Utu

From Almeopedia

Utu was a court magician for the last Soley king, Alunařo.

In 3198 he murdered his lord and took over the kingdom. Reports on the takeover emphasize Utu's terror: he killed any who opposed him, had monsters and demons as allies, was impermeable to attack, could read his enemies' minds. We must discount much of this as feverish excuses from those who should have resisted but did not. The soberest accounts suggest that supernatural events were almost entirely confined to a period of several days and to Alunařo's palace; once people were convinced that Utu could not be attacked, most people didn't try, and those who did could be contained by more ordinary means. Utu began developing an effective secret police, for instance, even before he seized power; key opponents simply disappeared. And once his power was secure, he had the army to help maintain it. Utu famously wore a simple-looking cloak that deflected blades, and was said to be able to become invisible when he wished.

When Utu died, his chief minister Čagu succeeded him; he was so like his master that he was and is known as Utu-On, “Utu again”.

Policy

Utu took a great interest in certain economic endeavors, gathering or purchasing enormous quantities of certain minerals, plants, and chemicals, to say nothing of gold and silver. All this seemed to be at the command of the Powers. Nothing visible came of it, and it isn't known whether the Powers consumed these resources directly, or if they were pursuing some project which they and Utu were unable to complete. Several elcari later reported in fact that Utu had been "defeated", and hinted that they had had a hand in this; but they could not explain just what this meant.

Utu had a taste for personal luxury, and enjoyed exercising power for its own sake. The most spectacular instance of this was his razing of the central city, forming the Mažtan-lagana as an extensive park about his palace (now the Mažtansäte or city hall).

Preceded by: Alunařo

Utun 3198-3221

Succeeded by: Utu-On