Riptides

This short story is set in the same universe as the other stories I have posted here; this time's perspective with an Ardent who takes a last stand against his people's enemies.

 Blood flowed underneath the church doors, causing gasps from the children sitting nearby.

Vahrad tore off a piece of his clothing and calmly laid it down underneath the gap. The people inside followed his movement, unsure of what to do. They must’ve expected Vahrad to have some emergency plan. He didn’t.

 The screams outside filled the room; the fighting was getting closer with every minute. Flames lit the interior of the empty church, lighting up the faces of those still faithful to their Goddess. Vahrad looked around, a slight smile appearing on his face as he nodded to the several people still holding on to their shared belief.

  The children were whimpering; the women consoling them or silently mourning their lost husbands. Some were still out fighting, but none would win. They were not prepared for this battle. Not in the way their enemies had been.

   Some men went about caring for the wounded, but most sat staring at the door. All knew what was coming. All knew what would happen. And yet they waited, for it was all they could do.

   Vahrad went to check on the wounded children again. Most of them were unconscious, some of them probably dead, although Vahrad didn’t have the heart yet to confirm that. 

  Sofi looked up at him, her eyes hopeful. She didn’t have her parents with her; her father had brought her here and had gone off to fight the enemy. Where her mother was, Vahrad had never known. Despite that, she had always displayed this sort of childish innocence and a curiosity for the world and its people. Vahrad didn’t expect her to be older than 8, yet he could talk hours with this little girl about anything and everything. Her usual friendly smile, however, had faded from her face.

   Vahrad made his way towards her, forcing himself to smile as he usually did when he saw her.

   “And how are you feeling?” Vahrad asked in the most calm voice he could force at the moment.

   “My father, he will come back, won’t he, Ser?”

   “I do not know, my child. He is out there doing all he can.” Vahrad hesitated for a moment. “I hope for everyone it will be enough.”

   “My father is a great swordsman, I bet he’s already winning out there. He always believed, he did! She will protect him then, won’t She?”

   “As best as She possibly can, dear.”

   Sofi’s gaze went outside. Her eyes lit up as the flames now reached the side windows of the church, carefully creeping their way closer to their safe haven.

   “Will we be okay, Ser? Even if they reach us here?”

   Vahrad closed his eyes. The answer was no. They had lost.

   “We will be as long as we keep our faith in Úla. She will give us the strength to endure whatever comes next. And she will give her mercy to those who have strayed from her path. All we have to do is keep that which they can’t take from us.” Vahrad looked Sofi in the eyes. “We choose what we believe in, always.”

   Sofi trembled, her eyes fixated on the shadows cast on the windows.

   “Are you cold, dear?” Vahrad asked. 

   “No, Ser.” Sofi said distantly.

   Vahrad looked around at the others. Most were looking down at their feet, waiting. Some had fear in their eyes as they kept giving glances to the hard wooden doors of the church still locked. Most had accepted their fate. Some could not.

   Vahrad sat down next to Sofi.

   “Do you know how our people came here, to this land many years ago?”

   Sofi looked up.

   “Our ancestors wielded the power of Water. They could change its consistency, move it around and form great spectacles before the eyes. We came from across the Great Sea, you know.”

   “I know.” Sofi replied, still distant with her thoughts. “I don’t believe in that, though.”

   “Well of course you won’t believe it if you’ve never seen it, dear.” Vahrad replied.

   “You’ve seen it, Ser?” Sofi asked as she turned her head to his. “You’ve seen people wielding the Water?”

   “I have.” Vahrad replied with a smile.

   “But… that’s impossible. Father said it was just a myth made up by our people hundreds of years ago. To scare off the bad people.”

   “Oh I have not seen it in person; the people with that power did vanish all those years ago. No, I saw it in the water. The ripples on its surface showed it to me.”

   Sofi looked indifferent. She was not convinced.

   “Come here child.” Vahrad said as he took Sofi’s hand and guided her to the altar of the church.

    “There’s a reason this little pool is here in front of the altar. It shows us ardents stories of the past, present and future.”

   Sofi peered inside the still water, expecting something magical. Nothing happened.

   “I don’t see anything, Ser.”

   “You’re not an ardent now, are you?” Vahrad chuckled. He slowly drifted his finger in the pool. The water seemed to move out of its own, attracted to Vahrad’s finger on its surface.

   “How’s it doing that?” Sofi asked, amazed. Vahrad chuckled again, this time steering the water to Sofi’s location.

   “Look carefully, dear. What do you see?” he whispered. Sofi turned over the pool some more, squinting her eyes as she peered down into the ripples formed beneath her.

   “I see nothing, Ser.” she said.

   “Keep looking” Vahrad replied, as he too focused on the little spot Sofi was hunched over. Images started to form in the riptides, and people came into existence. 

   “I see him!” Sofi gasped. “My father!”.

   Nearby, people turned around to look at the scene, but were soon distracted again by the loud thundering of footsteps near the entrance of the church. They were getting close.

   “What do you see. dear?” Vahrad asked, ignoring the impending doom heading for the church now. 

   “I see father, he’s fighting and he’s winning! He must be close! He must…”

   Sofi’s voice echoed away. The riptides were gone. Vahrad let out a sigh as he massaged his knuckles. He hadn’t used his powers this precise for a while now.

   “It’s gone! Ser, what does that mean?!” Sofi exclaimed.

   An enormous bang cracked the wooden doors in motion. The people inside jumped up, scrambling to get their things and backing away as far as they could from the entrance of the church. 

   “My office, go to my office, all of you!” Vahrad called. He didn’t have to a second time, for the people fled into the tiny room in the back of the church. Vahrad stayed.

   “Ser, come on!” Sofi yelled, as people grabbed her by her waist and carried her inside. “Don’t leave us now!”.

   “I won’t, dear. Just stay there. Everything will be alright. You saw it, didn’t you? Trust the tides”

   Vahrad smiled as he saw Sofi’s hopeful smile on her face again. She and the others fled into the office and shut the door close.  He turned to the wooden doors now creaking and splintering apart. He closed his eyes once more and waited. 

   The doors gave away. And Vahrad stayed close to the pool in front of the altar. Before any of the men outside set one foot inside the church, Vahrad cracked the front of the pool open, flooding the floor of the church. The men were confused, then their faces turned terrified.

Vahrad smiled.