[14:02] Hermes (prinzensaft): buy now the stage is Tariq's!
[14:02] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Thank you, Sir.
[14:02] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): Thank you Hermes. excellent presentation.
[14:03] Davor O'Donnell (davoroflaura): Impressive indeed.
[14:04] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): I am Tariq, the High Initiate of the temple of the Oasis of Two Scimitars. Welcome everyone.
[14:04] BB Arliss (busybee.ashbourne) is offline.
[14:04] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): This talk will be a short outline of Initiate Law.
[14:05] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): I am indebted to Blessed Runyn, who offered the first Course on the Caste of Initiates in 2014 for the background of this lecture. My mistakes and opinions, of course, are my own. I will offer a chance for questions, and please "raise your hand" by typing @. I will try to answer them in the order posted, but if I miss you, please let me know.
[14:06] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): When I first became an Initiate in Second Life some seventeen Earth years ago, many of those roleplaying in the caste believed that Initiates swore to the planet Gor as a whole as their Home Stone, based on this quote from _ Tarnsman _: " 'It is the occasional dream of a conqueror or statesman,' he ( Tarl Cabot;'s father ) said, ' to have but a single Supreme Home Stone for the planet.' Then after a long moment, not looking at me, he said, 'It is rumored there is such a stone, but it lies in the Sacred Place and is the source of the Priest-Kings' power.'" ( p. 28 ) "Gor" itself does mean "Home Stone."
[14:06] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): However, I am now convinced that initiates, like most other civilized Goreans, swear to the Home Stone of their native city. The most important indication is that they have a place on the City Council, and thus are almost certainly citizens: "The tier nearest the floor, which denoted some preferential status, the white tier, was occupied by Initiates..." _ Tarnsman _ p. 46.
[14:07] ᴛʀᴀsʜ ʙᴀᴛ (aspen.candyclaws) is offline.
[14:07] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The High Initiate of Ar also wears a signet ring with the emblem of his city added to his caste color: "His left hand, fat and soft, wore a heavy ring set with a large, white stone, carved with the sign of Ar." _ Priest-Kings _ p. 295. That the Initiates are full citizens would be basic to defining their legal status in their city.
[14:07] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The religion of the Priest-Kings, and the Caste of Initiates, have a very complex relationship with the city-states of Gor and their Civil and Merchant Law The most familiar quote in relation to Initiate law and courts is the following: "There are two systems of courts on Gor - those of the City, under the jurisdiction of an Administrator or Ubar, and those of the Initiates, under the jurisdiction of the High Initiate of the given city; the division corresponds roughly to that between civil and what, for lack of a better word, might be called ecclesiastical courts. The areas of jurisdiction of these two types of courts are not well defined; the Initiates claim ultimate jurisdiction in all matters, in virtue of their supposed relation to the Priest-Kings, but this claim is challenged by civil jurists." _ Tarnsman of Gor _ p.194 We will discuss this later in this lecture.
[14:08] ᴛʀᴀsʜ ʙᴀᴛ (aspen.candyclaws) is online.
[14:08] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): In addition Norman says, “There is often a tension between them and the civil authorities, for each regards himself as supreme in matters of policy and law for their district. The Initiates have their own laws, and courts, and certain of them are well versed in the laws of the initiates.” _ Marauders of Gor _ p. 28 This tells us that there is a separate body of Initiate Law, distinct from civil or merchant law, and that cases in Initiate courts are very likely adjudicated by the caste's own legal officials, advocates and magistrates.
[14:09] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): What is actually included in Initiate Law, and how Initiate Courts function, is largely a mystery in the books. Various people roleplaying as initiates over the years have tried to compile bodies of Initiate Law for the Caste in Second Life. I have looked these over, and used my own roleplaying experience in the Caste to create my own outline of Initiate Law. This includes the caste codes and prohibitions mentioned in the books, which are fairly limited.
[14:09] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): I have also added what seem to me to be logical extrapolations based on the way initiates are presented in the books. I will give out a copy of the notecard in hopes you may find it useful as a basis for roleplay, but I want to make it completely clear that this Outline of Initiate Law has absolutely no official authority -- not in the SL Initiate Caste, or in any individual city, or in Second Life in general. If you are RPing as an initiate in a city with an active Scribes Caste and city Magistrates, you may want to go over this outline with them at some point.
[14:10] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Let me know if you would like a copy of this information at the end of this talk and I will send you one.
[14:11] aria (nabila.daffyd) is offline.
[14:11] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Just how seriously Civil Law challenges the power of the Initiate Caste and their courts will depend on the political and religious situation in a particular southern Gorean city, and will involve many different factors. You might want to give some thought to what some of those factors are in your own city. We are told that "in some cities they ( Initiates) are quite powerful; in others it seems they are largely peripheral to the life of the community.” _ Dancer of Gor _ p. 279
[14:11] ﾚаяа (larabones) is offline.
[14:12] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): This separation of civil and initiate law is not, however, as simple as it sounds from the quotes above. The obligation of the Pilgrimage to the Sardar Palisade is a good example, and I will include a fairly long quote here:
[14:12] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): "On her nineteenth birthday, members of the Caste of Initiates had appeared at the door of the leather worker's hut. It had been decided that she should now undertake the journey to the Sardar, which, according to the teachings of the Caste of Initiates, is enjoined on every Gorean by the Priest-Kings, an obligation which is to be fulfilled prior to their attaining their twenty-fifth year."
[14:13] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): "If a city does not see that her youth undertake this journey then, according to the teachings of the Initiates, misfortunes may befall the city. It is one of the tasks of the Initiates to keep rolls, and determine that each youth, if capable, discharge this putative obligation to the mysterious Priest-Kings" _ Captive of Gor _ p. 233
[14:13] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): "Besides, she knew well that, some year, prior to her twenty-fifth year, such a journey must be undertaken by her. The Merchants of Teletus, controlling the city, would demand it of her, fearing the effects of the possible displeasure of the Priest-Kings on their trade. If she did not undertake the journey then, she would be simply, prior to her twenty-fifth birthday, removed from the domain of their authority, placed alone outside their jurisdiction, beyond the protection of their soldiers. Such an exile, commonly for a Gorean, is equivalent to enslavement or death. For a girl as beautiful as Ute it would doubtless have meant prompt reduction to shameful bondage, chains and the collar. ..." _ Captive of Gor _ p. 234
[14:14] Violet Thiessam (ayiranayo) is online.
[14:14] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): So here is the civil government enforcing a strictly religious obligation -- the Sardar Pilgrimage. The Caste of Initiates organizes the Pilgrimage and notifies the young people who are required to go. But if they refuse to obey, it is the civil authorities who punish the offender, so that he will not contaminate the City and draw the wrath of the Holy Ones on the whole community. This, of course, was the same as in ancient Greek and Roman cities, which funded temples and religious festivals, and enforced orthodox practices among the people.
