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The Gorean Serve |
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The Gorean Serve |
The following contains info on how to serve and why to serve in regards to foods and drinks and perhaps some more. It is hoped that once the slave reads of this page that s/he will perhaps go away with a bit more knowledge on the serve. The serve as it is learned on-line is more intricate than those in the books. Things such as washing hands and checking the vessel for imperfections were not noted. Things such as kissing the side of the vessel or checking for poisoning (rare) were sometimes mentioned but not always required. There are mentions of the slave pressing the vessel to her belly, her slave belly as well. The serve can be very detailed and intricate or very basic. This girl would suggest you choose wise in your actions cuz every move you do offers a suggestion as to the slave's own desires. It is suggested the slave keeps to simple serves for most and add more detail or specialties for those she desires or for when she is desirous. This may or may not be by the books, some is, some isn't. But what matters is that it is possible in real life to serve as such.
Note that the vessel the drink is served in depends upon the place where it is served. For instance, in a Tavern one may find paga warmed at the hearth in a big kettle and poured directly from that to the bowl. In the same instance, whilst visiting a camp one may find that paga be served via botas and possibly poured to bottles. In another instance, fine Homes and Establishments may even have paga in bottles of glass and may serve in both bowls or goblets. It is best to find such references and work from there or find the customs of the Home you may visit.
There are different vessels both for transportation/storage and for drinking from. The first includes bottles made of glass and soft skinned botas. Bottles are mainly for fine establishments and homes while botas are for travelling with or for use at festivals. A kantharos is like a decanter or pitcher. A hyria is described as a high handled water vessel. Kegs, barrels or casks are used for ales, meads and beer. Below will mention some vessels that the drinks may be poured into but here is a brief list. Tankards are used in the North for ale, beer or meads while horns are used in the south for the same. Goblets are normally used for fine wines but even drinks like paga are served in such in finer homes. Cups and bowls are used for hotter beverages. A nice practice, though one is not sure if it is noted in the books, is using a drinking reed when serving to a Free Woman. Some books note even tiny glasses like for Turian liqueur and tiny cups for bazi tea. Below some of the drinks will have notations of such.
Most Gorean drinks are served at room temperature. In fact, the Gorean Male, especially Warriors, prefer their drinks hot, believing the hotter the alcoholic beverage the more potent it is. It is proper to serve the Free Person's drink warm (room temperature) when they do not request the drink at a certain temperature. If there is ever a doubt, of course, it is still appropriate to ask.
The serve is best done before the Free Person, it not only makes the server more personal, it also allows the Free Person to see any additions to the food or drink. So if possible, it is best to gather a pitcher of water rather than fill straight from the well or to gather a pot of black wine and pour at their feet. Of course some beverages and foods are in kettles at the hearth or in vats behind the counter, depending on the establishment/channel/home. When in doubt, it is best to get an overview of the customs of the channel. An example of a contradiction may be a tavern: 'In most taverns no bottle is brought to the table but the paga is brought to the table, by the paga slave, a cup at a time, the cups normally being filled from a vat behind the counter'
The Actual Serve
Approachhe Free Person, kneeling as appropriate your status, at the edge of Their furs, and offer serve.
'may this girl be of service Master ?'
'Master , this slave begs to be of service.'
Always answer fully, do NOT abbreviate. An answer is NOT just 'yes' or 'no;' it should always be 'yes Mistress (nick),' 'no Master (nick),' or 'as You wish Master (nick).'
Step back three paces before rising and heading to the servery (this is your chance to describe yourself).
Wash hands.
Choose and clean vessels, always check for imperfections and polish (use a cloth! NOT your hair, your silks, etc... unless of course it is your own Master's wish or for your own Master)
Gather needs for the serve.
Hot drinks may be filled in servery, but for a more personal touch, it is nice to serve at the FP's feet, pouring via a pitcher, bottle or kettle.
Return to the Free Person, kneel as appropriate a foot or so before Them; if you have a tray, lower it to the furs or your lap.
Prepare the food or drink as requested.
