-K-

Kaiila: a tribe of Red Savages which inhabits the Barrens; their language is related to that of the Dust Legs: Savages of Gor, page 307

kaiila: large (20-22 hands), carnivorous mammal with long neck and silky fur; its eyes have 3 lids; is viviparous, has incredible stamina (capable of covering 600 in a day), and can be domesticated for riding in spite of its vicious temper; rich gold to black pelt and young hunt within hours of birth: also known as sand kaiila; this omnivorous animal is related to the southern kaiila and similar in most aspects barring pelt color and rearing of young; pelt color is tawny or black and young are suckled for a length of time: Tribesmen of Gor, page 71 "The kaiila of these men were as tawny as the brown grass of the prairie, save for that of the man who faced me, whose mount was a silken, sable black" Nomads of Gor, page 14 "My mount, a lofty black kaiila, silken and swift, shifted nervously beneath me." Blood Brothers of Gor, page 7

A large reptile looking animal, used by the Wagon Peoples and in the Tahari as a mount. The Kaiila is well-suited for the harsh conditions of the Tahari and the Plains. Its viciousness makes it a formidable mount for a Warrior as well "The mount of the Wagon Peoples, unknown in the northern hemispheres of Gor, is the terrifying but beautiful kaiila. It is a silken, carnivorous, lofty creature, graceful, long-necked, smooth gaited. It is viviparous and undoubtedly mammalian, though there is no suckling of the young. The kaiila is extremely agile normally stands about twenty to twenty-two hands at the shoulder, can cover as much as six hundred pasangs in a single day's riding. The head of the kaiila bears two large eyes, one on each side, but these eyes are triply lidded probably an adaptation to the environment which occasionally is wracked by severe storms of wind and dust; the adaptation, actually a transparent third lid, permits the animal to move as it wishes under conditions that force other prairie animals to back into the wind, or like the sleen, to burrow into the ground." Nomads of Gor, pages 13-14

"I then saw the kaiila pass. It was lofty, stately, fanged and silken. I had heard of such beasts, but this was the first time I had seen. It was yellow, with flowing hair. Its rider was mounted in a high, purple saddle, with knives in the saddle sheaths." Fighting Slave of Gor, page 178

kail: directional division of a gorean map: Nomads of Gor, page 3 (footnote)

Kailiauk: a town on the Frontier of The Barrens, 

it is NE of Fort Haskins. It is a major trade center for the purchase, processing and selling of kailiauk hides taken from the massive herds which traverse The Barrens. It is also a slave trade center, dealing primarily in barbarian girls which are sold at various points along the perimeter. Savages of Gor, pages 77 and 93-98

Kailiauk: a tribe of Red Savages which inhabits the Barrens; their language is a dialect of Kaiila: Savages of Gor, page 233

kailiauk: stocky ruminant, tawny with red and brown markings on haunches, having 3 horns; stands c. 20-25 hands at the shoulder:

  "I looked beyond Hci to the beasts, some two to three pasangs away. The kailiauk is a large, lumbering, shaggy, trident-horned ruminant. It has four stomachs and an eight valved heart. It is dangerous, gregarious, small eyed and short tempered. Adult males can stand as high as twenty or twenty five hands at the shoulder and weigh as much as four thousand pounds." Blood Brothers of Gor, page 10

"It is difficult to make clear to those who are not intimately acquainted with such things the meaning of the Pte, or Kailiauk, to the red savages. It is regarded by them with reverence and affection. It is a central phenomenon in their life, and much of their life revolves around it. The mere thought of the kailiauk can inspire awe in them, and pleasure and excitement. More to them than meat for the stomach and clothes for the back is the kailiauk to them; too, it is mystery and meaning for them; it is heavy with medicine; it is a danger; it is a sport; it is a challenge; and at dawn, with a lance or bow in one's hand, and a swift, eager kaiila between one's knees, it is a joy to the heart."Blood Brothers of Gor, page 8

" 'Over there,' said Hci, to us, pointing east by southeast, 'there is a draw. In the draw there is a fallen bull, a Smooth Horns, no more than some six winters in age. Attend to it.''Yes,Hci,' said Cuwignakea, obediently. A Smooth Horns is a young, prime bull. Its horns are not yet cracked from fighting and age. The smoothness of the horns, incidentally, is not a purely natural phenomenon. The bulls polish, them, themselves, rubbing them against sloping banks and trees. Sometimes they will even paw down earth from the upper tides of washouts and then use the harder, exposed material beneath, dust scattering about, as a polishing surface. This polishing apparently has the functions of both cleaning and sharpening the horns, two processes useful in intra specific aggression, the latter process improving their capacity as fighting instruments, in slashing and goring, and the former process tending to reduce the amount of infection in a herd resulting from such combats. Polishing behavior in males thus appears to be selected for. It has consequences, at any rate, which seem to be in the best interests of the kailiauk as a species." Blood Brothers of Gor, page 63

"Almost at the same time, suddenly, about a bend in the draw, turning, lurching, its shoulder striking the side of the draw, its feet almost slipping out from under it, in its turn, in the soft footing, covered with dust, its eyes wild and red, foam at its nostrils and mouth, some twenty five hundred pounds or better in weight, snorting, kicking dust behind it hurtled a kailiauk bull.

As my beast scrambled up, regaining its feet, I mounted it, and turned it away down the draw. Cuwingnaka and I, then not more than a few yards ahead of the animals, which in a body, buffeting and storming, tridents down, their heads low, as the kailiauk runs, came streaming, flooding, bellowing, torrent like, about that bend in the draw, racing to safety" Blood Brothers of Gor, pages 64-65

"Even past me thundered a lumbering herd of startled, short-trunked kailiauk, a stocky, awkward ruminant of the plains, tawny, wild, heavy, their haunches marked in red and brown bars, their wide heads bristling with a trident of horns; they had not stood and formed their circle, she’s and young within the circle of tridents" Nomads of Gor, page 2

"The kailiauk in question, incidentally, is the kailiauk of the Barrens. It is a gigantic, dangerous beast, often standing from twenty to twenty five hands at the shoulder and weighing as much as four thousand pounds. it is almost never hunted on foot except in deep snow, in which it is almost helpless. From kaiila back, riding beside the stampeded animal, however, the skilled hunter can kill one with a single arrow. He rides close to the animal, not a yard from its side, just outside the hooking range of the trident, to supplement the striking power of his small bow. At this range the arrow can sink in to the feathers. Ideally it strikes into the intestinal cavity behind the last rib, producing large scale internal hemorrhaging, or closely behind the left shoulder blade, thence piercing the eight valved heart." Savages of Gor, page 40

"To the oases, caravans bring various goods, for example, rep-cloth, embroidered cloths, silks, rugs, silver, gold, jewelry, mirrors, kailiauk tusks" Tribesmen of Gor, page 37

kaissa - (lit. 'the game'): a board game much favored on Gor; the board is marked with 100 squares, colored alternately red and yellow; there are 20 pieces per side, which represent Ubar and Ubara, Initiates, Riders of the High Tharlarion, Tarnsmen, Scribes, Builders, Spearmen or Spear Slaves, and the Home Stone; it is played much like chess, the object being to capture one's opponent's Home Stone; in Torvaldsland, the Ubar, Ubara, tarnsman, Initiate, and Scribes are replaced by the Jarl, Jarl's Woman, Ax, Rune-Priest, and Singer, respectively:

"Game! Game!" I heard, and quickly shook my head, driving away the memories of Ar, and of the girl once known, always loved.

