Our Council of Dreamers said they would come and they did. The Wanda, and their leader Guwiya-gi. The Council also said that Guwiya-gi would die from a wound from a bilaar, and if one of us delivered that wound, perhaps it would stop the years of invasions that filled their dreams.

I was troubled; I was no muRula, who trained with their bilaar for many years. For both hunting and protection against raids, the bilaar was a good choice, but my people instead preferred the simple barran, as we had since time began. But someone had to try and stop the Wanda, and I was the only one who had traveled to the place where the Dreamers said they would enter our world.

The huge void that stretched out from this place had scared me, although the Mari who lived there said that they could travel it. I shuddered, not knowing to believe them, and returned to my people to tell them of the wonder I had seen.

Now it fell to me to go back to that place which chilled my blood to think of and face the Wanda, alone. No others could be spared from the task of feeding the people, and so I set out, bilaar in hand, with a pouch of food and the blessings of the Council. The way was rough, crossing deserts and forest, often populated with people who were hostile to mine.

At the end, I stood once again at the void, where my world just seemed to drop off into nothingness. It seemed to be made of yari, which my people searched out for their survival, but so much at once was impossible. Surely the world was safe, as nothing could cross this void to attack us, I tried to persuade myself. I have better eyesight than most, but the sparkle of the surface of the void was hurting my eyes. I blinked a few times, and looked up again.

Unbelievably, I saw something approach, crossing that shining space. It was large and more importantly, it was white, which was one of the words that made the Dreamers wake in sweat. I stood frozen in terror, thinking that maybe this was Guwiya-gi. As it drew closer, I realized that it was actually a vessel of some type, although I had never seen anything like it at the time. There were beings moving about inside, and I hid in the undergrowth before they could see me.

I watched in fear as the vessel hovered a little from the edge and smaller vessels took the Wanda onto my world. They were the strangest creatures I had ever seen, though their bodies seemed somewhat like ours. Here the resemblance ended. Where my peoples bodies tended to be supple and dark skinned, these had ugly coloured, loose skin, long pointed noses and face that ranged from deep red to pale yellow. They had others with them, who looked like the Mari and were being treated very badly. I could see immediately why they should be stopped, and I had the bilaar that could end it all.

It has always haunted me that I threw it down and went running through the bush, but I was terrified. Nothing I could do could stop these beings. I couldn't recognize Guwiya-gi among the others. I just wanted to get away.

It has been many years since that day. Guwiya-gi did indeed die of a bilaar wound on another world, but his followers reported our existence to their leaders. The Wanda have taken over large swathes of my world, and killed of the people. I never returned to my village for shame of my cowardice. Now I live in the Wanda port, addicted to their yurraamu, using it to wash my feelings away. I have learnt some of their language, though it is terribly difficult. For example they call this place Sydney. Now, young man, won't you buy me one more yurraamu for the story?