AN: After going over some more research, and starting to rewatch Brotherhood while working out in the mornings, I realized that I had to rewrite this chapter. Particularly the section about Ed's notes. Combined with how heavy IRL has been, it's harshly affected my posting schedule. Slowly working my way back, though. Let's see how fast I can post the next one.
There have been concerns regarding the 'terms' of Tanya's 'contract' with Being X, but I'd like to assure you that I've thought it over. With regards to the 'brainwashing' part, it's simply something I picked up from the manga version. Looking over the episode in question again, he also actually says something akin to that. I think that particular part was just not very well explored in the anime, which is why it isn't really noticed. Of course I might just execute it differently…
Alright, here we go!
Disclaimer: I own neither Youjo Senki nor FMA. They are the property of Being X (literally, just look at the author's pen name) and Hiromu Arakawa respectively.
VI. SOUTHERN ITINERARY
When I finally came to, my eyes blurrily opened, and the first thing I saw was Alphonse smiling down at me while vigorously shaking my right hand. In the distance, the Führer and dark haired general walked out of the door.
"I don't know how you pulled that off, Tanya, but that was amazing!"
"What?"
"Don't be so modest," the State Alchemist said as he finally stopped, and put a hand on my back before guiding me towards the back door to follow his superiors. "It takes an incredible amount of talent to go into a freefall and then stop yourself two inches from the ground without breaking your neck from whiplash. Honestly, that last transmutation you did was…" He paused to think about his next words. "I don't think I could have calculated a maneuver like that."
As my senses slowly came back to me and my daze began to wear off, I hurriedly slipped my torn left glove off my hand and tucked it back into my pocket. I didn't need Alphonse asking me how I was able to perform a transmutation without a circle just now. As far as I could tell, he didn't even notice it yet, which was good. I faked a smile. "Well, I told you I've been practicing all those years for it." We walked down the hall.
"Kind of odd that your flash was a different color, though," He thought out loud, rubbing his chin with his free hand. Crap. So I really did just pray, and he did see something different. At least he didn't hear me. Probably because Being X slowed down time while he struck his 'deal' with me. For a moment, I imagined how that would look like from an outsider's perspective. A brief scene ran through my head of Alphonse watching as my voice went off like a chipmunk on a fast forwarded video. My best guess is he assumed it was a special 'incantation' of sorts… which nobody really does. This is a science, not magic.
Fortunately, whatever it was he saw, he quickly rationalized it away once he realized what he'd just said. "Well, nothing wrong with learning more than one style. It's probably something you keep for your higher end stuff, right?"
I shook my head, more to get rid of the last of the daze than anything else. "Something like that," I muttered, attempting to affirm his assumption. Better to feed his incorrect ideas than to get myself in trouble. Amestris has a really bad history with religious types. Between yesteryear's Ishval War and the more recent goings on in Lior, religion has caused far more problems than it has purported to solve. If Being X had intended to improve my opinion of religion, it wasn't working. "More importantly, how did I do?"
"We'll have your results in by tonight," he said as we exited the main doors of Central Command and walked down the stairs leading to the cobblestone city streets. The Führer and the general had disappeared from view, and I assumed they were simply getting to work on the results. "So far, your demonstration has been the most impressive, but don't count your chicks just yet. There are twenty more. Just wait until I get home, alright?"
"Sure, I can do that." I nodded as Alphonse turned around to head back inside.
"Alright, then! You can take the rest of the day off," he answered with a smile. "I think you've earned it." With that, he went back up the stairs and disappeared into the doors.
That left me looking around town, still trying to get my bearings. The sun hadn't even hit noon yet, which left me with a whole day to do… well… anything, really. I was in a limbo. There were twenty more alchemists lined up to take the practical exam. What were the odds that I would be better than all of them? Well, I was better than eighty already, given what Alphonse said, so I was at the very least above the majority of examinees. But 'very good' didn't cut it. I had to be the best.
I decided to follow through on my backup plan and take a trip to Central University, see if there was anything about teaching Xingese Alkahestry there. I didn't have a formal education, so as one might imagine of the leading State University, that would be something of a problem. If there were any acceleration exams, however, I could skip completely over elementary, junior high, and high school altogether. I didn't get multiple degrees back in modern Japan for nothing!
