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 BrandsThe Kajira Kef Brand I found this rendition on the web and post it here for your consideration. For a long time I didn't know the original artist until he contacted me himself and sent these higher resolution images. Credit for this artwork goes to AnonMoos.   I searched every single reference from the Books where the common kef brand is described. I then removed all the redundancies and what remained is shown here. So, combined together, here is as complete a description as you will find anywhere. In any event, you'll just have to go with your own interpretation of the following description and arrive at your own conclusions. Next are the known brand sites. Following those, in alphabetical order, are various brand types and sometimes, brands are even altered or even removed. And finally, the supporting, relevant references from the Books where brands are mentioned. I make no pronouncements on these matters, but report them as I find them. Arrive at your own conclusions. I wish you well, Fogaban The kef is about an inch and a half in height, and a half inch in width. A rather simple, delicate, graceful, almost floral mark, in cursive script. Appearing slender, more vertical, more like a stem with floral, cursive curled loops. A rather severe, straight line staff, with two, upturned, frondlike curls, adjacent to it, joined where they touch the staff on its right. It bears a distant, remote resemblance to the printed letter K. Brand Sites The most common brand site, the favorite, is high on the left thigh, under the hip, high enough to be covered even by the brevity of a typical slave tunic. The next, on the right thigh. Perhaps the third most favored brand site, the lower left abdomen. Less common brand sites: The insides of the forearms, on the left breast, the sides of the neck, very tiny, behind and below the left ear, the backs of the legs, the buttocks, the high instep area of either foot and the forehead. Brand Removal Book 37, Warriors of Gor, tells us that brands can be removed. There is no evidence that this a recent development. In fact, it is known that repeated brand removal may disfigure the slave. This could only be known after a period of time. Also, Tarl comments that brand removal or alteration can be a capital offence. It only makes sense that time would have had to pass for laws to be enacted regarding brand removal. "The brand was removed," said Ruffio. "The matter was attended to by discrete members of the green caste. They did well. Their instruments were skillfully handled. Their creams and salves are effective. She is healing rapidly. Her thigh is now as smooth as silk." "It can be a capital offense to remove, or even alter, a slave brand," I said. He had had the small neat brand of Treve which she had worn removed, and had had her thigh smoothed and healed. "We removed one brand, and can remove another," said Decius Albus. "Things are not so simple," said Ruffio. "This cannot be done over and over. You risk disfiguring the slave."
Many are the markets of Gor, and some are supplied by contraband merchandise, of dubious origins,
"Are you a barbarian?" asked the first man. "Maybe," I said. I saw scorn in the faces of several of the chained women. "Look," said the first man, taking me by the upper arm, and turning it to the light. "The barbarian brand." I did not see how I could explain this vaccination mark the men without making clear that my origin was not Gorean. The vaccination was in connection with a disease which, too, as far as I knew, did not even exist on Gor. "Here," said the father. "Such small scars tend to mark barbarians." That, of course, was a vaccination mark. "Is it a brand?" asked the boy. "I suppose so," said the father. "Perhaps it is a temporary brand, put on them for shipping purposes, before they have the kef, the dina, a city mark, or such, put on them." "This one has the kef," said the boy, looking. "Most do," said the father. "I can see that," said the officer. "Too, she has the barbarian brand on her upper left arm." That was, as would be supposed, a vaccination mark. "She is a barbarian," repeated Portus, disparagingly. "No matter," said the officer. "And the little scars on the upper left arm do not, I have found, reduce their value in the markets." "Liar!" she said. "See your upper left arm. You came here with that brand!" "It is not a brand," I said. "It is a medical thing, a trace, a mark, the residue of a medical procedure, called a vaccination." "It is a blemish," she said. "It is very tiny!" I said. "By such things, tiny, betraying brands, marking them as slaves," she said, "many barbarians are recognized." "They are not brands," I said. "Perhaps by such brands," she said, "the hunters recognize slaves." "I should warn you," he said. "She is a barbarian. That is clear. She has the tiny slave-world brand high on her left arm." He was referring to the inoculation scar I had had on my arm since childhood. The vaccination mark, on the other hand, is often taken as a subtle brand, this leading some Goreans to suppose that the woman was already a legal slave somewhere, and has only been stolen from, or purchased from, her former master.
The brand used by the Forkbeard, found rather frequently in the north, consisted of a half circle, with, at its right tip, adjoining it, a steep, diagonal line. The half circle is about an inch and a quarter in width, and the diagonal line about an inch and a quarter in height. The brand is, like many, symbolic. In the north, the bond-maid is sometimes referred to as a woman whose belly lies beneath the sword.
Incidentally, there are many brands on Gor. Two that almost never occur on Gor, by the way, are those of the moons and collar, and of the chain and claw. The first of these commonly occurs in certain of the Gorean enclaves on Earth, which serve as headquarters for agents of Priest-Kings; the second tends to occur in the lairs of Kurii agents on Earth; the first brand consists of a locked collar and, ascending diagonally above it, extending to the right, three quarter moons; this brand indicates the girl is subject to Gorean discipline; the chain-and-claw brand signifies, of course, slavery and subjection within the compass of the Kur yoke.
"What is to be done with me?" I asked. "In the morning," she said, "you will be appropriately identified and transmitted as a naked slave by tarn to the port of Schendi, whence, by slave ship, you will be transported to the island of Cos." "Identified?" I asked. "Slave ship?" "A small chemical brand," she said, "which you will wear in your flesh, something by which our agents in Cos will recognize you." "Chemical brand?" I said. "It will remain invisible until the proper reagent is applied," she said. "Can it be removed?" I asked. "Yes," she said, "but you cannot remove it. It requires the proper combination of chemicals." "Will it be removed?" I asked. "Of course," she said, "after it has done its work, identifying you for our agents. It would be foolish to leave it fixed in your body, would it not, to arouse the puzzlement of the curious, perhaps even to identify you as our message girl to the agents of the enemy?" "Yes, Mistress," I said. The physician swabbed a transparent fluid on my arm. Suddenly, startling me, elating the men, there emerged, as though by magic, a tiny, printed sentence, in fine characters, in bright red. It was on the inside of my elbow. I knew what the sentence said, for my mistress, the Lady Elicia of Ar, had told me. It was a simple sentence. It said; "This is she." It had been painted on my arm with a tiny brush, with another transparent fluid. I had seen the wetness on the inside of my arm, on the area where the arm bends, on the inside of the elbow, and then it had dried, disappearing. I was not even sure the writing had remained. But now, under the action of the reagent, the writing had emerged, fine and clear. Then, only a moment or so later, the physician, from another flask, poured some liquid on a rep-cloth swab, and, again as though by magic, erased the writing. The invisible stain was then gone. The original reagent was then again tried, to check the erasure. There was no reaction. The chemical brand, marking me for the agents with whom the Lady Elicia, my mistress, was associated, was gone. The physician then, with the second fluid, again cleaned my arm, removing the residue of the second application of the reagent.