The word actually cried was, "Kaissa," which is Gorean for "Game." It is a general term, but when used without qualification, it stands for only one game, The man who called out wore a robe of checkered red and yellow squares, and the game board, of similar squares, with ten ranks and ten files, giving a hundred squares, hung over his back; slung over his left shoulder, as a warrior wears a sword, was a leather bag containing the pieces, twenty to a side, red and yellow, representing Spearmen, Tarnsmen, the Riders of the High Tharlarion, and so on. The object of the game is the capture of the opponent's Home Stone. Capturing of individual pieces and continuations take place much as in chess. The affinities of this game with chess are , I am confident more than incidental. Assassins of Gor, page 26 The Players are not a caste, nor a clan, but they tend to be a group apart, living their own lives. They are made up from men of various castes who often have little in common but the game, but that is more than enough. They are men who commonly have and extraordinary aptitude for the game but beyond this men who have become drunk on it, men lost in the subtle, abstract liquors of variation, pattern and victory, men who live for the game, who want it and need it as other men might want gold, or others power and women, of others the rolled, narcotic strings of toxic kanda.

There are competitions of Players, with purses provided by amateur organizations, and sometimes by the city itself, and these purses are, upon occasion, enough to enrich a man, but most Players earn a miserable living by hawking their wares, a contest with a master, in the street. The odds are usually one to forty, one copper tarn disk against forty-piece, sometimes against an eighty-piece, and sometimes the amateur who would play the master insists on further limitations, such as the option to three consecutive moves at a point in the game of his choice, or that the master must remove from the board, before the game begins, his two tarnsmen, or his Riders of the High tharlarion. Further, in order to gain Players, the master, if wise, occasionally loses a game, which is expensive at normal odds; and the game must be lost subtly, that the amateur must believe he has won. Assassins of Gor, page 27

I studied the board before me.

It was set on a square chest. It was a board made for play at sea, and such boards are common with the men of Torvaldsland. In the center of each square was a tiny peg. The pieces, correspondingly, are drilled to match the pegs, and fit over them. This keeps them steady in the movements at sea. The board was of red and yellow squares. 

The Kaissa of the men of Torvaldsland is quite similar to that of the south, though certain of the pieces differ. There is, for example, not a Ubar but a Jarl, as the most powerful piece. Moreover, there is no Ubara. Instead, there is a piece called the Jarl's Woman, which is quite powerful, more so than the southern Ubara. Instead of Tarnsmen, there are two pieces called the Axes. The board has no Initiates, but there are corresponding pieces called Rune-Priests. Similarly there are no Scribes, but a piece, which moves identically, called the Singer. I thought that Andreas of Tor, a friend, of the caste of Singers, might have been pleased to learn that his caste was represented, and honored, on the boards of the north. The Spearmen moved identically with the southern Spearmen. It did not take me much time to adapt to the Kaissa of Torvaldsland, for it is quite similar to the Kaissa of the south. On the other hand, feeling my way on the board, I had lost the first two games to the Forkbeard. Interestingly, he had been eager to familiarize me with the game, and was abundant in his explanations and advice. Clearly, he wished me to play him at my full efficiency, without handicap, as soon as possible. I had beaten him the third game, and he had then, delighted, ceased in his explanations and advice and, together, the board between us, each in our way a warrior, we had played Kaissa.

The Forkbeard's game was much more varied, and tactical, than was that of, say, Marlenus of Ar, much more devious, and it was far removed from the careful, conservative, positional play of a man such as Mintar, of the caste of Merchants. The Forkbeard made great use of diversions and feints, and double strategies, in which an attack is double edged, being in effect two attacks, an open one and a concealed one, either of which, depending on a misplay by the opponent, may be forced through, the concealed attack requiring usually only an extra move to make it effective, a move which, ideally, threatened or pinned an opponent's piece, giving him the option of surrendering it or facing a devastating attack, he then a move behind. In the beginning I had played Forkbeard positionally, learning his game. When I felt I knew him better, I played him more openly. His wiliest tricks, of course I knew, he would seldom use saving them for games of greater import, or perhaps for players of Torvaldsland. Among them, even more than in the south, Kaissa is a passion. In the long winters of Torvaldsland, when the snow, the darkness, the ice and wintry winds are upon the land, when the frost breaks open the rocks, groaning, at night, when the serpents hide in their roofed sheds, many hours, under swinging soapstone lamps, burning the oil of sea sleen, are given to Kaissa. At such times, even the bond-maids, rolling and restless, naked, in the furs of their masters, their ankles chained to a nearby ring, must wait

"It is your move," said Forkbeard.

"I have moved," I told him. "I have thrown the Ax to Jarl six."

"Ah!," laughed the Forkbeard. He then sat down and looked again at the board. He could not now, with impunity, place his Jarl at Ax four. Marauders of Gor, Pages 56-57

kaissa ciphers: - used by the caste of players for transmission of private messages but can be used by anyone; often extremely difficult to decipher: Players of Gor, page 243

kajira: slavegirl; pl. kajirae: "There are various types of "exotics" bred by Gorean slavers, all of who are to be distinguished from more normal varieties of bred slaves, such as Passion Slaves and Draft Slaves. Exotics may be bred for almost any purpose, and some of these purposes, unfortunately, seem to be little more than to produce quaint or unusual specimens." Raiders of Gor, page 15 "Are you truly slave--Mira?" asked the girl.

Mira cast a glance at me.  "You may respond," I told her.  "Yes, I am a slave," said Mira, "totally."  "What was he doing to you, before?" ask the girl.  "You watched?" asked Mira.  "Yes," said the girl.  "He was enjoying me and using me as what I am, a slave," she said.  "Are you embarrassed?" asked the girl.  "No," said Mira. "A slave is not permitted modesty."  "You seemed ecstatic with pleasure, overcome with gratitude and joy," said the girl.  "It was my yielding." she said.  "Need you have yielded like that?" asked the girl.  "Yes," said Mira, "The slave is given no alternative other than to yield to the master fully."  "But you would want to yield like that, wouldn't you?" asked the girl.  "Yes" said Mira.  "Then the slave is forced to do what she, in her most secret heart, most deeply desires to do," said the girl. "Yes," said Mira. "But you must understand that a slave's lot is not an easy one. We are often worked long and hard."  "But is there not a pleasure in such a service?" asked the girl.  "At one time I would not have thought so," said Mira, "but I know now, that I am an owned slave, that there is," Blood Brothers of Gor, page 295-306 "There are paga slaves," I said, "who must please their master's customers in his tavern. There are girls who staff the public kitches and laundries. There are rent slaves, who may be rented to anyone for any purpose, short of their injury or mutiliation, unless compensation be rendered to the master. There are state slaves sho maintain public compartments, and work in offices and warehouses. There agre girls in peasant villages, and girls on great farms, who cook and carry water to the slave gangs. There are beauties who are purchased for a man's pleasure gardens. There are other girls who work in the mills, chained to their looms."  Beasts of Gor, page 249

kajira canjellne: Gorean term meaning literally 'slave challenge'; one Gorean challenges another to combat, the winner taking the slave as prize: Slave Girl of Gor, page 21

kajirus: male slave; pl. kajiri

For a male slave or kajirus, of the Wagon Peoples, and there are few, save for the work chains, to be clad
kajir means to wear the Kes, a short, sleeveless work tunic of black leather. Nomads of Gor, page 30.

