The late 4800's and early 4900's saw a gradual settling down in the international arena. The off and on warfare that had characterized the human nations of Gaea in the preceding millennia steadily declined in both ferocity and frequency. Trade boomed, economies grew, etc.
However, it went almost without notice to the leaders of Gaea that a more important change was taking place in their world. For the first time since the end of period of Draconian rule there were real technological advances. Technology on Gaea was always odd. While seemingly advanced pieces of engineering existed (guymelefs being the most prominent example) the actual technology behind was primitive compared to the machines built by the Atlantians of old. The machinery behind them was cobbled together by specialists working by hand. While some elements of old Atlantian technology was still being maintained most of it had long since vanished. More curious about this leap in technology is that it all seemed to come from a single obscure nation, Zaibach. Even calling it a nation would be a stretch, just a hundred odd villages bound by nothing but tradition. It had long been a backwater in the world of Gaea, remote to conquer and to poor for most traders to bother with. The bulk of the population relied on subsistence farming going about their meager existence barely caring about the world outside of the their own village.
However, around the year 4950 a new leader seems to have emerged. Cities and factories were built. Weapons of war were produced, and finally expansion began in the year 4970. Several kingdoms quickly fell to armies armed with the new technologies that came out the factories. But their expansion stopped within a few years. It seemed this new leader was not interested in expansion for the sake of expansion and these new territories were quietly assimilated in the rest of Ziabach. However, this left the country as one of the larger nations in Gaea.
In Fanelia only scant notice was given to these developments, the country was embroiled in a series of small, petty wars with its neighbors. These wars ended on a sour note as the old king died in one of the last battles. Peace was declared, and his son, Goau (the father of the famous Van), became king in the year 4951.
Goau was a peaceable, intelligent man who cared little for the nobility, his father had him fostered for several years with a trading family during youth in an attempt to show him how trade was done. While much of the time was spent in distant lands, a third of every year was spent in Fanelia where he ate, slept, and even bathed with this trading family. This gave him significant, daily contact with people of all social groups. He even developed a genuine lifelong friendship with a group of apprentice craftsmen his own age. These people would form a social circle that kept the young prince with one foot in each world, the world of the court and the world of the commoners in the capital and he much preferred the quiet dignity of the commoners to the arrogant nobles.
When Goau came to the throne the nobility wasn't expecting much. However, one of Goau's first acts after completing the Rite of Dragonslaying was to eliminate laws mandating uniform pay. This allowed laborers who the nobility relied on to farm their fields to leave their current employer and seek higher pay elsewhere. The nobility was furious, but when they complained to their new king he simply sent them away. While these nobility were hardly a sympathetic sort, brushing them aside was certainly a mistake on his part. They controlled around half of the farmland in the country (the other half belonging to commoners of various social classes) and had small private armies. Goau's actions sent a message to the nobility that many in the royal court had come to know, that the new king wanted economic and social reform regardless of the consequences.
In the upcoming months many new laws were decreed that attempted to shift economic power away from the nobility and to the commoners. Tenant farmers were given legal protections ensuring that they could be arbitrarily thrown off their land. Craftsmen were no longer required to give the fruits their labor to nobles for a price set by the nobles.
However, in the villages and farms that made up the bulk of Fanelia this had little effect on people's daily lives. The king's authority was oftentimes weak in countryside. The nobility were responsible for enforcing the law and nobles rarely saw fit to enforce these new laws. Only in the capital was did anyone know the kings desires. Outside of the capital it most often treated it as idle rumor. It was incomprehensible that the king would, even one who occasionally drank with commoners, would side with the commoners against the nobility.
Angered by the kings actions the nobles began to oppress the tenants on their estates all the harder. This led to violence and counter-violence and finally open revolt in the year 4954. Soon most of the countryside was in full scale insurrection where the personal armies of the nobility fought pheasant swarms. With communications difficult most of the king's army either stayed out the fighting or helped the nobles put down the fighting. Only in the southwest did the army join in the uprising, and even then only when the foot solders killed their officers.
Goau was not pleased with these developments. While it was his intention to reform the social structure, he had planned to leave it largely intact. However, events took shape without his will and his hand was forced. He gathered up as much of the army as was available in the immediate vicinity of the capital: 2,600 armed men and 56 Guymelefs. This constituted only about a quarter of the total Fanelian army. With this forced and marched out with populace assuming that he would side with the nobles as kings had in past.
However, Goau, much to the surprise of almost everyone, came firmly down on the side of the commoners. Noble armies were defeated piecemeal while royal troops joined up with the force, pheasant mobs were usually persuaded to go back to their homes with little violence. Many small battles were fought during this time, however there is little need list them. Within a year Goau had dealt with the pheasant revolt and destroyed the power of the landed elite.
With the nobility chastised and overwhelming popularity among the commoners Goau now had the ability to do almost anything he wanted. Large estates were divided up and given to the people who farmed the land. Nobles were exiled for "rebellion" and their property confiscated and put to use improving the infrastructure of Fanelia. Roads and bridges were built throughout the entire country. The army royal army was expanded to confiscate for the loss of the nobility's personal armies and equipped with new guymelefs. Villages were given the right to elect their own leaders. The kingdom settled down and the king had accomplished his goals, his only regret being copious amounts of blood spilled in doing so.
