Valla

The Kingdom of Valla (透魔王国 Tōma Ōkoku lit. Tōma Kingdom, also called the Invisible Kingdom in the Japanese version) is a country that lies between the nations of Nohr and Hoshido in complete isolation in Fire Emblem Fates.

Profile
Valla is a nation hidden beneath the Bottomless Canyon, when it was founded by the Silent Dragon Anankos and the first Vallite King Cadros, completely undisturbed and with little interaction with the world with only the royal families, specifically the kings and queens of Hoshido and Nohr, knowing of its existence. The kingdom boasts strange geometry, as the land and sky itself seems to be rend in pieces, and floats about seemingly at random. It is unknown if the kingdom was like this prior or after Anankos took over Valla. At an unspecified point in time before the game's events, the king was slain by its dragon Anankos. Anankos developed a strong grudge against humanity, eventually wiping out a vast majority of Valla's inhabitants and usurping the throne of Valla as its self-proclaimed god-king. Several fled from the dragon's wrath, among them being Valla's queen Arete and Mikoto, along with Arete's daughter Azura and Mikoto's child the Avatar. Arete and Mikoto would later became the second wives of the respective kings of the countries of Nohr and Hoshido. Anankos also placed a powerful curse upon the kingdom, causing anyone who attempted to reveal the existence of Valla outside of its borders to die instantly. As a result, its existence is known only to a small handful of people. The age of this curse is somewhat unspecified, but there seems to be no written or historical knowledge of the kingdom outside of it, so presumably the curse is quite old.

Due to Anankos' control over its people, the soldiers of Valla are often known as Invaders, although they are properly called Vallites (透魔兵 Tōmahei lit. Invisible Demon Soldiers) during the DLC Hidden Truths 2 and on the Revelation route. They share the same classes as the soldiers of Hoshido and Nohr. However, they are wreathed in ghostly flames and appear as translucent humanoid figures, most likely to serve as a method of intimidation and to prevent anyone from discovering Valla in the event that they were followed. Despite their apparent invisibility, they can still be sensed, as shown several times during the game such as in Hidden Truths.

Valla acts as the central culprit behind the events that transpire within the game, such as the death of Mikoto. Its inhabitants now are little more than puppets enslaved to Anankos' will, with only a few hidden from his sight.

History
Long before the events of Fates the kingdom was a prosperous place under its lineage of kings and the guidance of Anankos. However, hundreds of years ago, Anankos realized that his ancient animalistic instincts were beginning to compel him to destroy the kingdom that he helped create. In order to delay his fall into madness, Anankos created a song that would weaken his power and destructive urges, and he left the song with Cadros, the first King of Valla. However, in order to use the song, one must be of Cadros's lineage and possess a fragment of Anankos's dragonstone. Anankos continued to bestow blessings of power upon future generations of Valla's royalty, until at some point the final king in the royal line was killed before he could sing for Anankos. His dragonic instincts unsuppressed, Anankos obliterated an entire forest. Though there were no casualties, the people of Valla still blamed him for the destruction and tried to kill the dragon.

Unable to comprehend that the very people he had helped had shunned him, Anankos locked himself away in a mountain cave where his detest of humanity grew. Anankos was not completely alone, however; the succeeding King of Valla, his family, and a few select people would make trips to his cave to express their belief in him. Unfortunately, in a moment of weakness he lost control of himself and killed the King of Valla. However, before he completely degenerated, he tore off a portion of his soul which took on a human appearance in a last bid to stop his rage. Now completely succumbed to insanity and his hatred of humanity, Anankos started a campaign to conquer Valla and began to form an invisible army consisting of many of his former Vallite subjects. He even began to resurrect the dead to strengthen his army. He also self-sired a daughter named Lilith to further his goals. Anankos plotted to destroy humanity entirely by first eliminating Valla's greatest rivals: Nohr and Hoshido.

The human portion of Anankos wandered with no memories of his past and soon met Mikoto. The two fell in love and eventually gave birth to a child. However, soon after the birth of his child, Anankos recovered his memories and sent his new family,away to spare them from the dragon's wrath. However, helping them escape attracted the attention of the dragon Anankos, and the human portion would spend the next several years avoiding his other half. Arete and Mikoto would eventually marry King Garon and King Sumeragi, respectively, resulting in them becoming the second queens of Nohr and Hoshido.