The Wintering was not unpleasant, although, even so far north, the days and nights were 
often quite chilly; the Wagon Peoples and their slaves as well, wore boskhide and furs 
during this time; both male and female, slave or free, wore furred boots and trousers, 
coats and the flopping, ear-flapped caps that tied under the chin; in this time there was 
often no way to mark the distinction between the free woman and the slave girl, save that 
the hair of the latter must needs be unbound; in some caes of course, the Turian collar 
was visible, if work on the outside of the coat, usually under the furred collar; the men too, free and slave
were dressed similarly, save that the Kajiri, or he-slaves wore shackles, usually with a run of about
a foot of chain." Nomads of Gor, page. 59 

“In some cities, including Ar, an unchained male slave is almost never seen; there are, incidentally, far fewer male slaves than female slaves; a captured female is almost invariably collared; a captured male is almost invariably put to the sword.” - Assassins of Gor, page 51.    

“Male slaves, on Gor, are not particularly valuable, and do not command high prices. Most labor is performed by free men. Most commonly, male slaves are utilized on the cargo galleys, and in the mines, and on the great farms. They also serve, frequently, as porters at the wharves. Still, perhaps they are fortunate to have their lives, even at such a price. Males captured in war, or in the seizure of cylinders or villages, or in the pillaging of caravans, are commonly slain. The female is the prize commodity in the Gorean slave markets. A high price for a male is a slaver  tarsk, but even a plain wench, of low caste, provided she moves well to the touch of the  auctioneer’s coiled whip, will bring as much or more.” - Hunters of Gor, page 32

Kajuralia - (lit. 'Festival of Slaves'): "The Festival of Slaves", it is held in most Gorean cities (except Port Kar, where it is not celebrated at all) on the last day of the Twelfth Passage Hand (March 15th). In Ar, it is celebrated on the last day of the fifth month (August 12th), the day which precedes the Love Feast. Upon this day, slaves may take liberties which are otherwise not permitted them during the year, including the drinking of wine and liquor, the freedom to roam at will (provided of course they do not attempt to escape from their owners permanently), the freedom to choose their own sexual partners and to couch with slaves of the opposite sex whom they find attractive, temporary suspension of all work and duties, and even the opportunity to play (minor) tricks and practical jokes upon freepersons. After the twentieth ahn, however, they are expected to be back in their respective kennels and slave quarters to resume the services required by their imbonded status; slaves who "go renegade" during Kajuralia are typically punished severely if recaptured, and are often executed for such an offense.

"The Kajuralia, or Holiday of Slaves, or Festival of Slaves, occurs in most of the northern, civilized cities of known Gor once a year. The only exception to this that I know of is Port Kar, in the delta of the Vosk. The date of the Kajuralia, however, differs. Many cities celebrate it on the last day of the Twelfth Passage Hand, the day before the beginning of the Waiting Hand; in Ar, however, and certain other cities, it is celebrated on the last day of the fifth month, which is the day preceding the Love Feast." Assassin of Gor, page 229

ka-la-na, tree: a very strong yellow wood, used for making bows; the fruit of the ka-la-na is used to make ka-la-na wine

"The Ka-la-na thicket was yellow in the distance" Captive of Gor, page 250

"Ho-Hak reached down and unwrapped the leather from the yellow bow of supple Ka-la-na." Raiders of Gor, page 19

"Besides several of the flower trees there were also some Ka-la-na trees, or the yellow wine trees of Gor." Nomads of Gor, page 217

ka-la-na: an almost incandescent red wine, bright, dry, and powerful. It is distilled from the fruit of the Ka-la-na tree. The best and sweetest beans come from the vintages of Ar. Some of the best kalana's in all of Gor are brands such as the very expensive Slave Gardens of Anesidemus and Boleto's Nectar. It is served in a ceramic goblet, or kantharos. Kept in bottles on the shelf in the servery. Also kept in a copper bowl near the fire for Those who like it warmed.

"After the meal I tasted the drink, which might not inappropriately be described as an almost incandescent wine, bright, dry, and powerful.  I learned later it was called Ka-la-na." Tarnsman of Gor" page 26

"drops of a red, wine like drink made from the fruit of the ka-la-na tree" Tarnsman of Gor , page 68

"kicking from my path a Ka-la-na container, splashing the fermented red liquid across the stone surface" Tarnsman of Gor, page 79

"Yes! It would be the one that would be red with Ka-la-na..." Tarnsman of Gor, page 79

"I went to his locker near the mat and got out his Ka-la-na flask, taking a long draught myself and then shoving it into his hands. He drained the flask in one drink and wiped his hand across his beard, stained with the red juice of the fermented drink." Tarnsman of Gor, page 168

"I turned and, among the furnishings of the tent, found a bottle of Ka-la-na, of good vintage, from the vineyards of Ar, the loot of a caravan raid. I then took the wine, with a small copper bowl, and a black, red-rimmed wine crater, to the side of the fire. I poured some of the wine into the small copper bowl, and set it on the tripod over the tiny fire in the fire bowl. Again I took the bowl from the fire. It was now not comfortable to hold the bowl, but it was not painful to do so. I poured the wine from the small copper bowl into the black, red-rimmed wine crater... I swirled, slowly, the wine in the wine crater. I saw my reflection in the redness, the blondness of my hair, dark in the wine, and the collar, with its bells, about my throat... I did not know how he cared for his wine, for some men of Treve wish it warm, almost hot." Captive of Gor, page 331-332

"...a small bottle of Ka-la-na wine, in a wicker basket... I had never tasted so rich and delicate a wine on Earth, and yet here, on this world, it cost only a copper tarn disk and was so cheap, and plentiful, that it might be given even to a female slave... It was the first Gorean fermented beverage which I had tasted. It is said that Ka-la-na has an unusual effect on a female." Captive of Gor, page 114

"Aphris got up and fetched not a skin, but a bottle, of wine, Ka-la-na wine, from the Ka-la-na orchards of great Ar itself..." Nomads of Gor, page 104

"I had tarsk meat and yellow bread with honey, Gorean peas and a tankard of diluted Ka-la-na, warm water mixed with wine." Assassin of Gor, page 87

