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 Gorean AlphabetThis is my narrative and relevant references from the Books where the letters of the Gorean Alphabet are mentioned. I make no pronouncements on these matters, but report them as I find them. Arrive at your own conclusions. I wish you well, Fogaban The letters of the Gorean Alphabet are mentioned, briefly, in several places throughout the series. What we do know is that there are 28 character in the Gorean alphabet even though not all 28 are described / shown / spelled out for us. Actually, it seems only the most common Gorean alphabet contains twenty-eight characters while other Gorean alphabets contain "more or less" characters. How many "more or less", we are never told. Some characters are specifically noted as being the 'first letter of the alphabet' or the 'fourth letter' so I have listed these in numerical order. The others I have listed in alphabetical order but this does not designate the order in which they may appear in the Gorean alphabet. Here are the Gorean alphabet characters we are shown and the corresponding quotes as they relate to the alphabet. Al-Ka, first letter Ba-Ta, second letter Gamma, third letter? Delka, fourth letter Delta, fourth letter Gref, fifth letter Altron Ar Eta Homan Ina Kef Kwah Mu Nu Omnion Shu Sidge Tau Tun Var
With annoyance, Torm poked through one of the enormous piles of scrolls and at last, on his hands and knees, fished out one skimpy scroll, set it in the reading device - a metal frame with rollers at the top and bottom - and, pushing a button, spun the scroll to its opening mark, a single sign. "Al-Ka!" said Term, pointing one long, authoritative finger at the sign. "Al-Ka," he said. "Al-Ka," I repeated. We looked at one another, and both of us laughed. A tear of amusement formed along the side of his sharp nose, and his pale blue eyes twinkled. I had begun to learn the Gorean alphabet. "I am Mul-Al-Ka," said one, "honored slave of the glorious Priest-Kings. "I am Mul-Ba-Ta," said the other, "honored slave of the glorious Priest-Kings." "In the Nest," said Misk, "the expression 'Mul' is used to designate a human slave." I nodded. The rest of it I did not need to be told. The expressions 'Al-Ka' and 'Ba-Ta' are the first two letters of the Gorean alphabet. In effect these men had no names, but were simply known as Slave A and Slave B. "Read it," said Kusk. "But its Gorean," said Elizabeth. "I can't read Gorean." She looked at the page, puzzled. "What is that sign?" I asked, pointing to one. A look of surprise came over her face, then almost of fear. "It is Al-Ka," she said, "the first letter of the Gorean alphabet." "In Gorean," said Bosk, "the most frequently occurring letter is Eta. We might then begin by supposing that the combination of blue and red signifies an Eta." "I see," said Samos. "The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Sbu and Homan, and so on." "I was taught the alphabet beginning with Al-Ka," smiled Samos. "As was I," said Bosk. "Perhaps we should first have been taught Eta." "That is not the tradition!" said Samos. "True," admitted Bosk. "And these innovative scribes have had little success with their proposed reforms. Yet, from their labors, various interesting facts have emerged. For example, we have learned not only the order of frequency of occurrence of letters but, as would be expected, rough percentages of occurrence as well. Eta, for example, occurs two hundred times more frequently in the language than Altron. Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu." "Look here," said the fellow. He turned me about. I saw he was a brawny, blond youth. He did not seem angry or cruel. He crouched down and, with one finger, near the bottom of the ditch, made a precise marking, or drawing, in the mud. "What letter is that?" he asked. "I do not know," I said. "Al-ka," he said. "I cannot read," I said. "Most free women can read," he said. "I was not taught," I said. "Begin then, on the first square," said the player, "with the first letter of a word, or of a sentence, or even of a set of letters randomly selected. Proceed then as in normal writing, utilizing all available squares. When you come to the end of the initial entry, list all unused letters remaining in the alphabet, in order, again utilizing all available squares. When you have managed that, then begin with the first letter of the alphabet, Al-Ka, and continue writing the alphabet in order, over and over, once more on all available squares, until you arrive at the last square on the board. When you have done this, one board, in effect, has been completed." She had heard of the al-ka and ba-ta circles, named for the first two letters in the Gorean alphabet. They were not like most of the other circles, which were in the open, where naked slaves swayed to distant music for the delectation of masters. The al-ka and ba-ta circles were enclosed, surrounded by walls of silk, held on poles. Men had to pay a fee to enter, for within those confines they were to be treated to the finest exponents of the intricacies of slave dance. "Yes," she said. "And on most of the small scraps of paper is a letter, an Al-ka, a Ba-ta, and so on, though on some, for some reason, there is nothing but a meaningless mark. What one is to do is to take a paper from the helmet which bears a letter or the meaningless mark, and transcribe it onto one of the squares on the large sheet. There are also one hundred such scraps. After transcribing the letter or meaningless mark one puts it aside until later. When a large sheet is filled, the last letter or meaningless mark placed in the last square, one replaces the scraps of paper in the helmet, shuffles them about, jumbles them, and then, with a new large sheet, one begins again." For better than an Ahn I continued the work which Chloe had relinquished to me. I did not even know the names of the letters I was transcribing. In a sense they were simple designs, or mere marks, to me, though I knew them to be letters, or most of them. Chloe had said that some of these marks, or designs, were meaningless. I did not know for certain which were letters and which were not. If I were familiar with the alphabet I could probably have done the work more quickly, knowing that say, that was an Al-ka that a Ba-ta, and so on, and then quickly transcribing them. On the other hand, to me they were mostly marks or designs, and so I was careful to try to reproduce each as carefully as I could. I placed each mark or design in the center of a square, neatly. "Surely the alphabet does not contain a hundred letters," I said. My own alphabet incidentally, in my own native language contains twenty-six letters. A typical Gorean alphabet, as I understand it, though this seems to differ a bit in one place or another, contains twenty-eight letters. "Of course not," he said. "Certain letters occur in Gorean more often than others, for example, Eta Al-ka Tau, and so on. Thus, there may be several variants for those letters." The recipient, then, who has the card sheet used for the particular message places the cards in the order prescribed by the sheet, and, once again, the message is visible. In the Cave, the visible message was in substitutions, a Tau for an Al-Ka, or such, but often enough, now, it was in clear Gorean.
