AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GOREAN WORLD
Class 1 — Level 1: The World
Track 1: Customs and Social Conduct
by Lady Kati Evans
August 8, 2026
The time in parentheses shows how many minutes after the hour each section should begin. It is a private teaching aid and is not intended to be read aloud.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION (0 minutes)
/me enters the Educational Hall carrying a rolled map tied with a scarlet cord, a small gray stone, and five narrow ribbons of white, blue, yellow, green, and red. She lays the stone at the center of the teaching table, arranges the ribbons beside it, and unrolls the map so that its rivers, roads, cities, and distant regions face the assembled students.
Welcome to the Educational Hall of Turmus, a place of learning for all. The scrolls in the Library drawers with the books are available for your study. I encourage you to explore them when time permits. Those who desire a beverage may use the samovar. (Click upon your selection, and the cup will appear in your inventory for you to add. ) Then find a place where you will be comfortable.
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lady Kati Evans. I began my career as a Magistrate in January 2010. During more than fifteen years of service, I have held several judicial and administrative positions at different times, including Advocate, Magistrate, Chief Magistrate, and High Magistrate. These were appointments held over the course of my career, not offices held simultaneously. I began teaching in June 2015 so that knowledge might be preserved and passed to others. Beginning in February 2019, I also served for a time as Head of Caste. Today, I continue to devote my work to law, learning, civil order, and service to the people.
If you have a question or comment during our discussion, please raise your hand (by typing @). I will recognize you when it is your turn to speak. No scholar should be embarrassed to ask whether a familiar custom is supported by the books. Much of what is repeated in online Gor comes from local roleplay rather than the novels, and our purpose is to learn the difference.
This lesson begins our first track, Customs and Social Conduct. The ten lessons on Saturday will examine the customs, courtesies, and social distinctions that shape everyday interactions on Gor.
Because this is also the first lesson of Level 1, we must begin more broadly. Before we can understand a bow, a title, a tavern, or a gate, we must understand the world in which those things have meaning.
SCRIBE'S PREFATORY OBSERVATION
The traveler who knows a hundred gestures but does not understand the Home Stone, caste, and the difference between free and slave has memorized movements without learning their meaning.
— A Scribe's Observation
This is an original in-character teaching observation written for this lesson. It is not a quotation from John Norman's novels and is not evidence of Gorean canon.
CORE DOCTRINE (5 minutes)
Gor is a world of powerful loyalties and pronounced distinctions. It is not one unified nation with one capital, one government, one law, or one set of customs. It contains independent cities, regions, cultures, tribes, castes, households, and peoples whose practices may differ greatly.
Several foundations recur throughout the novels:
Gor is the Counter-Earth, hidden from Earth by the sun.
The Priest-Kings possess advanced knowledge and secretly regulate much of the planet.
Most Goreans organize their civic loyalties around independent cities and their Home Stones.
Caste strongly influences occupation, identity, training, color, family, and social position.
Gorean society makes an absolute legal and social distinction between the free person and the slave.
Technology is uneven because the Priest-Kings restrict developments they consider dangerous.
Custom is important, but custom is not identical in every place.
The central principle of this introductory lesson is:
To understand Gorean conduct, first identify the person's status, caste, Home Stone, location, and circumstances. A gesture or rule separated from those foundations is easily misunderstood.
Is there one universal Gorean law governing every city and people? (ANSWER: No. Cities and peoples possess different laws and customs, though some broad institutions and practices are widely shared.)
Can one passage describing one city prove that all Gor behaves in the same way? (ANSWER: No. It proves what occurred in that passage and may illustrate a broader custom, but further evidence is needed before calling it universal.)
PART I: GOR, THE COUNTER-EARTH (12 minutes)
/me points to the map and then raises one hand toward the unseen sky.
Gor is called the Counter-Earth because it occupies Earth's orbit on the opposite side of the sun. Its position ordinarily conceals it from Earth. The novels begin with a small number of individuals from Earth discovering that another inhabited world exists—one that remains unknown to Earth’s general population.
Gor resembles Earth in many physical respects. Human beings can live there. It has oceans, rivers, forests, mountains, deserts, plains, polar regions, seasons, and familiar needs for food, shelter, transport, and defense. Yet it also possesses animals, plants, peoples, and histories unknown to Earth.
