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| Preface A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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The first Gorean words the Earth girl had been taught, and she had learned them in the pens of Samos of Port Kar, were "La Kajira," which means, "I am a slave girl."
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 74 [b] I wept; a Kajira, I knew, was not even a servant; a Kajira was a slave girl; and the meaning of "La Kajira," which I had uttered to my captor was "I am a slave girl." Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 80 [b] |
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"Ute," repeated the short, dark-haired girl, pointing at herself.
Then she again pointed at me. "La?" she inquired. The man
cinched the strap on my body. It was snug. Then he stepped away from
me. I was harnessed. "La?" persisted the dark-haired girl, pointing
at me with her strapped hand. "La?"
"Elinor," I whispered. Book 7 Captive of Gor, pg 55 [C] |
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Needless to day, these movements, particularly when they intrude into more settled area, often bring the folk of the laagers into conflict with other peasants and, of course, shortly thereafter, townsfolk and city dwellers who depend on the peasants for their foodstuffs
Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 43 [b] When groups are traveling together the wagons are often arranged in a circle, end to end, tongues inward, narrowing gaps between the "sections" of the improvised rampart, and chained together, the front axle of the next, the camp, and the draft animals, and any accompanying livestock, within the circle. This forms a wagon fort or laager. The circle contains more interior space than any other geometrical figure, so the camp is thus as large as possible, given the number of wagons. Too, as every point on the circumference is normally visible from, and equidistant from, the center, this facilitates defense, for example, the prompt and pertinent deployment of reserves." Book 23, Renegades: pg 7 [b] |
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"You will address me," she said, "as Lady Elicia, my mistress, or, as you have done, simply as Mistress, that sort of thing."
Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 309 [b] |
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"Ah, yes, weapons," Kamchak was saying, "what shall it be the kaiila lance, a whip and bladed bole, perhaps the quiva?"
Book 4, Nomads: pg 123 [tLi] The lances of the Wagon Peoples are not couched. They are carried in the right fist, easily, and are flexible and light, used for thrusting, not the battering-ram effect of the heavy lances of Europe's High Middle Ages. Needless to say, they an be almost as swift and delicate in their address as a saber. The lances are black, cut from the poles of young tem trees. They may be bent almost double, like finely tempered steel, before they break. A loose loop of boskhide, wound twice about the right fist, helps to retain the weapon in hand-to-hand combat. It is seldom thrown. Book 4, Nomads: pg 15 [C] Too, there are five riders of the kaiila, with kaiila lances, between the kailiauk and the dark guest, and the man. Book 17, Savages: pg 42 [b] |
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In a minute the rider appeared in view - a fine, bearded warrior with a golden helmet and a tharlarion lance.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 115 [b] It is to be distinguished in particular from the longer, heavier tharlarion lance, designed for use from tharlarionback, and often used with a lance rest, and the smaller, thicker stabbing lances used by certain groups of pedestrian nomads. Book 17, Savages: pg 42 [b] |
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On the back of the kaiila, the black lance in hand, bending down in the
saddle, I raced past a wooden wand fixed in the earth, on the top
of which was placed a dried tospit... Such a thrust was worth two points for us. There was a thunder of kaiila paws on the worn turf and Conrad, with his red lance, nipped the tospit neatly from the tip of the wand, the lance point barely passing into it, he having drawn back at the last instant. "Well done!" I called to him. My own thrust had been full thrust, accurate enough but rather heavily done, in war, such a thrust might have lost me the lance, leaving it in the body of an enemy. His thrust was clearly, I acknowledged, worth three points. Book 4, Nomads: pg 59 [tLi] Albrecht pointed his lance at me. "You are challenged," he said. "Lance and tospit." "We have finished with that," I said. Book 4, Nomads: pg 79 [tLi] |
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In the ground zone, and on the ground itself, are certain birds, some flighted, like the hook-billed gort, which preys largely on rodents, such as ground urts, and the insectivorous whistling finch, and some unflighted, like the grub borer andlang gim.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 311 [C] |
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To the Goreans it is always, simply, The Language, as though
there were no others, and those who do not speak it are regarded
immediately as barbarians. This sweet, fierce, liquid speech
is the common bond that tends to hold together the Gorean world.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 52 [b] |
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Oddly enough, one of the expressions in the tongue of Gor for our sun was Lar-Torvis, which means The Central Fire...
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 28 [C] |
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On the throne itself there sat a woman, proud, lofty in haughty dignity,
garbed regally in majestic robes of golden cloth, wearing a mask
not of silver but of pure gold, carved like the others in the
image of a beautiful woman. The eyes behind the glittering mask
of gold regarded me. No one need tell me that I stood in the
presence of Lara, Tatrix of Tharna.
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 90 [tLi] |
To the Earthan, Lara may be likened to many of the walled city-states of ancient Earth Greece. Lara's citizens are noted for their toughness, and extreme independance even by Gorean standards. In Lara, the reward for declaring oneself Ubar is death, usually by slicing or some other creative, festive means.
Lara has a history of being a shelter for various refugees of the incessant Gorean wars, and that there are many Inns in the city, although (of course) few as fine as the Gor-famous tLi.
Lara and the city of Ar have a history of official non-belligerance, or lessened bellecosity (at least), and that the chief concern of the Arrans, indeed, of the Larans themselves, were raiding forces of Cos, and the river pirates who preyed on all alike.
One may speculate as to why the Arrans showed disinterest in attacking Lara, beyond strategic reasons. Larans are known for being eccentric (to say the least); could it be that the Arrans, who view their City as the Queen of Gor, were concerned lest they somehow "catch" whatever it is that makes the Larrans so... odd?
Surprisingly enough, Lara is the birthplace and home of Oryx, Mapmaker and Explorer of some note.
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"Lara!" she cried. "Lara!" This was a town in the Salerian Confederation at
the confluence of Vosk and Olni.
Book 15, Rogue: pg 15 [tLi] His act, thus though perhaps one of dubious propriety, and accordingly not one he would care to publicize in the streets of Ar, was neither treasonous nor illegal. It did, however, Lara being a member of the Salerian Confederation, suggest some economic desperation. Being denied the markets of Vonda, and perhaps of Port Olni and Ti, it was natural I supposed for Oneander to turn to Lara. Book 15, Rogue: pg 16 [tLi] I did not understand the meaning of his remark. It did not, I gathered, pertain to the women of Vonda. It would be difficult to get them to the river markets, which lay beyond Lara, down the Vosk, and higher prices, presumable, could be obtained for them in the markets of the south. Book 15, Rogue: pg 36 [tLi] |
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The Inn was that of Strobuis, in Lara, at the
confluence of the Olni and Vosk. It was crowded with refugees from Bonda.
Many hundreds had fled from Vonda and most had taken the river southward,
paying highly for their fares on the varities of river craft, barges, skiffs,
river galleys and even coracles, which had brought them to Lara.
Book 15, Rogue: pg 38 [tLi] In Lara there were many refugees from Vonda and its vicinity. Book 15, Rogue: pg 43 [tLi] They had demonstrated that the could have destroyed Lara, but they had not seen fit to do so. This was taken as an expression of disinterest on the part of Ar in all-out warfare with the Salerian Confederation. Also, of course in the future, this action might tend to divide the confederation in its feelings toward Ar. When it had become clear, incidentally, that Ar had for most practical purposes, spared Lara, the troops of Lara, not bothering to join with those of Port Olni and Ti, had returned to their city. There would now be sentiment in Lara favoring Ar. This would give Ar political leverage at the confluence of the Olni and Vosk, a strtegic point if Cos should ever choose to move in force eastward along the Vosk. Lara was the pivot between the Salerian Confederation and the Vosk towns. Book 15, Rogue: pg 60 [tLi] |
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I had gone from Lara to White Water using the barge canal, to circumvent the
rapids, and from thence to Tancred's Lansing. I had later voyaged down river
to Iskander, Forestport, and Ar's Station.
Book 15, Rogue: pg 62 [tLi] "They fear that their post will be subject to attack?" "Yes," I said, drying my face with a towel. "and if Ar's Station should be destroyed, the eastern river, between Tafa and Lara would lie much as the mercy of the raiders." Book 15, Rogue: pg 120 [tLi] The headquarters of the Vosk League is located in the city of Victoria. I suppose there are special historical reasons for this, for Victoria is not centrally located on the river, say, between the delta to the west and the entry of the Olni into the Vosk on the east, which point, incidentally, is controlled by the city of Lara, a member of the Salerian's Confederation. Book 23, Renegades: pg 34 [tLi] |
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The larl is a predator, clawed and fanged, quite large, often
standing seven feet at the shoulder. I think it would be fair to say
that it is substantially feline; at any rate its grace and sinuous
power remind me of the smaller but similarly jungle cats of my old
world. The larl's head is broad, sometimes more than two feet
across, and shaped roughly like a triangle, giving its skull
something of the cast of a viper's save that of course it is furred
and the pupils of the eyes like the cat's and unlike the viper's,
can range from knifelike slits in the broad daylight to dark,
inquisitive moons in the night.
The pelt of the larl is normally a tawny red or sable black. The black larl, which is predominately nocturnal, is maned, both male and female. The red larl, which hunts whenever hungry, regardless of the hour, and is the more common variety, possesses no mane. Females of both varieties tend generally to be slightly smaller than the males, but are quite as aggressive and sometimes even more dangerous, particularly in the late fall and winter of the year when they are likely to be hunting for their cubs. Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 18 [b] |
larl, black fauna predominately nocturnal larl which is sable coated and maned both male and female. [T]larma victual two varieties of larma are described: one, segmented and juicy, and the other, hard-shelled, but with delicious and very juicy fruit about a single seed; sometimes called the pit fruit; sometimes sliced and fried, and served with browned-honey sauce; offering a larma, real or imagined, by a slavegirl to her master is a silent plea for the girl to be raped [pyxi{OcL}/tLi]
“” L
The black larl, which is predominantly nocturnal, is maned, both male and female.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 18 [b]
larl, red fauna predominately day hunting larl which is tawny-red coated and has no mane in either male or female. [T]
“” L
The red larl, which hunts whenever hungry, regardless of the hour, and is the more common variety, possesses no mane.... I had once killed a male red larl in the Voltai Range within pasangs of the city of Ar.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 18 [b]
larl, white fauna seen in icy mountains of the Sardar they are the largest of the big cats standing 8 feet; upper canines extending below their jaws very similar to saber-toothed tiger; long tails are tufted at the ends. [T]
“” L
I was struck with wonder, though I was careful to keep beyond the range of their chains, for I had never seen white larls before. They were gigantic beasts, superb specimens, perhaps eight feet at the shoulder. Their upper canine fangs, like daggers mounted in their jaws, must have been at least a foot in length and extended well below their jaws in the manner of ancient sabre-toothed tigers. The four nostril slits of each animal were flared and their great chests lifted and fell with the intensity of their excitement. Their tails, long and tufted at the end, lashed back and forth.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 22 [b]
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Another device, common in Port Kar, is for the girl to kneel before the
master and put her head down and lift her arms, offering him
fruit, usually a larma, or a yellow Gorean peach, ripe and fresh.
Book 10, Tribesman: pg 27 [b] The larma is luscious. It has a rather hard shell but the shell is brittle and easily broken. Within, the fleshy endocarp, the fruit, is delicious and very juicy. Sometimes, when a woman is referred to as a 'larma,' it is suggested that her hard or frigid exterior conceals a rather different sort of interior, one likely to be quite delicious. Book 23, Renegades: pg 437 [C] I took a slice of hard larma from the tray. This is a firm, single-seeded, applelike fruit. It is quite unlike the segmented, juicy larma. It is sometimes called, and perhaps more aptly, the pit fruit, because of its large single stone. Book 20, Players: pg 267 [b] |
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The hunter pulled a pelt from the bundle of furs he carried. It was snowy white, and thick, the winter fur of a two-stomached snow lart. It almost seemed to glisten. The slaver's man appreciated its value. Such a pelt could sell in Ar for half a silver tarsk. He took the pelt and examined it. The snow lart hunts in the sun. The food in the second stomach can be held almost indefinitely. It is filled in the fall and must last the larl through the winter night, which lasts months, the number of months depending on the latitude of his individual territory. It is not a large animal. It is about ten inches high and, weighs between eight and twelve pounds. It is mammalian, and has four legs. It eats bird's eggs and preys on the leem, a small arctic rodent, some five to ten ounces in weight, which hibernates during the winter.
Book 12, Beasts: pg 74 [b/nineve{Rem}] |
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As he spoke, my father often referred to the planet Gor as the Counter-Earth, taking the name from the writings of the Pythagoreans who had first speculated on the existence of such a body. Oddly enough, one of the expressions in the tongue of Gor for our sun was Lar-Torvis, which means The Central Fire, another Pythagorean expression, except that it had not been, as I understand it, originally used by the Pythagoreans to refer to the sun but to another body. The more common expression for the sun was Tor-tu-Gor, which means Light Upon the Home Stone. There was a sect among the people that worshipped the sun, but it was insignificant both in numbers and power when compared with the worship of the Priest-Kings ...
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 28 [C] |
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This was the position of "Last Girl," which, fittingly, not counting the Hobarts, she would occupy, being the newest girl on the coffle.
Book 17, Savages: pg 240 [nineve{Rem}] |
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Once Last Spear casts his weapon he may not throw himself to the ground. If he should, and any of his comrades survive, they will slay him. But this seldom occurs for the Gorean hunters fear cowardice more than the clwas and fangs of larls. Last Spear must remain standing, and if the beast still lives, receive its charge with only his drawn sword. He does not hurl himself to the ground in order that he will remain conspicuously in the larl's field of vision and thus be the object of its wounded, maddened onslaught. It is thus that, should the spears miss their
mark, he sacrifices his life for his companions who will, while the larl attacks him, make good their escape.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 20 [b] |
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The lineaments of my face could now be detected beneath the veil of the citizeness. The last veil, in its sheerness, and transparency, is little more than a token.
Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 10 [C] |
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I smote my thigh, laughing, in the Gorean fashion, so preposterous were the urgent words of the lovely, kneeling slave.
Book 15, Rogue: pg 111 [tLi] |
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He was bound, traveling over the hills and meadowlands east and north of Ko-ro-ba, for the city of Laura, which lies on the banks of the Laurius river, some two hundred pasangs inland from the coast of the sea, called Thassa. Laura is a small trading city, a river port, whose buildings are largely of wood, consisting mostly it seems of warehouses and taverns. It is a clearing house for many goods, wood, salt, fish, stone, fur and slaves
Book 7, Captive: pg 59 [b] |
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The Laurius is a winding, long, gently, slow river. It does
not have the breadth and current which are the terrors of the titanic
Vosk farther to the south, well below Ko-ro-ba, though well above Ar...
Book 7, Captive: pg 59 [b] |
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In a moment I had left the building, pulling the captive behind me, her head down at my waist, in leading position.
Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 399 [b] Her master seized her from the circle then and hurried her from the light, her head down, held by the hair, at his left hip. This is a common leading position for female slaves being conducted short distances. As the master holds her hair in the left hand, it leaves his right hand, commonly the sword hand, free. Book 25, Magicians: pg 46 [b] |
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Learning was closely associated, even immediately, with reward and,
punishment. Sometimes, months later, even when not under the switch,
a girl would, upon a mistake in grammar or vocabulary, wince, as
though expecting a fresh sting of the switch. Goreans do not coddle
their slave girls. This is one of the first lessons a girl learns.
Book 10, Tribesman: pg 5 [tLi] |
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I then leashed her. "Now you will not run away," I said.
Book 25, Magicians: pg 195 [b] The common Gorean leash, incidentally, unlike the simple strap I was using, has a lock snap and closes either about a collar or a collar ring. It might be mentioned that there are also such devices as wrist leashes and ankle leashes. Book 14, Fighting Slave: pg 371 [tLi/nineve{Rem}] |
leash, choke noun leash that constricts if the leashed slave struggles; favored by Panther Girls [tLi]Leather Workers, Caste of caste Mentioned in the Scrolls
“” L
Another girl snapped a choke leash on my throat, twisting it, so that I almost strangled. As I opened my mouth, gasping for air, a wadding was thrust into it by another girl. Then I was gagged. The pressure on my throat then eased.
Book 7, Captive: pg 118 [tLi]
The girl bound my ankles cruelly, using the end of the choke leash, making the strap taut between my throat and ankles. My head was strapped back. I could barely breathe.
Book 7, Captive: pg 123 [tLi]
leash, hair position hair confined into a ponytail with a ribbon or wooden fillet, so called because it can be used as a method of seizure and control by the Master. [T]
“” L
Some masters like the ponytail hairdo on a slave, which, on Gor, is usually spoken of as the "leash," or "hair leash," for, by it, a girl may be conveniently seized and controlled.
Book 22, Dancer: pg 112 [b]
leashed-legs tie noun a standard submission tie; the kneeling girl has the leash, attached to her collar, passed down the front of her body and between her legs to bind her crossed ankles together. [T]
“” L
"Put her in the wagon," said Kenneth, "kneeling position, leashed-legs tie."
