The Ownerless Slave

How many times, do you head over to the Gor hub, how many times do you enter a Gorean minded school, or even a roleplay sim, and you see girls wandering about, who do not have owners.  Who are not 'attached' to someone, or even worse.  They are 'protected' by someone.

To be fair, all slaves aught to be 'protected' in a manner of speaking, but this is done by their owner, or their owners loyal men.  In exchange, the kajira, is obedient, and provides many things to him, or yes, her, if her owner is a free woman, but regardless, she provides many services.  Housekeeping, meal making, conversation, and yes, sex.

How many times, in the books, did you read about an ownerless slave?

Name one

Go ahead

Just one?

Thats right, you would be hard pressed to even come up with something that even 'passed' as a ownerless slave.  A runaway?  Sure, there were a couple in the books, but from the moment a female entered Gor, either from earth, knelt to submit to the first man, through a beating, or through willingness; she was owned.

She was owned by the slaver her trained her

She was owned by the slaver who marketed her

She was owned by the slaver who rented or leased her out to events, or taverns, or even just let a passerby sample the 'wares' for a fee.

She was owned by the woman who bought her to keep the house, so she could have more time shopping, or seeing to her companion.

She was owned by the town, to keep it clean and assist its servants, or workers in tending to the tasks which needed doing.

She was owned by owners of taverns, or Jarl of a Hall, by Captains, and slavers, and merchants, and any man, or woman who had the where-with-all to put a collar on a females neck.

She was owned, and she felt owned.  To earn that protection, she had to give up her ability to decide where she would go, how her path would be determined.

Her protectors?  They where her owner, her owners men, the slavers men who would train her, watch over her, make sure she knew that she was owned.  She was thrown to any number of them at any given time, she felt, and knew herself wanted, and desired.  She was protected through desire, the need of a man to call for her, he would shed blood, he would shed his life for such property.  He would not simply say 'Go, you are free'  He would sooner die.

Even if he free'd a slave.  Even if he thought to do this, and really wanted her to be free, and men, Masters of women, often loved their beasts, often desired them, and had many plans for them, even when he opted to free her, he made sure she had a chance to remain free.  He gave her papers of manumission, or ensured she was given protection by his own hand (no, there might not be any true book reference for this last bit).  After all, it was a gift given by himself.  he owned that freedom he had granted.

Have you told a slave, in a moment of spite, or frustration 'go, your free'  and just left her there?  Well, you have done her a great disservice.  You have harmed your own role play, your own story, you have harmed HER story.  Yes, I will be the first to admit all that we do in Gor is ROLE PLAY.  That it should not be taken too seriously.

Think about that for a moment.  Don't take Gor too seriously.  Why not?  Why not take it as seriously as you want as long as you are working, and playing within the proper confines of the books which set the environment and rules of the 'theme' down for us?  You aught to know the world well, you aught to know that it should be taken seriously WITHIN role play.  This is not to say that you should take it seriously OOC, joke, have fun, hell make fun of your own role play if you can.  Learn, and expand your story, isn't that what your here within Gor, Secondlife, irc, or wherever to do?  to Explore the fantasy world?

By telling a slave she is free, you harm this exploration.  Sell her, gift her, make it seem you at least care for a brief moment  about your power over her, and her submission to you.  Let her know you care enough to give her into someone elses care.  Even if you don't care who it is, even if you don't care what path she takes after this, even if you don't care about her any more, care enough to give her the mystery of --what is going to come-- may not entirely be at her choice.

The next time you have a slave, you want rid of.  It does not matter what reason, or what has happened.  Find her a  home to continue her story from.  She does not need to like it, she is a slave in the confines of roleplay; she can also beg to be sold to another, and if everyone role plays this, taking some time to interact with each other.  Everyone, just might, end up where they belong, where they aught to be.

And then the slave might truely feel protected

A Master might truely feel he owns her.

Be Gorean.  Explore it as if it was real.  We all know it isn't.