26 Legends (Part 2 - Old Ishval)

Some true stories become so old that they fade into legends and with the passage of time, they just turn into myths. The story of Ishval is also like that. Why the Ishvalans consider alchemy a taboo? Why do we consider alchemy a disrespect toward all the creation of God? The answers to all these questions are at the ruins of Ishval City, and by Ishval, I do not mean the city which was destroyed by the Amestrian military in a civil war. The Ishval which was destroyed by the military is being reconstructed, but there existed another Ishval city, the true one, which was destroyed centuries ago, and at the heart of the city, there existed the temple of God Ishvala.

The city was very prosperous and was a global hub for trade. Traders from various countries used to come there for trade, in fact, many traders called Ishval the golden bird. But, there were not only rich people in the city, but there were also the poor who were living among them. Even though there was a difference in the lifestyle of the people, there was one thing common. They all worshipped God Ishvala. Everyone was allowed inside the temple and pray to the God of all creation. It's quite unbelievable when you think that how can such a prosperous city turned to ruin. Well, the reason was a single man and his desire.

It is believed that there was a man who came from some other land, and he brought the knowledge of alchemy with him. He selected only one individual and took that person with him to teach alchemy. After a few years, the Ishvalan man who went with the alchemist came back to the city. He started showing other people what he can do using alchemy, which fascinated other people. Now he started taking disciples and teach them alchemy, but even though everyone wanted to learn alchemy, it was not an easy task. Only a few people were able to learn alchemy. The new alchemists of Ishval then started using alchemy to fix broken houses during any natural disaster or fixing objects which got broken due to an accident. Alchemy was good until they fixed inanimate objects, but one day the master alchemists healed a dying old woman using alchemy. It's a taboo even among the alchemists to bring back someone from the dead or to perform alchemy on a human being. And the alchemist performed both. He did something which he was not supposed to do. And because of the sin he committed, the whole city had to suffer the wrath of God Ishvala.

After few years of the incident, God Ishvala appeared at Ishval in the form of a monster to punish all the Ishvalans who thought alchemy was a good thing. God Ishvala punished most of the alchemists and destroyed the temple. The God ordered the remaining Ishvalans to leave the city forever and never to perform alchemy again. From that day onward, alchemy was considered a taboo and no one ever practiced it. And each resident of the city left their home to build a new one at the place we are sitting right now.

[Ishval]

Scar finished up telling the story to a group of Ishvalan children sitting under a roofless building, which meant to be a temporary school. The actual teacher was standing beside Scar, listening to the story very carefully like other children present there. Her name was Sheela. She was young, and she was given the role of a teacher by the elders of Ishval. After Scar finished up the story, she looked toward him and smiled.

"Thank you very much, Sir, for giving some of your time to the children," Sheela said.

"It's my pleasure," Scar replied.

Meanwhile, a girl stood up and asked, "Where is the Old Ishval, Sir?"

Before Scar could reply, someone interrupted, "It's just a few miles away from here. How about we go there tomorrow, you can all see the magnificent work done by our ancestors."

It was Scar's Master who interrupted. He was standing at the entrance of the building.

Even after making peace with Amestris and rebuilding Ishval, Scar's Master looked the same. His head was still like a shiny cue ball and he still maintained a big mustache.

After hearing Master's offer, all the children jumped with happiness. And Upon watching his master, Scar went to him. Both of them then left the children with Sheela and went toward Master's house. While they were walking, Master smiled, "It's good to see you getting along with people"

"I am just trying to contribute something like everyone else," Scar said.

"You are the hero of Ishval after all, you have already contributed the most," Master praised.

Scar didn't want to be praised throughout the way, so he paused for a moment and asked, "So why did you came all the way to meet me in person?"

"You must be knowing about the Ishvalan Freedom Front or IFF," Master said.

"Yes…I was once like them, taking revenge from the military that destroyed my home, and killed my people…I can't believe that now I am helping the same military to rebuild my home," Scar said with disbelief.

"Have you heard about a man named Thomas Maxwell?" Master asked.

"No," Scar replied.

"According to the military sources, he is the current leader of IFF. Till now, IFF has killed almost 20 Amestrian soldiers in cold blood, they are even influencing other Ishvalans to join them," Master sighed and continued, "we were once a peaceful community, but now we are turning into terrorists. We can't afford another war son, we have already lost too much. If we lose any more, then I am afraid we can't heal."

In the meantime, they had reached Master's house. There was no door on the entrance, although it was covered with a red curtain. First, the master entered inside then Scar followed him into the house. When Scar entered, he saw a skinny Amestrian man sitting on a chair, it was Richard.

Richard was the maths teacher at Military School, who helped to kidnap Oliver. The military was searching for him for the murder of Oliver, and neither Scar nor his master was aware that he was being searched for the murder of a child.