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The Men of Torvaldsland

Many of them were giants, huge men, inured to the cold, accustomed to war and the labor of the oar, raised from boyhood on steep, isolated farms near the sea, grown strong and hard on work, and meat and cereals. Such men, from boyhood, in harsh games had learned to run, to leap, to throw the spear, to wield the sword, to wield the axe, to stand against steel, even bloodied, unflinching. Such men, these, would be the hardest of the hard, for only the largest, the swiftest and finest might win for themselves a bench on the ship of a captain, and the man great enough to command such as they must be first and mightiest among them,.... Marauders of Gor, p 38.

All men of Torvaldsland, incidentally, even if otherwise unarmed, carry a knife at their master belt. The sword, when carried, and it often is, is commonly supported might be mentioned, the common Gorean practice. It can also, of course, be hung, by its sheath and sheath straps, form 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. Marauders of Gor p 50-51.

The men of Torvaldsland sang with great voices. The oars, two men to an oars lifted and dipped. The helmsman leaned on the tiller of the great steering oar. Marauders of Gor, p 54.

In the long winters of Torvaldsland, when the snow, the darkness, the ice and wintry winds are upon the land, when the frost breaks open the rocks, groaning, at night, when the serpents hide in their roofed sheds, many hours, under swinging soapstone lamps, burning the oil of sea sleen, are given to Kaissa. At such times, even the bond-maids, rolling and restless, naked, in the furs of their masters, their ankles chained to a nearby ring, must wait. Marauders of Gor, p 58.

FreeWomen of Torvaldsland

In the northern villages, and in the forest towns, and northward on the coast the woman do not veil themselves, as is common in the cities to the south. Marauders of Gor, p 25.

The stake in this challenge was the young man's sister, a comely, blond lass of fourteen, with braided hair. She was dressed in the full regalia of a free woman of the north. The clothes were not rich, but they were clean, and her best. She wore two brooches; and black shoes. The knife had been removed from the sheath at her belt; she stood straight, but her head was down, her eyes closed; about her neck, knotted, was a rope, it fastened to a stake in the ground near the dueling square. She was not otherwise secured. "Forfeit the girl," said Bjarni of Thorstein Camp, addressing the boy, "and I will not kill you." "I do not care much for the making women of Torvaldsland bond," said Ivar. "It seems improper," he whispered to me. "They are of Torvaldsland!" Marauders of Gor, p 147.

The free woman was a tall woman, large. She wore a great cape of fur, of white sea-sleen, thrown back to reveal the whiteness of her arms. Her kirtle was of the finest wool of Ar, dyed scarlet, with black trimmings. She wore two brooches, both carved of the horn of kailiauk, mounted in gold. At her waist she wore a jewelled scabbard, protruding from which I saw the ornamented, twisted blade of a Turian dagger; free women in Torvaldsland commonly carry a knife; at her belt, too, hung her scissors, and a ring of many keys, indicating that her hall contained many chests or doors; her hair was worn high, wrapped about a comb, matching the brooches, of the horn of kailiauk; the fact that her hair was worn dressed indicated that she stood in companionship; the number of keys, together with the scissors, indicated that she was mistress of a great house. She had gray eyes; her hair was dark; her face was cold, and harsh. Marauders of Gor ,p 156.

Accordingly, to her astonishment, Bera, who had been the companion of Svein Blue Tooth, discovered suddenly that she was only one wench among others. From a line, as part of his spoils, the Blue Tooth picked her out. She had displeased him mightily in recent years. Yet was the Blue Tooth fond of the arrogant wench. It was not until he had switched her, like any other girl, that she understood that their relationship had undergone a transformation, and that she was, truly, precisely what she seemed to be, now his bond-maid. Marauders of Gor, p 277-278.

Forums

Caste of Gor

Five High Castes
which make up the Gorean government

Builders
the caste which includes architects, draftsmen, stonemasons, etc.; the Builders are one of the five High Castes included in the government of Gor; their caste color is brown.

Inititates
the representa- tives of the Priest-Kings in Gorean society; and are the religious branch of the government; their caste color is white

Physicians
the caste which practices the healing arts; their caste color is green

Scribes
the caste concerned with history, accounting, record-keeping, etc.;their caste color is blue

Warriors
the caste which includes infantry, tharlarion cavalry, and tarnsmen; the military branch of the government; their caste color is red

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Assassins
the caste of those who kill for pay; their caste color is black

Merchants
The caste of those who deal in merchandise and trading; their caste colors are white and gold

Peasants
The basic caste of Gor; they refer to themselves as the 'Ox on Which the Home Stone Rests'

Player
a member of a caste-like society who plays Kaissa professionally; their caste colors are red and yellow

Slavers
the sub-caste of the Merchants, one who deals in human merchandise; their caste colors are blue and yellow

Thieves
the caste of those who make their living by stealing, robbery, picking pockets, etc

It seemed first a ghastly infection, a plague; then it seemed like a fire, invisible and consuming; then it seemed like the touching of these men by the hands of gods, but no gods I knew, none to whom a woman or child might dare pray, but the gods of men, and of the men of Torvaldsland, the dread, harsh divinities of the cruel north, the gods of Torvaldsland. And the touch of these gods, like their will, was terrible. Ivar Forkbeard suddenly threw back his head and, silently, screamed at the sky. The thing had touched him. The breathing of the men, their energy, their rage, the fury, was all about me. A bowstring was being drawn taut. I heard the grinding of teeth on steel, the sound of men biting at their own flesh. I could no longer look on Ivar Forkbeard. He was not the man I had known. In his stead there stood a beast. Marauders of Gor p. 246-247.

This is Northern Gor