A GREAT ADVENTURE

DARIAN MET THE PRIEST
KING

We set off at dawn on a morning that promised to be warmer than usual.

     Brjiana wanted to join us on this new adventure. I had received a message from a tribal chief of a village just outside the Thahari Desert, which was part of my territory. He was asking for help with some strange disappearances that had been occurring in the village for some time.

As Emir of the Oasis, I was concerned; he had never heard of unexplained disappearances, and that was strange enough even for the inhabitants of my Oasis.

I took some trusted guards with me, not many to be honest; I didn't think there could be any great danger. I left the first Commander at the Oasis, and the Captain of the Guards came with me, a trustworthy man, though a bit stubborn in his interpretations. After crossing part of the desert, we entered the forest where the village was located. I had forgotten how difficult it was to walk in the forest; I had lived in the desert for years.

After a few days of walking through that damned forest, we finally saw smoke rising high into the sky from a high hill, and we were all happy; we'd rest and eat something hot after days of walking.

The village chief was a burly, dark-skinned man, dressed in a long robe, with very long hair tied back at the nape of his neck and an unkempt beard. He explained to me that in recent months, many men had disappeared without a trace, without reporting or leaving a trace. I was very worried: if it had been the work of the Black Panthers, they would surely have left some trace. They like to let everyone know about their raids; I didn't think Merchants or Slavers would go that far. They couldn't have sold slaves without documents, and a voluntary escape seemed unlikely.

We studied the map of the area with the Captain and the Guide, to find a safe route and begin our search. The next day, after a night's rest, we gathered supplies and plenty of water and began our reconnaissance. Toward afternoon, the forest began to thin out, but a thick blanket of fog enveloped the area. That part of the forest wasn't marked on any map. We continued until we found ourselves beneath a high fence made of large, impassable logs. We set up camp and tents near some rocks, keeping the fence in sight—we were safe from any surprises—and we prepared for the night, organizing our guard shifts.

 

The next morning, we awoke ready to inspect the great palisade. In the distance, we spotted a figure slowly approaching. We hid behind a large rock and waited until we saw a strange warrior wrapped in strange bandages around his body, a very tall, dark-skinned man, like someone imported from planet Earth, something never seen before, not even among the barbarians who populate the planet.

I ordered everyone to remain hidden and went out, trying to contact the man, who, upon seeing me, became aggressive, adopting a combative stance. I unsheathed my scimitar, but to my surprise, the man, with a superhuman leap, attempted to attack me, colliding with me. As our bodies collided, he transformed into two identical men, a cloning process never seen before. The guards intervened in the fight, and we quickly gained the upper hand, killing both of them. They reverted to human bodies, just as they had been in their village.

To my amazement, I realized that upon impact with that man, I had absorbed his powers. I felt strong, and my body took on an almost dark reddish color, very similar to earth.

My subjects, Brjiana and the Captain, were terrified. I reassured them, saying it was all over, and I wanted to use my transformation to infiltrate that great fortification protecting the village.

I ordered everyone to remain hidden and silent; I would go inside to take a look, and so it was. I passed through the door the man had left open, approaching. What I saw before me was something astonishing: the road led to an immense stone building, with a grand staircase and men standing guard all around.

The closer I got, the more the guards all looked alike. As if they were twins, all dressed with bandages wrapped around their bodies, armed with small, oddly shaped spears, as if they were torches. I heard the door close behind me and men silently approaching, pushing me towards the grand staircase. I climbed, escorted by two lines of men, silent and expressionless, as if they were automatons, until I entered that great palace.

At the end of the great hall, men in long white robes, similar to those of the Initiates, were waiting for me. They asked my name and what part of the planet I was from. I explained that I was the Emir of the Oasis of the Seven Palms, a tribal chief from the forest had asked for my help. They didn't seem threatening, and I was quite calm. The one who must have been the Chief took me into a room where the walls were decorated with many mirrors and small lights flashing like fireflies. In the mirrors, which he told me were monitors, were men and women from every village and city. When placed in the foreground, each one seemed to be there with us.

