Chapter 7: The Sorcerer
Allen was roused from a delicate sleep by a Fanelian soldier. “Sir Allen, you’ve been sent for,” he said in the least obtrusive fashion he could manage. “The man from Balsm is here.”
“Give me only a moment.” He leapt out of bed and set instantly upon his dressing while the soldier waited. As he’d said he was soon well enough prepared: his black slacks, white shirt, and sword at his hip. The urgency in this meeting preempted any other thoughts on his appearance. The soldier led him to a small drawing room in the castle’s interior, and then took up a position at the door.
Allen swiftly entered, and was met by Merle. She was seated calmly in an oversized chair near the wall. Their guest was seated at the room’s only table; he was sipping calmly from a cup of tea, and a small meal lay before him. The knight crossed toward him with quick strides. “I assume you are the sorcerer,” he stated.
“Kolaf Driffth,” the man introduced himself pleasantly, popping a small piece of fruit into his mouth. He was quite different than what Allen had envisioned: a man of average height with a slight build, with a handsome face and thick, chestnut hair. His clothing was also far different than the long black cloaks Allen remembered. Kolaf was dressed in brown trousers, a white silk shirt and a buttoned down vest; a perfectly respectable-appearing citizen.
“I see you were expecting something more impressive,” Kolaf remarked, brushing some food particle off his mustache. “I’m no longer a sorcerer, Allen Schezar. I’ve devoted my knowledge to the medical arts.”
Allen nodded, taking a seat across from him at the table. “Thank you for responding so quickly, Dr. Driffth. I know how difficult it is to travel during these times.”
Kolaf nodded in full agreement. “Yes, yes, of course. To be quite honest with you, I’ve been looking for some of our old subjects. When I heard that one was here, I was very pleased.” He paused to drain his cup of tea. “Fanelia’s cuisine is delicious, don’t you think?”
“Quite,” the knight replied tightly. Already he was frowning at the choice of the word “subject.” “But I’m afraid she’s no longer here.”
“She?” He hummed thoughtfully. “I got the impression from King Van’s letter that this matter was urgent.”
Yes--yes, I know. Allen shifted restlessly; what he hoped to accomplish he didn’t know, only that this chatter wasn’t helping. “It is. I don’t think Van told you, but we’re talking about my sister, Celena Schezar.” The doctor regarded him blankly until he added, “Dilandau Albatou, the Dragonslayer captain.”
Kolaf’s fork clattered on his plate, and he sat back in his chair. “Dilandau Albatou,” he repeated reverently. His gaze had grown distant, as if viewing some charming memory. “My God, I’d heard he’d been killed in the last battle in the Gaean War.” He focused abruptly. “You said it was your sister? So, he’s reverted?”
“Three years ago,” Allen explained briskly. Finally, getting somewhere. “She’s been normal for three years--until a few days ago. She transformed back into Dilandau, and then into Celena soon afterwards. Since then she’s gone missing.”
Kolaf frowned, trying to work out the story in his mind. “So three years ago Dilandau became Celena. Several days ago she became him, then he became her, and ran off.”
“Yes, something like that.”
“And what exactly do you need my help for?”
Allen started to speak, then stopped, as he didn’t know what he’d intended to say. With Celena gone, what good could this man do? Was it foolish to believe he’d be able to help her even if she was there? After all, he was no longer a sorcerer.
“Dr. Driffth.” Merle took a seat next to Allen and folded her hands in her lap. She sat very straight: he imagined that it was a posture taught to her with some difficulty. “We want to keep Celena from becoming Dilandau again--she doesn’t want to hurt people, and we want to help. Can’t you undo what was done?”
Allen bit his lip and looked hopefully to their guest. Kolaf was staring at the table fixedly with a grim expression. The younger man’s heart sank. There must be a way to help her. Please, let there be a way.
Kolaf sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry I can’t give you the answer you want. No, what was done cannot be undone.” He pushed his plate aside. “The procedure simply wasn’t meant to be reversed. Even using the original equipment--which may no longer exist--there’s no guarantee you’d end up with your sister’s original personality. Helping her make it worse.”
The knight shook his head in denial; the memory of Dilandau’s fight with Van was enough to prove that anything was better than allowing the former Dragonslayer to go free. “Why? What in God’s name did you do to her?”
“It’s a long explanation,” he warned, “but I did come prepared to give it.”
Allen nodded, as did his feline comrade. Though he knew her motives were focused on Van’s safety rather than Celena’s, but he appreciated her support. “Yes, tell us everything. If anything, I need to understand what’s happened to her.”
Kolaf frowned, obviously not looking forward to tell the story, prepared or not. “It will be difficult for you to hear. The details aren’t pleasant.”
