Echoes of Fire and Gold

Summary: Their story didn't start with the war, and didn't end with it either. Trauma inspires a will of steel. Friendship has a beginning and an end. Devotion has many forms. Those shaped by war can evolve to become more. Secrets are revealed, new friends made. Danger in unexpected forms, and help in unlikely places. The reunion of souls, and the separation of friends. Celebration, battle, and resolution.

Warnings:

Torture, alcohol, domestic abuse, suicidal thoughts, murder, eating disorder, skin disorder, mental disorder, fighting, blood, drug abuse, and discrimination.

Thanks To: Gurakruor for being an awesome unofficial beta and sounding board!

Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne, nor the characters presented in this fanfiction. Characters, setting, and references from the movie belong to Bandai/Sunrise, and Kazuki Akane and Ryuta Yamaguchi

Based and Inspired by:

Escaflowne the Movie:

Girl on Gaea

With inspiration thanks to:

Vision of Escaflowne, the Series

Authors Notes:

Just want to thank everyone who takes the time to read and enjoy this story. I know our fandom is very small, but I'd like to give this

fanfic to those who loved and enjoyed the movie as much as I had, and those who have a soft spot for the under appreciated antagonists.

Except Folken, because screw that narcissist.

I've learned a lot about good and evil. They are not always what they appear to be.

Charles Van Doren

They came at him with sticks, threw stones at him. They would try to get him to eat rancid food, or even give him unclean water. He was sub-human to them, even the wild dogs knew not to go near the human village. Dilandau, even before he had a name, held innocent curiosity to those who looked like him. The creatures that stood on two feet instead of four like he had. They were beautiful people, with darker skin and darker eyes, sometimes blue or shades of green. They made noises, smiled and laughed when they saw him. It filled him with pleasant feelings. Until they began to hurt him.

He'd get sick, ravaged by stomach pains, but still he went back, unknowing that it was their doing. The food they gave him was tasty, rich in flavor. He didn't know it was supposed to come back up painfully.

He didn't know he was vermin.

Dilandau - Sleep

Cleaned up, dressed, fed bits of whatever they had, and last of the water from the waterskin and Dilandau was back up to speed. Gatti had even rinsed his hair in a stream of water coming from a broken pipe. Leaving Torushina was easy, everyone was scattered and headed towards the city center. They rode hard for a good hour, before finally relaxing enough to let their horses trot at a slower speed. They left most of their belongings behind, unwilling to stay around in Torushina. Only taking what was essential for the coming days, and going back later to get the rest. Most of the ride was in the desert heat. But when they came closer to the forest line, they cut towards possible shelter.

They got into the forest around midday, the sun had started to bake them in their armor and the canopy of the trees was inviting. They kept the conversations to a minimum. Chesta and Ryoun were too tired to ask many questions about the fight. Gatti was too stressed and anxious from the scenes he witnessed, still finding flecks of blood on his armor. He'd glance towards Dilandau who grew more and more fatigued as the minutes passed on.

"Should we stop and hunt for food?" Gatti called out, his stomach churning. They'd been awake all night, hadn't eaten since dinner before, and he was starting to feel a throb in his back and knee.

"Sleep would probably be good as well," Ryoun replied. "Lets find a spot and make camp at least for the night." He looked around for a clearing. "What do you think Lord Dilandau?"

There was no reply. Dilandau's head had fallen forward, back hunched.

Gatti trotted closer. "Lord Dilandau?" He reached out as Dilandau started to sway some. "Are you awake?"

Dilandau slipped from the saddle and plummeted to the ground.

All three got down from their horses. Ryoun was first to Dilandau, and hoisted him up into his lap. "Lord Dilandau?"

"What happened?" Chesta grabbed their horses together and pulled them to the side.

"I'm sure this has to do with what those sorcerers did to him." Gatti muttered. "Damn Folken, I hope you burned alive in there."

Dilandau moaned, but remained unchanged even with poking and prodding.

