Feeling the heat these days? Me too. And it's about to get hotter here.

Chapter 34 – Valley of Torment (Pegasus Moon)

Judith wiped her sleeve against her forehead, clearing the sweat from her brow resulting from the blistering heat of Ailell's lava flows. The Valley of Torment was aptly named: a hellish landscape that stood in stark contrast to the rest of Fódlan, which was still gripped by icy winter. Acrid smoke and molten rock spanned the landscape, leaving her soldiers very uncomfortable, but hopefully undetected.

"Lady Judith?" asked one of the Hero of Daphnel's lieutenants.

Judith turned to the woman who had spoken to her, a lavender-haired Pegasus Knight named Melissa who had only recently become one of her officers.

"Something I can help you with, Lieutenant?" asked Judith.

"Are you certain the Knights of Seiros will be arriving today?"

"You have any reason to think they won't?"

"No, ma'am! It's just they're running a little late…"

"You don't need to worry yourself about it. Their new Archbishop isn't the type to go against her word. Besides, Catherine's never left me hanging before. They'll be here."

"If you say so, Lady Judith."

Judith was about to continue reassuring the new officer when one of her more experienced scouts rushed up and said, "Lady Judith, there's an army approaching us from the northwest."

Judith stood up as she realized something was amiss. From the last messages that she had received from the Knights of Seiros in the last week, they were going to be approaching from the south, not the north.

"What banner are they flying?" Judith asked the scout. "And how far off are they?"

"Erm, well…"

Judith didn't bother listening for an answer. They had to be close, based on the scout's expression. And they clearly weren't the army she was waiting for.

The head of House Daphnel strode quickly to the edge of her army's camp to peer through the smoke of Ailell's fires. Despite the acrid clouds blurring her vision, she could see the silhouettes of the approaching army. She took out a spyglass and focused it on the approaching army. Most armies in Fódlan had taken to using them, ignoring the Church's restriction on their use.

Her eyes widened at seeing the banner of House Rowe waving over a force of Dukedom knights, an army roughly equal in size to her own and only about half a mile away. And riding at the front of them was a man she recognized, dressed in heavy plate armor and bearing a fearsome axe and shield.

"Oh no…" Judith said in muted dismay upon seeing Lord Gwendel Roche, known far and wide as the Gray Lion.

From atop his horse, Gwendel could see the army of House Daphnel through his one good eye, and knew he held the advantage.

"Well now," said Gwendel. "The Hero of Daphnel. Maybe she can do me the honor of giving me a warrior's death."

As the Gray Lion said this, Judith was shouting orders to her men, knowing her army was in for a rough fight.

…

Dorothea wobbled slightly as she tried to bear the heat of Ailell on their march. Byleth had brought with her only 400 men, including their friends, leaving most of the Church's army led by Alois behind at Garreg Mach Monastery to defend it.

The group was moving slowly, knowing they had to be cautious in their venture through the volcanic escarpment. Active lava flows blocked several routes through the area, and various vents bellowed toxic smoke or released geysers of scalding water. Had they not been so desperate for Judith's aid, they would never have come to such a dangerous place.

Looking at her friends, Dorothea saw none of them were particularly happy to be in Ailell. Even Lana, who kept up her perpetual cheer, looked like she was going to pass out.

Linhardt was the first to voice his ire. "I'm overheated and have changed my mind. I'd like to return to my cozy bed now."

"Oh, come on, Linhardt," said Caspar. "It's not so bad."

"Speak for yourself, Caspar," said Leonie. "This place sucks."

"Who knew somewhere so hot existed in Fódlan," said Bernadetta. "I wonder if it's okay to walk everywhere…"

"Be careful where you step," said Felix. "Some of the rocks can conceal hidden pools of lava beneath them."

"Felix! Don't say stuff like that!" Bernadetta yelped.

"Perhaps we should rest for the moment," said Flayn. "At least until Alicia returns from her scouting mission."

The others quickly agreed to this and found a spot to rest their legs, taking care not to sit too close to any of the lava flows or boiling geysers.

"Anybody wanna explain why the hell a place like this exists in Fódlan?" asked Brigitte as she sat on a rock.

"Yeah, compared to the sauna back at the monastery, this place is doing absolute murder to my complexion," said Cia.

Seteth then said, "It is said that this land was born of the goddess's wrath. Long ago, this place was once a verdant forest until an immense battle was waged here. To end it, the goddess set the entire valley aflame using a pillar of light. The forest, and those within it, were burnt to ash."

"Wait, really?!" Annette said in horror. "The goddess did that?!"

"That is how the story goes," Constance said gloomily. Despite the clouds of ash covering Ailell, she was still exposed to sunlight. "Yet I could not hope to fathom the goddess's intentions on the matter."

"Don't go believing everything you hear," said Anna. "There's no records at the monastery of such a thing. It's probably all just rumors."

"Then how did Ailell end up like this?" asked Lysithea.

"No idea. But if you think about it, I doubt the goddess had anything to do with it. She's supposed to be benevolent, right? So why would she scorch this whole place? It's more likely that something else caused this and someone decided to blame her for it. Of course, that's just speculation on my part."

