Valley of the Wind

Biodata

History

Famine and the Erdtree's Arrival

The valley's survival had long been threatened by poisonous dust and miasma drifting from the Sea of Corruption to the west. Tolmekia's demands for grain and military service compounded its difficulties, while contaminated land and burned farmland brought the village close to famine 2 9 36.

Mu En's arrival as the Erdtree gave Nausicaä a means of reversing the contamination. He demonstrated the Law of Regression by cleansing fungi and toxins from the surrounding forest and soil. After witnessing the purification, Nausicaä agreed to become one of his people and help spread faith in gold 2.

Nausicaä subsequently led a disaster-relief team that established a kilometer-long firebreak to preserve the surviving forest. Mu En then turned his attention to the food shortage, proposing accelerated crop growth through Erdtree's Favor 4 9.

Reform and Internal Sabotage

The distribution of the new crops exposed a disagreement over the valley's traditions. Nausicaä favored equal distribution, while Mu En argued that food rewards should recognize contributions and disaster-relief work. He also criticized the absence of clear laws, advancement opportunities, and incentives 17.

At the public celebration, Nausicaä identified Tolmekian plunder as the source of the valley's suffering and openly credited the Erdtree with its recovery. Mu En healed the assembled villagers and transformed an empty field into a vegetable garden, winning widespread support 36 37.

Investigations later established that recent disasters were not merely accidents. Local conspirators had worked with the Torumekian Empire and the Insect Claw Sand Bandits to destabilize the valley through arson, rumors, and other sabotage. Nausicaä presented evidence at a public trial, sentencing Jijinsi to ten years of hard labor and several principal offenders to death by hanging 64.

Recovery and Outreach

The arrival of Pejite refugees supplied both labor and skills the valley previously lacked, including experience in mining ruins and intricate workshop crafts. By the recovery report, food reserves exceeded six months, a new factory was being prepared, and the weapons workshop was repairing and copying Storm Assault Rifles 69.

The leadership then organized three outward missions: an expedition toward the Sea of Corruption, a refugee-relief mission toward Pejite, and a caravan to the joint gathering at Mining Town. These missions sought resources, population growth, trade, and opportunities to spread Erdtree faith 86 87 88.

Regional Leadership

At Mining Town, the valley's Blessed Crops attracted intense commercial interest. Nausicaä offered discounted grain to famine-stricken nations and sought industrial equipment in return. She publicly described the Erdtree's agricultural, healing, and strengthening powers as discoveries of “ancient technology,” using access to them to encourage closer partnerships 144 158 159.

During the Mining Town crisis and the subsequent battle for Pejite, the valley's Blessed provided rescue work, healing, and assault forces. Their performance shifted other nations' perception of the valley from a newly prosperous minor country to a major military power 172 174 178 179.

Nausicaä ultimately secured agreement to replace the nations' old pact with the Erdtree Alliance, placing cooperation and resource allocation under her leadership. Shipments of seized supplies from Pejite subsequently supported further construction and expansion at home 198 200.

Geography and Landmarks

Valley and Approaches

• Shape: The valley resembles a trumpet, narrow in the west and broad in the east. Its narrowing terrain helped the disaster-relief team establish a firebreak 4.
• Western frontier: Only a desert a few dozen kilometers wide separates it from the Sea of Corruption, with no natural barrier sufficient to stop an advancing enemy. Apart from Pejite, it is the country closest to the forest 9.
• Eastern opening: The broad eastern mouth admits sunlight across the valley's cultivated ground 200.
• Overland routes: Beyond the canyon lies a desert “forest of towers,” where the expedition parties separated toward Pejite in the south, the Sea of Corruption in the west, and Mining Town in the north 88.

Castle

• Scale and position: Nausicaä's home and the village's administrative center is a castle more than fifty meters tall. Its base covers nearly one-fifth of the village's area and connects to the square by a single stone arch bridge 6.
• Windmills and water supply: Two large windmill towers rise above the base. Wind power pumps groundwater into a storage tank, allowing the castle tower to supply clean running water throughout the village without additional machinery or fuel 6 9.
• Hall: The reception and banquet hall displays embroidered tapestries and maintained weapons. Its council table bears more than a century of deliberations 7 86.
• Study and school: Jihl's private study contains books collected by generations of chiefs and doubles as a classroom 17.
• Hidden passages: Numerous secret passages cross the castle's lower levels 41.

Golden Forest

• The Golden Forest houses Mu En's main body and serves as a venue for ceremonies honoring the valley's warriors. By the recovery ceremony, the Erdtree had grown to ten meters tall, approximately level with the surrounding trees 69.