"I am Mul-Al-Ka," said one, "honored slave of the glorious Priest-Kings. "I am Mul-Ba-Ta," said the other, "honored slave of the glorious Priest-Kings." "In the Nest," said Misk, "the expression 'Mul' is used to designate a human slave." I nodded. The rest of it I did not need to be told. The expressions 'Al-Ka' and 'Ba-Ta' are the first two letters of the Gorean alphabet. In effect these men had no names, but were simply known as Slave A and Slave B. "I was robbed of a golden tarn," said the fellow with the blood at the side of his head. "There is a golden tarn in the pouch," said a guardsman. "On the golden tarn taken from me," said the man, "I had scratched my initials, Ba-Ta Shu, Bem Shandar, and, on the reverse of the coin, the drum of Tabor." "Whither bound are we?" she asked. He turned about, looked at her, how small she felt before him, and put his hand in her hair, and then put her head, held by the hair, at his hip, in leading position. Her face was at the coarse wool of his tunic. "The ba-ta dancing circle," he said. "No, Master!" she cried. "There is a terrible mistake. I am not a dancer!" "Ai!" she cried, in pain, drawn along, at his hip. "Do not lie, slut," said he. "Only the finest dancers are summoned to the first two circles, the al-ka and ba-ta circles." "Please let me go, Master!" wept Ellen. "It is a mistake, a terrible mistake! I am not even a dancer! Ai! Ai!" She had heard of the al-ka and ba-ta circles, named for the first two letters in the Gorean alphabet. They were not like most of the other circles, which were in the open, where naked slaves swayed to distant music for the delectation of masters. The al-ka and ba-ta circles were enclosed, surrounded by walls of silk, held on poles. Men had to pay a fee to enter, for within those confines they were to be treated to the finest exponents of the intricacies of slave dance. Similarly reserved, but for less skilled dancers, were the gamma and delka circles. She had heard numbers called throughout the camp, with the associated letters of the circles. On her way to the circle she had heard her number called more than once, announcing that she would be danced, and in the ba-ta circle. "Be silent, slave," snarled the whip master. "You would not be here if you were not a superb dancer. This is the ba-ta circle." Ellen realized, suddenly, that it had not occurred to them to take her clumsiness at its face value. This was the ba-ta circle. Then Ita was again through the parting in the silk, and again danced, again eliciting cries of pleasure from the crowd, again proving her right to perform as a slave before masters, even in so high a circle as the ba-ta circle. "But I thought it strange," said the scribe, "when I heard your number called in the camp, summoning you to a dancing circle, and, indeed, one so high as the ba-ta circle. I seemed to recall the number, and, accordingly, as is my wont in such instances, checked my records, which I have with me." She wondered if lovely Dara, who had danced yesterday evening in the ba-ta circle, who had taken the bracelet from her in the area of preparation, who had been lashed by the exterior whip master, who had had the low number 51, had been sold. She thought it likely, as Dara had had such a low number. On the other hand, they might save her for the last night. It was up to the masters. Ellen envied Dara her low number. Beyond being seen braceleted to a pole in the exhibition cage, on the basis of which the twenty-one bids were made, I was later seen elsewhere, in the festival camp, for Ahn serving wine, from the vat of Callimachus, the number on my breast for all to note, and even later, I was danced, and in the ba-ta circle! "If you were surprised at how well she did in the dance, as you claimed," said the spokesman, "why would you have had her danced in the first place?" ""I expected her to do badly," said Mirus. "Particularly for the ba-ta circle. I wished not only to shame her, but to have her fail miserably. I wished that her dancing, that of a mere Earth girl, for one knows what they are, to be an enraging, pathetic joke on the sand. Thus she would be not only humiliated that she must dance as a slave, but, beyond that, an excruciating shame for a woman, that she would be humiliated that she had failed to please, that she had danced so badly. I then expected to have the pleasure of seeing her, for her temerity in intruding on the ba-ta circle, so unworthy a slave, well and lengthily lashed." And so Mirus, in having had Ellen called to the ba-ta circle, had intended not only to shame her, having her dance as a slave, but had expected her to dance badly, thus shaming herself as a woman, as well, and had then intended, in consequence of her presumed inept, blundering debacle, that she would be put under the whip, to suffer a lashing commensurate with the inadequacies of her performance. "That is like a Kaissa board, is it not?" I asked. "Yes," she said. "And on most of the small scraps of paper is a letter, an Al-ka, a Ba-ta, and so on, though on some, for some reason, there is nothing but a meaningless mark. What one is to do is to take a paper from the helmet which bears a letter or the meaningless mark, and transcribe it onto one of the squares on the large sheet. There are also one hundred such scraps. After transcribing the letter or meaningless mark one puts it aside until later. When a large sheet is filled, the last letter or meaningless mark placed in the last square, one replaces the scraps of paper in the helmet, shuffles them about, jumbles them, and then, with a new large sheet, one begins again." For better than an Ahn I continued the work which Chloe had relinquished to me. I did not even know the names of the letters I was transcribing. In a sense they were simple designs, or mere marks, to me, though I knew them to be letters, or most of them. Chloe had said that some of these marks, or designs, were meaningless. I did not know for certain which were letters and which were not. If I were familiar with the alphabet I could probably have done the work more quickly, knowing that say, that was an Al-ka that a Ba-ta, and so on, and then quickly transcribing them. On the other hand, to me they were mostly marks or designs, and so I was careful to try to reproduce each as carefully as I could. I placed each mark or design in the center of a square, neatly. "This is not a running slave," he said. "This is a housed slave, a boarded slave, due as most in Delka cage to be sold four days from now at the close of the passage hand. We have some running slaves in Ba-ta cage. If you are interested in serious catch sport, we even have two bred racers in Ba-ta, recently brought in from the stables in Venna. You would need a saddle tharlarion to net them. They often return to us unnetted. You pay a copper tarsk for the game, and, if you win, you get five copper tarsks."
