Who needs a road? (Open)

[Father [Azerik]]

((I'll be using my OC, Azerik, here.))


Azerik had been traveling for about a year since he left Risembool, and had gone to almost every major city, but had not gone to Central, feeling no need to go to the Military's main headquarters. Instead, when he had gotten on the train at West City, where he had last been, he had traveled to Easty City, and from there decided to walk through the desert and visit his hometown of Liore.

Now he had been in the desert for four days, and would soon be out of food and water. If he didn't stumble upon people or water soon, it was likely they he was going to die.

"Time to send up the flare then..." Azerik said out loud to himself, "...hopefully it will be visible in the sunlight." As he finished, speaking, Azerik raised his left hand so that his palm was facing skyward. As he stood there, he would activate the Transmutation Circle tattooed on his hand, and fire a wide laser blast into the sky. He watched as the blast went up, before it disappeared from view, then fell backwards, and sat on the sand dune that was behind him. Taking out his canteen, he downed what little was left pf his water, and leaned back, closing his eyes against the glaring sun, and wondered if anyone would come in search of the cause of the blast.

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim stood on a dune not far from were Azerik stood, watching him and saw the pillar of light. "hmmm. thats strange." sliding down the mountain of sand he transmuted som of the sand in front of him into a pathway. he walked for a couple minutes until he was standing in fron of the young man. "sunbathing? thats not really healthy, in the desert..." reaching down he transmuted the sand into a rather large umbrella, it rose up out of the ground and opened itself to block out the sun.
"in the desert the key word involving water is... 'sip' dont guzzle or you'll get sick." hoen heim said sitting down next to the young man, offering his canteen.

[Father [Azerik]]

Azerik took the canteen and took a sip before responding. When his mouth was no longer dry he returned the canteen to the blond haired man, and sat himself up properly, before looking around him to survey the man's Alchemical handy work.

"Thanks for the help," Azerik said pushing himself to his feet, "and I'm aware of desert travel protocol, but I've been out here for four days, and I seem to be a little lost."

Looking at the umbrella of sand above him again, Azerik turned to look at the helpful stranger. Offering his hand, he spoke up saying, "Name's Azerik...do you mind my asking how you did that? I didn't see a transmutations circle."

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

"its a little trick i learned in my travels. " hoenheim said, trying his best not to lie. "the name is Hoenheim. and the closest city is in that direction." he said. pointing in the general direction of Lior. strapping the canteen back to his belt, he stood up. "you should go for now. youll never make it to Lior, theres a dust storm on the way. you should either camp down or come with me..."

[Father [Azerik]]

"It doesn't really matter where I go from here," Azerik said with his hand still outstretched for Hohenheim to shake, "I just like to travel. Only reason I was heading to Liore is because I haven't been there since I was a child...I've been wondering how the place has turned out since I left...in any case, its fun to have a traveling companion every so often, so I'll go with you if that's all right."

As Azerik waited to see if Hohenheim would take the proffered hand, he began to wonder if the Alchemist would be willing to share a few of his "tricks".

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim dusted his hands off and finally notice the hand which had been proffered moments ago. "I was headed to Lior as well, so lets head south and east. there is a realatively small town about three hours from here that i have taken a liking to. it should shelter us from most of the storm." stepping out from under the umbrella, "you should step out from under there, its my policy to return things to there natural order when i am finished." hoenheim looked up at the sun gauging the time.

[Father [Azerik]]

"So soon?" Azerik said with mock sadness, "I was just thinking of taking a nap."

Stepping out from under the umbrella, Azerik looked at Hoenheim in anticipation, hoping to get a clue as to how he performed his transmutations. He'd heard the stories of how the kid Edward from Risembool could perform Alchemy without a circle...

"Wait a second I know you!" Azerik said as he came to a sudden realization, "You're Ed and Al's dad! You probably wouldn't remember me...I moved to Risembool just a year before you left. I'm the Alchemist kid who lived on his own near the edge of town."

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim had noted the resemblance upon seeing Azerik from atop the hill. "aha, i seem to remember a vagrant child by your name...you seem anxious, are you alright?" while waiting for his answer hoenheim lifted his hands in a move that looked really dramatic, but slyly touched the tip of his finger to the edge of the umbrella while on the way up. clapping his hands together he barely had time to touch the umbrella and make the hoax look real, before the umbrella returned to sand. when it finally stopped shifting on the ground a great gust blew over the land and sent little dervishes of sand spiraling around their feet. "we should leave. desert storms are extremely dangerous."

[Father [Azerik]]

Azerik was slightly disappointed as Hoenheim transmuted the sand umbrella back to its original state, but was resolved to ask about it later. Research opportunities would not go unused.

