Archive for August 20th, 2014
SECRETS AND HONOR ~ Loose Lips Sink Tarn Ships
Wednesday, August 20th, 2014
Picture: Tancred’s Landing – writing the NEW VOICE OF GOR
SECRETS AND HONOR ~ Loose Lips Sink Tarn Ships
By Teal Razor, slave of Captain Siri Emerald Jr., Olni
SECRETS AND HONOR ~ Loose Lips Sink Tarn Ships
I have said previously that Gor runs on gossip. But, you must call that what it really is…”word of mouth”. Gor does not have a vast communication network. If it did, we would see scrolls passed from one citizen to another with such rapidity that everyone would know in a matter of ehn’s what “be the happ’s” all over Gor. On these scrolls would be splashed headlines like, “FREE WOMAN SLAVER SUBMITS!”, or “HIGHEST PAID FOR SLUT AT AUCTION”, and “UBARITE LEARNS OF COVER UP”. It is a tempting thought, to be informed.
I must say, however, there is something to be said for stopping information of a poisonous nature. Stopping the communication, before it starts, would prevent any detrimental news from antagonizing the public.
Think about this, a slave sees or hears something and passes this information on to another in casual conversation. This information titillates the ear of the other slave and consequently this titillated slave then tells everyone she meets of this fact; since she thinks it is a juicy tidbit. Even though the fact that Master Butticus has been frequenting the Zar tables may sound inconsequential to one person, to the “Companion” of Master Butticus, it is a devastating insight as to why their fortunes are fast disappearing. She will find out that her companion has been wagering on games in which his losses out weigh his gains.
I have been privy to many of these well meaning communiqués. My problem has been whether to speak or write of these things. Mostly, after revealing these “sound bites”, I have come to find it is better to keep my “trap” shut.
To this end I employ the “code of silence” which dictates the cover-up of family business and the non-aggravation of authorities. It also begs non-interference in the affairs of others. This is not a code I come by easily. I believe it takes years of practice or being whipped for opening your mouth inappropriately.
On an odd note, I did witness a free woman being asked to leave a tavern by a warrior. It seemed a comedy of errors. Now I have to decide whether telling you that will cause Gor War 3, or whether my mouth is just flapping in the breeze.
From the NEW VOICE OF GOR v.4 Issue 171
DI DOVE SEI? ~ Where are you from?
Wednesday, August 20th, 2014
Picture: The Northern Forest – bargaining with female outlaws
DI DOVE SEI? ~ Where are you from?
By Teal Razor, slave of Captain Siri Emerald Jr., Olni
Back on the planet I came from, the Italian side of my family asked visitors to their home, “Where are you from.” The response would be, “Sono di…” which was, I am from (insert name of town). Those two phrases for me seem aptly Gorean. At the gates of the city one is always asked to declare one’s Home Stone. Then again in the commons, if a free person sees an unfamiliar face, the unfamiliar face is asked where on the planet they hail from. This remark is asked more seriously at the gate but once you declare yourself and you are inside the gates, then being asked where you are from is seen as light banter.
The question of “where are you from”, is never asked of slaves. I mean, you would ask a pet sleen where it is from. Instead you would ascertain its owner. As all slaves are animals, and they, for the most part can speak, the question asked of a slave is “Who is your owner?” Even slaves ask other slaves, “Who owns you?” If the slave being asked, “who is your owner”, adds some inane factoid like, they came from Tafa, no one will give a rosy red urts bottom. The owner is the most important thing. Besides slave’s too have their pecking order. The more important the owner, the more important the slave, or so those princesses claim.
Many Goreans carry around little scroll pouches on their belts or secured under robes of concealment. These scrolls contain their identification, all the particulars the magistrate of another city might need to double check when checking the veracity of certain people. Also, it helps a member of the High Counsel to get a hold of these individuals should they cause a small insurrection or an all out war.
I have been privy to some of these identification scrolls. I have read them at the gate when my Master put ID scrolls down to talk to the stranger as he guarded the portals of Port Olni. I had a hard time not laughing as I read some lengthy autobiographies on those scrolls. Some of them I laughed at because they seem to match the visitor’s demeanor who was standing before us. Some were funny because they were a fantasy concoction of the holder’s own life. For example; a puny free man, dressed in clothes that have seen better days, gave my Master his scroll that read like a page out of an earth manual, Debrett’s Peerage. According to him, he was first in line of succession in a very old royal dynasty on Gor. He went on for paragraph after paragraph about how high he was in that royal family. I was starting to think of him in earth terms again and I wondered how “high” he was when he wrote it.
