are confronted in the back alleys of our souls with furtive saboteurs and muggers who seek to prevent our union with God. The discovery of a deadly sin which we hate very much in others is Evil. It shows our blindunfaithfulness we have been to the spouse of our soul. . . .."
The Bishop droned on and on, occasionally being blocked out by peals of thunder from outside. Now, the seven sins interested Edward greatly, but not when portrayed by religion, as it always seemed to have a narrow minded view of everything, yet always seemed to contradict itself. These were the feelings that Edward had, but found himself too young to put it into a deliberate explanation, so he settled for a cringe and hid beneath his white hood. As if the cringe had formed airwaves that had alerted the Bishop, he looked over towards the place where Edward was originally sitting.
" And now Edward Elric will read a passage about the sins. Edward? "
Edward groaned silently and shut the book, concealing it once more in the sleeve of his robe. He sat up and wore a mask upon his face, ressembling the features of sheepishness. He sat once more upon the pew, and watched as the Bishop squinted round the room for his presence, upon not finding Edward where he'd originally percieved him to be. He looked over once more quickly, then did a double take as he saw him sitting there once more.
" Ahhh, there you are, come up here now and allow God's words to bloom within these stone walls." Edward nodded meekly and made his way to the front, slightly tripping on his robe from the length of it. He stood in from of the pesdestal where the book lay open for him. He leant over to gain better acess to the writing that covered the pages.
" Um. . The lord can hear you when you call, but the trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God. Because of Sin he has turned his face away from you and will not listen anymore. For your hands are those of mu. . .mur. .murderers and your fingers are filthy with Sin "
Edward paused, inwardly sulking at the stupid words that made no true sense. Since when did everyone go round killing every person they see? True there were murderers, but not everyone had murdourous thoughts within them. The bishop nodded for him to continue, but he shook his head, allowing his long bangs to cover his face. He stepped down. The Bishop hustled over.
" See now what reading the words of Sin has done to this poor child? Just the words alone! " The Bishop knelt down before Edward, who's face was still in shadow.
" There there, God shall protect you from the claws of Sin, cleanse yourself of all sins and toss away all thoughts regarding Evil. Follow now the Lord's will and you shall surely be blessed " The Bishop reached for a small phial. he quickly blessed it and threw drops over Edward's head.
" Go now child, rest, so that you may purify yourself against all evil ". He finally let Edward go, who immediatly ran towards the door at the back of the church. He opened it and went in. He then leaned against the doorway, still half listening to the Bishop's words. He lifted up his head, a slight expression of confusion on his face. What happened there? He wasn't upset, he just didn't want to read words he didn't believe in. Sighing, he made his way past all the other rooms in the cathedral to what he called the calm room. There, he could sit down and practice alchemy circles on the floor without being caught. The Bishop and his other followers were all at the service, and as an apprentice disciple, he wasn't actually required to be there.
He reached behind a statue and felt around for his chalk. He grasped it and pulled it out from it's hiding place. He smiled at his minor sucess and proceeded to reach for his book. He crouched on the floor and sketched a basic circle. that would be the starting point of all transmutations. There, he opened the book and fumbled round for his destined page. A crash made him jump, dropping the book. A vivid image flashed before his eyes as the thunder subsided to a dull grumble. The image was quickly covered as the pages turned once more. The candles flickered eerily in response to the bad tempered weather. With a slightly shaky hand, he reached down and turned back the pages to that vivid image. He then froze as he reached the summoning page. He leaned over and looked past the light reflections on the pages to the curved letter beneath. He read it through quickly, as if doubting that the words should be read.
" . . . . in order to summon a being of some sorts, one must impose upon their mind with their desired form and draw a circle in accordance to the being "
Edward frowned slightly as he reread this piece. It all sounded so easy, but he'd found that he could never quite focus his mind on one thing. Oh it was easy enough to think of something, but to actually focus on it continually without actually destroying the bubble of thought was difficult for the eight year old. Until now that is. His head was filled with thoughts of Sin. He glanced at the book once more, guilt spread across his face. What could it hurt? It's not like it would actually work. He wasn't learned enough for things like this. It would though, be an invaluable time where he could focus on something. Thunder boomed once more, deciding for Edward. He stood from his crouching position, resolution painted over his face. He would do it tonight, when everyone was asleep.
He would make himself a Sin.
!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i
The thing blinked. It was opening. He couldn't believe it, the damn gate was opening, all this time. He narrowed his eyes. Someone must be really stupid. But then again, he owed that stupid person. Maybe he should kill them quickly. That would be considered. . what did they call it now. . ? " Equivalent trade? " Yes, that was it. A large smirk covered it's faceless features. How stupid. Equivilant trade was a baby's analysis of it, it was much much more. It would take a while for the gate to open fully, but when it did, he would be the first one through it.
He wasn't sure what gave him the strength this time. It must be the person's concentration. The last time the gate opened, he (and many others) felt so weak, that they were unable to even reach the gate, much less go through it. All that time the gate was open, and only one being left. Puh! Stupid Gate! What was the point in having a stupidly overlarge gate just for one person to leave. Yeah, he had to admit that Gluttony was pretty big, but geez, this was seriously overdoing it!
It was the human's faults. What they believed became their will, and bound him and others in a vicious circle. He grinned. He wondered how he was going to go this time. Maybe they would impale him. That was always fun to perform. He loved seeing their expressions when he looked up and grinned at them with a large weapon sticking in him. The even funnier part was using the same weapon to kill them. Ahh, that joke never died.Unfortunatly, sooner or later, some smart ass priest would finally figure out the correct way to destroy his body, leaving his soul unpure, which would slowly float back to the gate, where he would have to start rebuilding all over again. He groaned at the thought. That part of the process always took so long!
He watched as his body was beginning to form, various parts of flesh starting to ressemble what actually looked like limbs. From what he could see, it looked human like. That was a bit of a shame, being a dragon had it's advantages. He had to admit though, he did miss the privilages of a human body, but nothing would ever compare to the feel of bones mashed together against his teeth. Unfortunatly, dragons were hard to come by, having been slayed. He could recall his slayer. That was a cheap shot dammit!
It was unimportant. Soon, he would latch himself onto his "summoner ". He would become the material form of the pathetic human's sins. And then. . Well, they say that Sins need to be washed away. Maybe this human needs a permanent swimming lesson.
He smirked, this was going to be. . .fun.