Convergence

I know two fellows from Torcadino, Timeus the Banker and Turianus the Actor. They are different sorts of men. One seems reserved, the other quite lively. It is easy to attribute these differences to caste and social standing, but I believe it has more to do with the city in which they share a common origin. Torcadino is at the convergence of five major highways, a center for trade much like Lara on the Vosk, Port Kar in the Tamber Gulf and Brundisium on the Genesian Coast. Torcadino, however, unlike its trade center brethren, resides inland. The Silk Road brings goods from southern places such as Kasra, Tor and even Turia to the Northern Cities. Connecting East to West is the Eastern Way, sometimes called Treasure Road or the Genesian Road. The Northern Salt Line passes Corcyrus, Argentum and, crossing the Vosk, reaches as far as Rovere in the vicinity of the Koroban Mountains. Pilgrim's Road is a popular path to the Sardar Mountains. Finally, there is the road to Ar. All of these roads, as previously mentioned, meet at Torcadino. As a result, the citizens of this city are as varied and colorful - worldly - as those of my own city, the finest city, Glorious Ar. In the City of Ar, one wants for almost nothing. There is little we cannot procure and much of it passes through Torcadino before reaching the markets of Ar. I make it a point to stop there as an initial destination on many of my wanderings, both for logistical considerations and for the fondness I have for the place. It is a place rich with history and culture.
One reason many of my journeys start on the path to Torcadino is my ambivalence toward drafting a detailed itinerary before leaving home. From Torcadino, any place on Gor can be reached. That is to say, there is a road traveling in nearly every direction - it is a true hub. I have considered a pilgrimage to the Southern Plains, a place I have not visited in several years, a place that probably has not changed as much in the interim as I have. Tor, the gateway to the Tahari, is another option, a place I have never seen. I could also go North, return to Thentis and the hospitality of the House of Clark. Port Kar, the gleaming Jewel of Thassa, would also prove to be an adventure worth pursuing. I have even considered a stop at Ko-ro-ba, en route to northern destinations such as Lydius, Kassau, or even Torvaldsland. It is too early to decide such things. Wanderlust can be a difficult bitch to tame, and even more difficult to sate, but it is a thirst that demands slaking.
I purchased sandals for the slave, Noemi. She would prefer silken slippers, beaded and embroidered, I am certain. Or, if resigned to sandals, something stylish - perhaps gold or silver burnished leather. They are, however, functional footwear. If she pouts for something prettier initially, no matter. I am pleased by the aesthetic, the laces that cross about her calves to tie near the back of each knee. Moreover, I am pleased by the sturdiness of the sole, which is far better equipped to handle a variety of terrain than the slippers she once wore as a Free Woman, lovely as they are. There are analogies to be made between the fittingness of her footwear and the rightness of her recently acquired status, both changes in which I have played an active role. In a way, I am her Torcadino. I did not engineer the roads of her realities. I am merely at the convergence of them all, both a terminus and an origin - the place where facades end and truths begin.
She keeps a close watch on her heart, and her eyes are open wide all of the time. She keeps the ends out for the ties that bind. And now she is mine. She'll walk the line. *


*paraphrased - Johnny Cash 'Walk the Line'