The world as we know it was virtually changed some time ago. No one can remember how long. Maybe it was centuries, maybe only decades, but the length of time doesn't really matter now. What matters is how the human race has changed, some would say evolved, after this incident.

It is said that giant ships appeared in the sky, and that bright lights rained down on earth, shattering our cities, boiling our waters, until someone fired back, sending our own shining lights into the sky. When our weapons hit those lights it is said that the sky itself caught fire, and that over two thirds of humanity was lost in those flames. A short time later the sky ships plummeted to earth as well, and since then they have disappeared.

In the time that followed this event, what we now call the Blinding, humanity was changed. Maybe it was because of the lights, or the fire, or maybe our own weapons did this, but we were changed. It didn't happen all at once, and not to every man, woman, and child, but soon people with odd powers emerged. At first they were thought of as gods, or demons, but then it grew so common people stopped caring what they were. People with such powers have since become shunned by society in most small towns and villages, but they can become wealthy and famous if they know the right cities to visit.

And what might these powers be? It is called alchemy, the ability to understand how materials and substances are put together, then learning how to take them apart and rebuild them into something else. With these abilities a person could turn lead into gold, water into wine...but they could also create untold horrors. Some say that if a person were skilled enough, and twisted enough, that they could even combine living beasts into a creature called a chimera, a soulless demon that will listen to no one but their creator.

This new earth has become full of alchemists and inventors, and has virtually been taken back to what some might call the industrial revolution. No one has cars, but they do have horses and buggies. Clockwork machines and steam engines are some of the most advanced technologies on the planet now. In some places lords or kings have taken over, some places there is now true leader.

Alchemists, those with these strange abilities, often have odd dreams where they are wandering through the mountains somewhere. They find a door, open it, and discover a truth that could divide the world. Some alchemists use this dream as their driving force. They dream of finding these mountains and that gateway and learning such secrets, and so many of them travel, most of their lives, searching for it.
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Basically this is an idea I came up with that partially has to do with the anime/manga series Fullmetal Alchemist, with a few major twists, as you can tell. A tragic event occurred some time in the past, during our time, and now, in a drastically altered future, in a world much like that of FMA, people have developed the ability to understand things no human could, or should, be able to understand.

They are able to focus their minds and bodies and transmute things. No one is exactly sure how this happens, but it seems that the more people use their powers the more skilled they become, but in certain areas.

For instance, if a person used their powers on metals, changing the type of metal, repairing rust, etc., then they would gain more knowledge in that area of alchemy than another person would. This can happen with just about anything, again, like FMA. Even elements, fire, water, earth, wind, lighting, etc. can be created with alchemy if a person knows how.

The plot for this roleplay is that when the Blinding occurred, one of the sky ships crashed to earth but remained mostly intact. It was buried almost completely in the crater it created, turning it into a mountain, which has since become a part of a mountain range somewhere in the world. The alchemists receive messages from this ship in their dreams, dreams that draw them towards the ship in hope that they will learn a grand secret that can 'divide the world.'

People take this many ways, but the truth is this: when the Blinding happened a combination of our radioactive weapons and the lights the sky ships used crossed our DNA with the aliens, giving us these powers. In the mountain ship is a living red stone, a remnant from their home world, which will reveal this secret and terraform part of the world, making it like the home world of the alchemists.

And so alchemists are looking for this red stone. Some know the truth, or think they do, and others don't even know they're looking for it.

You can be an alchemist or a normal person. You can be from any sort of society you think of, and as people join their homelands will be added to the map which you can find in an OOC soon after this rp is posted.

Character Sheet-

Name:
Age:
Race: (human or alchemist)
Appearance: (alchemists often have oddly colored eyes, hair, and/or skin...this section should contain your characters physical appearance as well as they clothing they are prone to wearing)

Personality: (optional, can reveal though the rp)

Equipment: (anything you carry with you)
Alchemic Abilities: (whatever your best at, alchemy-wise, please choose only one or two)

History: (what is your character's past, what are their goals, why are they doing whatever they are doing now, doesn't have to be all that long...if there is a reason others would know you add that here)
Other: (anything else you'd like to add)

Alchemy works like this-
You can look at something and understand its molecular makeup and how to change it as you like, as long as you have some basic prior knowledge. To transmute you make up your mind on what you want to do and place your hand in the thing you want to transmute, then it is engulfed in white light. When the light disappears it is changed.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask, either through PM or in the OOC section.