Wagons People Part 4

The Wagon Peoples enjoy paga, wine and fermented milk curds. The latter is an alcoholic drink made from bosk milk and drank exclusively by the Wagon Peoples. Most other peoples would probably not care for such a drink. Their wine and paga may come in a bottle or a wineskin with a horn plug. The Wagon Peoples also have public slave wagons that are somewhat like a combination paga tavern and slave market. There is nothing else like it on Gor. Kajirae can be bought, sold and rented there. Some of these wagons may set up a curtained enclosure to display dancing slave girls. They charge a fee to see these dancers. As far as is known though, these wagons are restricted to the plains area. Though, it might be interesting to see such a wagon traveling across Gor.

The Wagon People, similar to many Goreans, love to gamble on almost anything. Stakes will vary, from money to possessions, including slaves. They might wager as many as twelve slaves on something as simple as the direction a bird might fly or the number of seeds in a tospit. When wagering on a kaiila race, they might even bet all of the bosk they own. It is considered to be a great honor for a woman, free or slave, to be made a stake in such gambling. In spear or lance gambling, the weapon is placed in the ground, point facing up. The tribesmen then walk with their mounts around it, ready to catch the spear or lance when it falls. The winner is the one who catches the weapon when it falls.

In another wagering game, a black lance is placed in the ground about four hundred yards away. A slave girl is placed into a circle, about eight to ten feet in diameter, formed by a bosk whip. The girl must run to the lance, trying to avoid capture, though most are not expected to actually reach it. Time is judged by the heartbeat of a standing kaiila with a man holding his hand on the side of the kaiila. The kaiila is near the whip circle. The kaiila rider will tell the slave to "run" and she receives a head start of fifteen heartbeats, which will normally take her about halfway to the lance. This count is done aloud. The count starts over from one when the first 15 heartbeats are over. At that point, a kaiila rider must then ride after the girl and use a bola to capture her and a binding thong to restrain her. He must return with her in as little time as possible back to the circle. 25 beats is considered a remarkable time. Commonly, during the initial head start, at about the count of ten, the kaiila rider will begin to slowly spin the bola, reaching maximum rate of revolution when he is later at full gallop, almost on the quarry. Some girls are specially trained to evade the bola and thus are often used in this wagering. If multiple men are to race on a side, then the first rider has the priority of honor though all of the riders score points in the same manner. The first rider is usually considered the more skillful rider.

Still another game is the lance and tospit. A wooden wand is fixed in the earth and a dried tospit is placed atop it. A kaiila rider will then charge toward the tospit and try to impale it on his lance. You earn points for how well you impale the tospit. If your lance strikes the tospit, but only knocks it off the wand instead of impaling it, that is worth only one point. If you impale the tospit but your strike is too hard and the tospit travels down the shaft of your lance, that is worth only two points. But, if you can just nip the tospit, the lance barely passing into it, then it is worth three points.

A deadlier variation of the lance and tospit is the living wand. Save for armed combat, this is considered the most dangerous of the games. In this variation, a slave, usually standing sideways, must hold the tospit in her mouth. The object is for a rider to hit the fruit with his lance without striking the girl. She will be killed if she moves or withdraws from the lance. Injuries to slaves are not that unusual. There is also a more difficult variation where the girl must stand facing the lance. This requires a delicate lance maneuver not to injure the girl, striking the center of the fruit.

The tribes even have spitting contests, seeing who can spit the farthest. Some will play a game with their Turian slaves. They will release the slave in sight of the city and let them run for the walls. Then they will chase them down using bolas. Even their children play a variety of games. For example, some children play a game with a cork ball and quiva, trying to strike the thrown ball. Most of these games help hone necessary skills and abilities in the hunt or war. Thus they serve a dual purpose.

Maybe the most important of their games though must be those of the Love War. The institution of the Love War is an ancient one, older even than the institution of the Omen Year, so well over 1000 years old. Every spring the games of Love War are held between the Wagon Peoples and Turia on the Plains of a Thousand Stakes, located some pasangs from Turia. "It might also be mentioned that the Turian warrior, in his opinion, too seldom encounters the warrior of the Wagon Peoples, who tends to be a frustrating, swift and elusive foe, striking with great rapidity and withdrawing with goods and captives almost before it is understood what has occurred." (Nomads of Gor, p.116) As they desire neutral adjudicators for these games, they invite judges and craftsmen from the city of Ar to officiate at the games. These individuals are guaranteed safe passage across the plains and are very well compensated, by both the Turians and Wagon Peoples. Their fee is often sufficient to support a man for a year in Ar.