"He probably needs rest, he lost a lot of blood in that fight right?" Chesta whispered, reminding Gatti of all the blood he had to wash off before returning to them.

Gatti groaned. "I'm so stupid, I shouldn't have let him ride alone."

"We shouldn't have let him ride at all." Ryoun corrected. "We should have taken him to a healer."

"Yeah, but do you know any healer who would take us right now?" Gatti bit his knuckles. "Damn you Allen."

Chesta looked down at them. "Let's make camp, he's still breathing. Lets do our best to keep him warm, and out of harm's way."

Ryoun picked up Dilandau and carried him until they could find a place to set up camp. He knew Gatti was going to be frantic and moody not knowing if Dilandau would live. He glanced down at their commander and saw the tiny wires that stuck out from his hair. He inwardly cursed Folken again, this was definitely his doing.

They made a pallet the best they could out of the few things they brought with them, and Ryoun laid Dilandau down to rest.

"He probably pulled those wires out from the armor, which means he was probably bleeding for a while." Ryoun pulled one of the wires up from Dilandau's hair. "I don't know what they did, but I don't think they intended on him surviving."

Chesta sat down and pulled his knees up. "Why would Folken want to destroy everything?"

"From what I remember, Folken was to become king of Adom, however the fates changed and his brother was chosen. In a fit of rage he killed his clan and waged war on Gaea, at least that's what was explained to me." Ryoun punched the ground lightly. "I think he wanted the Escaflowne to grant his wish of destruction."

Gatti leaned against a tree. "Where did Dilandau fit in?" He looked angrily towards Torushina. "Why did he have to get into that monster?"

"Same place we did, pawns to train for war," Ryoun sighed. "Only I think Folken wanted to ensure the end using Dilandau as a trigger."

"I should have said something, I only joined for Dilandau." Gatti crouched down next to his commander. "We should have stopped him."

"I joined the clan to save my village. None of us knew this was going to happen, foresight would have helped me years ago to save him from from Folken clutches." Ryoun sighed. "We cant change anything now."

"You knew Dilandau before?" Chesta asked.

"Only briefly," he said. "He was a wildling then, and the village hated him."

Gatti groaned. "I am going to go get something to kill and eat." He grabbed his sword and headed into the woods.

Chesta looked down. "I think he's angry."

"He gets this way, leave him be." Ryoun glanced over at Dilandau. "I'll start a fire, the sun will be setting soon."

Chesta nodded. "I'll look for some water."

"Be careful, make a lot of noise when you're walking." Ryoun watched him go. "Keeps the beasts away."

Chesta looked out into the wild, "Yeah."

The little boy wandered the wastes and the forests, the desert was his home for most of his life. He'd stay in the underground den most of the days, the sun was harsh on his skin. At night he'd roam the wasteland, killing animals with his pack. Eating the raw meat since he was a toddler, he was accustomed to the taste and his body's reaction to it. He'd eat vegetables out of farmer's gardens and steal from waste bins at night.

He was found by the alpha female of the pack. Abandoned in an overturned carriage between Adom and Sollas. His screams emitted blasts of power that destroyed anything in his radius. Dead animals had collected around the baby, but when the wild half wolf came up to the infant, casting shade over him, cleaning his face from dirt and the growing blisters.

After some time and rehabilitation, and protection from others in the pack that wanted to eat the baby, he was crawling, eating and functioning.

He'd sleep amongst them, share the meals until he was big enough to walk on his own, or travel on his hands and feet. As he left his toddler stage, he was crawling into trees and catching snakes and rodents, dropping them down. Larger mammals and even fruit, his night vision was near excellent for human standards.

His power grew, and was utilized for hunting, giving him a higher position in the forest and the desert area they resided in.

Ryoun sat across from the fire, leaned against a tree as he watched the darkening sky above. He grew worried about Gatti's growing absence. Even more about his growing frustrated behavior.

