There was always blood in his mouth. It’s the result of his unforgivable sin, but Isa never sought forgiveness. The journey to Amestris was a long and hard one for someone crossing the vast ocean in pursuit of a rumor. Rumors had a grain of truth, and the orange-haired man knew he was going to stick out. That is fine. Let the people of this foreign land talk and gossip. It made little difference; no, he needed them to talk. Isa needed leads.
The man was lying in the back of a produce truck heading to the markets of Central City. It was a bumpy ride, and he knew he was still a few hours out. Isa’s thoughts began to focus on his goal. The man gave everything up in seeking out his family’s killer. Isa had a handful of funds, the clothes on his back, and his alchemy, or what it’s called in this country. Different countries had different names for things. For now, he would call it alchemy.
His family’s alchemy was focused on plant manipulation, and Isa made a note to stop at various flower shops to have his pick of seeds and small branches, but trying to buy anything was going to be a pain as he had no voice. None. Not even a groan or a hum. Honey colored eyes fell shut as the memory of ten years ago began to play out in his mind.
Isa came from a wealthy noble family with access to various books. His family’s main trait that made them stand out in society was the vibrant orange hair and golden eyes. They were aristocrats and beautcrates. They were beloved and hated, sought after and rejected. Isa, like his father before him, had a keen interest in alchemy that manipulated plants and other basic abilities. The manor had a vast garden filled with different foliage and flowers. His twin sister, Frigga, was pursuing music. He was happy.
War and conflict plagued his homeland. Rebellion of the common folk bred tension between classes. Nobles blamed the commoners, and the commoners blamed the nobles. His family didn’t discriminate. They used their alchemy to help anyone who needed it with medicines and salves. His father was altruistic, providing aid in the fields if harvest was lacking, medicine to the sick, and potions to the injured. Isa wanted to be like him and help his fellow man.
The world, however, is not a kind place.
It was snowing when Isa sent word home that he would be out with a trusted friend, staying at a commoner’s home with a beloved friend, staying up all night being boys and fooling around. It wasn’t until dawn that black clouds filled the sky, and Isa rushed home to find the manor in flames, the building consumed, the flower beds engulfed. Everything. The authorities worked hard putting the fire out, but fifteen-year-old Isa was frozen in shock. It took hours, and the home was left in ruins and ash. The world seemed to stop.
Isa didn’t move from his stop until nightfall, when the authorities left him alone to return in the morning. He walked among the wreckage deep in despair and anger. This wasn’t an accident. There wasn’t much left of the bodies of his family, just a few bones, charred, everything was a disgusting black. He was becoming consumed by anger, and he recalled a ritual, a taboo, his father forbade him from using.
He could use alchemy to bring back his loved ones…
Isa had memorized it without his father’s permission in an act of arrogance. He was never going to use it, but he sought knowledge and wanted to know something forbidden. It took some hours in the night to prepare it. For once, the sky was clear, and the moon lit the manor in an eerie glow. He performed the most taboo of rituals using the random bones of his deceased family, determined to bring them back to him.
What he created was….a monster.
Soon, he found himself not in his family's charred manor but in a place of absolute white, and behind him was a massive gate.
“ The folly of human nature brought you to me,” said a distorted voice in a mocking tone. “Human impulse is so fascinating.” It was a creature in white silhouette with the same body proportions as Isa.
“Who are you?” Isa asked. “Where am I? I just want my famil-”
“I have many names. I am god. I am the truth, I am the universe. I am all, and I am one, and I’m also you. You must pay the proper toll.”
There was a sharp pain in his throat and right eye. For a mere moment, he saw knowledge flood into his mind. He saw the black figure walk into his estate, slit the throats of servants, his parents, and his sister, and then set the manor in flames. He saw so much more, and soon he returned to the charred remains. Blood was pouring from his mouth and eye.
“Isa!” came a familiar scream. His beloved friend, Tyrin, found him. He held a shovel as dawn’s light lit the area and revealed the monster that Isa had created. It was a collection of body parts, rotting and falling apart. Tyrin looked in horror. “Isa..What did you do?!” His friend moved toward the monster with the shovel raised, and Isa wanted to scream out to stop him, but all that poured from his mouth was silence and blood.
The monster was put down.
“They’ll arrest you for this! Isa! “ Tyrin moved to his friend and saw the blood. The male winced and saw his parents running to the estate of their friends. His father saw the dead beast and looked at Isa.
“Tyrin. Take him to our home. Give me the shovel. I’ll take care of this. Go take care of him,” the man spoke sharply. Tyrin handed the shovel and picked up his best friend and hurried him back to his home. They were trusted friends of his family, and Isa wanted to scream, but it felt like he had no mouth.
A day passed, and Tyrin’s father returned. Tyrin managed to stop the bleeding from Isa’s missing eye. “I buried that thing and explained to the authorities that you, in a fit of despair, began to bury the bones of your kin, “ the older man said.
“ Boy, I know your father well and his damned rituals well enough. What you did went against the laws of nature and our society. How stupid can you be?”
Isa slid a paper over, and Tyrin’s father took it and read it.
“They were murdered? Not surprising,” the father’s voice sighed. “You can not stay here. I’m doing you a kindness; by tomorrow’s light, you will be gone. I’ll give you some money and some clothes, but you cannot stay here in this city. What you did is unforgivable. Rituals are risky enough, but doing something like that…making a monster, you know the laws!” he slammed his hands on the table.
“You need to go. You will put my family in danger once they figure out what you did. You’re name would become like mud, the other nobles will plunder your lands and weath. You are a fallen house, boy, because you couldn’t rein in your grief!”
The words were harsh, but Isa didn’t hear them. He was staring blankly at the table. Tyrin sighed.
“Isa. You lost your family, your eye, and your voice. If your family were murdered, let the authorities deal with it. You should go somewhere safe, somewhere to start a new and honest life.”
Isa winced. What were they saying? Didn’t they care that their best friends were murdered? Isa glanced up to stare at their faces, and he could see the cracks in their masks. No, they never cared. They only cared about what his family could give them.
This was his first lesson. Trust no one.
In the morning, Isa was given new clothes and a pouch of coins that would last him a little while. He always hid some funds away with Tyrin, but noticed the pouch was lighter than he remembered. It was fine; it would be the last gift to a backstabber. A makeshift eyepatch hid his missing eye. It was taken by the Truth as payment.
Everything in this world was transactional.
The next few years Isa spent traveling around his nation seeking answers. He wanted to know his family’s killer and kill them in return, but he would make them suffer a slow and painful death. The young fallen noble learned he could use his alchemy without drawing ritual circles. While on the road, he ventured through dense forests collecting seeds and branches. He learned to make spears and arrows from them and then reinforced them to make them into deadly weapons.
Silence was his greatest asset. He met an old man during his travels who lived off the land, angry at the world, too, and for another few years, he mentored Isa in archery and resourcefulness. He taught him how to hunt, how to skin and prepare animals for their meat, and he learned many deadly uses for plants. It was then, when Isa was about twenty-three, vanished without a trace, leaving him.
It was fine. He didn’t need coddling.
Isa continued to travel as a wanderer, visiting different countries, gathering information which led him to gain passage on a massive cargo ship heading west.
Isa opened his eyes as Central City peeked over the horizon. The fallen noble must have fallen asleep. The truck stopped, and Isa got out, paying the man for the trip, and began to walk on the side of the road with nothing but a duffel bag and a bow on his back. There was a coldness in his good remaining eye and a determination.
He would seek his family’s killer here in this new land.