The al-ka and ba-ta circles were enclosed, surrounded by walls of silk, held on poles. Men had to pay a fee to enter, for within those confines they were to be treated to the finest exponents of the intricacies of slave dance. Similarly reserved, but for less skilled dancers, were the gamma and delka circles.
She could recognize, incidentally, several of the signs of the Gorean alphabet but knew only two or three of their names and sounds. Goreans had not been free with that information. One letter of the Gorean alphabet which Ellen did know was the fourth letter of the 28-letter Gorean alphabet, which was 'delka'. She had seen that letter in Ar, scrawled on a wall, and also on an ostrakon in the holding of Portus Canio. And she knew at least one number, that which was inscribed in grease on her left breast, "117." She had heard of the al-ka and ba-ta circles, named for the first two letters in the Gorean alphabet. They were not like most of the other circles, which were in the open, where naked slaves swayed to distant music for the delectation of masters. The al-ka and ba-ta circles were enclosed, surrounded by walls of silk, held on poles. Men had to pay a fee to enter, for within those confines they were to be treated to the finest exponents of the intricacies of slave dance. Similarly reserved, but for less skilled dancers, were the gamma and delka circles. To be sure, all had not gone as smoothly as it might have for the invaders because, eventually, sporadic acts of resistance occurred. These were generally attributed to the work of a small group of resistance fighters, which became known as the Delta Brigade. Because of the vast, triangular spreading of the Vosk river, into dozens of smaller rivers, often mutually interfluent, flowing into the Tamber Gulf, which leads to Thassa herself, the sea, that area is known in Gorean as the Delka, or, better, the Delka of the Vosk. "Delka" is a triangular letter in Gorean, the fourth letter in her alphabet, derived, it seems, from the Greek letter "Delta." The core of the Delta Brigade was surmised to be composed of veterans returned from the misdirected and ill-fated campaign in the Vosk's delta, and thus the term "Delta Brigade." Some of these veterans of the delta campaign, now embittered, realizing how they had been betrayed, and dismayed at the Ar to which they had returned, formed the nucleus of a resistance, the "Delta Brigade," the natural symbol of which was the letter "Delka," scribbled or scratched secretly, in bold lines, on many a wall or building, which letter, of course, in its shape, resembles a delta, and would recall a particular delta, that of the Vosk. I no longer wore the collar of Rupert of Hochburg. I had been placed in a simple cage collar bearing the sign of Tenalian of Ar and the Gorean letter 'Delka,' a simple equilateral triangle, which was, as I had been given to understand, the fourth letter in the Gorean alphabet. That done, the collar of Rupert of Hochburg had been removed. Thus, there was no moment when I was not collared. I was housed in Delka cage, one of the aforementioned four cages. "This is not a running slave," he said. "This is a housed slave, a boarded slave, due as most in Delka cage to be sold four days from now at the close of the passage hand. We have some running slaves in Ba-ta cage. If you are interested in serious catch sport, we even have two bred racers in Ba-ta, recently brought in from the stables in Venna. You would need a saddle tharlarion to net them. They often return to us unnetted. You pay a copper tarsk for the game, and, if you win, you get five copper tarsks." I then realized that, if caught, I would doubtless be well used before being returned to Delka cage. A bit later, the exit gate of Delka cage had been opened and I joined the two fellows outside the bars. "Let me explain our plan," said Tiskias. "It is simple and flawless. You have been removed from the Delka cage. You will not have returned. This will be brought to the attention of Rupert of Hochburg. He will pursue you, if only to regain his property before its sale." "We have delivered the slave," said the taller, half-shaven man, he who was first of the two who had taken me from Delka cage. "Give us eight copper tarsks, the second half of our pay." "Let us cut his throat now and share his purse's contents equality," said. the taller, half-shaven man, he who, with his fellow, had taken me from Delka cage. "We will then have more and none will know." "It will surprise the keepers at Delka cage that the slave is not returned by midnight as she is neither a trained nor bred runner," said the half-shaven man, "but it will be assumed she somehow managed to elude her hunters. If I could get my limbs free, I might find an opportunity, particularly in the darkness, to wade away from this small island and make my way to the fields beyond the swamp, sometime before morning. I was afraid, as had been the two men who had taken me from Delka cage, to enter the swamp, but I was desperate enough to venture amongst its perils, and even more, to warn my Master of the dangers awaiting him. "Goblet!" muttered the short-bearded man, he who had assisted in extracting me from Delka cage, thrusting his goblet toward me. As noted earlier. the shorter, muscular man, he who had assisted his half-shaven colleague in removing me from Delka cage was asleep. "Two slave thieves, on the pretext of renting a sport runner, removed me from Master Tenalian's Delka cage in his compound outside Ar, and delivered me to this island, into the hands of Tiskias of Venna." "To ensnare Master," I said. "If I were not again in custody in Delka cage by noon today, you were to be notified. It was then anticipated that you, and some others, would follow the thieves to recover me." "Where is the Delka tunic?" he asked. "It was removed in Delka cage," I said, "and I was issued a runner's tunic. That tunic, the runner's tunic, was torn away last night that I might prepare and serve supper suitably, as a nude slave." "You are my Master," I said. "You are in great danger. Why did you put your life at risk to recover me?" "I did not," he said. "I thought you were still in Delka cage." As we had approached Ar, on our way back with the company from the swamp forest, I had grown more and more uneasy that I would be returned to the Delka cage of the holdings of Tenalian of Ar, for imminent sale in the metropolis. Had I not failed to be pleasing to my Master? Had he not determined to rid himself of me? "You were to be kept safe, until all was resolved," he said. "Yet I was rented from the Delka cage," I said.