The relationship between Gor and Earth is not accidental. The Priest-Kings have brought people, animals, plants, and objects from Earth to Gor over long periods. These removals are commonly associated with the Voyages of Acquisition. As a result, elements that resemble different periods or cultures of Earth may appear upon Gor without making Gor merely a copy of Earth.
Goreans do not ordinarily experience their world as a historical costume setting. It is their present reality. A tarn is not a fantasy creature to a tarnsman. A Home Stone is not a theatrical prop to a citizen. Caste colors are not decorations chosen for a party. They communicate identity within a living society.
Why is it misleading to describe Gor simply as medieval Earth? (ANSWER: Gor has its own history, peoples, animals, institutions, advanced hidden powers, and cultural development. Some features resemble periods of Earth, but the world is not merely medieval Europe under another name.)
Are all Goreans aware of Earth's true relationship to Gor? (ANSWER: No. Knowledge varies. Many ordinary Goreans do not possess a complete understanding of Earth, the Priest-Kings, or the Voyages of Acquisition.)
PART II: THE PRIEST-KINGS AND THE LIMITS OF KNOWLEDGE (15 minutes)
The Priest-Kings are not supernatural gods in the sense imagined by many Goreans. They are an advanced nonhuman species whose power, knowledge, and technology are far beyond those of ordinary human societies on Gor.
Most people know the Priest-Kings through religion, taboo, rumor, or the teachings of the Initiates. The Initiates wear white and present themselves as servants of the Priest-Kings. Their religious authority is visible within many cities, but the actual nature of the Priest-Kings remains concealed from most of the population.
The Priest-Kings enforce limits upon human technology. Certain developments are forbidden, especially those they believe may threaten the order or safety of Gor. Their power to destroy violators is associated with the Flame Death.
This produces one of Gor's apparent contradictions. The world contains comparatively simple public technologies—swords, spears, bows, ships, wagons, lamps, scrolls, and animal transport—while the Priest-Kings possess machines and sciences of extraordinary sophistication. Gorean Physicians also possess knowledge that can surprise an Earth observer, including the Stabilization Serums that greatly extend human life.
Does the presence of advanced Priest-King technology mean that ordinary Gorean cities possess it? (ANSWER: No. The Priest-Kings conceal much of their knowledge and restrict dangerous human technological development.)
Should every unexplained Gorean custom be attributed to the Priest-Kings? (ANSWER: No. The Priest-Kings influence the planet profoundly, but people, cities, castes, and cultures also develop their own institutions and customs.)
PART III: CITIES, HOME STONES, AND LOYALTY (18 minutes)
/me lifts the small gray stone and holds it where the class can see it.
Gor is a world of independent cities rather than a single planetary state. Cities may trade, negotiate, compete, raid, ally, conquer, or wage war. Some cities exercise authority over surrounding territory or lesser settlements. Others may fall, be occupied, or disappear.
At the heart of Gorean civic identity stands the Home Stone. A Home Stone may be physically simple, yet its meaning is immense. It represents the city, community, and shared belonging of those who claim it.
The beauty of a Home Stone does not depend upon rare material or elaborate carving. Its value comes from loyalty. A citizen may defend it at the risk of life because it represents more than an object. To share a Home Stone is to share a civic bond.
This does not mean every resident of a city possesses identical standing. A city may contain citizens, visiting foreigners, resident aliens, slaves, captives, merchants, envoys, and others. Nor does residence alone necessarily establish citizenship. Status must be determined from the law, recognition, and circumstances of the particular city.
What does a Home Stone represent? (ANSWER: It represents the city or community and the loyalty, identity, and belonging associated with it.)
Is every person physically present inside a city's walls automatically a citizen? (ANSWER: No. Visitors, foreigners, slaves, captives, and other residents may be present without possessing citizenship.)
Why must travelers identify the city they are entering? (ANSWER: Law, authority, customs, alliances, enemies, forms of address, and expectations may differ from one city to another.)
Here in Turmus, local practice belongs to Turmus. It must not be called universal Gorean law unless the books establish a broader rule. In later lessons, we will preserve that distinction carefully.
PART IV: CASTE AND OCCUPATION (22 minutes)
/me lays the five colored ribbons across the table: white, blue, yellow, green, and red.
