History
The Vision of Escaflowne
Van is the son of the king of Fanelia, a small country in Gaea, and a Draconian, a being from Atlantis. As a child Van was trained by Balgus, one of the four master swordsman in Gaea, in the art of sword fighting and mortal combat. As a child Van was friends with a catgirl named Merle. Once when she didn’t believe that he had wings, an attribute of Draconians, Van tried to prove it to her by jumping off a building. The wings appeared but he lost control and started to fall only to be caught by his mother. She warned him never to show his wings until the appropriate moment.
Years later while Van was slaying a dragon to become king, he was transported to Earth where he met a girl named Hitmoi. Van managed to slay the beast with the girls help, but when he returned she accidentally came with him back to Gaea. They returned to the kingdom of Gaea where Van revealed the heart of the dragon he had slayed. He was later named king by the people; however, during his induction ceremony an attack was launched of Fanelia by invisible enemies.