I had seen the design at the tip of the iron. It was a small flower, stylized; it was circular, about an inch and a half in diameter; it was not unlike a small rose; it was incredibly lovely and delicate. Her brand, however, was not precisely the same as mine. It was more slender, more vertical, more like a stem with floral, cursive loops, about an inch and a half in height, and a half inch in width; it was, I would later learn, the initial letter in cursive script of the Gorean expression 'Kajira'; my own brand was the "dina"; the dina is a small, lovely, multiply petaled flower, The brand Eta wore was not the "dina"; it was, as I would later learn, the initial letter in cursive script of the Gorean expression 'Kajira'; it, too, however, was, in its delicacy and floral nature, an incredibly beautiful and feminine brand; I recalled that I had thought that the brand I had heated might be too feminine to mark a man's properties, such as a saddle or shield, but that it would be perfect to mark something feminine in nature; now I realized that it marked me; both the brand that I wore and that which Eta wore were incredibly feminine; our femininity, whether we wished it or not, had been deeply, and incontrovertibly, stamped upon us. It was natural, given the fact that the dina is the "slave flower," that eventually enterprising slavers, warriors and merchants, those with an interest in the buying and selling of women, should develop a brand based on the flower. Beyond this, there exists on Gor a variety of brands for women, though the Kajira brand, which Eta wore, is by far the most common. Some merchants invent brands, as the dina was invented, in order to freshen the nature of their merchandise and stimulate sales. Collectors, for example, those who are rich, sometimes collect exotic brands, much as collectors on Earth might collect stamps or coins, populating their pleasure gardens not only with girls who are beautiful but diversely marked. A girl, of course, wants to be bought by a strong master who wants her for herself, muchly desiring and lusting for her, not for her brand. When a girl is bought, of course, it is commonly because the man wants her, she, the female, and is willing to put down his hard-earned money for her and her alone, for she is alone; all she brings from the block is herself; she is a slave; she cannot bring wealth, power, or family connections; she comes naked and sold; it is she alone he buys. There are, of course, men who buy for brands. To meet this market various brands are developed and utilized. The "slave flower" brand was a natural development. Unfortunately for these entrepreneurs, their greed and lack of control over the metal shops resulted in the widespread proliferation of the dina brand. As it became more popular, it was becoming, simultaneously, of course, a fairly common brand. Girls branded as I was were already spoken of on Gor, rather disparagingly, as "dinas." Collectors now seldom sought for dinas. This development, though perhaps a disappointment to certain merchants and slavers, was not unwelcome to the girls who bore the brand, though few cared for their feelings. The girl who is bid upon and sold from the block wants to be bought because men have found her desirable, so desirable that they are willing to part with their very gold to buy her; how miserable she would be to learn that it is only for her brand that she is valued. There were other brands in my captor's camp. Yet I had been made a "dina." He had not done this for economic reasons. He had "sized me up," my nature and my body. He had decided the dina brand would be, for me, exquisitely "right." Accordingly, he had burned it into my flesh. Now, in my body, deeply, I wore the "slave flower." She pointed to her brand. "Kan-lara," she said. She pointed to my brand. "Kan-lara Dina," she said. I repeated these words. "Dina," said the girl with the bruise to me. She had called me that because of my brand, the Dina, or Slave Flower. Girls who wear the brand are sometimes spoken of as Dinas. As she had said "Dina," it had been a term of abuse. The Dina brand is one of the more frequently found of the specialized brands on Gor. Dinas, such as I was, were relatively common girls. "I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kajira brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar." "Come to the Dina!" said the first. "All our girls are dinas!" She turned her left thigh to me and drew up her tunic, showing me the dina brand. The dina is a small, roselike flower. It is popularly called the "slave flower." The dina brand, or slave-flower brand, is a common one on Gor. She was then handled, and turned about, for he was looking for slave brands. The most common site for such, recommended in Merchant Law, is high on the left thigh, under the hip. But there are other sites, as well. As the polities of Gor are largely scattered and independent there is, as would be expected, some variation in brands. The most common types are the staff and fronds, and the Dina, resembling a small and common flower of that world. Various cities, too, have their brands, such as Treve, and Ar, and some populations, as well, such as those of the nomadic Wagon Peoples. The white female slaves of the Red Savages of the Barrens are not branded. "What of the masters?" said Dina. She wore the tiny Dina brand, "the slave flower." The Dina is a familiar slave brand, but not nearly as common as the cursive Kef. The girls who wear that brand are often called "Dina," doubtless from the mark.
Whereas, given the collaring, clothing, and marking of a girl, the closely knit nature of the society the acceptance and approval of bondage in the culture, and the culture's unquestioned support of, and enforcement of, the rigors of the institution of bondage, there is no escape for the Gorean slave girl, escapes are occasionally attempted, either from ignorance or desperation. The best that might be hoped for would be to fall into the chains of a different master who, realizing she was a runaway, would be likely to be far more cruel to her than her former master. Indeed, there are even fugitive brands, and it is not in the best interest of a girl to have one put in her body.
"I am not stupid, Master," she said. "I know there is no escape for slaves. I need not be taught it by the lash or the cutting of the tendons in my legs. I do not want an 'I have been displeasing' brand burned into my forehead, for other girls to see, to greet with laughter and mock."
The man, placing heavy gloves on his hands, withdrew from the brazier a slave iron. Its tip was a figure some inch and a half high, the first letter in cursive script, in the Gorean alphabet, of the expression Kajira. I noted her brand. It was a southern brand, the first letter, in cursive script, of Kajira, the most common expression for a Gorean female slave. Her brand, however, was not precisely the same as mine. It was more slender, more vertical, more like a stem with floral, cursive loops, about an inch and a half in height, and a half inch in width; it was, I would later learn, the initial letter in cursive script of the Gorean expression 'Kajira'; my own brand was the "dina"; the dina is a small, lovely, multiply petaled flower, The brand Eta wore was not the "dina"; it was, as I would later learn, the initial letter in cursive script of the Gorean expression 'Kajira'; it, too, however, was, in its delicacy and floral nature, an incredibly beautiful and feminine brand; I recalled that I had thought that the brand I had heated might be too feminine to mark a man's properties, such as a saddle or shield, but that it would be perfect to mark something feminine in nature; now I realized that it marked me; both the brand that I wore and that which Eta wore were incredibly feminine; our femininity, whether we wished it or not, had been deeply, and incontrovertibly, stamped upon us.
Slave Girl of Gor Book 11 Pages 62 - 63 She knelt before my master, naked, in Sirik. She looked up at him. Her thigh, freshly branded, bore the common slave mark of Gor, the initial letter, in cursive script, of the Gorean expression 'Kajira', which means Slave Girl. She trembled. She was now no different from thousands of other girls who shared her condition, that of total bondage. Her own brand was the customary Kajira brand, the initial letter in cursive Gorean script, about an inch and a half high, and a half inch wide, of the expression "Kajira," the most common Gorean expression for a female slave. It was clearly visible on her thigh. The brand with which she had been marked was the common slave brand for the Gorean female; incised deeply in her thigh, about an inch and a half in height and a half inch in width, was the initial letter, in cursive script, lovely, of the expression 'Kajira,' the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. It was indeed a most beautiful brand. More than half of the branded beauties of Gor, I conjecture, wear that brand. "Is she to be branded?" asked the guard. "Yes," said Samos, "the common brand." "What did he say!" she cried. Each of the two guards flanking her had now taken her by an arm. She looked very small between them. I thought the common Kajira mark would be exquisite in her thigh. "Left thigh," I suggested. "Yes, left thigh," said Samos to one of the guards. I liked the left-thigh branded girl. A right-handed master may caress it while he holds her in his left arm. The brand was the common Kajira mark of Gor, the first letter, about an inch and a half in height and a half inch in width, in cursive script, of the expression 'Kajira', which is the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. It is a simple mark, and rather floral, a staff, with two, upturned, frondlike curls, joined where they touch the staff on its right. It bears a distant resemblance to the