He explained to me that they were the king's chosen ones and that they controlled the hall. They were testing a kind of new planetary warrior, a faithful and confident fighter, to form a single planetary army. That was why the disappearances were taking men from the villages and cities, taking them to the underground, where they were educated and cloned, with small Receivers in their brains to obey orders.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I'd read about something like this in old books, but I never imagined I'd one day find myself face to face with the King's chosen ones.

The High Priest, as he told me to call him, knew full well he was speaking to a great and valiant Emir. He told me they would host me until the Grand Council decided what to do  

The following evening, the Captain, seeing me fail to return, took a trusted guard with him and dared to climb over the fence. He entered the great palace under cover of darkness and found himself in that great hall surrounded by guards. The Priest, who had seen the man climb over the fence and enter the hall, with a lightning-fast move took the High Priest hostage, ordering him to free the Emir and leave. At that point, I, who had witnessed the scene, joined in the action by capturing another Priest. I told the men to let us pass and leave go away in peace.

The High Priest ordered the guards to let us go, but not before making us swear not to reveal the location and whereabouts of the Temple, otherwise the Kings would take revenge on the peoples of the planet.

And so it was.

We returned to the oasis without passing through the village. I told Brjiana what I had seen, telling her it would be our secret, one we would keep for the rest of our lives.

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                                                   NEW EVENT

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Valkyrie%20Forest/36/52/2009

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 THE RETURN OF SIERRAROSE

ESCAPE FROM VENNA

While preparations are underway in the city for the fair we will soon inaugurate on the occasion of the festival of Se-Var, the annual fair held on the winter solstice, when day defeats night and the sun provides ever more light day after day.

While the stalls and booths of the various Castes and the many merchants who have come to the city are being prepared, I set up two newsstands on the main avenue, one opposite Lady Luelar's barbershop. Our newspaper is doing very well, and sales are improving day by day. With the consent of Administrator Sir Pettigrew, I plan to add more copies, hoping to get a little help by making sure everyone knows where to get them. Of course, at the fair, newspapers are free for everyone.

sir Argos

Suddenly, a guard came running, announcing the arrival of a caravan from the Silverstone Oasis, where I knew Sir Yuroki lived with his companion, Lady Sabayna, and their daughter, Sierra Rose. The young woman I had first courted in Port Victoria, but she had followed her family first to the Cartassa Oasis and then to their Silverstone Oasis.

I dropped everything and ran to the gate where the caravan was completing its entry formalities at the guardhouse. They would then wait to meet the leader of the Traders and finally enter the city. Although Venna was a tourist destination, anyone could enter freely as long as they handed over their weapons to the guards. I descended the grand staircase, scanning the crowd, trying to recognize my beloved Sierra among them, and finally I saw her. She ran toward me and literally leaped upon me, breaking every law on female freedom on the planet.

lady Luelar

We hugged and stayed that way for a long time until their mother, Lady Sabayna, came to greet us. Lady Sabayna was a great perfumer, and I had often met her on my travels at fairs, even though her skin was brown and burned by the Thahari sun.

lady Sierra

I didn't see Sir Yuroki with them, and when I asked where he was, they told me he had remained in the ruins of the oasis, after the destruction by the Torvie warriors who lately have been attacking cities and oases, arriving on their Tarls, scaling walls and fences, and destroying and killing everything in their path. Yuriki, along with trusted men, gathered everything they could. He would seek out a new, deserted, more sheltered oasis, perhaps somewhere far from the known trails, and repopulate that new oasis. The women had been sent to a nearby city and placed in the Arem for safekeeping.