[14:15] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): In orthodox southern cities, once again, there is no such thing as "religious freedom" or "freedom of conscience" for a very good reason. Any offense against Priest-Kings can trigger the destruction of your entire city and everyone in it by the Flame Death. Since Priest-Kings sometimes incinerate cities at random without telling anyone why, it is impossible for humans ( including Initiates) to know exactly what may be considered a city-leveling offense. ( _ Priest-Kings of Gor _ p. 123 ) It is better to be safe than sorry.
[14:16] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): chuckles
[14:16] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Priest-Kings may also incinerate individuals who have violated their technology laws, or for whatever other reason they decide. For example, in the unique case of the High Initiate of Ar violating his caste codes and attempting to kill a woman with a sword, it was not a violation of technology or weapons law of Priest-Kings, but he was promptly incinerated by the Flame Death anyway.
[14:16] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Goreans have heard about the Flame Death, or seen it, and the civil authorities of other cities are concerned to prevent it happening to their own city. Such divine intervention is even more plausible than the events which were seen as signs of God's ( or the gods' ) displeasure on Earth, such as plague, earthquake or famine. On Gor, to fear the wrath of Priest-Kings is not superstition; it is common sense based on objective, pragmatic evidence.
[14:17] Tiberius Raynier (tiberiuspaladin.raynier) is online.
[14:17] Jyclops Jansma is offline.
[14:17] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): There is no way the Flame Death can be seen by ordinary Goreans as a natural disaster to be explained by science. Those who have the Third Knowledge about the physical Priest-Kings as a non-human species know the Flame Death is a physical weapon, but Priest-Kings have deliberately prevented almost all Goreans from having this Third Knowledge. However, since the focus of the Priest-Kings religion is carrying out the appropriate rituals correctly, as long as individuals do not publicly defy or insult the White Caste, or Priest-Kings, the Initiates ( and the civil government ) will probably not care what they privately believe. The Initiates are not interested in "saving souls".
[14:17] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Any questions so far?
[14:18] Ella De Wren Bade (elladewren) is offline.
[14:18] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Jurisdiction
[14:18] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The political power of the Caste of Initiates, and thus the extent of jurisdiction they can enforce, varies from one city to another, and can vary within a particular city at different times. We see this in the books in the case of the city of Ar. The Ubar Marlenus is deposed, Kazrak becomes Administrator, is then deposed, and, after some time, Marlenus is reinstated, as the Cosians are approaching. This changes again after the Cosians occupy the City and take away its Home Stone, and Marlenus flees. At every change of regime, the influence of the White Caste in Ar changes.
[14:19] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Not only does the actual power of the Caste vary, but, as the above example of the Pilgrimage suggests, if the civil authorities are willing to enforce the regulations that are important to the White Caste, the Initiates seem willing to let them. The Caste of Initiates appears content to strike a practical bargain with the civil magistrates. As long as they act in a way that does not oppose the interests of the White Caste, the initiates will not contest their legal authority, and will even let them try some religious crimes, and enforce some strictly religious requirements, in civil Law. This becomes a powerful incentive for the city magistrates to cooperate with the initiates.
[14:20] Jyclops Jansma is online.
[14:20] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): This practical bargain is a way to reinforce the Initiates’ influence in society, because religious obligations thus become legal obligations under civil law. At the same time, the White Caste avoids visibly contesting the authority of the civil administration. It also, of course, cuts down on the amount of time, effort, and coin the initiates have to expend on enforcing their will. The civil magistrates, on the other hand, avoid having to oppose a powerful and wealthy caste which might be able to foment revolution among the low castes, or call down the Flame Death. Civil and religious authorities frequently find it to their advantage to be political allies instead of enemies, although conflicts can and do remain.
[14:21] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): This delicate political balance between civil and religious power is reflected in the following quote regarding a heretical opinion:
“Such words might have you impaled,” I said.
“Only where Ubars fear the white caste,” he said. _ Smugglers of Gor _ p 146
[14:21] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The Initiates, however, reserve the right to countermand or intervene in civil law and political administration if they consider it necessary.
[14:22] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The famous case of the burning of the Dar-Kosis research laboratory described in _ Assassin of Gor _ ( Chapter 18 ) is an example of how Initiates would handle an important case involving their interests when the civil government is not as cooperative. First they would refer the matter to the caste governing body of the other caste involved, in this case the Physicians. If no action is taken by the other caste to protect the initiates' interests, they will then refer the matter to the city administration. Only if the city administration is also unwilling to resolve the case in a way that satisfies the initiates will they use their courts or direct action to get their way.
[14:22] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Even under Marlenus, who was an ubar -- an autocratic war leader -- and no fan of the White Caste, the Initiates had enough independent power to investigate the internal affairs of another high caste, and, when their efforts to stop the research were thwarted by the civil authorities, to act directly to enforce their demands, as well as to protect their "henchmen" from prosecution. Why the Initiates used direct action, rather than their own courts, is not clear. Possibly, an initiate court ruling was more than Marlenus would tolerate or that the Initiates could enforce. It could also be that there were no actual laws banning research on Dar-Kosis because no one had thought such written laws were necessary.
[14:23] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): nods
[14:23] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Clearly, the main purpose of the Caste of Initiates was to halt the existing research, destroy the laboratory's records, and prevent any future violations of Priest-Kings' laws, rather than to punish the researchers. The book does say, ""several of my staff were slain, ( presumably defending the lab ) others driven away." ( _Assassin _ p. 267 ) but it does not indicate the escaping physicians were hunted down and executed afterward under either legal system.
[14:24] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The Caste of Physicians and the city government were also apparently willing to leave the matter there and not test their power by retaliating against the White Caste in turn. Flaminius would probably have mentioned that if it had happened. Instead, Flaminius is convinced that if the research had begun again, the Caste of Initiates would have successfully stopped it again: "I realized then that I could not combat the Initiates. They would in the end conquer." ( ibid. p. 268 )
[14:25] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): So which cases would the Caste of Initiates probably prosecute in their own courts rather than delegating to the civil courts?
[14:25] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Like other castes, the Initiates would undoubtedly want to handle violations of their own caste laws in their own caste courts. Caste law is a separate branch of the Gorean legal system, and civil magistrates would not expect to rule on it. Not only would the caste want to keep its internal caste matters private, but many of the violations of caste law, such as consuming meat or alcohol, would not be illegal under civil law. If a violation of ritual purity is involved, rather than a civil crime such as murder or theft, the civil magistrates would have no reason to act.
