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#@¶§§§;=~, ,~; 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. ~=, ,,,~~=§§§§
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§§;;=,,,,, ,=; 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. ~;, ,,,==;§§§¶
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@§§§§§;=~, ,,,~~~;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;~~~,,, ,~=;§§§§§@
@§§§§§;=~, ,~; 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. ;=~ ,~=;§§§¶##
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#@¶§§§;=~, ;=~ 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..... ~=, ,~=;§§§¶@@
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