The Plains of a Thousand Stakes is a huge area, with numerous stakes carefully spaced. Each stake is generally flat-topped, about six and a half feet high and seven to eight inches in diameter. The stakes are painted colorfully, trimmed and decorated. Retaining rings are bolted on the stakes and the key to the rings are kept two inches above the heads of the girls at the stakes. The stakes stand in two lines facing one another in pairs, separated by about fifty feet. Each stake in a line is separated by about thirty feet and the lines extend for over four pasangs, about three miles. This would mean there are over five hundred pairs of stakes. One of these lines is close to Turia while the other is close to the Plains. In between each pair of opposing stakes is a circle of about twenty-four feet in diameter. The grass is removed from this area and the ground is sanded and raked. This is where the men will battle.

About two hundred men from each of the four Wagon People tribes attend the games. Only the best warriors are permitted to compete and only the most beautiful women can be used as prizes. During Nomads of Gor, each of the tribes brought 100-150 women to the games. A Turian woman and Wagon Person woman are tied on opposite stakes, each positioned so that they can see either their city or the plains. There is a priority of these stakes as well, with First Stake being the most desirable. Then, a man of the Wagon People will battle a Warrior of Turia for possession of the women. The winner of the duel wins claim to the other's woman.

Though the Turian women often wear robes and veils, they may be face stripped at the request of any of the Peoples. Many of the Turian women also wear a Turian camisk under their robes, in case they are captured. When men of the same side wish to fight for the same staked woman, the combatant will be determined by rank, scars and prowess. But, most men will step aside if someone of superior rank and prowess chooses the same woman as them. Fighting for a stake is frowned upon by both sides, being seen as somewhat disgraceful especially in the presence of the enemy. In alternating years, each side gets to choose the weapon that will be used in combat and it appears that any weapon can be chosen. You can withdraw from the duel after the choice of weapon but before your name is officially entered in the lists. The Turians often choose certain weapons, in order to kill their foe and get the woman, including the buckler and dagger, ax and buckler, dagger and whip, ax and net, and two daggers provided that if the quiva is used it cannot be thrown. The overall winner is determined by which side won more of the other side's women. Each year, the overall winner varies. In Nomads of Gor, the Wagon Peoples won, gaining about 70% of the Turian women.

The Wagon Peoples acknowledge the existence and great power of the Priest-Kings but they do not worship or pray to them. In fact, they do not worship, in a traditional sense, anyone or anything. But, their closest spiritual reverence is directed toward the sky and they beseech the "Spirit of the Sky." In their myths, the rains descended from the sky and formed the earth, bosk and the Wagon Peoples. The men of the Wagon Peoples pray to this Spirit of the Sky only when they are mounted and have their weapons close at hand. They are not craven supplicants but instead pay homage to the sky as a warrior would to a Ubar, not as a slave to a master or even a servant to a god. There is an example of Tuchuk who drank and danced to please the sky. The Wagon Peoples hold the bosk and skill at arms as holy items. Their free women though are not permitted to pray.

The Wagon Peoples are superstitious and enamored with divination. Although they may claim not to have much faith in divination, they actually give such matters great consideration. There are two specific examples provided in the books that emphasize their reliance on such matters. First, an army of 1000 wagons once turned aside because a swarm of rennels, crab-like insects, failed to defend their broken nest, which had been crushed by the wheel of the lead wagon. Second, a Ubar lost the spur from his right boot and turned back his attack at the gates of Ar. Omen reading is very common, often accompanied by animal sacrifice. Haruspexes often perform their divinations for food and drink. The haruspexes who perform these divinations also allegedly possess other magical powers and can create items to perform magical spells. They thus sell items such as "�amulets, talismans, trinkets, philters, potions, spell papers, wonder-working sleen teeth, marvelous powdered kailiauk horns, and colored, magic strings that, depending on the purpose, may be knotted in various ways and worn about the neck." (Nomads of Gor, p.28)

The Wagon Peoples don't often unite because of hostilities among the peoples as they consider others even of the different tribes to be beneath them. They also relish their autonomy. But, despite these hostilities, every ten years they still gather together peaceably during what is called the Omen Year. This practice is more than one thousand years old. The term "Omen Year" is somewhat of a misnomer as it is not an actual year. It is actually a time period that occupies part of two of their regular years. This period is a time of truce, a time for trading, games and ritual. The period of the Omen Year lasts several months and consists of three separate phases.