"I've been in a sand storm before," Azerik said as he indicated that Hoenheim should move ahead of him, "it was back when I first left Liore. I barely made it out of the desert, but I managed to get out and make my way to East City...so what's the name of this place we're headed to...south-east you said...the only place I know out there is the old coal mining town of Yous Well..."

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim sighed at the need to keep secrets, even though they could prove fatal to anyone who tried them. "The city is called Hamun-Aptra. it is a far flung outpost from the lost country.... well lets just say its really old. the ishvalans have taken to living there. they are good people, they gave me shelter when i was in dire need." Hoenheim shuddered at the memories of fighting Homonculus. he was furious for Hoenheims decision to live among humans. when the battle was over, Hoenheim fled, defeated to Ishvalla.
Hoenheim began the slow staggering trudge into the now roaring wind, wishing he were alone so he could light jump. but the experience was good. he needed to acclimate himself to being around people. "So how have you been keeping these days, Azerik?"

[Father [Azerik]]

"I have no problem with Ishvalans," Azerik said as Hoenheim told him where they were going, "I don't know if you can tell, but my blood is not exactly of pure bred Amestrian stock. My mother was an Ishvalan woman who did not agree with all the tenets of the faith, mainly the ones concerning Alchemy. She left her people shortly before the war, and married my father, who was a traveling Alchemist...well really he was just a dabbler by his own words, but he taught me what he knew, and I've been doing my research since then."

He stopped talking at this point, but Azerik continued to think about what had happened after that point. Touching his index and middle finger to the patch over the spot where his right eye should have been, Azerik thought about what had happened to his mother the same day he had lost his eye.

Hoenheim's question pierced his thoughts, and he stuttered for a second before he calmed down and began to speak. "As well as can be expected when traveling in the desert," he said with a smile, "but over all my life is simple...I travel around, I keep at my research, and I avoid the military as much as possible. I'd say the only place I have yet to travel is the country of Xing that is across the desert to the East."

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

"Xing is a good place... you would like it there. the Alchehestry is amazing..." Hoenheim was by this time fed up with the sand. he turned around and gestured toward the ground and said, "Hold on a minute. Dont move anywhere, im gonna get us out of the wind." and this blasted sand... he thought. he reached down and touched the sand but at that moment a huge cloud of dust and sand enveloped them both swirling about like hellish fire. by the time hoenheim began his alchemy the visibility was down to inches. when he was done he waited for the wind to die down enough for him to find azerik.
when the3 wind died down finally there was a gaping hole in the ground and stairs leading into a passage under the sand...

[Father [Azerik]]

Azerik pulled his hood down over his face to keep the swirling sand out, and had to fight to keep the wind from blowing him backward. When the wind died down a little, he saw that Hoenheim had made a set of stairs leading into a tunnel with his Alchemy. Walking down the stairs quickly, Azerik looked around the tunnel, interested to see Hoenheim's work again.

"That really is some trick you have there," Azerik said when they were out of the wind, "I've never heard of someone doing a transmutation this large."

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim grimaced as he felt a soul disappear from his consciousness. yes, it was nice alchemy... but could he understand the price it cost to preform it... "hurry, we should go fast. its going to be dark soon... so," hoenheim scooped down and grabbed a handful of sand. transmuting it into a pristine glass ball with thousands of inner facets. he raised the ball into the sky and trapped light inside by transmuting a thin mirror like coating on the inner side of the glass. he added more and more light as the seconds past until the sphere was literally glowing like a small sun itself.

stepping down the steps behind the young man he lit the area up and saw the ruins of the Xerxian tunnel. he hadn't made the tunnel himself, that would have taken all the souls in him and more. no, he had seen an outcropping of tunnel work relatively nearby and had had searched the surrounding area for signs of a subterranean passage. they were used by the people of Xerxes to commute through the desert out of the harmful sun... "Are you hungry? "he said to Azerik as he closed the hole that was pouring sand into the tunnel.

[Father [Azerik]]

The trapping of light into the glass ball was not a surprise to Azerik, as he had done the research on the same principle. The research had gotten sidetracked, and had let to the formation of his "Laser Arrays" which were his primary forms of defense. Given time, he was sure he could produce the same result Hoenheim had just displayed.

