The White Horse

I stared into Aila’s wide blue eyes, judging if I could sense any hostility from her.

The timing felt too suspicious. Barely thirty minutes had passed since I’d woken up in the grass. For her to stumble upon me like this? What story was that simple?

Yet she didn’t look like she wanted a fight. Her muscles weren’t tensed, nor did she seem primed to grab the sword at her side. There wasn’t a single aggressive bone in her body, not from what I could tell.

“Name’s Rin,” I said, keeping my answer short.

“Rin…” She let the silence hand in the air. “What’s an otherworlder doing all the way out here?”

“Otherworlder? W-what makes you say that?” I cursed internally. Five seconds into our conversation and this random cat girl was already on my tail.

I remembered back to those light novels at the bookstore. In them otherworlders were either being revered or hunted down like an invasive species. I had to pray it wasn’t the latter.

“Your clothes. No one wears anything like that around here, silly.” Her energy made me slightly lower my arms, though I still stayed on guard.

“Fair enough,” I sighed. “Is there anything wrong with being from another world?”

“Not to me!” Her eyes widened as she realized what I was implying. “No no no, I don’t have any problem with rescorges.”

“Rescorge?”

“People from another world.” She leaned in, tilting her head. “You must have just arrived, right? Have you discovered your Senn yet?”

“Senn? Rescorge? Speak in a way I understand.” I kept a thin layer of ice in my voice.

“So I'll take that as a no… Put your firsts down first? I promise I’m the least dangerous thing in the forest!” As if to prove her point, Aila unsheathed the small sword at her waist and tossed it onto the grass.

“Fine.”

“Thank you, Rin!” Aila hesitantly took a few steps closer, keeping her hands in full view. “Have you drunk any water since arriving in Sarai?”

“A little.” What was it with the water in the world. I glanced toward the wavy tree I had drunk from moments ago. Something about its taste didn’t sit right with me.

“Perfect.” She said. “First of all… what was your question again?”

“Rescorges and Senn’s”
“Right! Have you noticed a tattoo appear on you anywhere?”

“I don’t think so?” I glanced at my arms. “Do tattoos typically just sear themselves onto people in this world?”

“Try your shoulder, the right one.”

I unbuttoned my jacket and pushed back the collar of the school uniform beneath. “You have to be kidding me.”

Where plain skin had been all my life, a giant circular tattoo now covered the entirety of my shoulder; three circles of multi colored ink. The outermost slightly glowed with a shallow orange hue, just like the ring of inferno the ink depicted.

Inside that was a second ring, this one a simple white solid band that felt cool to the touch, and in the middle lay a simple sword. The only bit of detail was a vine-like pattern that crisscrossed around the hilt.

“Let me see!” Abandoning any pretense, Aila leaned in and pushed my shirt back, revealing my tattoo.
“That’s interesting… Aila narrowed her eyes. “I was hoping it would be Gabriel or Uriel.”

“Who?” I asked, pushing Aila off and taking a step back. “Also how did you know that was on my shoulder?”

“It was visible under your shirt.” She said, pointing toward my collar. “That’s a Senn, the mark given by the god who summoned you.”

“Wait, you’re saying you know who kidnapped me?”

“I wish I did,” She blushed. “The outer circle on a Senn represents whichever god summoned you. I know the common ones around here, but none of them have flames.”

“Figured,” I sighed. Even in another world, my shitty luck was the same. “Aila, have you ever heard of a girl named Lilly?”

“Lilly?” For whatever reason, she seemed to jolt at the name. “I don’t recall anyone with a name like that.”

It was worth a shot. “Fine. Tell me more about these Senn things then.”

Otherworlders in those novels always seemed to have some special ability, whether it was actually useful or something stupid like the ability to cook five percent better. Though, those seemingly useless abilities always found a way to secretly be overpowered. If I had to fathom a guess these Senn tattoos felt similar.

“You drank some water right? That’s its fuel.” Aila snapped her fingers. Before I could react, she teleported five feet away, then right back where she’d been.

Not moving fast, not some trick, straight up teleportation. “You’re saying I can do that?”

