Urteau
| Urteau | |
|---|---|
| |
| Dominance | Northern Dominance |
| Nation | Final Empire |
| World | Scadrial |
| Universe | Cosmere |
Urteau is the capital city of the Northern Dominance in the Final Empire.[1]
![[1]](#cite_note-Urteau.jpg-1){kind=link}
Geography
Located northeast of Luthadel, Urteau was the largest city in the Northern Dominance and was the hereditary home of House Venture.[2]
Among the most defining features of the city were the "streetslots", wide canals with ten-foot-high walls that had been drained of water a hundred years prior to the events of the Final Empire. It became commonplace for the inhabitants to use them as roads.[3] Most buildings were made of wood, rather than stone.[4] As with every city other than Luthadel, Urteau was forbidden fortifications by the Lord Ruler[4] and had Koloss garrisons stationed a few days march away.[5]
Beneath the city laid the third storage cavern containing an underground lake.[6]
History
During Straff Venture's siege of Luthadel, skaa rebels revolted and took control of Urteau with Quellion, also known as the Citizen, at their head.[7] Under his advisement, noblemen were hunted and exterminated. Skaa rebels burned down noblemen houses, painted over murals, shattered stained-glass windows, and dug up ornamental gardens. The extreme actions against the nobility were committed in the name of Kelsier, whom they called "Lord of the Mists".[8] They believed Urteau was the only city that successfully achieved what the Survivor fought and died for, a skaa-ruled nation.[3]
Spook was sent by Elend and Vin to subtly investigate the new government of Urteau. Via steel-inscribed message, he informed the emperor of the skaa takeover and harsh treatment of noblemen. Unable to spare the troops to march on the city, Elend instructed Sazed and Breeze to travel to Urteau with a few hundred soldiers to subdue the rebellion and secure the northern cache.[9]
With the information acquired from the Lord Ruler's second cache in Statlin City, Vin went to Urteau and was able to sneak into the storage cavern where she learned about electrum.[7] Spook, Breeze, Allrianne, and Sazed gained access to the cavern and discovered an underground reservoir containing pure, filtered water originating from a subterranean river. The Lord Ruler created this lake to provide clean water should a disaster force people to take shelter beneath the city.[6]