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The real role of Free Women in Gorean society is one of the most misinterpreted aspects on Gor. This misunderstanding is constantly being revived by various factors. First of all, by the language in most books that all women should be slaves. Second, a cursory reading of the books reveals that almost all of the important characters of free women, who are often haughty, end up as slaves. And third, there is the myth that male dominance on Gor is absolute. These three reasons combine to twist the reader's view of the free women of Gor. It is only through a deeper study of the Books of Gor that one understands the true complexity of the role of free women on Gor. They are far more than potential slaves.
The vast majority of women on Gor are free women. Only 2-3% of all women are actually slaves. This statistic alone speaks volumes about the status of free women in Gorean society. Despite all the rhetoric, Goreans do not fall into such platitudes and enslave most of their wives. They don't even enslave a significant proportion of their wives. There must be compelling reasons to support this attitude. Free women must be able to fill important roles that slave women cannot fill. The demand for these roles must exceed the demand for slaves.
Publisher. Bryjana Thoredottier
"I am a free woman," she said. "I can speak as I please."
I could not gainsay her in this. She was free. She could, accordingly, say what she wished, and without requiring permission.
Mercenaries of Gor
The glorius City of Ar
Our next journey took us across the Vosk again, but this time we took a small tributary of the river whose name is irrelevant, at White Water, past Ar' Station, Teslit and Holmesk.
From there we had to take the Tarn until we reached the glorious city of Ar.
Ar is the largest and arguably most famous city on this planet, and the glorious deeds of Ubar Marleneus fill many scrolls.
I will give more about this later, excerpts from the numerous scrolls about this powerful man.
We entered the city and were overwhelmed by the splendor and the hustle and bustle, so we hesitated for a moment near the city gate A handsome man, tanned with blond hair and a red tunic, accompanied by one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, came up to us and greeted us. We have given our guards a token of calm, and the handsome warrior a token of peace.
As we revealed our names and our desires, we learned who stood before us, none other than the honorable Ubar of Ar. MARLENEUS !!!
We were taken to a beautiful park where we could rest from the journey and negotiate with the Ubar undisturbed.
Marleneus was enthusiastic, as was Ubara Mari, and we quickly agreed to sell our Gazettes here in Ar as well.
Ar has captivated us and we will certainly stay for a while. If only because of an important interview with a high, respected citizen. It will definitely be an interesting report in the next issue.
You can be curious!!
The Story of Ar
The Story of Ar
The first major historical event that we learn of with an actual time frame is the Valley War. We don't know when the war started, only that it ended around 10098 CA. with victory for Ar. Marlenus became Ubar during this war and was already known for never being defeated in battle. We do not know who ruled Ar before Marlenus became Ubar. We also don't know who Ar fought during this war. Ar may have acquired some of the Twelve Tributary Cities during this war. After the war, Marlenus refused to give up his position as Ubar. The warrior caste supported him as Ubar. Marlenus promised power and wealth to the High Council and other important figures in Ar. They greedily accepted his promises and allowed him to remain as Ubar. In the years that followed, Marlenus waged a series of wars until he had conquered a total of twelve cities, the Twelve Undercities.
Marlenus has a vision for Ar and himself. He wants to be the Ubar of all Gor and create a unified empire of Ar that would encompass all of known Gor. Speaking to Tarl Cabot, who stole the Home Stone of Ar, Marlenus said:
"I have risked my life a thousand times, and devoted the years of my youth to the vision of Ar and his realm, that all of Gor may be one language, but one trade, but a set of codes, roads, and passes that might be sure the peasants tilled the fields in peace at night, that there could only be one council to decide political affairs, that there could only be one supreme city to unite the cylinders of a hundred separate, enemy cities - and let it all annihilate ." (Tarnsman of Gor, p. 155) He spoke further: "But I, Marlenus, though I was a warrior, was more than a warrior, always more than a warrior. Where others see no more than the codes of their castes, where others could feel no call of duty save that of their Home Stone, I dared to dream the dream of Ar—that there might be an end to meaningless warfare, bloodshed and terror, an end to fear and danger, of Vengeance and cruelty that visit us lives - I dreamed that from the ashes of Ar's conquests a new world could arise, a world of honor and law, of might and justice." (Stormman of Gor, p. 155)\
Report & Interview Wash Rau, Magistrate of Ar
Magistrate vs. Brundisium
In the Glorious City of Ar, under the leadership of the honorable , renowned Ubar Marleneus, we set up a branch of the Gorean Moons Gazette and became acquainted with the acting magistrate there, Sir Wash Rau. We chatted among colleagues for a while when Sir Wash and a scroll passed: "I heard about your Gorean Moons, maybe it would be interesting?!"
