Tales of the Wandering Peace Maker: Chapter II

Tales of the Wandering Peace Maker: Chapter II

Chapter II:
The Torment of Jakob Alonphae

From the Notes of Colonel Roy Mustang

Entry 4: July 22

Later that day, after everything had been settled, I invited my newest acquaintance for a drink. Upon the evening, we visited a local tavern, where many regular customers had already gathered. We took a seat at the counter and waited for the bartender to come to us. As we waited, I attempted to make casual conversation.

Eventually, he came to ask me, "Why are we here?"

"Well, didn't I invite you? You should be honored..." I chuckled to myself as the bartender came by with a glass of scotch for me. I paid it no mind, but instead listened to his reply.

"What I mean is, what are we doing in a tavern? If you wanted to discuss the rumors around this city, we could have used a private room, or even your hotel suite..."

"But that would have made it easier for others to eavesdrop on our conversation. Those MPs are too annoying...They pry into everything. The military does not need to know who you are just yet, and I intend to keep their eyes and ears away from you until we can dispel these troubling rumors."

"I see...Well then, what would you like to know?"

"I want to know why you came to this city, and why you have been dodging the military's gaze for so long."

"I understand. The reason I am hiding..."

"Wait a moment. We have guests."

Two MPs had just walked through the door. Though they pretended to be having a friendly discussion, I saw them glance over in our direction. They were on the lookout for Jakob, and they must have guessed that he was sitting next to me. I had to dissuade them from confronting the blind alchemist. As they approached, I stood up and saluted. They seemed surprised to see me, but they quickly recovered themselves and returned the salute.

"What can I help you with, gentlemen?"

"We'd like to have a word with your friend, Colonel," one of them said. "He looks exactly like the Peace Maker described to us by Captain Hawkeye."

"I assure you, this man is not the Peace Maker. He only arrived in this city two days ago, returning from a business trip. He is a talented alchemist, and I recommended him for the State Alchemist qualification exam."

"Oh...I, umm...I see...Sorry to bother you, then."

"Don't apologize to me..."

I gestured to the crowd who had stopped everything and now focused glaringly on the two embarrassed MPs.

"You've caused quite a scene. I suggest that you conduct your business elsewhere."

They saluted, offered an apology to the citizens, and then rushed out to continue their search. Regular activity resumed soon after they left. Jakob stood from his seat; together, we left the tavern in favor of a more private venue.

"It seems I was mistaken...I had no idea that the military was performing routine patrols..."

"At least nothing serious happened. Now, perhaps we should retreat to your hotel room. We can talk more there. Where have you taken lodging?"

-----

Thirty minutes later, the two alchemists sat down in the private confines of Mustang's hotel room. The manager guaranteed their privacy, so they were free to talk. The Colonel wrote a few notes in his journal, and then looked back up at the blind man.

"Now then...why don't you tell me exactly how these events have come to pass?"

"Very well. My interest in alchemy began when I witnessed a transmutation for the first time..."

Sixteen-year-old Jakob Alonphae ran through the town of Jinnheim to his home, a broken blade in his hands. He rushed into his father's study, where Master Alonphae was reading over some of his research.

"Dad! Dad!"

Master Alonphae closed the book filled with his notes and leaned over his desk, looking down at his son.

"What's the matter, Jakob?"

"Eve said you could fix this if you had all the pieces."

He showed the blade to his father, who sighed and rose from his chair.

"That Eve Grady," he said as he knelt down to the carpet and pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket. "...She can't rely on me forever...Oh, Jakob, have I ever showed you alchemy?"

"You always tell me about it, but I%u2019ve never seen it," said Jakob, watching his father start to draw a transmutation circle on the carpet.

"Then watch carefully, son...It is a brand of magics the likes of which you have never seen before...Now, have you brought all the fragments of the sword?"