[14:26] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): In several roleplays where Initiates in Second Life have violated caste laws which are not civil crimes, such as furring one's own slave, the Caste has acted to execute the offender by means of an Assassin, rather than turn the case over to civil courts, which would not have any reason to prosecute. There was at one time an Initiate Court set up at the Monastery or House of Initiates on my land, IC near the Oasis of Two Scimitars, although it does not exist any longer, and we do have Caste advocates and a Caste Inquisitor ( equivalent to a supreme Magistrate ) authorized by the Great Sardar Temple if we ever have need to use them for RP.
[14:27] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): On the other hand, according to the books, each High Initiate is supreme in his own city, and may discipline subordinate Initiates in his jurisdiction, or call a group of fellow Initiates together to proclaim a serious punishment, such as Anathema and expulsion from the caste. This was done against an Initiate who had violated his Caste Codes ( and civil law ) in 2020 in Svago, and Anathema was proclaimed against the entire City of Sais in 2011 for the unprovoked murder of three Initiates, when the city refused to surrender the accused for trial.
[14:28] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Again, I can give anyone who wants a copy of this Ukase of Anathema against Sais if you want one.
[14:29] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The Initiates will naturally prosecute cases involving blasphemy or heresy in their own courts. Such cases could be tried in civil courts if the relevant laws, as with the Sardar Pilgrimage, were included in city law, but even so the Caste of Initiates define what is blasphemous or heretical, and would have to be called as expert witnesses to explain it in court.
[14:29] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): It is suggested in _ Priest-Kings _ that the penalties are probably severe, but this is no more than a guess by Tarl Cabot, and no evidence is given to support it: "I hoped that those humans who returned from the Nest would not be hunted by Initiates and burned or impaled as heretics and blasphemers." (_ Priest Kings of Gor _ p 299 ) If this is true, it also explains why those with Third Knowledge keep their mouths shut. You will remember it is blasphemy under Initiate Law to state that Priest-Kings have physical bodies.
[14:30] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The situation in the north on the borders of Torvaldsland is an extreme example of open religious war against heretics, as described in Chapter Two of _ Marauders of Gor _. There the Initiates will torture and kill any Odinists they capture, and the Torvaldslanders -- as happened with Forkbeard in Kassau -- will invade a temple, plundering its gold and killing or enslaving both Initiates and lay worshipers. This does not seem to happen in any other part of Gor.
[14:31] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): We have no information at all from the books about what the criteria are for granting sanctuary in a temple, how it is done, or why it might be refused, only that sanctuary exists. The Chrism of Temporary Permission, Norman tells us, "was first used at roadside shrines, to permit civil authorities to enter and slay fugitives who had taken sanctuary at the altars." ( _ Marauders _ p.37).
[14:31] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): We can assume that the initiates will consider the situation and decide whether to grant sanctuary or not, and if they do not anoint the civil authorities, the magistrates cannot use force to remove or kill the prisoner. I have never seen this scenario roleplayed out completely, but it would make an interesting conflict between civil and religious authority if the Initiates did not want to surrender an important fugitive.
[14:32] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Other than cases involving internal caste codes, blasphemy or heresy, most offenses might be tried in either Initiate or Civil Court. Which one the caste chooses to use will depend on a variety of factors, such as how much power the caste has in a particular city, whether the Initiates feel that the civil court will rule justly on the case, and whether the local High Initiate and his subordinates are touchy about caste prerogative and status.
[14:33] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): If the accused is an initiate, the caste would probably want to carry out a preliminary investigation before turning him over to the civil magistrate. In Second Life cities where temple and civil magistrates have a good relationship, an initiate who commits an act which is a crime under both initiate and civil law will usually be turned over to the civil courts for trial.
[14:33] Lađγ Lïv Thε Hσŋεγ Mεŗcɧanŧ (cherry.rabbit) is offline.
[14:33] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): An example would be murder or violent assault, since an Initiate is also forbidden to kill or shed blood under his caste codes. Also, punishment for many crimes, even purely religious ones where the sentence is given by an Initiate Court, will be carried out by civil law, since the Initiate caste codes forbid initiates themselves to kill or shed blood. None of this is found in the books, however.
[14:34] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Political theory
[14:34] Lađγ Lïv Thε Hσŋεγ Mεŗcɧanŧ (cherry.rabbit) is online.
[14:35] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The world view of the Caste of Initiates is based on a belief that all legitimate authority and law are derived from the divine Priest Kings. Most other Goreans seem to share this idea, although we do encounter skeptics in the books. This concept provides the basic foundation for all civilized Gorean society. There may be political conflicts between the initiates and other castes in a civilized city, but there is no separation of church and state, as there was not in any of the ancient Earth cultures on which Norman based his White Caste.
[14:35] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): According to popular Gorean mythology, Hesius, the legendary hero of Ar, received the very first Home Stone directly from the Priest Kings. (_ Dancer of Gor _ p. 302 ) Since the Home Stone is the symbol and source of political and legal authority in every Gorean city-state, this justifies the city government's right to rule. Whether a city official is personally pious or not, the fact that he holds a public office requires him to carry out public ceremonies recognizing the state religion One example is the rituals of Ar's Planting Feast carried out by the Heads of Caste and the Ubar's representative. ( _ Tarnsman _ p.68, 1967 edition ) Here the civil government is confirming the divine origin of the Home Stone and thus of their own rule.
[14:36] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Such city and caste officials might claim that because they can carry out religious rituals, Priest-Kings have given them their authority directly. The Initiates would undoubtedly counter that since Priest-Kings have made their caste the only spokesmen for the gods and the only interpretors of their will, the White Caste delegates the civil officials' authority to them.
[14:36] Tove Kailiauk-Skovgard (noria.lavender) is online.
[14:36] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): This usually remains only a theoretical idea, used to convince Goreans of the city-states that the gods require them to obey the law, and that the Caste of Initiates has been given the ultimate authority in the City. Even a powerful High Initiate will usually try to work within civil and caste structures if possible, as in the case of the illicit Dar-Kosis research laboratory.
[14:37] Charlotte Spicer (charlottefrees) is offline.
[14:37] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): There is one example in the books where this legal theory had a practical effect, and we can see how the Caste of Initiates would apply it. This was the instance described in _ Tarnsman of Gor _ where the Home Stone of Ar was stolen, Marlenus the Ubar fled, and civil authority broke down completely in the city. To prevent political chaos in the face of an enemy attack, the Initiates revoked the city magistrates' authority and took over the government themselves.
[14:37] Riker (runningman5) is online.
[14:38] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): It has been argued that the Initiates should have convened a City Council to elect a new administrator and appoint new magistrates. However, the city was already on a war footing and under martial law. An ubar is the equivalent of a Roman dictator, and has absolute power during wartime under Gorean civil law. It made more sense for the Caste of Initiates simply to step in and take over Marlenus's legal role until the political crisis was over and peace was restored.