"Yes, Master," I said. Telitsia looked up at me. Her hands were bound behind her back. There were tears in her eyes. She lifted her lips to mine. I kissed her. I then lifted her into the wagon, kneeling her on the boards. Her breasts were loose and sweet within her small garment. It was high on her thighs. I then, using the leash, passing it before her body and between her legs, crossed and bound her ankles, thus fastening her in that same kneeling position in which I had originally placed her. She could not rise and the fastening on her collar kept her head down. It is a standard submission tie on Gor for a female slave.
Book 14, Fighting Slave: pg 244 [b]
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It was there that she had been purchased by Baus, of the Leather Workers.
Book 7, Captive: pg 234 its libraries, its records and files; its cubicles for Smiths, Bakers, Cosmeticians, Bleachers, Dyers, Weavers, and Leather Workers. |
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Once i shouted in pain. Two fangs had struck into my calf. An, ost I thought! But the fangs held fast, and I heard the popping, sucking sound of the bladder like seed pods of a leech plant, as they expanded and contracted like small ugly lungs. The leech plant strikes like a cobra and fastens two hollow thorns into its victim. The chemical responses of the bladder like pods produce a mechanical pumping action, and the blood is sucked into the plant to nourish it.
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 33 [C] Normally such plants are cleared from the sides of the roads and from inhabited areas. They are primarily dangerous to children and small animals, but a grown man who might lose his footing among them would not be likely to survive. Book 2, Outlaw: pg 34 [C] As you look up, you catch a glimpse of an urt scurrying beneath the safety of the leech plant, unknowingly sealing his fate as the plant pierces its skin with the long thorns and begins its meal of blood, an omen mayhaps of what is to come? Website of the Gretuk Dur Cavern, used by permission |
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"But there are many marks on your body," she chided.
"From various things," I said, "from blows, from ropes, from harness, from the slash of rence, from the bites and stings of insects, from the fastening places of marsh leeches." Book 24, Vagabonds: pg 96 [b] "The marsh leech is edible," I said. "At one time I did not know that." Book 24, Vagabonds: pg 99 [b] |
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[The snow larl] eats bird's eggs and preys on the leem, a small
arctic rodent, some five to ten ounces in weight, which hibernates
during the winter.... The hunter drew forth from the bundle of furs two tiny pelts of the leem. These were brown, the summer coats of the animals. Book 12, Beasts: pg 52 [b] |
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These are commonly reserved by the red savages for their white female slaves. They wore single-position leg-spreaders. One ankle, by thongs threaded through a pierced end, is fastened tightly to one end of the sturdy spreader. The other ankle is then pulled to a corresponding position at the other end of the pole where, by means of another thong passed through another hole, drilled at that point in the spreader, it is fastened securely in place.
Book 17, Savages: pg 162 [C] |
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Lelts are often attracted to the salt rafts, largely by the
vibrations in the water, picked up by their abnormally developed
lateral-line protrusions, and their fernlike craneal vibration
receptors, from the cones and poles. Too, though they are blind, I
think either the light, or the heat, perhaps, from our lamps, draws
them. The tiny, eyeless heads will thrust from the water, and the
fernlike filaments at the side of the head will open and lift,
orienting themselves to one or the other of the lamps. The lelt is
commonly five to seven inches in length. It is white, and
long-finned. It swims slowly and smoothly, its fins moving the water
very little, which apparently contributes to its own concealment in a
blind environment and makes it easier to detect the vibrations of its
prey, any of several varieties of tiny segmented creatures,
predominantly isopods. The brain of the lelt is interesting,
containing an unusually developed odor-perception center and two
vibration-reception centers. Its organ of balance, or hidden "ear,"
is also unusually large, and is connected with an unusually large
balance center in its brain. Its visual center, on the other hand, is
stunted and undeveloped, a remnant, a vague genetic memory of an
organ long discarded in its evolution.... The gills of the lelt are located at the lower sides of its jaw, not on the sides of its head, as is common in open-water fish. Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 247 [b] |
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"What counts on Earth as the liberation of women." I said, "is conformance
to a certain stereotype, an aggressive, man-like, Lesbian image,
one alien to, and offensive to, most normal women."
Book 11: Slave Girl, pg 199 [tLi] How could I speak of Earth to them? I did not want them to think me mad, or a liar. Could they believe a world might exist where men, shouting political slogans, vied with one another to surrender their dominance, hastening gleefully to their own castration? Could such a world be welcomed by any save Lesbians, and men who were not men? Truth and political convenience, I thought, do not always coincide. Book 11: Slave Girl, pg 199 [tLi] It is not clear, historically, whether the values of slaves were imposed on the Waniyanpi by their masters, or whether the Waniyanpi inventer their ethos to dignify and enoble their own weakness. It may be mentioned that, interestingly, since the Waniyanpi repudiate nature, and natural relationships, that there is in the compounds, an unusual incidence of homosexuality, both of the male and female varieties. This is perhaps a natural enough development considering the conditioned obstacles placed in the way of more usual relationships. It also fits in better with the values of Sameness. To be sure, officially the Waniyanpi disparage all sex, despite the relative countenance tacitly afforded by their ethos to the homosexual relationship. Book 18: Blood Brothers, pg 156 [tLi] |
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"Lesha," snapped the second officer to the blond girl. She spun from
facing him, and lifted her chin, turning her head to the left,
placing her wrists behind her, as though for snapping them into slave bracelets.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 76 [C] "Lesha!" he said. Immediately, responsive to this command, I flung my wrists behind me, separated by some two inches, and lifted my chin, my head turned to the left. I felt slave bracelets flung, snapping shut, on my wrists. I was braceleted. In another moment I was leashed. Book 22, Dancers: pg 365 [C] |
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Another useful source of water is the liana vine. One makes the first cut high, over one's head, to keep the water from being withdrawn by contraction and surface adhesion to the vine. The second cut, made a foot or so from the ground, gives a vine tube which, drained, yields in the neighborhood of a liter of water.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 310 [C] |
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I withdrew some of the lice, the size of marbles, which tend
to infest the wild tarns, and slapped them roughly into the mouth of
the tarn, wiping them off on his tongue. I did this again and again,
and the tarn stretched out his neck.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 144 [b] |
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She can beg of him... an enslavement ceremony, in which she proclaims
herself, and becomes, his slave.... If a woman fears to do this she
may, on an experimental basis, resort to limited self-contracting, in
which her documents will contain stated termination dates. Thus, by
her own free will, she becomes a slave for a specific period, ranging
usually from an evening to a year. The woman enters into this
arrangement freely; she cannot, of course, withdraw from it in the
same way. The reason for this is clear. As soon as the words are
spoken, or her signature is placed on the pertinent document, or
documents, she is no longer a free person. She is then only a slave,
an animal, no longer with any legal powers whatsoever. She is, then,
until the completion of the contractual period, unto the expiration
date of the arrangement, totally subject to the will of her master.
Book 18, Blood Brothers: pp 101-102 [Lady Viviane/tLi] |
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"Drink," he said, offering me the cup.
I looked at the rim of the cup. I shook with terror. "A slave girl dares not touch with her lips the rim of that cup which has been touched with the lips of her master," I whispered. "Excellent," said Verna. "She was trained in the pens of Ko-ro-ba," said Rask of Treve. Book 7, Captive: pg 302 [tLi] |
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"There are one hundred and eleven basic shades of slave lipstick," said Sucha. "Much depends on the mood of the
master."
Book 11, Slave Girls: pg 199 [b] "Does Master enjoy my taste?" she asked. "The lipstick is flavored," I said. "I know," she said. "It reminds me of the cherries of Tyros," I said. "I do not know what the flavor is," she said, "but it is lovely, is it not?" Book 12, Beasts: pg 349 [b] |
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In the second level, that of the canopies, is found an incredible
variety of birds, warblers, finches, mindars, the crested lit and the
common lit, the fruit tindel, the yellow gim, tanagers, some
varieties of parrot, and many more.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 311 [C] To the oases caravans bring various goods, for example, rep-cloth, embroidered cloths, silks, rugs, silver, gold, jewelries, mirrors, kailiauk tusk, perfumes, hides, skins, feathers, precious woods, tools, needles, worked leather goods, salt, nuts and spices, jungle birds prized as pets, weapons, rough woods, sheets of tin and copper, the tea of Bazi, wool from the bounding Hurt, decorated, beaded whips, female slaves, and many other forms of merchandise. Book 10, Tribesman: pg 38 [la`dina{Seij}/tLi] |
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Behind and about him had swirled a gigantic cloak of yellow and red feathers, from the crested lit and the fruit tindel, brightly plumaged birds of the rain forest.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 236 [tLi] In the second level, that of the canopies, is found an incredible variety of birds, warblers, finches, mindars, the crested lit and the common lit, the fruit tindel, the yellow gim, tanagers, some varieties of parrot, and many more Book 13, Explorers: pg 311 [b] |
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The liqueurs of Turia are usually regarded as the best, but I
think this is largely a matter of taste. Those of Cos and Ar, and of
certain other cities, are surely very fine.
Book 19, Kajira: pg 406 [C] |
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She wore the briefly skirted, sleeveless slave livery common
in the northern cities of Gor; the livery was yellow and split to the
cord that served as her belt; about her throat she wore a matching
collar, yellow enameled over steel.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 7 [C] |
|
Save for armed combat, lance and tospit with the living wand is the most
dangerous of the sports of the Wagon Peoples. In this sport, as might be expected, one's own slave must stand for one. It is essentially the same sport as lancing the tospit from the wand, save that the fruit is held in the mouth of a girl, who is slain should she move or in any way withdraw from the lance. Needless to say many a slave girl has been injured in this cruel sport. Book 4, Nomad: pg 79 [tLi] |
|
"Lo Rask," said he. "Rarius. Civitatis Trevis." "I am Rask," he said, "of the caste of warriors, of the city of Treve."
Book 7, Captive: pg 266 [C] |
|
'Lo Sardar,' it said. 'I am a Priest-King.'
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 76 [b] Had the translator been turned on, I would have heard 'Lo Sardar' - 'I am a Priest-King'. Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 220 [b] |
|
Most doors giving entry into a compartment, or set of compartments, on Gor do, however, have locks, generally hand-crafted, highly ornate locks, usually set in the center of the door and controlling a long bolt.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 50 [b] |
lock, combination noun an infrequently found lock, commonly consisting of a series of lettered rings concealing a bolt [tLi]long ship noun a swift, maneuverable ship having 2 rudders, 1 removable lateen-rigged mast, and a keel-to-beam ratio of 8:1; often used in military actions; some are fitted
“” L
Also, combination locks are not unknown, but they are infrequently found. The most common combination lock consists of a set of lettered rings which conceal a bolt. When the letters are properly aligned the bolt may be withdrawn.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 52 [tLi]
lock, disk noun a type of lock in which moving disks, rather than pins are used in the mechanism [tLi]
“” L
There are a number of other forms of lock also found upon occasion, a common variety being the disk lock in which moving disks, rather than pins are used.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 51 [b]
lock gag noun a gag that locks onto a girl, with rounded curved metal bars about ¼″ in diameter, locking by means of a ratchet and pawl arrangement behind the slave's neck [tLi]
“” L
She was naked except for her collar and a leather-and-metal lock gag. Her mouth was closed. I saw the curved metal bars, rounded, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, emerging from the sides of her mouth. By means of a ratchet and pawl arrangement the device is fitted to the individual girl. It locks behind the back of the neck It cannot be removed, even though the girl's hands are free.
Book 12, Beasts: pg 272 [b]
lock, knife noun a lock which, wneh tampereed with, releases a blade, or several of them, with great force [tLi]
“” L
Some locks, on the compartments of rich persons, or on the storehouses of merchants, the treasuries of cities, and so on, are knife locks or poison locks; the knife lock, when tampered with, releases a blade, or several of them, with great force, sometimes from behind the individual at the lock. On the other hand, knife locks are seldom effective against an individual who knows what to look for.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 52 [tLi]
lock, metal insert noun lock used in Kurian collars [tLi]
“” L
The collars were of thick leather, with metal insert locks, flat metal bolts slipping, locking, into spring catches; when closed, two rectangular metal plates adjoined...
Book 9, Marauder: pg 155 [b]
lock, notched beam noun a simple lock, opened by a heavy sickle-like key, giving very poor security. The keys are quite heavy, carried over the shoulder, and can even function as weapons [tLi]
“” L
Another form of lock, providing perhaps even less security, is the notched beam lock which may be opened by a heavy sickle-like key which is inserted through a hole in the door, fitted into the notch, and then rotated to the left or right, depending on whether the door is being locked or opened. These keys are quite heavy and are carried over the shoulder, and can, if necessary, even function as weapons.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 52 [tLi]
lock, padlock noun a common lock used on Gor [tLi]
“” L
Padlocks, it might be mentioned, are common on Gor.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 52 [tLi]
lock, pin-tumbler noun a common lock used on Gor n which the locking is secured by a set of heavy pins extending into the lock plug [tLi]
“” L
Most of these locks, interestingly, though hand-crafted, are of the pin-tumbler variety, in which the locking is secured by a set of heavy pins extending into the lock plug; when the key is inserted the pins, of various lengths, are lifted to the surface of the lock plug, freeing it, so that when the key turns the plug may rotate, thereby moving the bolt.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 51 [b]
lock, pit noun a dangerous lock used on Gor where, if tampered with, a trap drops away sending the unwary into a pit, wich may contain vertical knives, poisonous reptiles [tLi]
“” L
Another form of lock difficult to guard against is the pit lock, because of the natural crevices in Gorean tiling commonly found in corridors of cylinders; when tampered with a trap falls away beneath the individual, dropping him to a pit below, usually containing knives fixed in stone, but upon occasion osts, or half-starved sleen or water tharlarion, sometimes, however, the pit may be simply a smooth-sided capture pit, so that the individual may later be interrogated and tortured at length.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 52 [tLi]
lock, poison noun a dangerous lock used on Gor where, if tampered with, tiny pins coated with kanda-root (see kanda) paste shoot out to poison the unaware thief [tLi]
“” L
Much more dangerous is the poison lock, because the opening through which the tiny pins, usually coated with a paste formed from kanda root, can emerge can be extremely small, almost invisible to the eye, easy to overlook in the crevices and grillwork of the commonly heavy, ornate Gorean lock.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 52 [tLi]
lock, ring noun a low-security padlock with rotating metal disks that, when fitted together and properly aligned, permit the free extraction of the bolt. [tLi]
“” L
The box, about a foot wide and deep, and two feet long, floating, heavy, almost entirely submerged, with an ornate ring lock, rubbed against the side of the canoe. By its metal handles I drew it into the canoe. With the back of one of the heavy pangas I struck loose the ring lock. There were varieties of ring locks. This one was a combination padlock, in which numbers, inscribed on rotating metal disks, fitted together, are to be properly aligned, this permitting the free extraction of the bolt. This, as is the case with most single-alignment ring locks, was not a high-security lock. The materials in the box, I was confident, would not be of great value. The numbers on the lock were in Gorean.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 292 [nineve{Rem}/tLi]
lock, sleeve noun a secure lock used on Gor wa sleeve that prevents insertion of a pick, and a cone that must be unscrewed to insert the key [tLi]
“” L
"They cannot be picked," said Sucha. "They are sleeve locks. The sleeve prevents the direct entry of a wire or pick. Too, within the sleeve there is a plug, a rounded, metal cone, which must be unscrewed before the key can be inserted. A wire or pick could not turn the cone."
Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 258 [b]
lock, wooden noun a common lock used on Gor; provides poor security [tLi]
“” L
On Gor, though most locks are of metal, wooden locks are not altogether unknown. In the most common variety there are two sets of matching pins, one fixed on a wooden spatula like key and the other set, movable, falls into the bolt, securing it. With the key placed under the bolt, and pressed upward, the movable pins are lifted over the bolt, permitting its movement. This form of lock, however, as one might suspect, provides a poor sort of security, for the pins may be lifted individually by tiny sticks wedged in the holes until the bolt is free.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 52 [tLi]
|
as ram-ships
These five ships, pertinent to council membership, may be either the round ships, with deep holds of rmerchandise, or the long ships, ram-ships, ships of war. Both are predominantly oared vessels, but the round ship carries a heavier, permanent rigging, and supports more sail, being generally two-masted. The round ship, of course, is not round, but it does have a much wider beam to its length of keel, say, about one to six, whereas the ratios of the war galleys are about one to eight.
Book 6, Raiders: pg 127 [C] |
|
The hall of Ivar Forkbeard was a longhouse. It was about one
hundred and twenty feet Gorean in length. Its walls formed of turf
and stone, were curved and thick, some eight feet or more in
thickness. It is oriented north and south. Thls reduces its exposure
to the north wind, which is partlcularly important in the Torvaldsland winter.
Book 9, Marauders: pg 91 [b] |
|
Then, soberly, though I acknowledged it as a superstition, I
performed the Gorean ritual of looking into the blood. With
my cupped hands I drank a mouthful of blood, and then,
holding another in my hands, I waited for the next flash of lightning. One looks into the blood in one's cupped hands. It is said that if one sees one's visage black and wasted one will die of disease, if one sees oneself torn and scarlet one will die in battle, if one sees oneself old and white haired, one will die in peace and leave children. Book 2, Outlaw: pg 38 [b] |
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"Can you not wait to be shackled and thrown into the loot pits with other women, to await the collar and brand?" inquired Marcus.
