City or Region Law

In the beginning Tharna had been much as other cities of Gor, in which women enjoyed too few rights. In those days it had been a portion of the Rites of Submission, as practiced in Tharna, to strip and bind the captive with yellow cords and place her on a scarlet rug, the yellow of the cord being symbolic of talenders, a flower often associated with feminine love and beauty, the scarlet of the rug being symbolic of blood, and perhaps of passion.

He who had captured the girl would place his sword to her breast and utter the ritual phrases of enslavement. They were the last words she would hear as a free woman.

Weep, Free Maiden.

Remember your pride and weep. Remember your laughter and weep. Remember you were my enemy and weep. Now you are my helpless captive. Remember you stood against me.

Now you lie at my feet.

I have bound you with yellow cords.

I have placed you on the scarlet rug.

Thus by the laws of Tharna do I claim you. Remember you were free.

Know now you are my slave.

Weep, Slave Girl.

At this point the captor would untie the girl's ankles and complete the rite. When she rose from the rug to follow him, she was, in his eyes and hers, a slave.
Outlaw of Gor     Book 2     Pages 204 - 205

Most of the silver masks however, when it was understood their battle had been lost and the laws of Tharna were irrevocably shattered came of their own free will into the streets and submitted themselves in the traditional fashion of the captive Gorean female, kneeling, lowering the head, and lifting and raising the arms, wrists crossed for binding.
. . .

And as she had spoken, according to the customs of Tharna, her words had become the law and from that day forth no woman of Tharna might wear a mask.
Outlaw of Gor     Book 2     Page 247


"There seems little law now," said Portus. "When one goes out at night, even on the high bridges, one must have men with one. It is not well to walk among the Cylinders after dark without torches and steel."
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Page 16


Kazrak, who had been Administrator of the City for several years, had been popular but his straightforward attention, after he had put aside the Red of the Warrior and donned the Brown of the Administrator, to numerous and complex civil and economic matters, such as reform of the courts and laws and controls and regulations pertaining to commerce,
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Pages 142 - 143


If a substantial proportion of races are not won in the first two seasons the law of the Stadium of Tarns discontinues its recognition of that faction.
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Page 219


"Most escaped," said Flaminius. "Two were seized. These following the laws of the city, were taken for their first questioning to the courts of the High Initiate."
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Pages 267 - 268


"Be it known to you, Ubars," said he, "that Samos, First Slaver of Port Kar, now proposes to the council that it take into its own hands the full and sole governance of the city of Port Kar, with full powers, whether of policy and decree, of enforcement, of taxation and law, or other, pertinent to the administration thereof."
Raiders of Gor     Book 6     Page 157


At any rate, for the first time in several years, there was now a single, effective sovereign in Port Kar, the Council. Accordingly, its word, and, in effect, its word alone, was law. A similar consolidation and unification had taken place, of course, in the realm of inspections and taxations, penalties and enforcements, codes and courts. For the first time in several years one could count on the law being the same on both sides of a given canal.
Raiders of Gor     Book 6     Page 219

"His hand on the hilt of his sword," said Mira, "and his other hand on the medallion of Ar, his daughter was disowned."

I gasped, stunned.

"Yes," laughed Verna, "according to the codes of the warriors and by the rites of the city of Ar, no longer is Talena kin or daughter of Marlenus of Ar."

I lay, stunned. According to irreversible ceremonies, both of the warriors and of the city of Ar, Talena was no longer the daughter of Marlenus. In her shame she had been put outside his house. She was cut off. In law, and in the eyes of Goreans, Talena was now without family. No longer did she have kin.
Hunters of Gor     Book 8     Page 131


After the death of Surbus, the woman had been mine. I had won her from him by sword right. I had, of course, as she had expected, put her in my collar, and kept her slave. To my astonishment, however, by the laws of Port Kar, the ships, properties and chattels of Surbus, he having been vanquished in fair combat and permitted death of blood and sea, became mine; his men stood ready to obey me; his ships became mine to command; his hall became my hall, his riches mine, his slaves mine. It was thus that I had become a captain in Port Kar. Jewel of gleaming Thassa.
Marauders of Gor     Book 9     Page 2


"Go to the bond-maid circle," said Ivar Forkbeard, indicating the circle he had drawn in the dirt.
The women cried out in misery. To enter the circle, if one is a female, is, by the laws of Torvaldsland, to declare oneself a bond-maid. A woman, of course, need not to enter the circle of her own free will. She may, for example, be thrown within it, naked and bound. Howsoever she enters the circle, voluntarily, or by force, free or secured, she emerges from it, by the laws of Torvaldsland, as a bond-maid.
Marauders of Gor     Book 9     Pages 44 - 45


"The wergild must be high," I speculated.
The Forkbeard looked at me, and grinned. "It was set so high," said he, "out of the reach of custom and law, against the protests of the rune-priests and his own men, that none, in his belief, could pay it."
Marauders of Gor     Book 9     Pages 93 - 94


The Forkbeard, too, and his men, were armed. Blows are not to be struck at the thing, but not even the law of the thing, with all its might, would have the temerity to advise the man of Torvaldsland to arrive or move about unarmed.
Marauders of Gor     Book 9     Page 141


A man, incredibly enough, may be challenged risks his life among the hazel wands; he may be slain; then, too, of course, the stake, the farm, the companion, the daughter, is surrendered by law to the challenger.
Marauders of Gor     Book 9     Page 146


On the wooden dais, draped in purple, set on the contest fields, in heavy, carved chairs, sat Svein Blue Tooth and his woman, Bera. Both wore their finery. About them, some on the dais, and some below it, stood his high officers, and his men of law, his counselors, his captains, and the chief men from his scattered farms and holdings; too, much in evidence, were more than four hundred of his men-at-arms. In the crowd, too, in their white robes, were rune-priests.
Marauders of Gor     Book 9     Pages 181 - 182


"Legally," said he, "clearly you are free."
"More real than the law is the heart," said the girl, quoting a proverb of the Tahari.
Tribesmen of Gor     Book 10     Page 146


The forms change but, in the Tahari, as elsewhere, order, justice and law rest ultimately upon the determination of men, and steel.
Tribesmen of Gor     Book 10     Page 151