[14:39] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The White Caste of Ar seems to have done a fairly good job at first in an extreme situation, and undoubtedly saw taking control of the government as their proper responsibility in such an emergency. They are described as instituting appropriate measures during the siege, such as rationing food and water stores and maintaining order in the city. The siege finally puts the city in a hopeless position: "...it became clear that the city was starving and that water was running short...Disease had broken out. Groups of looters from Ar itself prowled the streets." ( _Tarnsman _ p. 152 )
[14:39] Charlotte Spicer (charlottefrees) is online.
[14:39] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): The response of the Caste of Warriors would apparently have been a suicidal refusal to negotiate with an overwhelmingly powerful enemy until every defender was dead and the people completely defenseless in unconditional surrender: "I truly believe that the brave men of Ar, in their valorous but blind love for their city, would have maintained the walls until the last slain warrior had been thrown from them to the streets below." ( ibid )
[14:40] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): But, Norman tells us, "the Initiates would not have it so." The High Initiate negotiates an orderly surrender. First, as is his obligation, he gains amnesty for his own caste, but this is followed by ensuring that only a limited number of armed enemy men would be allowed to garrison the city, "that the balance of the horde be allowed to enter the gates only unarmed", and another, very telling, concession from Pa-Kur: "There were a variety of smaller, more intricate concessions desired by the Initiates and granted by Pa-Kur, mostly having to do with the provisioning of the city and the protection of its tradesmen and peasants." ( p.153)
[14:41] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Yes, Pa-Kur is granted "the usual savage fees imposed by the Gorean conqueror" (ibid), but this was not something any defeated government could have prevented. What the Initiates did do was make an effort to protect the common people of the city, rather than leaving them totally helpless. After the surrender, the initiates' rule ended, and when Ar was freed, power apparently reverted to the civil authorities peacefully.
[14:43] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): I will say that I regard it as one of the obligations of an Initiate to provide for the common people of the city. For example, there is a pan of fresh bread on the porch of the temple for the poor of the city. This isn't mentioned in the books, however.
[14:43] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Any comments or questions on this talk?
[14:44] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): *
[14:44] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): I have two basically if I may.
[14:44] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Varn?
[14:45] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): first, I have known you and been here for many many years, and I believe you know I worship the Sun, that Tor tu Gor, and my rp base starts here: “The more common expression for the sun was Tor-tu-Gor, which means Light Upon the Home Stone. There was a sect among the people that worshiped the sun, I later learned, but it was insignificant both in numbers and power when compared with the worship of the Priest-Kings who, whatever they were, were accorded the honors of divinity. Theirs, it seems, was the honor of being enshrined as the most ancient gods of Gor, and in time of danger a prayer to the Priest-Kings might escape the lips of even the bravest men.” — Tarnsman of Gor, Book 1, Pages 28–29
[14:45] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Yes, I know about the cult of the Sun.
[14:46] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): the question is, how do you see initiates seeing and dealing with an island archipeligo in far western Thassa, or one if they ventured to the islands of Gor, or the mainland.
[14:46] Skyrn (geegee2016) is offline.
[14:47] Hermes (prinzensaft): Long live the light!
[14:48] Hermes (prinzensaft): Looks at Varn in astonishment "I am surprised that you also worship the light as we do!"
[14:49] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): What I will say is that there appears to be very little mention of Initiates trying to eliminate other forms of worship. We do read about the savage events in which Initiates attackede followers of Odin and the Norse Gods in Torvaldsland. This seems to be based on the conflict in England between the Norsemen and the Celtic peoples there, who were Christian by that time.
[14:49] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): We also know the Initiates fared very badly when they tried to convert the Pani, and were executed there.
[14:51] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): What I personally would do is not try to eliminate any group which did not try to establish a non-Priest-Kings faith in my own City.
[14:51] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): Right, and I have always welcomed and homored initiates and others in LarTorvis, and the very foundation and creation of Solarii is in that effort, to share knowledge and allow understanding. Be healthy, wealthy and wise, another quote that calls to me, is from Warriors, and it suggests the archipelago.
[14:51] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): “The more common expression for the sun was Tor-tu-Gor, which means Light Upon the Home Stone. There was a sect among the people that worshiped the sun, I later learned, but it was insignificant both in numbers and power when compared with the worship of the Priest-Kings who, whatever they were, were accorded the honors of divinity. Theirs, it seems, was the honor of being enshrined as the most ancient gods of Gor, and in time of danger a prayer to the Priest-Kings might escape the lips of even the bravest men.” — Tarnsman of Gor, Book 1, Pages 28–29
[14:51] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): “We know little of what is east of the Barrens, what is west of the islands of the World’s End.” “When we know more, I shall include it,” said Samos. Much of Gor was terra incognita. “A map is surface,” I said. “It need be no more,” he said. “It need not portray the sky, clouds, the moons, stars. It need not portray strata, molten stone, diamonds, then sky again.” “I think,” I said, “there are countries on no map, countries of possibility, countries of the heart, countries very real, which we will never understand.” Warriors 12
[14:52] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): HOWEVER -- I would feel obligated to prevent any non-Priest-King faith being preached in my own territory. Very Gorean of me, I would say -- this City is MINE!
[14:52] Melampus (godhet) looksfor his part at LKhan Hermes in surprise: "Light or not, here in Isfahan we stand firmly on the foundations of the orthodox faith in the Priest-Kings."
[14:52] Vulcan Arian (lordmarshall) is offline.
[14:52] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Yes, my Brother. Absolutely.
[14:53] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): grins "The Caste of Initiates does have Assassins on retainer, if we need them.
[14:54] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): And the second question?
[14:55] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): nods in understanding and knowledge, and not trying to export or extort anything except what is really written in the books, and I own all of them, kendel and many hard copy. I have just enough reality to exist, yet no real definition on how to exist.
[14:56] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): By the way -- I will note that in the case of one heretic Initiate, an Assassin was hired ( by me ) and sent to kill him, and succeeded. He has disappeared from ( SL ) Gor entirely for a number of years now.
[14:57] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): I know you have your caste descriptions well documented and well played in SL Gor, so I am just curious what you feel is a btb way to engage in SL Gor. We are descriped as few, not none, we are described as having little power, but not none, so we are very rich, drapped in beauty, art, song, dance, and incredible knowledge, and as there is little known but from the books themselves. we are wanting to engage and share the beauty of the sect that worships the sun. How can I do that better for you?
[14:57] Hermes (prinzensaft) whispers: Of course Melampus, even if they shrink back from the sunlight, but they also depend on it... But that might go beyond what you are allowed to believe...
[14:58] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): I understand, and in RL I would completely support religious freedom.
[14:59] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): What I could say is that if you want to interact with my Caste, I would be willing to meet on neutral ground, and would treat you with respect. Just not in my own City.