"I should be fine for a few hours," Azerik said when Hoenheim asked if he was hungry, "I've got dried meat in my pack, and I ate not to long ago...and forgive my persistence, but I really would like to know the secret behind those transmutations...even if the knowledge is of no practical use. My only joy in life these days is my traveling and my Alchemy research...and I'm intrigued by your Alchemy, it makes me wonder if Edward's Alchemy is based off yours, or if its something else entirely...there are so many things I could ask you as well...I never knew your children well, but I did spend some time with them. They studied often from your Alchemy books, and they turned into amazing Alchemists, so one can only assume your research is as amazing as your sons have turned out."

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim sighed... the devils alchemy always did appeal to those who hungered for knowledge. Looking at his hands he saw all the lines and scars of of the last four hundred years."This alchemy is not for the fainthearted. It was never supposed to be discovered in the first place. Human transmutation was a result of the countless generations of greed and selfishness, it is the epitome of the human fault." Hhoenheim turned away making it clear that he would never reveal the secret behind his abilities, he wouldn't tarnish the soul of another being. "Trust me, the benefits of this alchemy are far, far less than the cost. Hamun-Aptra is six hours walk from here, how fast can you run... and for how long...?"

[Father [Azerik]]

Hoenheim's meaning was quite clear to Azerik, as it would be to any Alchemist with as much knowledge as the young man had. Legends said that catastrophe was abound when Philosopher's Stone was involved, and though he had believed it to be nothing but myth, there were few other explanations, and Hoenheim had mentioned 'Human Transmutation', making it even more likely.

"I shan't tell a soul about your secret," Azerik said in a somber tone, "but I disagree with you on the point of Human Transmutation...the original concept may have come from a greedy man, but despair is probably a more common cause...I know that if I'd had the power I have now when my mother died, I probably would have tried it...its certainly the epitome of human fault, but for a different reason...at least in my mind, which is probably the only thing I don't doubt these days."

When Hoenheim asked how fast he could run and for how long, Azerik simply blinked, unsure of how to respond. "Athletics isn't my strong suit, but I'm in good physical condition," he replied hesitantly, "but what's the point in running? I've been in the desert four days, I can wait to rest somewhere for six more hours, so there's no real need to hurry."

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim thought for a minute. "this puts a damper on things... hmm. The storm is coming and it should pass over us in about three hours or there about, if you would rather walk that is fine..." Hoenheim did wish to be as human as possible, but sometimes he hated the slow pace humans traveled at... he started walking and knew Azerik would either follow or not... whatever his choice, stating in this particular place was not an option when a storm this large was looming above them.... the boobing light of the lantern could be seen for miles in this passage, and there wasn't any chance of getting lost. "we'll be passing directly under the storm in about three hours.... now isnt the time to dilly dally..." he called over his shoulder, with the light leading the way.


((( after your next post, i am going to skip the next six hours of walking and start where they appear in Human-Aptra, is that cool with you?)))

[Father [Azerik]]

((Perfectly fine.)

"Its no time to rush either," Azerik said as he followed Hoenheim, "rushing through a storm can lead to negative consequences as well...mind you we're underground, and desert storms is mostly just high winds, I doubt that would cause a collapse...these tunnels look sturdy enough."

As they walked, Azerik grew quieter, as he started to think about his past, and tried to decide what to do with his future. He disliked how the world was at the moment, but he was between whether or not he should just keep to himself and his travels, or actually do something about it.

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

the hours of travel whirled by like so many gains of sand in a storm. the light at the end of the tunnel had been visible and very misleading for almost an hour now... but then the tunnel opened up to a city, almost deserted. the city was about three hundred foot down the side of a canyon and dug into the wall almost a half mile. the width of the city was close to three miles, and there were multiple levels. though most of the city was in pristine condition and still sustain to sustain life, only a small portion was occupied by three or four hundred Ishvalans. these were the ones who had run before the massacre had started. before Ishval had been occupied by Amestrisian forces.
A voice called out to hoenheim as he stepped out of the tunnel, "Masoud hamut salire! Welcome child of god. you have been gone for a long time... who is with you?" the tone was friendly and questioning at the same time. although they were friendly, these ishvalans would always suspect any amestisian. they trusted hoeheim only becuase he was in fact the last living xerxian alive, and in fact not an amestrisian. "Bama ure savat. This is a friend of mine. he has come for the scripture in the temple... He is my responsibility until we leave... can you have Torvus meet me in the temple with the key please... Azerik, these are what is left of the nation of Ishval. Do you see now what the greed of man is capable of? well, you will get your wish... i will show you a secret to blow your mind."
Hoenheim wondered how azerik would react to the knowledge that there are even smaller particles of matter than molecules. would understand the notion of electrons, protons, ann neutrons? how would he cope with a technique that would allow him to transmute anything out of anything... Hoenheim looked at the boys face... is he ready for this...? the thought rumbled through is head like thunder.