We climbed the long staircase to the square, and then sat on the bench in the flowerbed in the garden in front of the Scribes' Palace. We told each other about our past, our love, and our forced separation, until their mother joined us. I took them around the squares and along the avenue where the stalls were lined up on both sides of the avenue. Then I took them to the Scribes' Palace, introducing them first to Lady Zoye, then to Lady Tenka. Lady Tenka was with us in Port Victoria, running the large perfumery on the harbor, and here in Venice she worked hard to find a stall to rent and sell her wonderful products. Although Eva also sells perfumes, Lady Tenka sells various bath and beauty products. I must confess that I also bought soaps from her, which I put in my clothes' cases to perfume them.

lady Sabayna

   Sierra announced that she spoke with her mother and received permission to stay and live with me in Venna. After our engagement period, which usually lasts four Mani Gor (weeks), we will celebrate our companionship ceremony, hoping that her father, Sir Yuroki, will arrive in the meantime.

Meanwhile, I sent a message to Sir Argos, who is L'ubar and the Chief Scribe, to discuss the possibility of Sierra and I taking up a position with the Scribe Caste. However, with preparations for the blessing of the Temple, the preparation of the Caste stall with all the arrivals, and the people around seeking news, we have postponed the meeting, but I hope she can live here with us.

The fair, as usual, was very chaotic, with people arriving from all over. Many Pani citizens came from the foot of the Sardar Mountains to visit the new museum dedicated to Pani art. Lady Luelar was a Pani descendant and was well-known and respected in the city of Venna for her skill as a weaver and ladies' hairdresser.

On the last day, the Temple was inaugurated. An Initiate came for the blessing. The entire city was present and moved. When it was all over and the last merchant had left with his goods, a caravan arrived in the city. They weren't merchants or desert folk, but well-dressed gentlemen, and one was wearing a blue suit. I wanted to go meet him, but something told me he would never be there.a friend, I sat down as usual at the inn table on the stairs and waited, I clearly saw Sir Argos, who was going towards him and greeting him with great effusion, I recognized in that man dressed in blue an old Magistrate student of mine, I stood up and headed towards them, when I was close to them Argos introduced himself saying that he would be the new Head of the Magistrates, a role that I had held until that moment, and that he clearly gave to his friend, I remained silent, I was very disappointed and offended, in the meantime Yuroki arrived in the city, took the family and left for the new Oasis he had rebuilt, Sierra I had lost again, but I was too humiliated at that moment, I packed my trunks and left with the first caravan towards Thassa, I would find another city to live.

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Greetings to all readers

During the GMA (Gorean Merchant Association) meeting, the beautiful Billy Ann wrote this poem dedicated to the Merchant Caste, and I am honored to publish it and share it with you.

darianelnairad

Nina with Erik child

From the Oasis to the Cold North - Erik the Tavernkeeper

By now the Oasis had been rebuilt and enlarged with a new gold-adorned palace and large spaces. All the other palaces and gardens had been enlarged. The large fountain in the central square provided water for the population, and the dance gazebo had also been enlarged. I had sacrificed the Zoo and the animals given up for adoption to the inhabitants of the interior. I had left for myself only two Tarms and a few camels. The Gallery had also been enlarged. Now I had plenty of free space, and I can put up new portraits of Goreans I will meet on my travels.

The time had come to set off on a new adventure. We are now in mid-spring and I can return to the North. It's been a long time since I saw the beautiful Nina in the village of Hammersgaard, despite her sending me so many invitations, and now I can finally hug her again.

Erim the Viking

Nina was a Panther. She escaped from the Shendi forest following a Viking merchant named, who had gone south to trade and had fallen in love with Nina in a tavern where she served customers disguised as a merchant. She often left her tribe and visited cities and villages in disguise, and never missed an opportunity to rob and kill some man she met on her way. And so it was that in the city of Baku she met him, Erik, a tall, blond, blue-eyed Vuchingo, who had arrived at the port with his ship to trade furs and buy wine, fabrics, and perfumes for the women of his village. He fell in love at first sight with Nina, the waitress who served at the tables and who could keep even the most fiery men of the Desert and some enterprising drunkards at bay.

