The Elemental Chess Trilogy

The Elemental Chess Trilogy is a series of Fullmetal Alchemist fanfics, begun in the spring of 2011. They take place in the story universe of the FMA manga/Brotherhood anime.
The three main installments were all published within a four-month period; these begin two years after the conclusion of the canon series. Because they take place post-canon, they naturally contain spoilers for the end of FMA itself.
The fourth story, "Triumvirate," was published in March 2012 as part of the 2011-2012 FMA Big Bang event on LiveJournal. This is a prequel story set before the events of the FMA canon.
The fifth portion, "Notes From the Grandmaster," is a collection of one-shot side stories set in the universe of the series.
==Summaries==
"Flowers of Antimony," the original story in the series, is best summarized with a quote from Roy Mustang: "Fullmetal, you're the only guy I know who can turn getting married into an international incident." Edward Elric's wedding to Winry Rockbell gets turned somewhat upside down when mysterious forces attack Central City in the days prior to the ceremony.
"Brilliancy," the second story, begins almost a year after the conclusion of "Flowers of Antimony" and moves the action to Ishval, where Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye - now newlyweds themselves - are still working to revitalize the region. Their old unit joins them there, summoned by a strange coded letter hinting at danger in the desert. As they try to unmask their unseen opponent, things threaten to go horribly wrong when Riza turns up missing and Roy falls deathly ill.
"The Game of Three Generals" picks up the story a few months after "Brilliancy." Fuhrer Grumman and the loyal allies of Team Mustang are determined to thwart the man who has been tormenting them for months. But everything explodes on them, rather literally, and it becomes a race against the clock to save more than one life.
"Triumvirate" finishes out the series by taking the reader back to the Ishvalan War of Extermination. A very young Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and Maes Hughes forge an alliance that will carry them through the horrors of war and beyond.
"Notes From the Grandmaster" is, as noted above, a collection of one-shot side stories, all of which take place during or after the timeline of the main trilogy. These all, at least to date, were originally composed as entries in the weekly FMA fic writing competitions at the FMA Fic Contest community on LiveJournal.
==Themes and Points of View==
The entire series employs a rotating protagonist point of view. Each chapter is written in the present tense and told from the view of a different character. While Edward Elric, Roy Mustang, and Riza Hawkeye (later Mustang) are the principal protagonists, the rotation allows several minor characters to enjoy some 'screen time.' It also allows the reader to see events happening in different locations to different characters.
Each of the four stories was based around a theme, which is reflected in the story title and the title of each chapter:
* In "Flowers of Antimony," the story title and all chapter titles are alchemical terms and compounds.
* In "Brilliancy," the story title and all chapter titles are chess terms.
* In "The Game of Three Generals," the story title and all chapter titles are terms from shogi (Japanese chess).
* In "Triumvirate," the story title and all chapter titles are terms related to military and war.
"Notes From the Grandmaster" averts the thematic titling, as the individual stories were written separately. The overarching title of the document is, of course, a chess reference, with the author tongue-in-cheekly calling herself the 'Grandmaster' in question.
=Reactions and Reviews=
Reader reception of the series was and continues to be largely positive. Although the main series was completed in 2012, it continues to appear on many recommended reading lists for the fandom and attracts new readers continually. Many reviewers maintain that the stories fit well into the world crafted by Hiromu Arakawa; a few even questioned whether the author actually was Arakawa using a fake name.
==References==
Category:Fullmetal Alchemist
Category:Gen Fanfiction
Category:Het Fanfiction
Category:2011 Fanfiction
Category:2012 Fanfiction