Here, at long last, is Chapter 4 of Fall of Our Fathers. I did say it would take less time for the next upload. Four months instead of two years is still a lot longer than I intended, but hey, it's still less. Sorry, about that, my life got very stressful (end of my college career) and writing fanfiction stopped being a priority despite the fact that I still enjoy it. It should take significantly less time for the next upload. I only intend to write one chapter of another fic between this chapter and the next, unlike the three (and what was ultimately four) from last time. Then I intend to write at least two, maybe three chapters of this in a row. So thank you for being patient, fair readers! This chapter covers the fates of Lex and Ayra. As always, please leave a review and enjoy!
"That's the best that I can do." said the healer with finality as he removed the bandages for the final time. "The rest, from her on out, is up to you."
"So I guess that's it, huh." said Ayra bitterly. "I'm stuck the rest of my life with one arm, Defenseless and helpless. That's just great!" she shouted, throwing her finished drinking glass against the wall. She watched the remnants of liquid slowly leak down the wall with tears welling in her eyes.
The healer moved towards the two men who were in the room with her, and spoke to them in a low voice. "I don't know if you want to encourage this, but I've heard of rare cases of people with only one arm who've maintained the ability to fight. If you want, you can convince her that she can be one of those rare cases. I don't know if you'll actually succeed, but hopefully it will prevent her from going into a suicidal depression and give her a reason to keep moving."
Lex and Dew both gave him a strange look, then they looked at one another as the healer left the room. "Well, I know that you think that this is your big chance to be the stronger spouse, but I'm not going to let Ayra be stuck like this if I can help it." declared Lex.
"Since when am I a misogynist? Don't make assumptions just because you're jealous and don't like me, Lex." retorted Dew. "I hate seeing her like this just as much as you do."
"Then why didn't you prevent this?" questioned Lex.
Dew looked not only hurt, but angry. Like he was ready to slap Lex as hard as he could. "Did you just… did you really just go there? Goddamit Lex, are you calling me out for not preventing Belhalla?! Screw you! You were with me, you were with me and I didn't see you doing a better job at preventing it! The hell Lex?! What the hell?!"
"…you're right, that was a low blow, and it demeans our friends who died." admitted Lex, rubbing his face. "Fine, I'll drop it. I'll even listen to you, so… what's the plan now? Do you have one?"
"Yea, I've got one. First of all, we get Ayra back on her feet." declared Dew. "Then we see if we can get her adjusted to living and fighting with one arm. Like the healer said, it can be done, I've seen it, but…"
"But…" said Lex.
"The cases that I've seen… well, from what I remember, not the entire limb was gone, figuring out a workaround for that is going to be tricky." confessed Dew.
"Plus, isn't Ayra right handed? It's her right arm that's missing." pontificated Lex
"Actually, she's ambidextrous. Come on, you should know that. You've seen her dual wield before. That's why I'm so confident that we can help her recuperate. Honestly? I think that once we convince her that she isn't useless, she'll be bck on her feet and kicking ass rather quickly."
Lex considered this for a moment "Ok. I'll buy that. So… what do we do once she recovers? We can't jut sit here."
"We go into Isaac and search for the kids." said Dew plainly. "You come with us. I don't like you, and you don't like me, but you can be useful. It's your brother who is using the country as a stomping ground after all, and you know what he is like."
He shrugged his shoulders "I don't pretend to know what your relationship with him is like and what kind of clout you'll still have with those loyal to Dozel, but you ARE a man of good character, and you are a former lord of Dozel, and I'd like to think that that may still count for SOMETHING."
He crossed his arms and raised a finger "I'm hoping, in the best case scenario, that it'll translate into some for of safety for our kids if you come along. Even if your former title does nothing… I'm not about to doubt your battle prowess. You'll be useful, at the very least, in some capacity."
"…Fine. I'm convinced. Didn't need much, since I needed to make sure that you'd treat her right, but that just adds extra motivation." declared Lex.
Unbeknownst to either of them, they weren't talking as quietly as they thought, and Ayra could overhear them. She had her eyes closed and she was taking this all in. "Wow, he's become quite the strategist. I could've chosen much worse." she though concerning her husband.
"He's right. I can't just sit on my ass feeling sorry for myself. Larcei and Ulster need me. I need to recover and get back to Isaac as soon as possible. For their sakes."
Ayra was filled with a new determination. She picked up her sword once more with her remaining arm and went about training so that she could fight single handedly. Dew served as her partner at first, as he was smaller and lighter, and thus couldn't put as much weight into his attacks. Eventually, she improved and was able to best him consistently.