Caste is one of the principal organizing institutions of Gorean society. It commonly connects occupation, training, family, social identity, and expected conduct. Many people are born into a caste and learn its work, traditions, and responsibilities.
The five traditional High Castes are:
The Initiates, associated with white.
The Scribes, associated with blue.
The Builders, associated with yellow.
The Physicians, associated with green.
The Warriors, associated with scarlet or red.
Beneath the High Castes are many Low Castes and occupational groups: Peasants, Merchants, Slavers, Metal Workers, Bakers, Cloth Workers, Leather Workers, Pot Makers, Sailors, Fishermen, and many others.
“Low Caste” does not mean unnecessary. A city cannot eat the color of a High Caste robe. It requires grain, bread, tools, cloth, leather, ships, repairs, fuel, and countless forms of labor. The distinction concerns rank and social organization, not whether the work contributes to survival.
Caste identity can be strong, but Gorean life is not so mechanical that every individual behaves identically. Members vary in wealth, skill, honor, temperament, and influence. A wealthy Merchant may wield more practical influence than a poor member of a High Caste. A Warrior may betray his codes. A Scribe may be ignorant. A Peasant may possess formidable pride and courage.
Does caste color alone prove a person's individual office or authority? (ANSWER: No. Color may identify caste, but office, rank, jurisdiction, skill, and personal authority require additional evidence.)
Is caste merely a job chosen for convenience? (ANSWER: No. It commonly carries family, training, identity, tradition, and social meaning beyond the performance of a task.)
Can caste ever change? (ANSWER: The novels provide examples showing that change is possible, but it should not be treated as casual or necessarily common. Class 29 will examine this subject directly.)
PART V: FREE AND SLAVE (25 minutes)
The distinction between free and slave is fundamental to the Gorean social order described in the novels.
A free person possesses legal personhood, may own property, form civic and caste relationships, make agreements, and exercise whatever rights or authority the applicable society recognizes. Freedom does not make everyone equal. Free people differ by caste, sex, citizenship, office, wealth, family, reputation, and local law.
A slave is legally property. Slaves may be bought, sold, gifted, inherited, captured, punished, trained, and commanded. Their individual circumstances differ greatly. Some work in households, taverns, fields, kitchens, stables, mines, ships, offices, or pleasure service. Some are privately owned; others may belong to a city or institution.
The books do not support the convenient online invention that every slave everywhere follows one identical script, posture chart, vocabulary, or set of service rules. Owners, cities, cultures, and circumstances differ. A slave's safest guide is the command of the owner or lawful authority, interpreted within the immediate situation.
The free/slave distinction also affects gestures and speech. A posture that may be ordinary for a slave can communicate submission if adopted by a free person. A free person's courtesy should not casually imitate the total obedience expected of property.
Does being free mean being equal to every other free person? (ANSWER: No. Free persons differ greatly in rank, caste, office, citizenship, wealth, sex, and social standing.)
Do all slaves on Gor perform identical duties and use identical positions? (ANSWER: No. Duties and expectations vary by owner, training, culture, location, and circumstance.)
Does a mistaken gesture automatically change a free person into a slave? (ANSWER: We should not invent such an automatic rule. Status depends upon recognized acts, authority, law, and circumstances, not the interpretation of an excited spectator.)
PART VI: MEN, WOMEN, FAMILY, AND COMPANIONSHIP (28 minutes)
Gorean society makes strong distinctions between men and women. These distinctions are expressed differently among cities and peoples, but the novels repeatedly portray male authority, female vulnerability, guarded sexuality, and the institution of slavery as central features of the world.
Free Women may possess caste, property, wealth, education, family position, and influence. In many cities they wear robes of concealment and veils. Some hold respected professional roles. Their freedom is real, but it exists within a society whose expectations and dangers are not those of modern Earth.
Free Companionship is a recognized union between free persons. It is commonly contracted for a limited period and renewed if the companions choose to continue. Customs and arrangements may differ. It should not be rewritten as a universal modern marriage ceremony with invented vows and requirements.
Families, clans, households, caste ties, and adoption appear throughout the books. Their forms and importance vary among cultures. The household may include relatives, companions, retainers, guards, workers, guests, and slaves, but there is no single book-given diagram governing every Gorean home.
Can a Free Woman possess education and professional standing? (ANSWER: Yes. Free Women may belong to castes, own property, practice skills, and possess influence, though their opportunities and treatment vary.)
