.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
-......... .........-
«-........ ........-«
†«-....... # «««««««««««««««««««« # .......-«†
%†«-...... † 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. ,..¨¨.,,,,
,.,,,,..., ,...,,,,.,
¨¨.¨¨,¨,., ,.,¨,¨¨.¨¨
..,.,.,¨., ,.¨,.,.,..
,.,..¨.¨., ,.¨.¨..,.,
.,,¨.¨¨.¨¨ ¨¨.¨¨.¨,,.