printed letter 'K' in several of the Western alphabets of Earth, and I suspect, in spite of several differences, it may owe its origin to that letter. "I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kajira brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar." As I lifted my head, miserable, cringing, my back and legs lacerated and bloody, I saw, truly noticing it for the first time, a deep mark, a lovely mark, about an inch and a half high and a half of an inch wide, incised in Lola's left thigh. I was startled. It was a brand. Lola had been branded. The mark was exquisite in her flesh. The design was rather floral. It consisted of what seemed to be a straight line, rather severe, with what appeared to be, adjacent to it, to its right, two fronds, curled and graceful. I would later learn that this was, in cursive script, the initial letter of the Gorean expression 'Kajira', which is the most common Gorean expression for a female slave. The design also, according to some, is supposed to have symbolic significance. The straight line is supposed to represent the staff of discipline and the two fronds the beauty of a woman. The significance of the whole, then, would be beauty subject to the staff of discipline. Interestingly, the design also bears a remote resemblance, if one thinks about it, to the English letter 'K'. Since the first sound in the expression 'Kajira' would be represented in English by the letter 'K' it is quite possible that this resemblance is more than a coincidence. "My brand," she said, "is the common Kajira mark. I hope it pleases Master." I regarded it, the staff and fronds, delicate and incisive, beauty subject to discipline. "I am not familiar with Gorean brands," she said. "Yours is a common slave brand," I said. "It marks most property girls. You share it with thousands." She wore the common Kajira brand, the tiny staff and fronds. "An excellent brand," I said. It was the common kajira mark, as I had expected, small, delicate, and beautiful, the cursive Kef, the staff and fronds, lyrically feminine, but unmistakable, a brand marking property, worn by most Gorean female slaves. I saw the brand, tiny and tasteful, yet unmistakable, fixed in her thigh, high, under the hip. It was the common kajira brand, the staff and fronds, beauty subject to discipline, worn by most female slaves on Gor. She, too, as that slave, now wore the common Kajira brand, the tiny, delicate, lovely cursive Kef. This is a good brand for females, as it tells them that they are only common slaves. The common kajira mark, of course, which I myself wore, is a lovely brand. It may be the most familiar brand on Gor for a female slave, but that does not make it any the less beautiful. Indeed, I suspect it is the most common brand because it is the most beautiful, or surely one of the most beautiful. Just as the male beasts wish us to be attractive, and dress us for their pleasure, when permitting us clothing, and such, so, too, they brand us for beauty, as well. The brand, small and tasteful, but momentous in its meaning, much enhances the beauty of a woman, both aesthetically and cognitively - in the latter dimension marking her as slave, and thus latently, implicitly, indicatively hinting at, or, better, starting, the pleasures, the joys, one may have of her. The most common brand site is the left thigh, under the hip. This site is analogous to that used on a multitude of other forms of domestic animal, verr, tarsks, bosk, and such. Sometimes boys enjoy surprising slaves in the streets or markets and flip their tunics, to ascertain the brand, and, doubtless, to treat themselves to a flash of thigh. It is a game for them. As they are free persons they could simply put the girl to her knees and issue the command, "Brand," to which the girl must respond by revealing her slave mark. But this would take time. And the pack of them are afoot, racing about and frolicking. "Common kajira mark," said a man. "A low slave," said a man. "Yes," said another. The fellow who had asked for the brand display then made a tiny gesture and Ellen, instantly, returned to first position. She was then handled, and turned about, for he was looking for slave brands. The most common site for such, recommended in Merchant Law, is high on the left thigh, under the hip. But there are other sites, as well. As the polities of Gor are largely scattered and independent there is, as would be expected, some variation in brands. The most common types are the staff and fronds, and the Dina, resembling a small and common flower of that world. Various cities, too, have their brands, such as Treve, and Ar, and some populations, as well, such as those of the nomadic Wagon Peoples. The white female slaves of the Red Savages of the Barrens are not branded. I was pleased that the brand had been put to her. Women such as she belonged to men. Let there be no mistake about it. Let them then be so imprinted, so designated. It was, appropriately, the common kajira mark. How right that was for her. How splendid that the former Lady Flavia of Ar should bear in her thigh, now that of a slave, the most common of Gorean slave marks, the tiny, tasteful, cursive kef, as did many thousands of others. The familiarity of this brand, of course, is no reproach, nor any indication of inferior merit. It is a very beautiful mark, enhancing a slave's beauty, and, as such, it is likely to mark not only the least of slaves but the highest of slaves, not only a pot girl or a kettle-and-mat girl but the pampered pets chained to the side of a Ubar's throne. Still, I was pleased that it was the common mark which had been put on her. That seemed appropriate. Too, it was one of my favorite brands. The common kajira mark, of course, which I myself wore, is a lovely brand. It may be the most familiar brand on Gor for a female slave, but that does not make it any the less beautiful. Indeed, I suspect it is the most common brand because it is the most beautiful, or surely one of the most beautiful. Just as the male beasts wish us to be attractive, and dress us for their pleasure, when permitting us clothing, and such, so, too, they brand us for beauty, as well. The brand, small and tasteful, but momentous in its meaning, much enhances the beauty of a woman, both aesthetically and cognitively - in the latter dimension marking her as slave, and thus latently, implicitly, indicatively hinting at, or, better, starting, the pleasures, the joys, one may have of her. The most common brand site is the left thigh, under the hip. This site is analogous to that used on a multitude of other forms of domestic animal, verr, tarsks, bosk, and such. Sometimes boys enjoy surprising slaves in the streets or markets and flip their tunics, to ascertain the brand, and, doubtless, to treat themselves to a flash of thigh. It is a game for them. As they are free persons they could simply put the girl to her knees and issue the command, "Brand," to which the girl must respond by revealing her slave mark. But this would take time. And the pack of them are afoot, racing about and frolicking. "I thought it would be so," I said, "the common brand, the cursive Kef." The brand was the common Kef, the first letter in the word "kajira," the staff and fronds, beauty subject to discipline, the most common slave brand on Gor.
The brand itself, in the case of girls, is a rather graceful mark, being the initial letter of the Gorean expression for slave in cursive script. If a male is branded, the same initial is used, but rendered in a block letter. In the center of his forehead, there was a large brand, the capital initial of the Gorean word for slave, in block script.
The standard of the Kassars is that of a scarlet, three-weighted bola, which hangs from a lance; the symbolic representation of a bola, three circles joined at the center by lines, is used to mark their bosk and slaves; both Tenchika and Dina wore that brand; Kamchak had not decided to rebrand them, as is done with bosk; he thought, rightly, it would lower their value; also, I think he was pleased to have slaves in his wagon who wore the brand of Kassars, for such might be taken as evidence of the superiority of Tuchuks to Kassars, that they had bested them and taken their slaves; similarly Kamchak was pleased to have in his herd bosk, and he had several, whose first brand was that of the three-weighted bola; the standard of the Kataii is a yellow bow, bound across a black lance; their brand is also that of a bow, facing to the left; the Paravaci standard is a large banner of jewels beaded on golden wires, forming the head and horns of a bosk its value is incalculable; the Paravaci brand is a symbolic representation of a bosk head, a semicircle resting on an inverted isosceles triangle.
The standard of the Kassars is that of a scarlet, three-weighted bola, which hangs from a lance; the symbolic representation of a bola, three circles joined at the center by lines, is used to mark their bosk and slaves; both Tenchika and Dina wore that brand; Kamchak had not decided to rebrand them, as is done with bosk; he thought, rightly, it would lower their value; also, I think he was pleased to have slaves in his wagon who wore the brand of Kassars, for such might be taken as evidence of the superiority of Tuchuks to Kassars, that they had bested them and taken their slaves; similarly Kamchak was pleased to have in his herd bosk, and he had several, whose first brand was that of the three-weighted bola; the standard of the Kataii is a yellow bow, bound across a black lance; their brand is also that of a bow, facing to the left; the Paravaci standard is a large banner of jewels beaded on golden wires, forming the head and horns of a bosk its value is incalculable; the Paravaci brand is a symbolic representation of a bosk head, a semicircle resting on an inverted isosceles triangle.
