In search of 'religion'

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

There was no accompanying rumble as the lightning hit the ground outside liore half a second after Hoenheim and Azerik disappeared out of the dessert. when the flash abated hoenheim and Azerik were standing not quite side by side, and in the same position as they were when hoenheim activated the array in the dessert.

"Here we are... Liore." Hoenheim waved in the direction of the little town, and started walking towards it.

[Father [Azerik]]

Azerik blinked, as took the time to think about what had just happened.

"Did you just...did we...please do not do that again," Azerik managed to stammer out, "I'd prefer not to be broken apart then hurled several miles at the same speed as a photon, only to be put back together. I prefer walking, and will continue to prefer walking until the day I die."


((You're lack of an explanation for the reaction gave me a lot of room to work with ))

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

((( i did that on purpose... sort of...)))

"sorry but my boys are almost here, and i have been needing to speak with them, for a long time."
Hoenheim turned and started walking toward the main street of Liore.

[Father [Azerik]]

"Well hey wait for me," Azerik said jogging to catch up to Hoenheim, "I haven't seen Ed and Al since they left, and who knows, I might be able to help you out...you think Ed would come running if I shot a laser up into the air like I did in the desert? It worked with you."

As he spoke, Azerik showed Hoenheim the Array tattooed on his left palm. While the Array was intended for combat purposes, like all Alchemy, it could be turned to more pacifist uses.

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim sighed... such an impetuous youth! "I dont think that would be a good idea... I would prefer not to make a spectacle of myself. Besides, I want to attract as little attention as possible. laser canons just aren't subtle." but still, Hoenheim slowed his pace a little to accommodate the hurrying Azerik. "there is a man named Cornello I am coming to check up on. Apparently he can preform miracles..." Hoenheim stopped for a minute and touched his shoulders. little arcs of alchemical lightning shot through his cloak. the color turned mottled white and beige with a cowl and face covering for his nose and mouth. reaching down he grabbed a hand full of sand and made it into a pair of fine tinted glass goggles. reaching down to the ground he used the sub-atomic alchemy to produce a rough looking wooden staff, which he began to lean heavily on with a bent back.

Hoenheim took five paces and turned to look at Azerik, "You coming?" said a crinkly old voice from under the cowl.

[Father [Azerik]]

"A man of many talents it seems," Azerik said with a smile and a shake of his head, "and you should know better than I that miracles are false."

Walking alongside Hoenheim, Azerik decided on an impulse, to have some fun with the situation. "You okay to keep walking granddad?" Azerik said pretending to look at the disguised Heonheim with concern, "I don't know why you wanted to come out here, but we've been in the desert far too long, you should get some rest."

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim glanced up at Azerik and was grateful for his cooperation. "dont you know, whippersnapper? There's a fountain of wine in the town square. Its calling my name." a peeling cackle came out from under the cowl and and a gust of wind blew all around him. The camouflaged cloak making him all but disappear. "You coming, Youngun'? he he haa!"

[Father [Azerik]]

"Yes granddad," Azerik said smiling to himself. He was going to have some fun with this. Walking alongside the disguised Hoenheim, they ventured through Liore, which had changed a lot since Azerik's childhood. Looking around, he thought he saw some familiar faces, but after so many years had passed, he was unsure.

"So what's this about a fountain of wine," Azerik said after a little while, "some rich bastard must be out of some major coin if there's something like that here."

[Dante [Andras]]

(Andras is coming to rain on yall's parade...before Envy brings the thunder and lightning of course. No affiliation. )

He wasn't surprised by the beaming heat in the desert town. He wasn't surprised by the abundance of inadequate morons either. He was surprised however, at the outstanding abundance of religious sheeple. He had seen them before, clinging to epic stories to maintain their emotional sanity, but it was very intriguing when it was used on such large populations. Andras badly wanted something to drink, but he wouldn't approach anyone just yet, he had more observing to do. Patting down his newly sand dusted case he sighed to himself at the sheer pointlessness. It was a shame he ended up in such a disgusting refugee type town to begin with, but even worse when he considered he'd actually have to talk to one of these people. The thought was reviling, but he'd demoted his vocabulary before. It was necessary, because he didn't expect these heathens to get any smarter anytime soon. Closing his eyes to momentarily think himself to a new place, he regained his focus and headed towards the red fountain. After all wine quenched thirst just as well as water did.

