Uruk is the first city of Vala, founded thousands of years ago, which “stands above all hierarchies” and is the capital of the empire that currently “belongs” to it. It is the seat of the Blue House and holds seven key points where the seven apocalyptic seals can be placed.
Location and access
Uruk lies on ordinary trade routes, within reach of merchants who trade with Babylon, and shares a region with Mivenai and Vilonia (spellings vary). It is counted among the three principal cities of the world, with Niva and Valión; the seven lighthouses are of equivalent importance. In at least one recorded passage, travelers reached Uruk from hell.
Description
Visitors enter a zone rather than a point, also called Uruk-Nipur. At its center stand a citadel, a ziggurat, temples and a golden tower; imperial and ritual power share the same core. The walls around it were built by Gilgamesh some three hundred years ago. The districts have names such as “Barrio París” and “Barrio Venecia” (Paris District, Venice District); their origin is unexplained.
Role
- Seat of the Blue House: “go seek instructions in Uruk, which is the seat of the Blue House”. A priestess traveled there with a companion to seek help.
- Rite: the city upholds “a certain pact that was dressed as ritual once a year, sometimes more important”, and the ceremony of hierogamy begins there.
- Kingship: the current king of Uruk-la-Zul is a fat man very fond of food. Gilgamesh, two-thirds god and one-third human, was the tenth king of the line, not its founder.
- Justice: execution is a blow to the base of the skull; the corpse can later be animated as a skeleton, the blows still visible on the bone.
- The seals: seven key points in the city can receive the seven apocalyptic seals.
History
A bomb fell on Uruk: “It was in Uruk. Well, the bomb fell.”
Open questions
- Whether Uruk, Uruk la Azul, Uruk-la-Zul and Uruk-Nipur are one entity or a city and a region is not fixed; one list gives “Lazul” as a separate city.
- What the Blue House is, and how it relates to the epithet “la Azul”, is not stated.
- With whom the yearly pact is made, and what makes the rite “sometimes more important”, is unknown.
- The present king’s name and place in the line are not recorded.
- The seven seal points are unmapped; whether they match the seven lighthouses is unresolved.
- What the bomb was, when it fell and what remained; the materials, size and state of the buildings (beyond the tower’s gold).