Serving by the Books


The following quotes are provided for the purpose of enhancing a slave's role-play while in the midst of service. Not only might this enable a slave to feel more authentic as she fetches and offers food and drink, but the uniquely Gorean presentation may well be a pleasant surprise for the one being served!

Botas--construction of, serving from:

Botas are animal skins, likely verr or bosk stomachs, which are equipped with bone nozzles, stoppered with bone plugs, and presumably sealed with fats to prevent leakage. As you will see mentioned in the quotes below, botas are filled from other vessels - jugs, bottles, and the like - and would thus be used for temporary storage only. One can imagine the foul taste of alcohol kept in animal skin for long periods of time. Blech.

“He took the skin of wine from the boy and bit out the horn plug; he then, with the wineskin on his shoulder, held back the head of Elizabeth Cardwell with one hand and with the other shoved the bone nozzle of the skin between her teeth.”—Nomads, 39-40


“I went to the wagon to fetch a large bota of paga, which had been filled from one of the large jugs…
“Soon I returned to the firelight, the heavy bota of paga, on its strap, slung over my shoulder…
“The grass felt good on my bare feet. It seemed I could feel each blade. I felt the rough fabric of the camisk on my body as I moved, the pull of the strap on my shoulder, the heavy, swaying touch of the bota as, in the rhythm of my walk, it touched my side.”— Captive of Gor, 112


“The guard handed me a piece of meat and I took it in my teeth kneeling beside him, where he sat cross-legged, I lifting and squeezing the bota of paga, filled from one of the large jugs, guiding the stream of liquid into his mouth. I bit through the charred exterior of the meat, into the red, hot, half-raw, juicy interior.
”The guard, with one hand, gestured that he had had enough.
“I laid the bota aside on the grass.”— Captive of Gor, 113


Traditional Serves:

The quotes below detail the proper presentation of a drink - head down, arms extended above one's head, while knelt in the position of the Pleasure Slave. You should note as well that slaves serve promptly and with perfection, acknowledging a request with "Yes, Master" or "Yes, Mistress." Further, a slave does not drink from the same vessel which a free person's lips will touch, for to do so signs the slave's death warrant.

On an interesting note, heated wine (and one may suppose this would go for Paga, as well) is swirled in the metal bowl in which it is heated to equalize the temperature, being placed back upon the brazier if necessary. The heat of the contents may be tested by gently pressing the bowl to one's right cheek; and when of a suitable warmth, the liquid is then poured to another bowl before it is presented. While this custom is more particular to the Masters of Treve and the slaves who serve them, such practices can certainly be used within Maze Tuchuk.

“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. She also brought a black, red-trimmed wine crater from isle of Cos. “’May I serve you?’ she asked.
“Kamchak’s eyes glinted. ‘Yes,’ he said.
“She poured wine into the crater and replaced the bottle...Then she knelt before him in the position of the Pleasure Slave and, head down, arms extended, offered him the crater.”—Nomads, 151.


“Sometimes Verna would say, ‘Drink,’ and I would pour wine into her goblet, saying, ‘Yes, Mistress,’ and sometimes Rask of Treve would command me, saying ‘Drink,’ and I would then, similarly, serve him, saying, ‘Yes, Master.’
“Verna sat cross-legged, like a man. I knelt, as a serving slave.
“She threw me one of the oysters.
“’Eat, Slave,” she said.
“I ate.
“In so doing this, she, the guest, had signified that I might now feed. It is not uncommon Gorean courtesy, in such situations, to permit a guest to grant the feeding permission to the slave present.
“’Thank you, Mistress,’ I said.
“Rask of Treve then threw me a piece of meat, that I might satisfy my hunger, for I had not been fed.
“With my hands I ate the meat, a collared slave, while the free persons drank, and conversed.
“Rask of Treve snapped his fingers. ‘Approach me, El-in-or,’ he said.
“I bolted down the meat. I approached him, across the low table behind which he sat on the rugs.
“He extended his goblet to me. ‘Drink,’ he said, offering me the cup.
“I looked at the rim of the cup. I shook with terror. ‘A slave girl dares not touch with her lips the rim of that cup which has been touched with the lips of her Master,’ I whispered.
“‘Excellent,’ said Verna.
“’She was trained in the pens of Ko-ro-ba,’ said Rask of Treve.
“He then, from his own cup, poured some wine into a small bowl, which he handed to me.”— Captive of Gor, 301-302


“’Serve me wine,’ he said.
“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-trimmed 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.
“He sat cross-legged, facing me, and I knelt by the fire, facing him.
“After a time I took the copper bowl from the fire and held it against my cheek. I returned it to the tripod, and again we waited…
“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 wine from the small copper bowl into the black, red-trimmed wine crater, placing the small bowl in a rack to one side of the fire. 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 now, in the fashion of the slave girl of Treve, held the wine crater against my right cheek. I could feel the warmth of the wine through the side of the crater.
“’Is it ready?’ he asked.
“A master of Treve does not care to be told that his girl thinks it is. He wishes to be told Yes, or No.
“’Yes,’ I whispered.
“I did not know how he cared for his wine, for some men of Treve wish it warm, others almost hot. I did not know how he wished it. What if it were not as he wished it!
“’Serve me wine,’ he said.
“I, carrying the wine crater, rose to my feet and approached him. I then knelt before him, with a rustle of slave bells, in the position of the pleasure slave. I put my head down and, with both hands, extending my arms to him, held forth the wine crater. ‘I offer you wine, Master,’ I said.
“He took the wine, and I watched, in terror. He sipped it, and smiled. I nearly fainted. I would not be beaten.
“I knelt there, while he, at his leisure, drank the wine.”— Captive of Gor, 331-332.


Eating as a slave:

 There is also a marked difference between how a slave eats or drinks as opposed to how a free person does so. As one can also see from the quotes above, it is not uncommon for a slave to hold food between her teeth as she serves, provided she has been given permission to eat, nor is it considered rude for her to do so.

“We knelt in a circle, eating from the wooden bowls of bread and stew. We were given no utensils. Our fingers served to pick out our meat and bread, and the gravy we drank.”— Captive of Gor, 167


“He extended his goblet to me. ‘Drink,’ he said, offering me the cup.
“I looked at the rim of the cup. I shook with terror. ‘A slave girl dares not touch with her lips the rim of that cup which has been touched with the lips of her Master,’ I whispered.
“‘Excellent,’ said Verna.
“’She was trained in the pens of Ko-ro-ba,’ said Rask of Treve.
“He then, from his own cup, poured some wine into a small bowl, which he handed to me.”— Captive of Gor, 301-302

 

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