“Sorry, but probably not,” Aila teleported again, now standing right next to my shoulder. “For us normal people without a Senn, our abilities aren't really unique. I’m what's called a Riverrunner. We convert river water to speed.”

“You’re saying you didn’t teleport? You ran that?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I am a bit faster than your average Riverrunner. But enough about me! Riverrunners can be found on every street corner in Gallai.” She gently placed a hand on my tattoo before jumping back. “Oh, I'm sorry! Is it okay if I look?”

“Yeah,” Part of my brain pulled back, wanting nothing but to shove her away and get my space back. It took every bit of restraint I had to let her touch my shoulder.

“The white circle means your Senn is something light based. As for the sword, well, no one knows exactly what a Senn’s inner core means until they activate it. Well, it should be safe anyway!”
“Is it typically safe?”

“Depends on your definition, but it’ll be fine!” Aila said. “Probably.”

I focused, turning towards a rogue set of trees. “Nothing to lose, Rin.”

“That’s our line.”

I froze. From the same bushes Aila appeared from five men armed to the teeth with knives and weapons and clothed with ripped garments of black and brown.

“Aila, they with you?”

“Of course not! Harada forest is a notorious bandit hub, why do you think I was so hesitant to approach you in the first place?”

“You could have said something earlier!” We faced the bandits with our backs to one another. It pained me to admit but trusting Aila was the only option I had. “Do you have any experience fighting?”

“Not a lot.” Aila said.

“Well, well, what do we have here? A half-beast and a Rescorge fresh out of water.” The closest of the bandits, a grotesque man with teeth covered in grime, hefted a dark wooden club toward us. “We outnumber you tenfold, runt. But I’m not a dishonorable man. Leave your valuables and the half-beast behind and we’ll let you go, Rescorge.”

“At least have the decency to admit what you are.” I held my fists at the ready. Behind the fantastical facade of bloodstained cloaks and their weapons straight out of a manga, thugs were thugs. The world they happened to live in wasn’t relevant.

“I gave you a chance, Rescorge scum. Not many people–” I lunched forward, slamming my fist into his face before he could finish.

Blood flew like fireworks, a few teeth falling to the ground as the bandit staggered back. “Brat!”

“Shut it,” with the bandit temporarily stunned I glanced out of the corner of my eye. “Aila, you okay?”

“I’m fine!” Aila snapped her fingers, launching herself at the nearest set of bandits—sword extended like a claw. She spun midair as a bandit struck, vanishing with a snap of her fingers as the thug’s mace hit nothing but air, only to strike the man’s head with the hilt of her sword seconds later from behind.

My heart pounded a familiar rhythm. Lilly was far from a fighter, better me than her get stuck doing this kind of grunt work.

I watched as my opponent regained his footing. His club tore up dirt as he dragged it against the earth, wearing an all too familiar smile. “You’re dead, kid. No one jumps Sir Crarpol and lives to tell the tale.”

“Bite me.” My first darted like a bullet towards his face again. These kinds of thugs never expected the same trick twice.

His arm shot up, blocking my punch with a force thicker than concrete. As I took a step back, the man took out a small vial of water and downed it in a single gulp.

“Aila,” As the man grinned, I retreated back toward her. “Is running fast the only thing that water can do?”

“One of three,” She thrust the hilt of her sword towards the last of her bandits before turning towards our target. “I can tell you he isn’t like me. Considering we haven't seen any floating water I’d say he’s a Brickweller.”

“Floating water?”

“I’ll explain later,” Aila said.

“You’re smart for a half-beast. Pity that won't help you, riverrunner.” Amidst our squabbling, the bandit unsheathed a withered sword from his belt.

I leaped back as the man charged, digging up the earth like a mole with every pounding step. “What the hell is a Brickweller, Aila?”

“They get way stronger while drinking water! Not the kind of person we want to fight.”

“Shit.” My time fighting had honed more skills than just pure hand to hand combat. The most important part of a fight was figuring if there was a chance to win

One look at this brute with his muscles bulging told me I didn’t stand a chance. Not without some help.