“A small bottle,” I said, “of the Slave Gardens of Anesidemus.” “I have heard that is a marvellous ka-la-na,” said the free woman, her eyes alight.
“So, too, have I,” I said.
“It is very expensive,” said the woman.|
“Are you familiar with it?” I asked.
“Oh,” she said, lightly, “I have had it a few times.”
“Do you like it?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes!”  Mercenaries of Gor, page 344

“Do you know the wine?” I asked.
“No,” she said.
I turned the bottle so that she might read the label. It was a small bottle of Boleto’s Nectar of the Public Slave Gardens. Boleto is a well-known winegrower from the vicinity of Ar. He is famous for the production of a large number of reasonably good, medium-grade ka-la-na. This was one of the major wines, and perhaps the best, served in Ar’s public slave gardens; indeed, it had originally been commissioned for that market; hence the name. Mercenaries of Gor, page 360

Can this wine, which seems like a cheap ka-la-na, be the rare Falarian? Mercenaries of Gor, page 159

kal-da: Is a hot almost scalding drink made of distilled Ka-la-na wine fixed with juices of fruits such as tospit and larma and hot spices. It is served in a cup and is considered a lower caste drink. Kept in a kettle over the fire.

Kalda is a hot drink, almost scalding, made of diluted kalana wine, mixed with citrus juices and stinging spices. I did not care much for the mouth warming concoction, but it was popular with some of the lower castes, particularly those who performed strenuous manual labor. I expected its popularity was due more to its capacity to warm a man and stick to his ribs , and to its cheapness( a poor grade of Ka-la-na wine being used in its brewing) than to any gustatory excellence.

"Moreover, where there was kal-da there should be bread and meat. OutLaw of Gor page.76

"Other girls now appeared among the tables, clad only in a camisk and a silver collar, and suddenly, silently, began to serve the kal-da which Kron had ordered. Each carried a heavy pot of the foul, boiling brew and, cup by cup, replenished the cups of the men." Outlaw of Gor, page 226

"I had hardly settled myself behind the table when the proprietor had placed a large, fat pot of steaming Kal-da before me. It almost burned my hands to lift the pot. I took a long, burning swig of the brew and though, on another occasion, I might have thought it foul, tonight it sang through my body like the bubbling fire it was, a sizzling, brutal irritant that tasted so bad and yet charmed me so much I had to laugh." Outlaw of Gor, page 78

"Even the proprietor slept, his head across his folded arms on the counter, behind which stood the great Kal-da brewing pots, at last empty and cold." Outlaw of Gor, page 80

kalika: musical instrument having a long neck and hemispheric soundbox, its 6 strings being plucked; similar to a banjo:

 the other was the kalika, a six-stringed instrument; it, like the czehar, is flat-bridged and its strings are  adjusted by means of small wooden cranks; on the other hand, it less resembles a low, flat box and suggests affinities to the banjo or  guitar, though the sound box is hemispheric and the neck rather long; it, too, of course, like the czehar, is plucked. Nomads of Gor, page 153

kalmak: a short sleeveless vest of black leather worn by the slavegirls of the Wagon Peoples

"Among the Wagon Peoples, to be clad Kajira means, for a girl, to wear four articles, two red two black; a red cord, the Curla, is tied about the waist; the Chatka, or long , narrow strip of black leather, fits over the cord in front, passes under, and then again, from the inside, passes over the cord in back; the chatka is drawn tight; the Kalmak is then donned; it is a short sleeveless vest of black leather; lastly the koora, a strip of red cloth, matching the Curla, is wound about the head, to hold the hair back, for slave women, among the Wagon Peoples, are not permitted to braid, or otherwise dress their hair; it must be, save for the koora, worn loose. For a male slave or Kajirus, of the Wagon Peoples, and there are few, save for the work chains, to be clad Kajira means to wear the Kes, a short, sleeveless work tunic of black leather." Nomads of Gor, page 30

kamba: word from the inland language meaning rope: Explorers of Gor, page 100

kanda: A shrub of the Gorean desert; a lethal poison can be extracted from its roots, while chewing the leaves has an addictive narcotic: Nomads of Gor, page 43

"The roots of the kanda plant, which grows largely in desert regions on Gor, are extremely toxic, but, surprisingly, the rolled leaves of this plant, which are relatively innocuous, are formed into strings and, chewed or sucked, are much favored by many Goreans, particularly in the southern hemisphere, where leaf is more abundant." Nomads of Gor, page 43

“On the twentieth day of the siege there was great rejoicing in the camp of Pa-Kur, because in one place the wires had been cut and a squad of spearmen had reached the main siege reservoir, emptying their barrels of toxic kanda, a lethal poison extracted from one of Gor’s desert shrubs.”  Tarnsman of Gor, page 179 

“Mixed with the blood and fluids of the body there was a smear of white at the end of the steel, the softened residue of a glaze of kanda paste, now melted by body heat, which had coated the tip of the blade.”  Assassin of Gor, page 42 

“. . .I found a needle; I smelled it; it was smeared with kanda, a deadly toxin. . .”  Tribesmen of Gor, page 132 

“On the first finger of his left hand he wore a fang ring, which, I had little doubt, would contain a poison, probably that of the deadly kanda plant.”  Explorers of Gor, page 151 

“Much more dangerous is the poison lock, because the opening through which the tiny pins, usually coated with a paste formed from kanda root, can emerge can be extremely small, almost invisible to the eye, easy to overlook in the crevices and grillwork of the commonly heavy, ornate Gorean lock.”  Assassin of Gor, page 52 

kan-lara: slave brand: Slave Girl of Gor, page 80

kaska: a small hand drum: 

They were not as yet playing, though one of them was absently tapping a rhythm on a small hand drum, the kaska; two others, with stringed instruments, were tuning them, putting their ears to the instruments. Nomads of Gor, page 153

Kashani: a minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Kavars:

I stood in the stirrups. I could see the Kavar center, white. On the left flank were the pennons of the Ta’Kara and the purple of the Bakahs. On the right flank were the golden Char and the diverse reds and bright yellows of the Kashani. Tribesmen of Gor, page 37

Most importantly I had gathered that there was brewing bad blood between the tribes of the Kavars and the Aretai. Raids had been becoming more frequent. If war should erupt their vassal tribes, such as the Char, the Kashani, the Ta’Kara, the Raviri, the Tashid, the Luraz, the Bakahs, would all become involved. Tribesmen of Gor, page 47

Kassars: one of the 4 tribes of the Wagon Peoples; also called the Blood People; their standard is a scarlet bola: Nomads of Gor, page 14

a town at the northern bank of the forest, it is a town of wood. The town is surrounded by a wall, with two gates, one large, facing the inlet, leading in from Thassa, the other small, leading to the forest behind the town. The main business of Kassau is trade, lumber and fishing, particularly parsit fish from the plankton banks north of the town. Lumber, particularly ka-la-na and tem-wood are traded to the North, which is virtually treeless. Kassau is the seat of the High Initiate of the North. Marauders of Gor, pages 25-28

Kataii: one of the 4 tribes of the Wagon Peoples, whose members are Negroid; their standard is a yellow bow: Nomads of Gor, page 14

katch: a leafy vegetable:

"a foliated leaf vegetable called Katch" Tribesmen of Gor, page 37

Kavars: a major tribe of the Tahari; their vassal tribes are the: Bakahs, Char, 
Kashani and the Ta'Kara. Their war-cry is "Kavars Supreme!"

