1 An Invasion

A bleeding shoulder wouldn't kill her. Gallaryn kept telling herself that repeatedly, glancing at the arrow crossing her left shoulder.

She couldn't tell if it went all the way or was still inside her, since everything was starting to float away, her heavy breathing unwinding into gentle puffs of air. She was fading, now focusing on the coldness of the stone she was half-sat half-laid on, and the fact that the moon stared at her instead of the sun. If it were the sun she would certainly be claiming for mercy.

There were two options: threatening the people into helping her, or figure out how to remove the arrow without cracking the metal tip inside. Gallaryn had learned something about arrow wounds with her grandfather... but only if this ground wasn't so icy, and the moon so mean, throwing her glints of light in the form of knives... If someone had told her she would keep an arrow on her shoulder while poeticizing about the moonlight tonight, she wouldn't have left the bed.

She couldn't see well, so was it her mind playing tricks or she just made a carpet on the floor with her blood? No! She needed to focus! Take the arrow off. But it felt like a part of her body now, and only a light breeze could make her see stars. May Goddess Seori help her.

Gallaryn moved her hand to the wooden piece, and, without giving herself a moment to hesitate, pushed the arrow in, a painful groan escaping her mouth. She hoped she wouldn't Shout there, bleeding, vulnerable, or another arrow would be waiting. Maybe she could take a minute before cracking the tip and... bleed to death? Of course, Gallaryn. Her hand sought for it, searching for that cursed tip, making not only her wounded shoulder ache but also the other arm to mimic the pain, hands trembling. The moon illuminated her hand's path to the arrow tip, and she figured it wasn't so mean. It'd be better if her hand were well visioned because Gallaryn herself could barely see what she was doing. Her hand blindly grabbed at it and turned it to the side with three fingers. Then she pulled out the rest of the arrow, tossing it to the ground.

The blood was still freely running through the ground, and unconsciousness was knocking on her door. Was it too far from the portal? If she could only...

"That was you." the moon said, sighing. "Of course that was you."

The moon had a woman's voice and gentle but strong arms that carried her away when the world turned dark.

---

Gallaryn knew she was still on Teren without even opening her eyes. The heat and sweat soaking her body were unmistakable reminders. And her mom would think she was up all night at Terenian festivals again. Even the wind freely entering the room laughed at her, but at least it licked some of the sweat away. She tried to get off the bed. Tamah probably was somewhere there, making tea.

Of course, she didn't succeed in standing from the nest of sheets, a sharp pain on her shoulder reminding her why she was there in the first place.

"I can hear you whining from miles away," Tamah crossed the room with a clay bowl between her hands, steaming hot liquid sloshing inside. Gallaryn must have made a face, because she said, "This tea just works when it's hot. Don't be dramatic and drink it."

Gallaryn pondered on throwing a tantrum, but choosing against, drank it anyway. It tasted bad. And burned her tongue.

"Did my mom come looking for me?" She gave the bowl back to Tamah.

"Not yet. Bet you're having a surprise when you go back." Tamah widened her eyes, then giggled at her own joke.

"You might be right, actually." But probably Sabaoth, her grandfather, would put some reason on her mom and prevent the murder of his grandchild. Gallaryn tried to stand up again, but Tamah pushed her down with a hand.

"No, you're not going anywhere. What were you thinking, Gal?" she shook her head, disappointed. "You could've died."

Gallaryn raised her eyebrows. Actually, that wasn't her fault, and Tamah should've known that. Gallaryn wasn't one to take risks or inconsequential. And, anyway, she didn't actually choose her lifestyle.

"Obviously, I wasn't expecting the arrow," Gallaryn stated, then whispered to herself, like the wind passing through her ears, "People are starting to hunt me."

The room suddenly fell silent. The sweat was starting to seep through the fabric covering Gallaryn's wound. About the wound, she couldn't see if Tamah did a great job, but the blurred spot seemed well. She didn't need to ask how Tamah was able to find her, since Teren was such a vast area. Gallaryn had already learned that she wouldn't be receiving any answers. Tamah would just say she had eyes and ears everywhere, and ordered Gallaryn not to question her ways again. There were risks for keeping Gallaryn's family secret, and she was aware of that.

She touched her own injured shoulder.

"I should go. It's dangerous to stay here in the daylight." she insisted.

Tamah just stood there, frowning, but she wasn't looking at her. Both knew she couldn't keep her there, especially during the daytime. Tamah just sighed, helping Gallaryn off the bed, and let her go through the door.

While Gallaryn broke on a sprint through Teren's dusty streets, she remembered why she used to only appear there at night. The sun was like a curse, or like it hated the world and threw all his wrath on Terenians as a punishment. Then she noticed she hadn't her coat on, and a bit of despair passed through her veins, just to fade when she found her way back home.

A crack on the structure of the world. Only a tiny fissure. Just enough to switch through worlds. Also enough for business. Thanks for that, Gallaryn and her family have been selling inter-worlds for decades.

Vibration, numbness, confusion, light, and dizziness. Then landing.

She expected yelling and chaos right when she arrived. Gallaryn never went one whole day away from home. There was chaos, all right. Books and furniture scattered all over, torn clothing and broken decoration. Perfumes, oils, and everything valuable destroyed on the ground.

Hurriedly, she stormed inside her room, her mother's room, her grandparents' room, her uncle's room... sheets off, beds turned down, clothes were torn. Coins scattered around the floor. If she hadn't connected the dots yet, it sure clicked now, looking at the bright, ring-sized coins, blinking at her like goat eyes, and seeming to make a surprised face, with that hole in the middle. Those coins saw everything. And she knew what they saw.

The Alliance discovered them.