This Synopsis was written by me.
Edward and Alphonse Elric were two brothers who lived in a beautiful countryside house with their mother. Though their father had left to join the military some time ago, he was one of the most skilled alchemists of the time. And it wasn't long before Ed and Al showed signs that they had inherited their father's unique ability. Even at a young age, the boys were using alchemy to make all sorts of things, and their skill and knowledge improved each time. Although their mother remained sad from time to time over the absence of her husband, she was pleased with her sons' talent and she gave them nothing but love and encouragement. However, Ed and Al's happy childhood came to a sudden end when their mother unexpectedly died from an illness which she had kept hidden for a long time. Grief-stricken, the boys didn't know what they were going to do without her until Ed made the decision that they would try and use alchemy to bring her back to life. After tirelessly studying all of their father's books on the subject, the boys were finally ready for their greatest alchemic test ever - to get their mother back.
All forms of alchemy follow a basic rule: in order to obtain, something of equal value must be given up in exchange. Unlike magic, which creates something out of nothing, alchemy creates something different out of something else, with both entities sharing an equal sum of "parts"(though the "parts" are rearranged differently.) However, all the books that the boys read stated that human alchemy was a forbidden and extremely dangerous feat, and no alchemist that tried it had ever been successful. But Ed was determined to make it work and after gathering together all of the elemental and chemical components of the human body, the boys offered a bit of their blood as the final component(since the DNA in their mother's blood was mostly the same as theirs.) They figured that this was a fair enough exchange, but they failed to take into account the most important part of a human - the soul. On the night of a fierce rain storm, the boys began to perform the alchemic spell, but something went terribly wrong. Before they realized what was happening, Al's body suddenly began to disappear! As Ed rushed to try and save his brother, he noticed that his left leg was beginning to disappear as well! Things happened so quickly for the boys at that moment, that by the time the whole horrific event was over, Ed had lost not only his left leg, but he had also given up his right arm in order to seal Al's soul inside a suit of armor that was in the corner of the room, before it disappeared along with his body.
Having no one else to turn to, the boys were helped by their childhood friend Winry and her aunt Pinako who ran an auto-mail(mechanical body parts) shop. While spending some time there to recover, Winry and Pinako gave Ed an auto-mail arm and leg to replace the ones he lost. But also, immediately following that terrible night, they were approached by Roy Mustang, a State Alchemist who had heard about the gifted sons of the famous alchemist Hoenheim Elric(Ed and Al's father.) He hinted to the boys that with their talent they could become exceptional State Alchemists. However, there were mixed feelings about State Alchemists; some people believed that they were nothing but ruthless "dogs" of the military who used their wicked powers to do whatever the State wanted. Regardless, Ed and Al came to the conclusion that if just one of them could become a State Alchemist, they would have access to all the classified files and books on alchemy held at the enormous library in the city of Central, and perhaps only then could they find a way to turn their bodies back to normal. They also hoped they would be able to find more information about the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance rumored to have amazing alchemic powers. They agreed that they had made a huge mistake in trying to use forbidden alchemy to bring their mother back, and now they were paying for it. But all they wanted to do was to regain the bodies which they had lost. As the years went by, Ed managed to pass the Alchemy Exam and become one of the youngest State Alchemists, earning him the title of the "Full Metal Alchemist." Through their adventures together, Ed and Al meet all kinds of people to whom alchemy has either helped or hurt, including the colorful cast of State Alchemists that they work with. But they also face many adversaries as well, including the strangely tragic serial killer of alchemists, Scar, and the mysterious clan known as the Homunculus, who also want to get their hands on the Philosopher's Stone. But even though Ed and Al are sometimes expected to follow the rules of State Alchemists and do what the State orders them to, the brothers' most important goal in life is to overcome their past and regain what they had lost. Thus, their duty and dedication to this goal and to each other will always come before anything the State or anyone else has to give them.