steep stairs, which wound on and on almost indefinitely. There were no
windows in the tower, and only a few paintings to liven up the sparsely
decorated walls, yet they needed no adornments, for they were
beautifully constructed from a strange stone that split and colored in a
marvelous twisting pattern.

At last we came to the top. It was much like it had appeared to be from
below, for it was a large glass sphere that sat on the tower, like the
dome on top of a light pole. It was divided in two, and the stairs went
right through the bottom half and opened into a circular foyer that then
had a small flight of stairs running up to the main room. There were
little closets and such in the empty spaces on the bottom floor. The
upper room was a good thirty feet in diameter, and the walls and ceiling
were all made of glass, very sturdy and insulating, yet completely
transparent. On the floor was an odd carpet that was smooth and thin,
like a silk or fine linen, yet very strong. There was a rounded table on
the side of the entrance hole opposite the stairs, and a curved couch
that sat against the wall behind it, cut perfectly to its circular
outline. Two cushioned chairs sat at the table and a small end table
leaned up against the couch, on top of which there was a medium sized
spyglass, that is, a telescope.

The sun was just coming up and shining its golden hues on the
surrounding lands, which were beginning to darken as the fires of Lake
Umquam Renatusum died down to a faint glow in the center of the forests
of the near-north. It was the first time that I had gotten a bird's eye
view of Daem, and I was amazed at its beauty. The plains stretched on
one side of Nunami like a broad field of gold in the morning light, its
dew drizzled grasses waving in a solemn and dignified manner to and fro
like the constant beating of the earth's heart, and when looked upon