As it turned out, Central University was indeed starting to open up with regards to Xingese-Amestrian exchanges. Apparently, one General Mustang – commanding General of East Command – was in charge of improving the relations between Amestris and Xing, and he was sponsoring a program to fast track the transition from near-zero contact, to a much higher rate of exposure. Based on the pamphlets they were handing out, this program included hiring Alkahestrists from Xing to join the faculty and facilitate training for a new 'Alkahestry 101' course. Well… looks like someone else already thought ahead of me in terms of bringing Alkahestry to the public spotlight.
That being said, while I can no longer claim the title of Innovator for bringing Alkahestry to Amestris, I can at least be an Early Adopter, who takes on Alkahestry and teaches it here, once I've proven my credentials, anyway… And of course, completed my Alkahestric training.
In retrospect, it might take longer to qualify for an Alkahestry teaching position, as opposed to simply passing the State Alchemy exam. On the other hand, I could instead just file for teaching my particular brand of alchemy. I'm certainly far more proficient at flying than using Alkahestry. I could simply add a combined process as part of my course. Throw a kunai at a chair and make it fly! That didn't really sound like it had any practical applications at the moment, but I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something given enough time.
By the time I got back to the apartment, it was sunset. May was in the middle of cooking noodles, and Xiao Mei was… also cooking noodles. That bear really was quite the doppelganger. After a quick dinner, and light conversation – where I explained that I was at least better than 80 percent of the participants, yay personal pride! – I retired to my room, and began to go through Edward Elric's books.
It's important to note that alchemists have a rather… quirky tradition. This particularly concerned alchemists who have reached a relatively high level of capability, beyond all the stuff you might find in a university-level class: Their personal notes are encoded in some way or another. Cookbooks were the most popular guise, likely because on the one hand, a book full of recipes is extremely mundane. Who would think to look in the kitchen, right? On the other hand, in the format of recipes, notes can be rather conveniently organized. So why do so? Well… alchemy in the hands of a specialist can be extremely destructive. Just ask those poor saps in Ishval. It's only natural to want to keep such power closely guarded.
Anyone with a personal lab or workshop was bound to keep his own notes in this coded form. Especially State Alchemists. What better way to conceal state secrets than hiding them in plain sight? After the first few months of going through Tucker's library, full of these basic to advanced general knowledge references, I finally asked if I could take a look at his own notes.
At first I thought he was joking when he dropped a stack of cookbooks – with his name on them, mind you – in front of me. That was when he explained that those were most certainly his notes, albeit encrypted, and that this was most certainly an alchemist tradition.
It took me several more months, even with the occasional hint here and there, to finally crack all of his codes. As it turned out, he knew a lot of things about bioalchemy. It was a gold mine. At the same time, I realized that I wouldn't be able to use all this if I were to become a State Alchemist. Because I needed my own specialty. Nevertheless, it was an exercise worth having been done, as if I was going to get into the meat and potatoes of anybody's research, I would have to learn how to crack cookbook codes. Or well, codes in general.
You'd probably be wondering, why would alchemists continue this tradition, when recent years have introduced alchemy courses in secondary and tertiary schools? I'll let you in on another little open secret. High school alchemy books teach you the dry facts about alchemy. They don't teach you how to perform alchemy. This isn't a high school science class where you perform experiments and see the science at work. It's more of a history class.
They tell you that it's the science of understanding matter, breaking it down, and reconstructing it in an entirely new form. They teach you about the mysterious Philosopher of the East, who first introduced alchemy to the early Amestrians several hundred years ago. They teach you about the never-ending pursuit of the legendary Philosopher's Stone. They teach you about Flamel, who wrote a significant Codex used by many practitioners.
But guess what? They don't teach you how to apply any of this. They don't go into the details of the principles that the Philosopher first taught. They don't tell you to buy copies of Flamel's Codex – it's not even available to the general public, only to alchemists and students of alchemy. They don't tell you how to understand matter in an alchemic sense, break it down, and then reconstruct it as something new. And of course, I don't need to tell you that nobody has a Philosopher's Stone that they can just bring to show and tell. Well, there's a subsection explaining how several big names like Ostanes and Hermes Trismegistus attempted to come up with their own formulas, each independently developing a 'cheap counterfeit' called a Red Stone using a thick slurry of amplifying ingredients. But they don't tell you what ingredients the Red Stones were made of, or how they combined them, either.
This is more or less a violation of the principle of 'show don't tell'.
That tween magazine Alchemist Monthly only teaches party trick transmutations and writes interviews of fresh young faces, so it's definitely no practical help for a serious practitioner. Nothing but fluffy cloud inspiration for young hopefuls.
