Disclaimer: This story is based upon another
person's story, namely the creator of Tenkuu no Escaflowne. The characters in this story are only
borrowed from the Vision of Escaflowne.
It has already been ten days since the destruction
of Franelia. Van, Hitomi, Merle and I were now moving towards this place called
Asturia, the land of the forgotten dreams. The past eleven days has been very
memorable to me and made me mature in a way that only I would know about. We
usually slept on the ground and this made me feel quite uncomfortable. Sensing
that I felt uncomfortable as I slept, Hitomi offered me to sleep on her sports
bag to soften the ground beneath my head. In the deep recesses of my mind, I
knew that she knew I was not used to living outdoors, after living in one of
the most urban cities in the world. I refused at first, trying to keep the
principles I vowed I would always remember, but she forced me to accept, in a
way without lifting a fist. She looked at me with her calm, blue eyes and had
this wonderful smile on her face; I could not resist her any longer and
accepted her offer.
Nights seemed to past by so slowly and there were
some times that I wanted to leave this place and go back to my own world. As I
lay down by the ground, listening to the wind blow and the trees rustle, I
cannot help but remember the friends I had back home, the antics that we had
with each other and the laughter we shared. I could not hold my tears from
falling each time I reached the edge of longing, desire to go back home and I
knew I was not alone, Hitomi and Van also felt that way. In the middle of the
night, Hitomi would cry out her mom's name and wake up with tears falling down
her cheeks. She was usually cheerful at times and usually made me forget about
the sadness deep in my heart. However, there will always come a time when
someone would feel lonely and I knew that she also had this desire or want to
go home, how small it may be. Van would also shed a tear or so ever so often,
especially when Merle mentions the word "Valgas" in her fast-paced dialogue but
he would always turn his head away as the teardrops. He was covering his soft
spot with a façade of strength and courage, but I knew what he really was deep
inside…
We had gone through three towns already and yet still
no sign of Asturia. No matter how many times I asked Van how far we were from
Asturia, he would not give me a straight answer and would just say, "We are as
far from Asturia as it is as far away from us." There were times that I wanted
to just give up in our never-ending quest for the city of Asturia but Hitomi's
smile usually changed my mind and even made me more intent in finding the city.
I was highly enamored of her and hoped that she was too of me but I was so
afraid to ask. I knew that she was older than I by merely a few months but
still it made me insecure of asking her out. More days passed by and still no
sign of Asturia. My feet were already numb and were aching with numbing pain, a
pain that seemed to never cease. I was not alone with this predicament, it
seems that both Merle and Hitomi were also suffering from it in degrees that
words cannot express. Van seeing that our stamina could not take it any longer
brought us to this city that I had never seen before, the city of Freid.
*****
It was a city like any other but had a big
marketplace that stretched out for miles. Its castle was also majestic like the
one of Franelia and the townspeople were friendly and nice. It had a dock on
its East Side and was surrounded by forests on its north and its west. The
houses there were mostly made out of adobe and the people wore tunics like the
ones worn by the early Romans. The city reminded me of the city of Venice. The
canals and the gondolas there were a clear reminder of the world that I knew
once as my home. Deep inside my head, I feared that I would see it no more.
Van brought us to this inn and asked for 2 rooms,
one for Hitomi and Merle, and the other for him and me. The innkeeper led us to
our rooms and gave us a key each. Van asked me to wait for him inside the room
as he met up with one of his friends here in the city. Hitomi bade me farewell
for now as she entered her room, slightly winking, with Merle following her
closely behind. I felt myself heat up and my cheeks began to flush with a hue
of crimson red. "She waved at me," I thought causing me to blush even more,
"She actually winked at me!!!!" I
inserted the key into the door and opened it. The door squeaked and as I opened
it, light went inside the room, lighting part of room slightly. It was dark
inside that room and just then, I remembered that electricity was yet a pigment
of someone's imagination in that world. I approached the windows, opened the
curtains and soon light filled the whole room. The room had 2 beds separated by
a small table in the middle, a small armchair by the window, a small rosewood
table and a bathroom on the side. The bathroom was clean and spacious even if
it did lack the luxuries of modern life like a bathtub. Heck, it had no tiles;
it was just cement!!! I lie down on the bed and immediately fell asleep,
letting all my problems fly away. Time flew by and I was only awakened by a
sharp pull on my collar. My eyes opened slightly and I saw Van in front of me,
all serious like and his eyes showed concern and fear as if there was a person
behind me carrying a knife. I quickly jumped out of bed and asked him what was
wrong, and what made him so uneasy.
