§$=;~:.... ....:~;=$§
$=;~:..... .....:~;=$
=;~:...... ......:~;=
;~:....... .......:~;
~:........ ........:~
:......... # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ # .........:
.......... ; 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. ..,,¨,,.«:
*/~-.,¨..¨ ¨..¨,.-~/*
$%=«.¨,,¨, ,¨,,¨.«=%$
££%^~^.,,, ,,,.^~^%££
##%$/~:¨.¨ ¨.¨:~/$%##
##&£*†~,,, ,,,~†*£&##