The Guard of the Dunes, however, does not obtain the title of the Salt Ubar in virtue of his complacent magistracy of the salt districts, subservient to the Tahari merchants. There are those who say, and I do not doubt it true, that it is he, and not the merchants, who controls the salt of the Tahari. Nominally a sheriff of the Tahari merchants, he, ensconced in his kasbah, first among fierce warriors, elusive and unscrupulous, possesses a strangle hold on the salt of the Tahari, the vital commerce being ruled and regulated as he wills. He holds within his territories the right of law and execution. In the dunes he is Ubar and the merchants bow their heads to him. The Guard of the Dunes is one of the most dreaded and powerful men in the Tahari.
Tribesmen of Gor     Book 10     Pages 208 - 209


Some cities are governed by a Ubar, who is in effect a military sovereign, sometimes a tyrant, whose word is law. The Ubar's power is limited institutionally only by his capacity to inspire and control those whose steel keeps him upon the throne.
Slave Girl of Gor     Book 11     Page 114


The praetor placed the coin on his desk, the surface of which was some seven feet high, below the low, solid wooden bar The height of the praetor's desk, he on the high stool behind it, permits him to see a goodly way up and down the wharves. Also, of course, one standing before the desk must look up to see the praetor, which, psychologically, tends to induce a feeling of fear for the power of the law. The wooden bar before the desk's front edge makes it impossible to see what evidence or papers the praetor has at his disposal as he considers your case. Thus, you do not know for certain how much he knows. Similarly, you cannot tell what he writes on your papers.
Explorers of Gor     Book 13     Page 54

"My gown was taken, when I was tied," she said. "It was torn from me."

"Who took it," asked the praetor, "a casual male, curious to see your body?"

"A girl took it," she cried, angrily, "a blond girl. She was naked. Then she took my garment. Then I was naked! Find her, if you wish to be busy with matters of the law! I was the victim of theft! It was stolen from me, my garment! You should be hunting her, the little thief, not holding me here. I am an honest citizen!"
Explorers of Gor     Book 13     Page 56


Bila Huruma was then hearing cases at law, selected for his attention.
Explorers of Gor     Book 13     Page 229


When a Gorean city founds a colony, usually as a result of internal overpopulation or political dissension, the potential colonists, typically, even before leaving the mother city, develop their own charter, constitution and laws.
Rogue of Gor     Book 15     Page 266


I swallowed, hard. A law, imposed on white men entering their lands by red savages, had been violated.
Savages of Gor     Book 17     Page 150

"It will be dangerous to move eastward now," he said. "The blood of the young men will be high. The killing lust may yet be with them."

"They have done, surely," I said, "what they purposed. They have enforced their laws, against both the innocent and the guilty. They will now be returning to their tribal areas."

"Smaller parties can be more dangerous than larger parties, at such a time," said Grunt. "The larger party has done its work and is returning to its home, presumably under the command of a blotanhunka, a war-party leader, usually a fellow of mature and experienced judgment. He exerts control; he commands restraint. The smaller party may consist of young men, insufficiently disciplined, urging one another on to yet another hazard or feat, fellows who are unwilling for the fun to be over, fellows who are eager to try for yet one more killing, fellows who wish to obtain yet one more trophy."

"Such, you fear, might linger in the area?" I asked.

"Sometimes they are even left behind," said Grunt, "to track survivors who might have hidden in the grass."

"But we were not of the attacked parties," I said.

"One might hope, of course," said Grunt, "that they would be sensitive to such distinctions."

"We have not broken the laws," I said.

"We are white," said Grunt.
Savages of Gor     Book 17     Pages 249 - 250

"As far as I know, I have not broken their laws," I said.

"You are white," said Grunt. "You may be attacked at their pleasure, whether or not you have broken their laws."
Savages of Gor     Book 17     Page 252

I nodded. I now, for the first time, fully, understood Grunt's earlier noticed lack of ease.

"Surely we have broken no law," I said.

"They have superior advantages in numbers and arms," said Grunt. "I do not think they need more law than that."

"And you have freed me," said the lad, sitting on the grass, rubbing his wrists and ankles. I was surprised that he could sit up.

"You are strong," I observed.

"I am Kaiila," he said.

"Surely there is no law to the effect that you should not be freed," I said.

"There is no law specifically to that effect," he said, "but I would not count on their being much pleased about it."

"I can understand that," I said. Scanning, I noted the approaching groups of riders. I counted fifty-one riders, in all.

"If there were such a law," asked the youth, "would you have broken it?"

"Yes," I said.
Savages of Gor     Book 17     Pages 308 - 309


"Let me be a woman," she begged. "Let me be a Woman!"
I considered the Waniyanpi. "It is against the law," I said.
Blood Brothers of Gor     Book 18     Page 169


I wished that I were a slave, that I might have a chance for life, that I might have an opportunity to convince a master somehow, in any way possible, that I might be worth sparing.
But I was a free woman and would be subjected only to the cold and inhuman mercies of the law.
I was being transported to Argentum for impalement.
Kajira of Gor     Book 19     Page 190


The first collar I had worn had been a color-coded transfer collar, put on me at the holding area outside the gate, probably primarily to comply with the ordinance that female slaves in Ar must wear a visible token of their bondage; otherwise we might simply have had our destinations written on our bodies. This was my first owner collar. The laws of Ar, incidentally, do not require a similar visible token of bondage on the bodies of male slaves, or even any distinctive type of garments. The historical explanation of this is that it was originally intended to make it difficult for male slaves to make contact with one another and to keep them from understanding how numerous they might be. On the other hand, male slaves are not numerous, at least within the cities, as opposed to the great farms or the quarries, and they are, in fact, usually collared. Some, however, depending on the whim of the master or mistress, may wear a distinctive anklet or bracelet. A consequence of this ordinance from the point of view of a female slave is that she cannot now even permit herself to be taken for a free woman by accident; her bondage is always manifest; it is helpful from the man's point of view, too; he always knows the status of the woman to whom he is relating; one relates to free women and slaves quite differently, or course; one treats a free woman with honor and respect; one treats a slave, commonly, with condescension and authority.
Kajira of Gor     Book 19     Pages 268 - 269


Slaves are seldom permitted to play Kaissa. In some cities it is against the law for them to do so.
Kajira of Gor     Book 19     Page 298


It is a dangerous road. There was no law against two traveling it.
Players of Gor     Book 20     Page 174


"If you are magistrates," he cried, "know that I have come on this camp of brigands and, in cognizance of my jeopardy, was making ready to defend myself!" He looked about, wildly, drawing back another pace or so. "Show yourself," he cried, "as befits your office, that of those who courageously do war with brigands, that of those who do nobly defend and support the law, or as plain honest men, if that you be, that I may ally myself with you, that we may then offer to one another, no, then pledge to one another, mutual protection and succor on these dark and dangerous roads."
Players of Gor     Book 20     Pages 187 - 188

"You should have lamps illuminating the stairs," said Boabissia. "I suppose that tharlarion oil is just too expensive."