He stood there frozen for quite some time before he
began speaking with this serious tone in his voice, "You see, I went down to
meet my friend downstairs when I heard 2 soldiers talking about destroying
Asturia. I wondered how they knew about that place because I knew that only
draconians know of its location, which can only mean one thing! There is still
another draconian in this world and he is trying to stop me from awakening
Escaflowne. I crept away from them and went to where my friend was, sitting on
his favorite chair and drinking a tall glass of wine. He was a little drunk at
that time so I sat in front of him, and waited for him to regain his ability to
think straight, even if he usually is such an idiot sometimes. It took him
about an hour or so before he regained his ability to think straight, I would
have left him if he did not wake up any later. I asked him if I could borrow
his small air ship for tomorrow and he said yes. We continued talking after
that, talking about our lives until the topic of the Zaibach Empire having a
peace treaty with Freid emerged. Then and there, I knew that Zaibach was the
one who was after Escaflowne. I believed that Zaibach would want to have a
peace treaty with Freid because Asturia is a city directly above Freid. If
Zaibach would have a treaty with Freid then their airships can freely search
for the city of Asturia. Asturia is the city of the draconians, the source of
all the draconians' powers, you see. And if the Zaibach Empire can harness this
power, we would be in great peril and danger."
I stood there puzzled and confused at what he was
saying. I looked at him with a confused
look in my face and asked him, "What is the Zaibach Empire, anyway?"
"Oh yeah, I am so sorry, I forgot that you were not
from this world. You see, Zaibach was once a very industrial city and had power
over most of the other cities because of their outstanding wealth, then three
years ago, a man named Dorinkirk came to power and spent all of Zaibach's
wealth to buy weapons of mass destruction. Zaibach conquered small cities and
we call these cities and the original city of Zaibach the New Zaibach Empire.
There are only 4 cities; I mean three cities and several towns, which did not
fall into the attacks of Zaibach. One of them is Freid, "the land of the
endless flow" and the city we are staying in right now. Another is Lucrecia;
the land of everlasting love and the last one is Asturia, a flying city and
also known as the land of the forbidden dreams. The last one was supposedly,
Franelia, the land of the dragon's heart, but as we witnessed it, Zaibach
burned it down to ash. Do you get it now?" Van said smilingly even if traces of
his anger fumed out as he said the last few words.
"Umm… Okay, I get that part about Zaibach but I
still don't get the thing about Asturia." I said insulted by the laughter that
Van gave me as if he was saying that I was stupid in a sense that only I could
understand and feel.
"Oh, Asturia! As far as I know, Asturia was once the
city where the draconians used to live. You see, in the olden times draconians
were secretive people so they built a flying city and sent it somewhere above
the clouds. The city is enclosed in this big dome, where oxygen is continuously
pumped in and out so that the inhabitants do not run out of oxygen at that
altitude. To get there, you usually had to fly using the wings draconians are
born with or ride an airship to keep our identities secret. My mom was said to
be a very important member of the High Tribunal. She was the one in charge of
making sure that Asturia would never be seen. Her brother who died long before
my mother disappeared was said to be the guardian deity of the city and the
leader of the military. His life was shortened though when he tried to save the
city of Cretia from falling into the hands of Zaibach but he failed and died.
He left me the key to the city in his will," said Van smilingly once more, not
even noticing the hints that I have been showing telling him that he is
insulting me with his grins. Hell, I was pouting and even frowning and still he
replied me with smiles and grins, irritating me even more.
"I see…" I said even if I did not totally understand
what he was saying.
