'Whatever it takes to get out of here.'
Through most of Lex's life, you could say he had a bit of a hard time.
And because of that, he left House Dozel and went along with Azel, all because of the Jungby priestess whom his best friend had feelings for.
And the best thing that came out of that journey was meeting the love of his life, Ayra.
Looking back on it, from the moment Lex laid eyes on Ayra for the first time in Verdane, he knew he was in love. He didn't even realize it at first. He had never paid too much attention to his feelings.
It wasn't until Azel brought it up that he realized he loved her. He could still remember the day in Northern Agustria when Edain had gotten engaged to Prince Jamke, and he did his best to comfort Azel. And, funnily enough, it gave both him and Azel the confidence to eventually confess their feelings to their soon-to-be wives.
"She's engaged, Lex, I didn't get a chance to tell her my true feelings, and now she's ENGAGED!"
"Calm down there, Azel, I know it hurts, but there's nothing you can do about it now."
"B-But I've been in love with her since we were kids! You know that! And thanks to my cowardice, I won't be able to be with her."
"Well, I'm not the best with love, but how about you talk to Lachesis? You two are friends, right? Plus, you seem to be the blonde healer type, I can already tell."
"Maybe, but her standards are too high because of Eldigan, compared to him, I'm utter trash."
"Don't say that. You're not trash, you're my friend, and you're awesome. Don't worry too much about it right now; take your time to move on. I mean, look at me. I've still yet to find anyone."
"You say that you haven't, Lex, but I've seen the way you look at Ayra," Azel said, changing the topic.
"I mean, I guess so, I've tried to speak to her, but she's a bit...fiery, to put it simply. But, perhaps you're right. Something about her makes her utterly infatuating."
"Heh, see? You like her, don't go acting like you don't know what love is!"
"Well, tell you what, if I can win Ayra's heart before you can win anyone else's, then you're right." Lex chuckled.
"Don't say I didn't tell you so!" Azel laughed, lightly punching Lex's arm.
And looking back on it now, he supposed Azel was right. Within a week, Lex had given Ayra a brave sword that she cherished, and with enough time together (mainly sparring), the two were found on the sparring grounds making out.
During their time in Silesse, Ayra gave birth to twins, who they named Ulster and Larcei. Lex always found it funny how Ulster's name was very similar to the place Manster district, Alster. But honestly, it was better than the name 'Schathach,' which was Ulster's middle name.
Regardless, from the year in Silesse alone, the twins were a hassle. They were very cranky when they woke up and always wanted attention from their parents. Either that or they would fight over their toys or take them away from the other children.
So when the time came to leave the children to Shannan and Oifey to go to Isaach, it was hard for them to separate from their parents. Even the both of them were feeling a bit off during the journey through the Yied Desert. But it had to be done to ensure their survival.
And it seemed that their odd feelings were correct.
'Whatever it takes.'
Those words echoed in Lex's mind as he ran away from the hell that was happening right now. He needed to get to Ayra; where was she anyway? She shouldn't have gone too far.
'She better not have died on me if that were to happen...I...'
No, she wasn't dead. She had to be alive. He just knew.
He looked around the plains, it was hard to see with all of the smoke, but he saw a certain swordmaster's silhouette with enough focus. Causing him to run without second thoughts.
"Ayra!" He shouted, hoping to get her attention, and it didn't take too long as she turned around and a wave of relief was shown on her face.
"Lex! Oh, thank Odo, you're alright!" Ayra exclaimed.
"Yeah, I made it out, somehow. But no time to stay here; we need to get to Isaach. Our children are there! No matter what it takes!"
"Right." The swordmaster nodded, then without a moment to lose, both began to make their way toward Isaach.
There weren't any problems while heading to Isaach, though that was only during the way. They had to be careful when they crossed the Isaachian border. Dozel soldiers had taken it over with Lex's half-brother, Danann, in command.
They knew that their children were in the village of Tirnanog; if they went through the mountains toward Sophara, they would be able to make it there unnoticed. However, little did they know that almost every area of Isaach was filled with soldiers and eventually were noticed and ambushed when they tried to pass through the mountains to Sophara.
