Thentis Mountain Region (Luther)

From Luther Scroll Archives

The Thentis Mountains lie north of the Vosk River. The books say little about the mountains or the cities that exist within and around them. Maybe a future book will more fully address the matter. To the east of the mountains are the Barrens. To the west are numerous cities and eventually Thassa. The city of Ko-ro-ba lies to the northwest of the these mountains. There are a couple types of flora indigenous to this region. The needle tree, an evergreen, is common in the Thentis mountain region and also the northern forests. Its oil is used as an ingredient in making perfume. Thentis Veminium is a bluish, softly petaled wildflower commonly found in the lower ranges of the Thentis Mountains and also used as an ingredient in perfumes. These two items would tend to imply that cities within the mountains may have numerous Perfumers.

The high city of Thentis lies in a remote area within these rugged mountains. It is most famed for its fine tarn flocks and skilled tarnsmen. The books do not state who leads the city or even if an Administrator or Ubar rules. The city must import its grain so it is safe to assume they engage in little agriculture. But, it is a wealthy city due to its large tarn flocks and a number of silver mines. Though the mines provide them with a source of wealth, they are not as rich as the silver mines of Tharna. Though it is a mountain city, it is still composed of cylinders like most Gorean cities.

Black wine is a coffee-like drink made from beans grown in the mountain city of Thentis. It is very strong and bitter. Thentis does not trade the beans to make this drink. They wish to maintain a monopoly on this product, further enhancing their wealth. But, it is a luxury even in Thentis. It is commonly only served in High Caste Homes. It is also an expensive luxury outside Thentis, affordable only by the wealthy. Few except for the most expensive of paga taverns would serve blackwine due to its rarity and expense. There is one reference where a cup of blackwine outside of Thentis sold for sold for a silver eighty-piece.

Black wine is traditionally served very hot, with sugars and powdered bosk milk, in tiny cups. Other spices or cream may also be served with it. The cups may have small handles or not. In some ways, it is like expresso coffee. In the river cities and some northern cities, the phrase second slave indicates that you do not want any creams or sugars with your black wine. This comes from the custom in some areas for two kajirae to serve black wine. One kajira is responsible for putting down the cups, taking the orders and seeing that the drink is prepared according to the customer's preferences. The second kajira only pours the black wine.

In 10,110 C.A., the Master Assassin Pa-Kur forcefully captured the City of Ar. But, he was soon after overthrown by Tarl Cabot, Marlenus and forces from Ko-ro-ba and Thentis. After these events, Thentis and Ko-ro-ba became allies. It is only a one-day ride by tarn from Thentis to Ko-ro-ba but by wagon it would take the better part of a month. Earlier that same year, Tarl was supposed to use a slave as a substitute for the daughter of Marlenus when he went to steal the Home Stone of Ar. This slave would be killed. Instead, he freed the girl, Sana of Thentis, and returned her to Thentis. When Tarl's friend, Kazrak, returns from going to seek aid from Thentis, Sana accompanies him. After Pa-Kur is ousted, Kazrak becomes the Administrator of Ar and Sana becomes his consort. Years later, Kazrak would be deposed and he and Sana would vanish, allegedly to found a colony on an island in Thassa, farther north than Cos and Tyros.

Prior to 10,110 C.A., Thentis had been occasionally attacked by Ar. Ar was known to raid its tarn flocks and outlying cylinders. Around 10112 C.A., Thentis engaged in a war with Tharna. This was the year before Tatrix Lara ascended the throne. It seems that the outcome of the war was indecisive as the final results were never described. Neither city appeared greatly affected by its effects. Treve has never attacked Thentis though. It might be because the tarnsmen of Thentis are the equal to those of Treve.

Few people from Thentis are described in the books. One of those people is Clark, of the House of Clark, who owns the largest slaver house in Thentis. His House is well known over much of Gor. Clark is also an agent of the Priest-Kings.

There are a number of border towns located on the eastern edge of the Thentis Mountains. Many of these towns are served by itinerant tradesmen and artisans. These individuals cannot find sufficient work in one of these towns to support themselves. Thus, they try to cover a route that would include about five to ten such towns. Such a route allows them enough money to make a living.

Within the mountains is the Boswell Pass, once a militarily important pass. It was named after the early white explorer, Boswell. At the foot of the pass, on the eastern side of the mountains, is Fort Haskins. Fort Haskins was originally a trading post, maintained by the Haskins Company, a company of Merchants primarily from Thentis. Eventually, it was transformed into a military outpost for Thentis, garrisoned by mercenaries. It then became known as Fort Haskins. The Fort was burned twice, once by Port Olni before the Salerian Confederation formed, and once by the Dust Leg tribe. The military significance of the Pass though declined with the growth of population in the area and the development of tarn cavalries in Thentis. The Fort was eventually abandoned as a military outpost and it has become a trading post once again, manned by Merchants of Thentis. There is also a town nearby, going by the same name. It is located primarily to the west and a bit south of the fort.