That's when Lex tapped in so that she could get used to fighting larger, stronger opponents. Eventually, they found that she was capable of besting him as well, despite her handicap. Due to the confidence boost that this granted them, they decided to make their way through Isaac as soon as possible.
Lex and Dew bickered the entire way. This gave Ayra cause to reflect on her life choices. After all, the two should've been friends, but it was her fault that they were bitter rivals. She definitely had regrets.
It's true that she hadn't been in the best mental or emotional state in the wake of Isaac's fall, but that did not excuse leading two well meaning suitors on, only to turn around and seduce a young teenager, someone who was really only a man via technicality.
She knew what she had done was wrong, and had even admitted her wrongdoing to Lex, but he was blinded by his love for her, especially since she was clearly remorseful for her actions and he refused to believe that the responsibility for her vile actions lay on her. He placed all the blame for them on Dew. She hated this, but she had no idea what she could say to set this right.
As for Dew himself… his case was interesting. He was young, but he wasn't an idiot, she knew that full well. At the same time, however, she just couldn't tell whether or not he knew that he'd been used. She'd seen signs of both his ignorance and his knowledge, so… she had no idea what to say to him either.
One thing was for certain though, Dew had done everything in his power to earn the titles "man" and "father" for himself. She was sick with postpartum and an unknown illness after the birth. Dew had really gone out of his way to take care of the twins during that time, and even afterwards, he was their primary caretaker.
Lex had been the man she had really loved, and had planned to ditch Dew for him before she found out that she was pregnant. But now… she couldn't abandon him or split away from him in any fashion after witnessing that.
She had to be a mother for her kids, and it would be wrong to separate them from such a spectacular father, or to have them raised separately, they'd be biased towards one parent or the other.
It didn't matter anyways. She didn't want to consider splitting from Dew anymore. After all this time with him… for Dew, for all he had done, for him, her heart had been made firm.
By the time Ayra had made a full recovery, Danan had had enough time to consolidate his power. Since it was the beginning of his reign, he had a rather firm grip on the land, especially around the borders. Thus, while the trio's entry into the country was not prevented, it was detected.
As a result, Danan was very much aware that his hated brother had arrived in the country. He was going to have to do something about that. He was going to set a trap. He knew full well that some of the soldiers serving Dozel favored Lex, and that Lex was aware of this as well.
So, Danan sent out soldiers as spies. Soldiers he knew that Lex knew of who had leanings towards him, but whom Danan had full confidence would remain loyal to the empire, even if it meant betraying their favored lord. His brother would simply be "captured" and be "held" as a "political prisoner" of course. Traitor or not, why would he wish death on his own brother?
It was a rather blunt and nervous man by the name of Bolgi who ultimately sold the trio out. His actions would later be justly reward years down the line while Danan was in a rage about his sons' confrontation with Seliph's Liberation Army.
Dew, Ayra, and Lex were caught in a pincer maneuver and were forced into making their last stand in an old, decrepit fortress. Danan sent in five waves of soldiers before entering himself. This was a genuinely smart move on his part, because while this wore his enemies down, most of his men were dead by the time that he entered.
Just as he entered, Lex was on the second floor, swinging wildly and hacking his way through the enemy. One particularly powerful blow sent a soldier through the guardrail and down to the first floor.
However, his Brave Axe accidentally got wedged in the man's armor, and the man toppled with it still lodged in his chest, and landed only a couple of meters away from Danan.
Lex, immediately noticing and recognizing the terrible danger, threw a hand axe at him in order to keep him at bay, then jumped down in order to retrieve it. He miscalculated the distance, however, and didn't land quite close enough and didn't quite stick the landing either and injured himself in the process.
Danan rammed him with his shoulder, making Lex topple over, then he pulled the Brave Axe out of the man's corpse. "You seem especially determined to keep this out of my hands. Is there a particular reason for that?" asked Danan.
"Yea… sentimental crap you wouldn't understand. The conditions I got it under… it was kinda weird, and I don't think that you'll believe me, so let's just say that I got it via a test of virtue. I wanna keep it cause that's something I can hold over you and dad, virtue is something that neither of you cared for." claimed Lex.
Danan shrugged "You're right. Who needs virtue? All it does is cost you the good things in life." he said, hooking the axe on his belt and drawing his own blade "Like you. You joined Sigurd's rebellion out of 'virtue', correct? Well, now it's going to cost you your life."
