Mistborn #03 The Hero of Ages

forbid certain technologies, he suppressed technological advancement completely. It seems odd now that during the entirety of his thousand-year reign, very little progress was made. Farming techniques, architectural methods — even fashion remained remarkably stable during the Lord Ruler's reign.
    He constructed his perfect empire, then tried to make it stay that way. For the most part, he was successful. Pocket watches — another Khlenni appropriation — that were made in the tenth century of the empire were nearly identical to those made during the first. Everything stayed the same.
    Until it all collapsed, of course.
    29
    LIKE MOST CITIES IN THE FINAL EMPIRE, Urteau had been forbidden a city wall. In the early days of Sazed's life, before he'd rebelled, the fact that cities couldn't build fortifications had always seemed a subtle indication to him of the Lord Ruler's vulnerability. After all, if the Lord Ruler was worried about rebellions and cities that could stand against him, then perhaps he knew something that nobody else did: that he could be defeated.
    Thoughts like those had led Sazed to Mare, and finally to Kelsier. And now, they led him to the city of Urteau—a city that finally had rebelled against noble leadership. Unfortunately, it lumped Elend Venture in with all the other nobles.
    "I don't like this, Master Keeper," Captain Goradel said, walking beside Sazed, who—for the sake of his image—now rode in the carriage with Breeze and Allrianne. After leaving the Terris people behind, Sazed had hurriedly caught up with Breeze and the others, and they were finally entering the city that was their destination.
    "Things are supposed to be kind of brutal in there," Goradel continued. "I don't think you'll be safe."
    "I doubt it's as bad as you think," Sazed said.
    "What if they take you captive?" Goradel asked.
    "My dear man," Breeze said, leaning forward to look out at Goradel. "That's why kings send ambassadors. This way, if someone gets captured, the king is still safe. We, my friend, are something Elend can never be: expendable."
    Goradel frowned at that. " I don't feel very expendable."
    Sazed peered out of the carriage, looking at the city through the falling ash. It was large, and was one of the oldest cities in the empire. He noted with interest that as they approached, the road sloped downward, entering an empty canal trough.
    "What's this?" Allrianne asked, sticking her blond head out of the other side of the carriage. "Why'd they build their roads in ditches?"
    "Canals, my dear," Breeze said. "The city used to be filled with them. Now they're empty—an earthquake or something diverted a river."
    "It's creepy," she said, bringing her head back in. "It makes the buildings look twice as tall."
    As they entered the city proper—their two hundred soldiers marching around them in formation—they were met by a delegation of Urteau soldiers in brown uniforms. Sazed had sent word ahead of their coming, of course, and the king—the Citizen, they called him—had given Sazed leave to bring his small contingent of troops into the city.
    "They say that their king wants to meet with you immediately, Master Terrisman," Goradel said, walking back to the carriage.
    "The man doesn't waste time, does he?" Breeze asked.
    "We'll go, then," Sazed said, nodding to Goradel.
    "You aren't wanted here."
    Quellion, the Citizen, was a short-haired man with rough skin and an almost military bearing. Sazed wondered where the man—apparently a simple farmer before the Collapse—had gained such leadership skills.
    "I realize that you have no desire to see foreign soldiers in your city," Sazed said carefully. "However, you must have realized that we do not come to conquer. Two hundred men is hardly an invading force."
    Quellion stood at his desk, arms clasped behind his back. He wore what appeared to be regular skaa trousers and shirt, though both had been dyed a deep red verging on maroon. His "audience chamber" was a large conference room in what had once been a nobleman's house. The walls had been whitewashed and the chandelier removed. Stripped of its furniture and finery, the room felt like a box.
    Sazed, Breeze, and Allrianne sat on hard wooden stools, the only comfort the Citizen had offered them. Goradel stood at the back with ten of his soldiers as a guard.
    "It isn't about the soldiers, Terrisman," Quellion said. "It's about the man who sent you."
    "Emperor Venture is a good and reasonable monarch," Sazed