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#Post#: 96--------------------------------------------------
Transportation
DIR By: Jinxed
Date: December 23, 2021, 11:14 pm
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Cart, Leather-Slung Fee:
A public or rented 'coach' for transportation of passengers with
seats facing each other. Its carriage is suspended by strong
leather which causes a swaying, many times bringing on
motion-sickness for passengers. Large hides are often suspended
underneath to store items, as is a grease bucket for greasing
the axles.
(Renegades of Gor, Pages 19-20)
Harriga:
A bosk wagon used by the Wagon Peoples.
(Nomads of Gor, Page 34)
Kailla:
The mount of the Wagon Peoples, unknown in the northern
hemisphere of Gor, is the terrifying but beautiful kaiila. It is
silken, carnivorous, lofty creature, graceful, long-necked,
smooth-gaited.
(Nomads of Gor, Page 13)
Kurdah:
A small light semi-circular tent c. 3' in diameter and 4' high
carried by a pack kaiila in which women (slave or free) may
ride; the frame is of tem-wood and is covered with layers of
white rep-cloth; used mainly in the Tahari.
(Tribesmen of Gor, Page 69)
Laager:
Also known as wagon fort, it is a defensive wagon formation
utilized by wagon peoples. Wagons are arranged in a circle, end
to end, tongues inward, and chained together, the front axle of
one wagon chained to the rear axle of the next. The encampment,
the draft animals, and any accompanying livestock are protected
within.
(Mercenaries of Gor, Page 43)
Slave Box, Transportation:
A small, iron box used for the transportation of slaves.
(Fighting Slave of Gor, Page 120)
Slave Wagon:
A flat-bedded barred wagon like a large cage with a door in the
rear in which many slaves may be transported at one time their
ankles chained to a bar that runs down the center of the floor;
tarpaulins are often used to cover the cage & hide the cargo.
(Captive of Gor, Page 65)
Tarns:
I had never seen one of the tarns before, except on the tapestry
in my apartment and in illustrations in certain books I had
studied devoted to the care, breeding, and equipment of trans.
That I had not been trained for this moment was intentional, as
I later discovered. The Goreans believe, incredibly enough, that
the capacity to master a tarn is innate and that some men
possess this characteristic and that some do not. One does not
learn to master a tarn. It is a matter of blood and spirit, of
beast and man, of a relation between two beings which must be
immediate, intuitive, spontaneous. It is said that a tarn knows
who is a tarnsman and who is not, and that those who are not die
in this first meeting.
My first impression was that of a rush of wind and a great
snapping sound, as if a giant might be snapping an enormous
towel or scarf; then I was cowering, awe-stricken, in a great
winged shadow, and an immense tarn, his talons extended like
gigantic steel hooks, his wings sputtering fiercely in the air,
hung above me, motionless except for the beating of his wings.
‘Stand clear of the wings,’ shouted the Older Tarl. I needed no
urging. I darted from under the bird. One of those wings would
hurl me yards from the top of the cylinder.
The tarn dropped to the roof of the cylinder and regarded us
with his bright black eyes.
Though the tarn, like most birds, is surprisingly light for its
size, this primarily having to do with the hollowness of the
bones, it is an extremely powerful bird, powerful even beyond
what one would expect from such a monster. Whereas large Earth
birds, such as the eagle, must, when taking flights from the
ground, begin with a running start, the tarn, with its
incredible musculature, aided undoubtedly by the somewhat
lighter gravity of Gor, can with a spring and a sudden flurry of
its giant wings, lift both himself and his rider into the air.
In Gorean, these birds are sometimes spoken of as Brothers of
the Wind.
The plumage of tarns is various, and they are bred for their
colours as well as their strength and intelligence. Black tarns
are used for night raids, white tarns in winter campaigns, and
multicoloured, resplendent tarns are bred for warriors who wish
to ride proudly, regardless of the lack of camouflage. The most
common tarn, however, is greenish brown. Disregarding the
disproportion in size, the Earth bird which the tarn most
closely resembles is the hawk, with the exception that it has a
crest somewhat of the nature of a jay’s.