[15:00] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): and I am just curious really, about the IC fact that Norman via Tarls Dad, did say I exist. so how can that be and not have some interaction. So that is fine, we do not harm travelers in Solarii
[15:01] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): I do not want my City -- my responsibility -- blue flamed by the gods.
[15:01] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): and thank you for the excellent presentation too!
[15:01] Aυţυмη нαuι (autumnraineskye) is online.
[15:01] Hermes (prinzensaft): I am sorry to interrupt, blessed one. Did anyone hear from Lady Victoria who is supposed to give another talk now?
[15:01] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Thank you all.
[15:01] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): it has happened to us three times, and we still exist" laughs.
[15:02] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): She appears not to be in world
[15:02] Hermes (prinzensaft): I sure want your document, blessed one, and I suppose Melampus as well!
[15:02] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): Thank you Tariq
[15:03] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Anyone else like a copy?
[15:03] Melampus (godhet): Thank you very much, my brother, for the comprehensive presentation of our laws.
[15:04] Kati Evans: I like documents
[15:05] Hermes (prinzensaft): smiles at lady Kati
[15:05] Bea Lael (lifepath) claps having enjoyed the lecture and had taken countless notes that she planned to study over.
[15:05] Hermes (prinzensaft): I have no news about Victoria....
[15:05] Hermes (prinzensaft): The dance party starts in one hour....
[15:06] Vαяη (varndavar.magic): yes please
[15:06] Hermes (prinzensaft): Maybe best will be to take a break and change into some dancing gear?
[15:07] Second Life: Kitten Serpente gave you 9.Initiate Class 2021: Class 9: Initiate Law.
[15:07] Sigfrid Avro (yexing): me please blessed one
[15:07] Yexing fr>en: me please injured one
[15:08] Sigfrid Avro (yexing): thank you Blessed one
[15:08] Yexing fr>en: Thank you injured one
[15:08] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): Great weekend. Thank you Hermes
[15:08] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): You were a great host
[15:09] Hermes (prinzensaft): We only hosted!
[15:09] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): (_.·`¯)(_.·`¯)(_.·`¯)(_.·`¯)(_.·`¯)
[15:09] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): 𝔸𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖!!!
[15:09] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): 𝔸𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖!!!
[15:09] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): 𝔸𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖!!!
[15:09] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): 𝔸𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖!!!
[15:09] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): 𝔸𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖!!!
[15:09] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): 𝔸𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖!!!
[15:09] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): 𝔸𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖!!!
[15:09] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): (_.·`¯)(_.·`¯)(_.·`¯)(_.·`¯)(_.·`¯)
[15:09] Hermes (prinzensaft): thank you
[15:09] Davor O'Donnell (davoroflaura): applauds too
[15:09] Sigfrid Avro (yexing) applaudit chaleureusement!!!!!!!!
[15:09] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): Thank you for your hospitality.
[15:09] Hermes (prinzensaft): I don't even know.. .is the dance party announced OOC or IC?
[15:10] Melampus (godhet): And thank you all for coming and for your exciting communications. It was an enrichment for all of us.
[15:10] Hermes (prinzensaft): I hope OOC, if not let's declare it so... for the sake of the ladies...
[15:10] Vougan (vougankar) is online.
[15:10] Hermes (prinzensaft): oH YES, lADY Sabayna was sick last night !
[15:10] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): I think it's ooc
[15:11] Hermes (prinzensaft): Some of us insist that she gives her autopsy course!
[15:11] Bea Lael (lifepath) "Thank you so much for all of this. Was an incredible Scribe Summit."
[15:11] Hermes (prinzensaft): We will choose a date for that and keep you posted!
[15:11] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): I have to go to a memorial service so I will see you all at the next meeting. Congrats to Abraham and to Myriam too
[15:11] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran): I have to go to a memorial service so I will see you all at the next meeting. Congrats to Abraham and to Myriam too
[15:11] ƊάƓƓƐƦ (kail.lefevre) is online.
[15:11] Tariq ibn Joshao al Samini (kitten.serpente): I wish you well.
[15:12] Hermes (prinzensaft) shouts: Safe paths ambassador and thank you for your help!
[15:12] Trygg Tyran (tryggtyran) shouts: Thanks to all!
[15:12] Melampus (godhet): Yes, Abraham and Myriam did a very good job and had much work with it.
[15:12] Sigfrid Avro (yexing): yes for sure
[15:13] Davor O'Donnell (davoroflaura): Please keep me posted too reg. the autopsy course
[15:13] Hermes (prinzensaft): I did my best to make chatlogs of the talks I could attend to, but couldn't do all of them
[15:13] Avery Bade (freyadragonborn) is online.
[15:13] Hermes (prinzensaft): We'll announce it both on the green and blue Caste groups
[15:13] Sigfrid Avro (yexing): great
[15:14] Hermes (prinzensaft): and on the Isfahan info channel.
[15:14] Hermes (prinzensaft): I offer you this one if you like as well
========================================================
9.Initiate Class 2021: Class 9: Initiate Law
I am indebted to Blessed Runyn, who offered the first Course on the Caste of Initiates in 2014 for the background of this lecture. My mistakes and opinions, of course, are my own. I will offer a chance for questions, and please "raise your hand" by typing @. I will try to answer them in the order posted, but if I miss you, please let me know.
When I first became an Initiate in Second Life some seventeen Earth years ago, many of those roleplaying in the caste believed that Initiates swore to the planet Gor as a whole as their Home Stone, based on this quote from _ Tarnsman _: " 'It is the occasional dream of a conqueror or statesman,' he ( Tarl Cabot;'s father ) said, ' to have but a single Supreme Home Stone for the planet.' Then after a long moment, not looking at me, he said, 'It is rumored there is such a stone, but it lies in the Sacred Place and is the source of the Priest-Kings' power.'" ( p. 28 ) "Gor" itself does mean "Home Stone."
However, I am now convinced that initiates, like most other civilized Goreans, swear to the Home Stone of their native city. The most important indication is that they have a place on the City Council, and thus are almost certainly citizens: "The tier nearest the floor, which denoted some preferential status, the white tier, was occupied by Initiates..." _ Tarnsman _ p. 46.
The High Initiate of Ar also wears a signet ring with the emblem of his city added to his caste color: "His left hand, fat and soft, wore a heavy ring set with a large, white stone, carved with the sign of Ar." _ Priest-Kings _ p. 295. That the Initiates are full citizens would be basic to defining their legal status in their city.