Now bespoke clothing is quality clothing. When a person wears clothing that is frankly from another fashion period and that ensemble looks smart, that person is truly wearing a bespoke item. The puny man before us at the gate looked like a wastrel and in fact he appeared to be a vagabond. This is only one example I could regale you with regarding the question, “Where are you from”.
I am going to refrain from doing so as I could receive angry threats from those who might see themselves in what I have written. I think all that could be avoided if free persons would avail themselves of my side business, Teal’s ID Scribe Service. I compose smart and true identification scrolls. I correct your Gorean and punctuation. Then I move on to content. I would want to team up with a painter of renown, for instance, one Mistress JJLowe. Her likenesses could be included on the scroll to accompany my words. Together we could produce some of the snappiest identification scrolls upon which would flow understandable Gorean. The owners of these ID’s would be presented in a more favorable light to the viewing public.
To get back to the puny free man at the gate, he was obviously an opportunist. I saw stamped in the lower left corner an advertisement for Sammy’s Slave Auctions with an address and times of operation. I am sure that Sammy paid the puny fellow for taking up space on his ID. But I have seen advertisements on ID scrolls that are there for the sheer pleasure of giving the magistrate something else to look at than just the ho hum life of the stranger.
I will have to respectfully decline composing ID scrolls for the Mamba group. As darling as their language is, I do not read, write, nor understand it. This past week I was treated to the Mamba language by a group of free people in the commons. I listened for repetition of a word and I heard one that I thought I could make a spring board for understanding this foreign tongue. I came to find out later this word meant Bosk Shit.
From the NEW VOICE OF GOR v.4 Issue 170
ASK TEAL ~ Dubious Advice to Goreans
Wednesday, August 20th, 2014
Picture: The HoY company trading in Port Bazi
ASK TEAL ~ Dubious Advice to Goreans
By Teal Razor, slave of Captain Siri Emerald Jr., Olni
This week, I am going to finish answering the free woman who asked this question last week. I wanted to give the lady a complete guide to getting and keeping a man in the dating stage of the courtship. I repeat here her question to me:
DEAR TEAL:
I am a free woman who is desperate to find a companion. I see free men everywhere in my city, they are either with companions or walking with a retinue of slaves behind them. In other words, they are most unapproachable. I have been courted by some five men in the past but after a few weeks, they disappear from my life and if I see them in the commons or the market place, they turn the other way or cross to the other side of the street to avoid me. Will I ever find one? Where are all the men? Please advise.
DEAR FLYING SOLO:
In the last Voice of Gor, I addressed but a few of the forewarnings to watch for when you submit to a free man’s courting. I have now a few more things to impart on your dress and deportment that you might want to incorporate into your body of knowledge.
I will start this week by saying NEVER keep a man waiting who calls on you at your place of residence. If he invites you to the commons or the tea room for snacks, show up at the appointed hour. Try to arrive an ehn or two after he does. The point being that the shorter time he awaits you, the more he will understand that you do not take his attentions lightly.
When I have served the free in the commons, I witnessed free men sitting by themselves, ordering some libation. They sat for the longest time, alone. I always wondered why they did so. They would order a couple of tankards or bowls of alcohol, stand up, stretch, and go about their business. Most of them wandered off either sighing or shaking their heads. About thirty or forty ehns after they left, a free woman would invariably step into the commons, look around while walking through, and exit the commons without sitting down. Putting two and two together, I can safely say, those free women were late to a date. I doubt whether those free women were asked out again or if they were, the free man’s faculties were set on high gear. He would, from there on out, watch for any more red flags that could appear on the horizon. These warning banners can accumulate until the free man finally sees the proverbial “handwriting on the wall” and rejects the free woman totally.