Jakob emptied his pockets of the shard of the sword and placed them inside the circle on the carpet, then placed the hilt into the circle as well. Master Alonphae saw the cuts on his hands, but he said nothing. Instead, he closed his eyes, focused on the circle before him and touched his hands to the outside part of the circle. The circle began to glow gold as the shards flew about the room, reorganizing into the shape of a blade. Finally, the metal itself glowed brightly as the fragments fused together to create a full blade, which then dropped gently into Jakob's hands. The younger Alonphae stared wide-eyed in amazement at the fixed weapon. After thanking his father repeatedly, he left the house once more, most likely to visit the Grady residence. As he left, however, Master Alonphae began to wonder if Jakob cared enough about the young daughter of the blacksmith to carry her broken sword in his bare hands.

"...As you can imagine, I was intrigued by the transmutation that I saw that day. Soon, I was practicing it in my spare time, and after a while, I became quite a talented alchemist, just as my father was. At eighteen, I started working in a mine shaft, where my alchemic power and my knowledge of ore deposits came in handy. I was even allowed to take home some of the gems that I found myself, and with some help from the blacksmith Philip Grady, I created jewelry from the gemstones, which quickly sold to the townspeople. Using this money, I decided to start a life of my own and left Jinnheim. I could no longer burden my father with my presence, as he was performing top-secret research for the military, pouring all his funds into that research.

"I found a home in the nearby town of Gramm, where I was given a warm welcome. After finding lodging, I became friends with a medic there, named Gole Firanju. He was also an alchemist, and he used his powers to create medicines for those who had fallen ill. He willing to help those injured in mine shaft accidents, such as cave-ins, and in return, I brought home many minerals from the mine shaft, which he then used to craft medicines. We made a great team, and money was never a problem. Over the next year, we became close friends, and we brought a lot of happiness to the town.

"Just before my twentieth birthday, we walked from Gramm to Jinnheim to celebrate in my town of birth. It took just less than three days, and since we arrived at midday, I took the time to introduce Gole to all my childhood friends. Even Father convinced his superiors to let him take a rest from his research to celebrate with me. After the celebration, we spent two days of rest before returning to Gramm...I remember looking back on the town and seeing Father on the hill, waving goodbye to us...

"Once we returned to Gramm, things almost went back to normal. I continued to harvest gems from the mines, and Gole continued to help people with his knowledge of the healing arts. One day, however, Gole was recruited by the military to serve as a medic. I have not seen him since. I sometimes think that he died, but part of me believes that he is still alive, serving a distant faction of the military.

"In any case, after Gole left, I was a bit depressed, but I continued to work. After another month, I received word that Gole was doing very well in the military. Apparently, he had been given the rank of Major for unspoken courage under fire. I was glad to hear that, but I still feared for my dear friend's safety. All thoughts of the matter, however, were put aside when I got an urgent call from Eve Grady, telling me to come back to Jinnheim as quickly as I could. I boarded the next train to Jinnheim and hurried to my good friend, who recounted a tale of a horrible encounter..."

Jakob and his father sat with Eve and Philip Grady in the living room of the Alonphae manor. Eve wept the entire time, traumatized by what had taken place, and Philip's attempts to comfort her did little good. While Philip tried again and again to soothe his daughter, Master Alonphae recounted the event to his son.

"Someone broke into their house?!"

"Yes, he broke through a window on the first story and attacked Eve. Phil came in to see what was happening, and he immediately started a fight with the bandit. He put up a good struggle, but in the end, the thief's knife was at his throat. I came in by chance, since I had a question for Mr. Grady, and I saw the thief menacing Philip, ready to kill him. I distracted him long enough for Phil to grab his weapon and knock him out. MPs from East City came here and took him in to be tried at East City."

"Did he have any reason to attack them specifically? What I mean is, were they just victims by chance?"

"No, we think he had some kind of ulterior motive, but the MPs won't tell us anything."

Jakob's fist clenched tightly, and his face contorted with rage.

"That bastard...He's going to pay for this."

"No, Jakob...Don't be taken in by revenge...It may bring you relief, but in the end, your deeds will be tainted with blood. There is no glory in a bloody deed. You must stay here and make sure that this doesn't happen again."