The religion of the Priest-Kings, and the Caste of Initiates, have a very complex relationship with the city-states of Gor and their Civil and Merchant Law The most familiar quote in relation to Initiate law and courts is the following: "There are two systems of courts on Gor - those of the City, under the jurisdiction of an Administrator or Ubar, and those of the Initiates, under the jurisdiction of the High Initiate of the given city; the division corresponds roughly to that between civil and what, for lack of a better word, might be called ecclesiastical courts. The areas of jurisdiction of these two types of courts are not well defined; the Initiates claim ultimate jurisdiction in all matters, in virtue of their supposed relation to the Priest-Kings, but this claim is challenged by civil jurists." _ Tarnsman of Gor _ p.194 We will discuss this later in this lecture.
In addition Norman says, “There is often a tension between them and the civil authorities, for each regards himself as supreme in matters of policy and law for their district. The Initiates have their own laws, and courts, and certain of them are well versed in the laws of the initiates.” _ Marauders of Gor _ p. 28 This tells us that there is a separate body of Initiate Law, distinct from civil or merchant law, and that cases in Initiate courts are very likely adjudicated by the caste's own legal officials, advocates and magistrates.
What is actually included in Initiate Law, and how Initiate Courts function, is largely a mystery in the books. Various people roleplaying as initiates over the years have tried to compile bodies of Initiate Law for the Caste in Second Life. I have looked these over, and used my own roleplaying experience in the Caste to create my own outline of Initiate Law. This includes the caste codes and prohibitions mentioned in the books, which are fairly limited.
I have also added what seem to me to be logical extrapolations based on the way initiates are presented in the books. I will give out a copy of the notecard in hopes you may find it useful as a basis for roleplay, but I want to make it completely clear that this Outline of Initiate Law has absolutely no official authority -- not in the SL Initiate Caste, or in any individual city, or in Second Life in general. If you are RPing as an initiate in a city with an active Scribes Caste and city Magistrates, you may want to go over this outline with them at some point.
[ pass out copies of the Outline of Initiate Law ]
AN OUTLINE OF INITIATE LAW
( QUESTIONS )
Just how seriously Civil Law challenges the power of the Initiate Caste and their courts will depend on the political and religious situation in a particular southern Gorean city, and will involve many different factors. You might want to give some thought to what some of those factors are in your own city. We are told that "in some cities they ( Initiates) are quite powerful; in others it seems they are largely peripheral to the life of the community.” _ Dancer of Gor _ p. 279
This separation of civil and initiate law is not, however, as simple as it sounds from the quotes above. The obligation of the Pilgrimage to the Sardar Palisade is a good example, and I will include a fairly long quote here:
"On her nineteenth birthday, members of the Caste of Initiates had appeared at the door of the leather worker's hut. It had been decided that she should now undertake the journey to the Sardar, which, according to the teachings of the Caste of Initiates, is enjoined on every Gorean by the Priest-Kings, an obligation which is to be fulfilled prior to their attaining their twenty-fifth year."
"If a city does not see that her youth undertake this journey then, according to the teachings of the Initiates, misfortunes may befall the city. It is one of the tasks of the Initiates to keep rolls, and determine that each youth, if capable, discharge this putative obligation to the mysterious Priest-Kings" _ Captive of Gor _ p. 233
"Besides, she knew well that, some year, prior to her twenty-fifth year, such a journey must be undertaken by her. The Merchants of Teletus, controlling the city, would demand it of her, fearing the effects of the possible displeasure of the Priest-Kings on their trade. If she did not undertake the journey then, she would be simply, prior to her twenty-fifth birthday, removed from the domain of their authority, placed alone outside their jurisdiction, beyond the protection of their soldiers. Such an exile, commonly for a Gorean, is equivalent to enslavement or death. For a girl as beautiful as Ute it would doubtless have meant prompt reduction to shameful bondage, chains and the collar. ..." _ Captive of Gor _ p. 234
So here is the civil government enforcing a strictly religious obligation -- the Sardar Pilgrimage. The Caste of Initiates organizes the Pilgrimage and notifies the young people who are required to go. But if they refuse to obey, it is the civil authorities who punish the offender, so that he will not contaminate the City and draw the wrath of the Holy Ones on the whole community. This, of course, was the same as in ancient Greek and Roman cities, which funded temples and religious festivals, and enforced orthodox practices among the people.
In orthodox southern cities, once again, there is no such thing as "religious freedom" or "freedom of conscience" for a very good reason. Any offense against Priest-Kings can trigger the destruction of your entire city and everyone in it by the Flame Death. Since Priest-Kings sometimes incinerate cities at random without telling anyone why, it is impossible for humans ( including Initiates) to know exactly what may be considered a city-leveling offense. ( _ Priest-Kings of Gor _ p. 123 ) It is better to be safe than sorry.
Priest-Kings may also incinerate individuals who have violated their technology laws, or for whatever other reason they decide. For example, in the unique case of the High Initiate of Ar violating his caste codes and attempting to kill a woman with a sword, it was not a violation of technology or weapons law of Priest-Kings, but he was promptly incinerated by the Flame Death anyway.
Goreans have heard about the Flame Death, or seen it, and the civil authorities of other cities are concerned to prevent it happening to their own city. Such divine intervention is even more plausible than the events which were seen as signs of God's ( or the gods' ) displeasure on Earth, such as plague, earthquake or famine. On Gor, to fear the wrath of Priest-Kings is not superstition; it is common sense based on objective, pragmatic evidence.
There is no way the Flame Death can be seen by ordinary Goreans as a natural disaster to be explained by science. Those who have the Third Knowledge about the physical Priest-Kings as a non-human species know the Flame Death is a physical weapon, but Priest-Kings have deliberately prevented almost all Goreans from having this Third Knowledge. However, since the focus of the Priest-Kings religion is carrying out the appropriate rituals correctly, as long as individuals do not publicly defy or insult the White Caste, or Priest-Kings, the Initiates ( and the civil government ) will probably not care what they privately believe. The Initiates are not interested in "saving souls".
( questions )
Jurisdiction
The political power of the Caste of Initiates, and thus the extent of jurisdiction they can enforce, varies from one city to another, and can vary within a particular city at different times. We see this in the books in the case of the city of Ar. The Ubar Marlenus is deposed, Kazrak becomes Administrator, is then deposed, and, after some time, Marlenus is reinstated, as the Cosians are approaching. This changes again after the Cosians occupy the City and take away its Home Stone, and Marlenus flees. At every change of regime, the influence of the White Caste in Ar changes.
Not only does the actual power of the Caste vary, but, as the above example of the Pilgrimage suggests, if the civil authorities are willing to enforce the regulations that are important to the White Caste, the Initiates seem willing to let them. The Caste of Initiates appears content to strike a practical bargain with the civil magistrates. As long as they act in a way that does not oppose the interests of the White Caste, the initiates will not contest their legal authority, and will even let them try some religious crimes, and enforce some strictly religious requirements, in civil Law. This becomes a powerful incentive for the city magistrates to cooperate with the initiates.