Now, here is another piece of territory I must cover. Part of not keeping the free man waiting is to arrive in front of him fully dressed. I am not suggesting that you would show up half naked to your date. Free woman are required to conceal themselves in robes named for such use. But, to arrive hooking all your veils in place, adjusting your stockings or pulling on your gloves will have you appear to not be organized. This can kill your allure faster than the peasant bow can fell a verr. Dress and adjust yourself in the privacy of your boudoir. And, for the sake of sanitation, comb your locks in private.
Just two weeks ago, a free woman took out a comb in the commons and started pulling at her hair with it. There was much hair on the comb when she finished. She removed the hair from the comb and threw it under the table where she was sitting. I was not the only witness to this disgusting practice. Two other slaves looked at me in horror with their mouths open. At least we saw it and I was able to sweep up the offending garbage from the eating area once she left. I feared to do it while she sat at the table since I speculated that I might be beaten for my insolence.
Oh, and while I am at it, NEVER borrow his rep cloth from his place setting on the table to wipe your cosmetics from your face. You should request a slave bring you a damp rep cloth to discreetly wipe the bits from your mouth or to remove your lip wax.
Lets talk next about a certain physical attribute of women. Female slaves and free women all have breasts. Granted some of us have more bounteous gifts than others. Those free women, whose abundance is evident under the robes of concealment, should make sure to wear uplifting corsets. You never want your courting man to chase you through a field of Sa-Tarna on a late day in En-Var which would cause your ample assets to bounce up and smack you in the face. Restraint, on your part, could lead to a companionship with one of the opposite sex. Which is why you asked your question in the first place.
Regarding the wearing of a supporting corset, I wish that some female slaves had access to such engineering feats in the form of cloth. I saw a female slave not many moons back who was jumping up and down on a table in the commons. A Master had commanded her to do so for his own entertainment. It was evident that the Master was an aficionado of slaves doing jumping jarl’s. The enormous heft and girth of her breasts caused them to fly up in her face. They hit her with such velocity that it knocked her out cold. It was hard for me to fetch a pan of water to throw on her face to rouse her because I was shaking from laughter.
Speaking of other cautions, you should not be familiar with your escort by caressing him in public. You would be exhibiting slave behavior and it might get you collared on the spot. Leave the caressing and cooing over the Master the domain of the slaves. You, on the other hand, are a lady. This fact is supported every time you are called “lady” by other free persons.
One would also hope that you refrain from talking about the latest robes of concealment from the dressmaker or boots at the cobblers. Talk about things the man would be interested in. You could describe a shipment that arrived recently on the docks. It would be good to note down facts to parade before him. You could make a mental picture of the types of goods being rolled out onto the wharves. Describe in detail, appropriate to a male’s curiosity, the colors and scents you perceived while there. Give him a count of the barrels that were taken off and relate any funny incidents like a slave colliding with a barrel of wine and being thrown off into the river. It might be more exciting if a water sleen were to attack the hapless slave. This might set off response in your date. You want to keep him talking. So your conversation should be scintillating and informative at the same time. It could dazzle the free man you are seeking.
While we are on the art of conversation, I want to give you another warning. NEVER talk to another free man in front of the free man who is courting you. Your courting free man should not be regaled with the exploits of your other “friend” when you talk to this other man in front of him. Acknowledge a “friend” who shows up by nodding and giving a courteous greeting. Don’t greet the person as if you would slap him on the back in a “hail fellow well met” gesture. Free women should behave like ladies, demure, accepting, feminine, correct, soft, and empathetic.
Some time back I exited my Master’s house in the direction of the market. As I walked past many residences in Olni Var, a free woman, who I always perceived as a bit of a “Tom boy”, (translating into the Gorean, a Tom-boy, on earth is a woman who adapts the mannerisms of a man) was talking out the side of her mouth like she was a dock worker. The other person, a free male that I recognized, was hit by the free woman’s language, which was saltier than Thassa. I even saw her slap him on the back a few times. The male was not her brother so I speculated that he had been her “friend” at one point and forsook her for someone else. The appalled look on his face told me he dropped courting this free woman, in part, because of her same behavior in the past.
Lastly, a free man deserves and desires your entire attention. If you look through this little compendium of advice I think you might find which areas need the most attention in your dating arsenal. I hope that you write me back and tell me of any success you might have by following these folios.
From the NEW VOICE OF GOR v.4 Issue 169