"Take her away," said my hostess. "Delta Tunnel, Alcove Twenty-One." In the Delta Tunnel, in Alcove Twenty-One, the girl, Lale, I supposed, she now reduced to the modality of the she-quadruped, might be so waiting. "See, Captain?" asked the guardsman. He rolled one of the bodies to its back. On the chest was a bloody triangle, the "delta." That is the fourth letter in the Gorean alphabet, and formed identically to the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, the 'delta', to which letter it doubtless owes its origin. In Gorean, the delta of a river is referred to as its 'delta.' The reasoning here is the same as in Greek, and, derivatively, in English, namely the resemblance of a delta region to a cartographical triangle. "It was the same five days ago," said one of the men, "with the five brigands found slain in the Trevelyan district, and the two mercenaries cut down on Wagon Street, at the second Ahn, only the bloody delta left behind, scrawled on the wall." There, on the wall, scratched on the stone, was a delta. The captain cried out with rage. "I am sure that was not there when we entered, Captain," said one of the guardsmen. "No, it was not," said the captain. That was true. As it might be recalled, Marcus and I had entered the shop after the captain and his men, having been on our rounds in the neighborhood. Some men were about, but seeing the captain and his men, and Marcus and myself, hurried away, perhaps fearing that the delta might be blamed on them. The captain regarded the delta, scrawled on the wall, with anger. "It is only a scratching, a mark," I said. "No," he said. "It is more. It is a defiance of Cos, and of Ar!" "Of Ar?" I asked. "As she is today," he said. "But perhaps not of the old Ar," I said. "Perhaps not," he said. Again the captain looked angrily at the furrowed wall, the tracing of that triangle, the delta. I had not known these things. I myself had not seen much evidence of this sort of thing. To be sure, Marcus and I usually prowled in the darkness, protected from suspicion by our armbands, as though we might be on duty. And during the day we had normal duties, guarding portals and such, or, when assigned them, rounds, usually in public areas, as today, where the inscribing of the delta would be more likely to be noticed. I suspected these deltas were mostly to be found in the alleys and the back streets of Ar. "The scratching of the delta," I said, "might even be permitted, as an outlet for meaningless defiance, as a futile token of protest from those too helpless or weak to do more." "This morning," I said, "four soldiers, doubtless Cosians, were found slain in the vicinity of the Avenue of Turia. The delta was found there." "You are curious as to its meaning, and its power?" I asked. "Yes," he said. He nodded and drew his knife. On the lid of the chest he carved a delta, and then set the lid against the remains of the chest, that the sign might be prominently displayed. As we were not in the officer's chain of command, he in charge of the guardsmen of Ar whom we had earlier encountered, I did not think he would be likely to follow up the matter of the girl's disposition. Too, even if the matter were not pursued further, there would now be at least one more delta in Ar. "Look," I said, pointing to a wall on Lorna, near where we stood. I had not seen it before. "The delta," I said. "We did not put it there," said Marcus. "There is another delta," I said to Marcus. "Bold that it should be in such a place," said Marcus. Marcus and I, some days after the incident of the shop, were strolling on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder, which is, I suppose, in a sense, the major thoroughfare in Ar. It is at any rate her most famous, if not busiest, avenue, and it gives access to the park of the Central Cylinder, which edifice is itself, of course, located within the park of that name. It is a long, shaded, wide, elegant avenue, with expensive shops and fountains. "The delta has been forbidden!" said Marcus. "It says so, here!" "Interesting," I said. I heard the ripping down of a sheet from the public boards and saw a young fellow casting it aside. Then, with a knife, he scratched a delta, deeply, into the wood. He turned to face us and brandished the knife. "Glory to Ar!" he cried. We regarded the delta. "Glory to Ar!" whispered men. "Glory to Ar!" I looked again to the defiant delta cut into the boards. "I do not think I would care to be found in the presence of this delta," I said, "so prominent on the public boards, so freshly cut." The officer studied the delta. "It was cut deeply, swiftly," he said, "with strength, probably in hatred." I had recognized the first youth to spring upon the cart. It had been he who, some days before, had cut the defiant delta deeply into one of the public boards on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder. "Strange," remarked Marcus, "that the prisoner has on his sleeve an armband with the delta upon it." There had been, after the first knocking, alerting the occupant of the room, taps in groups of four. The fourth letter in the Gorean alphabet is the delta.
Magicians of Gor Book 25 Page 490
"The rubies are arranged in the shape of a letter," he said, "the fifth letter in the Gorean alphabet, Gref." "Master?" "The first letter," he said, "in the name 'Grendel'."
"I was taught the alphabet beginning with Al-Ka," smiled Samos. "As was I," said Bosk. "Perhaps we should first have been taught Eta." "That is not the tradition!" said Samos. "True," admitted Bosk. "And these innovative scribes have had little success with their proposed reforms. Yet, from their labors, various interesting facts have emerged. For example, we have learned not only the order of frequency of occurrence of letters but, as would be expected, rough percentages of occurrence as well. Eta, for example, occurs two hundred times more frequently in the language than Altron. Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu."
"I was taught the alphabet beginning with Al-Ka," smiled Samos. "As was I," said Bosk. "Perhaps we should first have been taught Eta." "That is not the tradition!" said Samos. "True," admitted Bosk. "And these innovative scribes have had little success with their proposed reforms. Yet, from their labors, various interesting facts have emerged. For example, we have learned not only the order of frequency of occurrence of letters but, as would be expected, rough percentages of occurrence as well. Eta, for example, occurs two hundred times more frequently in the language than Altron. Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu." "That seems impossible," said Samos. "It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan."