Book 25, Magicians: pg 190 [b] |
|
The Love Dance of the Newly Collared Slave Girl has many variations, in the different cities of Gor, but the common theme is that the girl dances her joy that she will soon lie in the arms of a strong master.
Book 6, Raiders: pg 115 [tLi] |
|
The girl looked at him gratefully and she, with the others, rose to
her feet and to the astounding barbarity of the music performed the
savage love dances of the Kassars, the Paravaci, the Kataii, the Tuchuks.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 98 [b] |
|
On the other hand, the single greatest period for the sale of slaves is the five days of the Fifth Passage Hand, coming late in the summer, called jointly, the Love Feast.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 193 [C] |
|
Then with his own hand he throws upon the stone floor of his chamber luxurious love furs, perhaps from the larl itself, and commands her to them.
Book 1, Priest-Kings: pg 68 [b] |
|
...sooner or later, masters tended to find girls who were, from their
point of view, superb slaves, apd girls tended to find men who were,
from their point of view, marvels as masters. It is a beautiful
moment when the woman realizes that the man who owns her is her love
master, and the man realizes that the girl he bought, looking up at
him, tears in her eyes, is his love slave.
Book 12, Beasts: pg 236 [b] |
|
I hoped that eventually, however, she might come into the keeping of
a single master, to whom she would be a love slave. I thought that
there was something in the slave now called "Claudia" a precious,
vulnerable, yearning love slave.
Book 23, Renegades: pp 392-393 [tLi] "Yes, Master," she said. "It is what I am, and want to be. I hope only that someday I may have a private master, a love master, to whom I may be his devoted and obedient love slave." Book 23, Renegades: pg 438 [tLi] "Yes," she cried. "I am your love slave! I have known this from the first time you put me to your feet! If you weighted and wrapped me with a thousand chains and a thousand locks they could not hold me more helplessly than the love I bear you! Alas, I have confessed! Kill me now, if you will!" she put down her head, sobbing. Book 22, Dancer: pg 403 [rusty{tLi}] |
|
It is a beautiful moment when the woman realizes that the man who
owns her is her love master, and the man realizes that the girl he
bought, looking up at him, tears in her eyes, is his love
slave.
Then the only danger is that he will weaken. One must be strong with a love slave. If one truly loves her, he will be that strong. The slavery in which a love slave is kept is an unusually deep slavery. She must serve him with a perfection which would stun and startle other girls; if she should fail in any way, even in so small a way that the lapse would be overlooked in the case of another wench, or bring perhaps a mild word of reprimand, she is likely to be tied at the slave ring and whipped; there is a good reason for this; she is, you see, a love slave; no woman can be more in a man's power; and with no woman must he be stronger. Book 12, Beasts: pg 236 [tLi] |
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The institution of Love War is an ancient one among the Turians and the Wagon Peoples. The games of the Love War are celebrated every spring
Book 4, Nomads: pg 115 [C] As I knew, not just any girl, any more than just any warrior, could participate in the games of the Love War. Only the most beautiful were eligible, and only the most beautiful of these could be chosen. Book 4, Nomads: pg 117 [C] |
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I wondered, however, if the Second Knowledge, that of the intellectuals, might not be as carefully tailored to preclude inquiry on their level as the First Knowledge apparently was
to preclude inquiry on the level of the Lower Castes.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 42 [b] The crowd, mostly, was an excited and motely assortment of low caste males, but, here and there, there were veiled women amongst them, generally these, too, oflow caste Book 14, Fighting Slave: pg 210 [b] |
|
disciplinary measure
"Are you a Luck Girl?" I asked.
She shrugged. "I am a female slave," she said. I smiled. Many Goreans regard the sight of a female slave as good luck. Certainly, at the very least, they are joys to look upon. Book 16, Tribesmen: pg 61 [C] |
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It was similar to the tiny lung fish I had seen earlier on the river, those little creatures clinging to the half-submerged roots of shore trees
Book 13, Explorers: pg 384 [b] |
|
To my right were the lines of the Aretai. The Aretai themselves, of course, with black kaffiyeh and white agal cording, held their center. Their right flank was held by the Luraz and the Tashid. Their left flank was held by the Raviri, and four minor tribes, the Ti, the Zevar, the Arani and the Tajuks
Book 10, Tribesman: pg 301 [C] |
|
Such devices, of course, but without the authenticity and ultimate
surrender, are often resorted to by "lure girls," slaves who
serve as bait for captains who need crewmen, masters of work gangs,
and such.
Book 22, Dancer: pg 244 [b] |
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At the mouth of the Laurius, where it empties into Thassa, is found
the free port of Lydius, administered by the merchants, an important
Gorean caste. Goods, primarily rough goods like tools, crude metal
and cloth are shipped from this port to many islands and coastal cities.
Book 7, Captive: pg 59 [C] |
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| Preface A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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"Master?" asked Tuka, kneeling, holding the tray. We took the fried
maize cakes from the tray.
Book 18, Blood Brothers: pg 369 [C] |
|
The word "Mamba" in most of the river dialects does not refer
to a venomous reptile as might be expected, given its meaning in
English, but, interestingly, is applied rather generally to most
types of predatory river tharlarion.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 393 [C] |
|
"They are gone," said the leader of the small men. "They were taken
by the Mamba people, those who file their teeth." The Mamba people were, so to speak, the Tharlarion people. The Mamba people ate human flesh. So, too, does the tharlarion. It is thus, doubtless, that the people obtained their name. Book 13, Explorers: pg 393 [b] |
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"The papers are papers of manumission," I said. "I am no longer your master. You no longer have a master."
"Manumission?" he asked. "You are free," I told him." Book 25, Magicians: pg 460 [b] |
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Twelve of these Bands constitutes a March. A March thus consists of 2,160 animals, or, counting the commanders of each Band, 2,172 animals. A March is commanded by a Blood, whose rank is indicated by one ring on the left arm. The rings of rank are quite plain, being of some reddish alloy, and are distinguished from decorative rings, of which many Kurii are fond. Kurii, generally, like men, seem vain beasts, there appears to be an inverse correlation between height of rank and intricacy and variety of ornamentation. The higher the rank the simpler is likely to be the ornamentation. The commander, or Blood, of a March wears only a single, simple reddish ring. Whether or not this simplicity is honored off duty, so to speak, or in their privacy, I do not know. I further do not know the full significance of the rings. I do not understand how they are earned, or what is involved in moving from the "second ring" to the "first ring." I do know that rings are welded on the wrists of the beasts. The iron files of the Goreans, incidentally, will not cut the alloy. They may be obtained, of course, by the severing of the arm. Why the conjunction of bands is spoken of as a "March" is also unclear. This may refer to a military march, of course, but, I suspect, the term being apparently ancient, that it may also refer to migrations in the remote history of the Kurii, on their own world, putatively no longer existent or viable. There is some indirect evidence that this may be the case, because twelve "Marches" are referred to not as a Division or Army, or some such unit, but rather as a "People".
Book 9, Marauders: pg 241 [C] |
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The column of marchers was something like a yard wide. I did not know how long it might be. It extended ahead through the jungle and behind through the jungle farther than I could see in either direction. Such columns can be pasangs in length. It is difficult to conjecture the numbers that constitute such a march. Conservatively some dozens of millions might be involved. The column widens only when food is found; then it may spread as widely as five hundred feet in width.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 399 [C] |
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What I would do when we reached the Margin of Desolation and the broad Vosk River, I didn't know.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 129 [b] I knew then we were within the territory of Ar, and must be high over the Margin of Desolation, a barren area, now recovering itself, which, years ago, had been cleared and devastated, that the northern fields of Ar by such a natural barrier, by such a wall of hunger and thirst, might be protected, presumably from invasion from the north or, more likely, from the incursions of Vosk pirates. Book 7, Captive of Gor pg 255 [b] The great margin of desolation which once flanked Ar on the north, just south of the Vosk, has not been maintained. It was a long wall of wilderness, an empty, unpopulated, desertlike area without water and beneficient vegetation a thousand pasangs deep. Wells were poisoned and fields burned and salted to prevent the approach of armies from the north. Now, however, in the last years, it has become green. New wells have been dug, peasants have moved into it. This, said to be a plan to bring more arable land under cultivation, is generally viewed as being an opening of this territory to large-scale military passage. It is even being stocked with. game and wild bosk. It retains now of its old character only its name, theMargin of Desolation Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 145 [b] |
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I had seen, yesterday, the long neck of a marine saurian lift from the waters of gleaming Thassa. It had a small head, and rows of small teeth. Its appendages ere like broad paddles. Then it had lowered its head and disappeared. Such beasts, in spite of their frightening appearance, are apparently harmless to men. They can take only bits of garbage and small fish. Certain related species thrive on crustaceans found among aquatic flora. Further, such beasts are rare. Some sailors, reportedly, have never seen one. Far more common, and dangerous, are certain fishlike marine saurians, with long, toothed snouts; they are silent and aggressive, and sailors fear them as they do the long-bodied sharks
Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 360 [C] |
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I had had it put on her two days after leaving the vicinity of Samnium, at the town of Market of Semris, well known for its sales of tarsks.
Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 19 [tLi] We were not in Samnium, but in the Market of Semris. This is a much smaller town, south, and somewhat to the east, of Samnium. It is best known, interestingly enough, ironically enough, as an important livestock market. In particular, it is famed for its sales of tarsks. Too, of course, there are markets here for slaves. Book 22, Dancer: pg 106 [tLi] |
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The tall man removed a marking stick from his pouch and, on the interior of the left shoulder, on its softness, of the auburn-haired girl, wrote a word. "Your name is Narla," he said. That was the word, I gathered, which he wrote on her shoulder. "Yes, Master," she said. Then he turned to me and, with the same marking stick, wrote on the interior of my left shoulder. "You are the girl, Yata," he said. "Yes, Master," I said. I gathered it was this name which he had written on my body. The stain of the marking stick would last until it was washed off.
Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 386 [b] |
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We saw a narrow, dark shape, about five feet long, like a slowly
undulating whip, glide past. A small triangular head was almost level
with the water surface. I did not think there had been much danger,
but there was some possibility that the movements of her legs in the
water might have attracted its attention. "That is a marsh moccasin," I said.
"Are they poisonous," she asked. "Yes," I said. "I never saw one before," she said. "They are not common," I said. "even in the delta." Book 24, Vagabonds: pg 267 [C] |
|
To my right, some two or three feet under the water, I saw the sudden, rolling yellowish flash of the slatted belly of a water tharlarion, turning as it made its swift strike, probably a Vosk carp or marsh turtle.
Book 6, Raiders: pg 1 [C] |
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Forkbeard then, grinning, slung his ax over his left shoulder,
dropping it into the broad leather loop by which it may be carried,
its head behind his head and to the left. This loop is fixed in a
broad leather belt worn from the left shoulder to the right hip,
fastened there by a hook , so that the weight of the ax will not turn
the belt, which fits into a ring in the in the master belt. All men
of Torvaldsland, incidently, even if otherwise unarmed, carry a knife
at their master belt. The sword, when carried, and it often is, is
commonly supported in its own belt, looped over the left shoulder,
which is, it might be mentioned, the common Gorean practice. It can
also, of course, be hung, by its sheath and sheath straps, from the
master belt, which is quite adequate, being a stout heavy belt, to
hold it. It is called the master belt, doubtless, to distinguish it
from the ax belt and the sword belt, and because it is, almost always
worn. A pouch, of course, and other accoutrements my hang, too, from
it. Gorean garments, generally, do not contain pockets. Some say
the master belt gets its name be cause it is used sometimes in the
disciplining of bond-maids. This seems to be a doubtful origin for
the name. It is true, however, questions of the origin of the name
aside, that bond-maids, stripped, are often taught obedience under its lash.
Book 9, Marauders: pg 50 [b] |
|
Private masters, for example, often relish the company of their
slaves at such events, and public masters, so to speak, recognize the
value of such outings for slaves, as stimulation and recreation. Also
they give the master more power over the girl.
Book 25, Magicians: pg 113 [b] |
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"For the time," said Misk, "it is the wish of the Mother that it be permitted to live as a matok."
"What is that?" I asked. "You speak much for one of the lower orders," said Sarm. "What is a matok?" I asked. "A creature that is in the Nest but is not of the Nest," said Misk." Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 92 [b] |
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'Maza' is the word for 'metal' and 'sapa' is the word for 'black'.
Book 17, Savages of Gor pg 246 [b] |
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The suffix 'sa' designates the color red, as in 'Mazasa', 'Red Metal', 'Copper
Book 17, Savages: pg 321 [b] |
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The word 'mazasapa', for example, literally means 'black metal'.
Book 17, Savages: pg 246 [b] |
|
Bera went to the next man, to fill his cup with the mead, from the heavy hot tankard, gripped with cloth, which she carried.
Book 9, Marauders: pg 78 [C] I handed the horn to Thyri, who, in her collar, naked, between two of the benches, knelt at my feet. "Yes, Jarl," said she, and ran to fill it, from the great vat.... "Here, Jarl," said Thyri, again handing me the horn. It was filled with the mead of Torvaldsland, brewed from fermented honey, thick and sweet. Book 9, Marauders: pp 89-90 [tLi] Many were the roast tarsk and roast bosk that had roasted over the long fire, on the iron spits. Splendid was the quality of the ale at the tables of the Blue Tooth. Sweet and strong was the mead. Book 9, Marauders: pg 191 [tLi] In the north generally, mead, a drink made with fermented honey and water, and often spices and such, tends to be favored over paga. Book 23, Vagabonds: pg 16 [C] |
| Measurement | Similar to | US Measure | Metric | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | ||||||
| pasang | km | 0.7 US mi | 1.127 km | |||
| ah-ral | chain | 15' | 4.572 m | |||
| 10 | ah-il | cubit | 18" | 45.72 cm | ||
| foot | foot | 12.5" | 31.75 cm | |||
| 10 | hort | inch | 1.25" | 3.175 cm | ||
| Weight | ||||||
| weight | stone | 40 lbs | 18.144 kg | |||
| 10 | stone | kg | 4 lbs | 1.814 kg | ||
| Volume (liquid) | ||||||
| talu | gallon | 2 US Gal | 7.571 lt | |||
| Volume (produce) | ||||||
| huda | peck | |||||
| 5 | tefa | basket | ||||
| 30 | 6 | tef | ounce | |||
| Time | ||||||
| day | day | |||||
| 20 | Ahn | hour | 1 Ahn = 1.2 hrs | |||
| 800 | 40 | Ehn | minute | 1 Ehn = 1.8 minutes | ||
| 6400 | 320 | 80 | Ihn | second | 1 Ihn = 1.35 seconds | |
| c (velocity of light in a vacuum) | ||||||
| 359,044.295 pasang/ihn | 186,171.116 mi/sec | 299,792.458 km/sec | ||||
| 1,802,617,499,785.256 furlongs/fortnight | ||||||
|
The Weight and the Stone, incidentally, are standardized throughout the
Gorean cities by Merchant Law, the only common body of law
existing among the cities. The official "Stone," actually a
solid metal cylinder, is kept, by the way, near the Sardar. Four
times a year, on a given day in each of the four great fairs held
annually near the Sadar, it is brought forth with scales, that
merchants from whatever city my test their own standard "Stone"
against it. The "Stone" of Port Kar, tested against the official
"Stone" at the Sardar, reposed in a special fortified building in
the great arsenal, which complex was administered by agents of
the Council of Captains.
Book 6, Raiders: pg 127 [tLi] |
|
Lana, Ute and I knelt in a line, facing the players. Our hands were
bound behind our backs with binding fiber. The men, wagering, tossed
us pieces of meat. We caught them, in the firelight. A catch was two
points. A piece which was dropped was fair game for any. We fought
for the dropped pieces. The retrieval of such a piece was one point.
Ute dropped a piece and Lana and I fought, each holding to a part of
the fallen prize, rolling and tearing. I struggled back to my knees,
tearing my head to one side. "Mine!" I cried, swallowing the meat,
almost choking, laughing.
"Mine!" cried Lana, gorging the other half of the meat. "Point for each," adjudicated one of the guards. Book 7, Captive: pg 112 [b] "I entered Phoebe in 'meat catch,'" said Marcus, "but she failed to catch even a single morsel." Book 25, Magicians: pg 37 [b] |
|
"Buy melons!" called a fellow next to her, lifting one of the yellowish, red-striped spheres toward me.
Book 10, Tribesman: pg 45 [b] |
|
The gathering of tribes, friends and foes alike, for such a battle is said to be a splendid sight. These things are in virtue of what, among these peoples, is called the Memory.
