The Northern Forest by Joy
Greetings again and thank Y/You for be here for a discussion on the inhabitants of Gor
When looking to SL, i do not see it as a ‘Game’, as behind every avatar is a real living person. But rather see it as a film in the making.
A film-set made, and heavy payed by, the sim owner/s, and a basic film script given to Y/you by them in form of the books of John Norman and rules of the sim. But Y/you are the actor, the actor that makes the film by the thing W/we call RP.
So in a way, Y/you have to know the basic film script. Otherwise see it, as in the Arena at the race in historical Rome, Ben Hur is RP his fight in his 4 horse carriage and Y/you enter the Arena in a 1930 Gangster outfit and start to shoot Y/your Tommy-Gun.
And that is the reason O/our En ask Joy to do this discussions, not to change the way W/we live here, but to not spoil unwillingly other persons RP, ‘there’ AND when come to U/us.
Today it is, the Northern Forest
Mapping the Northern Forest Joy thought it would be straight forward. That was not the case. The Northern Forests are vast. Their true size is not known – seemingly extending forever. How can it be that such a large area exists in Gor but has only one river, the Laurius River? What is the slope of the land if the extents are not known? Needless to say this can raise some interesting discussions. When look at the left map of total known Gor, the Northern Forest is thousands of Pasangs wide. One Pasang is 0,7 mile or 1,12 km long)
The forests are a vast uncharted wilderness, containing a multitude of different types of trees and vegetation. The most typical tree is the lofty, reddish Tur tree that may grow to two hundred feet or more. Tur trees bear some similarity to the great redwoods of Earth.
The forests are also the home to many animals, including panthers, sleens, tabuk and hith (snake python). In addition, the forests are the refuge of various outlaws, forest people, panther girls, and is frequented by slavers from Port Kar. The forests can be a very dangerous area to visit.
It is not known how far these forests extend. It is not impossible that they belt the land surfaces of the planet. They begin near the shores of Thassa, the Sea, in the west. How far they extend to the east is not known. They do extend beyond the most northern ridges of the Thentis Mountains.
Captive of Gor Pg 129
The Northern Forests are bounded by the Hrimgar Mountains to the north. Thassa to the west. Laurius River to the south and extend indefintely to the east.South of Laurius are cultivated lands, north of Laurius are the Northern Forests.
“Lydius is a bustling, populous trade center located at the estuary of the Laurius River. Many cities maintain warehouses and small communities in Lydius. Many goods, in particular wood, wood products, and hide, make their way westward on the Laurius.
Eventually landing at Lydius, later to be embarked to the south on ships of various cities, lines and associations. The population of Lydius, as one might expect, is a mixed one, consisting of individuals of various races and backgrounds.” Players of Gor Pg 12
He was bound, traveling over the hills and meadowlands east and north of Ko-ro-ba, for the city of Laura, which lies on the banks of the Laurius river, some two hundred pasangs inland from the coast of the sea, called Thassa.
Captive of Gor Pg 59
We know from the books that the shores of the western edges of the forest extend several hundred pasang. Thus, the forest narrows to the west apporoaching the Thassa Sea. The Laurius River is large and slow moving, it can be travelled by barge.
So Lydius and Laura are City’s with a mixt population and a stone/wood wall defended the place. Wood is also the most used buiding marerial as it is cheep to get in a forest.
Trade Primarily, raw materials and rough goods, such as wood and hides, are sold here as there is little market for the luxury items of Gor. Laura also acts as a major base and restocking area for many who wish to travel into the northern forests.
Kassau: A northern coastal Free Trade Port city
This is a town at the northern brink of the great forests of Gor. The trade is largely in furs from the north,lumber and fishing and exchanged for weapons, ironbars, salt and luxury items from the south. It is the seat of the Highs Initiate of the north, who claims spiritual sovereignty of the north, but which is not shared by Torvaldsland.
Kassau is a town of wood, and the temple is the greatest building in the town. It towers far over the squalid huts, and stabler homes of merchants, which crowd about it. Too, the large town is surrounded by a wall, with two gates, one large, facing the inlet, leading in from Thassa, the other small, leading to the forest behind the town. The wall is of sharpened logs, and is defended by a catwalk.
Other places are more village’s that have wood building’s and wooden palisade for deffence. Also here are a mixed populations the norm.
in the forist do live native people, called ‘forest people’
Forest People of the Northern Forests stalk and hunt from the darkness of trees, from a canopy of foliage
book 7
page 63
Forest People do not cook their meat, even when freshly taken, lacking the mastery of fire, and do not know the use of the bow
book 28
Pg 436
that’s all Joy know about them, so if O/one knows more, please share your knowledge.
also ‘in’ the forist do live tribes of Huntresses, they are living as W/we do here in the jungles. But as Huntresses in the jungle called Taluna, in the forest they called Panther’s. Like U/us they outlaw’s, often runaway slaves or free woman. So no castes or homestone either.
Panther girls, They live by themselves in the northern forests, north of the Laurius River by hunting, and slaving and outlawry. They have little respect for anyone, or anything, saving themselves and, undeniably, the beasts they hunt, the tawny forest panthers, the swift, sinuous sleen.
Hunting is their specialty, with the silence of night upon their feet, the agility of a larl. No beast escapes their spears, and of course, will capture anything that invades their territory —
including other panthers from different tribes, men, women and slaves. Rarely do they leave their forest home, unless to trade, slave, or raid.
Panthers are cautious about accepting newcomers to their ranks. Slaves who make their way to the forests, are normally enslaved … and may also be sold in trade. All males who seek them out and are found in their territory are captured, shaven and sold as slaves, in trade for civilized foodstuffs and items of equipment they need.
Exchange points are areas of neutrality, where Free persons may meet with the panthers to trade safely. Slaves, those captive, are usually traded for arrows or candy. Panther Girls often have cravings for sweets, among other things. They also survive by trading with the inhabitants of certain secret settlements for difficult to obtain supplies.
WhiteEagle Red Savage Village
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Neverending%20Islands/49/143/22
Valkyrie Forrest
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Valkyrie%20Forest/38/47/2008
City of Olni
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Olni/225/20/1196
Mirkwood Forrest
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mirkwood%20Forest/209/106/2608
Secret Bay
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Secret%20Bay/252/230/21