"Yes," said the proprietor. "But it is also against the law."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"The danger of fire," he said.
Mercenaries of Gor     Book 21     Page 275


The temple was impressive, a closed temple, with columns, a pediment and a frieze. The public buildings, the law court and the "house of the Administrator," the locus of public offices, were similarly structured and adorned.
Dancer of Gor     Book 22     Page 281


He held a steel sword, where such things made law.
Dancer of Gor     Book 22     Page 425


"Surely it might be difficult to live with such a hidden truth," I said. Perhaps it, irrepressible, insistent within her, might finally require some resolution. She must then take action. She might turn herself over to a praetor, hoping for mercy, as she had surrendered herself. Or perhaps she might solicit some person to make active claim upon her, such a claim, after certain intervals, superseding prior claims. Although there are various legal qualifications involved, which vary from city to city, effective, or active, possession is generally regarded as crucial from the point of view of the law, such possession being taken, no other claims forthcoming within a specified interval, as conferring legal title. This is the case with a kaiila or a tarsk, and it is also the case with a slave. In such a case, presumably the woman would expect the master who has then put claim on her to free her. That would presumably be the point of the matter. Otherwise she could simply submit herself to him as an escaped or strayed slave. Thus, in this fashion, she could reveal her hidden truth, thereby alleviating her acute mental conflicts, and her sufferings, attendant upon its concealment, and by another, as she has no legal power in the matter herself, be restored to freedom. To be sure, there are risks involved in this sort of thing. For example, when she kneels before him, his slave, perhaps he will then simply order her to the kitchen or to his furs. No promise made to her has legal standing, no more than to a tarsk. In this way, she, ostensibly seeking her freedom, may find herself plunged instead into explicit and inescapable bondage, and will doubtless, too, soon find herself properly marked and collared, to preclude the possible repetition of any such nonsense in the future."
Renegades of Gor     Book 23     Page 275

"I do not think then I should be held accountable under the charge of attempting to deceive with respect to caste," she said. "For example, I engaged in no business under false pretenses, and I never claimed explicitly to be of a caste other than my own." It seemed to me that she did have a point here. The legal problems connected with intent to deceive with respect to caste, of course, problems of the sort which presumably constitute the rationale of the law, usually come up in cases of fraud or impersonation, for example, with someone pretending to be of the Physicians. "And, too," she continued, "if conquering Cosians should have seen fit to take me for a simple, low-caste maid, I see no reason why the laws of Ar's station should now be exercised against me. What would be the point of that, to protect Cosians from a mistake which they never had the opportunity to make?"

"You hoped by your mode of dress, and such," said Aemilianus, "to conceal that you were of a caste on which vengeances might be visited, and thus to improve your chances of survival."
Renegades of Gor     Book 23     Pages 368 - 369

"Surely a polity, even if it be one of pirates, if it is to survive, if it is to protect itself, must establish some forms of justice and law within its own precincts?"

"One would suppose so," I said.

"Even if it is of the rack and spear."
Renegades of Gor     Book 23     Page 383


She was veiled, as is common for Gorean women in the high cities, particularly those of station. In some cities the veil is prescribed by law for free women, as well as by custom and etiquette; and in most cities it is prohibited, by law, to slaves.
Vagabonds of Gor     Book 24     Page 106

"Some fellows do not brand their slaves," I said.

"That is stupid!" she said.

"It is also contrary to the laws of most cities," I said, "and to merchant law, as well."

"Of course," she said.

Gorean, she approved heartily of the branding of slaves. Most female slaves on Gor, indeed, the vast majority, almost all, needless to say, are branded. Aside from questions of legality, compliance with the law, and such, I think it will be clear upon a moment's reflection that various practical considerations also commend slave branding to the attention of the owner, in particular, the identification of the article as property, this tending to secure it, protecting against its loss, facilitating its recovery, and so on. The main legal purpose of the brand, incidentally, is doubtless this identification of slaves. To be sure, most Goreans feel the brand also serves psychological and aesthetic purposes, for example, helping the girl to understand that she is now a slave and enhancing her beauty.
Vagabonds of Gor     Book 24     Page 188


The youth of Tharna is usually bred from women temporarily freed for purposes of their conception, then reenslaved. In Tharnan law a person conceived by a free person on a free person is considered to be a free person, even if they are later carried and borne by a slave. In many other cities this is different, the usual case being that the offspring of a slave is a slave, and belongs to the mother's owner.
Vagabonds of Gor     Book 24     Page 267


"The Cosians say the laws of Cos march with the spears of Cos," said a fellow.
"So, too, it is with Ar," said a fellow.
Vagabonds of Gor     Book 24     Page 304

We were now inside the back door of the tavern, in a small, dimly lit corridor. The tavern was the Jeweled Whip, one of a large number of such taverns on Dock Street in Brundisium.

"Thigh," said the fellow who had admitted us, looking at Ina. He wished, of course, to ascertain that she was a slave.

"She is a free woman," I said.

"We do not want her kind here," he said.

"Where am I?" asked Ina, from within the hood.

"It is against the law," said the fellow. "We do not need more trouble with the authorities. and such, too, inhibit the girls."
Vagabonds of Gor     Book 24     Pages 399 - 400

"Surely you understand the law, my dear," he said.

She struggled in the net, dropped from the ceiling, then held about her by guardsmen sprung from concealment at the sides of the room.

"No!" she cried. "No!"

She was then turned about, twice in the net, on the couch so that she was thoroughly entangled, doubly, in its toils.

"No!" she wept.

The guardsmen, four of them, held the net.

Her eyes were wild. Her fingers were in the knotted mesh. She was like a frightened animal.

"Please," she wept. "What do you want?"

The fellow did not then answer her, but regarded her. She was naked in the toils of the net, and now lay on her side, her legs drawn up in it, now seemingly small and very vulnerable, so bared and caught, on the deep furs of the huge couch.

"Milo!" she cried to a tall, handsome fellow to one side. "Help me!"

"But I am a slave," pointed out Milo, donning his purple tunic.

She looked at him, wildly.

"I am sure you are familiar with the law," said the first fellow, flanked by two magistrates.

"No!" she cried.

The magistrates were ex officio witnesses, who could certify the circumstances of the capture. The net was a stout one, and weighted.

"Any free woman who couches with another's slave, or readies herself to couch with another's slave, becomes herself a slave, and the slave of the slave's master. It is a clear law."