Book 17, Savages: pg 35 [b] Hand sign, I suspected was the key to the capacity of the tribes to unite and protect their territories against outside encroachment, that and what they called the Memory. Book 17, Savages: pg 148 [b] This had to do with the hatred and suspicion fostered by that tradition called the Memory. Book 17, Savages: pg 248 [b] |
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In the legends of Torvaldsland, man has a different origin. Gods, meeting in council, decided to form a slave for themselves, for they were all gods, and had no slaves. They took a hoe, an instrument for working the soil, and put it among them. They then sprinkled water upon this implement and rubbed upon it sweat from their bodies. From this hoe was formed most men. On the other hand, that night, one of the gods, curious, or perhaps careless, or perhaps driven from the hall and angry, threw down upon the ground his own great ax, and upon this ax he poured paga and his own blood, and the ax laughed and leaped up, and ran away. The god, and all the gods, could not catch it, and it became, it is said, the father of the men of Torvaldsland.
Book 8: Hunters of Gor, pages 257-258 [b] |
|
Sometimes, however, to distinguish it from differing forms of the
game, it is spoken of as Merchant Kaissa, from the role of the
Merchants in making it the official form of Kaissa for the fairs,
Player Kaissa, from the role of the Players in its codification, or
the Kaissa of En'Kara, for it was officially promulgated for the
first time at one of the fairs of En'Kara...
Book 20, Players: pg 8 [b] |
|
The fairs incidentally are governed by Merchant Law and supported by booth
rents and taxes levied on the items exchanged. The commercial
facilities of these fairs, from money changing to general
banking, are the finest I know of on Gor, save those in Ar's
Street of Coins, and letters of credit are accepted and loans
negotiated, though often at usurious rates, with what seems
reckless indifference. Yet perhaps this is not so puzzling, for
the Gorean cities will, within their own walls, enforce the
Merchant Law when pertinent, even against their own citizens. If
they did not, of course, the fairs would be closed to the citizens of that city.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 11 [tLi] The Weight and the Stone, incidentally, are standardized throughout the Gorean cities by Merchant Law, the only common body of law existing among the cities. Book 6, Raiders: pg 127 [tLi] The Merchants, who control Lydius, under merchant law, for it is a free port, like Helmutsport, and Schendi and Bazi, are more interested in having their port heavily trafficked than strictly policed. Book 8, Hunters: pg 43 [tLi] |
|
"It is my understanding, following merchant law, and Tahari custom,"
I said, "that I am not a slave, for though I am a prisoner, I
have been neither branded nor collared, nor have I performed a
gesture of submission."
Book 10, Tribesman: pg 196 [tLi] "Further, of course," said he, "that under Gorean merchant law, which is the only law commonly acknowledged binding between cities, that you stand under separate permissions of enslavement." Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 396 [tLi] The fairs, too, however, have many other functions. For example, they serve as a scene of caste conventions, and as loci for the sharing of discoveries and research. It is here, for example, that physicians, and builders and artisans may meet and exchange ideas and techniques. It is here that Merchant Law is drafted and stabilized. Book 12, Beasts: pg 18 [tLi] |
|
Sometimes, in the fall of a city, girls who have been enslaved, girls formerly
of the now victorious city, will be freed. Technically, according
to Merchant Law, which serves as the arbiter in such
intermunicipal matters, the girls become briefly the property of
their rescuers, else how could they be freed? Further, according
to Merchant Law, the rescuer has no obligation to free the
girl.
Book 13, Explorers: pp 409-410 [tLi] These are the three standard marking places, following the recommendations of Merchant Law, for the marking of Kajirae, with the left thigh being, in practice, the overwhelmingly favored brand site. Book 14, Fighting Slave: pg 312 [tLi] The thighs and the lower left abdomen are the brand sites recommended by Merchant Law. Book 14, Fighting Slave: pg 349 [tLi] |
|
"It was put on me in Cos," she said, "with a white-hot iron, two years ago." "Terrible," I whispered. "Girls such as I must expect to be marked," she said. "It is In accord with the recommendations of merchant law." "Merchant lawked. "Yes, Mistress," said the girl. Book 19, Kajira: pg 46 [tLi] In the case of the girl, Rowena, of course, as she was already a self-pronounced ave, the brand and collar were little more than identificatory ormalities. Nonetheless she would wear them. They would be ixed visibly and clearly upon her. This is in accord with the rescriptions of merchant law. Book 20, Player: pg 36 [tLi] "You're going to be branded," he said, "and put in a collar." I regarded him with disbelief. "But so, too, will the other girls," he said. "You will have your brands and collars." I could not speak. "Such things are prescribed by merchant law," he said. Book 22, Dancer: pg 52 [tLi] |
|
He himself resided, I understood, in Telenus, the capital of Cos, where
s company had its headquarters. His work chains, however, were
olitically neutral, understood under merchant law as
irable instruments. They might, accordingly, and sometimes did,
ork for both sides in given conflicts. The tarsk of gold is the
ymbol of such men.
Book 22, Dancer: pg 322 [tLi] "Some fellows do not brand their slaves," I said. "That is stupid!" she said. "It is also contrary to the laws of most cities," I said, "and to merchant law, as well." Book 24, Vagabonds: pg 119 [tLi] Out of the Slave Wars grew much of the merchant law pertaining to slaves. Book 24, Vagabonds: pg 174 [tLi] Merchant law has been unsuccessful, as yet, in introducing such things as patents and copyrights on Gor. Book 25, Magicians: pg 394 [tLi] |
|
Down the stairway slowly, in trailing white silk, bordered with gold,
the colors of the Merchants. Aphris of Turia, then, was of the caste of merchants.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 91 [C] A major victory in this matter was secured a few years ago when the caste of Merchants, which organizes and manages the Sardar Fairs, agreed to a standardized version, proposed by, and provisionally approved by, the high council of the caste of Players, for the Sardar tournaments, one of the attractions of the Sardar Fairs. Book 20, Players: pg 8 [tLi] |
|
My eyes met his. His eyes were fierce, amused, mine were frightened. My eyes pleaded for mercy. I would receive none.
Book 7, Captive: pg 283 [C] |
|
The capped message tube even touched the stones. I looked up.
I made known my errand, that I bore a private message emanating from
the house of Appanius for the Ubara. They read my collar. It seemed
then surely that I was a girl of Appanius
Book 25, Magicians: pg 359 [b] |
|
The buyers were also informed that I was 'glana' or virgin. The
correlated term is 'metaglana' used to designate the state to
which the glana state looks forward, or that which it is regarded as
anticipating. Though the word was not used of me I was also
'profalarina' which term designates the state preceding, and
anticipating that of 'falarina' or the state Goreans seem to think of
as that of being a full woman, or, at least, as those of Earth might
think of it, one who certainly is no longer a virgin. In both terms,
'glana' and 'profalarina' incidentally, it seems that the states they
designate are regarded as immature or transitory, state to be
succeeded by more fully developed, superior states, those of
'metaglana' or 'falarina.' Among slaves, not free women, these
things are sometimes spoken of along the lines as to whether or not
the girl has been 'opened' for the uses of men. Other common terms,
used generally of slaves, are 'white silk' and 'red silk' for girls
who have not yet been opened, or have been opened, for the uses of men, respectively.
Book 22, Dancer: pg 128 [C] |
|
My opponent was not Andreas, but a squat, powerful man with short-clipped
yellow hair, Kron of Tharna, of the Caste of Metal Workers
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 113 [C] We has soon come on hammers that would strike our chains from us and, one by one, we filed past the great anvil where Kron of Tharna, of the Caste of Metal Workers, with expert blows, struck them from our wrists and ankles. Book 2, Outlaw: pg 167 [b] Mip was a chipper fellow, and a bit dapper considering his caste and his close-cropped hair, for his brown leather was shot with green streaks, and he wore a Tarn Keepers cap with a greenish tassel; most Tarn Keepers, incidentally, crop their hair short, as do most Metal Workers; work in the tarncots and in training tarns is often hard, sweaty work. Book 5, Assassin: pg 168 [tLi] |
|
The tenth Ahn is noon, the twentieth, midnight. Each Ahn consists of forty Ehn, or minutes, and each Ehn of eighty Ihn, or seconds.
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 26 [b] He would stay up until the twentieth hour, the Gorean midnight, at which time he would turn the clock, and retire. Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 180 [b] |
milk, bosk victual milk from the bosk, a staple of life for the Tribes of the Wagon Peoples. In some areas, it is available in powdered form. [T]mindar fauna a short-winged, yellow & red bird of the rainforests inland of Schendi; with its sharp bill, it digs in the bark of flower trees for larvae & bugs
“” M
The Wagon Peoples grow no food, nor do they have manufacturing as we know it. They are herders and it is said, killers. They eat nothing that has touched the dirt. They live on the meat and milk of the bosk.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 5 [b]
When the meat was ready Kamchak ate his fill, and drank down, too, a flagon of bosk milk; I did the same, though the milk, at least for me, did not sit too well with the Paga of the afternoon.
Book 4, Nomads: pp 138-139 [tLi]
Too I had brought up a small bowl of powdered bosk milk. We had finished the creams last night.
Book 16, Guardsman: pg 295 [C]
milk curds victual fermented, a Tuchuk analogue of paga. NOTE: The MasterScribe, John Norman, does NOT specify 'bosk milk curds' were used; although we would expect so, those Tuchuk could well use a mixture of kailla milk, bosk milk, tharlarion juice, and "squeezin's", for all we know [tLi]
“” M
By one fire I could see a squat Tuchuk, hands on hips, dancing and stamping about by himself, drunk on fermented milk curds, dancing, according to Kamchak, to please the Sky.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 28 [tLi]
milk, kaiila victual used by the peoples of the Tahari as verr milk is used elsewhere, it is reddish with a salty strong taste due to the content of ferrous sulfate. [T]
“” M
Kaiila milk, which is used, like verr milk, by the peoples of the Tahari, is reddish, and has a strong, salty taste; it contains much ferrous sulfate...
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 71 [C]
milk, verr victual sometimes sold in open markets from a brass container, carried on a strap and served in tiny brass cups. [T]
“” M
The smell of fruit and vegetables, and Verr milk was very strong.
Book 17, Savages: pg 61 [C] She was in her tunic and collar, kneeling on a white blanket, spread on the cement, with the brass container of verr milk, with its strap, near her, and the tiny brass cups. She was extremely lightly complexioned and had very red hair. "Verr milk, Masters," she called.
Book 17, Savages: pg 61 [tLi]
|
Kisu pointed overhead. "See the mindar," he said. We looked up
and saw a brightly plumaged, short-winged, sharp-billed bird. It was
yellow and red. "That is a forest bird," said Kisu. The mindar is
adapted for short, rapid flights, almost spurts, its wings beating in
sudden flurries, hurrying it from branch to branch for camouflage in
flower trees, and for drilling the bark of such trees for larvae and grubs.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 383 [C] |
|
She withdrew, head down. She picked up the small tray from the stand
near the table. On it was a small vessel containing a thick,
sweet liqueur from the distant Turia, the Ar of the South, and
the two tiny glasses from which we had sipped it. On the tray
too, was the metal vessel which contained black wine, steaming
and bitter from far Thentis, famed for its tarn flocks, the small
yellow-enamled cups from which we had drunk the black wine, its
spoons and sugars, a tiny bowl of mint sticks, and the softened,
dampened cloths on which we had wiped our fingers.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 10 [b] |
|
By order of Rask of Treve they, by their skill in weapons and their mastery of the techniques and lore of the hunt, and pretending to be of Minus, a village under the hegemony of Ar, made petition and successfully so, to participate in the retinue of the great Ubar.
Book 7, Captive: pg 298 [tLi] |
|
"You have seen the smoke?" I asked...
Such signals are common on the plains, but perhaps not so common as mirror signals. The code in mirror signals, conveyed by the pacing and number of flashes, is very similar to that of the smoke signals. The signals, incidentally, are not a substitution cipher, for the languages of the red savages, not being written languages, in any conventional sense, do not have a standardized alphabet or syllabary. The signals, of which there are some fifty or sixty, have conventionalized meanings, such as 'We are Kaiila', 'Who are you?', 'Go back', 'We have counted coup' and 'We are returning to camp'. Book 17, Savages: pg 256 [tLi] |
|
"Mitakola," I said. This, in the language of the Kaiila, means 'my friend'.
Book 18, Blood Brothers: pg 268 [Fogaban, quoted by kahrenn] "Kodakiciyapi," said Grunt. "Hou, Koda. Hou, Mitakoda." "Peace, friendship," had said Grunt, "Greetings, friend. Greetings, my friend," in Dust Leg. He then added, in Kaiila, for good measure, substantially the same message. "Hou, Kola. Hou, Mitakoda. Olakota. Wolakota." "Greetings, Friend. Greetings, my friend. Peace, Peace, Friendship" Book 17, Savages: pg 257 [tLi] |
|
<Oryx> Welcome back. How did you get disconnected? <Dimond_TarnsManWarrior> damn buttons <Dimond_TarnsManWarrior> I hate moffing Myself <Dimond_TarnsManWarrior> hit the wrong one :) Wanderings of Oryx con Lara [tLi] |
|
I looked up and saw the three moons of Gor, the large moon and
the two small ones, one of the latter called the Prison Moon, for no reason I understood.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 170 [C] |
The table below presents the moons as illustrated in two of the Scrolls,
|
| Moon Name(s) | Meaning(s) | Approx Months | Remarks | References | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gor | Earth | Savages | Blood Brothers | |||||
| Waniyetuwi | winter moon | Eighth | November | 97
|
466
|
|||
| Wanicokanwi | Mid-Winter Moon | Ninth | December | 97
|
466
|
|||
| Witehi | the Hard Moon | Se`Var | January | 466
|
||||
| Wicatawi | the Urt Moon | Eleventh | February | 466
|
||||
| Istawicay(a)zanwi | Sore-Eye Moon | Twelfth | March | Vernal Equinox occurs during this moon; also note that the name of the moon is spelled differently in the two Scrolls | 144
|
466
|
||
| Magaksicaagliwi | Returning Giants/Gants | En`Kara | April | "Gants" appears in most editions of Savages;"Giants" appears in Blood Brothers | 144
|
466
|
||
| Wozupiwi | Planting Moon | Hesius | May | 144
|
||||
| Kantasawi | when the plums are red | En`Var | July |
21
34
|
||||
| Takiyuhawi | when the tabuk rut | Fifth | August |
5
22
|
||||
| Canpasapawi | when the chokecherries are ripe | 22
|
||||||
| Canwapegiwi | when the leaves become brown | Sixth | September | Autumnal Equinox occurs during this moon | 380
|
|||
| Wayukaspiwi | Corn-Harvest Moon | Se`Kara | October | According to the Dust Legs calendar | 466
|
|||
| Canwapekasanwi | when the wind shakes off the leaves | According to the Kaiila calendar | 22
|
|||||
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"In the Nest," said Misk, "the expression 'Mul' is used to designate a human slave."
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 94 [b] |
mul cases noun transparent plastic tube in which a mul sleeps. [T]mushrooms victual mentioned but with no description [tLi]
“” M
My case was a transparent plastic cube of perhaps eight feet square, with ventilation holes and a sliding plastic door. There was no lock on the door and thus I could come and go as I pleased.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 110 [b]
mul fungus victual bland whitish fibrous vegetable-like material which is the main food of muls. [T]
“” M
It is not hard to get used to the mul-fungus, for it has almost no taste, being and extremely bland, pale, whitish, vegetablelike matter.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 109 [b]
mul torch noun rod used to light passages in the Priest-Kings Nest. [T]
“” M
"This is a Mul-Torch," said Misk, "used by Muls who raise fungus in darkened chambers. You will need it to see."
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 115 [b]
mul-pellets victual surmised by Tarl Cabot to be a vitamin supplement for muls. [T]
“” M
In the first meal,Mul-Fungus is ground and mixed with water, forming a porridge of sorts; for the second meal it is chopped into rough two-inch cubes; for the third meal it is minced with Mul-Pellets and served as a sort of cold hash; the Mul-Pellets are undoubtedly some type of dietary supplement...
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 109 [b]
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"Oh, very well," said Hurtha. He then held out to her the plate of
mushrooms. It did not seem to me that she needed to take that
many. "Ah, Mincon, my friend, my dear fellow," said Hurtha. "Come,
join us!" I supposed he, too, would dive into the mushrooms.
Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 82 [b] |
|
In most cities it is regarded, incidentally, as a criminal offense to
enslave one of the caste of players. A similar decree, in most
cities, stands against the enslavement of one who is of the caste of
musicians.
