101 - Week 4: Warriors and Warfare

Lecture Series: GOR 101: INTRO TO GOR CIVILIZATION

101 Week 4: Warriors and Warfare

Instructor: Governor's Scribe Kati Evans [calling card]
Location: The Station Academy [Academy LM]
    in Ar's Station [Station LM]

Topic: The Scarlet Caste (The Sword, The Tarn, and The Wall)

Duration: Approx. 60 Minutes
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I. INTRODUCTION: THE NECESSITY OF STEEL (00-10 Mins)

Tal. Last week, we spoke of the Law. We spoke of Decrees, of Civil behavior, of the "Tal" and the sharing of salt. We discussed the intellectual and social contracts that keep a city functioning.

But there is a hard truth that every Scribe, every Magistrate, and every citizen must eventually accept. A law without a sword to enforce it is merely a suggestion. A contract without the threat of force behind it is just paper.

When I was a Magistrate. I judged. I wrote. I interpreted. But I did not execute. When I sentenced a man to the stake, I did not swing the hammer. When I sentenced a thief to the branding, I did not heat the iron.

It is the Warrior who executes the will of the city.

Today, we study the Scarlet Caste.

Some of you in this room may fear them. If you are a slave, you have likely been taught to lower your eyes when the Red Caste walks by. Some of you—the young men, perhaps—may wish to be them. You see the glory, the armor, the adoration of the crowds.

But today, we strip away the fear and the glory. We will analyze them as a function of the state. They are the walls of the city made flesh. Without them, the Home Stone is defenseless. Without them, the Magistrate has no authority.

We will examine their Code, their beasts—the terrible Tarns of the sky—and their brutal, efficient methods of war.

This is not a class on how to fight. I am a woman of the Blue Caste; I do not teach swordplay. This is a class on Military Science. We will understand the why and the how of Gorean warfare.

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II. THE WARRIOR CASTE: THE CODE AND THE MAN (10-25 Mins)

The Warrior is one of the five High Castes. They wear Red. Scarlet. The color of blood.

The first distinction you must make in your mind is the difference between a Warrior and a Killer.

Any man can pick up a rock and kill another man. That does not make him a Warrior. Any mercenary can be paid gold to guard a caravan. That does not make him a Warrior.

A mercenary fights for gold. If the enemy pays more, the mercenary switches sides. A mercenary has no loyalty but to his own purse.

A Gorean Warrior fights for the Home Stone. He fights for an idea. He fights for us.

The Code of the Sword - Their lives are governed by a strict, almost religious philosophy known as the Code of the Sword.

It is more rigid than any law I administered. It dictates how they fight, how they treat prisoners, and how they die.

On Earth, death is feared. It is hidden away in sterile hospitals. On Gor, death is a constant companion. The Warrior does not fear death. He fears shame.

To die well—to die facing the enemy, weapon in hand, defending the city—is the ultimate goal of the caste. A Warrior who dies of old age in his bed often considers himself unlucky.

The Code dictates behavior in the city as well.

A Warrior does not draw steel without cause.

A Warrior does not bully the weak (though he expects their submission).

A Warrior keeps his word. If a Warrior says, "I will return," he will return, even if he has to crawl through the fires of the Voltai to do it.

The Poet-Warrior - There is a common misconception among the lower castes, and certainly among the barbarians of Earth, that Warriors are uneducated brutes. That they are "all muscle and no mind."

This is false. It is dangerously false.

The Warrior Caste requires intense schooling. They study strategy, yes. But they also study logic. They study history. And surprisingly to some, they study poetry.

Many of the greatest poets on Gor are of the Scarlet Caste. Why?

Because they are taught to appreciate beauty. They know, better than anyone, how fragile life is. They know that the flower that blooms today may be trampled by the tharlarion tomorrow. They are the ones who must destroy, so they are taught to value what they are destroying.

They value a sharp mind as much as a sharp blade. A stupid Warrior is a dead Warrior. A Warrior who cannot out-think his enemy will be outflanked and slaughtered. They play Kaissa (Gorean Chess) not just as a game, but as a mental exercise to sharpen their tactical acuity.

Social Status and the Ubar - Now, a matter of politics.

In times of peace, the Council and Administrators (in Ar's Station the Governor) run the city. In the High Caste, the Scribes manage the trade (Ambassadors), the laws (Magistrates), the taxes (Scribes). The Warriors stand guard, they patrol, but they do not rule.

However, Gor is a dangerous world. When the war arrows are sent out—when the city is under siege—the law changes.

The High Council may appoint a Ubar.

A Ubar is a War Master. He is a dictator in the Roman sense. When a Ubar is named, the Administrator steps down. The Magistrate steps down. The Ubar’s word becomes absolute law. He can commandeer property. He can execute citizens without trial if it serves the defense of the city.

Even I, a Magistrate, bowed to the Ubar until the crisis is resolved.

There is a saying: "In war, the Law is silent."

This is the check and balance of our society. The Scribes rule the peace in their various positions. The Warriors rule the war. It ensures that when survival is at stake, we are not bogged down in bureaucracy.

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III. THE TARN CAVALRY: DEATH FROM ABOVE (25-40 Mins)

Now, we look to the skies.

You may recall from Week 1: The gravity of Gor is lower than that of Earth. This physical reality allows for the existence of the most terrifying creature in the known worlds.

The Tarn is a giant, crested, carnivorous hawk. It is large enough to carry a man—or two—on its back. It is the cavalry of Gor.