Now, at the university level, things get a bit more interesting. Alchemy 101 is a General Elective. There, they actually teach you the basics. The basics. But hey! After that, you're free to buy a copy of Flamel's Codex and various other references, as long as you show the bookstores your enrollment card. They don't actually teach you a lot, even though the textbooks are right there. You'd think they'd give it more effort, but no. They breeze through the content all semester, and the final exam is almost literally the same thing that May has been putting me through. Transmute X into Y. And then… that's it! You're done! University textbooks are the best, yes. But the teachers are some of the worst. Alchemy is hard enough to master with effort, and these guys don't nearly put enough into it!
Now when I mentioned the State Alchemist test questions were 'university level', it was in the sense of these various references that instructors just glossed over. They weren't things that were taught. You had to read up on them with your barely touched references.
There is no degree in alchemy. The pursuit of alchemy as a profession is still very much ingrained in the old mentality of master and apprentice due to the time and sweat it takes to learn it. If you decide that alchemy is for you, then you're not going to get it at university.
Doesn't matter that the basics are available to anyone who can afford the course. The specialist data is safely encrypted.
Now, maintaining the status quo of this poor standard of university-level alchemic education is just tragic. If the courses were more intensive, if someone created a degree in professional Alchemy, even if it took longer than the four-year standard, then we would have more alchemists, and thus more influence on the rest of the world! Sure, it might be more prone to abuse, but the effects on the big picture far outweigh the cons, in my humble opinion.
No, I am not having a bout of megalomania. If Amestris had more alchemists, correctly viewed as extremely productive members of society? Think about it. Alchemic mass production! Amestris will become the world's leader in manufacturing. The economy will boom. And when the economy is good, my quality of life, so long as I find a proper place within this economy, will also be good.
Note to self: encourage the creation of an Alchemy degree in universities.
So here I was, looking at a stack of travelogues. Edward Elric's notes. It would only make sense that he would put them into this format. The great Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist, was renowned for running all over the country and performing random acts of and kindness and occasional full blown heroism almost anywhere he landed.
A cookbook is more suited for someone who spends more time at home, cooped up in their lab. But to find a cookbook on someone who has no time to muck around in the kitchen? Someone who's always on the move? That would only raise suspicions.
In contrast, where better to keep your notes than in something that you always bring along? An adventurer's best friend indeed…
This stack of travelogues was now my personal holy grail of alchemic knowledge. What quests did he go on? What drove him to go on these adventures the way he did? Was there anything I could learn from that? I mentally salivated at the prospect of being able to pick his brain. But first thing was first, I had to decode it.
The encryption was impeccable. There daily entries, each one split in two distinct sections. The first half went over the details of the currently visited place, descriptions of the sights, the people, the food, culture… interspersed with personal thoughts that seemed randomized, much like a person lost in the moment recording everything he could take up with his senses. The second half contained a "dear diary"-like summary of the day, presumably written before bed. Highly rational observations and more personal thoughts and opinions, occasionally asking rhetorical questions, like what he should be doing the next day.
This was nothing like the nice, neat organization of a cookbook, or DIY guide. It was a mixture of order and chaos. Of observation and emotion. Facts and feelings. Any layman who got ahold of these would come out honestly believing that they'd seen into Edward Elric's soul. The ironic part is that they would say so without realizing that they missed out on the deepest meaning of these writings. The truth within the truth.
This cemented my earlier suspicions. Edward Elric was a bona fide child prodigy. How else could a twelve-year-old top a national-level selection test? Me? I had lots of prep work. If we count my past life, I'm over 40 years old now. I've earned my share of degrees from Todai, Waseda, and Keio. Most importantly, I'm from the future. With the exception of functional alchemy, I've seen how far a world like this can go. Yet despite all this, I'll be the first to admit, I'm not sure I was able to top the exam. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been exerting effort searching for an alternative in case I didn't make the cut.
So where do I start decoding a notebook encrypted on a completely different level than what I'm familiar with? I'd need to get into his head. I'd have to see what he saw… Which means, of course, digging up references for all these places he's been to. Or, I could just relax, do my usual practice, and wait until Alphonse got back so I could ask for tips on how to crack it.