I saw the brand on her thigh. Although the brand was the first letter, in cursive Gorean script, of the most common Gorean expression for a slave girl, 'Kajira', its symbolism, I think, is much richer than this. For example, in the slave brand, the 'Kef', though clearly a Kef and in cursive script, is more floral, in the extended, upturned, frondlike curls, than would be the common cursive Kef. This tends to make the mark very feminine. It is at this point that the symbolism of the brand becomes more clear. The two frondlike curls indicate femininity and beauty; the staff, in its uncompromising severity, indicates that the femininity is subject to discipline; the upturned curves on the frondlike curls indicate total openness and vulnerability. It is a very simple, lovely brand, simple, as befits a slave, lovely, as befits a woman. I put her on her side and thrust up her gown, and turned her about, from one side to the other. In a moment or two I had checked the normal brand sites for a Gorean female. The most typical brand site is high on the left thigh, high enough, under the hip, to be covered even by the brevity of a typical slave tunic. In this way one often does not know what brand the girl wears. In this way a bit of mystery, I suppose, might be thought to be added to her. The mystery in most cases, however, if one is truly interested, is usually no more than temporary. It is only necessary to lift her skirt. Sometimes bets are made on this matter. In such bets, of course, the odds are with he who wagers on the graceful, cursive Kef. This is the most common Kajira brand. "Kef" is the first letter in "Kajira," the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. It is sometimes, too, spoken of as the "Staff and fronds." This is doubtless because of a fancied resemblance to such objects. Also, of course, this involves an allusion to beauty under discipline, indeed, to helpless beauty under absolutely uncompromising discipline. I also checked certain less common brand sites, such as the lower left abdomen, the interior of the left forearm and the high instep area of the left foot. Her thigh, as I determined, in turning her about, and caressing her, first, by feel, and then in a flash of lightning, wore the common Kajira brand, the small, delicate "Kef," for "Kajira," sometimes called the staff and fronds, suggesting beauty subject to discipline. "I thought that slaves were branded," said the woman to Mirus. "Not all," said Mirus, "though it is recommended by Merchant Law. Turn your left thigh to our guest, Ellen. Look high, just under the hip. "She is branded!" said the woman. "Yes," said Mirus. "What a beautiful mark!" said the woman. "It is the most common brand for a female slave on Gor," said Mirus. "It is the cursive kef. 'Kef' is the first letter in the Gorean expression 'kajira', which means 'slave girl'." "How beautifully it sets her off," said the woman. "It is recognized throughout Gor," said Mirus. "It instantly, anywhere on this world, identifies its wearer as a female slave." So, thought Ellen, I have been given a common brand, that appropriate for any low girl! So that is how he thinks of me! That is how he rates me! But it is beautiful! And it is doubtless, if it is indeed the most common brand, worn by thousands, at least, of girls on this world. A common brand! But, of course, she thought, that is exactly the brand he would see to it that I would have! So, thought Ellen, not all slaves are branded. But she supposed that most were, doubtless the overwhelming majority of them. Certainly there had been little ceremony about it. It was rather as though it were to be expected, as though it were something to be taken for granted, something obvious, something to be accomplished in the normal course of things, at least with one such as she. She had been taken to a room, where she had been stripped and had had her hands braceleted behind her; she had then been placed in the rack, in which her left leg had been held immobile. The marking itself took only a few moments. While she was gasping, and sobbing, and crying, shuddering, trying to comprehend the enormity of what had been done to her, the collar had been put on her neck, and locked. She looked down at her left thigh. Could these things be true? Could she have gone mad? But there, high, just below the hip, was the tiny, graceful, cursive kef. It was true! She was branded! Literally, actually branded! That lovely mark was literally in her. It had been burned into her with a hot iron! She was branded, clearly and unmistakably marked! Both brand and collar mark the woman as slave, but both do so in a somewhat different fashion. The brand stays on her; the collar may change. Not all masters brand and collar their slaves, but branding and collaring is strongly recommended in Merchant Law, and it would be a rare slave girl who was not both branded and collared. "What is your brand?" "The common kef, Master," she said. She was, of course, well marked as bond, in virtue of the brand, in her case the common kef, the most common mark on Gor for a slave girl, that which Mirus, doubtless to his amusement, had had put on her. "Brand, the kef," called the attendant. That was the most common kajira brand, the "kef" being the first letter in the expression 'kajira'. Mirus, of course, had seen to it that she would wear the common kef, which he regarded as fitting for her; he had seen to it that she should be marked as it pleased him, as a common slave. Another common mark is a vaccination mark, usually thought by Goreans to be an Earth brand. Goreans prefer, of course, Gorean brands, which are commonly clear, tasteful, unmistakable, and beautiful. "What is your brand?" I asked. I could not determine this for her tunic. Too, there was little light in my cell, only that from the small lamp, on its chains, slung from the ceiling outside the bars, moving with the movement of the ship, outside the opened gate. "The kef," she said, angrily. "There you have it," I said. "The kef is for pot girls, for kettle-and-mat girls, for common slaves." "Even the most beautiful," she snapped, "may wear the kef." I smiled. "That is true," I said. "Men often enjoy putting even the most beautiful in the kef, that they may keep in mind that they are only slaves." "What of the masters?" said Dina. She wore the tiny Dina brand, "the slave flower." The Dina is a familiar slave brand, but not nearly as common as the cursive Kef. The girls who wear that brand are often called "Dina," doubtless from the mark. The next morning I was routinely branded, and then returned to the cell. I could not believe the casualness with which I had been marked. I might have been any domestic animal! A moment after the iron had marked me and I was screaming in disbelief and pain, a scarf was placed over my eyes, and I could not even see the mark, which now made me, I sensed, somehow, radically and irremediably different than I had been. I would learn later that I wore in my thigh, small, but clear, imprinted there the cursive kef. I would learn, too, it is a common brand, marking common slaves. Following my marking, still blindfolded, my thigh burning, I was returned to my cell, but now, by means of a belly chain and bracelets, my wrists were fastened behind me, closely, at the small of my back. Thus, I could not reach the brand. And my thigh was marked, with the Kef, the most common slave brand on Gor, a mark which showed all who might look upon it what I was, and only was, kajira. My brand was the small, tasteful, but unmistakable "Kef," the "staff and fronds," beauty subject to discipline. There are many slave brands on Gor, but the "Kef," is the most common. The joke is that it is the common brand for the common girl, but I knew that some of the highest, most expensive, and most beautiful girls wore it. In any event, it is a beautiful brand, and is commonly thought to muchly enhance the value and beauty of the goods it marks. Each, too, was marked, high on the left thigh, under the hip. Jane, Cecily, and Saru wore the common kef, familiar on the distant continent. Nezumi wore a Pani brand, selected for her by her master, Tajima. Too, there was always the brand. My brand was small and delicate, but unmistakable. It had been placed high on my left thigh, just below the hip. It was an attractive mark. It had a vague resemblance to a cursive 'k' in English. I was told it was a 'Kef', which is the first letter in the Gorean expression, 'kajira'. It was also, apparently, a very common brand. I was, accordingly, not privileged, or distinguished, by a special or unusual brand. Too, of course, if one were to investigate, it would be discovered that our left thighs were marked, high, below the hip. We all wore the Kef the most common slave brand. The pattern traced in the palm of a slave's hand may be as random as the movement of a leaf in the wind, sometimes as clear as the Kef, the most common slave brand. 'Kef' is the first letter of the word 'kajira'. There are various branding sites on Gor, but, by far, the most common is on the left thigh, below the hip. That is where I had been marked. Similarly, there are many slave brands on Gor, but the most common, by far, is the small, delicate, tasteful cursive Kef. It is small, and not obtrusive, but it means so much! How dramatically different I had become when it was put on me. 'Kef', as earlier mentioned, is the first letter of the Gorean word 'kajira'. Our left thighs were locked in a rack, and, one after the other, we were routinely marked. I wept as I was marked, but was not whipped. We were then fitted with house collars. The mark was small and graceful. I later learned that it was the cursive kef, a common brand. 'Kef' is the first letter of the word 'kajira', which is the most common Gorean expression for a female slave. What is your brand?" "The Kef," I said. "A common brand for a common slave," he said. Most of the girls at the Golden Chain were "Kef girls." The Kef might be a common brand but that did not entail that the girl who wore it was a common slave. Many preferred slaves and high slaves wore the Kef. As far as I knew, the Kef, the cursive Kef, was the most common brand for a female slave on this world. I was angry. I strove to repress my annoyance. I supposed I was, in some sense, a common slave. That did not make the matter less annoying. If anything, it made the matter more annoying. "I do not understand," he said. "Animals need not be clothed; and they are often tethered, confined, or restrained, in one way or another, sometimes quite helplessly; brands are useful in keeping track of them; and collars and leashes are quite appropriate for them." "What is your brand?" I asked. "Animals are branded, are they not?" she said. "Yes," I said. "And, pretty animal, what is your brand?" "The Kef," she said, "the common kef." "I am not surprised," I said.
'Lie on your right side, exposing your left thigh,' he said. 'Yes, Master,' I said. From the box he then took a small, curved knife and a tiny, cylindrical leather flask. I gritted my teeth, but made no sound. With the small knife he gashed my left thigh, making upon it a small, strange design. He then took a powder, orange in color, from the flask and rubbed it into the wound. He looked down at me. 'You have been knife branded,' he said. Knife branding, too, practiced by some primitive peoples, is quite rare.
I had now been branded, a small, graceful mark burned into my left thigh, high, under the hip. It had a vertical bar, a rather strict one, with two curling, frondlike extensions, rather near its base, as though in submission to it. It looked a little like a "K." That was mine. There were variations on this theme. Some of the other girls had similar brands, but, in one respect or another, somewhat different. There were other sorts of brands, too, but the "K-type" brand was the most common. Most of these brands, of whatever sort, were on the left thigh, as mine was, near the hip. When the instructress had been stripped I had seen that she, like the rest of us, was branded. Her brand, too, was one of the "K-type" brands. It was somewhat different from mine, but it was clearly of the same sort. I do not know what the nature of Tina's brand was, as I never saw it, but I am sure it was there, probably high on the left thigh, like mine, beneath that brief skirt. There was no difficulty, of course, in seeing the collar on her neck. That was visible to anyone. It was probably one of the "K-type" brands. They seemed to be the most common brand, at least of those I had seen.