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoehnheim bent to grab a cup and dipped it into the fountain. tilting his head back he drank down the wine, transmuting it while it was in his mouth into pure water. he looked around and noticed several people walking about there daily business, doing what they always did. but he also saw someone who was behaving differently. it wasn't like he was fighting or staggering around drunk, but Hoenhiem felt that the way the young man was walking... it looked exactly like a man walking through a herd of another mans sheep or cattle.

[Father [Azerik]]

They had been hanging around the wine fountain for a little while, when Azerik noticed that Hoenheim was looking at some guy walking through the crowd. The guy seemed awkward walking through the mass of people, as if he didn't at all belong in an urban area, where there tons of people.

"That guys sticks out like a sore thumb," Azerik commented to Hoenheim, "what do you think he's doing out here in Liore? He clearly doesn't like it."

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

"patience, son... the truth will out, given time..." hoenheim put the cup back on the hook beside the fountain and stumbled/limped over to a local restaurant. he waited to catch the eye of the fellow behind the counter before saying "two steaks please, and some beer."

[Dante [Andras]]

Andras stopped and sat by the fountain. There was no way he was drinking from something that heathen just drank from. Just when Andras was getting bored he gazed up to see a golden statue of Leto. So this must be their son god. From his past experience he deducted that since these people believed in a set and organized religion that there was no way they could possibly believe in alchemy of all things. Sitting at the fountain was awfully boring, so Andras took his violin out of the case and was just setting the bow onto the string when he heard a very loud shriek. Some vagabond child had made his way to the top of one of the taller Leto statues. While the mother was screaming her head off the child seemed pretty content standing on top of Leto's head. "Oh my, he doesn't even respect false gods!" Andras laughed to himself. No one had gotten close enough to get the child down yet so Andras thought it'd be a fun opportunity to "play around" a bit. Setting his bow onto the E string he began to play an extremely high pitch almost inaudible sound activating the transmutation circle on the back of his "Black Queen". The boy began to wobble and Andras smiled. the child put his hands over his ears to no avail. Once his inner ear was unbalanced so was he. The child wavered for a bit then fell from the top of the statue.

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim saw what was going on and continued to eat, acting like nothing was happening, but underneath he twitched his foot. under the statue a hand made out of sand shot up from the ground and caught the young man, puffing sand everywhere as he landed, then sunk back to the earth. Hoenheim knew the sound of alchemy lightening, no matter what the pitch. hoenheim didn't even look in andras's direction, but turned away and ordered another beer. twitching his other foot he caused a pillar of stone to jut out of the pond sendinga column of wine at the strange young man, then disappearing back into the ground so fast that you would have had to be looking directly at the spot it happened just to see it.

[Father [Azerik]]

Azerik smiled as he watched the events unfold. It was good to see that even in times of seriousness, Hoenheim had a decent sense of humor.

"I'm gonna go talk to that guy," Azerik said clapping the disguised Hoenheim on the shoulder, "draw a simple transmutation circle on the ground with Alchemy, and make it seem as if it were burnt into the earth by a laser...I'll make him think it was me...this guy seems like he needs a bit of an attitude adjustment."

Not waiting for Hoenheim's response, Azerik got off his bar stool, and started heading towards the strange Alchemist at the wine fountain. "That's a pretty nasty stunt you just tried to pull," Azerik would say to the young man as he closed the distance, "but some pretty interesting Alchemy...but wouldn't that be put to better use in a fight against someone your own size and strength? Why waste time picking on children? It won't get you anywhere."

[Dante [Andras]]

Andras quickly droned his G string. The wine paused, vibrating in mid air then plummeted back into the fountain. Andras' eyes became narrow black and red slits as he turned to look at the approaching person without even turning his head. Now this would be fun. Andras stood up to confront Azerik as innocent looking as possible. "Picking on children? What could you possibly mean by that? I'm naught but a street performer. Traveling from city to city, spreading the teachings of Leto!" Andras smiled at his newly found crowd support, besides, it wasn't like the red head could prove he had done something to make the child fall. "Leto has given me this gift of music, and I intend to use it to serve him!" Supporting something he didn't at all believe in was clockwork to Andras. After all he didn't feel like fighting the whole city.

