Alphonse Elric

Alphonse Elric is the younger brother of Edward Elric, and the second main character of the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise, as well as being introduced as one of the main characters in The Interference II. Due to an accident in their childhood, Alphonse was rendered a soul trapped in a suit of armour; like his brother, he is on a mission to recover their original bodies.

History
Edward and Alphonse's father left home and disappeared when they were very young, making Trisha a single mother. In an attempt to make things easier for her, and following his older brother, Alphonse studied the alchemy books in Hohenheim's room, finding them easy to understand. Because the skill made Trisha happy, the boys continued to use it.

However, one day Trisha collapsed in the house and died, leaving Alphonse and Edward as orphans. As Alphonse cried at the funeral, Edward consoled him, saying they were going to use alchemy to revive their mother, and so the two continued to study, staying at their friend Winry's house for the time being. After a while, though, it became clear that their books did not contain enough practical knowledge on the subject of human transmutation (such practice being an alchemical taboo).

They were in luck when a woman named Izumi Curtis visited the town. After begging repeatedly, she accepted them as her students on the condition that they would spend one month on a 'deserted' island learning the meaning of the phrase 'one is all and all is one'. Once they had displayed their (secretly flawed) understanding, she took them in and trained them for some months, before they returned home with a strengthened resolve.

The boys crafted a complex transmutation circle in their house, gathered the ingredients for a human body, offered their own blood, and began the process late at night. Alphonse blacked out early in the process. When he came to, he found his older brother missing two of his limbs, and he himself was trapped inside a suit of grey armour. Alphonse carried Edward back to Winry's house.

While Edward was still recovering from the incident, the boys were visited by Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang, who was horrified by their appearance, and shocked when Alphonse said sorry over and over. Mustang, however, offered to keep their physical state a secret. Following his advice, Edward went to apply for the military once his recovery was complete, and the boys returned to Resembool once to burn down their house, before moving on.

Personality
Alphonse is very kind and patient with others. He is well-spoken, polite, and often offers to help people out purely out of the kindness of his own heart. Despite being technically ten years old, he is considered to be rather mature, able to cope - externally - with many of the events around him (internally, he has many insecurities about his nature, and also blames himself for the events of that night). Still, he often wishes to be treated more like a child, something that hasn't happened for a long time since his transfer to the armour.

Alphonse is known to be especially affectionate towards cats, which he hides in his chest cavity.

Appearance
Alphonse's true body is gone, but his soul resides in a large steel suit of armour. The armour bears a little resemblance to traditional samurai armour, although it is much less colourful, and would cover the entire body. Alphonse also dons a blue breechcloth, and keeps chalk in a pouch attached to his leg. The blood seal that keeps Alphonse alive lies inside his torso, just under his 'neck'. Alphonse also has a pair of glowing 'eyes' behind his armour; these seem to be a common feature of soul-bound armour in Amestris, indicating the presence of a soul.

Powers and Weapons
Like his older brother, Alphonse is an extremely skilled alchemist, though he doesn't possess Edward's ability to forgo a traditional drawn transmutation circle. Though he never qualified as a State Alchemist, he is still trusted by Edward's higher-ups and is considered as Edward's guest.

Alphonse's state as a suit of armour offers him a status of psuedo-invincibility. The blood seal is his only weakness, as breaking it would sever the connection between his soul and the vessel. As the seal is fairly well-concealed, and the rest of his body is constructed of steel and leather, Alphonse very rarely has much to worry about in regards to his safety, and practices martial arts with his older brother when they get the chance. The space in his chest cavity is large enough to carry a person inside, offering an additional feature as a living shield.

While travelling in Guardia, Alphonse is gifted with the power of Water magic, providing him with both offensive spells and restorative magic. His Water techs are the same as Frog's.

Source games

 * Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir, 2004