Edward was born in a small town named Resembool in the nation of Amestris, living with his younger brother Alphonse and their parents Trisha Elric and Van Hohenheim. After Hohenheim left the family on a journey early in their lives, Edward developed a loathing for their father as he and Alphonse learned to use alchemy before Trisha died of an illness years later. The two brothers concentrated on studying alchemy in the hopes of bringing their mother back to life, and trained with a skilled alchemist named Izumi Curtis. When they make the attempt to revive their mother, it failed and the brothers paid a bigger price via the Law of Equivalent Exchange: which states that every outcome requires an equal payment.