Bakahs: a minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Kavars
Char: a minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Kavars
Kashani: a minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Kavars
Ta'Kara: a minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Kavars

kef: a letter of the Gorean alphabet, analogous with the Earth letter 'K'; the first letter of the Gorean words for male and female slaves, and hence often used as a brand: 

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 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. Explorers of Gor, page 9  

The gate of the locker, like the lid of the slave box, is perforated for the passage of air, usually, like  the slave box, with a design in the form of cursive 'Kef', the first letter of 'Kajira', the most common Gorean expression, among several, for a female slave. Magicians of Gor, page 67 

keleustes: person that keeps rhythm on a copper drum used to set pace for oarsmen: Raiders of Gor, page 280

kennel: a small room, having an iron grill for a door, in which a slave may be confined at night: 

I had dropped through the kennel door and, some feet below, struck the straw-strewn floor of the kennel. The kennel was a cage, a sleen cage, tipped on its side, fully barred sunk mostly into the ground. The cage in its original attitude, when used for sleen, would have been some four feet in height, six feet in width and twelve feet in length. Tipped on its side, to better accommodate humans, it was some six feet in height and four by twelve feet in breadth and length. In the attitude, it was entered from the top. Within there was a wooden rung ladder, for climbing out of it. It was sunk in some four and a half feet in the ground. Wooden planks, covered with straw, lay over the bars on the bottom. These planks were separated by some two inches apiece, to facilitate drainage. The cage was roofed, too, with planks; fastened  over the top of the bars, including some, sawed, over the barred door. At night a tarpaulin was thrown over the cage roof. Standing in the cage one could look out, one's shoulders being approximately at ground level.  Slave Girl of Gor, page 195

It was a cell alcove, off the large room, with a small barred gate. It must be entered and left on the hands
and knees. A girl, thus, cannot rush from it; too, in leaving it, she is simple to leash. Perhaps most
importantly she can enter or leave her "place" only with her head down and on her knees, this involving a tacit  psychology, reminding her and impressing upon her that she is a slave. The cell itself was some eight feet deep and four feet wide and four feet high. I could, thus, not stand in the cell. Its furnishings were only a thin, scarlet mattress and a crumpled slave blanket of rep-cloth. Slave Girl of Gor, page 257

I rose from the bench and walked about the cell. I felt one of the damp walls. I was grateful for the blanket I
now had. I went and felt the heavy bars, with the lateral crosspieces, which formed one side of the cell. I gripped them. I was well confined within. I went back to the table. I was a prisoner and a slave. I even wore a steel collar. Yet I was not overly discontent. I was eager to see this world to which I, a man of Earth, had been brought as a mere slave. It was my hope that if I obeyed my masters or mistresses, and well pleased them, I might be permitted to live. Fighting Slave of Gor, page 88

Similarly my kennel was comfortable and, for a kennel, spacious. I could not stand erect in it but there was more than enough room to stretch out and roll about. The gate in the kennel was a small one. It was barred, and set in the barred side of the kennel facing the corridor. It is common to have one side of a kennel open, except for the bars. The girl is always, you see, to be available to the eyes of the master. He may look upon her whenever he chooses, day or night. The small gate is also common in slave kennels, The girl, commonly, accordingly, enters and leaves the kennel on all fours. She is, after all, an animal. Too, it is useful in various leashing and chaining arrangements. In this house, as in most, the girl is kept naked in the kennel. I did not mind the tiny gate of the kennel, however, or my observability and nudity within it. I much preferred its semi-privacy to the locked dormitory at the mill. Too, its comforter, blankets and pillow were a welcome change from the flat, straw-filled mat and thin blanket on the cement floor of the dormitory. Kajira of Gor, page 280

In the cylinder there are several varieties of retention areas, ranging from the luxuriousness of the cell shown to me earlier by Ho-Tu, in which Cernus was accustomed to keep special captures, to the iron pens. Some of the facilities were simply lines of reasonably clean cells, some with windows, usually a lavatory drain and something in the way of a mat to sleep on. Other rows of cells were rather more ornate, with heavy intricate grillwork taking the space of bars, hung with red silks, floored with furs and perhaps lit by a thalarion oil lamp set in a barred recess in the ceiling. But the pens, of which there were several sorts, boasted no such luxuries. The expression "The Iron Pens," incidentally, generally refers to all of the subterranean retention facilities in the house of a slaver, not simple cages, but pits, steel drums, wall chains and such; it is the name of an area, on the whole, rather than a literal description of the nature of the only sort of security devices found there. The expression "kennels" is
sometimes used similarly, but more often it refers to a kind of small, cement cell, customarily about three feet by four feet, with an iron gate, which can be raised and lowered; similar cells, but entirely of bars, are also common, and are to be found in the house of slavers; the smaller cells can function as seperate units, and may be used to ship slaves, but they can also be locked together in groups to provide tiers of cells, usually bolted into a wall, conserving space.
Ho-Tu led the way, moving from catwalk to catwalk, spanning the cages below. In these cages, through the bars, male slaves, crowded together, naked and wearing collars, glared sullenly up at us.
"It would not be well to lose your footing," advised Ho-Tu.
I supposed it was from this sort of facility that the general expression "The Iron Pens" took its orgin. One each cage we passed, as we took our way over it, I saw a thin metal plate covered with numbers. Some of these numbers referred to the occupants within the cage, but other numbers were coded to instruct the keepers in such matters as diet, special precautions, date of the lot's aquisition, and its intended disposition. Some of the numbers had been scratched out, and others had been hammered into the plates, which were changed from time to time. The pens seemed humid and, though we were below ground, warm from the heat of the bodies. The only sanitation facility was an opened metal mesh, supported by close-set horizontal bars, in the bottom of the cages, beneath which, some five feet below, was a cement floor, washed down and cleaned by slaves once daily. There was feed trough at one side of the cage and a low watering pan on the other, both filled by means of tubes from the catwalk. The cages of female slaves were mixed in with those of the male slaves, presumably on no other basis than what cage happened to be empty at a given time. The female slaves, like the men, were unclothed, and wore collars; their collars, however, were not the typical locked collar of the female slave, but since they were only in the iron pens, a narrow band of iron, with a number, hammered about their neck.  Assassin of Gor, page 122

We trained, during the day, commonly in private facilities, under the tutelage of pleasure slaves, but in the evening we would be returned to the long tiers of cages in the public pens. These cages are heavily barred, and the bars are rather irritatingly, widely set, but we cannot squeeze between them. The cages are strong enought toe hold men, which, doubtless sometimes they do. Straw is spread on the metal plating which is the floor. There are four girls to a cage. Captive of Gor, page 162

