Dedicated to Iskander.
*** Note these are taken from various gorean web sites.
mall">"She seemed much different than the other Tuchuk women," I said.
mall">Kamchak laughed, the colored scars wrinkling on his broad face. "Of course," said Kamchak, "she has been raised to be fit prize in the games of Love War."
mall">Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 33
mall">"In the spring there will be the games of Love War and I will go to Turia, and you may then, if you wish, accompany me."
mall">Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 56
mall">I wondered on what Kamchak had called the games of Love War, said to take place on the Plains of a Thousand Stakes.
mall">Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 56
mall">The institution of Love War is an ancient one among the Turians and the Wagon Peoples, according to the Year Keepers antedating even the Omen Year. The games of Love War, of course, are celebrated every spring between, so to speak, the city and the plains, whereas the Omen Year occurs only ever tenth year. The games of Love War, in themselves, do not constitute a gathering of the Wagon Peoples, for normally the herds and the free women of the peoples do not approach one another at these times; only certain delegations of warriors, usually about two hundred from a people, are sent in the spring to the Plains of a Thousand Stakes.
mall">The theoretical justification of the games of Love War, from the Turian point of view, is that they provide an excellent arena in which to demonstrate the fierceness and prowess of Turian warriors, thus perhaps intimidating or, at the very least, encouraging the often overbold warriors of the Wagon Peoples to be wary of Turian steel. The secret justification, I suspect, however, is that the Turian warrior is fond of meeting the enemy and acquiring his women, particularly should they be striking little beasts, like Hereena of the First Wagon, as untamed and savage as they are beautiful; it is regarded as a great sport among Turian warriors to collar such a wench and force her to exchange riding leather for the bells and silks of a perfumed slave girl. It might also be mentioned that the Turian warrior, in his opinion, too seldom encounters the warrior of the Wagon Peoples, who tends to be a frustrating, swift and elusive foe, striking with great rapidity and withdrawing with goods and captives almost before it is understood what has occurred. I once asked Kamchak if the Wagon Peoples had a justification for the games of Love War. "Yes," he had said. And he had then pointed to Dina and Tenchika, clad Kajir, who were at that time busy in the wagon. "That is the justification," said Kamchak. And he had then laughed and pounded his knee. It was only then that it had occurred to me that both girls might have been acquired in the games; as a matter of fact, however, I later learned that only Tenchika had been so acquired; Dina had first felt the thongs of a master beside the burning wagons of a caravan in which she had purchased passage. Now, looking on the approaching palanquins, I supposed that so once, in veil and silks, had ridden the lovely Tenchika, and so, too, as far as I knew, might have ridden the lovely Dina, had she not fallen earlier and otherwise to the chains of Kassar warriors. I wondered how many of the proud beauties of Turia would this night tearfully serve barbarian masters; and how many of the wild, leather-clad girls of the Wagons, like Hereena, would find themselves this night naught but bangled, silken slaves locked behind the high walls of distant, lofty Turia.
mall">Nomads of Gor Book 4 Pages 115 - 116
mall">One by one, clad in the proud arrays of resplendent silks, each in the Robes of Concealment, the damsels of Turia, veiled and straight-standing, emerged from their palanquins, scarcely concealing their distaste for the noise and clamor about them.
mall">Judges were now circulating, each with lists, among the Wagon Peoples and the Turians.
mall">As I knew, not just any girl, any more than just any warrior, could participate in the games of Love War. Only the most beautiful were eligible, and only the most beautiful of these could be chosen.
mall">A girl might propose herself to stand, as had Aphris of Turia, but this would not guarantee that she would be chosen, for the criteria of Love War are exacting and, as much as possible, objectively applied. Only the most beautiful of the most beautiful could stand in this harsh sport.
mall">Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 117
mall">The selection of the girls, incidentally, is determined by judges in their city, or of their own people, in Turia by members of the Caste of Physicians who have served in the great slave houses of Ar; among the wagons by the masters of the public slave wagons, who buy, sell and rent girls, providing warriors and slavers with a sort of clearing house and market for their feminine merchandise.
mall">Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 118
mall">When more than one wish to fight for a given woman, incidentally, the Turians decide this by rank and prowess, the Wagon Peoples by scars and prowess. In short, in their various ways, something like seniority and skills determines, of two or more Turians or two or more warriors of the Wagons, who will take the field. Sometimes men fight among themselves for this honor, but such combat is frowned upon by both the Turians and those of the Wagons, being regarded as somewhat disgraceful, particularly in the presence of foes.
mall">Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 121
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Games of Love War are held annually in the Season of Little Grass. They are a series of martial contests between the warriors of the Wagon People, and the warriors of Turia. At the time of these Games, an unofficial truce is declared between Turia and the Wagon People, normally implacable foes, and also between the various tribes of the Wagon People. The Games are much loved by Turians and Wagon Peoples alike...safe-conducts through the southern plains are granted for judges and craftsmen from as far away as the City of Ar. Merchants freely peddle their wares to the mixed population of warriors...food, drink, and even slave collars. There is a festive atmosphere at the Games, even while men will die and freewomen will be enslaved before the day is done.