"In Gorean," said Bosk, "the most frequently occurring letter is Eta. We might then begin by supposing that the combination of blue and red signifies an Eta." "I was taught the alphabet beginning with Al-Ka," smiled Samos. "As was I," said Bosk. "Perhaps we should first have been taught Eta." "That is not the tradition!" said Samos. "True," admitted Bosk. "And these innovative scribes have had little success with their proposed reforms. Yet, from their labors, various interesting facts have emerged. For example, we have learned not only the order of frequency of occurrence of letters but, as would be expected, rough percentages of occurrence as well. Eta, for example, occurs two hundred times more frequently in the language than Altron. Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu." "We shall begin," said Bosk, "by supposing that the sequence of blue and red corresponds to Eta. The next most common sequence is orange and red. We shall, tentatively, suppose that corresponds to Tau." "I think I understand," I said. "If, in a given message, for example, the notation 'Ubar to Ubara's Tarnsman Two' occurs, that could mean that, on the board in question, say, Board 7, the square Ubara's Tarnsman Two was significant. On that board, then, we might suppose, given its arrangement, that the square Ubara's Tarnsman Two might stand for, say, the letter 'Eta.' Both the sender and receiver, of course, can easily determine this, as they both have the keys to construct the appropriate boards." "Yes," said the player. "The listing of the moves in an orderly sequence, of course, gives the order of the letters in the message," I said. "Correct," said the player. "I see how the multiples are effective," I said. "For example, the letter 'Eta,' the most commonly occurring letter, would actually, on any given board, be capable of being represented by any of a number of appropriate squares, each different, yet each corresponding to an 'Eta.' Similarly, of course, one might skip about on the board, retreating on it, and so on, to utilize 'Eta Squares' in any fashion one chose. This would produce no confusion between the sender and the receiver as long as the enciphered notation was in orderly sequence." "Surely the alphabet does not contain a hundred letters," I said. My own alphabet incidentally, in my own native language contains twenty-six letters. A typical Gorean alphabet, as I understand it, though this seems to differ a bit in one place or another, contains twenty-eight letters. "Of course not," he said. "Certain letters occur in Gorean more often than others, for example, Eta Al-ka Tau, and so on. Thus, there may be several variants for those letters."
"In Gorean," said Bosk, "the most frequently occurring letter is Eta. We might then begin by supposing that the combination of blue and red signifies an Eta." "I see," said Samos. "The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Sbu and Homan, and so on." "It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan." The Gorean alphabet has twenty-eight characters, all of which, I suspect, owe their origin to one or another of the alphabets of Earth. Several show a clear-cut resemblance to Greek letters, for example. 'Sidge', on the other hand, could be cuneiform, and 'Tun' and 'Var are probably calligraphically drifted from demotic. At least six letters suggest influence by the classical Roman alphabet, and seven do, if we count 'Kef', the first letter in 'Kajira'. 'Shu' is represented by a sign which seems clearly oriental in origin and 'Homan', I speculate, may derive from Cretan.
"In Gorean," said Bosk, "the most frequently occurring letter is Eta. We might then begin by supposing that the combination of blue and red signifies an Eta." "I see," said Samos. "The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Sbu and Homan, and so on." "It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan."
I had little doubt that it would be the Tahari brand which, white hot, would be pressed into the thigh of the new slave, marking her thenceforth as merchandise. The contact surface of the iron would be formed into the Taharic character 'Kef', which, in Taharic, is the initial letter of the expression 'Kajira', the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. Taharic is a very graceful script. It makes no distinctions between capital and small letters, and little distinction between printed and cursive script. Anyone who can read printed Tahari will have no difficulty in following cursive Tahari. The men of the Tahari are content to form their letters carefully and beautifully, being fond of them. To scribble Tahari is generally regarded not as proving oneself a swift, efficient fellow, but something of a boor, insensible to beauty. The initial printed letter of 'Kajira', rather than the cursive letter, as generally, is used as the common brand for women in the Tahari. Both the cursive letter in common Gorean and the printed letter in Taharic are rather lovely, both being, somewhat floral in appearance. The Gorean alphabet has twenty-eight characters, all of which, I suspect, owe their origin to one or another of the alphabets of Earth. Several show a clear-cut resemblance to Greek letters, for example. 'Sidge', on the other hand, could be cuneiform, and 'Tun' and 'Var are probably calligraphically drifted from demotic. At least six letters suggest influence by the classical Roman alphabet, and seven do, if we count 'Kef', the first letter in 'Kajira'. I saw the brand on her thigh. Although the brand was the first letter, in cursive Gorean script, of the most common Gorean expression for a slave girl, 'Kajira', its symbolism, I think, is much richer than this. For example, in the slave brand, the 'Kef', though clearly a Kef and in cursive script, is more floral, in the extended, upturned, frondlike curls, than would be the common cursive Kef. This tends to make the mark very feminine. It is at this point that the symbolism of the brand becomes more clear. The two frondlike curls indicate femininity and beauty; the staff, in its uncompromising severity, indicates that the femininity is subject to discipline; the upturned curves on the frondlike curls indicate total openness and vulnerability. It is a very simple, lovely brand, simple, as befits a slave, lovely, as befits a woman. The design was rather floral. It consisted of what seemed to be a straight line, rather severe, with what appeared to be, adjacent to it, to its right, two fronds, curled and graceful. I would later learn that this was, in cursive script, the initial letter of the Gorean expression 'Kajira', which is the most common Gorean expression for a female slave. The design also, according to some, is supposed to have symbolic significance. The straight line is supposed to represent the staff of discipline and the two fronds the beauty of a woman. The significance of the whole, then, would be beauty subject to the staff of discipline. Interestingly, the design also