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In a chamber that was once filled with plants from the Toxic Jungle, Nausicaä now sat alone, with only the flame from a lamp and her pet fox-squirrel Teto to keep her company. How long had it been since news of Asbel's death reached the Valley? Nausicaä wondered. Had it been days? Weeks? Months? Years?

Suddenly, the door to the chamber opened and a pair of footsteps came down the stairway. Nausicaä reached for the ohmu shell sword she carried. But, a familiar voice startled her. "Put that down, Nausicaä," the voice said. The face that went with the voice came into the lamp light. "Lord Yupa? What are you doing down here?" Nausicaä asked. "Obaba sent me down to find you. She has remembered a prophecy that you must hear," Yupa said. Nausicaä picked up Teto and gestured for Lord Yupa to lead her out of the chamber.

In the throne room, Nausicaä and Yupa were met by Obaba, the blind soothsayer of the village Nausicaä ruled over since her father, King Jihl, was murdered by the Tolmekians during their invasion of the Valley five years before. "Nausicaä, do you remember the tapestry with the man in blue?" Obaba asked.

Nausicaä nodded. It was a prophecy she made come true, albeit indirectly. "Yes, I do, Obaba," Nausicaä said. "Well, there is a panel on the same tapestry in the upper right-hand corner. Do you see it?" Obaba asked. Nausicaä looked up and saw the inscription. "'He will come, a warrior from before the Seven Days of Fire, and he will be unfamiliar with the ways of the water and the wind. After a time, he will adjust to nature's ways and will become the one destined to join with the Princess of the Wind,'" Nausicaä said, reading the inscription.

Nausicaä looked at Obaba, a confused look on her face. "What does the inscription mean, Obaba, when it said 'join with the Princess of the Wind?'" Nausicaä asked. Obaba began to suck on a lemon weed stick. "It could mean any number of things, child. It could mean that the warrior is destined to serve the Princess as a military commander, or it could mean that the warrior will marry the Princess. It is open to interpretation, Nausicaä," Obaba said.

Nausicaä turned to look at Lord Yupa. "What do you think, Lord Yupa?" Nausicaä asked. Yupa played with his mustache for a moment, and then looked at the tapestry. "I tend to agree with Obaba, Nausicaä. The inscription could indeed mean any number of things," Lord Yupa said.

As the sun set over the Valley, Nausicaä was about to take a bath, when Mito knocked on the door of Nausicaä's room. "Princess, one of our sentries has discovered a young man on the Northern Ridge. His clothing does not match any worn by people in Tolmekia, Pejite or the Valley," Mito said. "Mito, get my glider ready," Nausicaä said.

The glider sat on its launch hooks as Nausicaä, Mito and Lord Yupa made their way to the rooftop launch pad. "Your glider's ready, Highness," Gol, another long-time servant and friend of Nausicaä's family, said. Nausicaä handed Teto to Lord Yupa, and then got on the glider. Nausicaä lit the engine of the glider, and then sailed into the sky when Gol pulled the lever.

Nausicaä made her way to the Northern Ridge. Sure enough, she saw a fair-haired human lying on the ground. After setting the glider down, Nausicaä made her way to where the man laid. Nausicaä became concerned when she saw the man laid still and his eyes closed. Then, she smiled when she heard a loud snoring. The man was asleep.

Lord Yupa and Mito brought a cart to where Nausicaä and the man were. "Mito, Lord Yupa, put him in the cart," Nausicaä whispered. "But, be gentle. He's asleep." Mito and Lord Yupa put the man in the cart and strapped him in tight.

Back at the castle, Nausicaä looked at the tapestry with the "warrior from before the Seven Days of Fire" inscription and gasped when she saw the inscription up close. The patterns of the clothing on the figure in the inscription matched the patterns of the clothing that the man she found on the Northern Ridge. Now, Nausicaä wanted to meet this man more than ever.

The next morning, Nausicaä woke up to a loud scream of "Where the hell am I?" Nausicaä knew that it now time to meet the man behind her future destiny.

To be continued…