Short Summary: Edward and Alphonse Elric are a pair of alchemists who have traveled to the desert town of Lior, a seeming paradise ruled by a man who calls himself the prophet of the Sun God Leto. This man can even do miracles, it is said. But things aren't always quite what they seem...

Characters Introduced:
Edward Elric
Alphonse Elric
Rose
Cornello

Full Summary: On the first page, we see a flashback. On this flashback, young Edward Elric kneels in pain by a runed circle, his leg cut off at the knee and bleeding. But that isn't what he is crying for - no, it's that he's lost Alphonse. Turn the page, however, and the reader finds themselves in the desert town of Lior listening to a radio broadcast. An older Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse, who is wearing a large suit of armor, are sitting at a café, listening to the sermon that is spoken throughout the town. They think it odd, but the owner of the café finds the two of them even odder. After all, Alphonse is wearing a suit of armor in this heat, and Edward is wearing a long jacket and long black pants. When they are asked what they are there for (the owner assumes that they are street performers), the pair just replies that they are looking for something and ask about the broadcast. It turns out that the man talking is Cornello, the founder of Lior and prophet of the Sun God Leto. According to the townsfolk, he has been gifted with a power of miracles. Edward, however, is uninterested in religion. When the pair get up to leave, however, Alphonse accidentally knocks into the café's ceiling, causing the radio to crash to the ground and break. He then bends down to the ground and draws an ornate circle. Then, crossing his palms over it, a flash of light emits from it, and when it dies down, the radio is as good as new.

The café owner is shocked that these boys can do things similar to Cornello. However, they merely explain that they are alchemists; the Elric Brothers. One of the townspeople has heard of them. The elder of the two is an Alchemist of the State, the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric. Unfortunately, they identify the wrong one as the elder brother (mostly because the suit of armor would make sense now with the Fullmetal bit), and have to suffer Ed's wrath when they call him short.

Then, enter young Rose to buy some offerings for the church. She's a cheerful girl, and as she leaves, the townspeople comment on how she has become so happy because of Cornello's teachings. After all, she has no relatives, and her boyfriend died in an accident. However, Cornello's teachings promise rebirth to the faithful who die. Ed, of course, finds this fishy. We then zoom over to the room where Cornello is preaching over the microphone, and after his sermon is over, Rose enters the room and offers the things she had bought. Cornello then comments that she is gaining favor in Leto's eyes and that it is not quite time for her miracle to occur.

The Elric Brothers then go to the church, where they meet Rose again. She explains her view on the whole religion thing (even commenting that praying will help Ed to grow taller), but Ed is very skeptical on the whole bringing-the-dead-back-to-life thing. After all, he has the entire list of materials that a single average adult human body is made up of. Scientists know that much, and yet still bringing back the dead is forbidden in alchemy. Rose comments on his arrogance, and then Edward comments about a certain legend: the boy with wings of wax who flew too close to the sun and plummeted to the earth.

Next, we watch as Cornello performs several more miracles such as transforming a small flower into a large one. Edward and Alphonse are positive at this point that he is using alchemy, but he is ignoring the laws. After all, all alchemists have to follow the basic law of conservation of mass, or put simply, equivalent exchange. For example, you can't make a pound of flour out of an ounce of it. You also need to work with similar elements (unless, of course, one is really skilled). But Cornello isn't following these laws, so the brothers begin to suspect that they have found what they are looking for. So, Ed asks Rose to get them an interview with the prophet.

When Cornello hears about this, he gets worried. He's certainly heard of the Elric Brothers and their connections to the military, and he now believes that the military has caught on to his desert paradise. So, he sends his acolyte to fetch them, saying that it would be better if they were disposed of. So, when the brothers and Rose enter the room with the prophet, the acolyte pulls out a gun, sticks it in the eye socket of Alphonse's armor, and shoots the boy's helmet off. Other acolytes then pull out long blades and block Ed from moving as said acolyte aims a gun at the boy. Before that can happen, however, Alphonse gets up and grabs said gun, giving Ed enough time to escape. However, Rose is freaked out - Alphonse has no head or body! Apparently, it is a punishment for trespassing in God's domain. When Rose still believes in Cornello, however, the brothers ask her if she has the guts to see the truth.

Edward and Alphonse then confront Cornello himself. They point out the problems with his alchemy ignoring the laws, and then ask him if his ring with a red stone on it is actually a Philosopher's Stone. And yes, it is indeed the legendary Philosopher's Stone. Edward comments that he's been looking for that. Then, Cornello (foolishly) divulges his entire plan about gathering believers who aren't afraid to die so that he can take over the country. Edward, however, does not care about what happens to the country - he just wants Cornello to hand over the Stone, and if he does, Ed won't tell the people of Lior the truth. Cornello then refuses, saying that his "stupid" believers won't believe a thing they say. Unfortunately for him, Alphonse then opens his armor and reveals Rose inside. The townspeople would probably listen to her, and she's been listening this entire time. Rose is upset - has everything she's believed in been an entire lie? Cornello then tells her that although he may not be a messenger of a god, he is still capable of bringing back the dead. She then walks toward Cornello, appologizing to the Elrics but unable to give up a chance to have her lover brought back.

Cornello then pulls a lever on the wall and reveals a creature, part lion, part lizard, called a Chimera, that would now attack the Elric Brothers. Edward is not frightened, however; instead, he merely claps his hands and places them on the ground, causing alchemical sparks, and suddenly he has transmuted a spear from the ground. Cornello wonders how the boy managed to transmute without a circle. However, the chimera breaks the spear easily and claws at the boy's left leg. He, however, is unharmed and throws a kick at the beast. Cornello then orders the chimera to bite Ed. When the creature chomps down on Ed's right arm, however, it doesn't taste flesh. After Ed kicks it off of him, he then tears off his jacket, revealing a metal prosthetic right arm (and, consequently, left leg) called automail. And now Cornello understands: this is why Edward Elric is called the Fullmetal Alchemist.