Chesta had come back after an hour with filled water skins. Digging several holes until he finally found ground water that was clean enough to drink and brought it back. "Its getting hot during the day."

"You need to get out of that uniform coat." Ryoun suggested. "You'll overheat."

Chesta looked away, partly ignoring the other's comment. "Thankfully the nights are cooler."

"Chesta, it doesn't bother anyone." Ryoun leaned forward and opened his mouth. "I think you will feel better."

Gatti came through the brush and dropped a small deer. "It'll last us a couple days, but we need to cook it all tonight." He cut off. "I set up some traps around the area so be careful where you step."

Ryoun laughed. "Wow. I was starting to get worried."

Gatti shrugged. "It took me a while, took a nap, and caught this thing trying to eat my hair," He said. "I was able to stab him in the neck." He explained.

Chesta feigned a smile. "Looks great."

Gatti dragged it off to the side and cut at the creature to strip it of meat. "We have to leave enough for Dilandau, hopefully when he smells food he'll wake up." Gatti was all smiles as he cut at it.

Ryoun closed his eyes. "I hope so."

Chesta turned his head towards Dilandau, ignoring the ripping sound.

The first human he saw was the young farm boy, who chased him down with the metal weapon that cut through the trees and vegetation like it was nothing. The boy frightened him, he was only getting food. There was so much that he could have shared.

He howled out, hoping to scare the boy, or to call his mama. He dashed into a bush when he smelled his den mother. He hid low to the ground and covered up with dirt and brush.

He saw the angry boy rush forward, sickle at the ready to cut him down.

A howl rang out in response, and a growl cut through the silence. His den mother jumped from behind a tree, and in the path of the boy.

The boy readied his sickle, ready to defend himself.

The sky opened up and rain began to fall over them. This memory wasn't right. It didn't rain.

The rain waters washed over them, and the boy scrambled to get higher. The female half-wolf was swept away in the water.

The boy stared after her, and then looked at the wildling. He reached up, now unarmed, older and an empathetic look on his face. "Lord Dilandau."

Chesta fell asleep before the meat was done, curling up in his armor on the ground next to Dilandau's head.

Gatti ate his fill, and he talked with Ryoun, calmer now that he was able to get time alone to relax. "You never told us you knew him before the war."

"He wasn't the same back then." Ryoun lifted his hand, where a circular set of scars were printed on his hand. "He bit me."

"How was he different then?" Gatti laughed, but then his face turned solemn. "Chesta didn't eat dinner last night right?"

Ryoun grumbled. "No, and he didn't eat at all today."

"Don't harass him," Gatti glanced over at the other. "I think our best bet is to let him starve himself, he'll eat eventually."

"He wont take off his jacket either."

"He will when we get some other clothes. You know how he gets." Gatti scratched at his scalp. "If not, we strip him and burn the coat."

"The coat is one thing, not eating is not going to go over as well." Ryoun sighed. "I don't understand why he does it to himself."

"Ryoun, he'll bounce back soon." Though Gatti wasn't sure. "If not, Dilandau will set him straight."

"Do you think Dilandau will wake up?" Ryoun stared at their unconscious commander. "I don't know what they did, he could be like this for a long time."

Gatti felt a knot in his throat. "He's stronger than that, he's dragon blooded."

"And if he dies?" Ryoun needed to have this conversation, even if Gatti and Chesta didn't.

"He wont die, he cant die right after getting away from being tortured by Folken for years." Gatti stood up. "Have some faith, Ryoun, we'll get through this." He scratched his scalp again. "I need to go bathe, I've got an inch of sweat all over, and I feel grimy."

Ryoun pulled his hair down from the string and ran his hands through it. If Dilandau died, Gatti would leave and probably never show his face again. Chesta would give up even more than he already had. Ryoun inwardly groaned. "Wake up soon, commander."

Author's Note:

Thank you for sticking through to the end!

Let me know what you think! Gatti's chapter reads backwards in timeline if there is any confusion

Next Time: Things start getting heated.