.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
~......... .........~
»~........ ........~»
:»~....... # »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» # .......~»:
^:»~...... : 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. ,¨,.,¨,.,,
.¨,..¨..,¨ ¨,..¨..,¨.
..,.,¨¨.¨, ,¨.¨¨,.,..
¨.¨.,,,.., ,..,,,.¨.¨
...¨¨¨,,.. ..,,¨¨¨...
,,,.,¨,,,. .,,,¨,.,,,