†*~^......                                          ......^~*†
*~^.......                                          .......^~*
~^........                                          ........^~
^.........                                          .........^
..........                                          ..........
^......... ...^^^****************************^^^... .........^
~^........ .^*            The  Spire            ~*. ........^~
*~^....... ~*^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~^ .......^~*
†*~^...... *~^ Once Upon A Time, There Was A    *^~ ......^~*†
£†*~^..... *^~  Benevolent Spire, Towering Well ^*~ .....^~*†£
&£†*~^.... ^*~  Above Our Tallest Trees. It Was ^~* ....^~*†£&
#&£†*~^... ^~* Clad In White Scales, And Shaped ~^* ...^~*†£&#
##&£†*~^.. ~^*       Liked  A  Mushroom.        ~*^ ..^~*†£&##
###&£†*~^. ~*^      We  Loved  It  Dearly.      *~^ .^~*†£&###
##&£†*~^.. *~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*^~ ..^~*†£&##
#&£†*~^... *^~ It Predated  Us By  Many  Years, ^*~ ...^~*†£&#
&£†*~^.... ^*~ And We Did Not Know Its Original ^~* ....^~*†£&
£†*~^..... ^~*  Builders. They  Had  Used  Its  ~^* .....^~*†£
†*~^...... ~^* Hollow Body  For  Many  Strange  ~*^ ......^~*†
*~^....... ~*^ Purposes  -  A Womblike Place Of *~^ .......^~*
~^........ *~^ Gestation, A Storage  Of  Strage *^~ ........^~
^......... *^~ Fluids, A Temple To Some Kind Of ^*~ .........^
.......... ^*~    Arcane   Deity.               ^~* ..........
^......... ^~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^* .........^
~^........ ~^*   We  Were  Grateful  For   Its  ~*^ ........^~
*~^....... ~*^ Presence, And  Honored  It  The  *~^ .......^~*
†*~^...... *~^  Only  Way  We  Knew  How:   By  *^~ ......^~*†
£†*~^..... .^~        Breaking        In.       ^~. .....^~*†£
&£†*~^.... ...^^^****************************^^^... ....^~*†£&
#&£†*~^...                                          ...^~*†£&#
##&£†*~^..                                          ..^~*†£&##
###&£†*~^. ...^^^****************************^^^... .^~*†£&###
##&£†*~^.. .~* This Place We Called Our  City:  ^*~ ..^~*†£&##
#&£†*~^... ^*~  Wavy And Fractured,  With  Each *^~ ...^~*†£&#
&£†*~^.... *^~ Courtyard On A Different Height, *~^ ....^~*†£&
£†*~^..... *~^ Roads  Becoming Roofs  Becoming  ~*^ .....^~*†£
†*~^...... ~*^ Drains.  And  Some Places, Like  ~^* ......^~*†
*~^....... ~^*  The Spire, Nobody Had  Accessed ^~* .......^~*
~^........ ^~* For  Many Years. Once  Its Walls ^*~ ........^~
^......... ^*~  Are  Just  Too  High,  And The  *^~ .........^
.......... *^~ Internal Routes To Labyrinthine, *~^ ..........
^......... *~^ A  Place  Among Others Is Easily ~*^ .........^
~^........ ~*^            Overlooked.           ^~* ........^~
*~^....... ^~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^*~ .......^~*
†*~^...... ^*~ So,  Basically, That Summer The  *^~ ......^~*†
£†*~^..... *^~ Four Of Us Snuck And Climbed And ~^* .....^~*†£
&£†*~^.... *~^ Crawled For Weeks, Searching For ~*^ ....^~*†£&
#&£†*~^... ~*^ A Secluded Place To Do Drugs And ~^* ...^~*†£&#
##&£†*~^.. ~^*  Play Music  On Our Handhelds.   ^~* ..^~*†£&##
###&£†*~^. ^~*  Instead We  Found  Vast  Lungs  ^*~ .^~*†£&###
##&£†*~^.. ^*~   Drained   Of  Their  Catalyst  *^~ ..^~*†£&##
#&£†*~^... *^~ Sludge, And A  Birds-Eye View To *~^ ...^~*†£&#
&£†*~^.... *~^  Make Sense  Of Our Roamings For ~*^ ....^~*†£&
£†*~^..... ~*^        Years   To   Come.        ~^* .....^~*†£
†*~^...... ~^*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^~* ......^~*†
*~^....... ^~*  A Central  Spine, A  Staircase  ^*~ .......^~*
~^........ ^*~ Around  It, The Seven  Toroidal  *^~ ........^~
^......... *^~ Lungs  Stacked Outside, And The  *~^ .........^
.......... *~^ Control Room On Top. The Sockets ~*^ ..........
^......... ~*^ For Its Eyes. The Smaller Spires ~^* .........^
~^........ ~^*   For  Radiating  Consciousness  ^~* ........^~
*~^....... .~*           Invitations.           ^*. .......^~*
†*~^...... ...^^^****************************^^^... ......^~*†
£†*~^.....                                          .....^~*†£
&£†*~^.... ...^^^****************************^^^... ....^~*†£&
#&£†*~^... .^* In Twenty fourteen, The Tower Is *~^ ...^~*†£&#
##&£†*~^.. ~*^ Toppled And Eaten By  Machines.  *^~ ..^~*†£&##
###&£†*~^. *~^ After  A While, Something New Is ^*~ .^~*†£&###
##&£†*~^.. *^~  Conjured In Its Place. It'S  A  ^~* ..^~*†£&##
#&£†*~^... ^*~ Tiny Maw  At First, Shorter Than ~^* ...^~*†£&#
&£†*~^.... ^~*  Us,  And  We  Let  It  Be. Our  ~*^ ....^~*†£&
£†*~^..... ~^* Journeys Still End At Its Feet.  *~^ .....^~*†£
†*~^...... ~*^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*^~ ......^~*†
*~^....... *~^ But Then  We Are Betrayed.  The  ^*~ .......^~*
~^........ *^~  New Tower  Eats Us. Others Are  ^~* ........^~
^......... ^*~ Sucked Inside. New Buildings Are ~^* .........^
.......... ^~* Manifested  Overnight,  Only To  ~*^ ..........
^......... ~^*  Disappear  In The  Evening Fog. *~^ .........^
~^........ ~*^  For  A While Its  Some Kind Of  *^~ ........^~
*~^....... *~^ Timeshare Scam. Goons Are Placed ^*~ .......^~*
†*~^...... *^~ Outside,  And We Get Beaten Up A ^~* ......^~*†
£†*~^..... ^*~  Few  Times,  And  Stop  Going.  ~^* .....^~*†£
&£†*~^.... ^~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*^ ....^~*†£&
#&£†*~^... ~^*  Iirc It'S  Currently Owned  By  *~^ ...^~*†£&#
##&£†*~^.. ~*^ Some Energy drink Baron Who Uses *^~ ..^~*†£&##
###&£†*~^. *~^ It To Hold All His Fourty Eight  ^*~ .^~*†£&###
##&£†*~^.. .^~            Cars.....             ^~. ..^~*†£&##
#&£†*~^... ...^^^****************************^^^... ...^~*†£&#
&£†*~^....                                          ....^~*†£&
£†*~^.....                                          .....^~*†£
†*~^......                                          ......^~*†
*~^.......                                          .......^~*
~^........                                          ........^~