A Letter To Dukkarr

originally posted March 29, 2006

9th Day of En'Kara 10,156 CA

Greetings Noble Dukkarr, Warrior,

It is my hope this letter finds you well. I am at the base of the black Sardar, attending the En'Kara Fair. I have seen many cities along the way. Torcadino, as you must know, is quite beautiful. Nothing, of course, compared to the Glory of Ar, but Torcadino is beautiful in its own right. The aqueducts are truly a marvel of engineering, beautifully belting the horizon into the Fields of Hesius. I crossed the Vosk soon after that. It is magnificent. One cannot well see from one bank across to the other. The distance is too great. The rapids are too wild. My heart is heavy to see the sunlit cobblestones of Aulus Street at dawn again, yes, but the ferocity of the Vosk is something every citizen of Gor should witness. I have spent time in Jort's Ferry, the Gateway to the North, and the copper mining town of Rarn. It was with Fair-bound caravan, too, that I slept a night in the Fortress of Saphronicus. I have to tell you, and perhaps this is the folly of a Poet, that I do not care to deny the enjoyment I get in seeing something so simple as the thrill of a girl when her eyes are opened to the vast and boundless beauty that is our world. The way her skin suffuses with warmth at a flower she's never seen or the cut of a fellow's tunic in a city other than that of her Master. I am no stranger to the road. Wanderlust has bitten me often in my life. I have seen indulgent Turia, squallid Port Kar, beautiful Ko-ro-ba, hated Cos, a dozen cities along the Vosk, a few along the Laura and more. Much more. I never tire of experiencing the taste and touch of a new culture.

When I endeavored more, angering many of my Caste, I thought it would be a long time before I was able to enjoy life on the road again. As you are aware, the life of a business owner is demanding upon one's time. It is strange to hear the clink of whole tarsks and tarn disks, not merely tarsk bits, in my pouches. The comfort it brings exacts a price. Still, it would be facetious of me to say that I haven't enjoyed the benefits. With a little effort, I have been able to combine my business interests with the pursuit of leisure and discovery. And I have not completely abandoned the work of my Caste. I have made worthy sayings, penned great words and saw them spoken from the mouths of famed Locutius and the brilliant Nikos of Tyros on a grand stage at the Fair of En'kara. Many will be the child repeating the lines of tortured Agamedes and taunting Julian to the consternation of their parents. I continue to write. Despite the scandal, I will again stage a play at the Great Theater of Pentilicus Tallux. It is a goal I do not choose to forsake.

Tomorrow, on the last day of Fair, a girl I own called Emily dances. I paid a silver tarsk for her entry fee. She will dance amongst many alluring beauties of the world. Girls from Ianda and the Tahari, from Ko-ro-ba and lofty Thentis will dance. Too, girls of Ar will represent our grand city along with her. Speaking of which, I purchased a girl of Ar recently. It was from the cages of a caravan Slaver. Much was the excitement about the tents and wagons of the camp when a Tarnsman, of what city I do not know, brought her down to vend her. Naturally, I was curious of this 'Susan' the slave girls were going on about, gossipping over. Those free, too, spoke of the grey-eyed girl in the cage. Of her lineaments, her thick and wavy black mane. I purchased her and named her Elise. Long have I liked the name and, upon seeing this girl, thought it was fitting. The others on the chain seem to get on well with her, not that it matters, of course. Eh. I am going on about Slave Girls to a fellow who is elbow deep in them and, besides, has far more important things to do than whittle away the precious ehn of his day reading the ramblings of a Poet. As there are means to transmit missives home at the Fair, I availed myself of them. Something made me think of Dukkarr of Ar when I thought to send a letter home.

Regards, Szol of Ar.