Book 12, Beasts: pg 44 [C] Lastly it might be mentioned, thinking it is of some interest, musicians on Gor are never enslaved; they may, of course, be exiled, tortured, slain and such; it is said, perhaps truly, that he who makes music must, like the tarn and the Vosk gull, be free. Book 4, Nomads: pg 154 [tLi] |
|
I have never seen a
bowed instrument on Gor; also, I might mention, I have never on Gor
seen any written music; I do not know if a notation exists; melodies
are passed on from father to son, from master to apprentice.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 153 [C] |
|
|
| Preface A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
"Nadu!" he cried, loosening the whip coils on her throat. She swiftly knelt, back on her heels, back straight, head high, hands on her thighs, knees wide. Book 13, Explorers: pg 155 [caro/wings/rose] "Come now, my pretty slaves," said Ginger, "kneel straight. Back straight, heads up. Back on your heels there! Spread those pretty knees. Yes, that is the way men like it. Put your hands, palms down, on your thighs. Good. good. Excellent!" The girls now knelt in the coffle as pleasure slaves. Book 17, Savages: pg 155 [C] "Straighten your body, Slave," I told her. Frightened, Miss Blake-Allen straightened her back, and lifted her head. She knelt back on her heels, knees wide, and hands on her thighs. It was the position of the Pleasure Slave. I had taught her the position. It is one of the first things a good-looking woman, fallen slave, is taught on Gor. Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 53 [C] "The palms of your hands are facing upward," I said. "Oh!" she said, and quickly turned them downward, and clutched her thighs. The rag she wore, given her knee position, that of a pleasure slave, was high on her thighs. Her hands, her fingers on her thighs, digging into them, as though they would anchor themselves there, half covered it. He grip was partly through the cloth and partly on her thighs. Book 25, Magicians: pg 320 [b] |
|
Many Gorean names are apparently of Earth origin.
Book 7, Captive: pg 69 [tLi] |
|
The Bracelets band, or the Napoktan, wear copper bracelets on the
left wrist. This band, outside of the Kaiila, is often known as
the Mazahubu band, which is the Dust-Leg word for bracelets....
Sometimes, as I suspect was the case with the Napoktan, these
names may owe their origin to the idiosyncrasies of given
leaders, to unique historiacal events of perhaps, even, to dreams.
Book 18: Blood Brothers of Gor, pp 10-11 [tLi] The land of the Napoktan, or Bracelets band of the Kaiila, is east of the Snake, and north of the Northern Kailla, and the Kaiila proper. Book 18, Blood Brothers: pg 24 [b] |
|
Tur wood is used for galley frames, and beams and clamps and posts,
nd for hull planking; Ka-la-na serves for capstans and mastheads;
em-wood for rudders and oars; and the needle treesvergreens,
or masts and spars, and cabin and deck planking.
Book 6, Raiders: pg 141 [C] |
|
In the level of the emergents there live primarily birds, in particular parrots, long-billed fleers, andneedle-tailed lits
Book 13, Explorers: pg 311 [b] |
|
From behind me I heard the mechanical voice of Misk"s translator: "But she is the Mother," it said, "and we of the Nestl her children."
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 84 [C] |
|
There is an expression in their language which translates into
English as "Nest Trust", however, and seems to play something
of the same role in their thinking. The notion of friendship, it
seems to me, has to do with a reliance and affection between two or
more individuals; the notion of Nest Trust, as clearly as I
can understand it, is more of a communal notion, a sense of relying
on the practices and traditions of an institution, accepting them
and living in terms of them.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 80 [C] |
|
"Nestle" I told her.
"Yes Master" she said. She nestled obediently in the crook of my left arm. Book 13, Explorers: pg 279 [C] |
|
The peoples of Turia and certain other southern regions officially
celebrate their own new year on the day of the Summer Solstice
(June 21st). A ten day period of revelry follows, similar to the New
Year celebrations in northern cities. On the first day of the Waiting Hand, the last five days of the old year, the portals of Ar, including that of even the House of Cernus, had been painted white, and in many of the low caste homes, sealed with pitch, not to be opened until the first day of En'Kara. Almost all doors, including that of the House of Cernus, had nailed to them some branches of the Brak Bush, the leaves of which, when chewed, have a purgative effect. It is thought that the pitch and the branches of the Brak Bush discourage entry of bad luck into the houses of the citizens. During the days of the Waiting Hand the streets are almost deserted, and in the houses there is much fasting, and little conversation, and no song. Book 5, Assassin: pg 211 [C] |
|
"To the west of Lake Ushindi," I said, "there are floodlands, marshes
and bogs, through which a considerable amount of water drains into
the lake. With considerable hardship, limiting himself to forty men,
and temporarily abandoning all but two boats, which were half dragged
and thrust through the marshes eastward, after two months, Shaba
reached the western shore of what we now know as Lake Ngao."
"Yes," said Samos. "It is fully as large as Lake Ushindi, if not larger," I said, "the second of the great equatorial lakes." Book 13, Explorers: pg 18 [b] Lake Ngao, which was discovered by Shaba, and named by him, was named for a sheild, because of its long oval shape. The sheilds in this area tend to have that shape. It is also an inland word, of course Book 13, Explorers: pg 100 [W] I thought of Shaba , and his voyages of exploration, the circumnavigation of Lake Ushindi, the discover and circumnavigation of Lake Ngao , and the discovery and exploration of the Ua, even to the discovery of its source in the placid waters of that vast lake he had called Lake Bila Huruma. Book 13, Explorers: pg 454 [WyldFae] "Will you continue your work on the canal?" I had asked Bila Huruma. "Yes," he had said. When Lakes Ushindi and Ngao had been joined by the canal, a continuous waterway would be opened between Thassa and the Ua. Book 13, Explorers:, pg 455 [W] |
|
To be sure, a given gate, the "night gate" is usually
maintained somewhere, through which bona fide citizens, known in the
city, or capable of identifying themselves, may be admitted.
Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 102 [b] |
|
The tenth Ahn was the Gorean noon. The square would be crowded
at that time. To be sure, it is crowded in different ways at
different times, during the day
Book 22, Dancer: pg 278 [b] |
|
In his hand he held something which looked like a pair of pliers,
except that the claws were extremely slender, and bent in such a way
as to touch one another, at the tips scarcely more than a needle's
width.... I felt the back of the claws of the punch enter my
nostrils, distending them. There was a tiny, sharp click. Tears burst
into my eyes. I felt acute pain for an instant, and then a prolonged,
burning, stinging sensation.... I saw the leather worker approaching
my face with a tiny, steel ring, partly opened, and a pair of pliers.
As I was held he inserted the ring in my nose. It was painful. Then,
with the pliers, he closed the ring, and turned it, so that its
opening, where the closed edges met, was concealed within, at the
side of the septum.
Book 7, Captive: pg 165 [C] "The piercing of the ears is far more terrible," said Ute. "Nose rings are nothing. They are even pretty. In the south even the free women of the Wagon Peoples wear nose rings." She held me more closely. "Even free women in the south," she insisted, "" the free women of the Wagon Peoples, wear nose rings." Book 7, Captive: pg 166 [C] |
|
These women were unscarred, but like the bosk themselves, each wore a
nose ring. That of the animals is heavy and of gold, that of
the women also of gold but tiny and fine, not unlike the wedding
rings of my old world.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 27 [b] "The piercing of the ears is far more terrible," said Ute. "Nose rings are nothing. They are even pretty. In the south even the free women of the Wagon Peoples wear nose rings." She held me more closely. "Even free women in the south," she insisted, "the free women of the Wagon Peoples, wear nose rings." She kissed me. "Besides," she said, "it may be removed, and no will ever know that you wore it. It will not show." Book 7, Captive: pg 166 [b] On behalf of the nose ring, too, it should be mentioned that among the Wagon Peoples, even free women wear such rings. This, however, is unusual on Gor. The nose ring, most often, is worn by a slave. Book 17, Savages: pg 11 [b] |
|
Torcodino, on the flats of Serpeto, is a crossroads city. It is located
at the intersection of various routes, the genesian, connecting
Brundisium and other coastal cities with the south. The Northern
Salt Line and the Northern Silk Road, leading respectively west
and north from the east and south, the Pilgrim's Road, leading to
the Sardar, and the Eastern Way, sometimes called the Treasure
Road, which links the western cities with Ar.
Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 101 [tLi] |
|
Torcodino, on the flats of Serpeto, is a crossroads city. It is located
at the intersection of various routes, the genesian, connecting
Brundisium and other coastal cities with the south. The Northern
Salt Line and the Northern Silk Road, leading respectively west
and north from the east and south, the Pilgrim's Road, leading to
the Sardar, and the Eastern Way, sometimes called the Treasure
Road, which links the western cities with Ar.
Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 101 [tLi] |
|
Among them was a notched stick, played by sliding a polished tem-wood stick across its surface
Book 4, Nomads: pg 15 [C] |
|
"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk,
"are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency
of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan, and so on."
Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 383 [C] |
|
vulo stew with raisins, nuts, onions, and honey.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 47 [b] |
|
The Gorean word for victory is "Nykus," which expression seems clearly influenced by "Nike," or "Victory," in classical Greek
Book 13, Explorers: pg 100 [b] |
|
"It is an important subequatorial waterway," I said. "It flows west
by northwest, entering the rain forests and emptying into Lake
Ushindi, which lake is drained by the Kamba and the Nyoka
rivers. The Kamba flows directly into Thassa. The Nyoka flows
into Schendi harbor, which is the harbor of the port of Schendi, and
moves thence to Thassa." Schendi was an equatorial free port, well
known on Gor.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 16 [b] Kamba, incidentally, is an inland word, not Gorean. It means rope. Similarly the word Nyoka means serpent. Book 13, Explorers: pg 100 [b] |
|
|
| Preface A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Oasis of the Battle of Red Rock location a Tashid oasis under the hegemony of the Aretai northwest of Klima, named for the Battle of Red Rock [tLi]obeisance position position a position of extreme deference which is described as a slave deeply bowing her head from the basic pleasure slave position, often flattening her palms against the floor and leaning forward to lick and kiss the feet (or boots) of a Free person. Probably the basis for the IRCism karta [tLi]
“” O
..the Oasis of the Battle of Red Rock was the last of the major oases of the Tahari for more than two thousand pasangs eastward; it lay, in effect, on the borders of the dreaded dune country....
The oasis which we were entering is named for the Battle of Red Rock, which is a large shelf of reddish sandstone behind the oasis, north by northeast from its lowest point, and center.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 179 [C]
Oasis of Farad location oasis in the Tahari [tLi]
“” O
"She was bought for two tarsks, from a caravan master named Zad of the Oasis of Farad," he said.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 179 [C]
Oasis of Four Palms location a Kavar outpost far to the south of Red Rock [tLi]
“” O
The march of Hassan had as its object not Red Rock, northwest of Klima, but Four Palms, a Kavar outpost known, to him, which lay far to the south of Red Rock. Unfortunately Four Palms was farther from Klima than Red Rock. On the other hand, his decision seemed to me a sound one. Red Rock was a Tashid oasis under the hegemony of the Aretai, enemies of the Kavars. Furthermore, between Klima and Red Rock lay the regions patrolled by the men of Abdul, the Salt Ubar, who had been known to me as Ibn Saran. Beyond this, though Four Palms lay farther from Klima than Red Rock, its route, it seemed, would bring one sooner out of the dune country than the route to Red Rock, and into the typical Tahari terrain of rock and scrub, where some game might be found, occasional water and possible nomadic groups not disposed to hostility toward Kavars.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 271 [C]
Oasis of Nine Wells location oasis in the Tahari, in the regionof the Aretai [tLi]
“” O
I was returning to my compartment in Tor, from the tents of Farouk of Kasra. He was a merchant. He was camping in the vicinity of the city while purchasing kaiila for a caravan to the Oasis of Nine Wells. This oasis is held by Suleiman, master of a thousand lances, Suleiman of the Aretai.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 60 [C]
I had failed to contact them in Kasra, as I had planned, but I had learned that they were in the region of Tor, purchasing kaiila, for a caravan to the kasbah, or fortress, of Suleiman, of the Aretai tribe, master of a thousand lances, Ubar of the Oasis of Nine Wells.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 44 [C]
"They are Aretai," said one of the drovers. The caravan, I knew, was bound for the Oasis of Nine Wells. It was held by Suleiman, master of a thousand lances. He was high pasha of the Aretai.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 82 [C]
Oasis of the Sand Sleen oasis in the Tahari [tLi]
“” O
"Six days ago," said the merchant, "soldiers, Aretai, from Nine Wells raided the Oasis of the Sand Sleen."
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 152 [C]
Oasis of the Stones of Sliver location an oasis of the Char, a vassal tribe of the Kavars, named for the glint of dew on the large flat rocks at dawn, that resembles silver [tLi]
“” O
"It is their intention that Suleiman not receive these goods. It is their intention to divert them, or most of them, to the Oasis of the Stones of Silver." This was an oasis of the Char, also a vassal tribe of the Kavars. Its name had been given to it centuries before, when thirsty men, who had moved at night on the desert, had come upon it, discovering it. Dew had formed on the large flat stones thereabout and, in the light of the dawn, had made them, from a distance, seem to glint like silver.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 94 [C]
Oasis of Two Scimitars location an out-of-the-way oasis, under the hegemony of the Bakahs [tLi]
“” O
The oasis of Two Scimitars is an out-of-the-way oasis, under the hegemony of the Bakahs, which, for more than two hundred years, following their defeat in the Silk War of 8,110 C.A., has been a vassal tribe of the Kavars.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 151 [C]
|
"There are many ways to perform obeisance," I said.
"I am a free woman," she said, "I know none of them." "I shall instruct you briefly in three," I said. "First kneel before me, back on your heels, yes, with your knees wide, wider, your hands on your thighs, your back straight, your breasts out, good, your belly in, good, and now lower your head in deference, in submission. Now that," I said, "may not be exactly a form of obeisance, for authorities do not all agree, but for our purposes we shall count it as one. It is, at any rate, a beautiful position, and it is, certainly, a common position of slave submission. Now," I said, "and this is clearly a form of obeisance, bend forward and put your head to the mat, the palms of your hands on the mat. Good. Now lift your head little and come forward, substantially keeping the position. Forward a little more." "But then my face will be at your feet," she said, "my lips will be over them!" "Yes," I said, "Good, now, put your head down and lick and kiss my feet." Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 409 [C] Swiftly we assumed a common form of slave obeisance, kneeling, the palms of our hands on the ground, our heads to the ground. Book 22, Dancer: pg 114 [tLi] |
|
In the back room I tracked these matters by means of one of the observation portals. One of the two magistrates, he who was senior, Tolmar, of the second Octavii, an important gens but one independent of the well-known Octavii, sometimes spoken of simply as the Octavii, or sometimes as the first Octavii, deputy commissioner in the records office, much of which had been destroyed in a recent fire, was at the other portal
Book 25, Magicians of Gor" pg 442 [b] "I am of the second Octavii," said Tolnar. "My colleague is of the Toratti." Book 25, Magicians: pg 454 [b] |
|
The official "Stone," actually a solid metal cylinder, is kept, by
the way, near the Sardar. Four times a year, on a given day in each
of the four great fairs held annually near the Sardar, it is brought
forth with scales, that merchants from whatever city my test their
own standard "Stone" against it.
Book 6, Raiders: pg 127 [b] |
|
"Olakota. Wolakota." 'Greetings, Friend. Greetings, my friend. Peace,"
Book 17, Savages: pg 257 [b] |
|
Clitus, too, had brought two bottles of Ka-la-na wine, a string of
eels, cheese of the Verr and a sack of red olives from the groves of Tyros.
Book 6, Raiders: pg 114 [C] |
|
The Tarn Keeper...brought the food, bosk steak and yellow bread, peas
and Torian olives, and two golden-brown, starchy Suls, broken open and filled with melted bosk cheese.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 168 [b] |
|
All four of these cities lie on the Olni River, which is a
tributary to the Vosk. Ti is farthest from the confluence of theOlni
and Vosk; downriver from Ti is Port Olni; these were the first two
cities to form a league, originally intended for the control of river
pirates and the protection of inland shipping; later, downriver from
Port Olni, Vonda, and Lara, lying at the junction of the Olni and
Vosk, joined the league. The Olni, for practical purposes, has been
freed of river pirates.
Book 14, Fighting Slave: pg 171 [b] |
|
The Wagon Peoples war among themselves, but once in every two hands
of years, there is a time of gathering of the peoples, and this, I
had learned, was that time. In the thinking of the Wagon Peoples it
is called the Omen Year, though the Omen Year is actually a season,
rather than a year, which occupies a part of two of their regular
years, for the Wagon Peoples calculate the year from the Season of
Snows to the Season of Snows...
... the Omen Year, or season, lasts several months, and consists of three phases, called the Passing of Turia, which takes place in the fall; the Wintering, which takes place north of Turia and commonly south of the Cartius, the equator of course lying to the north in this hemisphere; and the Return to Curia, in the spring, or, as the Wagon Peoples say, in the Season of Little Grass. It is near Turia, in the spring, that the Omen Year is completed, when the omens are taken usually over several days by hundreds of haruspexes, mostly readers of bosk blood and verr livers, to determine if they are favorable for a choosing of a Ubar San, a One Ubar, a Ubar who would be High Ubar, a Ubar of an the Wagons, a Ubar of all the Peoples, one who could lead them as one people. Book 4, Nomads: pg 3 [tLi] |
|
There had not been, I knew, a Ubar San in more than a hundred years.
It did not seem likely, either, that one would be elected in the
spring. Even in the time I had been with the wagons I had gathered
that it was only the implicit truce of the Omen Year which kept these
four fierce, warring peoples from lunging at one another's throats,
or more exactly put, at one another's bosk.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 57 [tLi] The institution of Love War is an ancient one among the Turians and the Wagon Peoples, according to the Year Keepers antedating even the Omen Year. The games of Love War, of course, are celebrated every spring between, so to speak, the city and the plains, whereas the Omen Year occurs only every tenth year. Book 4, Nomads: pg 116 [tLi] |
|
"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, AI-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan, and so on."
Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 383 [b] |
|
onager noun, pl. onagri The
onager was a war machine, capable of being carried aboard ship,
used to hurl blunt projectiles. Its name derives from the animal
of the same name whose kicking was compared with the
characteristic of the weapon. It was formed from a massive wooden
frame whose central part was furnished with a propulsion
mechanism formed from two bands of elastic material. Enclosed
within this web was an arm, made of a thick pole, furnished with
a sling with a projectile. This arm was lowered under tension by
a winch. By trigering the release mechanism, the pole was
thrown forward with great force and hit a padded surface in
such a way that the projectile was launched on an arched path.
The onager was capable of hurling blunt projectiles to a height
of 40 m and a distance of 30 m. By changing the attachment of the
sling, the path and the height of the projectile could be
altered. [tLi]
“” O
|
![[onager]](pix/onager.gif) An Onager thanks to Lady Viviane |
|
In the whistling wind, as the need arose, I had called the straps to her, "One-strap!", "Six-strap!" and so on, and she would draw the strap.
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 130 [b] "One-strap!" I laughed, delighted, bursting with pleasure, and the plumed giant, that titan of Gor, began to climb steeply. Book 2, Outlaw: pg 177 [b] |
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...vulo stew with raisins, nuts, onions, and honey.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 47 [b] |
|
Before Suleiman, now, there lay five stones, three sereem diamonds,
red, sparkling, white flecked, and two opals, one a common
sort, milky in color, and the other an unusual flame opal,
reddish and blue. Opals are not particularly valuable stones on
Earth, but they are much rarer on Gor; these were excellent
specimens, cut and polished into luminescent ovoids, still, of
course, they did not have the value of the diamonds.
Book 10, Tribesman: pg 92 [b] |
|
Before Suleiman, now, there lay five stones, three sereem diamonds,
red, sparkling, white flecked, and two opals, one a common sort,
milky in color, and the other an unusual flame opal, reddish and
blue. Opals are not particularly valuable stones on Earth, but they
are much rarer on Gor; these were excellent specimens, cut and
polished into luminescent ovoids; still, of course, they did not have the value of the diamonds.
Book 10, Tribesman: pg 92 [C] |
|
I pulled back her right wrist a bit and tied it to her right ankle. I
left her about six or seven inches of slack between wrist and ankle.
"This is a common open-legged tie," I said. "It is not good
for general security, but it is a good, and familiar, slave tie." I
then fastened her left wrist to her left ankle, as I had done with
her right wrist and-ankle. "When finished with you," I said, "I
might simply bind your wrists behind you and tie your ankles
together. That is a familiar and effective security tie. If you had
not been sufficiently pleasing I might pull up your bound ankles and
tie them to your wrists. Your neck, of course, might always be tied
to a stake, or bound to a tree."
Book 17, Savages: pg 207 [b] |
|
Each warrior of the Wagon Peoples, and that means each able-bodied man, is a member of an Or, or a Ten
Book 4, Nomads: pg 175 [b] |
|
Each warrior of the Wagon Peoples, and that means each able-bodied man, is a member of an Or, or a Ten; each ten is a member of an Orlu, or Hundred; each Orlu is a member of an Oralu, a Thousand.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 175 [b] |
|
Each warrior of the Wagon Peoples, and that means each able-bodied man, is a member of an Or, or a Ten; each ten is a member of an Orlu, or Hundred; each Orlu is a member of an Oralu, a Thousand.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 175 [b] |
![[an oryx]](pix/oryx.jpg)
An oryx is an African or MidEastern antelope with two long, straight horns. Symbolizing survival and fortitude to the Bedouin, the oryx laughs at the weakness of the camel, needing only the water it gets from scrub bushes to survive.
This URL will tell you all you ever wanted to know about the Arabian Oryx:
http://www.animalinfo.org/species/artiperi/oryxleuc.htm
This is a site that shows what an oryx looks like:
http://205.172.12.22/animals/o/oryx.html![[OcL]](../../Scrolls/pix/oryxsigil.jpg)
and manager of the paramount Inn in Lara, #the-Lara-inn on
bondage.com and DALnet on IRC, but
travels extensively to other cities, millieux, and media. His unique Scribe's Sigil is pictured
to the left.|
We bound the captain and officers well, but were careful not to harm them
lest their value as hostages or for resale be depreciated. At
first, the only binds available were rough sea-ropes: secure, but
would eat the flesh off a man in a week. Then, finding some
shore-thistles adrift on the waves, I hit upon a binding method
that would be secure yet harmless to the officers' skin. The tiny
thistle-hooks would catch on the rough homespun clothes they had,
and could not be pulled off save by a ripping motion. Sewing
thistle-leaves to one side of a wide leather strap, and swatches
of homespun to the other, I'd formulated the bind that I would
use in later years on slaves: the OryxBond!©
The Travels of Oryx con Lara, volume I [tLi] |
|
The Ambassador murmured something in High Oryxian. The Ubar stared at him
in shock. 'Ah knows y'all're fixin' ta tall me somethin', but Ah
cain't make out whatch're mouthin' on abouts'"
The Travels of Oryx con Lara, volume XIX [tLi] |
|
One to be feared even more perhaps was the tiny ost, a venomous, brilliantly orange reptile little more than a foot in length, whose bite spelled an excruciating death within seconds.
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 26 [C] Suddenly the peacefulness of the late afternoon was shattered by a sharp scream! "Master! Beside you!" Before I could turn I saw her leap from her place to that spot next to Me, and give a sudden gasp. She coughed. "It can't... hurt you, My Master...any..." And, to My everlasting horror, My beloved sariti rolled over, already ashen grey, the limp body of a crushed ost still attached to her sweet flesh. I stared through a veil of tears, as I saw her life slip rapidly away before Me, given freely to save her Master. The Writings of Oryx con Lara [tLi] |
|
One permitted residence in Ar received the identificatory
ostrakon, for example, citizens, ambassadors, resident
aliens, trade agents, and such, was a function of their owner's
possession of such ostraka....
Too, guardsmen might, at their option, request the presentation of either ostraka or permits. Ostraka were sometimes purchased illegally. Sometimes men killed for them. The nature of the ostraka, for example, taking different colors, being recorded, and so on. Book 25, Magicians: pg 36 [p] |
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The Others, those of power, not the Priest-Kings, must, to some extent,
understand or sense the politics, the needs and policies of the remote
denizens of the Sardar, they were probably not altogether unaware of the
business of Priest-Kings, particularly not now, following the recent War of
Priest-Kings, after which many humans had escaped the Place of Priest-Kings
and now wandered free, if scoffed at and scorned for the tales they
might bear possibly from these, or from spies or traitors in the Nest
itself, the Others had learned. The Others, I was sure, would neither
jeer nor scoff at the stories told by vagabonds of Priest-Kings.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 200 [tLi] |
|
<Oryx> so you are forbidden to climax until given permission
<orli{W}> omg <Oryx> no, orli, it's "otog", an Oryx Original © * orli{W} nods, remembering her lessons The Travels of Oryx con Lara, vol XI |
|
Other girls had prepared the repast, which for a war camp, was sumptuous indeed,
containing even oyster from the delta of Vosk...
Book 7, Captive: pg 301 [C] |
|
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| Preface A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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The head of the sleen disappeared beneath the water. I put down the harpoon and throwing board; I took the mitten which I had held between my teeth and pulled it back on. It had two thumbs, like the one on my left hand. They were paddle mittens. When they are worn on one side they may be turned to the other.
Book 12, Beasts: pg 280 [b] |
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"Sul paga! Sul paga!" cried Thurnus. The great staff banged on the table.
Busebius rushed to the table. "Master," said he, "we have many pagas, those of Ar and Tyros, and Ko-ro-ba, and Helmutsport, and Anango, and Tharna!" "Sul paga!" shouted Thurnus. Several men about, at various tables, regarded him, most unpleasantly. The pagas mentioned by Busebius were all, of course, Sa-Tarna pagas, of various sorts and localities, varying largely in the blend. "Sul paga!" demanded Thurnus. Sul paga, as anyone knew, is seldom available outside of a peasant village, where it is brewed. Sul paga would slow a tharlarion. To stay on your feet after a mouthful of Sul paga it is said one must be of the peasants, and then for several generations. And even then, it is said, it is difficult to manage. There is a joke about the baby of a peasant father being born drunk nine months later. Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 414 [tLi] |
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My Master extended his cup to me, and I, kneeling, filled it with Sul
paga. I pressed my lips to the cup, and handed it to him. My eyes
smarted. I almost fell drunk from the fumes.
I withdrew. Sul paga is, when distilled, though the Sul itself is yellow, as clear as water. The Sul is a tuberous root of the Sul plant; it is a Gorean staple. The still, with its tanks and pipes, lay within the village, that of Tabuk's Ford, in which Thuurnus, our host, was caste leader. "Excellent," said my Master, sipping the Sul paga. He could have been commenting only on the potency of the drink, for Sul paga is almost tasteless. One does not guzzle Sul paga. Last night one of the men had held my head back and forced me to swallow a mouthful. In moments things had gone black, and I had fallen unconscious. I had awakened only this morning, ill, miserable, with a splitting headache, chained with the other girls." Book 11, Slavegirl: p 134 [tLi] |
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He leaned over and tossed me a skin bag of Paga , from which I took a long swig, then hurled it contemptously back into his arms. In a moment he had taken flight again, ... the bag of Paga flying behind him, dangling from its long straps.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 78 [C] The proprietor, sweating, aproned, was tipping yet another great bottle of paga in its sling, filling cups, that they might be borne to the drinkers. Book 6, Raiders: pg 105 [C] I threw a silver tarsk, taken from what we had obtained from the slavers in the marsh, to the proprietor of the paga tavern, and took in return one of the huge bottles of paga, of the sort you put in a pouring sling... Book 6, Raiders: pg 111 [C] |
|
"Paga!" called the standing men. "Paga!"
A blond girl, nude, with a string of pearls wound about her steel collar, ran to the table and from the bronze vessel, on its stap about her shoulder, poured paga into the goblet before the seated man. The fellow who stood by the table scarcely noticing the girl, placed a tarsk bit in her mouth, and she fled back to the counter where, under the eye of a paga attendant, she spit the coin into a copper bowl. Book 15, Rogue: pg 77 [b] |
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From where she knelt she could see the low hanging tharlarion oil lamps of the main portion of the paga tavern, the men, the girls in silk who, in a moment, belled, would move among them, replenishing the paga. In the center of the tables, under a hanging lamp, there was a square area, recessed, filled with sand, in which men might fight or girls dance. Beyond the area of the sand and the many tables there was a high wall, some forty feet or so high, in which there were four levels, each containing seven small curtained alcoves, the entrances to which were circular, with a diameter of about twenty four inches. Seven narrow ladders, each about eight inches in width, fixed into the wall, gave access to these alcoves.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 8 [C] |
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Not a paga bowl was lifted nor a hand moved.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 9 [b] Another girl ran to him, bearing a cup of paga Book 6, Raiders: pg 102 [b] I took the goblet, filled with burning paga. I had not had paga since returning frm the northern forests. Book 9, Marauders: pg 23 [b] She knelt near the table, put the tray on the floor, unbidden performed obeisance and then, as though submissively, put the tray on the table, and put the paga in a small kantharos, and the bread on its trencher, before me. Book 23, Renegades: pg 71 [tLi] |
|
Paga is a corruption of Pagar-Sa-Tarna, which means Pleasure of the Life-Daughter
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 75 [C] |
|
There is an incredible variety of trees in the rainforest, how many I
cannot conjecture. There are, however, more than fifteen hundred varieties and types of palm alone.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 310 [C] |
|
One type of palm, the fan palm, more than twenty feet high, which spreads its leaves in the form of an opened fan, is an excellent source of pure water, as much as a liter of such water being found, almost as though cupped, at the base of each leaf's stem.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 310 [tLi] |
|
Schendi's most significant exports are doubtless spice and hides, with kailiauk horn and horn products being of great importance. One of her most delicious exports ispalm wine
Book 13, Explorers: pg 429 [C] |
|
The results of our trading had been two baskets of dried fish, a sack of meal and vegetables, a length of bark cloth, plaited and pounded, from the pod tree, dyed red, a handful of colored, wooden beads, and, most importantly, two pangas, two-foot-long, heavy, curve-bladed bush knives.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 287 [tLi] I saw the Kur leader, a huge, brown Kur, doubtless from one of the far ships, lift his panga in salute to the black Ubar. Book 13, Explorers: page 442 [tLi] With the back of one of the heavy pangas I struck loose the ring lock. Book 13, Explorers: pg 292 [nineve{Rem}/tLi] |
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"Some call them the forest girls," said Ute. "Others call them the
panther girls, for they dress themselves in the teeth and skins of
the forest panthers they slay with their spears and bows."
Book 7, Captive: pg 82 [tLi] As I ran through the darkness, I suddenly saw, before me, some fifty or sixty yards away, four pairs of blazing eyes, a pride of forest panthers. I pretended not to see them and, heart pounding, turned to one side, walking through the trees. At this time, at night, I knew they would be hunting. Our eyes had not met. I had the strange feeling that they had seen me, and knew that I had seen them, as I had seen them, and sensed that they had seen me. But our eyes had not directly met. We had not, so to speak, signaled to one another that we were aware of one another. The forest panther is a proud beast, but, too, he does not care to be distracted in his hunting. We had not confronted one another. I only hoped that I might not be what they were hunting. I was not. They turned aside into the darkness, padding away. Book 7, Captive: pg 181 [tLi] |
|
"Some call them the forest girls," said Ute. "Others call them the
panther girls, for they dress themselves in the teeth and skins of
the forest panthers, which they slay with their spears and bows." I
looked at her. "They live in the forest without men," she said,
"saving those they enslave, and then sell, when tiring of them. They
shave the heads of their male slaves in that fashion to humiliate
them. And that, too, is the way they sell them, that all the world
may know that they fell slave to females, who then sold them."
"Who are these women?" I asked. "Where do they come from?" "Some were doubltless once slaves," said Ute. "Others were once free women. Perhaps they did not care for matches arranged by their parents. Perhaps they did not care for the ways of their cities with respect to women. Who knows? In many cities a free woman may not even leave her dwelling without the permission of a male guardian or member of her family." Ute smiled up at me. "In many cities a slave girl is more free to come and go, and be happy, than a free woman." Book 7, Captive: pg 82 [C] How beautiful she was, and proud and fierce, in the brief skins and golden ornaments. She was beautifully figured and she carried herself arrogantly before them, taunting them with her beauty, and spear. Verna, leader of the Panther Girls, speaking to the men she and her band have just captured in the Northern Forest. "I am Verna," she told them, "a Panther Girl, of the High Forest. I enslave men, when it pleases me. "When I tire of them I sell them. I despise you," she said. "We have outwitted you, and captured you. We have bound you. If we wished, we would take you into the forest and teach you what it is to be a slave!" Book 7, Captive: pg 120 [C] |
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On the jungle floor, as well, are found jungle larls and jungle panthers, of diverse kinds, and many smaller catlike predators
Book 13, Explorers: pg 312 [C] |
|
Rence paper is, incidentally, not the only
type of writing material used on Gor. A milled linen paper is much
used, large quantities of which are produced in Ar, and vellum and
parchment, prepared in many cities, are also popular.
Book 6, Raiders: pg 104 tLi |
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"The parade of slaves!" called a man.
"The parade of slaves!" "Yes, yes!" called others. The "parade of slaves," as it is sometimes called, commonly takes place in venues such as paga taverns and brothels. It may also, of course, take place elsewhere, for example, in the houses of rich men, at dinners, banquets, and so on. It is a presentation of beauty and attractions. The slaves present themselves, usually one by one, often to the accompaniment of music, for the inspection of the guests. It is in some ways not unlike certain fashion shows of Earth, except, of course, that its object is generally not to merchandise slave wear, though it can have such a purpose, but to present the goods of the house, so to speak, for perusal. Whereas in the common fashion show of Earth the woman considers the clothing and the man considers the women, and the women serve the ulterior purposes of the designer, in the parade of slaves there are generally no free women present, and the men, openly, lustily, consider the beauty of the women, as it was meant by nature to be considered, as that of slaves, and the women serve the ulterior purposes not of a designer, but of a master, who will, in the event of their selection, collect their rent fees, or such. To be sure, the women serve themselves, too, but not in the trivial sense of obtaining money, but in the more profound senses, psychological and biological, of expressing and fulfilling their nature. To be sure, the women must fear, for they may be taken out of themselves, so to speak, and forced helplessly into ecstasy. Book 24, Vagabonds: pg 29 [b] |
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And there were four Wagon Peoples, the Paravaci, the Kataii, the Kassars, and the dreaded Tuchuks
Book 4, Nomads: pg 14 [C] |
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We had some from the Dust Legs. It was in sheets, cut almost as thin as paper, dried in the prairie sun, layered in a flat, leather envelope, a parfleche, originally scaled with a seam of hardened fat.
