Shan

Shan is compassionate, authoritative and unwilling to let suffering become an excuse for indiscriminate hatred. She openly acknowledges the devastation Amestris inflicted upon Ishval while insisting that individual Amestrians must still be judged by their actions.

Her authority over the refugees comes from age and moral standing rather than force. Younger members of the group obey her when she stops their attempt to use Edward as a hostage.

Shan also carries a strong sense of gratitude. She remembers the people who helped her during the extermination and wants their surviving family to know that their efforts mattered.

Shan has no established alchemical or supernatural abilities. She is elderly and walks with a cane, and nothing in the manga or Brotherhood presents her as a combatant.

Her influence comes from her position as an elder and priestess within the Ishvalan refugee community. She acts as a source of historical testimony and moral authority.

Edward encounters Shan while investigating the ruins of Xerxes. Several refugees seize him and propose using him to pressure the Amestrian government, but Shan immediately stops them.

She tells Edward that Yuriy Rockbell and Sarah Rockbell treated her and other Ishvalans during the war even after remaining in the region became extraordinarily dangerous.

Shan also tells Edward that the Rockbells were murdered by an injured Ishvalan patient whose face was covered in bandages and whose right arm carried tattoos. Edward realizes from the description that the killer was Scar.

Yuriy Rockbell helped save Shan during the Ishvalan War and earned her lasting gratitude.

Sarah Rockbell worked alongside her husband treating Ishvalan civilians and is remembered by Shan as one of the Amestrians who refused to abandon them.

Edward Elric meets Shan at Xerxes and learns from her both the Rockbells' humanitarian work and the circumstances of their deaths.

Scar is the wounded Ishvalan whom Shan saw shortly before the Rockbells were murdered. Her description allows Edward to identify him as their killer.

Winry Rockbell never needs to be present for Shan to recognize her importance; Shan asks Edward to convey the refugees' gratitude and sorrow to the Rockbells' surviving daughter.