##@#£§^~-. .-~^§£#@##
#@#£§^~-.. ..-~^§£#@#
@#£§^~-... ...-~^§£#@
#£§^~-.... ....-~^§£#
£§^~-..... .....-~^§£
§^~-...... # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ # ......-~^§
^~-....... ^ 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. ..¨¨,.,¨,.
,.,...,.¨, ,¨.,...,.,
.,..,¨.,., ,.,.¨,..,.
:,,¨..¨¨.¨ ¨.¨¨..¨,,:
«^..¨¨,¨¨, ,¨¨,¨¨..^«
:«-.¨¨.,¨. .¨,.¨¨.-«: