..^~†*@### ###@*†~^..
.^~†*@#### ####@*†~^.
..^~†*@### ###@*†~^..
...^~†*@## ##@*†~^...
....^~†*@# #@*†~^....
.....^~†*@ . . . @*†~^.....
......^~†* . . . . . . *†~^......
.......^~† ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ †~^.......
......^~†* ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ *†~^......
.....^~†*@ †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† @*†~^.....
....^~†*@# #@*†~^....
...^~†*@## JUST OFF THE COAST TO THE BALTIC SEA ##@*†~^...
..^~†*@### THERE'S A FRESHWATER POND, SECLUDED ###@*†~^..
.^~†*@#### AMONG ASHEN AND JUNIPER. A CLEFT IN THE ####@*†~^.
..^~†*@### LIMESTONE BEDROCK, SHARP-CUT FROM THE ###@*†~^..
...^~†*@## SURROUNDING PLAINS, A NINETY DEGREE ##@*†~^...
....^~†*@# DROP DOWN, DOWN, TO THE MIDNIGHT-BLACK #@*†~^....
.....^~†*@ WATER. @*†~^.....
......^~†* *†~^......
.......^~† ~~~~========~~~~ †~^.......
......^~†* ~~== ==~~ *†~^......
.....^~†*@ ~~~~~== FAIRIES LIVE HERE. ==~~~~~ @*†~^.....
....^~†*@# ~~== ==~~ #@*†~^....
...^~†*@## ~~~~========~~~~ ##@*†~^...
..^~†*@### ###@*†~^..
.^~†*@#### THEY SPEAK TO THE SLOANE, CARESS IT, ####@*†~^.
..^~†*@### URGE IT TO GROW THICKER, TANGLED, WITH ###@*†~^..
...^~†*@## LONGER AND SHARPER THORNS. THEY TELL IT ##@*†~^...
....^~†*@# TO STAY JUST BELOW THE GRASS, SO THAT #@*†~^....
.....^~†*@ THE ANIMALS WHAT COME TO DRINK THE @*†~^.....
......^~†* WATER CANNOT SEE IT BEFORE IT DRAWS *†~^......
.......^~† THEIR BLOOD. CLOSER TO THE POND, THE †~^.......
......^~†* SLOANE CAN GROW TALLER, BEING ABLE TO *†~^......
.....^~†*@ HIDE ALSO IN THE JUNIPER. @*†~^.....
....^~†*@# #@*†~^....
...^~†*@## THE FAIRIES WILL BECKON THE ANIMALS TO ##@*†~^...
..^~†*@### PUSH FORWARD, TELL THEM THAT THEY'RE ###@*†~^..
.^~†*@#### ALMOST AT THE WATER, THAT THEY MAY ####@*†~^.
..^~†*@### DRINK SOON. AND THEY WILL TUG ON THE ###@*†~^..
...^~†*@## SLOANE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE THORNS CUT ##@*†~^...
....^~†*@# DEEP. WHEN THEY FINALLY FIND THE PATH #@*†~^....
.....^~†*@ DOWN BETWEEN THE ROCKS, AWAY FROM THE @*†~^.....
......^~†* BUSHWORK AND INTO THE CLEFT, THEY ARE *†~^......
.......^~† BLEEDING FROM A THOUSAND WOUNDS. AS †~^.......
......^~†* THEY DRINK FROM THE DARK WATER, IT IS *†~^......
.....^~†*@ IN TURN DRINKING THE ANIMALS BLOOD. @*†~^.....
....^~†*@# #@*†~^....
...^~†*@## THE CIRCLE IS COMPLETE, THE CONTRACT ##@*†~^...
..^~†*@### CARRIED OUT; THE ANIMAL IS ABANDONED TO ###@*†~^..
.^~†*@#### FIND ITS OWN WAY BACK. THE BUSHES ROOTS ####@*†~^.
..^~†*@### DRINK THE NUTRUTIOUS WATER. THE FAIRIES ###@*†~^..
...^~†*@## DANCE IN THE SUNBEAMS. ##@*†~^...
....^~†*@# #@*†~^....
.....^~†*@ †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† @*†~^.....
......^~†* ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ *†~^......
.......^~† ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ †~^.......
......^~†* . . . . . . *†~^......
.....^~†*@ . . . @*†~^.....
....^~†*@# #@*†~^....
...^~†*@## ##@*†~^...
..^~†*@### ###@*†~^..
.^~†*@#### ####@*†~^.
..^~†*@### ###@*†~^..