Dorothea watched as the others continued their discussion as she stood off to the side. She then turned to Byleth, who was busy watching for any sign of Alicia's return. The Archbishop had sent her ahead to try and find Judith, but she had been away for over an hour now.

Trying to endure the sweltering heat, Dorothea walked up to Byleth and asked, "Any sign of Alicia?"

"Not yet," Byleth answered. "Don't worry, she won't let us down."

"Yeah, I know."

After a moment of silence, Byleth turned to Dorothea and asked, "What's on your mind?"

"It's what the others are discussing," said Dorothea. "Byleth, do you think Sothis could have done this?" Lowering her voice so the others wouldn't hear them, Dorothea continued, "I mean, you were speaking with her until… you know."

"It doesn't make sense that she'd do something like this. Anna's right, something else must have been the cause."

"But why would Sothis be blamed for it? Do you think it was done by someone with a grudge against her?"

"Maybe."

"And what the others said, about this place being a forest once. What could be so powerful that it'd turn the place into… well, this?" Dorothea waved her arm out toward the volcanic wastes of Ailell. Then, after a moment of thought, Dorothea asked, "You don't think it was…"

"What, Dorothea?" asked Byleth.

"Do you think it might've been a Hymn?"

"I don't know. It's entirely possible, but it's like Anna said: there aren't any records of what really happened here."

Dorothea sighed at this, in a tone that told Byleth that her answer wasn't what the diva had wanted to hear.

"What's wrong, Dorothea?"

"It's just… I keep thinking back to what I did two days ago. I almost froze the monastery without realizing it. If Madame Jiayi hadn't stepped in, I–"

"Dorothea, it wasn't your fault. You weren't in control of your own actions. Please, don't blame yourself for what happened."

Dorothea gave another sigh and then said, "Thank you, Byleth. It means a lot to me when you say that."

Byleth gave the diva a reassuring smile, prompting one in return from Dorothea.

But the moment was interrupted as a familiar voice shouted, "Lady Eisner! Lady Eisner!"

Byleth, Dorothea, and their friends turned to see Alicia swooping down from above on Welkin's back, followed closely by another Pegasus Knight. The lavender-haired woman bore the symbol of House Daphnel on her armor.

"Alicia, did you find Judith?" asked Byleth. Then, seeing the look of worry on Alicia's face, she knew something was wrong.

"Lady Eisner, I'm Melissa, one of Lady Judith's riders," said Melissa. "You must hurry! We've come under attack by Dukedom forces!"

Everyone looked at Melissa in dismay as Shamir hissed, "Dammit. I thought we had disposed of all the spies."

"Where is Judith?" Byleth asked Melissa.

"We made camp not far from here," Melissa answered. "But the enemy army matches ours in size!"

"What banner were they flying?" asked Seteth.

"They fly the banner of House Rowe."

At that moment, Yuri said sarcastically, "Oh, this is just wonderful…"

"Yuri?" Byleth said to the rogue.

"I used to be Count Rowe's adopted son. If its his army, they're being led by Lord Gwendel."

"If you know him, couldn't you talk to him, Yurikins?" asked Dorothea.

Before Dorothea could continue, Yuri answered, "I know what you're thinking, Songbird, but it's not gonna work out like that. Gwendel's stubborn as an ox. He'll follow Count Rowe's orders to the letter. Don't go in expecting we can negotiate with him."

Dorothea wanted to protest, but upon seeing Yuri's unusually serious expression, she knew she'd be wasting her breath.

"What kind of forces would we be facing, Yuri?" asked Felix.

"House Rowe's army is mostly heavily armored knights and heavy cavalry, about 3,000 strong. They're some of the best in the Dukedom."

"Judy's army is made up of light infantry and archers," said Catherine. "She should be able to outmaneuver them until we reach her."

"That's…" Melissa said with uncertainty.

"What is it, Melissa?" asked Byleth.

"The lava flows in the area have been unusually strong as of late. With so much of it flowing…"

Shamir realized where Melissa was going and said, "They're trapped, is that it?"

Melissa nodded in response.

"We've gotta hurry, then!" said Lana. "Come on, everyone!"

Just before Lana was about to dash off, Cia grabbed her by the shoulder and said, "Whoa, hold on, Lana! Didn't you hear what Yuri said? We're way outnumbered here!"

"Cia's right!" said Bernadetta. "If we run into them, they'll crush us for sure!"

"You aren't suggesting that we abandon Lady Judith, are you?" said Annette.

Before anyone else could respond to Annette's question, Byleth said, "We're not abandoning her. She brought her army here because we needed her help, and now she needs ours." Turning to Melissa, she added, "Melissa, show us where Judith is."

"Of course, Lady Eisner!" the Pegasus Knight replied.

"Alright, you heard her, people!" shouted Leonie. "Let's go! Every second counts here!"

The Knights of Seiros quickly rallied behind Byleth as they followed her deeper into the Valley of Torment, with Byleth following behind Melissa as she guided them through the smoke and fire. Despite the pain and fatigue of the men and women of the small Church army, they pressed on, knowing they had no time for rest.

As they marched, Dorothea watched as Lana fell to her knees, her limited stamina giving out to the intense heat.

"Lana, are you okay?" said Cia.

"I'll be… I'll be fine, Cia," Lana said, masking her exhaustion with her cheeriness. "Y-You all go ahead without me. I just need a… need a second to catch my breath."

"Lana…"

"Like hell you're staying here," said Brigitte as she stormed up to the twins. "Hey, Flayn, is there room for one more on your Pegasus?"

Flayn was about to answer when Brigitte, not even waiting for her reply, hoisted a surprised Lana onto her shoulder. The blue-haired twin let out a loud "EEH?!" as Brigitte lifted her up onto Sumia's saddle behind Flayn.

Flayn, for her part, let out a flustered "Oh!" as she felt Lana's ample breasts against the back of her head. The green-haired healer made a short blush at such a strange sensation.

"I'd appreciate a little more notice, Miss Brigitte," said Flayn.

"Sorry, but time's a-wasting," said Brigitte. "You okay up there, Lana?"

Lana, still exhausted, gave the opera matron a smile in response. Flayn then urged Sumia back into the air, hovering only a short distance above the ground in case Lana fell off.

Dorothea, having watched the whole thing, said to Brigitte, "Briggie…"

"No one's getting left behind on my watch," Brigitte replied.

"Except us if we don't hurry," Cia snipped as she ran past her two opera friends.

Realizing they were standing around while the others were continuing onward, Dorothea and Brigitte ran after the Knights of Seiros.

At the front of the formation, Byleth watched Melissa from the ground as she flew ahead of them. She then looked ahead again to ensure she didn't run right into a lava stream or geyser.

But as she did, she saw a familiar glint of steel in the distance. Squinting, the Archbishop saw a bow being drawn from behind a set of rocks. It was aimed up at Melissa.

Just as Byleth shouted "Look out!", the archer in hiding released his arrow at the House Daphnel rider.

Melissa let out a brief gasp as the arrow pierced her into her waist above her left hip. She toppled from her saddle and fell toward the burning ground below.

Byleth didn't wait for her to impact before time ground to a halt.

Melissa's fall reversed itself, letting Byleth watch as she tumbled up back into her saddle. The arrow left her body and flew back to the one who had fired it, who Byleth still could not see clearly. Byleth herself ran backwards for another four seconds. She needed enough time to warn Melissa of the danger while conserving as much of the Divine Pulse's power as she could. The whole rewind was about ten seconds.

Time resumed its normal flow, letting Byleth see the archer drawing his bow two seconds before she had done so previously.

"Melissa, look out!" Byleth shouted.

Alarmed, Melissa looked around with her head on a swivel, seeing the archer below after two more seconds. She let out a loud shriek as she tried to pull back on her Pegasus's reins, but it was too late for her to dodge.

Byleth watched in horror as the arrow flew again, this time piercing through Melissa's left arm above the elbow. Melissa screamed as she lost her grip on her mount's reins and fell out of its saddle.

The green-haired Archbishop stopped as Melissa crashed to the ground after a 30-foot drop, her scream abruptly stopping as she impacted.

"No…!"

Byleth shut her eyes in regret, knowing the Pegasus Knight had to be dead. Behind her, the rest of her troops skidded to a halt upon seeing the Daphnel rider's fall.

Opening her eyes, Byleth saw Dukedom soldiers and knights emerge from their hiding place and quickly assume defensive positions. They only numbered around 200 strong, and they did not bear the banner of House Rowe, but bore a standard that Byleth immediately recognized, having seen it before in Magdred Way over five years ago.

Her eyes widened in dismay as Ashe Ubert emerged from his place behind the rocks, holding the bow that had struck down Melissa.

"Hello, Professor Eisner," said Ashe. "It's been a long time."

Sorry, Byleth. Can't save 'em all.

Anybody else feel like Ashe was always an underwhelming character in-game? His personal skill is situational, his stats aren't great, and I'm not overly fond of his personality. I'm not saying he's a bad character, but just not one of my favorites. And I know training him in various classes can help his viability, but I just find that Bernadetta, Ignatz, Leonie, Shamir and Claude make for better late-game archers. Ashe doesn't have Bernadetta's Vengeance build, he lacks Ignatz's utility and accuracy (Ignatz makes a great debuffer with Break Shot, Seal Strength, Seal Defense, and Seal Resistance, and he also gets Ward Arrow for silencing mages), and he lacks the consistent damage output that Leonie, Shamir and Claude get. He also does not match up to other axe users like Caspar, Hilda, Raphael, etc., because of his lower STR and durability. As such, I generally bench Ashe in my playthroughs because anything he can do, others can typically do better.

As for the fight between Judith's and Gwendel's armies, that'll come soon, either in the next chapter or the one after that. I hope to properly show the benefits and weaknesses between heavy infantry and heavy cavalry versus light infantry and archers. Heavy units might be able to overpower light ones, but can't move as well. Too bad Judith's in an area where she can't maneuver.