“Aila? How do I use my tattoo?”

“Your Senn?” She snapped her fingers, appearing by my side. Her soft, warm fingers pressed against my tattoo. “Try to focus energy into your shoulder, let it run like a river!”

“What energy?”

“I don’t know! That's just what I have heard from other Rescorges.” She blushed, glancing towards the floor.

“Focus! Aila, you can't look away from your target in the middle of combat!” Though with her skill set she could take a nap mid fight and turn out fine.

“Sorry!” As she jumped back into action, I tried to follow Aila’s words.

What the hell did energy mean? I tensed my shoulder, focusing every bit of power I could into my new tattoo. All these buzzwords out of a novel felt like empty words, no more than loose explanations.

I just had to focus. My willpower would have to lead us out of this.

The air shimmered around my fingers, small pops like fireworks cracking out. My eyes focused. Not a single distracting thought was allowed in my brain.

“Focus, Rin,” I bit my lip, channeling every bit of energy I could towards my Senn.

Light sparkled to life from my hands. First came the hilt, an intricately carved masterpiece with vines carved of light running down the hands. Next came the blade.

A beam of pure white shot from the tip like an arrow. It warped the air around its path. Heat seared the grass under my feet.

I held the blade steady. This was just kendo. Kendo with a weapon more deadly than any gun I had ever seen on the TV.

Grass traced my path, the subtle smell of burnt forestry accompanying me as I faced off with the nameless bandit. He was a nobody. I’d taken out men like him a dozen time in my life, this wouldn’t be any different.

All to find Lilly.

“Brat!” He tried to leap back at the sight of my blade. I pointed towards his feet. Light erupted like a geyser as he scrambled. “I’ll kill you!”

Any threat he would have posed fell to the wayside as the man tumbled down, voice higher than a squeaky toy and noticeably missing the end of his left leg. “You–what kind of monster are you?!”

“One that's very tired.” But as I cornered him, my blade flickered, sending a searing sensation of pain through my air. Flickering lights dotted my vision, sending me tumbling back. “Damn it! Aila!”

“Right!” My new blade flickered like a strobe light, pieces of the blade falling into mist despite my focus. My only hope was for Aila to finish the job.

A girl I met five minutes ago was doing the dirty work while I sat back, unable to use the cheat power that was my main salvation here. I would have laughed if the searing pain up my arm stopped for a second.

“God damn it,” I dismissed the blade with a final push.

Luckily, Aila had finished the job. She stood above the bandit’s head, eyes staring unfocused towards the sky.

“That was so cool,” she said, wiping her hands against a ripped piece of his cloak. “I heard most Rescorge freak out at the first sign of danger, but you pulled out the sword and tackled him like it was nothing!”

“Brutes are the same everywhere. Wasn’t my first fight, won't be the last.”

“I see,” Aila glanced off towards the distance. “What are you planning to do after this, Rin?” For some reason, she refused to look me in the eye as she asked.

“Not sure,” I said. “That girl I mentioned earlier, Lilly. I’m confident she is somewhere on the planet, and I intend to find her if it's the last thing I do.”

“Well… To travel like that you’ll need to get settled in a town somewhere, have fun entering any city otherwise.” Aila looked out toward the forest. “The capital of Gallai, a city by the same name, is close to here.

“So?”
“I’m a member of the Gallai knights, a trainee if you must get specific,” She seemed hesitant to admit that part. “I still need someone to recommend to be my partner, and if you don’t have anywhere else to go…”

I got what she was getting at. “So, you want me to be your partner.”

“Only if you want to!” She said, “I’m not forcing you to do anything, but you’re more than skilled enough and, well, I kind of need a partner soon or they’ll assign me one at random.”

“I take it that's a bad choice?”

“I’d rather not take the gamble,” Aila sounded out with a nervous chuckle.

“Sounds like a deal,” I said. I could sound confident and lead the charge for Lilly right now. To be honest almost every part of me wanted just that. But, the rational side of my brain kept me aware of the blunt truth that I couldn’t find her alone, not with wandering from village to village like some mercenary. “Let’s become knights.”