I have wondered upon occasion why brands are used on Gorean slaves. Surely Goreans have at their disposal means for indelibly but painlessly marking the human body. My conjecture, confirmed to some extent by the speculations of the Older Tarl, who had taught me the craft of arms in Ko-ro-ba years ago, is that the brand is used primarily, oddly enough, because of its reputed psychological effect. In theory, if not in practice, when the girl finds herself branded like an animal, finds her fair skin marked by the iron of a master, she cannot fail, somehow, in the deepest levels of her thought, to regard herself as something which is owned, as mere property, as something belonging to the brute who has put the burning iron to her thigh. Most simply the brand is supposed to convince the girl that she is truly owned; it is supposed to make her feel owned. When the iron is pulled away and she knows the pain and degradation and smells the odor of her burned flesh, she is supposed to tell herself, understanding its full and terrible import, I AM HIS. Actually I suppose the effect of the brand depends greatly on the girl. In many girls I would suppose the brand has little effect besides contributing to their shame, their misery and humiliation. With other girls it might well increase their intractability, their hostility. On the other hand, I have known of several cases in which a proud, insolent woman, even one of great intelligence, who resisted a master to the very touch of the iron, once branded became instantly a passionate and obedient Pleasure Slave. But all in all I do not know if the brand is used for its psychological effect or not. Perhaps it is merely a device for merchants who must have some such means for tracing runaway slaves, which would otherwise constitute a costly hazard to their trade. The best she might hope for would be to exchange one bondage for another, and doubtless for one far worse than that from which she fled, for she would be recognized as a runaway, and, quite possibly, would be prominently branded as such, the mark seared into her forehead.
She was then handled, and turned about, for he was looking for slave brands. The most common site for such, recommended in Merchant Law, is high on the left thigh, under the hip. But there are other sites, as well. As the polities of Gor are largely scattered and independent there is, as would be expected, some variation in brands. The most common types are the staff and fronds, and the Dina, resembling a small and common flower of that world. Various cities, too, have their brands, such as Treve, and Ar, and some populations, as well, such as those of the nomadic Wagon Peoples. The white female slaves of the Red Savages of the Barrens are not branded.
"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kajira brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar."
Portus Canio lifted his head a little, and looked, dully, at the subcaptain. "Have no fear, sleen of Ar," said the subcaptain. "You will soon be slave, branded with the mark of the quarries of Tyros, or perhaps we will mark you for the bench of a merchant galley, where, drawing your oar by day or night, hungry for a crust of bread or a sip of water, you will have time to ponder your foolishness."
Portus Canio lifted his head a little, and looked, dully, at the subcaptain. "Have no fear, sleen of Ar," said the subcaptain. "You will soon be slave, branded with the mark of the quarries of Tyros, or perhaps we will mark you for the bench of a merchant galley, where, drawing your oar by day or night, hungry for a crust of bread or a sip of water, you will have time to ponder your foolishness."
"If a girl is already branded," I said, casually, but frightened, "she would not be again branded, would she." "Commonly not," said Ena. "Though sometimes, for some reason, the mark of Treve is pressed into her flesh." "I was branded with the mark of Treve." "I have never seen the brand of Treve," I said. "It is rare," said Ena, proudly. She regarded the brand. "It is the first letter, in cursive script," she said, "of the name of the city of Treve." "Yes, Worthless Slave," said he, "you will wear in your flesh the mark of the city of Treve." "Please," I begged. "When men ask you," said he, "who it was that marked you as liar and thief, and traitress, point to this brand, and say, I was marked by one of Treve, who was displeased with me." "Do not punish me with the iron!" I cried. I could not move my thigh. It must wait, helpless, for the blazing kiss of the iron. "No," I cried, "No!" He approached me. I could feel the terrible heat of the iron, even inches from my body. "Please, no!" I begged. The iron was poised. I saw his eyes and realized that I would receive no mercy. He was a tarnsman of Treve. "With the mark of Treve," he said, "I brand you slave." Then the iron, crackling and hissing, was pressed, deeply and firmly, into my flesh, for some five seconds. I screamed and sobbed, and began to cough and vomit. My wrists were tied before my body, by a long strip of binding fiber, which was then thrown over the top of the horizontal pole. I felt my wrists pulled above my head and then I was jerked from my feet and hung, suspended by the wrists, from the pole. The free end of the strap was secured to one side. The men stepped back. "I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kajira brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar." "I, too, have heard it said," I said, "that Talena was once a slave, and I have heard it said, as well, that even now she wears on her thigh the mark of Treve, a souvenir of her former bondage to a tarnsman of that city." She was then handled, and turned about, for he was looking for slave brands. The most common site for such, recommended in Merchant Law, is high on the left thigh, under the hip. But there are other sites, as well. As the polities of Gor are largely scattered and independent there is, as would be expected, some variation in brands. The most common types are the staff and fronds, and the Dina, resembling a small and common flower of that world. Various cities, too, have their brands, such as Treve, and Ar, and some populations, as well, such as those of the nomadic Wagon Peoples. The white female slaves of the Red Savages of the Barrens are not branded. "I gather from keepers," I said, "that you bear in your left thigh, high, under the hip, not the common kef, but the mark of Treve." "The mark of Treve!" cried a slave, pointing to the thigh of the held slave. "I saw your mark," I said. "I have not seen one like it." "It is the mark of the city of Treve," she said. "You are from Treve then?" I said. "No," she said. "Where are you from?" I asked. "Do you know accents," she asked, "that of Cos and Tyros, of Ti, of Torcadino, of Thentis, of Port Kar, of remote Turia?" "No," I said. "Your mark," she said, "is the common kef. Almost all slave girls wear it, common girls, particularly in the northern hemisphere, even as far east as the barrens." "It is a lovely mark," I said. "It looks attractive, burned into the hide of a common girl," she said.
I saw the brand on her thigh. Although the brand was the first letter, in cursive Gorean script, of the most common Gorean expression for a slave girl, 'Kajira', its symbolism, I think, is much richer than this. For example, in the slave brand, the 'Kef', though clearly a Kef and in cursive script, is more floral, in the extended, upturned, frondlike curls, than would be the common cursive Kef. This tends to make the mark very feminine. It is at this point that the symbolism of the brand becomes more clear. The two frondlike curls indicate femininity and beauty; the staff, in its uncompromising severity, indicates that the femininity is subject to discipline; the upturned curves on the frondlike curls indicate total openness and vulnerability. It is a very simple, lovely brand, simple, as befits a slave, lovely, as befits a woman. Incidentally, there are many brands on Gor. Two that almost never occur on Gor, by the way, are those of the moons and collar, and of the chain and claw. The first of these commonly occurs in certain of the Gorean enclaves on Earth, which serve as headquarters for agents of Priest-Kings; the second tends to occur in the lairs of Kurii agents on Earth; the first brand consists of a locked collar and, ascending diagonally above it, extending to the right, three quarter moons; this brand indicates the girl is subject to Gorean discipline; the chain-and-claw brand signifies, of course, slavery and subjection within the compass of the Kur yoke.
"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kajira brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar."
I did not know the brand, but, I gathered, in Pani script, it unambiguously identified her as a slave.
The standard of the Kassars is that of a scarlet, three-weighted bola, which hangs from a lance; the symbolic representation of a bola, three circles joined at the center by lines, is used to mark their bosk and slaves; both Tenchika and Dina wore that brand; Kamchak had not decided to rebrand them, as is done with bosk; he thought, rightly, it would lower their value; also, I think he was pleased to have slaves in his wagon who wore the brand of Kassars, for such might be taken as evidence of the superiority of Tuchuks to Kassars, that they had bested them and taken their slaves; similarly Kamchak was pleased to have in his herd bosk, and he had several, whose first brand was that of the three-weighted bola; the standard of the Kataii is a yellow bow, bound across a black lance; their brand is also that of a bow, facing to the left; the Paravaci standard is a large banner of jewels beaded on golden wires, forming the head and horns of a bosk its value is incalculable; the Paravaci brand is a symbolic representation of a bosk head, a semicircle resting on an inverted isosceles triangle.
I saw Rask, with a heavy glove, draw forth one of the irons from the fire. It terminated in a tiny letter, not more than a quarter of an inch high. The letter was white hot. "This is a penalty brand," he said. "It marks you as a liar." "I think I shall have you remanded for the liar's brand," said the scribe.
I saw Rask, with a heavy glove, draw forth one of the irons from the fire. It terminated in a tiny letter, not more than a quarter of an inch high. The letter was white hot. "This penalty brand," said Rask of Treve, lifting another iron from the brazier, again with a tiny letter at its glowing termination, "marks you also as what you are, as a thief."
I saw Rask, with a heavy glove, draw forth one of the irons from the fire. It terminated in a tiny letter, not more than a quarter of an inch high. The letter was white hot. "This third iron," said Rask of Treve, "is, too, a penalty iron. I mark you with it not for myself, but for Ute." Through raging tears I saw, white hot, the tiny letter. "It marks you as a traitress," said Rask of Treve.