"Well then, let us get Hitomi and Merle to eat. I am
so hungry," he said ignoring me once more.
"Hey, wait up," I said quickly fixing my hair so
that it would be presentable.
*****
We knocked on their door and waited for either one
of them to open the door, but none came. Van and I got worried. "What could
have happened to them?" we thought. We knocked once more and still got no
answer. Van then broke down the door and Hitomi and Merle started screaming. I
took a peek and saw that they had just come out of the shower and were wearing
only towels around their chests. I blushed and immediately turned away. Van on
the other hand, just stood there frozen to the spot. Hitomi then went closer to
us and slapped us both on our cheeks. I must put that as a mental thought,
NEVER EVER enter her room even if we are in great danger! We told them we were
going to wait for them downstairs and give them their privacy. After ten long
minutes, they finally came down and sat beside us.
"Why did you ram into our door like that didn't you
hear we say, "We're taking a shower", back there." Hitomi said angrily.
"We did not hear you say that. We thought you were
in danger, that's why we rammed into your door." Van replied, trying to make
Hitomi guilty for slapping him instead of him feeling guilty for ramming the
door down.
"Well, you could have knocked once more," replied
Hitomi, "humph."
"Enough of that, we must eat now and sleep early
because tomorrow morning we will go to Asturia," said Van in a very commanding
tone of voice.
"But, Lord Van, we haven't done much shopping yet,"
said Merle in a very innocent tone of voice.
"We can always shop when we come back, Merle. Do not
worry about it. Anyway, the trip will only take about an hour or so, so we
would be back here by nightfall," assured Van.
"Kyosuke, why aren't you talking tonight? You were
talkative yesterday, what happened?" asked Hitomi.
"Nothing, it is just that I can not help but think
of …" I replied, my cheeks flushed with a deep hue of red.
"Yes… of what," she asked innocently enough, when a
soldier entered the inn and shot a bullet into the air.
"Who among you here is Allen Schezar?" asked the
soldier.
Everyone looked around trying to find out if anyone
stood up but there was none. The soldier then went to each table and examined
each and every one of us. He went past our table and we breathed a sign of
relief. The soldier searched everywhere but found no trace of this man called
Allen Schezar. He angrily stepped out of the inn and apologized for
interrupting us.
"Whew, that was close, I thought they found out that
I knew that Zaibach was attempting to destroy Asturia," said Van in a more
relieved tone than before.
We continued about eating our meals and began having
this strange conversation about the Draconian High Tribunal and the some of the
basic abilities of every draconian. Our conversation started with Hitomi asking
where Asturia was...
"Just as I told Kyosuke here awhile ago, Asturia is
a flying city above Freid. It is located just above the clouds. Draconians have
this duty of making sure that the amount of good and evil in this world remains
balanced. Oh yeah did you know draconians can involuntarily control weather
when they become berserk, neat huh?" said Van.
"I didn't know that you had the ability to control
the weather. Can you make it rain now????" said Hitomi.
"Yeah, make it rain and make thunderbolts fall on
Zaibach, eradicating it," I said imparting my knowledge with everyone on the
table.
"You're the last one I thought who would be that
cruel," Hitomi said laughingly.
"Sorry…." I said sarcastically.
"What?????" shouted Merle, "Lord Van, what are you
all talking about…"
We continued on talking and talking, until it was
already nightfall. We went back into our rooms and settled for the night.
******
The very next day, I woke up at the first shine of
day and was about to take my daily bath. I went to the bathroom, only to find
it was locked.
"Is anyone in there?" I asked.
"It's me, Van, I am taking a bath, just wait, I am
about done," said Van.
"Oh, okay…" I said, surprised that Van actually woke
up earlier than I did or maybe, just maybe he did not sleep at all.
I sat down by my bed and waited for him to finish.
It took about 5 minutes until he finally came out with only a towel draped
around his waist. I went in and took my
bath and when I came out, he was fully dressed.
"I am going to have my breakfast now. You wake up
Hitomi and Merle after you dress up okay," said Van. Then he left me.
