Gorean Lifestyle
Tal is the Gorean equivalent to Greetings or hello and its use is reserved to Free Persons only on AOL Gor. Tal is also used as a form of farewell, because they wish the other person to know that they hope to greet them again in the near future.
Be Well or I wish you well is the Gorean equivalent of farewell.
Goreans sit on furs on the floor, the reason why Gorean tables are low. Chairs are not thought to be comfortable and they have special significance. They do not often occur in private dwellings and tend to be reserved for significant personages such as Administrators and Judges. The Gorean male, at ease, usually sits cross-legged. The female kneels, resting back on her heels. The kneeling position of a slave differs from that of a Free Woman only in the positions of their thighs and wrists. A Free Woman kneels in the Tower Slave Position, thighs modestly kept together and her wrists are never crossed.
The Gorean woman carries herself well. She is both splendid and beautiful. Considering the culture, the Gorean woman rejoices in being a woman. She is often an exciting, magnificent, glorious creature. Outspoken, talkative, vital, active and spirited.
The Gorean male, who seems to think so little of women in some respects, celebrates them extravagantly in others. The Gorean is keenly susceptible to beauty; it gladdens his heart and his songs and arts often speaks of its glory. Gorean women whether slave or free, know that their simple presence brings joy to men and this knowledge pleases them.
Gorean men sleep in great stone couches, sleeping pelts and silken sheets. A slave ring is set at the bottom of each Gorean couch. Its purpose is simple. It is the Gorean way of reminding every woman, free or enslaved, that she is a woman and thus to be dominated, to be subject of men. Should any woman be tempted to forget this basic fact of Gorean life, the slave ring set at the bottom of each Gorean couch is there to refresh their memory that Gor is a man’s world.
The Gorean slave girl sleeps at the foot of the Master’s couch, often on a straw mat with only a thin, cotton like blanket, woven from the soft fibers of the Rep Plant, to protect her from the cold. If a slave girl has not pleased the Master as of late, she may be, as a disciplinary measure, simply chained nude to the slave ring, without the benefit of the blanket and mat. The stone floors are hard and the Gorean nights are cold, and it is a rare girl who, when unchained in the morning, does not seek more dutifully to serve the Master.
This harsh treatment, incidentally, when she is thought to deserve it, may even be inflicted to a Free Companion, finding herself precisely as though she was a lowly slave girl, in spite of the fact that she is free and usually much loved. According to the Gorean way of looking at things, a taste of the slave ring is thought to be occasionally beneficial to all women, even the exalted Free Companion.
The Gorean Master, though often strict, is seldom cruel. The girl knows, if she pleases him, her lot will be an easy one. She will almost never encounter sadism or wanton cruelty, for the psychological environment that tends to breed these diseases is largely absent from Gor. This does not mean she will not be beaten if she disobeys or fails to please her owner.
Of custom, a slave girl may not ascend the couch to serve her owner’s pleasure. The point of this restriction is to draw a clearer distinction between her status and that of a Free Companion. At any rate, the dignities of the couch are reserved for the Free Companion.
When a master wishes to make use of a slave girl, he tells her to light the lamp of love, which she obediently does, placing it in the window of his chamber, that they may not be disturbed. Then he, with his own hand, throws upon the stone floor of his chamber luxurious love furs, perhaps from the larl itself, and commands the girl to them.
Slave girls are usually clad in the brief, diagonally stripped slave livery of Gor, a sleeveless, briefly skirted garment terminating some inches above the knee, a garment that contrast violently with the heavy, cumbersome Robes of Concealment worn by Free Women. It is known that some women, actually envy their lightly clad sisters in bondage, free, though wearing a collar, to come and go as much as they please.
The purpose, incidentally, of the brief garment of the female slave is not to simply mark out the girl in bondage but in exposing her charms, to make her, rather than her free sister, the favored object of raids. Whereas, there is a status in the capture of a Free Woman, there is less risk in the capture of a slave.
As written in the Gor Series by John Norman.