Book 17, Savages: pg 328 [b] |
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We may perhaps, somewhat loosely, speak of this first zone as the "floor," or, better, "ground zone," of the rain forest. In the level of the emergents there live primarily birds, in particular parrots, long-billed fleers, and needle-tailed lits. Monkeys and tree urts, and snakes and insects, however, can also be found in this highest level. In the second level, that of the canopies, is found an incredible variety of birds, Warblers, finches, mindars, the crested lit and the common lit, the fruit tindel, the yellow gim, tanagers, some varieties of parrot, and many more"
Book 13, Explorers: pg 311 [b] |
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"There is here an iceberg," said Samos, pointing to the map, "which is not following the parsit current." Samos had said, literally, of course, 'ice mountain'. The parsit current is the main eastward current above the polar basin. It is called the parsit current for it is followed by several varieties of migrating parsit, a small, narrow, usually striped fish.
Book 12, Beasts: pg 38 [b] |
|
The men of Torvoldsland are skilled with their hands. Trade to the south, of course is largely in furs acquired from Torvoldsland, and in barrels of smoked, dried parsit fish.
Book 9, Marauders: pg 28 [C] Like the bond-maids, she had been fed only on cold Sa-Tarna porridge and scraps of dried parsit fish. Book 9, Marauders: pg 56 [C] The men with the net drew it up. In it, twisting and flopping, silverish, striped with brown, squirmed more than a stone of parsit fish. They threw the net to the planking and, with knives, began to slice the heads and tails from the fish. Book 9, Marauders: pg 64 [C] It is called the parsit current for it is followed by several varieties of migrating parsit, a small, narrow, usually striped fish. Book 12, Beasts: pg 38 [tLi] |
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Thorstein Camp after that camp was build on an island in it [tLi]
Thorstein Camp, well to the south, but yet north of Einar's Skerry,
was a camp of fighting men, which controlled the countryside
about it, for some fifty pasangs, taking tribute from the farms.
Thorstein of Thorstein's Camp was their Jarl. The camp was of
wood, surrounded by a palisade, built on an island in an inlet,
called the inlet of Thorestein Camp, formally known as the inlet
of Parsit, because of the rich fishing there.
Book 9, Marauders: pg 147 [tLi] |
|
The pasang is a measure of distance on Gor, equivalent approximately to 0.7 of a mile.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 58 [C] Forty pasangs is an average day's march for a Gorean infantryman. Book 14, Fighting Slave: pg 179 [tLi/nineve{Rem}] As the Priest-Kings mobilized their ships to the affected area, the Kurii ships sped off, their mission accomplished. Enough cameras had been neutralized to hide their nefarious activities. The Priest-King ships pursued them for many pasangs but the Kurii ships eventually escaped. Ubar Luther, Fun With Gor (#50, Version 5.0), used by permission |
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I recognised it, and even had I not, the cylindrical pasang stones that marked its length were each inscribed with the sign of the city and the appropriate pasang count to its walls. A Gorean pasang is approximately .7 of a mile.
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 35 [b] |
|
Each month, containing five five-day weeks, is separated by a five-day period, called the Passage Hand
Book 5, Assassin: pg 78 [b] |
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On the tray were assorted pastries, on the other was a variety of small, spiced custards.
Book 16, Guardsman: pg 239 [C] "I shop for wealthy women," said she, "for pastries and tarts and cakes-things they will not trust their female slaves to buy." Book 4, Nomads: pg 238 [C] ...if our group had trained, acceptably, after the evening meal, before being returned, hooded, to the public pens, we would be given candies or pastries, or, sometimes, a swallow of Ka-la-na wine. Book 7, Captive: pg 163 [C] |
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Another device, common in Port Kar, is for the girl to kneel before the master and put her head down and lift her arms, offering him fruit, usually a larma, or a yellow Gorean peach, ripe and fresh. These devices, incidentally, may be used even by a slave girl who hates her master but whose body, trained to love, cannot endure the absence of the masculine caress. Such girls, even with hatred, may offer the larma, furious with themselves, yet helpless, the captive of their slave needs, forced to beg on their knees for the touch of a harsh master, who revels in the, sport of their plight; does he satisfy them; if it is his will, yes; if it is not his will, no. They are slaves."
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 27 [C] |
|
I had tarsk meat and yellow bread with honey, Gorean peas tankard of diluted Ka-la-na, warm water mixed with wine.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 87 [C] |
|
Economically, the base of the Gorean life was the free peasant was perhaps the lowest but undoubtedly the most fundamental caste.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 43 [C] None of course would accept a lower caste, and there were lower castes, the Caste of Peasants for example, the most basic caste of all Gor. Book 2, Outlaw: pg 27 [C] |
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It was true that the long bow is a weapon of peasants, who make and
use them, sometimes with great efficiency. That fact, in itself,
that the long bow is a peasant weapon, would make many Goreans,
particularly those not familiar with the bow, look down upon it.
Gorean warriors, generally drawn from the cities, are warriors by
blood, by caste; moreover, they are High Caste; the peasants,
isolate in their narrow fields and villages, are Low Caste; indeed,
the Peasant is regarded, by those of the cities, as being little more
than an ignoble brute, ignorant and superstitious, venal and vicious,
a grubber in the dirt, a plodding animal, an ill-tempered beast,
something at best cunning and treacherous; and yet I knew that in
each dirt-floored cone of straw that served as the dwelling place of
a peasant and his family, there was, by the fire hole, a Home
Stone; the peasants themselves, though regarded as the lowest
caste on all Gor by most Goreans, call themselves proudly the ox on
which the Home Stone rests, and I think their saying is true.
Peasants, incidentally, are seldom, except in emergencies, utilized in the armed forces of a city; this is a further reason why their weapon, the long bow, is less known in the cities, and among warriors, than it deserves to be. Book 6, Raiders: pg 3 [tLi] |
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He lay in the darkness, in Grunt's lodge. I had wished to return to
this lodge. There were objects in it which remained of intrest to me.
In it, too, were stocks of dried meat and wakapapi, pemmican
Book 18, Blood Brothers: pg 46 [R] "Wakapapi," said Cuwignaka to me. This is the Kaiila word for pemmican. A soft cake of this substance was pressed into my hands. I crubled it. In the winter, of course, such cakes can be frozen solid. One then breaks them into small pieces, warms them in one's hands and mouth, and eats them bit by bit. I lifted the crumbled pemmican to my mouth and ate of it. There are various ways in which pemmican may be prepared, depending primarily on what one adds into the mixture, in the way of herbs, seasonings and fruit. A common way of preparing it is as follows. Strips of kailiauk meat, thinly sliced and dried on poles in the sun, are pounded fine, almost to a powder. Crushed fruit, usually, chokecherries, is them added to the meat. The whole, then, is mixed with, and fixed by, kailiauk fat, subsequently, usually, being divided into small, flattish, rounded cakes. The fruit sugars make this, in its way, a quick-energy food, while the meat, of course, supplies valuable, long-lasting stamina protein. This, like the dried meat, or jerky, from which it is made, can be eaten either raw or cooked. It is not uncommon for both to be carried in hunting or on war parties. Children will also carry it in their play. The thin slicing of the meat not only abets its preservation, effected by time, the wind and sun, but makes it impractical for flies to lay their eggs in it. Book 18, Blood Brothers: pg 268 [tLi] |
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The roofed stage of the great theater, usually called that, though
technically, it was the theater of Pentilicus Tallux, a poet
of Ar, of over a century ago, best known for his poems in the
delicate trilesiac form and two sensitive, intimate dramas, was over
a hundred yards in width, and some twenty yards in depth.
Book 25, Magicians: pg 110 [b] |
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"In their military organizations," I said, "six such beasts constitute a Hand, and its leader is called an Eye. Two hands and two eyes constitute a larger unit, called a "Kur" or "Beast," which is commanded by a leader, or Blood. Twelve such units constitute a Band, commanded again by a Blood, though of higher rank. Twelve bands, again commanded by a Blood, of yet higher rank, constitute a March. Twelve Marches is said to constitute a People. These divisors and multiples have to do with, it seems, a base-twelve mathematics, itself perhaps indexed historically to the six digits of one of the creature's prehensile appendages."
Book 17, Savages: pg 22 [b] |
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"I was once," continued Saphrar, "a perfumer of Tyros..."
Book 4, Nomads: pg 196 [tLi] I put my head to the floor. I grovelled in the white and yellow silk of the perfumers. Book 9, Marauders: pg 136 [tLi] That scent, I knew, a distillation of a hundred flowers, nurtured like a priceless wine, was a secret guarded by the perfumers of Ar. Book 9, Marauders: pg 137 [tLi] He tore away from his body, swiftly, the gown of the perfumers, that of white and yellow silk. I, too, cast aside the perfumer's gown. Book 9, Marauders: pp 139-140 [tLi] ... some of the girls were permitted cosmetics and slave silk; generally, however, girls in the pen are raw, totally, save for their collars and brands, as are male slaves; the costumer, the perfumer, the hairdresser then does with them what he is instructed... Book 10, Tribesman, 16 [tLi] I knelt in the cool recesses of the shop of Turbus Veminius, a perfumer in Venna. Book 14, Fighting Slave: pg 209 [tLi] |
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I hoped that I would be granted death in battle, if death it must be.
The Wagon Peoples, of all those on Gor that I know, are the only
ones that have a clan of torturers, trained as carefully as
scribes or physicians, in the arts of detaining life."
Book 4, Nomads: pg 44 [b] The selection of the girls, incidentally, is determined by judges in their city, or of their own people, in Turia by members of the Caste of Physicians who have served in the great slave houses of Ar... Book 4, Nomads: pg 61 [b] A notable exception to the generalization that woman of a Caste normally do not engage in Caste work is the Caste of Physicians whose women are commonly trained, as are the boys, in the practice of medicine. Even the Physicians however, normally do not admit their women to full practice until they have borne two children.... The women of the Physicians, at the age of fifteen, in many cities, wear two bracelets on her left wrist. When has one child one bracelet is removed; when she has a second child the second bracelet is removed. She may then, if she desires, enter into the full practice of her craft. Book 14, Fighting Slave: pg 210 [tLi] |
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The piercing of the ears of women, only of slave girls of
course was a custom of distant Turia, famed for its wealth and its
nine great gates....
The piercing of ears of slave girls, that they might have earrings fastened to them, was another Turian custom. It had been known on Gor before, but it was only with the flight of the escaping Turians that it became more widespread recently. Book 7, Captive: pg 160 [tLi] Further, they knew that with their ears pierced, they might bring a somewhat higher price, and thus, perhaps, obtain a somewhat better-fixed master. Some prudish slavers, scandalized by ear piercing, refused to have it done to their girls, but Targo, doubtless because of the gold involved, had insisted upon it. Many Gorean men apparently find pierced ears in a girl extremely provocative. Book 7, Captive: pg 167 [b] To Gorean eyes the piercing of the ears, this visible set of wounds, inflicted to facilitate the mounting of sensual and barbaric ornamentations, is customarily regarded as being tantamount, for most practical purposes, to a sentence of irrevocable bondage. Normally ear-piercing is done only to the lowest and most sensuous of slaves Book 17, Savages: pg 11 [b] |
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Torcodino, on the flats of Serpeto, is a crossroads city. It is located
at the intersection of various routes, the genesian, connecting
Brundisium and other coastal cities with the south. The Northern
Salt Line and the Northern Silk Road, leading respectively west
and north from the east and south, the Pilgrim's Road, leading to
the Sardar, and the Eastern Way, sometimes called the Treasure
Road, which links the western cities with Ar.
Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 101 [tLi] |
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Guided by the Tatrix, in perhaps no more than thirty minutes, we saw,
gleaming in the distance, the Pillar of Exchanges. It lay about one
hundred pasangs northwest of the city, and was a lonely white column
of solid marble, perhaps four hundred feet in height and a hundred
feet in diameter. It was accessible only on tarnback.
It was not a bad place for the exchange of prisoners, and offered an almost ideal situation from the point of view of avoiding ambush. The solid pillar would not allow entrance to men on the ground, and approaching tarns would be easily visible for miles before they could reach it. Book 2, Outlaw: pg 141 [b] |
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At such a time a man may not be spoken to, for according to the Gorean way
of thinking pity humiliates both he who pities and he who is
pitied. According to the Gorean way, one may love but one may not pity.
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 31 [L] |
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From the Sardar I had gone largely Cart, sometimes Vask, then Cart
again until I had come to the Plains of Turia, or the Land of
the Wagon Peoples.
Book 4, Nomads: pg 4 [b] |
|
The Home Stone of a city is the center of various rituals. The next
would be the Planting Feast of Sa-Tarna, The Life-Daughter,
celebrated early in the season to insure a good harvest. This is a
complex feast, celebrated by most Gorean cities, and the observances
are numerous and intricate. The details of the rituals are arranged
and mostly executed by the Initiates of a given city.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 68 [C] |
|
Then he began to fumble with the wallet which was slung from his belt, and removed a plastic envelope. I watched him closely, following every move. A frown crossed my face as I saw him take a pinch of tobacco from the bag and refill his pipe.
Book 3, Prist Kings: pg 28 [tLi] In his prehensile hooks, those on the right foreleg, he carried a sheet of plastic, on which was the Gorean alphabet, and some paragraphs in Gorean, in various scripts, some printed, some cursive. Book 5, Assassin: pg 286 [tLi] Outside the Curulean also, on sale days, actual slave girls are exhibited, some in suspended plastic cages fastened to the roof of the portico, others in a tier of cages dining the interior wall of the portico; these are not, however, the exposition cages within the Curulean; they are merely, so to speak, advertisements and attractions to lure customers; on the other hand, of course, such displays, along with many others, will be offered for sale. Book 5, Assassin: pg 286 [tLi] The other fellow, also in what seemed to be a suit of light plastic, with a heating unit slung at his hip, fumbled with the weapon, to insert another charge in the breech Book 12, Beasts: pg 484 [tLi] |
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<Fred`> why do you bother with a player like that?
<Oryx> Why do you say that, Fred`? * Fred` shakes his head sadly <Fred`> he's just Gorean when on-line... in real life, he's a fat, balding accountant * Oryx thinks . o O { Accountants of Gor? } O o . The Travels of Oryx con Lara, vol XI <Viper> you allow such as Fred` into tLi? <Oryx> Of course, why shouldn't I? <Viper> He's such a player! Claims to be SO Gorean in real life, but his "slave" is his wife, doesn't wear a collar to go shopping or to work, and I hardly think she sleeps chained at his bed at night! The Travels of Oryx con Lara, vol IX |
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In most cities it is regarded, incidentally, as a criminal offense to enslave one of the Caste of Players.
Book 12, Beasts: pg 44 [tLi] He wore the garb of the Players, Caste of, but his garb was rich and the squares of the finest red and yellow silk. Book 5, Assassin: pg 322 [C] |
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"You are aware, of course," I mentioned, "that the Pleasure
Gardens of so rich a man as Saphrar of Turia may contain a large
number of female slaves not all of whom might be trusted to keep
silent and some of whom will undoubtedly notice something as unusual
as two strange warriors wandering about among the shrubs and ferns?"
Book 4, Nomads: pg 217 [b] |
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"The pleasure rack is an interesting device," I said. I
examined the wooden wheels, the levers. In virtue of the axes of the
device and the various gears and pinions, and the joints, braces,
fitted, sliding boards, notches and lock points, it can be adjusted
to a variety of positions.
To be sure not all the pleasure racks were as sophisticated as that on which was bound my former Mistress, the former female slaver, the Lady Tima of Vonda. This device, like some of the others, had doubtless been brought from the city, perhaps dragged forth by shackled men of Vonda, hauling on wagon ropes. Book 15, Rogue: pg 27 [C] The floor of the tent was covered with thick, colourful rugs, and the inside was decorated with numerous silken hangings. The light was furnished by a brass tharlarion oil lamp which swung on three chains. Cushions were scattered about on the rugs. On one side of the tent there stood, with its straps, a Pleasure Rack. Book 2, Outlaw: pg 199 [b] "It will be a tarsk bit," said the fellow walking down the long line of pleasure racks. I placed a tarsk bit in the small leather sack nailed to the frame of the rack. She pulled back in the straps. Book 15, Rogue: pg 21 [b] |
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I slipped on the bit of silk. I looked in the mirror and shuddered. I
had been naked before men, many times, but it did not seem to me that
I had been so naked as this. It was Gorean pleasure silk. Not
naked, I seemed more than naked.
Book 7, Captive: pg 322 [b] |
|
I had nearly stepped into a basket of plums.
Book 10, Tribesmen: pg 45 [C] |
|
Few Gorean garments are deformed by pockets. An exception is the working aprons of artisans.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 165 [tLi] |
|
It could have been worse, I thought. After all, though the Caste
of Singers, or Poets, was not a high caste, it had more prestige
than, for example, the Caste of Pot-Makers or Saddle-Makers, with
which it was sometimes compared.
