Dante

HOMELAND Amestris YEARS OF LIFE Around 1500 - 1914 FAMILY Van Hohenheim - lover or spouse Envy is the son

CAPABILITIES High-level alchemy WEAPON Philosopher's Stone TARGET Extend life with the help of the Philosopher's Stone and keep the secret of its creation a secret

Dante first appears as the former alchemy teacher of Izumi Curtis, who in turn taught Edward and Alphonse Elric. Shortly after meeting the Elric brothers, Dante faked her death at the hands of Greed, who was in turn killed by Ed, though it's obvious to the viewer that her

the body was dead before Greed appeared.

Much later in the series, it is revealed that Dante transferred her soul into the body of her student, Lila, thereby prolonging her life. Dante is actually around 400 years old and is able to evade death by continually transferring her soul to new, younger bodies using the Philosopher's Stone. Nearly 400 years ago, she was Hohenheim's lover, and together they used this technique for centuries. They even had a son; however, he died of mercury poisoning at a young age. Hohenheim's attempt to transform him into life created Envy.

To create the first Philosopher's Stone, which Dante and Hohenheim used, they used those condemned as witches and those dying of the plague as the required human sacrifices. During this transmutation, Hohenheim was nearly killed; Dante saved him by instinctively linking her soul with another person's body, thus the pair discovered "eternal" life. Furthermore, for the first Stone, Dante and Hohenheim were responsible for the destruction of at least two ancient cities: one where Amestris's true capital, Central, now stands, and the "legendary lost city to the east" (in reality, Hohenheim's hometown), each said to have mysteriously vanished overnight. The cities' inhabitants were used as ingredients in the Stone, and the buildings were buried underground through alchemy. However, some time before the start of the anime, Hohenheim left Dante, eventually meeting Trisha Elric twenty years ago and falling in love

Dante is a rather cynical and seemingly sociopathic woman, cold-blooded and calculating, though sometimes somewhat inconsistent and excessively cruel. She claims to use the Philosopher's Stone and guard its secret for the benefit of humanity, who, she claims, would destroy themselves if they gained its power. She rejects both justice and morality, as well as the law of equal exchange.

Short, athletic build, round face with fine, small features, blue eyes and short dark hair.