Tarns, who are vicious things, are seldom more than half tamed
and, like their diminutive counterparts the hawks, are
carnivorous. It is not unknown for a tarn to attack and devour
his own rider. They fear nothing but the tarn-goad. They are
trained by men of the Caste of Tarn Keepers to respond to it
while still young, when they can be fastened by wires to the
training perches. Whenever a young bird soars away or refuses
obedience in some fashion, he is dragged back to the perch and
beaten with the tarn-goad. Rings, comparable to those which are
fastened on the legs of the young birds, are worn by the adult
birds to reinforce the memory of the hobbling wire and the
tarn-goad. Later, of course, the adult birds are not fastened,
but the conditioning given them in their youth usually holds
except when they become abnormally disturbed or have not been
able to obtain food. The tarn is one of the two most common
mounts of a Gorean warrior; the other is the high tharlarion, a
species of saddle-lizard, used mostly by clans who have never
mastered tarns.
(Tarnsman of gor, Chapter 4)
The tarn is guided by virtue of a throat strap, to which are
attached, normally, six leather streamers, or reins, which are
fixed in a metal ring on the forward portion of the saddle. The
reins are of different colours, but one learns them by ring
position and not colour. Each of the reins attaches to a small
ring on the throat strap, and the rings are spaced evenly.
Accordingly, the mechanics are simple. One draws on the
streamer, or rein, which is attached to the ring most nearly
approximating the direction one wishes to go. For example, to
land or lose altitude, one uses the four-strap which exerts
pressure on the four-ring, which is located beneath the throat
of the tarn. To rise into flight, or gain altitude, one draws on
the one-strap, which exerts pressure on the one-ring, which is
located on the back of the tarn’s neck. The throat-strap rings,
corresponding to the position of the reins on the main saddle
ring, are numbered in a clockwise fashion.
The tarn-goad also is occasionally used in guiding the bird. One
strikes the bird in the direction opposite to which one wishes
to go, and the bird, withdrawing from the goad, moves in that
direction. There is very little precision in this method,
however, because the reactions of the bird are merely
instinctive, and he may not withdraw in the exact tangent
desired. Moreover, there is danger in using the goad
excessively. It tends to become less effective is often used,
and the rider is then at the mercy of the tarn.
(Tarnsman of Gor, Chapter 4)
‘No!’ cried the Older Tarl. ‘The training is perfect. The spirit
of the tarn must not be broken, not that of a war tarn. He is
trained to the point where it is necessary for a strong master
to decide whether he shall serve him or slay him. You will come
to know your tarn, and he will come to know you. You will be as
one in the sky, the tarn the body, you the mind and will. You
will live in an armed truce with the tarn. If you become weak or
helpless, he will kill you. As long as you remain strong, his
master, he will serve you, respect you, obey you.’
(Tarnsman of Gor, Chapter 4)
Slave Basket:
A wicker basket strapped to a tarn to transport slaves.
(Assassin of Gor, Page 51)
Silver Ships:
The name given to gorean space ships used on periodic visits to
earth for the harvest of barbarian girls and other goods called
'Voyages of Acquisition'.
(Captive of Gor, Page 40)
bargemen, Cartius
-(noun): interrelated clans of fathers and sons, claiming Caste
for themselves, who operate the barges that cross the Cartius
River. The barges are constructed of layered timbers of Ka-la-na
wood and are towed by teams of river tharlarion. Their
passengers are bound for Turia.
Book 4: Nomads of Gor, pages 3 and 4 (footnote)
long ship
-(noun): a swift maneuverable ship having 2 rudders 1 removable
lateen-rigged mast and a keel-to-beam ratio of 8:1; often used
in military actions; some are fitted as ram-ships.
Book 6: Raiders of Gor, page 127
ram-ship
-(noun): war galley having up to 3 banks of oars as well as
masts and sails; named for the battering rams on the prow.
Book 6: Raiders of Gor, page 127
round ship
-(noun): heavy cargo and passenger ships having up to 3 banks of
10 oars to a side; not as swift or maneuverable as ram- ships
having a keel-to-beam ratio of 6:1; has 2 rudders and 2
permanent lateen-rigged masts; carries a crew of 20-25 free men
plus up to 200 oar-slaves.
Book 6: Raiders of Gor, page 127 Book 11: Slave Girl of Gor,
page 322
umiak
-(noun): a type of kayak used by the Red Hunters. It is made of
tabuk skin, stretched over a framework of driftwood and long
bows of bone and lashed together with sinew cords.
Book 12: Beasts of Gor, page 257
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