The Games are held on the Plain of a Thousand Stakes, a designated area some pasangs from the walls of Turia. Here the girls of the Wagon Peoples gather on kaiila-back, while the women of Turia approach from the city in curtained palanquins borne on the backs of kajiri. The warriors of both Peoples approach in long lines, behind their war-standards. The Games of Love War do not constitute an actual gathering of the people. Normally only the warriors and the girls who are to stand as stakes intermingle. Onlookers gaze from the tops of the walls of the city, eager to see the contests. The women of the Wagon Peoples generally stay out on the prairie tending the bosk, and awaiting the outcome of the Games.
The justification for the bloody Games is twofold. On the one hand, it gives the warriors of Turia a chance to match their skills against those of the Wagon Peoples in hand to hand combat, something which is rare enough in day to day life. The nomadic warrior tends to be an evasive foe. Their method of attack is to strike swiftly and then withdraw almost immediately with slaves and goods, allowing no time for reprisals. Only in the Games does a Turian warrior have the opportunity to fight on equal terms.
Secondly, the Games allow for a transfer of female slaves from the City to the Wagons, and vice versa. As has been mentioned elsewhere on this site, the Wagon Peoples prefer their slavegirls to be the elegant, well-bred girls of the City. The Turians, conversely, find the wild girls of the Wagon Peoples to be almost irresistible as slaves. It should be mentioned that only the most beautiful girls are allowed to stand as stakes in the Games of Love War. Where warriors are fighting to the death for possession of a woman, that woman must be worthy of the honor. Although a woman may propose herself as a stake, she can only be accepted if the judges of her People agree that she is a fitting offering. If she is less than perfect, she will be rejected, as the honor of her People rests on her beauty.
The Plain of a Thousand Stakes is so named because each girl to be offered must be bound to a stake in a cleared area where the combats are to take place. The stakes are placed in pairs, one stake for Turia opposite one stake for the Wagon Peoples. For the sake of the Games, all four tribes of the Wagon Peoples are counted as one. There are more or less a thousand girls as stakes each year, half from the City, and half from the Plains. Each is led to a pole of wood that has been hammered into the ground. Here she will stand throughout the Games, and the warriors will fight before her.
About a foot from the top of each stake hang a pair of retaining rings, similar to slave bracelets. These will hold the hands of the girl who is to stand at this stake during the combats. Near the top of the stake hangs a tiny key, which will be used to unlock the bracelets by the victor, who will then carry the girl away, whether to freedom or to slavery.
Each girl has a champion from her own people, who has been pre-selected, and who will fight on her behalf. The stakes are ranked by numbers, First Stake, Second Stake, and so on. Judges with lists call out the names of the girls who will stand at each stake. First Stake, theoretically, should be the most beautiful girl of her people. The Turian girls stand at the stakes nearest to the prairie; the girls of the Wagon Peoples stand at the stakes closest to the walled city. The girls are ranked by a delegation from their own people, the Turians by members of the Caste of Physicians who have served in the great slave houses of Ar. The girls of the Wagon Peoples are selected by the masters of the public slave wagons. Some of the Turian girls, when they come to the Games, wear beneath their Robes of Concealment the camisk of a Turian slave girl. This is for the sake of modesty, for should their champion be defeated, they will be stripped of their robes at the stake and led away naked.
At the commencement of the Games, the warriors of both sides stroll between the stakes, examining the girls, and deciding which ones they wish to fight for. On this occasion, judges will accompany the warriors of the Wagon Peoples to unpin the veils of the Turian girls. It is not expected that a man will fight to the death for a girl whose face he has never seen. This is considered a great indignity to the girls. If more than one warrior wants to fight for a given girl, the possessor of the greatest number of courage scars wins the honor. Incidentally, a warrior is also entitled to know who a girl's champion is, before he commits himself to fighting for her.
When the judge gives the signal, the warriors begin to fight. If it is the girl's champion who wins, she is returned to her own people, with all honor. If her champion is defeated, however, she is led away in chains to be the slave of strangers. In this way, many proud Turian beauties leave the walled city to care for the bosk in the dust of the Wagons. In this way, many wild girls of the Plains are locked away behind Turia's gates. During the Games of Love War many freeborn girls come to know the tears and terror of becoming slave.
