Submission (#907) Approved

After all of these months of spending their days in the desert, and the stormlands, Hark was in Devara now. They spent a lot of time by the oasis, digging in the sand and playing along the river but they really enjoyed Northern Ahza, watching the lightning strike over and over again. It was so flashy and loud! It was so fearsome! Not to mention just how cool Weldwick was! It was like a whole other world up there, compared to Southern Ahza, or even sweet Faerindell.

It may no longer be the sand and storms of Central and Northern Ahza, but Southern Ahza had its own good charm, too! Instead of sand and desert, Hark was enjoying the featured cliffs, rocks, and waterfalls that were the feature here. There was a particularly nice view at night on the cliffs, overlooking the ocean. Hark almost felt like they would be able to see all the way to Faerindell from here, and that brought them some sense of comfort.

They had sailed down the Ahza River from Weldwick the previous month, taking in one last look at the desert along the way. Hark tried to make the best of it, although they had been expected to do chores on the ship nonetheless while along the voyage. Who would know when they would see it again? It had been an interesting sail down but they had made it in one piece. Hark wouldn't have minded staying in Ahza longer but they were starting to miss it back in Faerindell, or rather, they were starting to miss their brother Sprig.

Hark wasn't sure if they would be staying in Faerindell though. They definitely wanted to visit Sprig, possibly more than they wanted to see their mother, but they had intentions to go to Bellmoril just south of there after a brief visit there. They hoped to be able to get a visit into the autumn land before the miasma set in for the year. Ideally, they would want to settle back down in Faerindell for the season after but Hark couldn't see the future. There was a good chance they would end up trapped in Bellmoril for a while so it would be good to see Sprig before then. Oh, how Hark missed their little, baby brother!

What a surprise for Hark when they discover that their little brother is no longer little! Impossible! Hark would never in their wildest dreams even consider the idea that Sprig would have grown up while they were gone, seeing the world! No, never! They wouldn't even believe it even after having seen it. Fortunately, Hark could stay in denial for a little while still.

Hark wanted to enjoy their time left in Ahza. Tomorrow they would be boarding the ship back to Faerindell, and then soon after that, they would be on their way to Bellmoril. Tonight? Tonight Hark was going to watch the stars. It was a good time to do so as Starfaire was usually a good season for it. They might not be in Silveil, which Hark heard was the best place for it as it was always nighttime there, but Ahza had some beautiful desert skies at night as well.

Tonight was not what he had expected though. Instead of falling stars in the sky, Hark discovered what seemed to be falling light. They were light pink motes, and light green motes, light yellow motes, and a lot of white motes! They looked sort of like rain, and sort of like falling stars! It was so unusual! Was Ahza trying to say goodbye to him? Was this something that happened in Ahza during Starfaire? How could people prefer falling stars to this? It was so cool!

Hark was utterly amazed by the display and found himself prancing around in it, trying to catch the light. This seemed like the perfect end to their time in Ahza!