We get our first encounter with this "charming" merchant prince in Dangerous Wounds. He is the man with the shoulder-length brown hair, unshaven chin, and lips pressed to the glass of a rather large aquarium as he "kisses" his mermaid, Selphie.(Here's where I'm able to make 2 qualified anime references: Final Fantasy 8, and 'Chapter' 18 of Fushigi Yuugi). Though this concept seems a trite screwy at first, we will come to know that it because Dryden himself is a trite screwy.
    Later on, in that same episode, we find out that this mermaid-kisser  has donned a pair of John Lennon-wannabe glasses and has decided he looks much more chique with his hair tied up in a bandana that makes one think if there are donky ears in those chestnut strands. We also come to learn that the 21 year-old is betrothed to Millerna.
    Not wasting any time listening to why she has boarded his ship, he leads her into his study where he tells her that he's glad she's grown out of her tomboy stage and proceeds to tell her why marrying him would be such a wondrous idea. Millerna, the doctor she is, is smart enough to realize that she shouldn't listen to this guy with a severe inability to shut up, but to get him to tell her tent that Hitomi has to ask Allen whether or not this fellow is "alright", in a tone that leaves the underlying meaning, "did he forget to take his Ritalin?".
    But, eventually, Dryden calms down enough to somewhat quote a line from E.T. and is generous enough to pay the 50 million required for the repair of Escaflowne. Actually, it's more of an infatuation with the princess than the want to save the king of Fanelia's life, but we're not going to burst anyone's bubble here.
    So la-dee-da, Van is saved, and Dryden helps a little with the kawaii VH relationship by giving the "creepy fortune teller" all the credit for rescuing the Draconian from certain death. From that point on, Dryden makes appearances in every episode.
    Dryden is the son of Meiden, the man who appeared a total of two times during the series. He was the one sitting next to King Aston during Van's "test" in City of Intrigue, and the one who tried to sell Hitomi off. Nothing is ever mentioned about Dryden's mother, but you can tell that she's probably quirky to match her husband and son.
    Like Allen, Dryden is 21, and somewhat like Allen, Dryden is in lroduced. He seemed to be just another character to fill in air time, to meddle in people's lives and act like a man you would not want to touch with a 10-foot pole. His remarks were constantly snide, and he just added to the whole big love pentagon that makes everyone cringe. I can remember one or two rare instances where he was actually sincere and/or nice.
    However, as the series progressed further, I found myself enjoying the minor character's little comments and chuckle that makes you want to laugh right along with him because he sounds so evil. He adds so much to the series, things that you will not come to realize until the show is over.

...Even though his appearance tells us that he's stuck in a fashion era that's in between Arabian Nights and the Beatles.