Hidden Truths
After bringing Owain, Inigo, and Severa to Valla, Anankos explain them his story. He makes a request for them to head to Hoshido first to see Mikoto and help his child fulfill their destiny to assemble the five divine weapons to take down his dragon self. Before he can tell them of his child's name, Lilith appears under orders of Anankos' dragon self to stop him. Shocked by the news, she informs him that his child had been taken to Nohr. Owain, Inigo, and Severa attempt to attack Lilith, but are unable to do so. Anankos had a vision prior to their arrival showing that the three would be defeated if they met a girl in Valla. Anankos offers to send them back home, but the three refuse and chooses to stay and fight. After they encourage him to believe in them, Anankos gives them the power to defeat Lilith and bestows onto them their new names Odin, Laslow, and Selena. After the battle, Lilith continues to summon more soldiers to fight, but Anankos warps them straight to Nohr and tells them to become retainers for the Nohrian royal family in hopes of finding his child. Left alone to deal with Lilith, the young girl tries to kill Anankos' human avatar but finds herself unable to do so. Anankos tells Lilith that he really does love her despite just meeting her, but Lilith remains conflicted because his dragon form never expressed that same sentiment with her despite her efforts to please him. When she finally decides to abandon her attempt to murder his human avatar, Anankos senses his daughter's wavering and attempts to kill her. Sensing this, Anankos' Avatar sacrifices himself, taking the hit in her place. As he slowly dies, he asks Lilith to smile for him as he speaks his final words, apologizing to Lilith, Mikoto, and his child. Back in the Vallite Castle, Anankos swears to start a war between Hoshido and Nohr and end the human race. However, a fragment of his human avatar speaks through him, expressing his belief that Selena, Odin, and Laslow will one day bring the Avatar to him and defeat him.

Birthright
Note that in Birthright, Valla is not mentioned at all during the storyline.

Conquest
The Avatar visits Valla for the first time during Chapter 15, when they follow Azura through a portal in a lake. Along the way, they also find Gunter, who survived his fall at the Bottomless Canyon. However, they are attacked by the Vallites. Fortunately, they manage to escape back to the surface, although the three cannot tell their fellow allies due to the Vallite curse.

Revelation
The Avatar first visits Valla after the incident at Chapter 6, when both sides declare the Avatar, Azura and Felicia/Jakob to be traitors after they take down their commanders in battle. Fleeing from both sides, they end up at the Bottomless Canyon where they jump off the bridge. Azura explains the situation clearer to them since the Vallite curse would not affect them now. After rescuing Gunter, they return to the surface and decide that to take down Anankos, they would need to convince both sides to stop fighting each other and join the Avatar.

After getting both sides together and defeating Hans and Iago, who Garon sent to stop them, return to the Bottomless Canyon. Despite some skepticism from the siblings, the army jumps down and arrives at Valla, where they get a clearer view of the situation. Trusting the Avatar, they fight their way through groups of Vallites and reach the castle.

After Anankos reveals himself, he is eventually defeated by them. However, he summons Garon and consumes him to regain his strength, transforming back into his dragon form and fights the group again. However, he is unable to defend himself against the Omega Yato and is killed, lifting the curse. The Hoshidans and Nohrians return to the surface where the portals into Valla are sealed.

However, both Xander and Ryoma decide it is best not to forget Valla. The two decide to cede parts of their territories and populations to form a restored Valla. The Avatar is then crowned the ruler of the new kingdom, bringing peace to the world.

Known People From Valla

 * Avatar - Mikoto and Anankos' child.
 * Azura - Princess of Valla, and daughter of Arete.
 * Arete - Azura's mother, former Queen of Valla, and second wife of King Garon of Nohr.
 * Mikoto - The Avatar's mother, and Queen of Hoshido.
 * Lilith - The "sister" of the Avatar, created from Anankos' madness.
 * Anthony - A servant of Anankos.
 * Anankos - The Silent Dragon, usurper King of Valla, and the Avatar's father.
 * Cadros - The first king of Valla. Shigure is said to resemble him.

Etymology
Valla is most likely derived as a shortened form of Valhalla, a divine hall of Norse mythology in which Odin, king of Asgard, receives the souls of those slain in battle. This mirrors Anankos's role as king and his ability to raise the spirits of the dead to act as his soldiers.

Many other Norse mythological references are present in Fates, especially on the Nohrian side - Xander's legendary sword Siegfried and Leo's legendary tome Brynhildr are named for the hero and heroine in the Niebelungenlied, an epic poem revered in Norse and later Germanic myth, and the term Einherjar, used to describe units recruitable by visiting their own My Castle and those of other players, referred to those deemed worthy by the gods to fight in Ragnarok, the final battle between good and evil at the end of the world.

The name may also be a play on the word "veil" as the kingdom is hidden from the rest of the world.

Its Japanese title, "Touma", is made up from two kanji logographs: "Tou" meaning "transparent" or "to appear", and "ma", which translates as "magic" or "devil".

Trivia

 * The cultural elements of Valla isn't fixated, borrowing several designs and motif from Norse culture (Valla etymology and geography), Greek mythology (Vallite characters and water elements), and Indian culture (Symbol of water lilies, vajra motif of Yato, and Azura's dress patterns evocative of mandala)
 * Valla likely takes some inspiration from Valhalla in Norse mythology
 * A realm inhabited by einherjars; deceased warriors resurrected for the purpose of serving the gods, similar the Vallite warriors fought in Valla
 * Valhalla translates to "Hall of the Fallen" and "Hall of the Slain"
 * It is sometimes depicted as a heaven like environment in the sky, just like Valla
 * During the credits, Valla is represented by Water Lilies.


 * Oddly enough, if players set up Skirmishes in Valla, human enemies will appear despite being hidden from the rest of the world.
 * Enemies from Valla in any path of the game, including the 'Invaders', will appear with sprites colored with a purple color, instead of the red color usually associated with enemy units.