Over the next few decades a new political order was created consisting of three groups. The king, his army, and the general populace (it would now be inappropriate to call them commoners or pheasants). The king had full political power over everything larger then a village level. However, without the nobles to enforce his rule on the ground he could only exercise that power with the consent of the army and the populace. Thus his rule had to just, for if it was not he would find himself as a lone man with no one back him. This unique system was created by accident, but it resulted in a stable system of governance.
In the year 4960, with the kingdom in order the King Goau set about finding a bride. Within a few months the king of Asturia agreed to set an interview between Goau and his second daughter. While nothing could be promised until the two met each other it was generally assumed that the interview would be a formality and the two would be married within a short time.
On the Austuria the Goau saw something that would change his life forever. While riding through a woods he came across a small pond. Standing on the shore was the most beautiful women he had ever seen bathed in moonlight. When she realized she was spotted she looked over at him and introduced as Varie and then she spread her wings. She was Draconian, this surprised all those present. There were few left in the world and most were lived far remote areas were the human kingdoms could not bother them. It seemed that Varie, when she was young, had been told that she would be meet her husband in that pond on that exact night.
With Goau having falling the in love at first sight the interview with the Asturian princess was called off. The Asturian king was annoyed by this, but he realized that love could overwhelm common sense and forgave Goau cancelling the interview. With that matter settled the Fanelian party returned to the capital with a mysterious women. It was well known that Draconians and humans had once intermarried in the distant past, but it was widely assumed that those days were long over. The last known marriage had taken place over a thousand years ago. With the Draconian population dwindling and remote superstitions about the Draconians made their way through the human population of Gaea. That they were a cursed raced and those around them would suffer the same curse. Goau cared not for these superstitions, but those around did everything in their power to dissuade him from marrying Varie. This met with no success. Within a year the two were married and within a few more years two sons were born, Folken and Van.
While a lesser king marrying a Draconian could easily have led to a full-scale rebellion among the super superstitious populous, Goau's actions during the civil war had made the most popular king since Tenta. Even then it was close thing, only the loyalty of the army prevent those who were certain that Varie would bring doom to them all from rising up. Over the next few years Varie gradually used her charm to persuade the populace to accept her and gradually most people did, if only because they moved on with their lives.
With this new social having been created things began to change in the palace of Fanelia. The exiled nobility were replaced by military men and commoners. While Goau maintained the attitude, dress, and speech of nobility, his sons were born and raised in a court where they mingled with all types of people. They made friends with normal children. They quickly dropped the ornate fashions that had dominated the Fanelian court for centuries in favor of clothing not much different from the average man. Their speech patterns grew to resemble that of most people in the capital. Even when it was required of them Folken and Van found it difficult to put on airs and act like the princes they were. Varie encouraged this trend while her husband tolerated it.
However, tragedy struck in the year 4970 King Goau passed away of natural causes. The curse from his Draconian bride it said. With his children only eight and six, and thus unable to rule in their own right, a council of four generals took over most of the day to day running of government with Varie ultimately in charge.
Folken and Van were thus left to grow up without a father and spent more and more time with normal children. Van in particular was attached to a catgirl about his age, Merle, an orphan who Van found begging for food in the city. Growing up the two were inseparable. However, as Folken grew up he gradually pushed people away, becoming socially isolated. Where Van was often seen flying around the palace grounds his brother tried to pretend he was half-Draconian and never so much as revealed his wings. Nonetheless at the age of 16 Folken agreed to perform the Rite of Dragonslaying. He left and was never heard from again. Rumors circulated that he was high level commander for Zaibach during the great war that was to come. However, no credible evidence has ever come forward to substantiate this.
With Folken's disappearance Varie despaired. Rumors that Folken had run away were vigorously denied they festered nonetheless. A year later Varie went to search for her son and was also never heard from again. With three out four members of one family dead of missing many people assumed it was the result of the Draconian Curse and that Van would soon die as well. But he did not. With Van's parents dead, he was raised with a group of war orphans who were hired to do basic jobs around the palace. This simple upbringing made Van a quiet, nice, humble man who knew little of the ways of kings. He received significant training the ways of war by the age of 14 could pilot Escaflowne with adequate precision. During this time the four generals ruled Fanelia with an even hand preparing for the day when Van would take his place as king. In the year 4977 that day came. Van up on his armor and sheathed his family sword and went out to complete the Rite of Dragonslaying.
Many, many people thought that Van would not come back. That he would run, or that the curse would lead to his death. During his three day long absence the four generals of Fanelia began to make contingency place for just such an eventuality. Van nearest living relative (a second cousin) lived in a fairly remote town in a quiet corner of Fanelia where he was apprenticing as a blacksmith. With the very real possibility that Van would not come back efforts were made to bring him to the capital and prepare the apprentice blacksmith to be king. But before this cousin could arrive Van returned triumphant. With the Rite of Dragonslaying completed plans were introduced to formally crown his king. Some attention was made to the mysterious girl that Van had brought back with him. He said she saved his life and should be given hospitality. Since previous mysterious strangers had often come to Gaea during great events this Hitomi taken as a sign that important events were about to unfold. If only they knew how right they were.