"No! No!" she wept.

"Think of it in this fashion, if you wish," he said. "You have given yourself to Milo, but Milo is mine, and can own nothing, and thus you have given yourself to me. An analogy is the coin given by a free person to a street girl, which coin, of course, does not then belong to the girl but to her master. What is given to the slave is given to the master."
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 7


Surely she must have known the law. The consorting of a free female with another man's slave renders her susceptible to the collar of the slave's master.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 42


We then continued on our way. The carrying of weapons, and even their possession, was now illegal for citizens of Ar, exceptions being made for guardsmen and such. The populace of Ar, then, was disarmed. This was reputedly for its own protection. Compliance with the disarmament laws was also taken as a fitting token of good will on the part of those of Ar, and an indication both of their good intentions and of their zealous desire for peace. Too, it was called to their attention that arms were now unnecessary, given the blessings of peace, attendant upon the liberation.
"It will be only a matter of time," said Marcus, "before weapons will be altogether illegal in the city."
"Except for those authorized to carry them," I said.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 114


"You are armed," he said.
"It is lawful," I said. "We are not of Ar."
He drew his blade.
We, too, drew ours.
"You have drawn before a guardsman!" he said.
"Did you think we would not?" I asked.
"It is against the law," he said.
"Not our law," I said.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Pages 128 - 129


Several weeks ago in Ar there had been some hints of an attempt on the part of the Ubarate, as a social-control procedure, to facilitate its governance, a venture doubtless emanating from Cos, which had reason to fear an alert, healthy foe, to reduce the vitality and virility of the men of Ar, to further crush and depress them. This was to be done under the initial guise of sumptuary laws, ostensibly to limit the adornment and display of slaves, as though there could be much of that sort of thing in the defeated city. This was to be followed by legislation encouraging, and then apparently to later require, more modest garmenture for slaves. There were even suggestions of attempting to regulate the relationships obtaining between masters and slaves. There was some talk of greater "respect" for slaves, that they might be permitted to drink from the higher bowls at the public fountains, even the insanity that one might not be able to make use of them without their permission, thus turning the master into a slave's slave. Naturally the motivation of this, putting aside the standard camouflage of moralistic prose which may be conveniently invoked for any purpose whatsoever, even those most antithetical to nature, health, reason, truth and life, was no concern for slaves but rather a desire to diminish the men of Ar, to make them easier to manage and exploit. Naturally they were expected to accept their own castration, so to speak, as a cause for rejoicing, as a long-overdue improvement of their condition. How glorious things were to be, once men had succeeded in achieving their own destruction. On the other hand the first straws testing the winds of Ar, cast in the streets, in the baths, in the taverns and markets, had been blown back with such fierceness that these castrative proposals had been almost immediately withdrawn. Indeed, a small announcement had even appeared on the boards, in the name of Ubara herself, that slave girls should obey their masters and try to be pleasing to them. Revolution, I do not doubt, would have occurred in the city. The men of Ar would have died rather than give up at least the retained semblance of their manhood.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Pages 211 - 212


"Do you forget the proposed laws of respect!" she said.
"They were never enacted," I said.
"They should have been!" she said.
There was an angry mutter in the crowd.
"My master," she said, "is a kind, liberated, noble, enlightened master! He accepts such laws, or laws much like them, as much as if they had been proclaimed by the councils and promulgated by the Ubara herself!"
"The actual words of the Ubara," I said, "or at least as reported on the boards, where to the effect that slave girls should be obedient and try to please their masters."
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 218


I supposed that the taverners must be much put out by the curfew law, and would have lost much business.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 243

"I was taken pursuant to the couching laws," she said.

"I see," I said. Any free woman who voluntarily couches with another's slave, or readies herself to do so, becomes the slave of the slave's master. By such an act, the couching with, or readying herself to couch with, a slave, as though she might be a girl of the slave's master, thrown to the slave, she shows herself as no more than a slave, and in this act, in law, becomes a slave. Who then should own her, this new slave? Why, of course, he to whom the law consigns her, the master of the slave with whom she has couched, or was preparing to couch.

"With what slave," asked I, "did you couch?"

"I was only preparing to couch!" she said.

"But that is sufficient," I said.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Pages 303 - 304


"You seem to me a highly intelligent woman," I said.
"Master?" she asked.
"Surely you were aware of the couching laws?"
"Yes, Master," she said.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 308

"You have lied to free men," I said.

She regarded me in terror.

"You told us that you had been brought in as a consequence of the levies, whereas it was in consequence of the couching laws."
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 323


Much of the weightiness of this was lost on the new slave, of course, for she had very little notion of the prices of women. As she had come into the keeping of Appanius in virtue of the couching laws, she had had only one sale, that to me for a few copper tarsks.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 338


"Draw!" I said. My hand went to my tunic.
"I am unarmed!" he said. "It is the law! We of Ar may not carry weapons."
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 380


Merchant law has been unsuccessful, as yet, in introducing such things as patents and copyrights on Gor. Such things do exist in municipal law on Gor but the jurisdictions involved are, of course, local.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 394


There were four such with him. They, too, carded staffs. Other than this, however, in accord with the weapons laws, they were not armed.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 417


Both magistrates wore their robes, and fillets, of office. They also carried their wands of office, which, I suspect, from the look of them, and despite the weapons laws of Cos, contained concealed blades. I was pleased to hope that these fellows were such as to put the laws of Ar before the ordinances of Cos.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 442

"The principle here, I gather," said Marcus, "is that the Ubara is above the law."

"The law in question is a serious one," said Tolnar. "It was promulgated by Marlenus, Ubar of Ubars."

"Surely," said Venlisius to the netted woman, "you do not put yourself on a level with the great Marlenus."

"It does not matter who is greater," she said. "I am Ubara!"

"The Ubara is above the law?" asked Marcus, who had an interest in such things.

"In a sense, yes," said Tolnar, "the sense in which she can change the law by decree."

"But she is subject to the law unless she chooses to change it?" asked Marcus.

"Precisely," said Tolnar. "And that is the point here."

"Whatever law it is," cried the netted woman, "I change it! I herewith change it!"

"How can you change it?" asked Tolnar.

"I am Ubara!" she said.

"You were Ubara," he said.

She cried out in misery, in frustration, in the net.

"Interesting," said Marcus.

"Release me!" demanded the woman.

"Do you think we are fond of she who was once Talena," asked Tolnar, "of she who betrayed Ar, and collaborated with her enemies?"

