¨¨§¨¨§§¨¨§ ¨§¨¨¨¨¨§§§
§¨¨§¨§§§¨¨ ¨¨§¨¨¨¨§¨§
§§¨¨¨§¨§§¨ §¨¨§¨¨¨¨¨§
¨§§¨¨¨¨§§§ §§¨¨§¨¨¨¨§
¨§§§¨¨¨§¨§ ¨§§¨¨§¨¨¨¨
¨§¨§§¨¨¨¨§ ¨¨¨^^^††††††††††††††††††††††††††††^^^¨¨¨ ¨§§§¨¨§¨¨¨
¨¨¨§§§¨¨¨§ ¨^† 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..... ^~¨ §¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨§§§¨¨ ¨¨¨^^^††††††††††††††††††††††††††††^^^¨¨¨ ¨§¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨§¨§§¨ ¨¨§¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨§§§ ¨¨¨§¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨§¨§ ¨¨¨¨§¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨§ ¨¨¨¨¨§¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨§ ¨¨¨¨¨¨§¨¨¨