Was this pushing my luck as his guest? Abusing his hospitality? These were his brother's own private notes. Both in the sense of private musings, and alchemic secrets. This wasn't something that I'd be able to take on without his full and complete trust, which I'm pretty sure I've yet to earn. So for the short term, the answer was yes, I'd definitely be pushing it. I'd have to do this on my own. There was no way I was going to get him to violate a lifetime's worth of deep trust with his brother just so some cocky kid could eventually become better than said brother. At least, not at the moment…
I'd have to get my own ciphers from around the country. For the sake of convenience, I could start in the Southern Sector, where he came from. And so, I spent the next few hours preparing an itinerary for the next leg of my journey: going south. I pulled up a map of the country and spread it out over my table, setting Edward's travelogues aside. The simplest initial approach was to start off with the Central main rail line. Rush Valley, the Mecca of the automail industry. Kadayr and its pungent cheeses. Dublith's amazing lake and tourism industry. Some place called Awbeziz… not sure what they're known for. Ydfunlukya… I'm starting to wonder what kind of culture dwelt in the Southern Sector before Amestris annexed them… Finally, South City. The rail line terminates after two more major stops in the southwest, but this list isn't a bad start.
It was around eight o'clock when someone knocked on the door. "Tanya?" It was Alphonse. "I've got your results. May I come in?"
"Sure thing," I answered, reclining into my chair as I turned the page on one of my books. By this point, I'd finished my planning and gone back to reviewing my materials.
Alphonse opened the door and stepped inside. He hadn't changed out of his uniform yet, so he clearly headed straight to my room when he arrived. I'm guessing my results were pretty urgent. "Here you go." He handed me a sealed long envelope. Well… they sure went through a lot of trouble to make my results look special. Whether it was a title, or a message that said 'try again next year', it was certainly made with care.
I snapped the seal – traditional red candle wax, stamped by a signet ring bearing the state's dragon – and opened the envelope, pulling out a carefully folded sheet of parchment with gold lining. I flipped it up, and my eyes widened.
"You could read it out loud, if you want," Alphonse said, as May entered the room, apparently to share in the moment. They really did think of me as a friend at this point.
I cleared my throat and began to read. "This official document certifies that the nation of Amestris, prefecture of the Generalissimo, appoints the name SYLPHID to TANYA DEGURECHAFF, in the name of Führer Willis Grumman." So that was it, the big announcement itself. I tried so hard to contain my excitement. I really did. But despite my best efforts, my face twisted into a wide grin. It was official. I was now a State Alchemist. Cue the fanfare.
Now for the nitty gritty details: my 'contract', or 'terms of agreement', if you would. "The State Alchemist shall follow all orders and policies of the military. A research assessment examination shall be held once every year. In the case that the State Alchemist does not show signs of progress in her research as a result of the examination, she shall be discharged from the services of State Alchemist." Simply put, these were the essentials. Things that could get me terminated if I wasn't paying attention.
Finally, there were the perks. I had these down by heart. These were my motivation, after all. But to read it out loud for myself was a completely different feeling… "The State Alchemist is entitled to the use of ample research funds, unrestricted access to classified documentation, access to various governmental facilities, and a military rank equal to that of "Major". Signed, Willis Grumman."
Alphonse reached into his pocket and pulled out a lacquered wooden case. It was about ten inches across, square. Big enough to contain large pieces of jewelry. Given the context of the situation, I knew exactly what was in it. "Welcome to the College," he removed the lid, revealing that coveted pocket watch, pristine silver newly fashioned and nestled in a gentle purple velvet pillow, "Sylphid Alchemist."
My eyes widened as I reached out to take the case, daintily picking the watch out by the chain, and setting it down in my left palm. I took a few moments to just stare at it. Fine silver, with the State Alchemist emblem embossed on the surface. The Amestrian dragon, and a polygram consisting of a vertical diamond intersecting a horizontal hexagon, underlain by a semi-circular wreath of laurels. If I was now a dog of the military, this would be my collar. Quite the fancy collar, I might add.
"Congratulations!" May applauded.
"So what do you think?" Alphonse asked.
"Of…?" My eyebrow went up.
"The title. We did a bit of thinking about it."
"Hrm…" Well, a 'Sylphid', if I'm not wrong, is a kind of female air spirit. On Earth, the term was first coined by Theophrastus Bombastus van Hohenheim, also known as 'Paracelsus', a leading alchemist and the 'father of toxicology'. According to Amestrian books, however, the term was first brought into the lexicon by none other than the mysterious Philosopher of the East. "Well… it's kind of…"
First off, I may be in a little girl's body, and I guess that's the angle the Führer was going with here. But I'm not actually a little girl. Not that anyone would believe me, or anything. That being said, 'Sylphid' might as well have been 'Fairy' translated from the language of fantasy into the language of alchemy.