Women, it was said, had special reason to fear Rask of Treve. It was said he had a gargantuan contempt, and appetite, for them. It was said that when he used a woman, he then branded her, with his name, as though she, once used, no matter to whom she might afterwards be given or sold, could truly belong only to him. I moaned and fell to my side, my knees drawn up under my chin, my hands braceleted behind me. My thigh burned terribly, from the branding, and my back and the back of my legs still screamed from the cruel flames of the leather lash. Elinor Brinton, of Park Avenue, had been branded as a liar, a thief and a traitress, and a bold tarnsman, from a distant world, her master, had put into her flesh, insolently, the mark of his own city. The girl in the slave box was under no delusion as to who it was who owned her. He had collared her, and, with a hot iron, had placed in her flesh his brand.
"I was branded with the mark of Treve." "I have never seen the brand of Treve," I said. "It is rare," said Ena, proudly. She regarded the brand. "It is the first letter, in cursive script," she said, "of the name of the city of Treve." Knife branding, too, practiced by some primitive peoples, is quite rare. Indeed, some men, collectors, use their gardens mainly for housing their collections, say, of different types of women, selected perhaps primarily with an eye to illustrating, and exhibiting, various forms of female beauty, or, indeed, even for their unique or rare brands.
Whereas slave girls are not allowed on the walls unaccompanied, some will seek escape by scrambling to deserted segments of the walls and diving into the marsh waters below. Those who do not fall prey to the predators of the marshes are picked up by Rencers. The Rencers will then brand their foreheads and keep them as rence slaves, which, as I understand it, is a most laborious and unpleasant slavery, or, swathing them with ropes, return them to Port Kar for punishment, a tarsk-bit for returning a less beautiful slave, and two tarsk-bits for returning a more beautiful slave. Most commonly, if one manages to survive for a time in the delta, there are two alternatives, other than being cast to tharlarion or staked out for an Ul. One is kept or returned. If one is kept one's forehead is branded and one is kept as a rence slave. If one is not kept, one is nearly concealed with ropes, thrown into a rence craft, and taken back to Port Kar for punishment. In such a case, to whom would I be delivered? Rencers expect, as I once noted, to receive a tarsk-bit for returning a less beautiful slave, and two tarsk-bits for returning a more beautiful slave. I did not know if they would ask one or two tarsk-bits for me. It is men who decide such things. If masters are unwilling to pay the tarsk-bit or tarsk-bits, the girl is taken back to the delta to be forehead-branded and made a rence slave. Alternatively, if free rence women have their way, she may be thrown to tharlarion or put out for an Ul. That fate is also one which may be visited upon a slave who is found displeasing to her master.
"I want her deeply and cleanly branded," he said. "An iron master travels among several of the smaller border towns. He is good at his business and has an assortment of irons, ranging from lovely and delicate to rude and brutal." "What sort of brand would you like, my dear?" asked the man of the girl at the wall. "Have no fear. I am now permitting you to express a preference. I shall then, as it pleases me, accept your preference, or reject it." Her lip, now swollen, trembled. "Would you like a lovely and feminine brand," he asked, "or a rude and brutal brand, one fit for a pot girl or a tendress of kaiila?"
Another common expression for a female slave, incidentally, the initial of which, in cursive script, is sometimes used to mark a girl, is Sa-Fora, which means, rather literally, Chain Daughter. Hunters of Gor Book 8 Page 194 There are five Gorean words that begin with or include "Sa-": Sa-Tarna - Life-Daughter = The staple crop of Gor Tarnsman of Gor Book 1 Page 43 Outlaw of Gor Book 2 Page 74 Sa-Tassna - Life-Mother = meat and food in general Tarnsman of Gor Book 1 Pages 43 and 44 Outlaw of Gor Book 2 Page 75 Pagar-Sa-Tarna - Pleasure of the Life-Daughter, but almost always "Paga" for short = the fermented brew concocted with fiendish skill from Sa-Tarna Tarnsman of Gor Book 1 Page 61 Outlaw of Gor Book 2 Page 75 Sa-Fora - Chain Daughter, or Daughter of the Chain = a brand Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 30 Hunters of Gor Book 8 Page 194 Witness of Gor Book 26 Pages 101 and 102 Sa-eela = one of the most moving, deeply rhythmic and erotic slave dances Guardsman of Gor Book 16 Pages 259 - 266 Why do I mention these words here, among brand descriptions? I had used this quote to say the letter S represents the Sa-Fora brand: Another common expression for a female slave, incidentally, the initial of which, in cursive script, is sometimes used to mark a girl, is Sa-Fora, which means, rather literally, Chain Daughter.However, a girl named Raven has asked me (and you have, perhaps, wondered too) . . . Since the quotation only speaks of a cursive letter I thought it would be an F for Chain.To answer Raven and anyone else who may have wondered, I will begin with this first . . . I strive for ~The Gorean Cave~ to be the most accurate source of reference material anywhere. And, to be sure, I am no linguist. I had taken what the sentence says at face value and assigned the letter S for Sa-Fora. Should it, instead be F for Fora? I do not know. Therefore, since I do knot know for sure, I have rephrased my description for this brand.
The street was lined by throngs of Tuchuks and slaves. Among them, too, were soothsayers and haruspexes, and singers and musicians, and, here and there, small peddlers and merchants, of various cities, for such are occasionally permitted by the Tuchuks, who crave their wares, to approach the wagons. Each of these, I was later to learn, wore on his forearm a tiny brand, in the form of spreading bosk horns, which guaranteed his passage, at certain seasons, across the plains of the Wagon Peoples.
I had little doubt that it would be the Tahari brand which, white hot, would be pressed into the thigh of the new slave, marking her thenceforth as merchandise. The contact surface of the iron would be formed into the Taharic character 'Kef', which, in Taharic, is the initial letter of the expression 'Kajira', the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. Taharic is a very graceful script. The initial printed letter of 'Kajira', rather than the cursive letter, as generally, is used as the common brand for women in the Tahari. Both the cursive letter in common Gorean and the printed letter in Taharic are rather lovely, both being, somewhat floral in appearance.
On his right cheek, over the cheekbone was the Thief brand of the Caste of Thieves of Port Kar, who use the small brand to identify their members. They are recognized by the Thiefs Scar, which they wear as caste mark, a tiny three-pronged brand burned into the face in back of and below the eye, over the right cheekbone.
I supposed that on the morrow Kamchak would call for the Tuchuk Iron Master, to brand what he called his little barbarian; the brand of the Tuchuk slave, incidentally, is not the same as that generally used in the cities, which, for girls, is the first letter of the expression Kajira in cursive script, but the sign of the four bosk horns, that of the Tuchuk standard; the brand of the four bosk horns, set in such a manner as to somewhat resemble the letter "H," is only about an inch high; the common Gorean brand, on the other hand, is usually an inch and a half to two inches high;
Indeed, some men, collectors, use their gardens mainly for housing their collections, say, of different types of women, selected perhaps primarily with an eye to illustrating, and exhibiting, various forms of female beauty, or, indeed, even for their unique or rare brands.