Is Free Companionship identical in every city? (ANSWER: No complete universal ceremony is provided. The institution is BtB, but local customs and individual agreements vary.)
PART VII: THE NATURAL WORLD AND TRAVEL (32 minutes)
/me traces the course of a river across the map and then points toward the drawn mountains and forests.
Gor is vast, and travel is not a harmless movement between decorative locations. Roads may be dangerous. Rivers and seas support commerce but also expose travelers to storm, piracy, war, and isolation.
Goreans travel by foot, wagon, caravan, river craft, sea vessel, tharlarion, and tarn. The tarn is a great predatory bird used for riding, transport, racing, and war. Tharlarion are reptilian creatures of several kinds. Sleen and larls are among the dangerous predators described in the books. Bosk, verr, kaiila, and other animals support particular regions and ways of life.
Geography shapes culture. The Wagon Peoples of the plains do not live like citizens of Ar. The Red Hunters of the polar basin do not share the daily customs of the Tahari. Torvaldsland, the Vosk, the islands of Thassa, the forests, deserts, and southern regions each produce different needs and practices.
Why should a traveler avoid assuming that the custom of one region applies in another? (ANSWER: Geography, history, livelihood, political organization, and culture differ greatly among Gorean peoples.)
Is travel between cities automatically safe because Merchants use the routes? (ANSWER: No. Trade routes may still contain outlaws, hostile forces, predators, weather, piracy, and political danger.)
PART VIII: CUSTOM, LAW, AND EVIDENCE (34 minutes)
We now reach the principle that will guide the next nine lessons.
A custom is a practiced social expectation. A law is a rule recognized and enforced by an authority. The two can overlap, but they are not identical.
A person may be considered rude without having committed a crime. A city may punish an act that another city permits. A household may require conduct that the city itself does not command. An owner may instruct a slave differently from another owner. A caste may preserve a tradition that is not binding upon people outside that caste.
When studying a Gorean claim, ask:
Which novel supports it?
Who said or did it?
Where did it occur?
Was it law, custom, command, preference, opinion, or circumstance?
Does another passage show a different practice?
This method protects us from transforming a memorable scene into an imaginary universal code.
If a Warrior orders his own slave to kneel in a particular way, what does that passage prove? (ANSWER: It proves the command and response in that situation. More evidence is required before declaring the posture mandatory for every slave on Gor.)
If a city closes its gates at night, does that prove every Gorean city has the same curfew? (ANSWER: No. It shows the practice of that city or circumstance unless broader evidence establishes more.)
FIVE QUESTIONS FOR ENTERING ANY GOREAN ACTIVITY (36 minutes)
/me writes five words upon the blackboard.
Before deciding how a person should act, ask:
WHERE? Which city, region, road, household, ship, camp, or wilderness?
WHO? What is the person's identity, sex, caste, office, citizenship, reputation, and relationship to others?
STATUS? Is the person free, enslaved, captive, outlaw, guest, citizen, foreigner, or unknown?
AUTHORITY? Who has the recognized power to command, judge, admit, exclude, punish, or protect?
CIRCUMSTANCE? Is this court, market, war, travel, hospitality, worship, private life, or danger?
These five questions will prevent many roleplay errors. Conduct that is reasonable in a tavern may be improper in court. A greeting between citizens may be unsafe before an enemy gate. A slave may answer an owner freely in private and be ordered to silence in a formal gathering.
KEY TERMS (38 minutes)
GOR: The Counter-Earth, an inhabited world concealed from Earth on the opposite side of the sun.
PRIEST-KINGS: An advanced nonhuman species that secretly regulates Gor and restricts dangerous technology.
INITIATES: The white-robed High Caste associated with religious service to the Priest-Kings.
HOME STONE: A physical stone representing a city or community and the loyalty and belonging of its people.
CITY-STATE: An independent city and its territory or dependencies, possessing its own government and laws.
CASTE: A hereditary and occupational social institution connecting work, training, identity, family, and tradition.
HIGH CASTES: The Initiates, Scribes, Builders, Physicians, and Warriors.
FREE PERSON: A person recognized as possessing legal personhood rather than being owned as property.
SLAVE: A person legally treated as property within Gorean society.
FREE COMPANIONSHIP: A recognized union between free persons, commonly lasting for a stated period and subject to renewal.