Once they cleared out the guards, they were out in the open, and soon enough, they saw a huge shadow looming over them, behind it a good amount of soldiers. The person in question looked to be different from the Dozel soldiers they just fought. And when Lex turned around, he knew exactly who it was.
"Danann…"
"Well, well, if it isn't my dear brother!" Danann said, laughing before taking out his weapon. "Where do you think you're going?"
"None of your business, leave us alone!" Lex growled, readying his brave axe, before then turning to his wife. "Ayra, you need to run. I'll deal with him myself!"
Ayra shook her head and then took out her sword. "No, I'm not leaving you! I'll fight with you. We can easily deal with him together!"
Before Lex could respo,nd, he was met with a powerful axe-swing from Dannan. Thankfully, he managed to react, retaliating with his Brave Axe. He wasn't going to be caught off guard, especially from a simple attack like that. And so, the brothers dueled.
Ayra, on the other hand, went on to face off against the rest of Dannan's soldiers. Thanks to her great skill and speed, they were no match for her. It was only a matter of time before all the soldiers were taken down, making it possible for Ayra to catch up with Lex.
Meanwhile, the brothers continued fighting for a while. Their axes clashed multiple times, each blow more powerful than the last one. They were both tired, stopping to take a breath both of them stayed on guard. looking at Lex's axe and examining it closely, Dannan broke the silence. "Is that a Brave Axe you have there, isn't it?"
Lex said nothing. He only stared at his brother in case he was trying to distract him and catch him off guard.
"Come on! Speak to your brother, will you?" He taunted.
"No," Lex muttered under his breath, before attempting to attack him again.
"Well, I know you never liked me. But you don't have to be mean to your brother." Danann said, responding to his attack with a much more powerful blow.
Lex was clearly too tired to continue while Dannan still had a lot of energy left. He was at a disadvantage now. His only chance of winning was trying to hold his brother off until Ayra had dealt with the remaining soldiers. He needed to keep fighting, even with the little strength remaining in him. He was not going to go down that easily.
'Whatever it takes to make it out of here.'
Despite his stubbornness to keep going, it only made him more vulnerable. He trusted that Ayra would be able to finish things off before long, so he kept going. Up until he heard Ayra's voice calling his name behind him, which caused him to feel relieved, grinning a cocky grin. "Now you're fucked. My wife and I are gonna beat you to hell and back!"
Despite the newly gained confidence Lex got, he still was in a vulnerable position, and with a quick swipe, his brave axe was knocked out of his hands. Before he was then kicked to the ground, unable to get up as Danann kept him on the ground and took the Brave Axe.
"Heh, these things are pretty rare. Thanks for the gift, brother!" Danann laughed, showing off his newly obtained Brave Axe.
"LEX!" Ayra screamed, running as fast as she could before Danann could hurt her husband.
Lex grunted before he then yelled with what strength he had. "Ayra! Please, run! I want you to live!"
"No! I promised I'd never leave you!
"I know but there's nothing I can do anymore! Get out of here before you die! Our kids need you."
Without a word, Ayra only nodded, knowing full well what would happen to Lex. She couldn't stop it, so her only option was to run.
"I'll deal with her later." Danann scoffed before readying the Brave Axe. "Any last words, brother?"
Lex glared at him, before he spat. "Watch out, in due time Ayra will take you out. And if not her, our kids. Whatever it takes, you'll die where you stand."
Filled with pure fury, Danann swung the brave axe down. Then everything went black.
Ayra ran, she didn't know for how long, but she ran. She needed to reach Tirnanog without notice. She had to see her kids again, that's what both she and Lex wanted.
She went through some forests to make sure she would go unnoticed. And when she stopped to catch her breath something hit her in the back. And her first thought was. 'What the hell could be out here? Don't tell me there are more guards here.'
Except, when she turned around, she could only see a silhouette, as she readied herself to attack, she looked down and noticed that something was destroying her movement. She didn't recognize what it was, but she knew it wasn't good.
"Who goes there!? Come out and-" Her sentence was cut off as her vision went black, she could only hear the faint sound of a voice before she eventually heard nothing.
And in the outside world, she was only a statue as she was taken to the temple of Yied. Gathering dust for years to come.