But there was little beauty in the pens, with their heavy blocks of stone and stout bars, and straw and the smells. Captive of Gor, page 171

kes shrub: a shrub whose salty, blue secondary roots are a main ingredient in sullage

"The principal ingredients of Sullage are the golden Sul, …the curled, red, ovate leaves of the Tur-Pah, a tree parasite, cultivated in host orchards of Tur trees and the salty, blue secondary roots of the Kes shrub, a small, deeply rooted plant which grows best in sandy soil." Priest Kings of Gor, page 45

kes: short tunic of black leather worn by the male slaves of the Wagon Peoples: Nomads of Gor, page 30

"For a male slave, or Kajirus, of the Wagon Peoples, and there are few, save for the work chains, to be clad Kajirus means to wear the Kes, a short, sleeveless work tunic of black leather." Nomads of Gor, page 30

kettle-and-mat girl: a slavegirl whose function is divided between household tasks and sexual servitude: Assassin of Gor, page 112 and Raiders of Gor, page 99

ki: is alternately a Gorean prefix or suffix which indicates "negation" of the word it is attached to, like the English prefix "un": Nomads of Gor, page 3

kick ball: a game played by the Red Hunters

"You spoiled her kick," said a man to me, in Gorean. "I am sorry," I said. The girl, with the other youths, had been playing a soccer like game with the leather ball, with goals drawn in the turf. I had not realized, until too late, that I had been traversing the field of play. Beasts of Gor, page 193

kirtle: the garb of a slavegirl of the Torvaldland, thin white woolen garment, ankle-length, with a deep plunging neckline

"I saw four small milk bosk grazing on short grass. In the distance, above the acres, I could see mountains, snowcapped. A flock of verr, herded by a maid with a stick, turned bleating on the sloping hillside. She shaded her eyes. Se was blond; she was barefoot; she wore an ankle-length white kirtle of white wool, sleeveless, split to her belly; about her neck I could see a dark ring." Marauders of Gor, page 81

"If you are washed and readied" said a young thrall, collared in a kirtle of white wool, "it is permissible to present yourself before the high seat of the house, before my master, Svein Blue Tooth, Jarl of Torvaldsland." Marauders of Gor, page 194

kissing of a drinking vessel: this is a kiss to the drinking vessel of the Master who has the heart of a slave.

They called for more wine and paga and Eta, and I, too, hastened to serve them. We, too, moved among them. I, too, now served then in the firelight. I would pour paga, which I carried, into a goblet, kiss it, as was expected, and give it to the man. "Paga!" called my captor. I almost fainted. I went to him and, shaking, poured paga into his goblet; I was terrified that I might spill it; it was not only that I feared, should I spill the beverage, that I might be beaten for my clumsiness; it was even more than I wished to appear graceful and beautiful before him; but I shook, and was awkward; the paga sloshed in the goblet but, as my heart almost stood still, it did not spill; he looked at me; I was a clumsy girl, and a poor slave; I felt so small and unworthy before him; I was not only a girl, small and weak before these mighty men; I was not even a good slave. Trembling, I extended the goblet to him. He did not take it. I shrank back, confused. I did not know what to do. I realize then that I had, in my confusion and distress, forgotten to place my lips upon the goblet in subservience. I quickly pressed my lips to the goblet, kissing it. Then, suddenly, as I was to hand it to him, I boldly, again, lifted the goblet's side to my lips. Holding it in both hands, I kissed it again, lovingly, delicately, fully, lingering, my eyes closed. I had never kissed a boy on Earth with the helplessness and passion that I bestowed upon the mere goblet of my Gorean captor. I belonged to him. I was his. I loved him! I felt the metal of the cup beneath my full, pressing lips. I opened my eyes. I proffered, tears in my eyes, the cup of paga to my captor. It was though, with the cup, I was giving myself to him. Yet I knew I needed not give myself to him, for I was his, and a slave girl; he could take me whenever he wished me. He took the cup from my hands, and dismissed me. Slave Girl of Gor Page.68-69

kite: small meadow bird....no description

"The first southern migrations of meadow kites,' he said, 'have already taken place.'" Nomads of Gor, page 138

klim directional division of a gorean map: Nomads of Gor, page 3 (footnote)

knife brand: rather like a tattoo, an appropriate design is cut into the thigh of a slave and a colored powder is rubbed into it: Explorers of Gor, page 330

kneeling position: a position the slave assumes when they are to be chain in a line

"Kneel to be coffled," said one of the men. The girls knelt, closely, one behind the other; there were six wrist rings on the chain he carried. He placed the girl who had been whipped by Lady Sabina first in the coffle line. "Left wrist coffle," he said. They lifted their left wrists, frightened. Interestingly, the man snapping the wrist rings on the girls' left wrists did not put the first girl in the first ring, but the second. When the four maids were coffled there was, thus, an empty wrist ring both at the head and rear of the line. "Stand, Slaves," said the man. "Lower chain." The girls stood. Then, ordered, the lowered their wrists. They were then in line, standing, coffled. Slave Girl of Gor, page 127

kneeling to the whip position: a position a slave assume when they are to be punished by the whip

"I crossed my wrists beneath me and touched my head to the floor, exposing the bow of my back. It is the submissive posture of a slave girl who is to be punished. It is called Kneeling to the Whip. I shook, visibly, at his feet. I whimpered. I waited for him to call a guard, to bring the lash" Captive of Gor, page 200

knife, various: throught the series there were many different knives mention:

 “One holds the stem of the plant in the left hand and, with the right, with a rence knife, a small, curved, two-inch knife makes a diagonal upward stroke.”  Raiders of Gor, page 27

“Imnak’s knife had a wooden handle, some fourteen inches long. Its point was some three inches in length. He braced it on his leg in carving, his fingers near the blade end where they might delicately control the movement of the metal.”  Beasts of Gor, page 253 

“I did as I was told, and Imnak, with a large, curved, bone, saw-toothed knife, a snow knife, began to cut at a nearby drift of snow.”  Beasts of Gor, page 325 

“She placed the turf knife in the pit, through the hole which we had left as its entrance. The turf knife is a wooden-bladed, saw-edged, paddlelike tool. It is used to cut and saw sod and, when the handle is held in the right hand and the blade is supported with the left, it may be used, also, rather like a shovel, to move dirt.”  Blood Brothers of Gor, pages 311 

“He then drew the large, triangular-bladed knife from the beaded sheath on his belt. . .”  Savages of Gor, page 114 

“He had sheathed his jagged-edged knife, a fisherman’s knife.”  Explorers of Gor, page 285 

“He was cutting, with a ship’s knife. . .”  Marauders of Gor, page 261 

“. . .at the thong on his waist was a beaded sheath, from which protruded the hilt of a trade knife.”  Blood Brothers of Gor, page 8 

“Then the warrior threw her to her stomach, binding her wrists together behind her back, then binding her ankles. With a slave knife he cut the rence tunic from her and threw her, still partly tangled in the net, over his shoulder. . .”  Raiders of Gor, page 54 

 “. . .besides the small swords, carried a knife as well, this attached to a leather belt.”  Captive of Gor, page 49