bears a remote resemblance, if one thinks about it, to the English letter 'K'. Since the first sound in the expression 'Kajira' would be represented in English by the letter 'K' it is quite possible that this resemblance is more than a coincidence. Certain letters of the Gorean alphabet, not all of them, bear a very clear resemblance to certain letters in certain of the alphabets of Earth. This, I suppose, was to have been expected, given the doubtless Earth origin of all, or most, of the human Goreans. The Gorean name for the letter in question, if it is of interest, is 'Kef'. The palms of a girl's hands are extremely sensitive and erotic. I resisted the impulse to trace lightly in the palm of her left hand a small cursive "Kef," the staff and fronds, that letter used commonly in the branding of female slaves. I knelt, head down, before the square iron box, the exterior of which was enameled white, one side of which, its door, on hinges, lay opened on the tiles. I tensed. On two sides of the box, in red paint, was a Kef, in block printing. Kef, of course, is the initial letter not only of the Gorean expression 'Kajira', the most common Gorean expression for a female slave, but also 'Kajirus', the most common Gorean expression for a male slave. The block printing-indicated that the box was suitable for a male slave. This could also, of course, have been determined from its size which, though small, was larger than would have been that in which women would be placed. Such boxes, for women, were marked also with red on white, but the letter, of course, would be the cursive Kef, which is also used as a common slave brand for imbonded females. Lastly he tore open, to the hip, on the left side, the now ragged, scandalously brief skirt of her tunic. I saw that she wore the common Kajira mark of Gor. It is that mark, lovely, small, a Kef in cursive script, the first letter of 'Kajira', which is worn by most Gorean slave girls. I watched from behind a dark curtain, one bearing, on both sides, in gold embroidery, an intricate design incorporating cursive Kefs, one larger and several smaller. "Thank you, Master," she said. I thought the cursive Kef, sometimes referred to as the staff and fronds, beauty subject to discipline, would look well upon her thigh. "I am already branded, Master," said the girl at my feet. She looked up at me. It was true. She wore the Kef high on her left thigh, just under the hip. This is the most common brand site for a Gorean slave girl. I forced myself to look away from her. I counted several Ehn. Idly, in the dirt, beside me, I traced designs. Then I discovered they were cursive Kefs, the common Kajira sign, sometimes called the staff and fronds, that sign which mark the thigh of so many enslaved Gorean beauties. The mystery in most cases, however, if one is truly interested, is usually no more than temporary. It is only necessary to lift her skirt. Sometimes bets are made on this matter. In such bets, of course, the odds are with he who wagers on the graceful, cursive Kef. This is the most common Kajira brand. "Kef" is the first letter in "Kajira," the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. The 'qa' in the name 'Feiqa', incidentally, is pronounced rather like 'kah' in English. I have not spelled it 'Feikah' in English because the letter in question, in the Gorean spelling, is a 'kwah' and not a 'kef'. She, wincing, turned toward me, in the straw. "An excellent brand," I said. It was the common kajira mark, as I had expected, small, delicate, and beautiful, the cursive Kef, the staff and fronds, lyrically feminine, but unmistakable, a brand marking property, worn by most Gorean female slaves. The brand on my left thigh was a cursive 'kef', the first letter in the word 'kajira'. There was another trickle of blood on my leg. He put his thumb in this and scrawled a 'Kef' on my belly, the first letter of 'Kajira'. "Did you see the "Kef" on her belly?" asked Tupita. "Yes," said a man. "It belongs there," she said. "Yes," agreed another fellow. This chain was locked on me with a heavy padlock, from the back. In the front, linked to the chain, and dangling down from it, over my lower belly, was a heavy, medallionlike metal disk. On this disk, so that it could be read from the front, was a large, cursive "Kef," for "Kajira," a larger version of the same letter adorning my thigh. She was small, naked and cuddly. Her thigh, as I determined, in turning her about, and caressing her, first, by feel, and then in a flash of lightning, wore the common Kajira brand, the small, delicate "Kef," for "Kajira," sometimes called the staff and fronds, suggesting beauty subject to discipline. On her neck, beneath the coils of the heavy, padlocked chain, was a common, close-fitting Gorean slave collar. The pattern I had traced in her palm was that of a small, cursive 'Kef', the first letter in the expression 'Kajira'. The cursive 'Kef', in one variation or another, is commonly used as a slave brand for females. I knew a girl who wore the brand of the four bosk horns, and, above it, the cursive Kef, the common Kajira mark, for she was a common girl, put there when I had branded her in a kasbah in the Tahari. Her name was Vella. She had once been a secretary, on Earth. Another fellow crouched near Ina. He had her clasp her hands behind the back of her head and kneel straight. He then unwound his rope from her waist, freeing her of it. He then, in the mire on her breast, with his thumb, traced a cursive Kef. The mark, of course, the cursive Kef, was the mark used most frequently on Gor for branding female slaves. 'Kef' is the first letter in the expression 'Kajira', the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. The box itself is of iron and very sturdy. It has various tiny holes in its front wall and in its lid, through which the occupant may breathe. These holes, or rather perforations, are in the shape of the cursive 'Kef', the first letter, as I have mentioned, in 'Kajira', the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. She, too, as that slave, now wore the common Kajira brand, the tiny, delicate, lovely cursive Kef. This is a good brand for females, as it tells them that they are only common slaves. The gate of the locker, like the lid of the slave box, is perforated for the passage of air, usually, like the slave box, with a design in the form of a cursive 'Kef', the first letter of 'Kajira', the most common Gorean expression, among several, for a female slave. They were all to be marked with the cursive Kef, as common girls. That is the most common brand for female salves on Gor. Marcus and I had agreed that Phoebe would not write the letter. It was better that it was done by a woman who had been at one time a citizeness of Ar, her penmanship influenced by the private schools of the city. It is a well-known fact, on the world, Earth, that the cursive script of diverse nationalities, such as the English, French and Italian, tend to differ in