"Yes?"
"I guess it fits." I finally said, my voice lacking its earlier enthusiasm. I mean, what else can I expect from a goofy old man? I tried to fake another smile. "I like it!"
No doubt, this was only the beginning of my ordeals in this world run by Being X.
~O~O~O~
"Gentlemen, I think today's results are clear." Führer Grumman sat at his desk, face behind a folded set of hands. Orange sunset light shined into his glasses from the window, reflecting off of them with an appropriate eeriness. Spread across the desk was a pair of application forms. "I think for this year, we'll have two new State Alchemists. Not a common occurrence, but it's happened before."
Alphonse stood to attention while Mustang yawned.
"Yeah, it was really impossible to pick between the two." The General nodded to himself. The demonstrations were both very impressive. Although Degurechaff had unusual insight into the written portion of the exam, the other one was no less effective. It was conventional wisdom, sure, but if conventional wisdom could get you a perfect score, then one couldn't argue against it. What an interesting pair of new achievers this year would produce.
"I guess it all comes down to working on their titles now, am I right, Your Excellency?" Alphonse asked.
"Correct." Grumman gestured toward a pair of comfy chairs across from his desk. "If there's nothing else, we can start by brainstorming on our first one, Ms. Degurechaff."
The two State Alchemists took their seats. Mustang retrieved his copy of her sheet, where he'd scribbled down some notes earlier. "Well, she flies," he started. "The most straightforward part of it would be the 'Flying Alchemist'."
"Sounds kind of plain," the Führer rubbed his chin in thought. "Though I wouldn't fault you for such a suggestion, given your own is also rather self-explanatory."
Mustang only shrugged with a smile. "Flame Alchemist is as direct as you can get, yep."
"Her most impressive feat involved… some kind of incantation, though," Alphonse pointed out. "It was too fast for me to get what she was saying, but she sure looked like she was chanting something. If you want to get playful with titles, you could also take that into consideration. The… 'Witch Alchemist'?"
The general only snickered. His disapproval of the suggestion was plain. "Do we give her a broomstick instead of a pocket watch?" The mental image of Degurechaff wearing a witch's hat and robes as she flitted about the room on a broomstick elicited brief chuckles from his companions.
Grumman returned to his earlier silence. "While that might be an amusingly appropriate title, General Mustang, let us not forget that the College of State Alchemist is an elite brotherhood. We can't just go around giving silly nicknames to its new members. Do we have any other suggestions?"
Mustang hummed in thought. "A more important concern, Sir, is to confirm whether or not that was an actual incantation with actual causative effect on a transmutation sequence, or if she was just muttering stuff."
"It didn't sound… human, really. It was like her voice shrank by a few octaves." Apparently having been the only person to have witnessed this incident, Alphonse's seat was starting to look like the hot one as both superiors looked at him. "I could only be sure it was her because her lips were moving."
Grumman nodded. "Well, we haven't encountered anything like magic before. Alchemy is pretty clearly a science that goes back to Xerxes. Are either of you familiar with any sort of transmutation style that involves incantations? If so, then this is just another brand of alchemy. On the other hand, if she really is using 'magic' of some sort, not only could this potentially disqualify her, it would open up an entirely new series of inquiry, concerning how actual bona fide magic exists."
"If we want to get technical, the only thing an alchemist really needs to do to initiate a transmutation is to draw a circle to represent power, and call on that power by impressing a structural matrix onto it, whether drawn on the spot, or pre-drawn, so long as they make physical contact." Mustang held up one of his gloves, the symbols reflecting clear meanings. Mirroring triangles, Air and Earth in an overlap, supplanted by an upright triangle of fire. Standing above the fire spirit salamander, all beneath a burning fire sigil. All encompassed by a double circle. "Combat-rated alchemists have their circles on-hand for them to be able to start up a transmutation on demand. Folks like Colonel Armstrong, the late Major Kimblee, myself, of course…" He pointed next at Alphonse. "Thanks to seeing the Truth, Colonel Elric here is capable of creating a circle with his arms, and using his own body as the structural matrix. I don't think I've ever heard of someone using an incantation to make it happen."
"It was definitely alchemy, though," Alphonse noted. "She clapped her gloves to form a circle, and the flash was a transmutation reaction, I've no doubt."