"Release me, if you value your lives!" she cried. "Seremides will wish me free! So, too, will Myron! So, too, will Lurius of Jad!"

"But we have taken an oath to uphold the laws of Ar," said Tolnar.

"Free me!" she said.

"You would have us compromise our honor?" asked Tolnar.

"I order you to do so," she said.

Tolnar smiled.

"Why do you smile?" she asked.

"How can a slave order a free person to do anything?" he asked.

"A slave!" she cried. "How dare you!"

"You are taken into bondage," said Tolnar, "under the couching laws of Marlenus of Ar. Any free woman who couches with, or prepares to couch with, a male slave, becomes herself a slave, and the property of the male slave's master."

"I, property!" she cried.

"Yes," said Tolnar.

Absurd!" she said.

"Not at all," he said. "It is, I assure you, all quite legal."
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Pages 455 - 456


I had already given fifteen pieces to Tolnar and Venlisius each. They had upheld the laws of Ar and preserved their honor. They would also file the papers, and several certified copies of them, in various places, and, by courier, with certain other parties, official and unofficial, in various cities.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 468


"He is the pit master," she whispered. "All here who are slave are as though his. In the pits his word is law for us. He is to be obeyed with perfection in all things, instantly, unquestioningly, with no appeal. He is here, in this place, as master."
Witness of Gor     Book 26     Page 262

The oddity, or anomaly, has to do in its way with law.

The state, or a source of law, it seems, can decide whether one has a certain status or not, say, whether one is a citizen or not a citizen, licensed or not licensed, an outlaw or not an outlaw, and such. It can simply make these things come about, it seems, by pronouncing them, and then they are simply true, and that, then, is what the person is. It has nothing to do, absolutely nothing to do, with the person's awareness or consent, and yet it is true of the person, categorically and absolutely, in all the majesty of the law. It makes the person something, whether the person understands it, or knows it, or not.

The person might be made something or other, you see, and be totally unaware of it. Yet that is what that person, then, would be. It is clear to her now that she must have been watched, and considered, and assessed, perhaps for months, utterly unbeknownst to her. She had no idea. She suspected nothing, absolutely nothing. But her status, her condition, had changed. It seems that decisions were made, and papers signed, and certified, all doubtless with impeccable legality. And then, by law, she, totally unaware, became something she had not been before, or not in explicit legality. And she continued to go about her business, knowing nothing of this, ignorantly, naively, all unsuspecting. But she had become something different from what she had been before. She was no longer the same, but was now different, very different. Her status, her condition, had undergone a remarkable transformation, one of which she was totally unaware. She did not know what, in the laws of another world, one capable of enforcing its decrees and sanctions, one within whose jurisdiction she lay, she had become. That she finds interesting, curious, frightening, in its way, an oddity, and anomalous. She did not know what she had become. She wonders if some of you, too, perhaps even one reading this manuscript, if there should be such, may have become already, too, even now, unbeknownst to yourself, what she had then become. Perhaps you are as ignorant of it as was she. But this reality was later made clear to her, by incontrovertible laws, and deeds, which did not so much confirm the hypothetical strictures of a perhaps hitherto rather speculative law, one extending to a distant world, as replace or supersede them, in an incontrovertible manner, with immediate, undeniable, unmistakable realities, realities not only independently legal, and fully sufficient in their own right, but realities acknowledged, recognized and celebrated, realities understood, and enforced, with all the power, unquestioned commitment and venerated tradition of an entire world, that on which she had found herself.
Prize of Gor     Book 27     Pages 5 - 6


"Have you obeyed the Weapons Laws?" asked a man.
"Of course," said a man. "The Cosians have disarmed us. It is death to conceal weapons. We are civilians and must be the tame verr of the Cosians, to be milked, or sheared, or led to slaughter, as they please!"
Prize of Gor     Book 27     Page 284


"The laws of Cos march with the spears of Cos," said the officer.
Prize of Gor     Book 27     Page 330


Portus, taking his concealed tarn goad from its hiding place to one side, behind the loose board, entered the tarn cage in which he had placed the oblong, mysterious package before the arrival of the Cosian soldiers, and retrieved it from under the straw. He brought it to the loft area, and put it on the floor, not far from Ellen, and unrolled it. Within, clattering out, there were several swords, two war axes, some crossbows, and some wired bundles of short, metal-finned quarrels.
Such things, Ellen gathered, were not permitted by the laws of the Cosian occupation.
Prize of Gor     Book 27     Page 335


One of the interesting things from the Gorean point of view about most of the women of Earth is that they do not veil themselves; most go about, even in public, with bared features. This tends to be incomprehensible to the average Gorean. On Gor, on the other hand, as you have doubtless by now gathered, this omission, or this practice, that of not wearing the veil, is common with, and, indeed, is usually imposed upon, and in many cities by law, slaves. Such are commonly denied the veil, as they are other garments of free women. Indeed, the donning of the garments of a free woman by a slave can be a capital offense.
Prize of Gor     Book 27     Pages 441 - 442


He was, as we learned, of what on Gor amongst humans is referred to as the scarlet caste. This is a high caste, doubtless because it is armed. Individuals of this caste are of great value to their cities, their employers, their princes, so to speak. Indeed, they are indispensable in their way; have they not, however unintentionally, secured the foundation of law;
Kur of Gor     Book 28     Page 17


Block measurements, taken presale, are commonly, and in some cities this is required by law, included in a female's sales information.
Kur of Gor     Book 28     Page 22

"She fell afoul of a law, one of her own father's laws, that she who couches with, or readies herself to couch with, a slave, becomes the slave of the slave's master, the couching slave in this case, whom I had purchased in order to compromise and entrap the Ubara, was a famed and handsome actor. Afterwards, as had been my intent, I freed him, but this, in accord with the law and my plan, left her my slave. The matter was duly witnessed and processed, but then I permitted her to be recovered, and returned to the throne of the city. So now she who sits upon that throne, supposedly a Ubara, is only a slave, who must with uneasiness await her reclaiming."
. . .

"But is she not a great and noble woman?"