Book 2, Outlaw: pg 103 [C] "The Caste of Poets is not so bad," I said to Linna. "Of course not," she said, "but they are outlawed in Tharna." Book 2, Outlaw: pg 105 [tLi] |
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West of Ar's Station on the river I had visited Jort's Ferry, Point Alfred, Jasmine, Siba, Sais, and Sulport.
Book 15, Rogue: pg 62 [tLi] Jort's Ferry and Point Alfred lie west of Ar's Station and tend to follow the lead of Ar's Station, favoring generally the politics of Ar. Book 15, Rogue: pg 314 [tLi] |
| Poisons of Gor | |
|---|---|
| Description | Source(s) |
| artificial poison from from the laboratory of Sullius Maximus, once one of the five Ubars of Port Kar | Bood 9, Marauders: pp 10-11, 141; Book 23, Renegades: pg 134; Book 9, Marauders: pg 10; Book 25, Magicians: pg 479 |
| kanda, a lethal poison extracted from the root of one of Gor's desert shrubs | Book 1, Tarnsman: pp 90,179; Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 14; Book 11, Slave Girl: pg 394; Book 13, Explorers: pp 110,151,358 |
| pellets, probably from Kanda root | Book 1:Tarnsman, pg 33; Book 6, Raiders: pg 113; Book 9, Marauders: pg 12 |
| the poison of Torvaldsland | Book 23, Renegades: pg 135 |
| (venom from) rennels, poisonous, crablike desert insects | Book 4, Nomads: pg 27 |
| saliva from a specially bred slave | Book 5, Assassin: pg 115; Book 21, Mercenaries: pg 246 |
| dorsal spines from Cosian wingfish | Book 4, Nomads: pp 64,83; Book 6, Raiders: pg 139 |
| tropical seaweed | Book 13, Explorers: pp 76,109 |
| venom from marsh moccasin | Book 24, Vagabonds: pg 172 |
| venom from ost serpents | Book 5, Assassin, pp 204,233,335; Book 7, Captive pp 356,372; Book 24, Vagabonds: pg 172; Book 26, Witness: pg 577 |
|
"I would not have thought Saurus of Tyros would have used
poisoned steel," I said. Such a device, like the
poisoned arrow, was not only against the codes of the
warriors, but, generally, was regarded as unworthy of men.
Poison was regarded as a woman's weapon.
Book 9, Marauders: pg 18 [b] |
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I could see the blue line of the Hrimgar Mountains in the distance to
the south. To the north the tundra stretched forth to the horizon.
Many people do not understand the nature of the polar north. For one
thing, it is very dry. Less snow falls there generally than falls in
most lower latitudes. Snow that does fall, of course, is less likely
to melt. Most of the land is tundra, a cool, generally level or
slightly wavy, treeless plain. In the summer this tundra, covered
with mosses, shrubs and lichens, because of the melted surface ice
and the permafrost beneath, preventing complete drainage, is soft and
spongy. In the winter, of course, and in the early spring and late
fall, desolate, bleak and frozen, wind-swept, it presents the aspect
of a barren, alien landscape. At such times the red hunters will
dwell by the sea, in the spring and fall by its shores, and, in the
winter, going out on the ice itself.
Book 12, Beasts: pg 196 [b] |
|
"Does the oasis of the Battle of Red Rock have, at its northeast rim, a
kasbah, with four towers?"
"Yes," said Hassan. "Then I see it," I said. "No," said Hassan. "There are palm groves, five of them," I said. "Yes." he said. "Pomegranate orchards lie at the east of the oasis." I said. "Gardens lie inward. There is even a pond, between two of the groves of date palms." Book 10, Tribesman: pg ??? (chapter 11) [tLi] |
|
Here, too, may be found snakes and monkeys, gliding urts, leaf urts, squirrels, climbing, long-tailed porcupines, lizards, sloths, and the usual varieties of insects, ants, centipedes, scorpions, beetles and flies, and so on.
Book 13, Explorers: pg 311 [b] |
|
It was now, in that chronology, the year 10,127...
West of Tafa was Port Cos, which had been founded by settlers from Cos over a century ago.
Book 15, Rogue: pg 64 [tLi] |
|
Port Kar, squalid, malignant Port Kar, scourge of gleaming Thassa, Tarn of the Sea, is a vast, disjointed mass of holdings, each almost a fortress, piled almost upon one another, divided and crossed by hundreds of canals. It is, in effect, walled, though it has few walls as one normally thinks of them. Those buildings which face outwards, say, either at the delta or along the shallow Tamber Gulf, have no windows on the outward side, and the outward walls of them are several feet thick, and they are surmounted, on the roofs, with crenelated parapets. The canals which open into the delta of the Tamber were, in the last few years, fitted with heavy, half-submerged gates of bars. We had entered the city through on such pair of gates. In Port Kar, incidentally, there are none of the towers often encountered in the northern cities of Gor. The men of Port Kar had not chosen to build towers. It is the only city on Gor I know of which was built not by free men, but by slaves, under the lash of masters. Commonly, on Gor, slaves are not permitted to build, that being regarded as a privilege to be reserved for free men.
Politically Port Kar is a chaos, ruled by several conflicting Ubars, each with his own following, each attempting to terrorize, to govern and tax to the extent of his power... There is even in Port Kar, a recognized caste of Thieves, the only such I know of on Gor.....The nearest solid land, other than occasional bars in the marshes, to Port Kar lies to her north, some one hundred pasangs distant."
Book 6, Raiders: pg 104 [C] The dancing girls of Port Kar are said to be the best of all Gor. They are sought eagerly in the many cities of the planet. They are slave to the core, vicious, treacherous, cunning, seductive, sensuous, dangerous, desirable, excruciatingly desirable. Book 6, Raiders: pg 99 [tLi] Port Kar does not recognize the Free Companionship, but there are free women in the city, who are known simply as the women of their men. Book 6, Raiders: pg 294 [tLi] |
|
It was at this time that the place came to be known as Fort Haskins.
A fort remains at this point but the name, generally, is now given to
the town which grew up in the vicinity of the fort, primarily to the
west and south. The fort itself, incidentally, was twice burned, once
by soldiers from Port Olni, before that town joined the
Salerian Confederation...
Book 17, Savages: pg 77 [nineve{Rem}/tLi] Port Olni is located on the north bank of the Olni River. It is a member of the Salerian Confederation. Book 17, Savages: pg 88 [tLi] |
|
Hup's rag might once have been of the Caste of Potters.
Book 5, Assassin: pg 10 [C] After all, though the Caste of Singers, or Poets, was not a high caste, it had more prestige than, for example, the Caste of Pot-Makers or Saddle-Makers, with which it was sometimes compared. Book 2, Outlaw: pg 103 [tLi] |
|
She had first been sold for eight silver tarsks to a keeper of one of the public kitchens in a cylinder, a former creditor of her father, who had in mind making a profit on her; she worked in the kitchen for a year as a pot girl,
Book 5, Assassin: pg 164 [b] |
|
"Who is the new Tatrix?" I asked.
"Dorna the Proud," said the slave, who tumbled onions, turnips, radishes, potatoes and bread into the feed trough. Book 3, Outlaw: pg 155 [tLi] |
|
We saw a fellow walk by, mumbling prayers. He was keeping track of these prayers by means of a prayer ring. This ring, which had several tiny knobs on it, was worn on the first finger of his right hand. He moved the ring on the finger by means of the knobs, keeping track of the prayers that way, comes to the circular knob, rather like a golden circle at the termination of the Initiate's staff, one knows one had completed one cycle of prayers. One may then stop, or begin again.
Book 25, Magicians: pg 20 [b] |
|
"These stones," said my father, "are various, of different colours, shapes, and sizes, and many of them are intricately carved. Some of the largest cities have small, rather insignificant Home Stones, but of incredible antiquity, dating back to the time when the city was a village or only a mounted pride of warriors with no settled abode.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 27 [C] |
|
Then, one after the other, she added the freedom veil, or veil of the citizeness, the pride veil, the house veil, and street veil. Each of these is heavier and more opaque than the one which lies within.
Book 11, Slavegirl: pg 107 [b] |
|
Sardar Mountains.
It is said that the Priest-Kings know whatever transpires on their
world and that the mere lifting of their hand can summon all the
powers of the universe. I myself had seen the power of
Priest-Kings which had twice carried me to this world; I
had seen their power so subtly exercised as to alter the
movements of a compass needle, so grossly demonstrated as to
destroy a city, leaving behind not even the stones of what had
once been a dwelling place of men. It is said that neither the
physical intricacies of the cosmos nor the emotions of beings are
beyond the scope of their power, that the feelings of men and the
motions of atoms and stars are as one to them, that they can
control the very forces of gravity and invisibly sway the hearts
of human beings, but of this latter claim I wonder, for once on a
road to Ko-ro-ba, my city, I met one who had been a messenger of
the Priest-Kings, one who had been capable of disobeying
them, one from the shards of whose burnt and blasted skull I had
removed a handful of golden wire. He had been destroyed by the
Priest-Kings as casually as one might jerk loose the thong
of a sandal. He had disobeyed and he had been destroyed,
immediately and with grotesque dispatch, but the important thing
was, I told myself, that he had disobeyed, that he could disobey,
that he had been able to disobey and choose the ignominious death
he knew must follow. He had won his freedom though it had, as the
Goreans say, led him to the Cities of Dust, where I think, not
even the Priest-Kings care to follow. He had, as a man,
lifted his fist against the might of the Priest-Kings and
so he had died, defiantly, though horribly, with great nobility.
Book 3, Priest-Kings: pg 14 [C] |
|
An initiate in the lead carried a standard on which was mounted the
sign of the Priest-Kings, a golden circle, that which has no
beginning or end, the symbol of eternity, the symbol of Priest-Kings.
Book 12, Beasts: pg 46 [b] |
|
I looked up and saw the three moons of Gor, the large moon and the two small ones, one of the latter called the Prison Moon, for no reason I understood.
Book 5, Assassins: pg 170 [b] |
|
"What of the Prition of Clearchus of Cos?" I asked.
Book 25, Magicians: pg 194 [b] "What do men, truly, want of slaves?" she whispered. "Have you read the Prition of Clearchus of Cos?" she said. "What is a former free woman of Ar doing reading that?" I asked. It was a treatise on bondage." "The slave," she quoted, "makes no bargains; she does not desire small demands to be placed upon her; she does not ask for ease; she asks nothing; she gives all; she seeks to love and selflessly serve." "You quote it well," I said. "You have read it?" she asked. "Yes," I said. I remembered the passage clearly. The girl had perhaps, at one time, memorized it. "I have always been fascinated with bondage," she said, "but I never expected, then, to find myself a slave." Book 18, Blood Brothers: pg 138-139 [b] |
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The buyers were also informed that I was 'glana' or virgin. The correlated term is 'metaglana' used to designate the state to which the glana state looks forward, or that which it is regarded as anticipating. Though the word was not used of me I was also 'profalarina' which term designates the state preceding, and anticipating that of 'falarina' or the state Goreans seem to think of as that of being a full woman, or, at least, as those of Earth might think of it, one who certainly is no longer a virgin. In both terms, 'glana' and 'profalarina' incidentally, it seems that the states they designate are regarded as immature or transitory, state to be succeeded by more fully developed, superior states, those of 'metaglana' or 'falarina.' Among slaves, not free women, these things are sometimes spoken of along the lines as to whether or not the girl has been 'opened' for the uses of men. Other common terms, used generally of slaves, are 'white silk' and 'red silk' for girls who have not yet been opened, or have been opened, for the uses of men, respectively.
Book 22, Dancer: pg 128 [C] |
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"So I will try to please you," she said, "that you will buy me." "You are not now in the purple booth," I said. She laughed. The allusion was to certain practices having to do with the merchandising of Red Silk Girls, in private sales for individual and important clients of the House. At certain times of the year several such booths are set up within the courtyard of a slaver's house; in each, unclothed, chained by the left ankle to a ring, on furs, is a choice Red Silk Girl; prospective buyers, usually accompanied by a member of the Caste of Physicians, in the presence of the slaver's agent, examine various girls; when particular interest is indicated in one, the Physician and the slaver's agent withdraw; when, after this, the girl is not purchased, or at least seriously bid upon, she is beaten severely or, perhaps worse, is touched for a full Ehn by the slave goad; if, after two or three such opportunities, the girl is not sold, she is given further training; if after this she is still not sold she is usually returned to the iron pens whence, with other girls, considered to be of inferior value, she will be sold at a reduced price in one of the smaller markets, perhaps even in a minor city. Most girls, it might be mentioned, even extremely choice specimens, are never in the booths; generally the slaver has a chance at a higher price when there are many buyers bidding against one another in the heat of an auction. Book 5, Assassin: pg 57 [tLi] The women were chained nude, of course, for that is the way that slave girls are commonly displayed for their sale, particularly in low markets, and, indeed, even in a private sale from one of the purple booths in the courtyard of a rich slaver there will come a time when the slave, even an exquisite, high slave, must put aside her silks and be examined raw, as though she were a common girl. Book 17, Savages: pg 47 [tLi] |
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"Of course," she said, "if I were a man I would buy a woman only if she were naked. I would want to see what I was getting, completely." "Precisely," I said. "I would even want to try her out," she said, boldly. "That is done in certain sorts of sales," I said, "such as purple booth sales in the courtyard of a slaver's house." Book 12, Beasts: pg 240 [tLi] I turned my steps, curious as to what might be involved, toward the purple booths. The purple booths are normally maintained by slavers, used as locations in which girls, usually higher-quality slaves, more expensive merchandise, may be inspected and tried by bonafide buyers or their agents. Such booths are usually set up in the courtyards of slaver's houses and at special times, generally in the neighborhood of holidays and festivals. At other times, of course, such girls may be examined and tested in private chambers in the slaver's houses. The purple booths set up now in the piazza, however, had to do with the time of carnival. They were, in effect, good-will and promotional devices, donated to the festivities, for the pleasures of free men, by the houses of various slavers. The house of samos, for example, provided the first five booths, each complete with its furnishings, including a charming occupant. His fifth booth, as I had heard, contained the slave, Rowena. He wished to bring her along quickly. As I recalled, he intended to soon sell her, with several others, at the Fair of En'Kara, near the Sardar. Some men think that the girls in the public purple booths are much the same as those vended from the private purple booths on other occasions. Generally, however, as most men know, this is not the case. For example, Rowena was a new slave. Thus, even though she was very beautiful, she would probably not, in virtue of her inexperience, even be considered for a private-booth showing for several months or a year. It takes time for a girl to develop adequate skills. Book 20, Players: pg 65 [tLi] |
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As he spoke, my father often referred to the planet Gor as the Counter-Earth, taking the name from the writings of the Pythagoreans who had first speculated on the existence of such a body. Oddly enough, one of the expressions in the tongue of Gor for our sun was Lar-Torvis, which means The Central Fire, another Pythagorean expression, except that it had not been, as I understand it, originally used by the Pythagoreans to refer to the sun but to another body. The more common expression for the sun was Tor-tu-Gor, which means Light Upon the Home Stone. There was a sect among the people that worshipped the sun, but it was insignificant both in numbers and power when compared with the worship of the Priest-Kings who, whatever they were, were accorded the honours of divinity. Theirs, it seems, was the honour of being enshrined as the most ancient gods of Gor, and in time of danger a prayer to the Priest-Kings might escape the lips of even the bravest men.
Book 10, Tarnsman: pg 28 [C] |
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| Preface A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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...I saw what I first thought was a shadow, but as the tarn passed, it scattered into a scampering flock of tiny creatures, probably the small, three-toed mammals called qualae, dun-colored and with a stiff, brushy mane of black hair.
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 141 [C] these are often used for hunting light game, such as the brush-maned, three-toed Qualae, Book 7, Raiders: pg 4 [C] |
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My shield and spear were secured by saddle straps; my sword was slung
over my shoulder. On each side of the saddle hung a missile
weapon, a crossbow with a quiver of a dozen quarrels, or bolts...
Book 1, Tarnsman: pg 100 [b] |
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The principle of the common quern is as follows: it consists primarily of a mount, two stones, an overhead beam and a pole. The two stones are circular grinding stones. The bottom stone has a small hub on its upper surface which fits into an inverted concave depression in the upper stone. This helps to keep the stones together. It also has shallow, radiating surface grooves through which the grindings may escape between the stones, to be caught in the sturdy boxlike mount supporting the stones, often then funneled to a waiting receptacle, or sack
Book 23, Renegades: pg 18 [b] |
![[quiva]](pix/quiva.gif)
12 inch knife, balanced for throwing
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... the seven sheaths for the almost legendary quivas, the balanced saddleknives of the prairie. It was said a youth of the Wagon Peoples was taught the bow, the quiva and the lance before their parents would consent to give him a name. ..
Book 4, Nomads: pg 11 [C] I was most fond perhaps, of the balanced saddle knife, the quiva; it is about a foot in length, double edged; it tapers to a dagger like point Book 4, Nomads: pg 67 [C] ...the quiva itself is regarded, on the whole, as more of a missile weapon than a hand knife Book 4, Nomads: pg 124 [C] |
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