I finally finished dressing up and went to the
Hitomi and Merle's room. I knocked on their door and soon after that Hitomi
stuck her head out of the door.
"What do you want?" she said. Her hair was
disarrayed but her face still stayed the same. It was still as cute as ever.
"Van says that after you two dress up, meet with us
downstairs to have your breakfast and then we will set off for Asturia," I
said, trying not to show my feelings for her.
"Okay, by the way the clothes you're wearing our cute.
Where did you buy them?" said Hitomi sarcastically.
I glanced at myself to see what I was wearing and
noticed that I was wearing some clothes I had just bought in the market last
night. I thought it would be nice to
wear them but I did not think that I would receive that kind of attention.
"Very funny," I said and headed down the staircase.
I went down and met Van there. He was having some
ham and eggs for breakfast and I decided to follow what he ate. I had already
finished my meal when Hitomi and Merle went down the long and winding staircase
and sat beside us. They ordered a couple of pieces of toast and ate them
bit-by-bit, savoring each bite for more than a second each. After being delayed by their weird slow
eating habits, we set of for the airship by the docks.
We then set off for the mystical city of Asturia,
immediately after reaching the docks, not knowing that a group of Guymeleves
was following us.
"Follow that airship," said Dilandau as he piloted
his Guymelf and followed the air ship, "Van I really look forward into fighting
with you."
****
It took us about an hour or so until we reached
Asturia. It was a beautiful city encased in a glass dome and filled with all
sorts of plants. We landed in the docking area and found ourselves face to face
with a female in her 40s. Van squinted and tried to see who it was and he knew
deep inside that it was actually his long, lost mother. Van hurried down the
ship and we followed him soon after. Van quickly hugged his mom, trying to
savor the warmth and security he felt with her, the fragrance of her hair and
the warmth of her touch. His mom also did the same and tears began to fall down
from her eyes.
"Van, where have you been? I have been waiting for
you here for 8 years now, you know?!" said Van's mom sobbingly and yet
sarcastically.
"How was I to know, you were here, I thought you
looked for Folken, my brother?" replied Van, trying to hold back the tears he
wanted to keep inside.
"I was not able to find your brother so I decided to
go here and I left Valgas a message that I was here. You were supposed to live
here with me until you were 18 so that I could give you Escaflowne and you can
be the king of Franelia," said Van's mom.
"Mom, I have bad news, Franelia was burned to the
ground and Valgas was murdered," said Van looking down at his feet.
"You are lying right? Please tell me you're lying,"
asked Van's mom coarsely and all Van could do is shake his head.
"That can't be true. Valgas could not have been
killed that fast. It can't be," said Van's mom, " I didn't expect this time to
come so soon but I believe it is time to bring you to Escaflowne. Come with
me..."
Van's mom led us through many trap doors and
hallways until we reached this big door with a keyhole by its side.
"Where is the key?" asked Van's mom, "The key my
brother gave you!"
"Oh, that one," said Van as he handed the key to his
mom, "Here!"
Van's mom inserted the key into the hole and turned
it. The door creaked open and it revealed to us a huge robot, a Guymelf.
"This is Escaflowne…" said Van's mom, "You are the
only one who can control it. Try it now."
Van boarded the Guymelef and tried testing out the
controls. We watched him try out his
new toy. Not knowing that there was an armada of Guymeleves led by Dilandau
approaching us. Van experimented with Escaflowne until he felt a sudden
trembling of the ground.
"Who could this be??" Van said to himself.
We rushed to the top floor and saw Dilandau and his
Guymelves destroy the city. Van's mom rushed to the main building and pressed
the defense system activation button. Dilandau seeing that that building was
the control tower blew it up in just a few seconds, taking Van's mom's life
away with it or so it may seem.
"NO…." Van cried as his voice echoed inside the city. He quickly
boarded his Guymelf and attacked Dilandau with all his rage.
To be continued
~ God in his
heaven, all is right with the world ~
- Evangelion
- ~ The Fallen angel will save the world but take everyone with his death
~
- Escaflowne