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geography & timeline

world geography

The story takes place mostly in Amestris, which is currently having minor skirmishes with Aerugo and Creta. The country is ruled by martial law, under Fuhrer/Generalissimo King Bradley. The cultural base is European, possibly German. The majority of Amestris' interest in alchemy is for military purposes.

Mount Fuji is located to the south of Youswell, in the east. Dublith, in the south, is where Izumi Curtis and her husband reside.

Side note: Amestris was the wife of Xerxes. Between Amestris and Ishvar/Ishbar is Xerxes, which was destroyed in one night. According to Greek and Persian legend, Amestris was a Persian princess who had her husband assasinated by their first-born son. Amestris continued to live well on into old age, ruling from behind the throne. She was characterized as ruthless and powerful, and Amestris' son was considered by all reports to be essentially under her thumb and helpless to cross her.

Aerugo

Located south of Amestris.

Creta

Located west of Amestris. May be Crete, based on the kana in the manga.

Drachma

A hostile country located north of Amestris; sometimes translated as Drachna, but has been identified in the manga as Drachma. The Briggs Mountains separate Drachma and Amestris, which makes invasion for either country too much of a hassle. Side note: Drachma is also the pre-Euro currency in Greece.

Xing

A country far to the east of Amestris, across the Great Desert, with a Chinese cultural base. There are several routes to Xing. The first is a rail system that was buried in the desert; the second is a route through the Khshayarsha (Xerxes) ruins; the third is by sea. Xing has alchemy, but appears to be for medical purposes and research.

Isshuvaru

Located east of Amestris, Isshuvaru (Ishbar, or Ishvar) was annexed by Amestris during the Ishver Civil Conflict. The cultural base may be Indian or Middle Eastern, with a suggested compromise interpretation of Persian. The Ishvarites are monotheists — Ishvara means 'god' in Sanskrit — who do not believe in, or allow, alchemy. The Ishvarites' proximity to the ruined city of Xerxes (possibly destroyed through alchemical reaction) may be partly reason for their ban on Alchemy.

Many thanks to yebyosh, yuuOminae, OMchan, sarcasteak, BigFire, on the AnimeSuki Forum.

timeline

The first anime (known as Fullmetal in the tags) followed the manga with some changes, up to about the 15th episode (corresponding with chapters 24-6). After that point, the two storylines diverged. The following short and long times refer to the first anime storyline, but in general terms, the information also applies to the mangaverse/Brotherhood.

Note from Sol: this timeline was compiled by Vikki for this site, due to my own confusion about what happened at which chronological points. While I never did edit my stories to correct my confusion, newcomers to the storyline may find these timelines helpful, so I've kept them on the site. Quick version with minor details is listed first; scroll down for a more extensive and detailed version of events up to episode 13.

overview, first anime

When Edward is younger than 4...

...4-7 years old...

...8-10 years old...

...11 years old...

...12 years old...

...15 years old...

detailed, first anime

In ep 3 we find out about Ed and Al's past.

  1. We find out about Winly's parents dying in the Ishbal Civil Wars; Ed and Al are maybe 5 or 6.
  2. Ed and Al's father is MIA, and their mother gets sick and dies when they're 7 and 8.
  3. Ed and Al get a sensei to teach them alchemy more thoroughly right after their mother's death, and remain with her presumably about a year.
  4. Ed and Al come back home and attempt human alchemy after a little while, at the age of 10 and 11, and end up with their bodies. Ed loses his leg and Al loses his whole body when they attempt to resurrect their mom; Ed loses his arm when he affixes his brother's soul to the armor.
  5. This is when Roy shows up and tells them to go take the test to become Nat'l Alchemists.
  6. Ed learns to use his automail within one year; Ed and Al leave for Central City to take the test at the ages of 11 and 12.

Ed: 5-12 years old; Al: 4-11 years old.

Insert stupid ep 4 filler goodness here. Absolutely not important to the series. In ep 5, Ed and Al prove they can become Nat'l Alchemists.

  1. Ed calls Roy from the train station - this is the first time he's talked to Roy since the day of the failed transmutation. Roy orders them onto the train that has the hijackers on it.
  2. Ed and Al meet Farman and Hughes on the train.
  3. Roy meets them at the train station, and reveals he's the Flame Alchemist. (this is the first time Ed finds out Roy is an Alchemist.)
  4. Roy snarks at Ed and informs him that it's only because he stopped the hijackers that Ed and Al are able to take the Nat'l Alchemist Exam. In other words, he put them on that train so they would have the chance to prove they could become alchemists and manipulated them shamelessly. Ed is deeply disillusioned over Roy.

Ed: 12 years old; Al: 11 years old.

In ep 6, Ed and Al go to live with Shou Tucker.

  1. Roy introduces Ed and Al to Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist. He has made one successful human-speaking chimera, which earned him his Nat'l Alchemist watch. Ed and Al are supposed to study for the exam with Tucker.
  2. Ed and Al make good friends with Tucker's daughter Nina.
  3. On Ed's b-day while they are still studying for the Nat'l exam, Hughes invites Ed, Al, and Nina over. Alicia is born that day, and Ed accidentally heats up water using the clapping technique of alchemy.
  4. Ed and Al both pass the first part of the exam, but Al drops out because the physical exam would reveal his state as a suit of armor. Ed goes on to pass the exam alone, using the clapping technique (which he perfects here).

In ep 7, we find out more about Tucker and company.