“All men of Torvaldsland, incidentally, even if otherwise unarmed, carry a knife at their master belt.”  Marauders of Gor, page 50 

“. . .free women in Torvaldsland commonly carry a knife. . .”  Marauders of Gor, page 156 

 “The knife blades and long nails are sometimes mounted in clubs. The blades, of course, may also be fitted into carved handles, of wood and bone.”  Savages of Gor, page 145

“. . .a straight-bladed Gorean shaving knife.”  Priest-Kings of Gor, page 34 

 “. . .the knife lock, when tampered with, releases a blade, or several of them, with great force, sometimes from behind the individual at the lock.”  Assassin of Gor, page 52

knife, killing : A throwing knife, typically used only in the larger cities such as Ar, and favored by those of the Caste of Assassins. It is much smaller than the quiva, approximately six to eight inches in length, and its blade is tapered on only one side. Such knives are often inscribed on the hilt or blade with such ritual phrases as "I have sought him. I have found him." Sometimes used in conjunction with poison kanda paste smeared upon the blade, though trained Assassins typically disdain the use of poison. It is rarely used in hand-to-hand combat, designed primarily to be thrown at the body of an unsuspecting victim. Described in book #5, Assassin of Gor

“It was a killing knife, short, well-balanced for throwing” Assassin of Gor,  Page 261 

“a throwing knife, of a sort used in Ar, much smaller than the southern quiva, and tapered on only one side. It was a knife designed for killing. . . . On the hilt of the dagger, curling about it, was the legend “I have sought him. I have found him.” Assassin of Gor, Page 42 

knife, whip: The use of this weapon is widely regarded as a difficult and delicate art to master. The whip knife consists of a twelve-foot long braided leather whip of the "bullwhip" type commonly found on Earth, equipped with a lanyard to insure retention of the weapon in combat. Set into the final eighteen inches of its length are twenty thin, narrow blades, woven into the leather and arranged in sets, four such blades to a set. Each such weapon is tipped either with a double-edged knife blade approximately seven or eight inches long, or a stunning tip," a lead weight which is designed to incapacitate the victim when he is struck. Possibly originally intended to be effective against an opponent with a shield. The blade or weight, on its leather extension, would conceivably be able to flex in mid-air, passing around such a protective device to strike the target (similar to a medieval flail) or perhaps developed simply as an attempt to make the common whip more lethal. Rarely used in actual warfare, this weapon is said to be unique to the delta city of Port Kar and is often utilized in the fighting of duels. First appears in Book #5, Assassin of Gor.

“The whip knife is a delicate weapon, and can be used with elegance, with finesse; it is, as far as I know, unique to Port Kar.”  Raiders of Gor, page 109 

“. . .coiled at the side of his saddle, in four loops, was a whip knife, of the sort common in Port Kar, a whip, but set into its final eighteen inches, arranged in sets of four, twenty thin, narrow blades; the tips of whip knives differ; some have a double-edged blade of about seven or eight inches at the tip; others have a stunning lead, which fells the victim and permits him, half-conscious, to be cut to pieces at the attacker’s leisure; the whip knife of Menicius, however, held at its tip the double-edged blade, capable of cutting a throat at twelve feet.”  Assassin of Gor, pages 363  

koora: strip of red fabric worn as a headband by the slavegirls of the Wagon Peoples:

"Among the Wagon Peoples, to be clad Kajira means, for a girl, to wear four articles, two red two black; a red cord, the Curla, is tied about the waist; the Chatka, or long , narrow strip of black leather, fits over the cord in front, passes under, and then again, from the inside, passes over the cord in back; the chatka is drawn tight; the Kalmak is then donned; it is a short sleeveless vest of black leather; lastly the koora, a strip of red cloth, matching the Curla, is wound about the head, to hold the hair back, for slave women, among the Wagon Peoples, are not permitted to braid, or otherwise dress their hair; it must be, save for the koora, worn loose. For a male slave or Kajirus, of the Wagon Peoples, and there are few, save for the work chains, to be clad Kajira means to wear the Kes, a short, sleeveless work tunic of black leather." Nomads of Gor, page 30

ko-ro-ba: archaic Gorean term for village market: Outlaw of Gor, page 40

"Ko-ro-ba lay in the midst of green and rolling hills, some hundreds of feet above the level of the distant Tamber Gulf and that mysterious body of water beyond it, spoken of in Gorean simply at Thassa, the Sea. Ko-ro-ba was not set as high and remote as for example was Thentis in the mountains of Thentis, famed for its tarn flocks, but it was not a city of the vast plains either, like the luxurious metropolis of Ar, or of the shore, like the cluttered, crowded, sensuous Port Kar on the Tamber Gulf. Whereas Ar was glorious, a city of imposting grandeur, acknowledged even by blood foes; whereas Thentis had the proud violence of the rude mountains of Thentis for its setting; whereas Port Kar could boast of broad Tamber for its sister, and the gleaming, mysterious Thassa beyond, I thought my city to be truly the most beautiful, its variegated lofty cylinders rising so gently, so joyfully, among the calm, green hills. An ancient poet, who incredibly enough to the Gorean mind had sung of the glories of many of the cities of Gor, had spoken of Ko-ro-ba as the Towers of the Morning, and it is sometimes spoken of by that name."  Outlaw of Gor, page 39

kort: A large, brownish-skinned, thick-rinded, sphere-shaped vegetable - usually 6 inches in width. The interior is yellowish and fibrous, and heavily seeded; rinded fruit of the Tahari; served sliced with melted cheese and nutmeg

"…a large brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellow, fibrous, and heavily seeded." Tribesmen of Gor, page 37

This race is the race of "Others," those aliens beings who strive against Priest-Kings to control all of Gor. 

They consider humans to be a lower life form than them, and have been known to breed them for food. It is a rare thing to see a Kur in a Gorean city, though occasionally such creatures will band with human compatriots and co-exist with them, typically to serve their own strange, unfathomable purposes.

In the doorway, silhouetted against flames behind them we saw great, black, shaggy figures. Then one leapt within the hall. In one hand it carried a gigantic ax, whose handle was perhaps eight feet long, whose blade, from tip to tip, might have been better than two feet in length; on its other arm it carried a great, round, iron shield, double strapped; it lifted it, and the ax; its arms were incredibly long, perhaps some seven feet in length; about its left arm was a spiral band of gold; it was the Kur which had addressed the assembly. It threw back its head and opened its jaws, eyes blazing, and uttered the blood roar of the aroused Kur; then it bent over, regarding us, shoulders hunched, its claws leaping from its soft, furred sheaths; it then laid its ears back flat against the sides of its great head. no one could move. Then, other Kurri behind it, crowding about it, past it, it shrieked, lips drawn back, with a hideous sound, which, somehow, from its lips and mien, and mostly from its eyes, I took to be a sign of pleasure, of anticipation; I would learn later that this sound is instinctively uttered by Kurii when they are preparing to take blood. Marauders of Gor, page 203

 It moved a switch on the box. It uttered sounds, low, guttural, and inquisitive. It did not use human phonemes and so it is difficult, if not impossible, to convey the quality of the sound. If you have heard the noises made by great cats, such as the Bengal tiger or the black maned lion, and can conceive such noises articulated with subtlety and precision of a civilized speech, that will provide you with an approximation of what I heard.