VOYAGES OF ACQUISITION: Secret journeys associated with bringing people and other life from Earth to Gor.
FLAME DEATH: The destructive enforcement associated with forbidden technological development and the power of the Priest-Kings.
TARN: A giant predatory bird used for riding, transport, sport, and war.
PASANG: A Gorean measure of distance.
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS (40 minutes)
I will pause here for questions and comments. Please raise your hand by typing @, and I will recognize each person in turn.
LADY KATI'S NOTE: When a student offers a rule beginning with “On Gor, everyone must,” ask for the book, speaker, city, and circumstance. The purpose is not to embarrass the student. It is to determine the true scope of the evidence.
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: SORTING THE CLAIMS (45 minutes)
/me places four small scrolls upon the table.
I will read four claims. Decide whether each is supported as a broad Gorean foundation or is too broad as stated.
“Gor contains independent cities with different laws and customs.” (ANSWER: Supported as a broad foundation.)
“Every Gorean city requires every Free Woman to wear exactly five veils.” (ANSWER: Too broad. Veiling is BtB, especially in many cities, but exact requirements and practices vary.)
“Caste is important to Gorean occupation and identity.” (ANSWER: Supported as a broad foundation.)
“Every slave must use the same position whenever speaking.” (ANSWER: Too broad. The books show varied conduct, commands, owners, cultures, and circumstances.)
SCHOLAR'S EXAMINATION (51 minutes)
/me rolls the map partway closed, leaving Turmus and the surrounding routes visible.
A traveler arrives at the gate of Turmus. He wears the colors of the Merchant Caste and says he has come from a distant city. He announces, “I know Gorean custom. Therefore, Turmus must admit me, accept my coins, honor my papers, and permit me to carry any weapon I choose.”
What has the traveler misunderstood? (ANSWER: Knowing some Gorean customs does not erase the authority, laws, security, and local practices of Turmus.)
Does wearing Merchant colors prove his identity, citizenship, or honesty? (ANSWER: No. Clothing may indicate a claimed caste, but identity, papers, reputation, cargo, and purpose may still require examination.)
Must Turmus accept every coin or financial paper he presents? (ANSWER: No universal rule requires blind acceptance. Coins and papers may be examined, valued, authenticated, accepted, discounted, or refused according to the transaction and applicable authority.)
Does the traveler possess a universal right to carry every weapon inside the city? (ANSWER: No such universal right has been established. The applicable law and lawful directions of the city govern entry and conduct.)
What should the gate authority determine first? (ANSWER: The traveler's identity, status, origin, purpose, papers, goods, weapons, and whether any local restriction or danger applies.)
May the gate authority invent a crime merely because the traveler is arrogant? (ANSWER: No. Rudeness may affect how others judge him, but legal action must rest upon recognized authority and an actual violation.)
THE SCRIBE'S KEY (54 minutes)
The traveler has confused widespread Gorean institutions with personal immunity from local authority.
His claimed caste may be relevant, but it does not prove every other fact. His foreign customs may explain his expectations, but they do not command Turmus. The proper authority should examine what matters, apply actual law and security practice, and avoid inventing offenses or punishments.
The lesson is that good Gorean conduct begins with attention. Learn where you stand, who stands before you, what status each person possesses, who holds authority, and what the circumstances require.
FINAL QUESTIONS, SUMMARY, AND DISMISSAL (58 minutes)
I will pause once more for final questions or observations. Please use @, and I will recognize you before you speak.
Today we have not attempted to memorize all of Gor. No single lesson could do so. We have instead established the framework upon which the remaining lessons will rest.
Gor is the Counter-Earth, shaped by the hidden power of the Priest-Kings and by the lives of its human peoples. It is divided among cities, regions, castes, households, and cultures. Home Stones inspire civic loyalty. Caste shapes identity and labor. The distinction between free and slave governs much of social life. Geography and danger shape travel. Custom matters, but customs vary. Law and custom must not be confused.
In our next lesson within this Track, we will examine bowing, kneeling, and other gestures of respect. We will ask what the books actually show, what different postures communicate, and why a free person's courtesy should not be confused with a slave's submission.
/me gathers the colored ribbons, rolls the map, and closes her fingers around the small gray stone before inclining her head to the assembled class.
The lesson is concluded. Dismissed.
No comments:
Post a Comment