Government and Society

Administration

The original government centers authority on the clan leader, who controls military power, weapons production and storage, reserve food distribution, and appointments. Mu En regards this arrangement as capable of inspiring solidarity but poorly equipped for prolonged external threats without reform 17 21.

Education and Social Customs

• Education: Elders teach children literacy and general knowledge of trades in the castle study. Valuing education and broadening one's horizons are traditions maintained by successive leaders 17.
• Women's work: Most occupations are not divided into work men may perform and work women may not. Women serve in the armed militia 22.
• Housing: Alcove beds built into walls are common, conserving space and retaining warmth 9.
• Public conduct: Nausicaä rejects kneeling as a requirement for petitioning the chief, telling Meila that no one in the valley needs to kneel to speak 51.

Refugee Settlement

• Membership: Refugees who accumulate one hundred work points may apply for a house and official membership in the valley 68.
• Family support: Settlement promises include schooling for children, permanent shelter, and care in old age according to contributions 68.
• Integration: New arrivals are treated on equal terms with existing residents. Their mining and craft experience becomes an important part of the valley's recovery 69.

Economy and Technology

Agriculture and Trade

Accelerated cultivation is not without cost: much of the farmland needs time to recover after producing the emergency harvests. Liquid Field equipment, technical data, and tons of nutrient solution later arrive with the returning caravan 69 200.

Industrial Development

• Constraints: A small population, limited land and mineral resources, and shortages of machinery, fuel, and infrastructure prevent the valley from quickly establishing a complete industrial chain 73 151.
• Incantation-assisted craftsmanship: Mu En directs Gol and Beiteli to develop practical uses for incantations and train additional craftsmen rather than attempt immediate full-scale aircraft production 73.
• Expansion: Supplies from Pejite support plans for additional houses, factories, laboratories, and Liquid Fields 200.
• Engine research: Gol and the valley's craftsmen demonstrate a handmade Ceramic Steel pulsejet engine to Pejite engineers. The collaboration then turns toward an ornithopter prototype 207.

Military and Defenses

Militia and Blessed Warriors

• Recruitment: Mu En begins selecting the first Blessed unit's captain by testing ten strong, loyal militiamen 41.
• Expedition strength: Five Blessed villagers repel a giant king dragonfly during the Sea of Corruption expedition 132.
• Pejite assault: Por, Kamlin, and Wawar each lead a ten-person squad aboard the enemy warship 179.
• Regional impact: By the alliance negotiations, the valley's forces are credited with routing several thousand Dorok regulars with fewer than three hundred people and seizing four large warships 198.
• Remaining weaknesses: Mu En still identifies manpower and long-range weapon shortages after the battle 188.

Faith and Traditions

The Wind and Wind Riders

• Traditional reverence: Before accepting the Erdtree, Nausicaä reveres the wind as the valley's protector and an expression of nature's will 2.
• Wind Rider legend: The wind god is said to choose a valley child able to command currents and hear the wind's whispers. Jihl is the previous Wind Rider, and Nausicaä the current one 166.
• Practical distinction: Skilled gunship piloting is not exclusive to Wind Riders; Mito, Gol, and experienced veterans can also fly. Apart from Nausicaä, historical Wind Riders rarely demonstrate clearly supernatural powers 166.

Erdtree Faith

• Public acceptance: Purification, healing, abundant food, and rescue from fire provide the visible basis for the villagers' belief 37.
• Reciprocal support: Faith replenishes Mu En's Golden Runes, enabling further blessings and strengthening the valley's defenders 22 69.
• Foreign outreach: Expedition parties are tasked with spreading faith, while access to the Erdtree's powers becomes an incentive for diplomatic cooperation 87 159 198.

External Relations

• Tolmekia / Torumekian Empire — Former overlord whose grain seizures and military demands impoverish the valley. Imperial involvement is later exposed in the sabotage conspiracy 36 52 64.
• Pejite — Source of imported weapon components, refugees, and skilled workers. Following the campaign, airships deliver seized supplies to support the valley's expansion 22 69 200.
• Sea of Corruption — Initially feared as both a source of contamination and a potential retaliatory threat. Yupa's expedition later reports that Erdtree power causes no adverse reaction there 9 132.
• Dorok — Military opponent during the Mining Town crisis and Battle of Pejite 168 178 188.
• Erdtree Alliance members — Accept the valley's leadership in exchange for paid access to its technologies, replacing the previous pact with centralized cooperation under Nausicaä 198.