The first phase is named the Passing of Turia and occurs during the autumn. During this phase, the four tribes of the Wagon People gather together and move their herds and wagons toward their winter pastures. These winter pastures are located north of Turia but south of the Cartius River. The second phase is named the Wintering and it entails the time the Wagon Peoples spend in the winter pastures, waiting for the season to change. The third phase is named the Return to Turia and it occurs in the spring, or as the Wagon People call it, the Season of Little Grass. The Wagon Peoples then head south, toward Turia, where they will finally end their journey at the Omen Valley.

It is unknown whether the same Omen Valley is used every ten years or whether they choose a different spot for each Omen Year. If it is the same, it may be deemed a time of sacred place. It is also unknown whether some Wagon Peoples remain there to guard it year round, or whether Turians, and others, know better than to invade or desecrate this area. As the Wagon Peoples are largely nomadic, it may make more sense that the location of the Omen Valley changes every ten years. Especially as it is located so close to the city of Turia.

The Omen Valley is nestled within a series of rolling hills. At the Valley, there will be a large grassy area, about two hundred yards in diameter, where hundreds of small, stone altars are located. Each of these altars will have a small bosk-dung fire with incense and will be manned by a haruspex, mostly readers of bosk blood and verr livers. At the perimeter of this grassy circle, there will be numerous tents as well as many animals tethered or caged, future sacrifices. The animals will include verr, tarsks, vulos, sleen, kaiila, and bosk. In the center of the field, there will be a large, circular stone platform and atop this will be a huge, four-sided altar approached by steps on all four sides. On each side, will be the sign of one of the four tribes of the Wagon Peoples. The chief haruspex of each tribe will presides at this central altar.

Over a period of several days, many animals will be sacrificed and the omens will be taken by the hundreds of haruspexes. The animals will not be wasted, as they will be later used for food. In the past, all of the Wagon Peoples also would sacrifice male slaves. But, that practice has largely stopped as most of the tribes feel that the hearts and livers of male slaves are not trustworthy. Only the Paravaci tribes sometimes still sacrifices male slaves. And they are often not permitted to do so during the Omen Year sacrifices. The primary goal of this entire omen taking is to determine whether the omens are favorable for the choosing of a Ubar San, a One Ubar, a Ubar of all the Wagons, a Ubar who would be High Ubar, a Ubar of all the Peoples.

The first omen taken is always conducted to determine whether it is propitious to take further omens. This initial omen taking will begin with an entreaty to the Spirit of the Sky. Each haruspex has a cage of vulos and will toss some grain to them. If the vulos eat the grain, then the omens are considered propitious. This initial phase is successful each Omen Year. This is probably due to the fact that the vulos are not permitted to eat for three days prior to the omen taking. Then, the regular sacrifices may begin. A daily tally will then be kept of the results of the omen taking. Once all of the sacrifices have been performed, a final tally is derived and it is determined whether a Ubar San will be chosen or not.

Because of the normal dissension among the four tribes, it is rare that a Ubar San is chosen. That does not usually bother the Wagon Peoples as they still see value in the Omen Year. It helps unite the tribes, if only briefly, allowing them to engage in trade, such as for bosk and slaves. At the start of the events in Nomads of Gor, there had not been a Ubar San in more than one hundred years. This will change as the novel occurs during an Omen Year and the omens state that a Ubar San should be chosen. Kamchak, Ubar of the Tuchuks is chosen to be that Ubar San. This may be due in part to the Tuchuks conquering the city of Turia as well as uncovering a traitor within the Paravaci tribe. Kamchak will also free his slave, Aphris, who will then become his Ubara Sana.

After being told he is now Ubar San, Kamchak makes the other Ubars pledge, which they all agree. "Each of you," he said, "the Kassars-the Kataii-the Paravaci-have their own bosk and your own wagons-live so-but in time of war-when there are those who would divide us-when there are those who would fight us and threaten our wagons and our bosk and women-our plains, our land-then let us war together-and none will stand against the Wagon Peoples-we may live alone but we are each of us of the Wagons and that which divides us is less than that which unites us-we each of us know that it is wrong to slay bosk and that it is right to be proud and to have courage and to defend our wagons and our women-we know that it is right to be strong and to be free-and so it is together that we will be strong and we will be free. Let this be pledged." (Nomads of Gor, p.334-35)

Here are a few people prominently mentioned in Nomads of Gor that are connected in one way or another to the Wagon Peoples.