"...Father's words angered me. Eve had just been attacked; I wanted revenge. When I thought it, however, he made perfect sense. This sense calmed me and allowed me to make a rational decision. I decided to move in with the Grady's and stay there, making sure that nothing else would ever threaten their lifestyles again. I left for Gramm and gathered my things, then returned to Jinnheim. When I arrived, however, the Gradys were not in their home. I became suspicious...I left my things at the house and went around the town, finally arriving at my father's manor. As I entered, I heard the clanging of steel upon steel. This was not Philip's hammer at the smithy; these were the sounds of battle. I rushed into Father's study to see what was happening..."

Jakob burst through the door of the study and saw Eve and Philip watching attentively as Master Alonphae, wielding an axe, fended off a man with a spear.

"Dad, what's going on?!"

"Jakob, stay out of this! This man says he's come to exact vengeance for sending that thief to prison!"

They clashed weapons, but neither was able to shake the other's stance. They flew apart, smashing into the bookcases behind them and spilling entire shelves onto the floor. They stood and clashed again, but Master Alonphae had the upper hand this time. He caught the enemy's spear with his axe and pushed it away, then slashed upward, causing blood to spurt from a gash in the man's torso. He stepped back, clutching his wound and panting heavily.

"Kill the bastard! Quit toyin' wi' 'im," shouted Philip, angered by Master Alonphae's unwillingness to kill.

"No! I refuse to sink to his level!"

"He's too dangerous! Ya haven' got a choice!"

The man lunged, but Master Alonpahe was ready. He jumped aside and swung wide with his battle axe, carving into the attacker's side once more. The man winced as pain shot through him again. More blood spilled onto the floor as he dropped to his knees, weakened from blood loss. Master Alonphae stepped forth and looked down upon the injured man.

"Now is your chance to surrender and live. I don't like to kill, but if we continue, I will have no choice."

The man said nothing, but instead answered by thrusting his spear. Master Alonphae dodged aside, but the man thrusted again. They continued to play this game, the killer attacking and Master Alonphae dodging, until Jakob saw the man grin and swing wide. His staff blocked the blow just before it hit Master Alonphae's unguarded head.

"Jakob, I told you to-"

"Dad, this guy was about to kill you. Did you really think I would just stand back and let you die?!"

Master Alonphae chuckled to himself.

"You're awfully courageous, son...I'm glad to see you're determined. But the fight is mine now. Just stand back and watch."

"No, Dad. I won%u2019t let you die!"

Jakob turned back to Philip and Eve.

"Eve, go call East City for help! Phil, give us a hand!"

Master Alonphae let out a sigh as Eve left the room and Philip joined them, a broadsword in his hands.

"You're also very stubborn...No matter. I just hope you know what you%u2019re doing..."

"I know it too well, Dad."

"Let's get 'im!!"

The three men charged, weapons ready to strike. The thief drew a piece of paper from his pocket and put it to the ground, clamping it to the floor with his hand. A light flashed, and spikes suddenly shot up from the ground. Father, son and blacksmith blocked the alchemy and struck at the criminal three ways, slicing him up and down and knocking him back against the wall across the room. He fell to the floor, unconscious and barely alive. Master Alonphae and Philip both heaved a sigh of relief and put away their weapons.

"Tha' was close...Don' be doin' tha' again anytime soon, eh?"

"I understand," he replied. The alchemist then turned to his son and said, "Jakob...Thank you. Because of your help, we lived to see another day. Well done, Jakob...Jakob?"

Jakob was holding his hands just in front of his face.

"...Jakob...? Son, what's wrong?"

"...Dad...I can't...I can't see...I'm holding my hands right here, but...I can't see them...What's going on...? Dad, what%u2019s happening to me? What's going on?"

Unable to understand what was happening, Jakob let out a horrible cry of agony. He clawed weakly at his face, as if trying to free his sight.

"Dad...Dad, help me...Help me, please...Dad...Father...Father!!"

"...No one else understood what was going on at the time, but I found out later that I had gone blind from adrenaline letdown. I would have recovered, but no one knew that I could've recovered, and I made a rash decision...I used a hot knife to...to cut transmutation circles into my eyes. Once the damage was done, I told my father to tell me about his research."