"Doubtless she seems so to the world," said Cabot, "but now, under her father's own laws, she is only another slave."
Kur of Gor     Book 28     Page 684


"It is feared you may yet be upon the kaissa board of Priest-Kings."
"No!" said Cabot.
"What if it be their will?" said Grendel.
"I repudiate their will!" said Cabot.
"It might be dangerous to do so," said Grendel. "Are they not world masters, the gods of Gor?"
"If their laws are respected," said Cabot, "they dabble little in the doings of human beings."
Kur of Gor     Book 28     Page 716


"What if any remain within and sue for quarter?" asked Pertinax.
"There is no quarter," said Tajima. "It is the law of Lord Nishida."
Swordsmen of Gor     Book 29     Page 361


I had seen to it that she was enslaved, in her own city, making use of a couching law of Marlenus himself, Ubar of Ubars.
Swordsmen of Gor     Book 29     Page 482


"The laws of Cos," I said, "march with the spears of Cos."
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 97


It interested me that Seremides seemed to feel it incumbent upon him to justify a projected murder. It had not been that way in Ar. Here it seemed he was not captain, here it seemed a certain wariness might be in order. For that I was grateful. The sword here did not seem to be a law unto itself, or at least his sword. The fellows about, as far as I could see, were not much interested in charges and countercharges, denunciations and defenses, and such, as in seeing what might ensue. I recalled that in Ar, I, and others, in the early morning, had occasionally gathered to watch Seremides make a kill.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 104

"Hold," said Lord Nishida, lifting his hand, the sleeve falling back about his wrist, as he did so. "Good Callias," said Lord Nishida, "I do not think you are a coward. Why, then, do you refuse to accept the challenge?"

"It is a challenge without honor," I said. "The animosity borne to me by your Rutilius of Ar has nothing to do with Cos and Ar, with politics or war, with defense or security, nor with justice or law. It is personal, and from the past.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 108


I then, a bit later, opened my mouth, widely, and a handful of slave gruel, or moist mush, was thrust in my mouth. One swallows it a tiny bit at a time, that one not choke. It is bland, and largely tasteless, but filling, for what one gets of it, and apparently nutritious. It was a far cry from the provenders I had been taught to prepare in the house, ranging from roasted, seasoned bosk and tarsk and fresh plate breads, with honeys and butters, to frosted pastries and decadent, creamed sauces which, in some cities, were outlawed by sumptuary laws.
Smugglers of Gor     Book 32     Page 111


"Surely she has more serious opinions," said another, "as to the ranking of the nine classic poets, the values of the Turian hexameter, should prose be allowed in song drama, the historicity of Hesius, the reform of the calendar, the dark geometries, the story of the czehar, the policies of the Salarian confederation, the nature of the moons, the sumptuary laws of Ti, the history of Ar."
Smugglers of Gor     Book 32     Pages 199 - 200


Sometimes free women, miserable and unhappy in their lives, resentful of the conventional constraints commonly imposed on them in the cities and towns, fleeing unwanted matches, debtors hoping to escape the law and such, attempted to join a band of Panther Girls.
Smugglers of Gor     Book 32     Page 277


Whereas cities have laws, and most castes have caste codes, there is only one law which is generally respected, and held in common, amongst Gorean municipalities, and that is Merchant Law, largely established and codified at the great Sardar Fairs. According to Merchant law an unclaimed slave, one legally subject to claimancy, may be claimed, and then is the property of the claimant.
Smugglers of Gor     Book 32     Page 424

"It seems there might be retaliation on a fugitive's village" I said.

"It is possible," said Haruki, "were the village known, and the fugitive considered dangerous. But it is not customary to punish the innocent for the crimes of the guilty. Such a practice is not likely to elevate respect for the law."
Rebels of Gor     Book 33     Page 285

"You are aware," he said, "that this village lies under the suzerainty of Lord Yamada, Shogun of the Islands."

"Fortunately for us," had said Tajima "for times and roads are dangerous, and the protection of the great lord's law is welcome."

There had been no mistaking the insignia of Yamada carved deeply into the two gateposts of the village.
Rebels of Gor     Book 33     Page 316

"It is the test of twelve arrows," had said Lord Yamada. "You have perhaps heard of it."
. . .

"It will be interesting," said Lord Yamada "to see the outcome of our test. As you are doubtless well aware, it is not unknown in the islands. It has been used both in courts of law as a procedure for deciding guilt or innocence, and, more commonly, as an amusing manner of execution, in which the naive subject tortures himself into hoping that he may survive.
Rebels of Gor     Book 33     Pages 472 - 473


The camisk is a strip of cloth, a brief, narrow rectangle with a circular opening at its center. It is drawn over the head, poncholike, pulled down, and belted with cord, or binding fiber. If possible, it leaves even less of the slave to the imagination than the tunic or ta-teera, the "slave rag." Indeed, I was told that it is outlawed on the streets of some cities.
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Page 141


It might be added that in many Gorean cities and towns, professional companions are outlawed, their presence being construed as violating sumptuary laws. Indeed, such laws existed in Market of Semris, but it seems they failed to be noted by Lysander, and, I suppose, by other individuals of influence or importance. Laws, it seemed, when inconvenient, might be ignored by the powerful. Laws, as is well known, are not for the mighty.
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Page 159


"At night," said one of Lysander's men. "By law, heavy drayage is confined to the hours of darkness."
"Surely you are familiar with that, as you are of Ar," said the other fellow.
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Page 171


"Yes, Master," I said. In some cities, even camisks and ta-teeras were outlawed on the streets. To be sure, slaves are to be clad as slaves. The usual garb of a slave is a brief tunic.
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Page 180


The caste is sometimes spoken of, when men dare to speak of it, as the black caste, or the sable caste. In many Gorean cities it is unwelcome, even outlawed. For example, it is outlawed in Ar and in Market of Semris.
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Page 232


A saying I have heard seems germane here, "the laws of Cos march with the spears of Cos."
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Page 233


On the other hand, in the law of Ar, and several other cities, the free woman who pleasures herself with a male slave risks her own enslavement, and becoming the property of the slave's master.
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Page 347


