.-«†$§¤¤¤@                                          @¤¤¤§$†«-.
...-††$$¤@                                          @¤$$††-...
.-«†$§¤@@@                                          @@@¤§$†«-.
.....«†§@@                                          @@§†«.....
.-«†$§@@##                                          ##@@§$†«-.
.-«†$§¤@@# ...---††††††††††††††††††††††††††††---... #@@¤§$†«-.
.-«†$§¤@@# .-†            THE  SPIRE            «†. #@@¤§$†«-.
...--«†$$¤ «†-««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««†«- ¤$$†«--...
......««$¤ †«- ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS A    †-« ¤$««......
....-†§¤@@ †-« 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 -†« @@§†«.....
.-«†$§§¤¤@ .-«            CARS.....             -«. @¤¤§§$†«-.
....-««$¤¤ ...---††††††††††††††††††††††††††††---... ¤¤$««-....
.....--†$¤                                          ¤$†--.....
.....-††$¤                                          ¤$††-.....
.-«†$§¤@@#                                          #@@¤§$†«-.
...-«$$$§@                                          @§$$$«-...
....««†§¤@                                          @¤§†««....