"You sure that you want to do this, Danan? You know how tough I am." said Lex.
"True, you're made of iron, but it's dented, while mine is freshly mended. Draw your spare, and let's settle this." declared Danan.
So Lex did, and the brothers dueled while Ayra and Dew continued to fend off Dozel soldiers in the background. Lex was at a disadvantage here. He was tired, Danan had his favored weapon, and he had injured his legs making that leap earlier.
He kept trying to rectify the second problem by repeatedly reaching for it in the middle of the fight, but Danan kept note, and kept it out of reach. This made him suspect, however, that there was much more to it than sentimental value as Lex's reaches seemed to desperate.
So he exchanged blades on the fly and almost immediately landed a solid hit on Lex. "Huh, I can see why you like this axe so much." commented Danan. "Wait… is this a Brave Axe?!" he exclaimed as he examined it and realization dawned on him. A smug grin spread across his face. In that moment, he had decided to finish Lex off with his own weapon.
Lex fought as best as he could, but hit after hit landed, and at last, it became to much, and he collapsed to the floor. Danan rolled him over, laughing "Who's superior now, Lex? At long last, things are as they should be. Finally, I WIN!" he cried, and he brought the axe down savagely upon Lex's head.
This caught Ayra's complete attention, and she froze and shouted her dismay. This gave an enemy soldier the opportunity to slash her across the back. She practically decapitated him in retaliation.
Danan turned his attention to her. He tilted his head "Mariccle's sister, I take it? So, you finally show yourself, and…" he stared at her missing limb "I see that Odo's warrior spirit didn't pass over you in the slightest. Killing you is going to be quite interesting."
Ayra gritted her teeth and raised her blade "Yea? Well, you're going to find that that won't be as simple a task as you think." Danan grinned maniacally and spun the Brave Axe, advancing towards her. Then Dew leapt out of concealment and slashed him down the length of his back.
He rolled, and used his wind sword in order to propel himself away. "Now I'd say that we're about even." declared Ayra. And the husband and wife duo tag teamed Danan.
Dew served as the distraction and did minor damage while all the serious attacks came from Ayra. But as Danan got desperate, he finally figured out their pattern, and he managed to seize Dew by the neck with his free hand while he was trying to duck out of the way.
Danan used him to batter Ayra out of the way, then slammed him into a pillar. Then he peeled him off, spun about, and tossed Dew as hard as he could across the room.
Ayra ran to him "Dew! Are you alright?!" she cried as he picked himself off the floor, spitting up blood.
"I… I can still fight!" he declared. The fact that he immediately collapsed as he then tried to get up proved that no, he could not in fact fight. Ayra gave him a long, pained look.
She wrapped her hand around his fingers "I don't think that I ever told you this, but I always through that you were a highly admirable father. A much better parent than me, anyways. Keep giving that same love and care to the twins for me, OK?" she said, removing her hand.
Dew suddenly found that there was an active Return ring on his finger "Wait, how did you?!" he cried, as he warped away he screamed "AYRA!" at the top of his lungs.
Ayra turned back to face Danan with a glare. "How noble and virtuous of you. Like I told my late brother, all that virtue will do is cost you." he said. Ayra cried out in pain as she found a throwing axe buried in her thigh. She forced it out as quickly as she could as Danan rushed her.
Danan struck down with his axe with all of his might, then put all of his weight behind it, pushing Ayra to her knees, and forcing her own blade nearer and nearer to her own body.
Filled with determination, she steadied her footing, pivoted to the left and slashed Danan's side. He lashed out wildly, and managed to nick her neck. She managed to retaliate with a shoulder wound.
And so their deadly dance continued. Danan probably would've been in true danger had Ayra retained both her, arms, wasn't injured, and wasn't exhausted. As it was, they were essentially on even footing for the duration of the fight.
Eventually, Danan backed Ayra into a literal corner. Trying to take advantage of her surroundings, she backed up, pushed herself off the wall, and tried to leap over Danan. He grabbed her by the waist, lifted up his knee, and slammed her down back first into it.
A loud cracking sound was heard and she fell to the ground, spitting blood. She tried to lift her sword in order to defend, but Danan kicked her flat on her back and buried his axe in her shoulder. "Any final remarks?" he asked.
"Shanan… Larcei, Ulster, Seliph. The fate of Isaac is in your hands now. And Dew, I apologize... for how I used you wrong. My heart was firm for you in the end."
"Hmm." grunted Danan, frowning and shrugging his shoulders. Then the axe came down, brutal and swift.