Stunned, we read the contents of the scroll and decided that all Gorean people should read and know about it.
It was about an incident in the city of Brundisium where Magistrate Wash was currently working as a scribe and the behavior of the local Ubar Thaddeus Himura Dextrin , some warriors and members of the blue caste !!
We ourselves could get an impression of certain arrogance of the Ubar during our last visit. In our view, this man is merely the mouthpiece of Harry, the former Captain of Port Kar, and his mate. We can't find any evidence of this, but it is known that the former Council Captain of Port Kar is now living in exile in Brundisium with his mate.
"Sir, that calls for a deeper background interview," I said, still a touch of concern in my voice.
A few days later we found ourselves, Sir Darian EL Nairad, Magistrate and Senior Chief Editor, Sir Wash Rau, Magistrate of Ar and myself, Advocate and Chief Editor, in our new Gorean Moons Office, in the Magistrate Tower, right next to the Office of the Magistrates Sir Wash Rau, again.
I am attaching Sir Wash´s Scroll here:
From: The Hon. Wash Rau
Scribe of Brundisium
High Magistrate of Fina (formerly)
To: Thaddeus Himura Dexing, Ubar
CC: The Lady Lilia Rose Tenacious-Ironbeard, Head of Caste of Scribes
CC: Liam Whitesong, High Magistrate
CC: Augustus Bade, Captain of Warriors
CC: The Lady Dvari Beleza-Jabari, Scribe
DECLARATION OF CAUSE
I, Wash Rau, Scribe of Brundisium, hereby make the following declaration on the Third Day of the Third Hand of the Second Month in the Year 10174 Contasta Ar (220502.15):
The High Castes of Brundisium stand in abrogation of their duties to the People of Brundisium.
WHEREAS;
The Ubar of Brundisium has engaged in defamation against this Citizen of his own Home Stone; TO WIT:
I have been accused of assaulting a warrior; this accusation is false. In particular, it may be thought that I had employed a technique known to Scribes of the Law and used to gain compliance from resisting suspects; this technique being known informally as a "suprasternal notch choke"; said technique being described thus:
By applying the ball of his thumb to the base of the throat, through the notch where the collarbones meet at the body's center-line, the jugular vein and trachea are simultaneously compressed at their weakest point; this impairs breathing and blood flow simultaneously while causing pain and brief, mild paralysis of the central nervous system.
As the warrior who is alleged to have been subjected to this technique showed no reaction to the technique -- a technique which is effective regardless of the size, weight, or relative physical power between officer and target -- it is reasonable to conclude that the technique was never, in fact, applied -- and that the accusation concerning it is without evidence, and the accusation of same constitutes defamation.
WHEREAS;
The Legal system in the City of Brundisium consists only of one man, evidently appointed irrespective of his lack of either formal education or experience in the office to which he has been appointed;
That evidence consisting of a Warrant of Arrest which is profoundly unprofessional in its incompleteness, lacking the names or summary statements of any Complainant or Supporting Witness:
A Legal system, further, which lacks Advocates by title, or subordinate Magistrates who might fulfill the function of Advocates;
A Caste of Warriors who flagrantly disrespect their own Caste and their Home Stone in open shows of contempt for the Caste of Scribes and other Citizens of their own Home Stone;
And an Ubar who, contrary to the Honorable display of his rank and title, conceals himself among his men by omission of his own true Title and its attendant Colors;
There can be no assumption of a fair trial in which the Ubar may defend himself against the Charge of Slander. On this Scribe's behalf, there is no good cause to believe in a fair and equitable System of Law which would see the appropriate charge brought.
THEREFORE;
I, Wash Rau, hereby issue this
DECLARATION OF INTENT
WHEREAS:
Members of the High Castes of both Scribes and Warriors, in the City of Brundisium, have FAILED to uphold their sworn oaths to the Home Stone;
I herewith forswear my own oath to same.