certain general ways, quite aside from the individual characteristics of particular writers. Certain letters, for example, tend to be formed differently, and so on. Much the same thing, predictably, and perhaps even more so, given the isolation of so many of her cities, occurs on Gor. For example, Phoebe had a beautiful, feminine hand, but it was natural for her, and easiest for her, of course, to write in Cosian script. It was not that Cosian script, was illegible, say, to folks of Ko-ro-ba or Ar, but rather that it was recognizably different. Thus, rather than have Phoebe try to disguise her hand and write in the script of Ar, Marcus and I had decided that the note, or letter, would be written by the new slave, whose background, and education, were of Ar, the same as those of the putative writer of the note, or letter. In the formation of most cursive letters, incidentally, there are few, if any, differences among the various cities. The differences tend to have more to do with the "cast" of the hand, so to speak, its general appearance, a function of a number of things, such as size, spacing of letters, linkages among them, length of loops, nature of end strokes, and such. Also, certain letters, at least for commercial or legal, if not personal, purposes, tended to be standardized. An excellent example are those standing for various weights and measures. Another familiar example is the tiny, lovely, cursive 'kef' which is the same whether it is put on a girl in Cos, or Ar, or Ko-ro-ba, or Thentis or Turia. I could see out through the perforations, by turning my head one way or the other. These perforations, in each set, were so arranged as to form a cursive kef, which is the first letter in the word 'kajira'. The cursive kef, in variations, is also used as the common slave mark for kajirae. On my left thigh, just below the hip, I bore the same mark, put there by a slave iron. "It is the most common brand for a female slave on Gor," said Mirus. "It is the cursive kef. 'Kef' is the first letter in the Gorean expression 'kajira', which means 'slave girl'." "Brand, the kef," called the attendant. That was the most common kajira brand, the "kef" being the first letter in the expression 'kajira'. She was kefed, the letter nicely entered into her thigh. She wore the tiny Dina brand, "the slave flower." The Dina is a familiar slave brand, but not nearly as common as the cursive Kef. I would learn later that I wore in my thigh, small, but clear, imprinted there the cursive kef. I would learn, too, it is a common brand, marking common slaves. My mark is the cursive kef, the common kajira mark, worn by most slaves. It is sometimes called the staff and fronds, beauty subject to discipline. My brand was the small, tasteful, but unmistakable "Kef," the "staff and fronds," beauty subject to discipline. There are many slave brands on Gor, but the "Kef," is the most common. The joke is that it is the common brand for the common girl, but I knew that some of the highest, most expensive, and most beautiful girls wore it. In any event, it is a beautiful brand, and is commonly thought to muchly enhance the value and beauty of the goods it marks. "Kef," I am informed, is the first letter in the Gorean word, 'Kajira'. Perhaps she unrolls a scroll and finds within it a slip of paper, "You are a slave," or perhaps on the very mirror of her vanity, drawn in grease pencil, she discovers an image the small, lovely, cursive "Kef," much like the one which might be burned into her left thigh, somewhat below the hip. I did not speak, but there seemed little doubt, as well, that a woman clad in a slave tunic would not be likely to be confused with a free woman. Too, there was always the brand. My brand was small and delicate, but unmistakable. It had been placed high on my left thigh, just below the hip. It was an attractive mark. It had a vague resemblance to a cursive 'k' in English. I was told it was a 'Kef', which is the first letter in the Gorean expression, 'kajira'. It was also, apparently, a very common brand. I was, accordingly, not privileged, or distinguished, by a special or unusual brand. The pattern traced in the palm of a slave's hand may be as random as the movement of a leaf in the wind, sometimes as clear as the Kef, the most common slave brand. 'Kef' is the first letter of the word 'kajira'. Similarly, there are many slave brands on Gor, but the most common, by far, is the small, delicate, tasteful cursive Kef. Too, my thigh is marked with the cursive kef. The mark was small and graceful. I later learned that it was the cursive kef, a common brand. 'Kef' is the first letter of the word 'kajira', which is the most common Gorean expression for a female slave. "The Kef," I said. "A common brand for a common slave," he said. "Yes, Master," I said. Kef is the first letter of the most common Gorean expression for a female slave, 'Kajira'. As far as I knew, the Kef, the cursive Kef, was the most common brand for a female slave on this world. "I thought it would be so," I said, "the common brand, the cursive Kef." The brand was the common Kef, the first letter in the word "kajira," the staff and fronds, beauty subject to discipline, the most common slave brand on Gor. On my left thigh, high, under the hip, I was marked. It was the common kef, small and lovely, the staff and fronds, beauty subject to discipline, the most common mark on Gor for one such as I.
I have not spelled it 'Feikah' in English because the letter in question, in the Gorean spelling, is a 'kwah' and not a 'kef'. The 'kwah' in Gorean, which I think is possibly related, directly or indirectly, to the English 'q', does not always have a 'kwah' sound. Sometimes it does; sometimes it does not; in the name 'Feiqa' it does not. For example, in Spanish, certainly one of the major languages spoken on Earth, the letter 'q' seldom, if ever, has the 'kwah' sound. Even in English, of course, the letter 'q' itself is not pronounced with a 'kwah' sound, but rather with a 'k' or 'c' sound, as in 'kue' or 'cue'.
"In what apartment is she," I demanded. "Forty-two," he said, "Central Level Minus one, Mu corridor." "Correct," I told him, lowering the weapon. He breathed more easily. "I will fetch her," I said. Indeed, I had need of a wench. "Return to Al-Ka section." I soon determined that I was in Mu corridor, from Gorean markings high on the wall near a point where the corridor branched in two directions. On the front of the left shoulder there was a design, in white and yellow, bearing what I would later learn was an inscribed "Mu." This was a design, I would later learn, which was common to many of the different enterprises of Mintar. "Mu" is the first letter of the name Mintar.
"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Sbu and Homan, and so on." Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu."
"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Sbu and Homan, and so on." Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu."
