&%/~~..... .....~~/%&
%/~~...... ......~~/%
/~~....... .......~~/
~~........ ........~~
~......... .........~
~~........ # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ # ........~~
/~~....... / 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. .,..,,..-«
;=:.,¨.,.¨ ¨.,.¨,.:=;
%;~:.,¨.,. .,.¨,.:~;%
$%\«....,, ,,....«\%$
§%*=-,¨.¨. .¨.¨,-=*%§
#¤*%*»,.¨¨ ¨¨.,»*%*¤#