Ubi integritas non exhibetur, integritas non speratur.
Where honor is not displayed, honor may not be expected.
TO THE CITIZENS OF BRUNDISIUM;
I regret only that I was unable to serve you as well as I had wished to.
I wish you honor, justice, prosperity, and peace.
Interview Sir Wash Rau, Magistrate of Ar
People present:
Wash Rau
Darian EL Nairad
Bryjana EL Nairad
Kajira Myka
Bryjana El Nairad: Well Sir Wash, are you ready to start?*smiles* if yes, then I would say tell me the facts first!“
Wash Rau ponders. "I'm not sure where to begin, Lady. The scroll containing my Declarations lays down the important facts, but do you have particular questions?"
Bryjana El Nairad : Find the scroll and spread it out
Darian El Nairad: tell us about your family and your born city or village
Wash Rau nods. "Certainly, Lady. I was born in the small Torvaldsland village of Heimili, nearly two centuries ago. When I was a young man, I went south to Fina in order to pillage what I could. Young men get that kind of lust to go far a i viking -- even, sometimes, by themselves. Well, through a strange twist of fate, I ended up becoming a guardsman there instead." he laughs. "The Norns weave such strange fates for us.
Bryjana El Nairad : "Sir Wash, you wrote that you were being attacked with the false accusation, how did it come about, what happened that people assumed something like that?
Wash Rau nods. "I was on the street and saw a woman kick a slave that didn't belong to her. I chastised her for showing a lack of emotional self control and for defacing another's private property. That became an argument. A man nearby threatened me, and I made a 'back away' gesture that was interpreted as an attack. Of course, had I actually attacked the man, he would have reacted to it. He didn't react to being attacked. Therefore, logically, it is obvious that no attack occurred."
Bryjana El Nairad: "What is this method you were talking about, suprasternal notch choke"
Wash Rau nods. "It's as described in my Statement, Lady. It's a means used by Scribes of the Law in order to subdue a resistant suspect without causing marks or physical damage."
Bryjana El Nairad : "So Magistrate, do you know the history of why the free woman punished the slave, according to the law it is the right of every free slave to punish even if they are not his property, in the event of damage, compensation will be paid to the owner, it does you credit but you stood up for a slave, but we should not forget, these are only goods"
Wash Rau: That's correct, Lady, but perhaps off the mark in one respect: In this instance, the woman's public loss of temper also reflected poorly on her, on her Caste, and on the City. Had visitors seen this, the prestige of the people of Brundisium would have taken a serious blow in visitors' eyes, so see women behaving in such a way. And, of course, there are ways to punish slaves that don't mark them. Or places to take them out of sight of the general populace, if more severe punishments are necessary."
Darian El Nairad: There are places where the life of a slave is still worth less than that of an Urt in the sea of Pot Kar, and sometimes a free one who does not like will and often pointed out as an enemy a traitor
Bryjana El Nairad : "From that point of view I agree with you Magistrate, do you know the woman's name? I would be interested. I also agree with your explanations in the scroll, as far as the Ubar from Brundisium is concerned."
Wash Rau shakes his head. "I did not make a priority of remembering the woman's name. A woman who displays violence in public like that, in my eyes, is not far removed from the wild girls of the forest. I don't take pains to remember that kind of woman."
Bryjana El Nairad :“ It's a shame, because one could have accused this woman, but presumably she was held in higher regard by the ubar than you as magistrates.“
Wash Rau nods. "The City of Brundisium is... aye, well, as it says in the scroll. They have deeply broken priorities where the High Castes are concerned."
Bryjana El Nairad nods: „and it is right that an arrest warrant has been issued for each and every one of you?“
Wash Rau tilts his head slightly. "I'm not aware of any such thing. I'm not aware of anything to that effect.“
Wash Rau: Ah. No, Lady, I was arrested in secret, led out of sight of the public. Taken to the top floor of the warriors' hall, in fact. The Ubar and three more of his warriors did this, when the public were not there to witness their deed. They executed Brundisium's instance of Wash Rau out of sight so that no one would know.“
Bryjana El Nairad shakes her head:“ these cowards!“
Wash Rau nods. "The Ubar knew he was in the wrong. If he had believed he was doing the right thing, it would have been done with witnesses around -- to 'make an example of' me, you see. He knew he was acting the villain, though, so he hid his deed."
