.^=*=$§### ###§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§§§# #§§§$=*=^.
....^**==§ §==**^....
.^=*=$§#@# #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§### ...^^^****************************^^^... ###§$=*=^.
.^=*=$$§§@ .^* The Spire =*. @§§$$=*=^.
...^^*$§#@ =*^==================================*=^ @#§$*^^...
.^=*=$§#@# *=^ Once Upon A Time, There Was A *^= #@#§$=*=^.
.^^^==*$$# *^= Benevolent Spire, Towering Well ^*= #$$*==^^^.
.^=*=$§#@# ^*= Above Our Tallest Trees. It Was ^=* #@#§$=*=^.
......==$# ^=* Clad In White Scales, And Shaped =^* #$==......
.^=*=$§#@# =^* Liked A Mushroom. =*^ #@#§$=*=^.
....^**==§ =*^ 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 ^=* ##§$$=*=^.
...====*$§ .=* Invitations. ^*. §$*====...
.....=*$§§ ...^^^****************************^^^... §§$*=.....
.^=*===$§# #§$===*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# ...^^^****************************^^^... #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# .^* In Twenty fourteen, The Tower Is *=^ #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@@ =*^ Toppled And Eaten By Machines. *^= @@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@@ *=^ After A While, Something New Is ^*= @@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# *^= Conjured In Its Place. It'S A ^=* #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# ^*= Tiny Maw At First, Shorter Than =^* #@#§$=*=^.
.^=****$§# ^=* Us, And We Let It Be. Our =*^ #§$****=^.
.....==$#@ =^* Journeys Still End At Its Feet. *=^ @#$==.....
.^=*=$§#@# =*^==================================*^= #@#§$=*=^.
....^===$# *=^ But Then We Are Betrayed. The ^*= #$===^....
.^=*=$§#@@ *^= New Tower Eats Us. Others Are ^=* @@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# ^*= Sucked Inside. New Buildings Are =^* #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# ^=* Manifested Overnight, Only To =*^ #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# =^* Disappear In The Evening Fog. *=^ #@#§$=*=^.
......==§§ =*^ For A While Its Some Kind Of *^= §§==......
.^=*=$§@## *=^ Timeshare Scam. Goons Are Placed ^*= ##@§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# *^= Outside, And We Get Beaten Up A ^=* #@#§$=*=^.
...^==**$§ ^*= Few Times, And Stop Going. =^* §$**==^...
.^=*=$§#@# ^=*===================================*^ #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@@ =^* Iirc It'S Currently Owned By *=^ @@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# =*^ Some Energy drink Baron Who Uses *^= #@#§$=*=^.
.....=**=§ *=^ It To Hold All His Fourty Eight ^*= §=**=.....
.^=*=$§#@# .^= Cars..... ^=. #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§#@# ...^^^****************************^^^... #@#§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§@## ##@§$=*=^.
.^=*=$§### ###§$=*=^.
......==§§ §§==......
.^=*=$$$§@ @§$$$=*=^.
.....=*$§§ §§$*=.....