The high cities of Gor are, for the most part, within the pomeriums, or legal boundaries, of the cities, tower cities. These towers, often in their clusters, cylindrical and rearing, loom well over the walls of the city. They may be seen from many pasangs away. Pomeriums, as noted, are the legal boundaries of a city. The lines of the pomerium are often not identical with the lines of a city's walls. Sometimes the pomerium extends beyond a city's walls, and, sometimes, it is within the walls, and the same pomerium might be partly within the walls and partly outside. The pomerium and the walls are, so to speak, independent of one another. The pomerium will commonly antedate the walls. Many pomeriums are ancient. They may be established in various ways. Some are related to a plowed line, often attributed to a legendary figure; others might be determined, given the auspices, by a given number of hides that are cut into exceedingly narrow strips, these strips later being joined to form a cord, the cord then used to circumscribe a given area. A surprisingly large area may be enclosed in this fashion. Still, again, the pomerium may date back to a territorial claim, usually backed by war, in which the pomerium line is scratched in the earth by the point of a sword or the tip of a spear. The same sword or spear may be used generations later, to fix the pomerium of a colony city, as Ar's Station to Ar herself. It may be clearly seen that the city walls and the pomerium may not be identical. The location of walls, for example, as well as their height and nature, as one would expect with military architecture, is heavily influenced by a consideration of the resources to be protected, their extent and nature, and the topographical features of the land. Too, walls may be extended and enlarged, or rebuilt. Sometimes, partial and scattered, there are the remains of abandoned walls within the city itself, as in the Metellan district, one of the older districts in Ar. Such remnants may be preserved, as part of the city's history. Most of the stone from earlier walls, however, naturally enough, is incorporated in the newer walls. It might be mentioned, in passing, that the pomerium, as one would expect, given its legal status, is often attended by certain social and legal restrictions. For example, in some cities, a victorious general is not permitted to bring armed troops within the pomerium. Accordingly, the nature of triumphs, accorded to victorious commanders, triumphs celebrating successful campaigns, the acquisition of loot, the capture of prisoners and slaves, and such, might range from parades through the city in full panoply, displaying spoils, chains of slaves, and such, to processions in which the general and his troops appear unarmed and in civilian dress, to the music of bands, followed, to be sure, by wagons and carts of treasure, often drawn by naked, chained slaves, formerly women of the enemy.
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Pages 494 - 495


visiting free women in Tharna must be in the custody of a male, and must be licensed and tagged; the custodial male must see that his charge spends no more than four days in the city or she will be seized and collared; some men bring unsuspecting free women to the city, sometimes arrogant free women interested in seeing such a city, to scorn it and its customs, willing even to endure the humiliation of tagging and licensing for such a pleasure, but somehow, doubtless inadvertently, fail to inform them of the law; the woman then, on the fifth day, is seized and reduced to bondage; she finds herself then become no more than another Tharnan slave;
Quarry of Gor     Book 35     Page 138


This morning, at the Southern Gate, Bruno of Torcadino, I at his heels, leashed, and front-braceleted, had boarded a game ship for the Skerry of Lars, not really a skerry, but a small island five pasangs out in the Tamber Gulf, five pasangs beyond the laws of Port Kar.
Quarry of Gor     Book 35     Page 264


I was sure the tavern's legal claim to me would be upheld by the scribes of the law.
Quarry of Gor     Book 35     Page 282


"Following your capture," said the officer, "we anticipated that Pa-Kur and his cohorts would vanish, and it has proved so."
"He has done you no harm," said Dorna. "It would be unlawful to seize him."
"He might be legitimately seized for the attempted destruction of property," said the officer.
"Or its destruction," said Miles.
"The destruction of what property?" said Dorna.
"You," said Miles.
Quarry of Gor     Book 35     Page 359

"Soldiers of Cos are far from Cos," said Thurnock.

"I do not think they are soldiers of Cos," I said. "The laws are the laws of Cos, but the enforcers of the law need not be Cosians."
Avengers of Gor     Book 36     Page 136

In some cities it is against the law to deface a scroll or damage a musical instrument. That is, I suppose, because Goreans respect such things.
Avengers of Gor     Book 36     Page 306

"She is guilty," said Thurnock. "What need is there of a trial?"

"Perhaps," I said, "that vengeance be decked in the colors of law."

"The Ubar makes law," said Thurnock. "He is thus above the law."

"Do you take the supremacy of law to be a myth?" I asked.

"Who makes the law?" said Thurnock.
Avengers of Gor     Book 36     Page 429

"But," said Xenon, "the will of the Ubar is law, and law is justice. Thus, it is the will of the Ubar that is justice. Thus a trial would be unnecessary and irrelevant."

"Unless," said Seremides, "the Ubar wishes the citizenry of Ar to share in the doing of justice."

"Preposterous," I said. "Marlenus would never risk a trial."

"There is no risk," said Seremides. "Consider a jury of a thousand outraged, vengeful citizens."

"Still," I said.

"Should the verdict be distasteful to the Ubar," said Seremides, "he may simply reverse it."

"The Ubar is then above the law," I said.

"Certainly, the Ubar is above the law," said Seremides. "He must be; otherwise he could not make the law or change the law."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Pages 195 - 196

"As you doubtless know," he said, "in Ar, the law is the Ubar and the Ubar is the law. But, in this case, the noble Marlenus, Ubar of Glorious Ar, in his graciousness and generosity, will allow the verdict to be delivered by a jury of suitably chosen citizens, subject, of course, to his right to overrule the verdict, should it somehow fail to be in conformity with justice, as he sees it."

"If, somehow, Talena should be acquitted," I said, "the Ubar may void that verdict, and pronounce one of guilt?"

"As is his right," said the scribe. "He is the law, and the law is he.
"Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 273

"How could I do that?" I asked.

"I do not know," said Decius Albus, "but, as I am high in the state of Ar, I do not care to risk it. The processes of the law must proceed apace. Justice must be done."

"The justice of Ar," I said.

"Precisely," he said.

"A justice which enlists a thousand prejudiced jurors clamoring for vengeance, a justice which, should the jurors fail to reach the desiderated verdict, is subject to the arbitrary intrusion of authority," I said.

"Justice is founded on the will of the Ubar," said Decius Albus. "How could it be otherwise? Such is right and law."

"In Ar," I said.

"In Ar," he agreed.
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 299

On the seat of the high judge, also facing the orchestra area, raised several feet in the air, that one must feel overshadowed, intimidated, and awed before it, so arranged that one must look upward to its lofty precincts as might a child to an adult, reposing in dark-robed splendor, suggesting the might, gravity, and solemnity of the law, was gigantic, bearded Marlenus of Ar himself.
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 317

"Now," said Decius Albus, "we wait humbly upon the decision of our beloved Ubar, Marlenus, the voice of law in Ar, to adjourn the court until tomorrow at the Tenth Ahn."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 326

"She has shown no signs of mental imbalance or difficulty until the trial, even if now, and her actions in question well precede the trial. She was fully and indisputably in possession of her senses when she committed the crimes for which she is charged. Further, current insanity does not mitigate past guilt, nor should it, nor does it, in Gorean law, modify due punishment."

"But the condition might have existed and affected her behavior long before becoming manifest," said Hemartius.

"Speculations without evidence are legally immaterial," said Decius Albus.

"But she might not even understand for what she is being punished," said Hemartius.