Aphris of Turia, a member of the Merchant Caste, was once the legal ward of Saphrar, another Merchant of Turia. Aphris was to soon reach her majority and would thus take possession of vast wealth, sufficient to make her the richest woman in all of Turia. Her father, Tethrar, died in a Paravaci caravan raid several years before. With no other family, the Merchant Caste appointed Saphrar as her guardian. Aphris was a very beautiful woman with a fair complexion and deep, black, almond-shaped eyes. She was also a haughty woman, used to luxury and disdainful of the barbaric Wagon Peoples.

Two years prior to Nomads of Gor, Kamchak had presented to her a valuable diamond necklace but she insulted him. So, Kamchak vowed that he would enslave her one day. And Kamchak later found a way to make his vow a reality. At a Turian feast, Kamchak tricked Aphris, placing a steel, slave collar around her neck. This was all a ploy to get Aphris to offer herself up as a stake in the upcoming Love War. It was thought that Kamras, the Champion of Turia, would be able to kill Kamchak at the games. But, Kamchak was able to defeat Kamras, as few knew that Kamchak was superbly skilled with the short sword. Kamchak made Aphris his slave but eventually freed her to be his Ubara.

Elizabeth Cardwell once lived in New York City, working as a junior secretary in a large advertising agency. She was an attractive woman with dark hair and dark brown eyes. She was abducted, taken to Gor and left upon the plains. She was found by the Tuchuks who realized she wore a Turian message collar. She was enslaved by Kamchak and named Vella. The message she bore was a trap meant to lead to Tarl Cabot's death. But, the trap did not fool the wily Tuchuks. She was a pawn in the games of a mysterious man, a person who might have been Pa-Kur. Eventually, Kamchak gave her to Tarl and she would accompany him on further adventures.

Dina was a Kassar slave and a former citizen of Turia, a former Baker. She was very attractive with long, black hair and sturdy ankles. Her owner was Albrecht of the Kassars. She was an expert at avoiding the bola in a popular game of the Wagon Peoples. She had run over two hundred times in competition, not counting all of her practice, and previously reached the lance forty times and had never been caught in less than thirty-two beats of the kaiila. But, she had to run from Tarl Cabot during a wager. And Tarl was able to capture her in only seventeen beats. Tarl then took possession of her though he would later free her and return her to Turia. Dina would become a Baker once again in Turia.

Harold was a member of the Tuchuks yet he had little place among them. He was a young man, blond haired and blue-eyed. He had been born a Tuchuk but had been captured as a child and lived in Turia for some years before he was able to escape. His parents had died in the raid where Harold was captured. But, without a Courage Scar, no one would see him as a man. He did not own a wagon, bosk or kaiila. He wielded cast off weapons. So, he did odd jobs around the camp in exchange for food. He eventually travels to Turia with Tarl so he can steal a slave, the woman who was once Hereena. He is successful and thus earns his Courage Scar. Harold won the Courage Scar but did not have it put on immediately. He waited, helping to assist in the conquering of Turia by blocking the gate with a wagon so that it could not be closed and secured. After the conquest of Turia, he had his Courage Scar affixed.

Nomads of Gor was an interesting novel with a plot that had extremely important ramifications for all of Gor. Two to five years prior to the events of that novel, two men, close friends, were entrusted with an egg of the Priest-Kings. They delivered that egg, per their instructions, to the Wagon Peoples for safekeeping. But, shortly after doing so, the respective cities of these two men went to war. In the ensuing conflict, the two men killed each other. The Wagon Peoples kept the egg, awaiting the day when someone would come to return the egg to the Sardar. As the novel begins, we find that Tarl Cabot has journeyed to the Plains of the Wagon Peoples. Upon the request of Misk, a Priest-King, he has come to recover the egg of the Priest-Kings.

Through a display of courage, Tarl is accepted into the camp of the tribe of Tuchuks though he says nothing about his mission. Soon after his arrival, an Earth girl is found on the plains with a hidden message allegedly from the Priest-Kings. The message tells the Wagon People to kill Tarl. But they do not, distrusting the authenticity of the note. Tarl eventually learns much from the Tuchuks, traveling with them during the Omen Year. In the spring, shortly before the Love Wars, Tarl learns of a golden sphere held by the Tuchuks. This item is also sought by Saphrar, an important Turian Merchant.