Raise upward the vessel, may note body parts, for much is symbolic, settle to heart for three beats or a respectful ehn:
1) love
2) devotion
3) obedience
~ OR ~
symbolic of the three moons of Gor
Raise the vessel, can kiss: either kiss or ask to kiss (remember though, if the Free Person has already sipped, do NOT kiss from where S/He drank from). See below under quotes.
Some ask to taste, some do not. Remember though that asking to taste may sugggest you think the Channel/Home carries tainted drinks and it may insult your Host. Also remember that the willingness to taste shows your devotion to and a willingness to die for the One you are serving. As always, use your best judgement or follow commands.
Lower your head and raise your arms, 'proferring' the drink.
Address the Free Person, stating what you brought, hope, etc... Though note that not all offerings need to be wordy, they can be quiet simple or can be nothing at all.
Lower hands to thighs and stay kneeling, wait to be released or to be commanded further.
Actual Serves From the Books
Ibn Saran, not taking his eyes from Alyena, lifted his finger. From one side a slave girl, barefoot, bangled, in sashed, diaphanous, trousered chalwar, gathered at the ankles, in tight, red-silk vest, with bare midriff, fled to him, with the tall, graceful, silvered pot containing the black wine. She was veiled. She knelt, replenishing the drink. Beneath her veil I saw the metal of her collar. I had not thought to have such fortune. She did not look at me. She returned to her place wit the pot of black wine. Ibn Saran lifted another finger. From the side there hastened to him another girl, a fair skinned, red haired girl. She too, wore veil, vest, chalwar, bangles, collar. She carried a tray, on which were various spoons and sugars. She knelt, placing her tray on the table. With a tiny spoon, its tip no more that a tenth of a hort in diameter, she placed four measures of white sugar, and six of yellow, in the cup; with two stirring spoons, one for the white sugar, another for the yellow, she stirred the beverage after each measure. She then held the cup to the side of her cheek, testing its temperature; Ibn Saran glanced at her; she, looking at him, timidly kissed the side of the cup and placed it before him. Then her head down, she withdrew. I did not turn to look back at the first girl, she who held the silvered pot. {Tribesmen of Gor, pgs. 88-89}
Come closer," he said.
I heard the bells of a slave girl approach him.
I stopped, head down, several feet from him. My bare feet sunk into the deep, soft, scarlet, intricately wrought rugs which floored the tent. I felt the pile about my ankles. "Come closer," he said. Once again there was a rustle of slave bells. I stood before him.
"Lift your head, Girl," he said.
I looked into his eyes. I wore his collar. I quickly dropped my head.
I felt his large hands part the bit of silk that I wore and, gently, drop it about my ankles.
He turned from me and went to sit down, cross-legged, some feet behind the tiny fire in the fire bowl.
We regarded one other.
"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-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.
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 again to the tripod, and again we waited.
I began to tremble.
"Do not be afraid, Slave," he said to me.
"Master!" I pleaded.
"I did not give you permission to speak," he said.
I was silent.
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-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 it through the side of the crater.
"Is it ready?" he asked.
A master of Treve does not care to be told what 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, 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 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, pgs. 331-332}
"Did not they teach you how to serve paga as a paga slave?" I asked.
"Of course," she said.
"Show me," I said.
"Very well," she said. She drew back, taking the bottle and cup. In most taverns no bottle is brought to the table but the paga is brought to the table, by the paga slave, a cup at a time, the cups normally being filled from a vat behind the counter. She filled the cup there, before me, and left it behind. She returned the bottle then to the table, and went back again for the cup.
She lifted it in both hands.
"Put it down," I said.
She did so, looking at me puzzled.
"You are garbed strangely for a paga slave," I said, indicating the clogs, the black slacks and the black, buttoned top.
"Do you wish me to put on pleasure silk?" she asked, icily.
"No," I said.
She tossed her head.
"In many Gorean taverns," I said, "the paga slaves serve naked."
"Did they not teach you how to do that" I asked.
"Yes," she said.
"I would see evidence of your skills," I said.
"Very well," she said, angrily, in her vanity, taunted.
I looked upon the girl. She bit her lip. I saw that she was lovely.
"Serve us paga, Slave," said Msaliti.
She stiffened. Then she smiled. "Yes, Master," she said.
"Paga Master?" she asked, kneeling before me, the metal cup held before her, in two hands.