  1. Nina reveals that her mother left her father two years before because Tucker was a 'good-for-nothing'. But when Ed gets suspicious and checks with Hughes, Hughes says that Tucker's wife died two years before.
  2. Ed also checks at the Nat'l Alchemist Library to find out more about Tucker, but the files are sealed. As he leaves he meets Scar accidentally, and sees Scar's alchemical arm.
  3. Ed gets his Nat'l Alchemist watch w/out any pomp because of a prowling serial killer who only slashes up women.
  4. Brigadier General Basque Grahn, who seems to be supervising Tucker, tells Tucker he HAS to do well on the annual Nat'l Alchemist Evaluation because Ed is showing him up. Grahn dislikes Mustang intensely, and resents that the young bright Elric is under Mustang's supervision.
  5. Grahn kicks Ed and Al out of Tucker's house (because of Ed's poking around, presumably), so they stay in the barracks.
  6. Ed and Al go to visit Nina and find out she's been made into a chimera. Turns out the first talking chimera was made from Tucker's 'dead' wife.
  7. Grahn covers it up, taking Nina and Tucker and ordering Ed to stay silent. Ed stops Grahn from taking them, but Nina runs away. She finds Scar, who discovers she is a creature made from alchemy and destroys her as a 'mercy'. Ed and Al find her remains splattered on an alley wall.

In Ep 8, Winly comes to call and Ed angsts over Nina.

  1. Tucker is executed.
  2. Ed thinks the woman-slasher serial killer killed Nina, but he is not put on the serial killer case, he is ordered to research Tucker's chimera. He resents this.
  3. Al discovers Tucker has texts on the Philosopher's Stone in the room where the chimera are and thinks it's a possible way to get back their bodies.
  4. Ed quits being a Nat'l Alchemist so he can research on Nina's death freely.
  5. Al meets the Fuhrer, who encourages him to research the Stone and reveals the information is only in Nat'l Alchemist libraries; he also meets with Hawkeye (first interaction between them we see onscreen).
  6. Winly comes to town while Ed is researching the serial killer. He gets to meet the killer up-close and personal when he kidnaps Winly, and later Ed. The killer's name is Barry the Chopper, and he is proven innocent of Nina's death.
  7. Ed returns to being a Nat'l Alchemist offscreen sometime, and asks Roy if he may research the Philosopher's Stone in between military business. Roy agrees to it.

In ep 9, Roy sends Ed to Youswell on his second mission as a Nat'l Alchemist (his first was researching Tucker's chimera.) Nothing really important happens here, but:

  1. Ed launches his name as a National Alchemist who Benefits the People in that town. We hear this from Hawkeye as she gives her report to Roy.
  2. Roy is informed by General Hakuro of his imminent promotion to Colonel from Lt. Colonel, and of his deployment to East City.

Immediately following Hawkeye telling Roy that Ed is going to known as this helpful alchemist, we cut to three years later, and Ed and Al are 15 and 14 and riding a taxi through the desert, and the driver is talking about how wonderful the National Alchemist who Helps the People is. He then insults Ed by calling the Nat'l Alchemist who does this amazing stuff short, causing the driver to run off in panic. Ed and Al are now stranded in the desert, which sets us up for ...Ep 1, where Ed and Al start to set a city straight.

  1. Ed and Al are now after the Philosopher's Stone full-swing, and follow rumors of it just about anywhere.
  2. We discover the Nat'l Alchemist watch amplifies the power of an alchemist (probably their stamina, since it doesn't seem like alchemy is limited too much by natural ability, only by alchemical arrays.)
  3. We see Lust and Gluttony, the first of the Sins. Their goal is unclear, but they orchestrated Lior having a 'Stone', and seem to be after Edward.
  4. Envy is introduced, but in the form of the corrupt priest Cornello - Envy is a shapeshifter.
  5. It's a fake Stone, so Ed and Al leave in disgust. but not before Al starts telling a Lior resident about their past, so that they will not repeat the Elric mistakes. Cue long flashback episode set from episodes 3 to 9.

Ed: 15 years old; Al: 14 years old.

In ep 10, Ed doesn't want to go back to East City to report to Colonel Roy Mustang because of his failure to obtain the Stone. They detour to Aquaroya and meet Psiren ... which is completely irrelavant to the storyline. Psiren directs Edward to Xenotime on rumors of the Stone, and Ed follows her advice.

In episodes 11 and 12, Ed and Al are replaced by impostors in the city of Xenotime!

  1. Xenotime is a has-been city that used to harvest gold, and they seek the Philosopher's Stone so they can harvest gold again.
  2. The imposters are the sons of an alchemist who was working tightly with a substance called red water, an important ingredient of the Philosopher's Stone. They are carrying on their father's work under Magwar, the man who seems to run Xenotime.
  3. Ed and Al meet the brothers and discover they are learning how to crystallize red water, which makes an imperfect Philosopher's Stone. However, the red water itself is toxic to humans and is slowly killing the inhabitants of Xenotime.
  4. One person has been able to cure the red water sickness, which was killing infants. This was a man named Dr. Marco, who used something that produced a red light to heal the sick children.
  5. It turns out Lust was organizing this one, too, and is behind Magwar. She abandons the plan when the fake brothers get cold feet.
  6. Ed, Al, and the fake brothers destroy the red water supply, and Ed and Al finally depart for Central.

In episode 13, two manga omake are combined to make a crazy episode that's pretty much pure fun. Plot points, however, are as follows.

  1. The Fuhrer and company all flee to East City at the news that a man known only as Scar is killing Nat'l Alchemist in Central.
  2. Edward finds out from Roy that Dr. Marco is still alive, and Roy tells him where to find Marco.
  3. The inhabitants of Lior are rioting, stirred into a frenzy against the government by the fake high priest Cornello (Envy in disguise). Roy decides to hide this fact from Ed.
  4. Scar finds out the Nat'l Alchemists have fled to East City. He has a new destination.

This concludes the anime timeline of Eps 1-13. The rest of the series through episode 27, barring flashbacks, is in chronological order.

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page last modified: 28 Nov 2010