"It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan." At least six letters suggest influence by the classical Roman alphabet, and seven do, if we count 'Kef', the first letter in 'Kajira'. 'Shu' is represented by a sign which seems clearly oriental in origin and 'Homan', I speculate, may derive from Cretan. "There is a golden tarn in the pouch," said a guardsman. "On the golden tarn taken from me," said the man, "I had scratched my initials, Ba-Ta Shu, Bem Shandar, and, on the reverse of the coin, the drum of Tabor." "Among the hundred new slaves of Samos of Port Kar," I said, "chained on the Shu-27 platforms in the southwestern sections of the Pavilion of Beauty." I had checked the location earlier in the afternoon. It was among the southwestern sections of the Pavilion of Beauty, more specifically on the Shu-27 platforms.
The Gorean alphabet has twenty-eight characters, all of which, I suspect, owe their origin to one or another of the alphabets of Earth. Several show a clear-cut resemblance to Greek letters, for example. 'Sidge', on the other hand, could be cuneiform, and 'Tun' and 'Var are probably calligraphically drifted from demotic.
"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Sbu and Homan, and so on." "True," admitted Bosk. "And these innovative scribes have had little success with their proposed reforms. Yet, from their labors, various interesting facts have emerged. For example, we have learned not only the order of frequency of occurrence of letters but, as would be expected, rough percentages of occurrence as well. Eta, for example, occurs two hundred times more frequently in the language than Altron. Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu." "We shall begin," said Bosk, "by supposing that the sequence of blue and red corresponds to Eta. The next most common sequence is orange and red. We shall, tentatively, suppose that corresponds to Tau." The punched copper disk, threaded on its thong, was not large. It was about an inch or so in diameter. On it was the letter "Tau" and a number. She fingered the small copper disk; on its thong, tied about her throat, that disk which had been found on her in infancy, when she had been found by Alars in the wreckage of a burned, raided caravan, that disk on which a "Tau" and a number had been inscribed. The letter "Tau" on the disk, for some reason I could not place, seemed vaguely familiar to me. I wondered if, somewhere, someplace, I might have seen that particular "Tau," that is, that particular design of a Tau. "The tiny sign near the call rope," said Feiqa. "It is a Tau, much as on her neck ornament." "The same form of Tau?" I asked. "It is very similar," she said. "Exactly similar?" I asked. "No," she said. "But very similar?" I asked. "Yes," she said. I saw the Tau near the call rope. It was indeed quite similar to that which was on Boabissia's small disk. I now recalled what Boabissia's disk had reminded me of. The resemblance, however, was not exact. There were at least two differences. That was good. The form of Tau near the call rope I had seen before, long ago, in Ar, on another street, and more than once, at the Sardar Fairs. "Here," said the fellow. He indicated the book and the disk which had been within it, and Boabissia's disk. I went to the table. I looked at the disk which had been taken from the book. There was no number on it, but the "Tau" on it was identical to that on Boabissia's disk. It was now in the evening of the day in which Boabissia had hurried into the house marked with the "Tau" near the call rope. That Tau was the design, or trademark, of course, of Tenalion of Ar, one of the well-known slavers of the city. 'Tau' is the first letter of the name 'Tenalion'. I had recognized it immediately when I had seen it near the call rope. Indeed, it was identical with that on his place of business, which I had passed at various times when in Ar, a large, formidable structure located in the heart of Ar's slaving district, which housed various facilities pertinent to his trade, ranging from beautifully appointed sales rooms to discipline pits. I had also seen it at different times at the Sardar Fairs, at his display spaces. I had not met him personally, however, until today. He had entertained Hurtha and myself, sharing some fine paga with us, of the House of Temus, my favorite, after Boabissia had been removed from the room, presumably to be transported to his house of business. By now she was doubtless marked and collared, and chained somewhere there, presumably in the lower pens, as she was for most practical purposes a new girl. He seemed a very pleasant fellow. The Tau on Boabissia's disk had reminded me, I suppose, of his Tau. On the other hand, it had been different, and Tau's, as other letters of the Gorean alphabet, are used in various designs and for various purposes. I had not realized, of course, that the current design of Tenalion's Tau had been changed from an older one, that which had appeared on Boabissia's disk. Cabot bent down and retrieved a blade. He cast it toward me, and, a foot or two from me, almost within my reach, it sank into one of the broad, rounded wooden, postlike bars, some five horts thick, of a tarn cage. I drew it free, with a sudden sense of exhilaration. Such a blade, though short, could reach the heart of even a larl. It bore the ship's mark, the Tau, for the ship of Tersites. "Surely the alphabet does not contain a hundred letters," I said. My own alphabet incidentally, in my own native language contains twenty-six letters. A typical Gorean alphabet, as I understand it, though this seems to differ a bit in one place or another, contains twenty-eight letters. "Of course not," he said. "Certain letters occur in Gorean more often than others, for example, Eta Al-ka Tau, and so on. Thus, there may be several variants for those letters." In the Cave, the visible message was in substitutions, a Tau for an Al-Ka, or such, but often enough, now, it was in clear Gorean.
Accordingly, the main divisions of the map are Ta-Sardar-Var, and the other seven; taking the Sardar as our "north pole" the other directions, clockwise as Earth clocks move (Gorean clock hands move in the opposite direction) would be, first, Ta-Sardar-Var, then, in order, Ror, Rim, Tun, Vask (sometimes spoken of as Verus Var, or the true turning away), Cart, Klim, and Kail, and then again, of course, Ta-Sardar-Var. The Gorean alphabet has twenty-eight characters, all of which, I suspect, owe their origin to one or another of the alphabets of Earth. Several show a clear-cut resemblance to Greek letters, for example. 'Sidge', on the other hand, could be cuneiform, and 'Tun' and 'Var are probably calligraphically drifted from demotic.
The Gorean alphabet has twenty-eight characters, all of which, I suspect, owe their origin to one or another of the alphabets of Earth. Several show a clear-cut resemblance to Greek letters, for example. 'Sidge', on the other hand, could be cuneiform, and 'Tun' and 'Var are probably calligraphically drifted from demotic. |
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