........^» »^........
.........^ ^.........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... # »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» # ..........
.......... ; THE WOLF POOL EXISTS ; ..........
.......... ; IN A STALE TIMELINE, ; ..........
.......... ; BRANCHED WAY BACK ; ..........
.......... ; WHEN KIRUGU VARGIR ; ..........
.......... ; WAS ALMOST BARREN, ; ..........
.........^ COMPRISED MOSTLY OF ROCK AND ARID SOIL, ^.........
........^» AND PLANTS WERE ONLY STARTING TO GROW, »^........
.......^»; ; AT ALL... ; ;»^.......
......^»;† # »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» # †;»^......
¨,¨¨¨.«:§£ £§:«.¨¨¨,¨
.¨,,-»^*%@ MISPLACED EXPLORERS TRAVERSE THE @%*^»-,,¨.
¨,,:»=$§&£ LANDSCAPE, SEARCHING FOR A WAY BACK, £&§$=»:,,¨
,¨~-^%@### FINDING INSTEAD ONLY STONE AND DIRT AND ###@%^-~¨,
,.«;§&#£@# ROOTS THAT ARE AS HARD AS THE GROUND. #@£#&§;«.,
¨,^~:%£££@ IT'S GETTING DARK, THEY ARE THIRSTY, @£££%:~^,¨
¨.¨,»†^£¤¶ AND ABOUT TO FIND THE WOLF POOL. ¶¤£^†»,¨.¨
,,¨,^~;§$¤ ¤$§;~^,¨,,
¨,,,¨~~=§§ ¨#, §§=~~¨,,,¨
,.¨..,,~^^ ^^~,,..¨.,
,.¨,¨..:»* THE POOL LIES IN A SMALL METEORITE *»:..¨,¨.,
¨¨..¨,¨..~ IMPACT CRATER, SIXTY METERS ACROSS. ~..¨,¨..¨¨
.¨¨,¨¨,..- IT'S SURFACE IS PITCH BLACK AND EVEN -..,¨¨,¨¨.
¨.¨,.,,¨¨, THOUGH IT'S NOT WELL PROTECTED, IT IS ,¨¨,,.,¨.¨
..,...¨... UNDISTURBED BY WIND. ...¨...,..
.¨.,,,¨,,, ,,,¨,,,.¨.
¨.,,..,.,¨ ,#, ¨,.,..,,.¨
.,,¨,...,¨ ¨,...,¨,,.
,¨,¨.,.¨¨¨ AS THEY STUMBLE ON THE POOL, THE ¨¨¨.,.¨,¨,
.¨,,..¨,,, EXPLORERS FIRST BELIEVE IT TO BE WATER, ,,,¨..,,¨.
¨¨..¨....¨ WHICH IS SOMETHING THEY ALL DESIRE ¨....¨..¨¨
¨¨,......¨ GREATLY AT THIS POINT. THEY FAIL TO ¨......,¨¨
¨,.,,¨,,,, NOTICE THAT THE STARS DO NOT REFLECT ON ,,,,¨,,.,¨
¨.¨.¨,,¨,« ITS SURFACE. ONE OF THEM CROUCHES TO «,¨,,¨.¨.¨
..,,¨,¨~«† DRINK, FORMS A CUP WITH HIS HANDS, †«~¨,¨,,..
¨¨..¨¨-~=$ LOWERS THE CUP INTO THE POOL. $=~-¨¨..¨¨
¨.,,,,~/%$ $%/~,,,,.¨
..¨.^»^*§£ HE TRIES TO RESIST AT FIRST, BUT IS TOO £§*^»^.¨..
¨¨,:=†^§&# CLOSE, AND HE QUICKLY GIVES UP AS THE #&§^†=:,¨¨
,¨,~††$¤#@ LIQUID FLOWS INTO HIS MIND. THE OTHERS, @#¤$††~,¨,
.,«^§$£### « NOT UNDERSTANDING THE~DANGER, MOVE ###£$§^«,.
.¨.~**$§## CLOSER TO HELP THEIR.FRIEND. ##§$**~.¨.
,..,»*$&£# ¨ = » , , #£&$*»,..,
.,,¨-~/*¤@ AND.THEN¨THE.POOL.ANNOUNCES,ITSELF @¤*/~-¨,,.
,,,,.,«†%% TO¨THEM,-.SUDDEN,~,THOUGHTS¨OF, %%†«,.,,,,
.,,.,,^»=§ ¨.-DARK~WOLVES~.CLIMBING~OUT~OF::-» §=»^,,.,,.
,,.,¨,¨^~\ =~«THE=POOL,~SURROUNDING=THEM†-\=; \~^¨,¨,.,,
¨¨.,..,.,« :SUDDEN*THOUGHTS^OF»=;CLIMBING;== «,.,..,.¨¨
,¨..,,,.¨. INTO^THE:POOL,§THEIR$THIRST†FLARING* .¨.,,,..¨,
¨,..,,¨,,. *^^BRIGHT$-$£A§SUDDEN$$AWARENESS# .,,¨,,..,¨
¨,,,,,.¨¨, #£OF@£EXACTLY&¶HOW§THEY§HAD@TRAVELED,$# ,¨¨.,,,,,¨
¨.,¨,¨¨¨., #¤OF#THE@WAY@HOME¶#TO#THE#TIME#FROM## ,.¨¨¨,¨,.¨
¨,.¨,,.¨., #£WHERE#THEY#CAME,####@##AND#THEN@@## ,.¨.,,¨.,¨
¨¨,¨..¨¨,. #####THE#FEELING#OF#THIS*KNOWLEDGE^« .,¨¨..¨,¨¨
.¨¨.¨,.,¨, =~BEING = STOLEN »» FROM ««« THEM. . ,¨,.,¨.¨¨.
¨.¨,¨,¨¨,. -» . =~~ ¨ ~, :- « .,¨¨,¨,¨.¨
,.¨.¨..,.¨ , :^ . . ¨.,..¨.¨.,
¨.¨¨¨,¨,,. , , ¨ * .,,¨,¨¨¨.¨
¨¨,,¨¨¨..^ ^..¨¨¨,,¨¨
¨¨¨.¨.¨,:~ ,#¨ ~:,¨.¨.¨¨¨
¨¨,¨¨¨¨:~; ;~:¨¨¨¨,¨¨
,,.,¨¨,-*† AND, †*-,¨¨,.,,
¨¨.,,,«;†¤ ¤†;«,,,.¨¨
..,,~-;=%# NOW THE REACH OF THE POOL HAS WIDENED. #%=;-~,,..
¨,,^~†^§§@ NOW ITS WOLVES SEE FURTHER. @§§^†~^,,¨
,¨-»;^¤¤#@ @#¤¤^;»-¨,
,:-\†@£¶## ##¶£@†\-:,
¨¨-«\†§@#@ @#@§†\«-¨¨
...-«\*@¤¶ ¶¤@*\«-...
.,,.^~:**# #**:~^.,,.