But do not think of it as a horse. A horse is a prey animal; it is easily frightened. A Tarn is a predator. It is vicious. It is hateful. It is not a "pet."

If a Tarnsman falls from his saddle, or if he shows weakness, his own bird may turn and eat him. The relationship between a Tarnsman and his mount is not one of love; it is one of will. The rider must dominate the bird psychologically every single day.

The Tarn Whistle & Control - They are controlled by the use of the Tarn Whistle, a mechanical device that emits sounds often too high for the human ear, but which drives the tarns to obey. Other commands are given by the pressure of the knees and the use of the tarn-goad.

Tactics of the Sky - The Tarnsmen are the elite of the elite. They are the eyes of the city.

Reconnaissance: They fly high, spotting enemy troop movements days before they arrive.

Messaging: A Tarn is the fastest communication on Gor. A message can be carried from Ar to Ko-ro-ba in days, where a tharlarion wagon would take weeks.

Aerial Combat: This is the most brutal form of warfare. Imagine two birds, (each the size of a small airplane) colliding in mid-air. Talons raking. Beaks snapping.

A Tarnsman is strapped into the saddle with heavy leather bindings. Why? Because Gorean aerial combat is three-dimensional. They dive at terminal velocity. They loop and roll. Without the straps, the rider would be thrown to his death instantly.

This means that if the bird goes down, the rider goes down with it. (There are no parachutes on Gor.) It is a commitment to the death.

The Saddle-Bird vs. The War-Bird

Not all tarns are for war. We have racing tarns—lighter, faster, bred for sport. We have transport tarns, which carry large baskets for goods or passengers.

But the Black Tarn is the symbol of the death squad. When you see the shadow of black wings passing over the city, you pray they are our own. The sound of their screech is the sound of judgment.

In a siege, Tarnsmen may drop incendiaries—fire baskets—onto the roofs of the enemy city. They are the bombers of our world.

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IV. INFANTRY & SIEGE: THE WALL OF FLESH (40-55 Mins)

While the Tarns rule the sky, the city is held—and taken—by the Infantry. The foot soldiers.

The Gladius, it is a short sword. Double-edged. Pointed. (It is very similar to the swords used by the legions of ancient Rome on Earth.) Why short? A barbarian uses a long sword. A Viking uses a massive axe. Why does the civilized Gorean Warrior use a short blade?

Because of the Phalanx. Gorean Warriors fight in formation. They stand shoulder to shoulder, shields locked together to form a solid wall of steel. In a tight formation, a long sword is useless. You cannot swing it without hitting the man next to you. You need room for a long sword.

The Gladius is a stabbing weapon. The Warrior catches the enemy's blow on his shield, and then—thrust—he slips the short blade between the shields and pierces the enemy's belly or heart. It is efficient. It is economical.

The Spear & The Shield Wall - Behind the swordsmen are the spearmen. The spear is the primary weapon of defense. It is used to stop a charge of tharlarion cavalry.

If you are a civilian, and you see the Warriors locking shields—if you hear the command "Form Wall!"—you run. You get behind them.

The front of that shield wall is the "Killing Zone." Nothing survives there. It is a meat grinder. The discipline required to stand in that line, to smell the breath of the enemy, to feel the weight of the charge, and not break... that is the true measure of the Scarlet Caste.

Siege Warfare - What happens when a city refuses to surrender? When the walls are too high to climb? We use Circumvallation. This is a terrible word. It means "to wall around." The attacking army builds a wall around the enemy city. We cut off their food. We cut off their water. We wait.

Starvation is a weapon of the Warrior just as much as the sword. It is slow. It is cruel. But it preserves the lives of our own soldiers.

During a siege, the Warrior Caste works closely with the Caste of Builders (the Yellow Caste). The Builders design the engines—the catapults, the ballistae, the siege towers. But it is the Warriors who operate them. They hurl great stones to crush the battlements. They hurl pots of burning pitch to set the city alight.

War on Gor is brutal. It is intimate. (On Earth, in your modern times, men kill each other from miles away. They push buttons. They do not see the face of the man they kill.) On Gor, you look him in the eye when he dies. You feel his blood on your hand. You smell his fear.

That is why the Caste requires such discipline. If they were not bound by the Code, they would be monsters. The Code keeps them human.

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V. CONCLUSION & ASSIGNMENT (55-60 Mins)

We have covered the Sword, the Bird, and the Wall.

I want you to leave here today not just with fear of the Red Caste, but with an understanding of their burden. They are the ones who stand between you and the slavery of a foreign city. They ensure that I can sit in my court and judge without fear of barbarians kicking down the door.

They sell their lives so that we may keep ours. Show them the respect their Scarlet demands.

/me pick up a scroll to read the assignment. "If you are going for a certificate of completion of this course, YOUR ASSIGNMENT: This week, go to the city Arena or the sparring sands. Do not interfere. Do not cheer like a drunken peasant. Just watch. Observe the discipline. Watch how they salute before they fight. Watch how they acknowledge a hit.Write down the difference between a "brawl" (what you see in a tavern) and a "spar" (what you see in the arena). Return you assignment to the Academy's mailbox.

Next week, we leave the safety of the city walls entirely. We will study Geography and Environmental Studies. We will discuss the Voltai Mountains, the Thassa Sea, and the vast, dangerous wilderness that separates our cities.

Any questions or comments.

=== PAUSE ===

The class is dismissed. Tal.

Kati Evans

GOVERNOR'S SCRIBE 

Station Academy Administrator