"Our brain cases are larger then yours," it said. "Our anatomy could not well support a larger cranial development. In our history, as in your, larger brain cases have been selected for."

"In what way?" I asked. "In the killings." It said. "Is the Kur a social animal?" I asked.

"It is a social animal," it said," But it is not as social as the human." "That is perhaps a drawback to it as a species," I said. "It has its advantages," it said. " The Kur can live alone. It can go its own way. It does not need its herd."

"Surly in ancient times, Kurri came together," I said.

"Yes" it said. "in the mating, and the killings," It looked at me , chewing." But that was long ago," it said." We have had civilization for one hundred thousand years, as you would understand these things. In the dawn of our prehistory small bands emerged from the burrows and the caves and forests. It was a beginning."

"What do you put above all?"

I asked. "Glory," it said.

It looked at me. "Can you understand that?" it asked.

"How is it that an animal without strong social instincts can be concerned with Glory?" I asked. "It emerges, we speculate, from the killings." "

The killings?" I asked.

"Even before the first groups," he said, "we would gather for the mating and killings. Great circles, rings of our people, would form in valleys to watch."

"You fought for mates?" I asked.

"We fought for the joy of killing," it said, " Mating, however, was a prerogative of the victor." It took a rib bone from the larl and began to thrust it, scraping, between his fangs, freeing and removing bits of wedged meat. "Humans, as I understand it, perform all the functions pertinent to the continuance of the species."

"Yes," I said, "that is true." "We have three, or, if you prefer, four sexes," it said. "There is the dominant, which would, I suppose, correspond most closely to the human male. It is the instinct of the dominant to enter the killings and mate. There is then the form of the Kur which closely resembles the dominant but does not join in the killings or mate. You may, or may not, regard this as two sexes. There is then the egg carrier who is impregnated. This form of Kur is smaller then the dominant or the non dominant, speaking thusly of the non reproducing form of Kur."

"The egg carrier is the female." I said

"If you like" said the beast. "But shortly after the impregnation, within a moon, the egg carrier deposits the fertilized seed in the third form of Kur, which is mouthed, but sluggish and immobile. Those fasten themselves to hard surfaces, rather like dark, globular anemones. The egg develops inside the body of the blood nurser and, some months later, it tears its way free."

"It has no mother." I said.

"Not in the human sense." It said. "It will however, usually follow, unless it itself is a blood nurser, which is drawn out, the first Kur it sees, providing it is either and egg carrier or a non dominant." ~ "the young receive blood in the nurser," he said. "When it is born it does not need milk, but water and common protein."

"It is born fanged?" I asked.

"Of course," it said. "And it is capable of stalking and killing small animals shortly after it leaves the blood nurser."

"But there are native Kurrii on Gor," I said, " or at any rate Kurrii who have reproduced themselves on this world." "Certain ships, some of them originally intended for colonization, carried representatives of our various sexes, with the exception of non dominants," it said "We have also, where we have known of Kurrii groups, sometimes managed to bring in egg carriers and blood nursers."

"Is there an order to your sexes?" I asked.

"Of course there is a biological order," He said, "Structure is a function of nature. How could it be otherwise? There is first the Dominant, and then the egg carrier, and then the non dominant, and then, if one considers such things Kur, the blood nursers."

"The female, or egg carrier, is dominant over the non dominant?" I asked.

"Of course," he said." They are despicable."

"Suppose a dominant is victorious in the killings?" I said, "What then occurs?"

"Many things could occur," He said, " but he then, generally, with a club, would indicate what egg carriers he desires. He then ties them together and drives them to his cave. In the cave he impregnates them and makes them serve him."

"Do they attempt to run away?" I asked.

"No," he said, " He would hunt them down and kill them. But after he has impregnated them they tend to remain, even when untied, for he is then their dominant." Explorers of Gor, pages 369-370

Kur: A Kurii military unit 

A typical Kurii foraging squad consists of six animals, called a "hand," with its "eye," or leader. Two such "hands" with their "eyes," constitutes a "Kur," or "Beast." The military Kur, in this sense a unit, is commanded by a "Blood" Marauders of Gor, page 241

Kurii beam projector: A handheld device, which is just big enough to fit comfortably in the hand of a Kur. This missile weapon fires a highly concessive heat blast, which strikes its target fiercely, often leaving a 3/4" wide hole at the point of impact, and an exit wound of upwards of ten inches across, where applicable. It is described as having only a limited number of charges, similar to a revolving cartridge weapon. Used only by the Kurii. First appears in Book #10, Tribesmen of Gor.

Kurii Dart Thrower: A breech loading missile weapon which fires a six-inch long conical gas propelled dart. Its configuration is similar to an Earth rifle. Kurii Dart Throwers have carved wooden stocks, upon which are incised eccentric designs. These tubular weapons discharge with a hiss, which is not particularly loud. Several types of darts may be fired from such a weapon, including poison tipped explosive tipped, and tranquilizer darts. These weapons are exclusively used by human agents of the Kurii. The actual firing button is located on the forepart of the stock, and the weapon itself seems to be a one-shot weapon, requiring reloading after every firing. First appears in Book #12, Beasts of Gor.

kurdah: a small, light, semi-circular tent, c. 3' in diameter and 4' high, carried by a pack kaiila, in which women (slave or free) may ride

The girl, startled, cried out. She sat within, her knees to the left, her ankles together, her weight partly on her hands, to the right, on the small, silk-covered cushion of the frame. It was semicircular and about a yard in width at its widest point. The superstructure of the frame rose about four feet above the frame at its highest point, enclosing, as in an open-fronted, flat-bottomed, half globe, its occupant. This frame, however, was covered completely with layers of white rep-cloth, to reflect the sun, with the exception of the front, which was closed with a center-opening curtain, also of white rep-cloth. The wood of the frame is tem-wood. It is light. It is carried by a pack kaiila, strapped to the beast, and steadied on both sides by braces against the pack blankets. This frame is called, in Gorean, the kurdah. It is used to transport women, either slave or free, in the Tahari. The girl was not chained within the kurdah. Tribesmen of Gor, page 69

kurt: the five-bladed slave whip: Slave Girl of Gor, page 83

Eta lifted a stout whip, with long handle, which might be wielded with two hands, and five dangling, soft, wide lashing surfaces, each about a yard long. "Kurt," she said. I shrank back. "Kurt," I repeated. Kajira of Gor. page 83

I gasped.
Mistress?" she asked.
"What is that?" I said.
"A whip," she said, puzzled. Seeing my interest she brought it towards me. I stepped back. She held it across her body. Its handle was about eighteen inches long. It was white, and trimmed with yellow beads. Depending from this handle, at one end, were five pliant yellow straps, or lashes. Each was about two and a half feet long, and one and a half inches wide. Kajira of Gor. page 43