Kailiauk is the easternmost town at the foot of the Thentis Mountains. It lies almost at the edge of the boundary that marks the lands of the red savages. The Administrator is a Merchant named Publius Crassus. The primary business of the town is in the sale of kailiauk hides and kaiila. It is also a social and commercial center for the many surrounding farms and ranches. There may actually only be about four to five hundred permanent residents. But the many visitors bring the temporary population of the town into the thousands. The town has several inns and taverns along its central street to accommodate these visitors. The most noticeable feature of the town though is its kailiauk hide sheds. These are open sheds where, on platforms tied in bundles, are thousands of hides. This also gives a certain odor to the town. In other parts of town there are huge piles of horn and bone, often thirty or more feet high. Like many other small towns, tarsks are used to scavenge the garbage in the streets. In this town, the exchange rate is one hundred copper tarsks to a silver tarsk.

Ram Seibar is a Slaver who deals in slaves and kaiila. His pennon is yellow with a black shackles and whip. He owns a large compound that is surrounded by a wooden palisade. During the events of Savages of Gor, he was a major dealer of barbarians from Earth. These barbarians had their ultimate source from the Kurii. His compound has a number of slave pits. The pits are broad, rounded pits about five feet deep. They are encircled by a waist high wooden railing. The slaves in the pits cannot stand in the pits unless they are specifically permitted to do so. A few other locations within the town include the Five Horns stables that handle kaiila, Randolph's tavern and the tavern of Russell.

North of the town, are a number of kaiila ranches. They are generally remote, desolate places. The drovers at the ranches visit the town infrequently. But when they do, they commonly seek out paga and slave girls. Max and Kyle Hobart are drovers from the Bar Ina ranch and are well known within Kailiauk. The Hobarts are a vain and proud people.

About two pasangs east of Kailiauk is the Ihanke, also known as the Boundary or Perimeter. Boundary wands mark the Ihanke that starts the lands of the Red Savages in the Barrens. The wands are about seven to eight feet tall, and made of peeled Ka-la-na wood. At the top of each wand are two long, yellow, black-tipped feathers of the Herlit. They can be seen even above the snow in the winter. The wands are spaced close together near areas of dense white inhabitation, only about two hundred yards apart. In areas of sparse inhabitation, they are spaced much further apart. The perimeter is thousands of pasangs long and has been stable for over a century.

The Barrens consist of vast tracts of rolling grasslands. They are not really barren, except when compared to the northern forests or lush river valleys. At the edge of the Thentis Mountains, in the drier areas, the grass is short. But, the further east you go the grass can grow to heights of several feet. The land is open so tracks are difficult to conceal. There are no large bodies of water so the rainfall amounts are reduced. The Barrens have extremes in their weather. In the winter there can be terrible blizzards, the worst on Gor, with high snowfalls. Game is very scarce in the winter. In the summer there can be extreme heat and droughts. Many shallow rivers run dry in the summer. On the other hand, a sudden storm can drop twelve inches of rain in an hour. There can also be tornadoes, flash floods, and hail storms, the hail larger than a vulo egg.

The Barrens are the home to the many tribes of the Red Savages. No white man has ever penetrated to the eastern edge of the Barrens. Thus, no one knows what lies beyond the Barrens. In fact, few whites are permitted even to enter the Barrens. Some are permitted on the borders for trade purposes but there are strict rules they must abide. Some of the first white explorers of the Barrens include Boswell, Diaz, Bento, Hastings and Hogarthe. Little is said about these early explorers though a few items have retained their names.

Hogarthe trees, named after the early explorer, are indigenous to the Barrens. They are white-barked, with shimmering green leaves. They can grow as tall as fifty feet. They are commonly found in the vicinity of water in the Barrens, usually on the banks of streams or muddy, sluggish rivers. The shape of the tree is reminiscent of Earth poplar trees. The prairie fleer is a large, yellow bird with long wings and a sharp bill. It is sometimes called the "maize or corn bird" from the belief that it is usually the first bird to find food. Sleen are common in the Barrens and their most common prey is tabuk.

Further information about the Barrens region can be found in Scroll #44, Red Savages (Luther).

About

Since the saga of the Books of GOR have started back in 1966 many texts have already been written and many persons have spent countless hours studying and sharing information to help others understand better what is GOR. One of these persons is known as “Ubar Luther” who wrote a series of papers (most seem to be over 15 to 20 years old, but still very up-to-date in many topics) called the “Luther’s Gorean Educational Scrolls” that were available on Gor-Now.net, but that site has been hacked. So to preserve them, I have moved them to this wiki.