#§%†=»^... ...^»=†%§#
§%†=»^.... ....^»=†%§
%†=»^..... .....^»=†%
†=»^...... ......^»=†
=»^....... .......^»=
»^........ # »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» # ........^»
^......... = 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. ,,...,.»†=
^~,.¨¨¨¨,¨ ¨,¨¨¨¨.,~^
«-¨,¨,.¨,¨ ¨,¨.,¨,¨-«
~,,,¨.,,¨¨ ¨¨,,.¨,,,~
.¨.,.,..,, ,,..,.,.¨.
...¨.,,.¨, ,¨.,,.¨...