As Kamchak seems reluctant to sell the golden sphere, Saphrar hires mercenaries to steal it. They do so, killing Kutaituchik in the process. For revenge, Kamchak then decides to besiege Turia though he does not receive any assistance from the other tribes. This was in part due to Turia sending envoys with lavish gifts to the other tribes to convince them that Turia harbored no ill intentions toward them. The siege dragged on and Kamchak eventually announced the withdrawal of his men, surprising Tarl who felt that Kamchak would never have given up.

So, Tarl and Harold, one of the Tuchuks, ventured together to Turia. Tarl hoped to recover the golden sphere while Harold desired to raid the Pleasure Gardens of Saphrar. Unfortunately, they were apprehended in the city but they did learn that a Paravaci had betrayed the tribes, allying with Saphrar. Tarl nearly died at the clutches of the yellow pool monster but was able to thwart the creature. Tarl and Harold then successfully escaped, after Harold acquired a slave girl, who once was Hereena of the Wagons.

Tarl later returned to Turia, only to be there when the Tuchuks invaded the city, using a ruse to hold the city gates open. Their warriors soon conquered the city, looting it, enslaving many Turian women. Yet Saphrar remained hidden away in his keep. As Kamchak waited out Saphrar, the Paravaci tribe attacked the wagons of the Tuchuks. They even killed their bosk, tearing out their gold nose rings. The Tuchuks valiantly defended themselves, though the situation looked grim. But, the Kataii and Kassars eventually decided to help the Tuchuks and the Paravaci were defeated.

Soon after, Kamchak confronted Saphrar and the Paravaci traitor, the Ubar Tolnus. Saphrar tried to use the golden sphere as a bargaining chip but Kamchak seemed to care nothing for it. In a scuffle over the sphere, Tolnus was bitten by Saphrar's poison teeth and soon died from the ost venom. Saphrar was fed to his own yellow pool monster. The egg was destroyed but it was learned that it was only a dyed tharlarion egg. Kamchak still possessed the true egg and later gave it to Tarl, finally believing that Tarl truly intended to deliver it to the Priest-Kings.

Kamchak left Turia, returning the city to its citizens. He felt that the Wagon Peoples needed Turia to exist. He was also declared by the Omens to be the Ubar San, uniting the four tribes. Tarl learned that much of this was a plan of Kamchak, a great wager. Kamchak had wanted to give the tribes a reason to unite. And Kamchak won his wager, accomplishing all he desired. Tarl then left the Tuchuks, taking the egg with him, to return it to the Sardar. Kamchak vowed to Tarl that if he ever needed any assistance, the Wagon Peoples would be there for him.

Nomads of Gor is also interesting as it may contain the return of Pa-Kur. Pa-Kur allegedly died in Tarnsman of Gor but his body was never found. Pa-Kur had a very distinctive look, one that few were likely to forget. "...I found myself staring up into a gray, lean, cruel face, a face that might have been made of metal. The eyes were inscrutable, as if they had been made of glass or stone and set artificially in that metallic mask of a countenance." (Tarnsman of Gor, p.136) Nomads of Gor would then present two people who saw someone who resembled Pa-Kur.

First, Elizabeth Cardwell met this individual, while on Earth. He was responsible for her abduction. "With him had been a tall, strange man, broad of shoulder with large hands, a grayish face, eyes almost like glass." (Nomads of Gor, p.47) Then, Saphrar of Turia had dealings with a mysterious man in Port Kar, the same man that Elizabeth met. "A man met me," said Saphrar, "a tall man-rather dreadful actually-with a face as gray as stone and eyes like glass." (Nomads of Gor, p.196) This man refused to tell Saphrar his name. And near the end of the book, Tarl and Kamchak discuss Pa-Kur, and
Kamchak is suspicious that Pa-Kur may not actually be dead.

In Hunters of Gor, while in a fever, Tarl recalls his conversation with Kamchak as well as the descriptions provided by both Elizabeth and Saphrar. And Tarl finally cries out his own conclusion. "Pa-Kur is alive!" (Hunters of Gor, p.296) This mysterious man is mentioned in additional later books but no confirmation is ever given as to his actual identity. So he might or might not be Pa-Kur. We can only hope that a future Gor novel will finally resolve this question.