>>19479753 pb

When a prominent alchemist within the King's court created a Homunculus with extensive arcane knowledge of alchemy, the aging monarch saw his chance to transcend his dreaded and inevitable death through immortality. The creature agreed to become the royal court's primary consul on the subject of alchemy-based immortality and persuaded the desperate king to construct an array that would encompass all of Xerxes and use all the people's souls to create a source of immortality. A large trench was dug according to the Homunculus' specifications, while the citizens were given the impression that their dutiful king had ordered the construction of irrigation canals to defend their crops against drought. Beginning with the northern town of Bonath,five towns around the circle were destroyed - the homes burned downand the people and livestock slaughtered -carving a crest of blood into the land.

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However, when it came time to activate the circle, it became immediately apparent that the Homunculus had deceived the court. By fashioning the array around himself and his caretaker instead of around the King, as he had claimed to have done, the Homunculus was able to cleverly steal the lives of Xerxes' citizens, royalty and his creator for himself and use them to create a pair of immortal bodies, each housing half of the nation's souls. Xerxes' entire population was wiped out instantly, leaving only the two immortals to survive as Human Philosopher's Stones. The two parted ways, leaving the dead country of Xerxes behind. However, the Homunculus would return to the site of his sin centuries later to destroy the evidence of what he had done; he had his son Gluttony devour some of the Transmutation Circle that had been inside the castle so as to keep others from realizing the truth behind the fall of Xerxes and the fact that the tragedy was to be repeated.