Nina with the King

  She fell in love with that handsome man in his traditional Viking village clothes. She never left him alone at the table, always ready to serve him food and wine. When it was time to leave, she followed him, took the few things she had, and boarded that ship full of tough, mean-looking men.

ERIK-fREYA-ANGEL

In the village of Hammersgaard, Erik had a tavern on the harbor. He put his beautiful Nina in charge and kept the customers in check while he traveled. Nina, a Panther who was not only beautiful but also a great warrior, had learned the art of combat from a young age. She had participated in raids on many cities and villages in the Thahari Desert, and had never accepted the elders' rules. Instead, she would wander off to hunt and prey on travelers on the desert trails.

It was there that I met her for the first time, in that tavern on the harbor. I had just arrived from Finnurfjiord, where I had left my adoptive mother, Lady BB Arliss. Back then, I was still called Darian Arliss, and hadn't yet inherited the title of Emir. From the first moment she saw me, she was immediately kind to me. She had seen my nobility, and I often told her about my travels around the planet. She was fascinated every time I spoke of great cities with enormous palaces with golden domes, cities with skywalks connecting the towers, and villages built on the water.

Erik respected me, and we became friends, but he was always traveling. I took advantage of the break between trips to have a big company ceremony with the beautiful Nina. She was expecting their child and her belly was getting bigger every day. On the day of the ceremony, we all went to the temple on the hill overlooking the village. From there, you could see Lindenberg Castle, and even further away, a village of Panthers. A fire was always lit on that hill at night to indicate the position of the ships. The ceremony was very simple. They used the one with the glass of wine, exchanging it among themselves. Then everyone went to the great hall for the wedding lunch, which lasted until the next morning. Then, all drunk, everyone returned to their huts.

Nina did not forget her past as a Panther and often went away without a reason. I confess that she reached the Panther villages and trained there and met with her sisters. Erik left one morning and for months gave no news of himself, they thought he was dead and Nina often cried. Meanwhile, the baby was born, whom Nina called Erik for love of her husband. They baptized him in the river according to the Viking rite, immersing him in the icy waters of that river. One day, some merchants from Cos spoke of a merchant named Erik who lived on an island in the archipelago and had a tavern where he sold wine. Nina was enormously disappointed; he had betrayed her like this, leaving her with the Child, but she was very tough-minded and continued her life normally. One night we were attacked by pirates, they arrived in the morning with two ships pretending to be traders, and as soon as the evening arrived they attacked the few warriors on guard, and put the village to fire and sword, we all fled into the forest, Nina also escaped but was unable to save her son. She had been surrounded by some men. She fought to the end, but they prevailed, snatching the child from her and fleeing, leaving her wounded on the road. When she recovered, she joined us in the forest. Having no village left, we sought refuge at Linderberg Castle. They welcomed us and helped us, treating our wounds. Then the ruler of that castle confessed that Erik was his son, fathered with a woman in the village many years before, but he had never wanted to acknowledge his father as King. Then he summoned the village Jarl and the Elders and assigned him a plot of land under a promontory to rebuild the village. I sent men to look for his grandson, and we reached that new land and began rebuilding.

Erik returned repentant, begging for forgiveness, but Nina chased him away. Devastated by the loss of his son, he isolated himself in his castle for the rest of his life.

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RETURN TO THE OASIS

1st The Illusion

the new great Gorean gallery

I was shuttling between the city of Teletus and that of Var-Kor. I'd received a message from a woman I thought was a friend, asking me to move in with her, but in the end I found myself alone again, because she had emigrated to Teletus, not without explanation, with a man who later left her. It wasn't the first time things like this had happened, I'm used to it now. In Gor lately, you often encounter adventurers who pose as honored representatives of the Caste but are actually just minor figures seeking glory.