"Yes," I said.
She proffered the cup to me. She knelt back on her heels, her knees wide, and extended her arms to me, the cup held in her hands.
"Did you not neglect to kiss it?" I asked her.
She drew back the cup and, pressing her lips to it, kissed it.
"Is that how a slave kisses the cup of a master?" I asked.
She again turned her head to the side and pressed her lips softly, lingeringly, against it. Then she kissed it. I saw a tremor course through her body. I think, then, for the first time, she had begun to understand what it might be truly, to kiss the cup of a master. Then again, kneeling back on her heels, her knees wide, extending her arms to me, the cup in her hands, she proffered me the drink.
"Your head should be down, between your arms," I said.
She put her head down. Again I saw a small movement in her body, a tremor, subtle. She had put her head down before a man. Another consequence of this position is that the girls eyes, in the specific act of her serving, do not meet those of the master. They are lowered before his, as one who submits.
This is also reminiscent, in an experienced girl, of her training. Often in training, a girl is not permitted to look into the eyes of the trainer, unless he should specifically extend this permission. Indeed, in some cities, the girl in training may not raise her eyes above the trainers belt, unless, again, specifically accorded his permission.
"Speak," I said to her.
"Your paga Master," she said.
But I did not take the paga. "Do you know other phrases?" I asked. There were many, actually, and they tended to vary from tavern to tavern, and from city to city. There was, really, no standardization in such matters.
She trembled, head down, proffering me the paga.
"Your girl brings you drink, Master," she said.
"Any others?" I asked.
"Here is your drink, Master," she said. "I beg to serve you further in any way I may."
"Another," I said.
"Do not forget I come with the price of the cup," she said. "Use me as you will, Master."
"Another," I said sharply.
"Personalized phrase," I said.
"E.," she said.
"Evelyn," I corrected her.
"Evelyn tenders drink humbly to Master," she said. "Evelyn hopes Master will later find her suitable to give him pleasure."
"Another," I said.
"I am Evelyn," she said. "I serve you, naked and collared. Take me later to the alcove. I beg to be taught my slavery."
I then took the paga. "You may now serve others," I said to her."
{Explorers of Gor, pgs. 158-161}
The serve need not be stiff, it may be varied, changing from long to short to medium. Variety IS the spice of life. Change the offering and change your habit. Show the Master who has collared you, will collar you, or you want to collar you that you are in heat, and that you do want Him. The worst that can be done is you may be scolded or punished, yes, but what slave is to hold back her desires and feelings? NO SLAVE!
The furtive glance perhaps shows your interest in the Master, it shows perhaps your desire.
" As she serves him again and again throughout the long feast, she steals glances at him, and sees that he is even more handsome than she had thought. Of his courage and strength she had already had ample evidence. As he eats and drinks with gusto on this occasion of his triumph, she regards him furtively, with a strange mixture of fear and pleasure. "Only such a man," she tells herself, "could tame me." " {Outlaw of Gor}
Note that there is a way to preserve food on Gor. Not everything need be burning on the hearth fires already and not everything need be in a chilled room.
" The food which Vika withdrew from the storage apertures was not refrigerated but was protected by something resembling a foil of blue plastic. It was fresh and appetizing. " {Priest-Kings of Gor} Not every serve need be a mile long and overly detailed. Tailor the serve to what pleases the Free you are serving. Some Men enjoy a very casual three post serve. Some Men enjoy a lengthy detailed serve. And some Men like the serve that boils the blood. It is hard to judge what certain Free like, but it is best to watch and be attentive and listen to their words and watch their gestures. Oftimes you can tell when the attention of the Free you are serving is waning, or you can tell when the Free Person is in conversation and so perhaps set you about a task to give them a few ehn of peace. Use your best judgement and listen when they give you pointers or when your own Master states His wishes.
It is good to remember too the likes and dislikes of the Free, though of course impossible to remember every detail. Some Free like simple serves, some like flowery offerings, some like a slave to be seen and not heard, some like cream and sugar always in their coffee. Remember these likes and dislikes as you come across them, it will show your willingness to please and that you may even have an interest in Them or that you do your Owner proud.