"And...? What did he tell you?"

"...He had been...researching the Stone of Sages."

"...Was this research authorized?"

"Yes. He was working with a soldier named Marco, who was said to be the authority on the Stone."

"Marco...You mean the Crystal Alchemist, Tim Marco?"

"Yes...They had been research partners...Father showed me the incomplete Stone...and I used it...to power my transmutation circles."

"...Did you see the gate?"

"Somehow, yes...I was asked for a toll. In that exchange, I gave up my sight."

"Your eyes?"

"No, my sight. Though my eyes remained, I was blind from that point on. I am unsure what happened in the house when this reaction occurred, but when Eve told me about it, she said that I was glowing bluish-white as the incomplete Stone dissolved into my eyes. Father told me that, when I opened my eyes again, the transmutation circles were glowing gold."

"Then your transmutation was successful. You were able to infuse yourself directly with the Stone of Sages. That explains how your power reaches such strong levels...Now, what happened afterwards?"

"My father abandoned his research and gave Marco his notes, saying that he would be able to make a better Stone of Sages, even a complete one. I did not believe it at the time, but Father had done so to prevent myself or the Gradys from suffering further. Since he was out of a job, however, he needed support. It was a mere stroke of luck that I had moved in with the Gradys, but now I would be able to support my father by working with Philip at his smithy. While I learned to move around on my own, with some help from Eve, I also used my new alchemic skill to forge and repair weapons at the smithy. Together, Master Grady and I made enough money to support both of our families. After a year, my father opened his own business, and I decided to head out on my own once more, now that he could support himself. I gathered up my money and packed up everything I owned, then boarded the next train for the Central City area."

"You never went to Central...I assume you ended up here somehow..."

"Correct. I disliked the bustling city, but this place was an exception. The citizens were very polite, and I had everything I needed within the city. There was only one problem: crime was everywhere. Bandits and murderers ran rampant. It was a disgusting sight...if you pardon the expression."

"...So you decided to do something about it."

"Indeed. I began capturing the criminals and sending them to the authorities in Central City. The people of the city took a liking to me and dubbed me their guardian, calling me 'Peace Maker' for the effects my efforts had on the city. Rumors began leaking out through the tourists who heard about me, and the military came to investigate, so I was forced into hiding."

"But why would you need to hide from the military? It could not be for your own benefit..."

"No...This is for my father%u2019s sake. He abandoned the research on the Stone of Sages without authorization, and he deserted the military in the middle of a war. Thus, he is being treated as a traitor. If the military captured me, they could use me to draw my father back into service and force him to continue his research. I do not want that."

"I understand...and I may have a solution."

Jakob was intrigued. He leaned forward in his seat as Mustang continued.

"If you came with me to Central City and became a State Alchemist, there would be no danger regarding your father. He would be put under my discretion, and I could give him all the protection a colonel can offer. In addition, if the rumors about you here are suddenly silenced..."

"...Then even if you were unable to protect my father, they still would not be able to find him...You are a great tactician, Colonel Mustang. You should play chess."

Mustang smiled inwardly.

"There is only one concern I hold...What will happen to the city if you leave?"

"Since I have rid this place of criminals in the past, it will be easy to tell if a tourist is a thief or not. The local police will deal with the rest."

"Very well. Come back here in the morning with your things, and we'll head for Central City."

Jakob nodded and stood to leave, but Mustang had another question to ask.

"Jakob...Your transmutation circles...Let me see them."

Jakob turned around and smiled before approaching the colonel, removing his sunglasses and opening his eyes. The transmutation circles really were there, carved into his eyes and scarred over for eternity. The circles overlapped empty grey eyes, and they still emanated a slight glow of gold. At the center of each of the circles was a lightning bolt, which was most likely added after he discovered his abilities.

"That is all, thank you."

"Not at all. See you tomorrow morning, then..."

Jakob put his sunglasses back on and left the apartment building. As he closed the door, Mustang could not help but wonder how Jakob had known how to use the incomplete Stone of Sages.