“I don’t care.”
“Didn’t think you would. But I wanted to warn you.” Kolaf sat up in his chair and folded his hands on the table. “All right--from the beginning.” He cleared his throat. “I feel I should start by saying that we didn’t target your sister outright. When the experiments began we needed subjects, and children seemed more easily adopted. Any that fit our requirements were taken--in most cases we didn’t bother to check their background. Folma--my superior--didn’t even know her name until she told us herself.”
Merle stirred, as if restraining some accusing remark. I know, Merle, Allen thought bitterly. “Yes, I understand. Go on.”
“Anyway, when Dornkirk completed the destiny indicator nearly two decades ago, the first thing he predicted was his own demise,” Kolaf continued. “Us Sorcerers were charged with the task of creating a way to avoid this fate. At first we attempted to defy fate all together, by altering it with sorcery. When this failed we turned to human subjects. With magic and science, one person’s fate is easy to change.”
“So you changed Celena’s destiny?” Merle questioned.
Allen answered for their guest. “If it was Hitomi’s destiny to bring down Dornkirk and Dilandau’s destiny to save him, the two would collide, creating the possibility that Hitomi would fail. Is that right?”
Kolaf regarded his host appreciatively. “Your reasoning is correct--we came to the same conclusion. However, none of our tests were successful. There were too many outside forces surrounding the Emperor. Eventually we narrowed it down to a single threat: the Dragon Clan.”
“Dragon Clan?” Allen frowned. Though he’d always known Dornkirk was after Escaflowne, he didn’t know Zaibach had considered Van himself such a threat. “Why Van?”
“Because it was the Dragon’s destiny to bring about our destruction. Him and the girl from the Phantom Moon. Though it was ultimately Folken who killed Dornkirk, or so I heard.” There was a glint of deep anger in the man’s bright eyes, one that spoke of betrayal. He shook it off quickly. “I any case, Dilandau was out best chance of counter-acting the Dragon Clan.”
No wonder Dilandau hated Van so much. It was his destiny to kill him. “So Dilandau almost instinctually hated Van,” he surmised.
“Yes, it could be said that way,” the former sorcerer confirmed. “We referred to the phenomenon as Fate Nature. If a person’s destiny is strong enough, they will act in a fashion exemplifying that destiny. Which is why the procedure cannot be reversed. We didn’t give Celena a new destiny; we changed her original one. And since no one knows Celena’s original destiny, we have no way of restoring it.”
Allen rubbed his eyes wearily. “This can’t be true,” he murmured within a sigh. He didn’t want to believe what he was hearing. The little girl he’d so adored was gone forever--could she never be that innocent again? Had the past three years, so peaceful for them, been nothing but a lie?
“Wait a minute,” Merle objected. “If that’s true, then how did she become Celena again? She hasn’t tried to kill King Van in years.”
“That’s right,” the knight said hopefully. “The destiny you’re talking about is Dilandau’s. Celena must still exist for her to be here. Isn’t that right?”
Kolaf frowned thoughtfully--it was an expression Allen was beginning to hate. “Not necessarily. Dilandau and Celena are the same person, after all. And you said that she became Dilandau some days ago, which means that our original destiny is still intact.”
“Are there dragons down there?” Allen started as Celena’ voice drifted
through his mind. “Won’t you teach
me to fight, Brother? Can’t I pilot a
guymelef?
“I can’t wait to see King Van again.”
He shuddered. “He’s right,” he murmured aloud, sick with the realization. “All along…even thought she didn’t know…couldn’t have known….” He pounded his fist in the table. “Damnit, if I’d only told her sooner….”
Kolaf observed the knight’s outburst with the same calm, damnable expression. “Allen,” he prodded quietly. “Allen,” he prodded quietly. “Allen, listen to me. Celena will never be the way she was as a child. But she can be the weary she was after the war, for three years.” He hesitated a moment. “There’s something you should know. About Dilandau.”
Allen gradually pulled himself together. Celena would need his help once Van returned her, and in order to do that he would to understand everything. “Yes, go on.” He breathed deeply to calm himself. “I’m listening.”
“It’s just, you seem to be under a false impression.” Kolaf unbuttoned his cuff links, as if settling in to tell a long story. “Dilandau and Celena are not separate people. They do not turn into each other. They are simply facets of a single personality.”
“But one’s a boy,” Merle objected, “and one’s a girl.”
“I knew you’d say that. But you must think of Celena as having one mind and two bodies.” The doctor rummaged through one of his travel packs, removing a book of blank paper and a drawing pencil. He drew two circles, labeled “Dilandau” and “Celena.” He connected them with a straight line and encompassed both in a larger circle. “Both are part of the same mind. The name Dilandau simply refers to Celena’s Fate Nature--remember? The desire to kill Dragons lays on top of Celena’s personality, creating what you know of as Dilandau.”
