: A translucent, slightly phosphorescent blue-green balcony that is shaped like an upward-turned thorn, jutting from the main twist of the tower, lead to by a flowstone staircase like a waterfall of crystal cascading from top to bottom. All in all the tower is curved, spiral-shaped, like a horn or a giant conch shell, surrounded by vertical monoliths. Visitors must wade through black silt to reach the staircase. At the top is a great, open door. The floor is marble, with alternating black and white textured diamond tiles on the floor, which prevent slippage and cannot be scratched. In the walls are alcoves, each with a semi-circular seat surrounding a central surface. Large, nautical-based chess pieces are set up on the tiles, and water runs within the grooves, while pieces of moss, shell and flesh, jammed into them, stop the water’s flow. Each alcove has a different grooved pattern. The tiles form a game board for a strategic game that appears to be both a teaching tool and an occult ritual. The game is a military, historical and mystical simulation: understanding it grants understanding of the past and future. The more one learns about the game, the more its geometries and mathematics embed themselves in their minds. The water, moss and flesh, within the game board’s grooves, are playing pieces. Water represents the Requiax; moss represents the biomass; flesh represents humans and other land-based animal life. There are other pieces, too, evidently representing other intelligent races and factions. The game board is a telescoped map of the world. Nearby locations are represented in the center of the board, while distant ones are around the edges of the hall. Thus, the game board’s center represents the tower where the game is player. Around that is the Citadel and then Celes. Further out, from the center of the game board, is the southern continent with London and other cities visible. At the edges of the board, the oceans and continents are represented, along with the rest of the world. Marked on the board is the current state of play. Indeed, it is the current state of the world. A place where one might play and enjoy the view, though from such an elevation and distance most details are indistinguishable. This firm, spacious and comfortable platform is erected between the four pillars that support the spiked cupola. Above, the topmost ramparts are still thirty feet higher than this level, with the cupola above forming ceiling for the Queen’s rooms. She sometimes flies out from here when she seeks solitude.