Finished detail of the tower, from the Michael Ende book, "The Neverending Story"

The book describes it thus:

"The word "tower" might give someone who has never seen it

the wrong idea. It had nothing of the church or castle about it.

The Ivory Tower was as big as a whole city. From a distance it

looked like a pointed mountain peak twisted like a snail shell. Its

highest point was deep in the clouds. Only on coming closer

could you notice that this great sugarloaf consisted of

innumerable towers, turrets, domes, roofs, oriels, terraces, arches,

stairways, and balustrades, all marvelously fitted together. The

whole was made of the whitest Fantastican ivory, so delicately

carved in every detail that it might have been taken for the

latticework of the finest lace.

These buildings housed the Childlike Empress's court, her

chamberlains and maidservants, wise women and astrologers,

magicians and jesters, messengers, cooks and acrobats, her

tightrope walkers and storytellers, heralds, gardeners, watchmen,

tailors, shoemakers and alchemists. And at the very summit of the

great tower lived the Childlike Empress in a pavilion shaped like

a magnolia blossom. On certain nights, when the full moon

shone most gloriously in the starry sky, the ivory petals opened

wide, and the Childlike Empress would be sitting in the middle

of the glorious flower."

The silhouettes are Atreyu and Falkor (The luck dragon) flying towards the Magnolia Pavillion.