“That doesn’t explain why it’s a boy,” Merle muttered.
Kolaf smiled grimly. “Patience.” He drew a male and female sign, connecting the former to Dilandau, the latter to Celena. “The male body, Dilandau’s, was created through sorcery, and is triggered by Dilandau’s personality. When Dilandau’s personality fails, so does the body. Likewise, the female body is connected directly to Celena.”
Allen growled in frustration. “This is all terrible confusing.”
“Think of Dilandau as a screen that lays over Celena,” the man suggested. “What we see changes, but Celena is till in place as an anchor. Dilandau cannot exist without this. Likewise, Celena has been as a screen over Dilandau. She cannot exist without him acting as anchor. They are inseparable.”
Merle considered this and held up her hands. She pressed the palms together, so that the fingers on one hand could be seen in the spaces of the other hand’s fingers. “Like this? And when she changes, it just switches which one we see better.” She flipped her hands to demonstrate.
“Yes. That’s very clever of you.” Kolaf smiled in appreciation of her example. “Our ultimate goal was to merge the two completely, but it never worked. There was always some problem.”
“I understand that much,” Allen spoke up. “But I don’t see how Dilandau resembles my sister at all.”
“It’s all very logical, actually,” the elder contradicted. “Before he was scarred, Dilandau was a capable leader--ruthless, yes, but every one of his men were fiercely loyal to him. He was intelligent, skilled, and absolutely devoted to Dornkirk--traits most likely inherited through Schezar blood.”
Kolaf hesitated once more, pursing his lips as he considered the look of disapproval on his company’s face. “If I may be so bold, let me say this: part of the destiny we programmed also required strength. Celena was at a very young age when her operation took place. At that time, you were the only model for strength she had.”
Allen flinched, glaring at the man. “What are you saying?” he asked in a threatening tone.
“Nothing accusatory. Simply that Celena’s only perception of strength at that time was a tall, handsome blond boy.”
He didn’t know how to respond to that, so he stayed silent, pondering. Dilandau was modeled…after me? But that’s…. He shook his head to clear his mind. “All right, I won’t argue. But please, won’t you tell me what you meant before? About how we can help Celena.”
Kolaf nodded whole-heartedly. “Of course, of course. The first thing must be to tell her everything--absolutely everything, no matter how painful you think it might be. It’d be best coming from you, but I can help, if you wish.
“She already knows,” Allen murmured, sighing deeply. He’d acquired a sizable headache after the course of the discussion, and he was exhausted from lack of sleep. “She knows about Dilandau, and the Dragonslayers, and Van.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” He recalled the still, almost listless expression in Celena’s eyes and in her tone when she admitted her knowledge. That silent understanding had truly frightened him. “Recently.”
“You told her?” Kolaf asked curiously. His expression clearly indicated that he hadn’t thought the man capable.
Slightly insulted by the doctor’s presumption, Allen replied, “No. Once she reverted to Celena several days ago, she had suddenly reclaimed her memory.”
The former Sorcerer straightened in his chair. Though Allen was glad to see his face change, the look of surprise gave him a feeling of dread. “What?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” Kolaf said distractedly. “It’s just, I didn’t think it was possible for Celena to gain Dilandau’s memories on her own, and visa versa. Obviously we didn’t want Dilandau to remember his life as Celena, so a memory block was placed. The two personalities shouldn’t be able to speak to each other directly.”
“So what does that mean?” asked Merle. “Did she get rid of the block thingy?”
“Maybe.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully, then abruptly straightened. “Well, there’s no telling until I’m able to speak to her, but I’m fairly positive that what you’ve told me is a good sign.”
Allen shifted uncomfortably--there was something in the Sorcerer’s mind that he wasn’t sharing, and that concerned him. “Van’s handling it right now. I trust him.”
“Van is? The Dragon?” For the first time during their long dialogue, Kolaf looked genuinely troubled. “You have to call him back.”
“Why?” demanded Merle. “Don’t you trust Lord Van?”
“You have to separate them immediately,” Kolaf insisted, rising slowly to his feet. His eyes shown with worry. “If you don’t, one of them will die. If the barrier between Celena and Dilandau has worn down, there’s no telling what she’ll be capable of. If you want to save your sister, it’s imperative that you keep her away from Van until she’s been treated.”
Allen also stood from his chair. “You believe they’ve merged, don’t you?”
The man recoiled slightly. “I…suspect, yes. It’s never been successful before, so I can’t predict the outcome. But I’m telling you--“ he placed his palms on the table surface for emphasis “--Celena and Van must be separated.”