The girl I had originally seen had been a slave, and what I had taken to be the jewelry at her throat had been a badge of servitude. Another such badge was a brand concealed by her clothing. The latter marked her as a slave, and the former identified her master. One might change one's collar, but not one's brand. The brand is to be distinguished from the collar, though both are a designation of slavery. The primary significance of the collar is that it identifies the master and his city. The collar of a given girl may be changed countless times, but the brand continues throughout to bespeak her status. The brand is normally concealed by the briefly skirted slave livery of Gor but, of course, when the camisk is worn, it is always clearly visible, reminding the girl and others of her station. The brand itself, in the case of girls, is a rather graceful mark, being the initial letter of the Gorean expression for slave in cursive script. If a male is branded, the same initial is used, but rendered in a block letter. The slaver's minion locked his left arm about her right thigh, holding it motionless. "Don't wiggle, Sweet Wench," he said, not without kindness. "You might spoil the brand." He spoke to the girl soothingly, as if to calm her. "You want a clean, pretty brand, don't you? It will improve your price and you'll get a better master." "We still do hand branding," said Ho-Tu to me. "Mechanical devices brand too uniformly. Buyers like a hand-branded girl. Besides it is better for a female slave to be branded by a man; it makes them better slaves. The rack, however, is a useful device, preventing a blurred brand." He indicated the guard. "Strius," said he, "has one of the finest irons in Ar. His work is almost always exact and clean." "Until then, many masters had regarded me as too beautiful to brand." "They were fools," said Samos. "A brand improves a slave." Masters, incidentally, seldom brand their own slaves. To brand a girl well demands a sure hand, and, usually, experience. In training a man to use the iron slavers always give him poorer women at first, sometimes having him mark them more than once, until he becomes proficient. Usually by the fifteenth or the twentieth woman, the man is capable of marking them deeply, precisely and cleanly. It is important for the girl's, thigh to be held immobile; sometimes it is held by more than one man; sometimes it is bound to a wagon wheel; sometimes, in the house of slavers, a heavy, vise-equipped, metal branding rack is used. The girls are usually branded impersonally, perfunctorily, as cattle. Though they feel their mark intensely physically, it is felt, interestingly, even more intensely, more profoundly, psychologically; not unoften it, in itself, radically transforms their self images, their personalities; they are then only slaves, not permitted their own wills, rightless, at the bidding of masters; the mark is an impersonal designation; this is understood by the girls; when she is marked she understands herself not to be marked by a given man for a given man, to be uniquely his, but rather, so to speak, that she is marked for all men; to all men she is a slave girl; usually, of course, only one among them, at a given time, will be her master; the brand is impersonal; the collar is intensely personal; the brand marks her property; the collar proclaims whose property she is, who it is who has either taken, or paid for, her; that the brand is an impersonal designation of an absence of status in the social structure is perhaps another reason why masters do not often brand their own girls; the brand relationship to the free man is institutional; the collar relationship, on the other hand, is an intensely personal one; Girls are branded prominently, usually on the left or right thigh. The brand on a slave girl is not something for which, when the wench is stripped, one must hunt. It begins swiftly, almost before you can feel it. I felt the iron touch me and almost instantaneously, crackling, flash through my outer skin and then, firmly, to my horror, enter and lodge itself fixedly in my thigh. It was literally in my body, inflexibly, burning. The pain then began to register on my consciousness. I began screaming. I could not believe what was being done to me, or how much it hurt. Not only could I feel the iron, but I could hear it, hissing and searing in the precise, beautiful wound it was relentlessly burning in my thigh. There was an odor of burning flesh, mine. I smelled burning, as of a kind of meat. It was my own body being marked. I could not move my thigh. I threw back my head and screamed. I felt the iron tight in my body, then, to my horror, pressing in even more deeply. The marking surface of the iron, then, lay hissing, literally submerged, in my flesh. I could not move my thigh in the least. I threw my head from side to side, screaming. The marking surface of the iron is some quarter of an inch in depth. It was within my flesh. It was lodged there, submerged, hissing and burning. Taking its time, not hurrying, it marked me, cleanly and deeply. Then, swiftly, cleanly, it withdrew. I smelled burned meat, my own. The men released my thigh. I began to choke and sob. Men regarded the mark. My captor was commended on his work. I gathered I had been well marked. The men then left me and I continued to lie, head down, roped and helpless, on the broken, inclined trunk of the white-barked tree. I was overwhelmed, psychologically, with what had happened to me. The pain was now less. My thigh still stung, and cruelly, but the pain seemed relatively unimportant now compared to the enormity of the comprehension that shook me to the core. I had been branded. I shuddered in the bonds. I moaned. I wept. My thigh would be sore for days, but that was unimportant, even trivial. What would remain was the mark they had placed in my flesh. That, unlike the pain, would not vanish. I would continue to wear that mark. It would, from now on, identify me as something which I had not been, or had not explicitly been, before, but now was clearly, for the eyes of all. I lay there. I knew I now was, because of the brand, deeply and profoundly different than I had been before. What could a brand mean? I shuddered, I scarcely dared conjecture the nature of a girl who wore such a mark on her body. She could be only one thing. I lightly, with my fingertips, touched my brand. I winced. I would not much touch it, for a few days, for I wished its delicacy to heal perfectly. I wanted the brand to be perfect. No girl is so without vanity that she does not want her brand to be perfect. Even lipstick and eye shadow, which a girl may wash off and reapply, a girl wishes to be perfect; how much more so then the brand, which is always worn! The girl wishes a brand of which she can be proud. A good brand adds to a girl's sense of confidence, of comfort and security. Often, a girl's raiment is limited to brand and collar. Accordingly the brand is of considerable importance to her. Also, it is no secret on Gor that a small and beautiful brand, well-placed, considerably enhances a girl's beauty. I tried to resent the brand, but I could not do so. It was too beautiful, and now, too, it was too much a part of me. I kissed my fingertips and, gently, pressed them to the petals of the slave flower which my master, yesterday evening, with a hot iron, against my will, had caused to blossom upon my thigh. "A girl is commonly branded on the left or right thigh," I said, "sometimes on the lower left abdomen." "Yes," she said, "it is a great honor for a girl to be branded by a Warrior, and one who is a Captain." "Yet she is not yet branded," I mused. Kur slavers do not, usually, brand their girls. Usually it is their first Gorean master who puts the brand on them. "Left thigh or right thigh?" he asked. "Left thigh," said Ulafi. Slave girls are commonly branded on the left thigh. Sometimes they are branded on the right thigh, or lower left abdomen. I looked at the brand, fresh in her burned thigh. It was small, precise, deep, clean and sharp, a severe, lovely mark, unmistakable and clear; her thigh now well proclaimed what she was, a Gorean slave. "I love my brand," she said. "Most girls do," I said. "It makes me prettier, doesn't it, as well as marking me as what I am, a slave?" "Yes," I said, "a brand makes a woman a thousand times more beautiful. It is not just the aesthetic loveliness of the mark, of course, though that in itself incredibly enhances a woman's beauty; it is, of course, even more, its meaning." "I understand, Master," she said. "What is its meaning?" I asked. "It means that I am a slave," she said. "Your thigh," I said, suddenly. "It is not marked." Her left thigh did not bear the brand. I must have noticed this before but, somehow, it had not registered with me. The Ta-Teera, as it had been torn, did not conceal the branding area on her leg. "No," she said. "No," she then said, angrily, "I am not branded on the right thigh either." I had, almost without thinking, moved in such a way as to ascertain this. Most girls wear their brands on the left thigh, where they may be conveniently caressed by a right-handed master. Some girls, on the other hand, are right-thigh branded. Some, too, though very few, are branded on the lower left abdomen. "I was not branded," she said, "because the masters thought a brand would mar my beauty." "I understand," I said. Actually, however, though I was not prepared to argue, I found this quite surprising. From what I had seen a brand made a woman at least a hundred times more beautiful and exciting. The brand's marvelousness, of course, is not simply a function of its aesthetic enhancement of the woman's beauty, adding beauty to her beauty, raising her almost geometrically to a new dimension of loveliness, but was doubtless as much or more a function of its meaning; it marked the loveliness into which it was burned as that of the most desirable of women, a female slave. I felt her left thigh. Most girls are branded on the left thigh. Perhaps this is because most masters are right-handed. The brand, then, as one controls the slave, may be easily caressed. But her left thigh worn no brand. Her right thigh, too, as I soon noted, did not wear the slave mark, nor did her lower left abdomen. These are the three standard marking places, following the recommendations of Merchant Law, for the marking of Kajirae, with the left thigh being, in practice, the overwhelmingly favored brand site. The thighs and the lower left abdomen are the brand sites recommended by Merchant Law. Masters, of course, may brand a girl wherever they please. She is theirs. Sometimes brands are placed on the left side of the neck, on the left calf, the interior of the left heel, and on the inside of the left forearm. The customary brand site, incidentally, is high on the left thigh. That is the site almost invariably utilized in marking Gorean kajirae. Now, as she lay, the small, fine brand high on her left thigh, just below the hip, could be seen. I had put it there myself, at my leisure, once in Ar. In most Gorean cities it is illegal to offer an unbranded woman in a public sale. This is presumably in deference to the