"It is enough that we and the law understand it," said Decius Albus. "Also, in your forlorn attempt to rescue a lost cause, you should, at least, have better tutored your client in the semblance of insanity. Her acting, if acting it is, is surely unconvincing."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 329

"Now," said Decius Albus, "we await the word of our high judge, master of law, paragon of justice, Marlenus, Ubar of Glorious Ar."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 332

"Dear fellow citizens," said Decius Albus, advancing to the front edge of the stage. "I assure you that no one more esteems the generous, valiant Geoffrey of Harfax than I. No one could be more eager than I to surrender the miserable traitress, a disgrace to free womanhood, to his keeping, but, ela, it cannot be done. The law forbids it. Talena of Ar, a free woman, has been found guilty in a public trial. She cannot thus, as a free woman, be given to a private party. Her fate, as a free woman, is in the hands, as it should be, of the state."

I turned to Hemartius.

He nodded. "It is true," he said.

I had feared this resolution and so had come prepared.

"Be that as it may," I said, "it is irrelevant to the case in point."

"It is the case in point," said Decius Albus. "Regretfully we cannot shatter the reign of law simply in order to accommodate a hero and friend, even one as dear to us as Geoffrey of Harfax."

"I ask not that law be breached," I said, "but, rather, that it be observed."

Even Hemartius gazed upon me with astonishment.

"Talena of Ar," I said, "should I choose to put that name upon her, is not a free woman, but an object, a property, goods, a vendible article, suitable for purchase, a beast, a domestic animal, mine!"

The crowd seemed startled, silent.

"No!" cried Talena!

"I appeal," I said, "to the couching laws of Marlenus of Ar!"
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Pages 347 - 348

"I now ask my learned colleague, the honorable and noble Hemartius of Ar, to sketch out the purport of the couching laws in question."
"Their purport," said Hemartius, seemingly half stunned, "and, indeed, their letter, is well known in Ar, not only to the scribes of the law but to all free persons in the city. Their intent is to discourage wayward free women from shaming themselves, their Home Stone, and their city by forming liaisons with male slaves. Can you imagine the shame and horror of a free woman in the arms of a male slave?"
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 348

"My claim is valid," I said. "I own her."

"She fell into hands other than yours frequently," said Decius Albus, "for example, those of Seremides of Ar, of Lurius of Jad, of Myron of Cos, of Ruffio of Ar, and doubtless those of many others."

"That changes nothing," I said. "One man cannot free the slave of another. If she fled away and was apprehended by guardsmen, that does not make her the slave of guardsmen."

"Beware, dear Geoffrey," said Hemartius. "Things are not so simple." "Perhaps, esteemed deputy counselor," said Decius Albus, "you might ask your colleague, the noble, learned Hemartius, to quote relevant statutes to you."

"I refrain," said Hemartius.

"Permit me, then, to be of service," said Decius Albus. "The matter is complex and varies from polis to polis, but, happily, it is also covered more generally in Merchant Law, which, as you know, is promulgated at, and revised at, the Sardar Fairs, particularly that of En'kara. For obvious reasons, given the limitations of pomeriums, Merchant Law is commonly, in many matters, accorded a theoretical preeminence. The slave laws tend to be quite similar to those pertaining to chattels in general. Consider some representative cases. An owner disappears or perishes without having made provisions for the disposition of his property. One then considers kin, and closeness of kin. Suppose a slave is a fugitive and her owner is not known or cannot be found. She is then subject to claim. Suppose a slave is lost or has been washed overboard. Then, again, assuming her owner is not known or cannot be found, she is subject to claim. Suppose a woman, of her own free will, has renounced her freedom, declaring herself a slave, perhaps to avoid an undesirable companionship, say, to make herself unworthy of, or ineligible for, companionship, or perhaps to escape a city, or a difficult personal situation, or a simple yearning for a master. She may then be claimed by any free person. A female thief may be given by the state to her victim. A female debtor may be given by the state to her creditor. An unclaimed slave may be auctioned. In some cases, time limits may be imposed, for example, a slave not claimed within twenty days may be sold, and so on. These things are independent, of course, of recognized exceptions, such as attacks, raids, and war. The slave, like the free woman, is loot and loot belongs to the looter. The laws of Ar do not prevail in Treve, nor do those of Treve prevail in Ar. Let masters look after their own slaves, as best they can, as they would their own tarsks, verr, or kaiila."

"In short," I said, "laws are complex, tangled, and often obscure."

"And Merchant Law, dealing with this area, is usually ineffective," said Hemartius, "lacking a means of enforcement and being overruled whenever found by cities or individuals distasteful or inconvenient."

"Cities and men do much as they please," I said.

"Not within a city, of course," said Hemartius. "Within a city, laws can be quite stringent."

"Fortunately," said Decius Albus, "the matter here is quite simple and straightforward. Geoffrey of Harfax little or never exercised the imperium of the mastership over the woman in question, over his alleged property. Indeed, she was on the throne of Ar! Did she, I wonder, often ponder that beneath her regalia, beneath her ornate robes of office, there was the naked body of a slave? Then at last, our beloved Marlenus, after his long and tragic absence, returned to our beloved Ar. Ar rose! The invaders were cast out! Talena disappeared. During the time of her disappearance, in one collar after another, she belonged to many masters. The original mastery then, if it existed at all, was superseded and nullified many times over."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Pages 357 - 359

"The slave committed crimes as a free woman and she should be punished as a free woman, exposed to the full wrath of the law."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 359

"Law," said Hemartius, "is majestic and implacable."

"Law," I said, "must succumb to law."

"I do not understand," said Hemartius.

"There are other laws, other codes, other rights, other ways," I said, "other majesties, other implacabilities."

"On behalf of the state," said Decius Albus, "I claim the slave."

"The slave is claimed," said Marlenus.

"I request the court now rule," said Decius Albus, "that my claim on behalf of the state is accepted."

"It is accepted," said Marlenus. "The slave is now the property of the state of Ar."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 360

"The woman is a traitress," said Alan, "duly tried and found guilty in a court of law, and is thus subject to suffering the consequences of her crimes. Your transparent machinations, I assure you, will neither slow nor quicken my blade."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 377

"I am a free woman," she said.

"No," I said. "You are a slave. And, as you once, at the time a free woman, arranged to bed with a handsome, male slave, the actor Milo, whom I had arranged to own, briefly and deliberately, you are my slave. A free woman who beds with, or prepares to bed with, a male slave, becomes the property of the male slave's master. That is in accord with the couching laws of Marlenus of Ar. Obviously the point of the law is to discourage liaisons between male slaves and free women."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 540