Set into the tower was an arched door with a wooden ring for a handle. The traveler glanced around apprehensively, crossed to the door and knocked. Receiving no answer he pulled the ring and the door creaked open. Warily he entered, letting the door close behind him.
Inside the tower was dark and quiet. Outside the wind beat at the walls, but the stone structure had withstood worse and all was still within. As his eyes adjusted he made out a spiraling staircase. There was nothing else in the room. Curiosity battled with reason but after a moment’s hesitation he began to climb.
The stairs were much longer than he would have supposed them to be from outside, and the higher he climbed the farther it seemed he had to go. The challenge fed his determination however, and he kept doggedly on. It was dark and quiet. The only sound was his muted footsteps and labored breathing. On and on he climbed. As his reason told him to go down while he could, something drew him on without his knowledge. The closer he got the stronger the binding became, leading him higher, and pulling him closer.
Far down below, on the surface of the world, time swirled and rippled, occasionally snagging. In one of those snags stood the tower reaching up into eternity, caught between ages; a lookout post for events it could never be a part of.
None of this did the traveler know as he pressed doggedly on, drawn by that he did not understand. His reason at last surrendered to the binding and he climbed without questioning, his mind emptied of all thoughts except the continuous stone walls.
Time slowed as he went higher, and at last came almost to a stop. His progress quickened and the end came in sight. At last the stairs ended on a landing, and another door appeared where more stairs would have been, a wooden ring set into it for a handle.
He reached out without hesitation and pulled the door open.
Above is an excerpt from one of my many WIP describing a Tower of Neverending Stairs, also known as the Tower of Infinity, the Neverending Tower, the Tower of Eternity, the Tower of Impossible Stairs, the Tower of Eternal Stairs, the Unending Tower of Stairs, the Tower of Endless Stairs, the Endless Tower of Stairs, the Everlasting Tower of Stairs, the Tower of Infinite Stairs, or various variations on neverending, eternal, everlasting infinite, endless or impossible, combined with the words ‘tower’ and ‘stairs’.
Do you get the idea?
Outside the tower looks like an ordinary tower, though it’s oftentimes in ruins. No one lives there however, it’s always abandoned, and inside there is nothing but a flight of stairs to the next floor. Climbing to the next floor, however, can take days, months, even years. Sometimes you never get there, unless you understand the magic that built the illusion.
It is an illusion of course, you say. Like the impossible stairs built by the Penroses? Sometimes. Let me share with you the examples of such towers as found in fantasy.
Wind Tower (The Riddle Master of Hed trilogy): The Wind Tower is a ruin on the Wind plain, once a city of the Earth masters. Few have tried to climb it, taking food for many days, but they eventually came back down. The interior changes color as one climbs. The walls on each level are a different color. The levels are illusion only, worked by a magic to keep everyone out except for the High-One’s heir. One clever girl figures out a way around and flies to the to the window, avoiding the stairs and spell entirely.
Tower of Time (Here there be Dragons): This is an interesting tower, in that it is actually as tall as it is tall. On the bottom is the first time, and a new floor is added for time that passes. It takes days to climb the stairs, obviously, but if you get high enough you will catch up with the present. Doors along the way open out into the past. The top floor is inhabited by the time-keeper.
Neverending Tower (The Hero and the Crown): This tower had no door, and part of the wall had to be knocked down in order to gain entry. While it appeared to be of short height, the MC climbed for centuries before reaching the top. After defeating the antagonist on the top level the tower was destroyed and, instead of breaking the spell, she proceeded to fall for centuries; fall as far as she climbed. So it seems it was actually really very tall, but the illusion was in making it appear a physical height. The MC thought a great deal as she climbed, thinking she would climb forever and be added to her country's collection of gods “The god who climbs.” As she fell she wondered if she would be “the god who falls” or even perhaps “the god who climbs and then falls.” Eventually, of course, she reaches the bottom.
Tower of Infinity (The Phantom Tollbooth): In the kingdom of numbers the MC of this book asks how to find infinity. At first he is told to walk a straight line forever, but he asks for a faster route. He's then pointed to a door that leads to a staircase. He climbs and climbs for several hours before realizing it's a waste of time and comes back down, finally understanding the meaning of infinite.
I have hunted through google, and through the knowledge of my comrades, through fairy tales and folklore and I have failed to find the origin of such a tower. I would be inclined to suspect however, that it is based in part on the Tower of Babel.
And they said, “Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
“Whose top may reach unto heaven” seems to sound very similar to some of the aforementioned towers, including my own. While my tower was drawn from the towers I read of, I don’t think it would be too much to assume that they, or their inspiration was built off of the tower of Babel, reaching up to heaven so that no flood could ever cover it. A tower so high, it would take days to travel from top to bottom. This would also explain why these towers are always unfinished, or in ruins.
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