@¤††»,,,,, ,,,,,»††¤@
@@¤††»,,,, ,,,,»††¤@@
#@@¤††»,,, ,,,»††¤@@#
##@@¤††»,, ,,»††¤@@##
###@@¤††», ,»††¤@@###
##@@¤††»,, # »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» # ,,»††¤@@##
#@@¤††»,,, † 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. ¨..~:%££@#
#@@£$*†=¨. now its wolves see further. .¨=†*$£@@#
###¶&%^^-. .-^^%&¶###
#@¶§$$;=,. .,=;$$§¶@#
##§*%;~..¨ ¨..~;%*§##
@&£=;~.,.¨ ¨.,.~;=£&@
£$%†~,¨¨,, ,,¨¨,~†%$£