Bryjana El Nairad: “We want our report to be as detailed as possible, so information like this is important.
So these people dismissed all of your explanations 'correct', and only saw their version and believed it to be true."
Wash Rau nods. "I believe that's accurate. In summary, Lady; Brundisium showed me that it is a city run by the warriors, only -- and *for* the warriors, only. They behave not as professionals but, rather, as a gang of thugs."
Bryjana El Nairad smiles: „Exactly, now I have understood everything correctly, it is a shame for Gor and the lawfulness of such behavior, unfortunately all our hands are tied to call these people to account, magistrates, you know that because it is testimony against testimony, but I myself know who the masterminds in B: are and you have my fullest confidence that your story is true.“
After this interview, Magistrate Darian EL Nairad, Chief Editor of the Gorean Moons Gazette, traveled to Brundisium to investigate.
A conversation with the local High Magistrate Liam Whitesong brought up the following version.
Comments by Sir Liam on Sir Wash:
Liam Whitesong: "Forgive me, but I don't see any particular interest. I mean, frankly, a humble and incompetent man who attacked a warrior and insulted the Ubar died. End of story.” He shrugs. "The only possible notable trait was that we were generous enough to recognize him in caste despite being so woefully under trained from the start.
I'm sure you mean another man then - because Wash of our Sribes is dead. You passed our gate by his head... so I'm afraid you came here on the basis of a lie.
A significant number of people saw him die, and this is his face... Well, unless his headless body serves as a magistrate, I dare say you're wrong. I mean, he's turning a bit green now and the birds are starting to get him, but it's still definitely him."
According to these statements, Wash Rau was executed for allegedly attacking a warrior, which he said was self-defense.
However, according to Sir Wash, the execution was accepted as an FTB and his roleplay was not addressed in any way. At which point he was banned
Closing word: Wash Rau
Wash Rau: Regarding the execution of "Wash Rau":
Brundisium calls itself a "BtB Gorean sim." In practice, its my opinion that it is not even slightly BtB.
Therefore, the version of "Wash Rau" which lived in Brundisium, and was executed in Brundisium, is not official. Events which involved that version of Wash Rau are not connected to the character of the same name which exists outside of Brundisium.
Closing word: Bryjana EL Nairad
We, the Gorean Moons Gazette, wish Sir Wash Rau all the best and a better life as magistrate in the city of Ar!!
Dear readers, please decide for yourself about such an approach, which I personally do not find particularly beneficial for our planet.
Unfortunately, such behavior has recently been noticed in some cities where god play and force play are the order of the day to satisfy one's ego.
Some leaders of such cities, whose names are known to the editor but are not mentioned for legal reasons, feel like the Priest-Kings or Odin himself.
I've witnessed it myself in places where trials and executions took place without the suspects present just so you could finish a rp or pose as oh so big tough men.
Or another example where Ms A miscarried early in her 4th month of pregnancy due to IC and OOC bullying. This caused her to leave town. As soon as the woman had left the City, the Group Message said: "Lady A. gave birth to a healthy girl, a premature baby, but alive, and she is in a coma in the infirmary herself!"
Note: No child born at the beginning of the 4th month of pregnancy is considered viable so this was crazy and unrealistic then the claim that she was in a coma where she was very AWAKE was already living elsewhere!!!
I myself avoid such places because incompetence and arrogance bother me.
There are so many beautiful places where peaceful living is possible!!
THE END
City of Ar closed closed its Gates forever!!
The City of Ar is lost and it has been deemed by the Priest King. People have left and now the kennel has closed and moved out the Suleiman Trading Company. All the slaves were gathered and collared and chained together and traveled through wagons and cross the vast land to a town called Sulport. Some of the slaves were lost to sickness and left for dead but those that are strong reached the town and has settled well into a new kennel. The land has farm and but in need of farmers. The town seem to be growing into a city and soon would be. Some warriors are settling into town as the caravan arrived. Physicians, scribes are seen with the caravan but the magistrates was not there but some hopes that he will also follow. The Gorean Black Caste Council assassins was also noticed during the move and is now deciding to settle into the town.
From the Feather of DΣΛЯIL(Slaver)
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