“But how?” Merle looked to both men hopefully. “How can we help Lord Van?”
Allen pursed his lips, his mind reeling through his memories of Hitomi’s Phantom Moon. Without Hitomi, without Van, without the pendant, without Escaflowne--
“Merle, where is Escaflowne?”
Fanelia’s Shrine was brightly lit and filled with half a dozen uniformed guards. They were scattered around the impressive figure of Ispano’s guymelef Escaflowne, which knelt with the dignity of a reverent emperor within the great hall. Moonlight slid lazily over its ancient metal surface. Allen gazed up at the machine with respect, as he always had. He strode to the slumbering beast with purposeful strides.
Kolaf followed, his expression an indefinable mix of awe and resentment. Merle assured the guards that all was well, and that Van would soon return to put the Dragon to sleep once more. They watched Allen carefully as he approached their master’s possession.
Allen touched the cool metal of Escaflowne’s shin, his eyes unfocused, lips tightly pressed. “Van,” he murmured, concentrating with as much focus as he knew how. “Van, here me.”
He received no response, save the curious stares from the guards. Ignoring them, he began to climb onto the armors knee. Below, Merle did her best to pacify the onlookers. The knight continued, until he was facing the shining magenta jewel that served as Escaflowne’s heart. He reached his hand forward; the crystal began to glow an eerie warning, and electric heat skimmed his fingers. “Van, please hear me.” With a deep breath he touched it.
The reaction was immediate: a pain like lightening shot through Allen’s body, and a powerful, silent force repelled him. He fell backwards and almost toppled from Escaflowne’s bent knee. The jewel then darkened once more.
“Allen?” Kolaf called from below. “Are you all right?”
“Somewhat.” Allen lifted his right hand, which had grown numb. To his relief, the feeling gradually returned to the limb. He worked his fingers to be sure of their well being before returning to his task. I should have known Escaflowne would reject me. He leapt gracefully to the temple floor once more.
“Well?” Merle questioned. “What happened?”
Allen didn’t respond. Instead he stepped forward abruptly and sharply kicked Escaflowne’s foot. The boot ran with a percussive thud throughout the temple.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” the lead guard objected angrily.
“Van!” Allen struck the armor again, harder. “Van, hear me!” he shouted, paying no attention to the commotion he was causing. He continued to beat on the metal. “You have to come back! Bring my sister back!”
Van started from a sound sleep when a sharp pain shot through his foot. He sat up and groggily rubbed his eyes. I was having a good dream, too, he thought grumpily. He inspected the offending limb and frowned. Huh. What the hell’s going on?
The top of his foot began to sting once more, and he frowned, massaging it gently. I must have slept on it wrong. Suddenly he paused. His foot didn’t hurt from the outside, but rather, the inside. That can only mean Escaflowne’s been attacked. Instinctively he pressed his hand to his chest. What’s gong on? There should be guards.
His mind was alerted then to a faint tug, like the hand of a child on his brain. It was the same feeling he got when “speaking” to Hitomi, when he was still on Gaea. Of course--someone’s trying to contact me. He clasped his pendant to his chest and closed his eyes. But who? Merle? Allen?
]
-Van- The response was too forceful to be his faithful feline companion. Come back.
“Allen? What’s wrong?” Van spoke aloud without realizing.
-Come back. Sorcerer here-
The Sorcerer from Balsm. They must have found something out. “I can’t. Not yet.”
Allen’s mind grew frantic with a collage of anxious emotions and jumbled images. Van recoiled--he was inexperienced in “speaking” to Allen this way, and he couldn’t make sense of the message. “Allen, calm down. I don’t understand.”
-Come back. Stay away from Celena. Danger-
“Not until I can bring her back with me,” the king insisted. “If I leave now, Hitomi will be in danger. Celena came here to get to her.”
Allen fell silent, somewhat humbled by this declaration. Van waited patiently for his response. The knight finally rejoined with a firm, clear prayer.
-Please hurry-
Van sighed. “All right. I’ll do my best, Allen. Trust me.”
Allen released his breath and briefly closed his eyes. He didn’t realize that he was tottering until Kolaf took his elbow to steady him. “I’m all right,” the younger assured. “I’m just not used to this kind of communication, that’s all. Van heard me.”
“Is he coming back?” Merle demanded briskly. “What did he say? What’s happening?”
“He’s not coming back yet,” he replied softly. “He’s fine, but it seems that Celena has been targeting Hitomi. Until he can find her, he won’t come back.”
Merle’s spirit instantly dropped, as did her tail. She looked dejectedly to Escaflowne. “Lord Van….”
“Don’t worry, Merle.” Allen raised his gaze as well. “Van will surly find her. He’ll be fine.”