The Forum’s foundation was a mountain of black stone and steep cliffs, on which no vegetation would ever sprout. Stairs of white marble ran straight up its side, ascending above treetops and through clouds until the atmosphere thinned and the sun and moon and stars could be touched with an outstretched hand and the land fell below, so far below, that to gaze first to the west and then to the east was to complete one’s spherical picture of the world. The structure itself was a stronghold. Ivory and wood thickened to enforce impenetrable walls, spiraled around each another to form pillars, and knotted together to string a roof. Skeletons of bone and bark manned the ramparts and greeted Pokeetle and Madeline as they walked past the barricade and into the Forum.
Storytellers by Reid Templer, which is free now until the 24th