This practical bargain is a way to reinforce the Initiates’ influence in society, because religious obligations thus become legal obligations under civil law. At the same time, the White Caste avoids visibly contesting the authority of the civil administration. It also, of course, cuts down on the amount of time, effort, and coin the initiates have to expend on enforcing their will. The civil magistrates, on the other hand, avoid having to oppose a powerful and wealthy caste which might be able to foment revolution among the low castes, or call down the Flame Death. Civil and religious authorities frequently find it to their advantage to be political allies instead of enemies, although conflicts can and do remain.
This delicate political balance between civil and religious power is reflected in the following quote regarding a heretical opinion:
“Such words might have you impaled,” I said.
“Only where Ubars fear the white caste,” he said. _ Smugglers of Gor _ p 146
The Initiates, however, reserve the right to countermand or intervene in civil law and political administration if they consider it necessary.
The famous case of the burning of the Dar-Kosis research laboratory described in _ Assassin of Gor _ ( Chapter 18 ) is an example of how Initiates would handle an important case involving their interests when the civil government is not as cooperative. First they would refer the matter to the caste governing body of the other caste involved, in this case the Physicians. If no action is taken by the other caste to protect the initiates' interests, they will then refer the matter to the city administration. Only if the city administration is also unwilling to resolve the case in a way that satisfies the initiates will they use their courts or direct action to get their way.
Even under Marlenus, who was an ubar -- an autocratic war leader -- and no fan of the White Caste, the Initiates had enough independent power to investigate the internal affairs of another high caste, and, when their efforts to stop the research were thwarted by the civil authorities, to act directly to enforce their demands, as well as to protect their "henchmen" from prosecution. Why the Initiates used direct action, rather than their own courts, is not clear. Possibly, an initiate court ruling was more than Marlenus would tolerate or that the Initiates could enforce. It could also be that there were no actual laws banning research on Dar-Kosis because no one had thought such written laws were necessary.
Clearly, the main purpose of the Caste of Initiates was to halt the existing research, destroy the laboratory's records, and prevent any future violations of Priest-Kings' laws, rather than to punish the researchers. The book does say, ""several of my staff were slain, ( presumably defending the lab ) others driven away." ( _Assassin _ p. 267 ) but it does not indicate the escaping physicians were hunted down and executed afterward under either legal system.
The Caste of Physicians and the city government were also apparently willing to leave the matter there and not test their power by retaliating against the White Caste in turn. Flaminius would probably have mentioned that if it had happened. Instead, Flaminius is convinced that if the research had begun again, the Caste of Initiates would have successfully stopped it again: "I realized then that I could not combat the Initiates. They would in the end conquer." ( ibid. p. 268 )
(questions )
So which cases would the Caste of Initiates probably prosecute in their own courts rather than delegating to the civil courts?
Like other castes, the Initiates would undoubtedly want to handle violations of their own caste laws in their own caste courts. Caste law is a separate branch of the Gorean legal system, and civil magistrates would not expect to rule on it. Not only would the caste want to keep its internal caste matters private, but many of the violations of caste law, such as consuming meat or alcohol, would not be illegal under civil law. If a violation of ritual purity is involved, rather than a civil crime such as murder or theft, the civil magistrates would have no reason to act.
In several roleplays where Initiates in Second Life have violated caste laws which are not civil crimes, such as furring one's own slave, the Caste has acted to execute the offender by means of an Assassin, rather than turn the case over to civil courts, which would not have any reason to prosecute. There is an Initiate Court set up at the Monastery or House of Initiates on my land, IC near the Oasis of Two Scimitars, and we do have Caste advocates and a Caste Inquisitor ( equivalent to a supreme Magistrate ) authorized by the Great Sardar Temple if we ever have need to use them for RP.
On the other hand, according to the books, each High Initiate is supreme in his own city, and may discipline subordinate Initiates in his jurisdiction, or call a group of fellow Initiates together to proclaim a serious punishment, such as Anathema and expulsion from the caste. This was done against an Initiate who had violated his Caste Codes ( and civil law ) in 2020 in Svago, and Anathema was proclaimed against the entire City of Sais in 2011 for the unprovoked murder of three Initiates, when the city refused to surrender the accused for trial.
CEREMONY & WRIT OF ANATHEMA PRONOUNCED UPON ONE KNOW AS MAL
*CORRECTED VERSION* GREAT SARDAR TEMPLE UKASE OF ANATHEMA!
The Initiates will naturally prosecute cases involving blasphemy or heresy in their own courts. Such cases could be tried in civil courts if the relevant laws, as with the Sardar Pilgrimage, were included in city law, but even so the Caste of Initiates define what is blasphemous or heretical, and would have to be called as expert witnesses to explain it in court.
It is suggested in _ Priest-Kings _ that the penalties are probably severe, but this is no more than a guess by Tarl Cabot, and no evidence is given to support it: "I hoped that those humans who returned from the Nest would not be hunted by Initiates and burned or impaled as heretics and blasphemers." (_ Priest Kings of Gor _ p 299 ) If this is true, it also explains why those with Third Knowledge keep their mouths shut. You will remember it is blasphemy under Initiate Law to state that Priest-Kings have physical bodies.
The situation in the north on the borders of Torvaldsland is an extreme example of open religious war against heretics, as described in Chapter Two of _ Marauders of Gor _. There the Initiates will torture and kill any Odinists they capture, and the Torvaldslanders -- as happened with Forkbeard in Kassau -- will invade a temple, plundering its gold and killing or enslaving both Initiates and lay worshipers. This does not seem to happen in any other part of Gor.
We have no information at all from the books about what the criteria are for granting sanctuary in a temple, how it is done, or why it might be refused, only that sanctuary exists. The Chrism of Temporary Permission, Norman tells us, "was first used at roadside shrines, to permit civil authorities to enter and slay fugitives who had taken sanctuary at the altars." ( _ Marauders _ p.37).
We can assume that the initiates will consider the situation and decide whether to grant sanctuary or not, and if they do not anoint the civil authorities, the magistrates cannot use force to remove or kill the prisoner. I have never seen this scenario roleplayed out completely, but it would make an interesting conflict between civil and religious authority if the Initiates did not want to surrender an important fugitive.
Other than cases involving internal caste codes, blasphemy or heresy, most offenses might be tried in either Initiate or Civil Court. Which one the caste chooses to use will depend on a variety of factors, such as how much power the caste has in a particular city, whether the Initiates feel that the civil court will rule justly on the case, and whether the local High Initiate and his subordinates are touchy about caste prerogative and status.
If the accused is an initiate, the caste would probably want to carry out a preliminary investigation before turning him over to the civil magistrate. In Second Life cities where temple and civil magistrates have a good relationship, an initiate who commits an act which is a crime under both initiate and civil law will usually be turned over to the civil courts for trial.