   I returned to the city of Var-Kor, disappointed by the decision that my friend had chosen a companion from another Caste, leaving her post as head of the Scribes and leaving for a hopeless adventure, meanwhile in the city the Caste was being reorganized, the empty post of Head of the caste had been taken by the beautiful lady Myriam, I had met her for the first time as part of the Combo family in the oasis of Tashid, then she was an apprentice Scribe, while I had the newspaper '' Tashid news '' and was a Magistrate, but in the Oases the Castes are not taken into consideration, there was not much work so I left for my Oasis of the 7 Palms, later I found lady Myriam at the EnKara fair a few years ago, she was still an apprentice Scribe and spent her time in front of Tashid's tent studying, then I lost track of her, until today when I met her in Var_kor, now she was the Head of the Scribes, sir Vulcan had her Rewarded after saving her from kidnapping, she worked hard and organized events. It's a shame that, despite their number, scribes are always traveling.

I was very surprised to meet Lady BB in the Caste Palace. Remember, she was my adoptive mother, back in the days of Cartassa and our escape north to the village of Finnurfjiord. We escaped from Korat in the Shendi region due to the Panthers' attack on the city and the resulting destruction. I had then lost sight of her, always traveling with her husband, Sir Mith the builder. Now I found her as an apprentice Scribe. I remembered she was a merchant, but as long as she wanted to study and become a Scribe, that's fine.

   I had never developed a friendship with Lady Myriam, and it was a great surprise. I liked her way of doing things, and after a few days of talking, I asked if I could court her. Naturally, after we got to know each other better, even though I'm much older than she is. I've lived in Gor for many years. To have a point of reference, I asked her to become a Magistrate. She accepted, but I didn't know there were already Magistrates, including the Chief Magistrate. He had an office on the upper floor, while he gave me a small office in a corner while I waited for any developments.

(I had written the story of the woman who ran away with the Assassin, but when they read the article, they threatened me, saying I'd written lies. However, I had written the article based on the notes she'd given me while speaking privately. I was forced to delete the chapter dedicated to them, and I hope to never see them again.)

    I returned to the Oasis of the 7 Palms and the first thing I did was to renovate the now old palace, enlarge the Gorean gallery and widen the large garden, I rebuilt the palace with gold friezes and large domes in Arabic style, I also changed the Dance Gazebo in the same style as the palace, and now I'm here waiting for the work to be finished then I will return to the city of Var-Kor, I received the Magistrate's plaque and if everything goes well I will go to work there,

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 Publisher's Notice

Regarding the chapter on Kallis and his murderous friend, I have removed it from the article because it offended the subjects. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope you will ignore this. Thank you to all my readers. I hope this small aside doesn't hinder our future.

Thank you all.

 The Sa Fora Kef (SFK) dancers published a new video at Phoenix Studios, supporting their SL Gor awareness mission. The SFK kajirae and their musician dance through a magical forest on their way to the En'Kara Fair. The Sa Fora Kef dance troupe performed at En'Kara 2026.

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Here is the video url-under "Gemma Velvetleaf" in flickr

     https://flic.kr/p/2scHvE1

     

     

"One of their major markets, to which they generally arrange for the shipment of girls overland, is the Sardar Fairs, in particular that of En'Kara, which is the most extensive and finest."

Explorers of Gor     Book 13     Page 115

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"The fair of En'Kara occurs in the spring. It is the first fair in the annual cycle of the Sardar Fairs, gigantic fairs which take place on the plains lying below the western slopes of the Sardar Mountains. These fairs, and others like them, play an important role in the Gorean culture and economy. They are an important clearing house for ideas and goods, among them female slaves."

Players of Gor     Book 20     Page 8

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Sarah Luxembourg (sara vermilion) can enroll you in the Sa Fora Kef fan club group. See Sarah and Asaeni dance at Phoenix studios  while an SFK  video played in "dance in a dance". 

 

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