Van Fanel, born on April 12, is an Aries and the Prince of Fanelia. As the pilot of Escaflowne, Van unexpectedly arrives on Earth one day while battling a Dragon. Thanks to Hitomi, a schoolgirl who inadvertently becomes involved in the conflict, Van's life is saved. Returning to his homeland, he finds it razed to the ground just days later. Swearing vengeance against the Zaibach Empire, the culprits behind the destruction, Van faces a shocking revelation: Folken, his supposedly deceased elder brother, works for them. With Hitomi’s assistance, Van sharpens his combat skills and begins predicting his enemies' tactics, gaining an advantage. However, his blood pact with Escaflowne ties him physically to its battle damage.
Van gradually falls in love with Hitomi, though her feelings aren't immediately mutual. As the young half-Draconian king of Fanelia, Van must adapt to dramatic upheavals after his kingdom's obliteration by Zaibach. He pilots Escaflowne, a Guymelef crafted by the enigmatic Ispano tribe that can transform into a flying dragon. The blood pact granting him control over Escaflowne links his body and soul to it, meaning Van suffers injuries when Escaflowne does. These wounds won’t heal until Escaflowne is repaired, and if Escaflowne is destroyed, Van will perish.
Van and Hitomi's fates are intertwined, and initially, he relies on her clairvoyant abilities, which save his life multiple times. Holding a grudge against Folken for abandoning Fanelia for Zaibach and Dornkirk for his grand ambitions, Van possesses Draconian wings enabling flight. In the 1994 manga, Van is depicted as hot-tempered and short-fused. Similar to the anime, his country is destroyed, leading him to ally with Allen against Zaibach. However, in the manga, this alliance starts with rescuing his mother, Queen Escalina, and along the way, he matures and takes responsibility for all Fanelia's survivors.