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim had averted catastrophe only to have another one creep up on him. sighing he waved at the man stationed at the grill... "make that to go, please. " turning around he tapped the ground with the butt of his staff, transmuting the carbon in the earth into crisp ashes in the form of the transmutation array Azerik had specified. then he double tapped and transmuted a pressure wave to generate directly in between Azerik and the trouble maker as a safety measure against what he was now sure was acoustical alchemy. he reached into a pouch of metal coins and set seven of them on the counter and made sure that the cook saw them... hoenheim always paid his tabs. suddenly Hoenheim felt a presence of a breathtaking power. he turned to his right and looked directly into the eyes of a giant, instantly realizing that the man could somehow sense him...


**** This is Zohi****


Zohi was sitting at the counter of a local restaurant in Liore minding his own business when a young man pushed rudely past him, headed in the direction of the violinist. He listened to the man accuse the violinist of something or other. it didn't matter what, because at the moment his head was pounding so hard! He paid his bill and got up to leave, drinking the last of his sake, when a feeling of awesome power came from somewhere behind him... turning around he saw only an old man, withered and so bony he could pick his teeth with him... where had it come from? Zohi looked beyond the old man and saw yet another old man, this one was leaning on a cane and had goggles and a face mask on... That was the source! this man had amazing chakras flowing through him, or he would eat his sword. it suddenly occurred to him that both the rude youth and the old man were focused entirely on the violinist, but then the old man turned and looked him dead in the eye. Zohi felt most of his other concerns drift away, along with most of his strength. that gaze was so penetrating. Zohi breathed deeply, snapping out of his trance. he had already taken several stepps away when he had noticed the chakras and now had to walk all the way ba ck over there to ask that old crony just who the hell he thought he was?

[Father [Azerik]]

"Has Leto also given you the power of Alchemy?" Azerik said as he held up his right hand. As he did so, the Array tattooed on his palm would activate, sending a thin beam of light toward the other Alchemist's hands, skimming the one that held the violin, causing the flesh to burn. then, using the beam again, Azerik drew a transmutation circle at his feet, and bent down to activate it.


As the Alchemy did its work, a stone pillar about the thickness of a grown man's arm would erupt from the ground beneath the Alchemist with the violin, knocking his instrument from his hands, exposing the transmutation circle inscribed on the back.

"Besides, you're clearly not from around here," Azerik said smiling at the other guy, "because this is the only place in all of Amestris that worships Leto the Sun God. Spouting blasphemous lies isn't the best way to get on the side of the people you know."

[Dante [Andras]]

Andras quickly caught his violin and played an extremely loud D then slid his finger down the neck until the frequincy matched the pillar of earth and it crumbled. The Andras played the highest E he could muster bending the sound waves into claw formation and slashing Azerik in the arm. "Don't underestimate me you trash, your alchemy is nearly worthless." Andras licked the back of his now red hand in amusement. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to play at your funeral." Andras played another strong D using the sound vibration to push the air into a compressed uniform sphere in front of him he then accented with his bow sending the compressed air hurling towards Azerik.

[Hoenheim Of Light [Zohi]]

Hoenheim was up in a flash, having turned his focus Back to the fight. Hoenheim transmuted a vacuum in the middle of the sphere of air, then transmuted all the highly reflective metals suspended in the air into a thin foil sphere around the head of the musician/alchemist to block any and all light, he was careful however not to cut the young mans head off and left a gap at he bottom. tapping his cane, the ground beneath Azeriks and his own feet vanished, and they fell eight or so feet into an underground tunnel he had been transmuting for some time before the fight. The ground closed with a snap above there heads. hoenheim took a deep breath... "Azerik, son... that wasn't very low key. I understand that what he did was wrong, but that young man is extremely dangerous..."


****Zohi****


Zohi walked patiently over to the street musician... "Did Dante send you here as my contact?" Zohi was begining to think Dante was off her rocker... sending a child into the arms of death like this...