Alphonse Elric is the younger brother of Edward Elric. He was born in the rural town of Resembool to Trisha Elric and Van Hohenheim. After their mother died from an illness, Alphonse and Edward attempted the forbidden alchemical technique of human transmutation to bring her back. The attempt failed catastrophically, and Alphonse lost his entire physical body. To save him, Edward sacrificed his right arm to bind Alphonse’s soul to a large suit of armor using a blood seal drawn on the inside of the armor’s neck. If this seal is damaged or erased, Alphonse’s soul will be lost forever. While trapped in the armor, Alphonse cannot feel physical sensations like touch or taste, does not need food or sleep, and gains immense durability and strength. However, he deeply yearns to regain his original human body. In personality, Alphonse is calm, gentle, patient, and compassionate, serving as a counterbalance to Edward’s hot-headed and impulsive nature. He loves stray animals and often acts as the moral compass of the pair. Alphonse is a skilled fighter, having trained in hand-to-hand combat and alchemy under their teacher Izumi Curtis. His primary motivation is to restore his own body and help Edward recover his lost limbs. He and his brother search for the Philosopher’s Stone to achieve this goal. Alphonse shares an unbreakable bond with Edward, and also has close relationships with Winry Rockbell and Izumi Curtis. Over the course of the story, he regains memories of the Gate of Truth, which allows him to perform alchemy without a transmutation circle. In the climax, Alphonse makes a great sacrifice, giving up his soul to aid Edward. In the end, Edward uses his own ability to perform alchemy as the toll to restore Alphonse’s soul to his original human body.