delicacy and sensibilities of free women. The brand draws a cataclysmic gulf between the Gorean free woman, secure in her arrogance, beauty and caste rights, and the stripped, nameless, rightless slaves; suitably vended as the mere lovely beasts they are in the flesh markets of this primitive, gorgeous world. Unbranded women, of course, may be sold privately, for example, as fresh captures to slavers or, say, to men who have speculated that they might find them of interest. It takes time to bring an iron to branding heat and the iron, of course, its head sinking and searing, burning, into the girl's flesh, marking her, loses heat rapidly. A given iron, accordingly, must be reheated before being reapplied. This situation is further complicated by the fact that the iron, normally, is cleaned following each application, a procedure which further reduces its heat. The cleaning is important for the precision and clarity of the next marking. Thus, in effect, each girl is marked with a new, fresh iron. The most common brand site in a Gorean slave girl is the outer side of the left thigh, closely beneath the hip. In this brand site the identificatory mark is thus placed high enough to be covered by the brief cloth of a common slave tunic and is available for convenient and immediate inspection if the tunic is lifted. The time it takes to brand several women can be reduced by the common expedient of heating several irons, but most iron masters will not work with more than two or three irons at a given time. Similarly, in a given house, normally only one fellow, at a time, attends to the branding. "I do not detect any brands on your body," I said, "at least in the normal brand sites. Perhaps you are telling the truth." The most common marking sites for a Gorean slave are on the left or right thigh, high, near the hip. Others may wear their brands variously, for example, low on the left abdomen, on the inside of the left forearm, on the left breast, or, very tiny, behind the left ear. I myself do not approve of brands on the breast. A woman's breasts, in my opinion, are too beautiful for a brand. On the other hand I do not object to temporarily marking them in such a place, say, with a grease pencil, lipstick or paint, as many slavers do. The ideal, of course, given the necessity of marking women, the importance of which anyone recognizes, is to do it in such a fashion that it does not detract from a woman's beauty, but rather enhances it, and considerably. The thigh brand, for one, has this effect. It also, put in her flank, below her waist, helps her to understand what her slavery is all about. "I am not a slave," she whispered. "I am a free woman. Oh!" I had seized her, half lifted her, and turned her from side to side, examining her slim, attractive thighs for the tiny brand which would confirm the matter. The most common brand sites, that on the left thigh, the favorite, and that on the right thigh, lacked slave marks. This determination, given the nature of her garmenture, could be instantly made. I then put her on her feet. "Oh!" she said. She was not branded on the lower left abdomen. That is perhaps the third most favored brand site. I then checked several other brand sites, such as the insides of the forearms, the left side of the neck, behind and below the left ear, the backs of her legs, and her buttocks. I even examined the insteps of her left and right feet. "How then shall I see that you are not branded?" I asked. "Look then," she moaned. She blushed, again scrutinized, again with exquisite care. I even lifted up her feet a little, as if to see if she might be branded on the instep. "You see?" she said. "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. "Check the sides of her neck," said the leader. The fellow then thrust the slave hood up about her chin, as high as it would move, without being unbuckled. He then looked under the leather leash collar at the sides of her neck. That is a rare brand site, like the inside of the left arm, or the lower left abdomen, but it is not unknown. "Brand," he said, idly. I knelt up, from my heels, and, still kneeling, turned to my right. I drew up the silk on my left side, with the fingers of both hands, to the waist, as one does, this exposing the tiny, graceful mark there, high on my left thigh, just under the hip. The common kajira mark, of course, which I myself wore, is a lovely brand. It may be the most familiar brand on Gor for a female slave, but that does not make it any the less beautiful. Indeed, I suspect it is the most common brand because it is the most beautiful, or surely one of the most beautiful. Just as the male beasts wish us to be attractive, and dress us for their pleasure, when permitting us clothing, and such, so, too, they brand us for beauty, as well. The brand, small and tasteful, but momentous in its meaning, much enhances the beauty of a woman, both aesthetically and cognitively - in the latter dimension marking her as slave, and thus latently, implicitly, indicatively hinting at, or, better, starting, the pleasures, the joys, one may have of her. The most common brand site is the left thigh, under the hip. This site is analogous to that used on a multitude of other forms of domestic animal, verr, tarsks, bosk, and such. Sometimes boys enjoy surprising slaves in the streets or markets and flip their tunics, to ascertain the brand, and, doubtless, to treat themselves to a flash of thigh. It is a game for them. As they are free persons they could simply put the girl to her knees and issue the command, "Brand," to which the girl must respond by revealing her slave mark. But this would take time. And the pack of them are afoot, racing about and frolicking. The sight of her chains, of a whip, the touching of her collar, the fingering of her brand, even in the absence of the master, can arouse a slave. On her thigh, of course, was her brand. Even without the master's collar, the brand would clearly mark her slave. The collar marks the girl as slave and commonly identifies the master. Too, it is generally visible. The brand marks her as slave, but is a generic emblem of bondage independent of a particular master. Commonly a slave is both branded and collared. The brand identifies its wearer as a slave; the collar also identifies its wearer as a slave but it, too, commonly, bears a legend, or identifies the master, or such. A typical legend might be something like "I am Margaret, the slave of Rutilius, of Venna." Not all slaves, of course, are branded and collared. "You must be branded." "Branded!" "Certainly," he said. "We would not want you to be confused with a free woman." "I must be branded?" "Certainly," he said. "You are a slave." "I am afraid." "It will not take long, only a moment or two. It is a small, tasteful mark. I will have it placed high on the left thigh, under the hip." "Will it not disfigure me?" "No, it will enhance your beauty." "It is a small mark?" "Yes," he said, "small, but clear, and, I assure you, unmistakable. It will mark you perfectly, as slave." "Brand!" snapped Cabot, and the slave, as she had been trained, shifted her weight, kneeling, to her right knee, extended her left leg, and drew the hem of the tunic to her hip. They approached abreast and, responding to a curt, sharply issued verbal command, they knelt, as one, in line, hands identically placed on their thighs, heads lifted, to the same angle. At another word they half knelt, half lay, the left leg beautifully extended, a common posture for exhibiting brands, It is, accordingly, not surprising that Gorean masters keep their girls in collars. To be sure, Merchant Law, in any case, prescribes the collar, the brand, distinctive garmenture, and such. The tunic she wore was fetching, if only because there was so little to it. It was high on her thighs, especially the left thigh, for her brand was evident. How frightful, I thought, to be badly branded. To be sure, such things seldom occurred. Most marking is done by members of the caste of Metal Workers. Most such shops will have a slaving iron, and it is often at hand, and, if not heated, ready to be thrust into the glowing coals of his forge. Some free women are branded and collared within an Ahn of their taking. Our house was on the Street of Brands but, as I was given to understand, this is more a reference to a district or a part of a district than an actual street. I was soon branded, that there would be no mistaking me, for what I was. How that simple mark transformed me! I was then different, radically so, from what I had been! And I knew myself so, and, yes, gratefully. Oh, I cried with pain, of course, helpless in the iron grip of the vise, my wrists fastened behind me, in the snug, unslippable metal bracelets, and sobbed, but, in my tears, did they know this, I sobbed, as well, with joy. I have been branded. It is a lovely mark. It is in me, high on my left thigh, below the hip. My left hand strayed to my thigh. Incised there, small, and lovely, but clear, and unmistakable was a brand. "What is on your left thigh, Donna?" he asked. "A slave brand, Master," she said. "And what does that mean?" he asked. "That I am a slave, Master," she said. Was not the collar itself a badge of her quality, the brand seared into her thigh an indelible certification of her desirability? Also, he might, without a second thought, put the liar's brand in my thigh, marking me as a mendacious kajira. "It is a lovely brand," I said. "Like the tunic, the collar, and such, it is designed not merely to identify you as a slave but to enhance your beauty, as well." The slave collar commonly has two purposes. It, like the brand, proclaims its occupant a slave, and will normally, as most collars on animals, identify the beast's master. The brand is commonly concealed by even a brief tunic. You have been branded, as the animals you are. The brand is permanent. You are marked. It shows what you are. The collar also shows what you are, but it bears a legend. Collars can be changed, but do not expect to be without one. Merchant law requires that such as you be collared." The searing brand had muchly stung, burning as it was applied and lifted, so routinely, so unmistakably and efficiently, but, in my weeping, there were mixed tears of joy. Any on this world, male or female, could now recognize me as what I was. I was no longer nothing. I was now something. I had an identity. No longer was I worthless. I now had value, as goods, as a property, however minimal that value might be. "Their foreheads were branded, on the recommendation of Seleukos," said Sakim, "and they were subsequently put ashore." "No," I assured him. "But that is more than a female slave, who is usually collared, and marked on the outside of the left thigh, high, under the hip." "On her former world, she was a free woman," I said. "It is only on Gor that she finds a brand on her thigh and her neck clasped in a locked collar." The brand marks the woman slave; the collar, too, marks her slave, but also, commonly; it identifies the master. In this way, should she, say, stray, or lose her way, she can be returned to her owner. |       
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