"Doesn't explain why her voice sounded freakishly different. Was she trying to… boost her alchemy with an incantation?"
"I don't think we can say at this point. We'll need to watch for it again," the younger Elric took a moment to have a sip of water. "Maybe it's still an experimental process, and she only thought of using it at the last second."
The Führer rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, if it is alchemy, then this isn't exactly a major issue. Just be sure to continue monitoring her progress on that front, and see if it can be put to good use somehow."
"Gotta hand it to you, Alphonse," Mustang shook his head in some disbelief. "This orphanage kid you picked up keeps dropping surprises on us. The more I look at her, the more I'm starting to wonder if she isn't some kind of overachiever."
"She does seem to be pretty ambitious," Alphonse could only nod. "When we first met, she declared that she was going to beat Brother's record at being the youngest person to become a State Alchemist."
"Well, she certainly has the drive for achievement, then…" Grumman read over her written answers again. "She knows a lot for her age, has ambition, and thinks out of the box in some ways. We could certainly use someone like that. I think that if she has a proper guide, she could be of great service to us."
Mustang smirked in response. "Well, Iron Heart, looks like you'll be babysitting her from now on. Officially, I mean."
"So you're saying I'm now…" This was a first.
"Yes, as of now, I'm hereby appointing you as Degurechaff's direct superior."
Alphonse blinked, still unsure what to make of this decision. He had never really commanded anyone before. Most of his time was spent performing research in his own laboratory. His promotion came from a breakthrough in having discovered a new metallurgical process, rather than any commendable combat actions. That being said, he wasn't going to be doing anything too different than what he was already up to. Well… he'd be spending some more time with her, at any rate. Keeping an eye on her advancement, guiding her as she went about doing her work… going over her research proposals and such. "I understand, Your Excellency."
Mustang clapped slowly. "Alright! Now that that's settled with, it's time we actually decided on a title for our little… 'Pixie Alchemist?'" The new suggestion was clearly setting aside the initial 'Witch' one.
"That's pretty cute," Alphonse nodded with a smile. "Certainly has nicer connotations than 'Witch'."
"Unfortunately, that cuteness might be too much of a focus," the Führer lifted a book out from one of his desk drawers, the cover depicting a flying boy and a fairy companion. "Parker Pen has been a smash hit on the theatre scene, and the newly released novel is taking the international book circuit by storm. His pixie sidekick Winx McBell is the epitome of adorable, if the critics are to be believed."
In short, the current pop culture would destroy the ancient image of pixies and fairies as terrifying eldritch entities that kidnapped your children in the night and replaced them with changelings. The fact that Alphonse's first reaction to 'pixie' was to call it cute already demonstrated that the new image was making headway.
"We could just use a more obscure term that means the same thing," Mustang shrugged. He wasn't really a dictionary person, but his own studies of Flame alchemy involved studying the element of air. And what would be more fitting than a term derived from alchemy itself? "'Sylph' is a term we use to refer to the element of air. In the old writings, it referred to an elemental spirit, in fact. The world at large would still respect it, but it can still be an in-joke among alchemists."
"So, the 'Sylph Alchemist'?" Grumman paused in thought. "That does sound rather esoteric, yes."
"If we want to be more specific about it," Alphonse started, "A Sylphid is a female sylph."
"Yeah, I can get behind that," Mustang nodded.
"So there we have it," the Führer pulled his pen out of its cap and began to write down the letter on the blank certificate sheet. "Tanya Degurechaff, Sylphid Alchemist."
"So that's one title down, one more to go. Okay, so what do we know about…" The dark haired general twirled his mustache in boredom as he read over another sheet, this one housing the details of the second neophyte. "Maria Sioux?"
To be continued…
AN: No, I did not make up those other city names. I actually opened up the Amestrian map and looked at the southern rail line. Said map also said… "Official Language: English", and "Est. Pop: 50,000,000".
Also, beforehand, I retconned some statements I wrote in earlier chapters. In particular, the official government announcement explaining the blackout everyone experienced on the Promised Day. After having given it some thought, I realized that if they created a cover story that Bradley died a hero in a coup attempt, then the other aspects of the incident should also have been explained away. So the nationwide transmutation circle is now explained away in a cover story. You can find this section in Chapter 2: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Central.
EDIT: The first review I got since this update pointed out a very crucial error I made about Edward's notes. I've since revised the chapter to correct this error.
