¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-                                          -¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-«                                          «-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-«†                                          †«-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨-«†=                                          =†«-¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨-«†=$                                          $=†«-¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨-«†=$£ ¨¨¨---††††††††††††††††††††††††††††---¨¨¨ £$=†«-¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨-«†=$£# ¨-†            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.....            -«¨ †«-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-« ¨¨¨---††††††††††††††††††††††††††††---¨¨¨ «-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-                                          -¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