#@@@%^†~.¨ ¨.~†^%@@@#
#@@^^~~~.¨ ¨.~~~^^@@#
###@%^†~.¨ ¨.~†^%@###
#@^^~¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨~^^@#
###@%^†~.¨ ¨.~†^%@###
#@@@%^†~.¨ IN THE ENDLESS WINTER DAY, ON THE ¨.~†^%@@@#
###@%^†~.¨ CRYSTAL WHITE PLAINS... WE TRUDGE ALONG ¨.~†^%@###
###@%^†~.¨ THE TRAIN TRACKS... THEMSELVES SLOWLY ¨.~†^%@###
##%^†~¨¨¨¨ SNOWED OVER, IN THE STILL HOURS SINCE ¨¨¨¨~†^%##
@%%††.¨¨¨¨ THE LAST SUPPLY TRAIN. ¨¨¨¨.††%%@
##%%%^†~.¨ ¨.~†^%%%##
###@%^†~.¨ BELL-LIKE SOUNDS OF THE BLINDING ¨.~†^%@###
@^†~¨¨¨¨¨¨ GROUND. RIFLES ATTACHED TO OUR WRIST, ¨¨¨¨¨¨~†^@
###@%^†~.¨ SHARING IN OUR BLOODSTREAM. MY HUSKY, ¨.~†^%@###
#@%%%^†~.¨ MY WARM-COFFEE-IN-COLD-SNOW... ¨.~†^%%%@#
##@@%^†~.¨ ¨.~†^%@@##
###@%^†~.¨ THE FIRST FIVE SHOTS YOU CAN SPEND ¨.~†^%@###
@@@^^††~.¨ INDISCRIMINATELY, THEY HURT BUT DEAL NO ¨.~††^^@@@
##%%††~¨¨¨ LONG TIME DAMAGE TO THE SHOOTER. THE ¨¨¨~††%%##
###@%^†~.¨ NEXT FIVE YOU MUST SPEND WISELY, THEY ¨.~†^%@###
#@^††††~.¨ WILL TAKE DAYS TO HEAL. THE FINAL FIVE ¨.~††††^@#
###@%^†~.¨ YOU MUST NOT SPEND AT ALL. ¨.~†^%@###
####@^†~.¨ ¨.~†^@####
###@%^†~.¨ WEEKS EARLIER, IN THE WEAK AUTUMN DAWN, ¨.~†^%@###
@@^††~...¨ IN THE BLUE-GRAY FOG... SOMETHING IS ¨...~††^@@
##%†~..¨¨¨ BURNING WITH A DEEP CRIMSON FLAME, ¨¨¨..~†%##
###@%^†~.¨ UNTAMEABLE BY WATER OR WIND. ¨.~†^%@###
##@@%^†~.¨ ¨.~†^%@@##
#@^††††~.¨ ¨.~††††^@#
###@%^†~.¨ ¨.~†^%@###
####%^†~.¨ ¨.~†^%####
###@%^†~.¨ ¨.~†^%@###