Urga is a Christian-Mongol sanctuary city hidden in a clearing of the dark Gobi forest, in the khanate of Karakitán, within the lands of Antiterra (the post-Poitiers world). It is the plug of a door to hell, and is described as the future Ulaanbaatar.
| Governed by | The Prester of Urga, a Templar |
| Spanish entry | Urga |
Description
- A permanent red sunset (“a sunset that did not leave”: red and violet, black at the horizon) hangs over it, while cold and mist reign on the forest’s far side.
- White-eyed duergar with mother-of-pearl beards and a gem in the chest man the gates, communicating by touching heads. A captain in a gold helmet and red silk breastplate receives merchants.
- Chinese-Mongol and Christian elements fuse around a cliff crowned by a great Western cathedral with stained glass and an enormous cross. Far off, a giant Buddha seems to compete by staring back.
- Three-meter palisades guard against the devils that come when the icy night falls.
The door to hell
The city sits on a dark center of power: a door down to Baator, a stone arch flanked by two prostrate angels who grow “ever more real”. The church keeps it from descending to the houses. The forest became an oasis so humans could come to tend it, under the Prester.
Appearances
- Invisible Cities: the Gobi side trek (the gates, Miguel’s tavern, the cathedral, the door).