An example would be murder or violent assault, since an Initiate is also forbidden to kill or shed blood under his caste codes. Also, punishment for many crimes, even purely religious ones where the sentence is given by an Initiate Court, will be carried out by civil law, since the Initiate caste codes forbid initiates themselves to kill or shed blood. None of this is found in the books, however.
( questions )
Political theory
The world view of the Caste of Initiates is based on a belief that all legitimate authority and law are derived from the divine Priest Kings. Most other Goreans seem to share this idea, although we do encounter skeptics in the books. This concept provides the basic foundation for all civilized Gorean society. There may be political conflicts between the initiates and other castes in a civilized city, but there is no separation of church and state, as there was not in any of the ancient Earth cultures on which Norman based his White Caste.
According to popular Gorean mythology, Hesius, the legendary hero of Ar, received the very first Home Stone directly from the Priest Kings. (_ Dancer of Gor _ p. 302 ) Since the Home Stone is the symbol and source of political and legal authority in every Gorean city-state, this justifies the city government's right to rule. Whether a city official is personally pious or not, the fact that he holds a public office requires him to carry out public ceremonies recognizing the state religion One example is the rituals of Ar's Planting Feast carried out by the Heads of Caste and the Ubar's representative. ( _ Tarnsman _ p.68, 1967 edition ) Here the civil government is confirming the divine origin of the Home Stone and thus of their own rule.
Such city and caste officials might claim that because they can carry out religious rituals, Priest-Kings have given them their authority directly. The Initiates would undoubtedly counter that since Priest-Kings have made their caste the only spokesmen for the gods and the only interpretors of their will, the White Caste delegates the civil officials' authority to them.
This usually remains only a theoretical idea, used to convince Goreans of the city-states that the gods require them to obey the law, and that the Caste of Initiates has been given the ultimate authority in the City. Even a powerful High Initiate will usually try to work within civil and caste structures if possible, as in the case of the illicit Dar-Kosis research laboratory.
There is one example in the books where this legal theory had a practical effect, and we can see how the Caste of Initiates would apply it. This was the instance described in _ Tarnsman of Gor _ where the Home Stone of Ar was stolen, Marlenus the Ubar fled, and civil authority broke down completely in the city. To prevent political chaos in the face of an enemy attack, the Initiates revoked the city magistrates' authority and took over the government themselves.
It has been argued that the Initiates should have convened a City Council to elect a new administrator and appoint new magistrates. However, the city was already on a war footing and under martial law. An ubar is the equivalent of a Roman dictator, and has absolute power during wartime under Gorean civil law. It made more sense for the Caste of Initiates simply to step in and take over Marlenus's legal role until the political crisis was over and peace was restored.
The White Caste of Ar seems to have done a fairly good job at first in an extreme situation, and undoubtedly saw taking control of the government as their proper responsibility in such an emergency. They are described as instituting appropriate measures during the siege, such as rationing food and water stores and maintaining order in the city. The siege finally puts the city in a hopeless position: "...it became clear that the city was starving and that water was running short...Disease had broken out. Groups of looters from Ar itself prowled the streets." ( _Tarnsman _ p. 152 )
The response of the Caste of Warriors would apparently have been a suicidal refusal to negotiate with an overwhelmingly powerful enemy until every defender was dead and the people completely defenseless in unconditional surrender: "I truly believe that the brave men of Ar, in their valorous but blind love for their city, would have maintained the walls until the last slain warrior had been thrown from them to the streets below." ( ibid )
But, Norman tells us, "the Initiates would not have it so." The High Initiate negotiates an orderly surrender. First, as is his obligation, he gains amnesty for his own caste, but this is followed by ensuring that only a limited number of armed enemy men would be allowed to garrison the city, "that the balance of the horde be allowed to enter the gates only unarmed", and another, very telling, concession from Pa-Kur: "There were a variety of smaller, more intricate concessions desired by the Initiates and granted by Pa-Kur, mostly having to do with the provisioning of the city and the protection of its tradesmen and peasants." ( p.153)
Yes, Pa-Kur is granted "the usual savage fees imposed by the Gorean conqueror" (ibid), but this was not something any defeated government could have prevented. What the Initiates did do was make an effort to protect the common people of the city, rather than leaving them totally helpless. After the surrender, the initiates' rule ended, and when Ar was freed, power apparently reverted to the civil authorities peacefully.
(questions )
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AN OUTLINE OF INITIATE LAW
"There are two systems of courts on Gor - those of the City, under the jurisdiction of an Administrator or Ubar, and those of the Initiates, under the jurisdiction of the High Initiate of the given city; the division corresponds roughly to that between civil and what, for lack of a better word, might be called ecclesiastical courts. The areas of jurisdiction of these two types of courts are not well defined; the Initiates claim ultimate jurisdiction in all matters, in virtue of their supposed relation to the Priest-Kings, but this claim is challenged by civil jurists. _ Tarnsman of Gor _ p.194
" The Initiates have their own laws, and courts, and certain of them are well versed in the laws of the initiates.” _ Marauders of Gor _ p. 28
According to the Caste of Initiates, all rightful authority and law originate from the divine Priest Kings: "The Initiates claim ultimate jurisdiction in all matters, in virtue of their supposed relation to the Priest-Kings, but this claim is challenged by civil jurists." --Tarnsman of Gor
In any case where the civil authorities are unable to carry out the proper functions of city government, the authorities of the Caste of Initiates shall govern as decreed by the High Initiate, the Council of Initiates of the city, and their appointed subordinates, until the legitimate civil authority can be re-established.
LAWS WHICH APPLY TO CONSECRATED INITIATES OF THE BLESSED CASTE
A High Initiate shall be appointed by the City High Council of Initiates in any given jurisdiction. His term shall be for life. He shall be removed from his office if tried and convicted by a recognized Initiate Court of any violation of the Caste Codes. The High Initiate and High Council of Initiates are subject to their own Laws. If they violate a provision of Temple Law, they cannot then retroactively change it to avoid prosecution.
Any Initiate who intentionally and willfully violates one of the established codes of the Caste shall be tried and, if convicted, punished by the Initiate Court. These codes include the prohibition against meat, beans or alcohol, and against the touch of a female, free or slave, the requirement of absolute chastity, the obligation of purity in all actions, and the prohibition against using weapons, killing, or inflicting serious bodily harm involving the shedding of blood. This law also includes intentionally revealing caste secrets to those not authorized by the caste and the High Initiate of the local temple. If found guilty, the punishment is death by impalement or by such other means as the court may dictate.
Any initiate who similarly violates the established codes of the caste by mistake, or without voluntary intent, shall be tried by Initiate Court and, if convicted, punished according to the judgment of the Initiate Magistrate.
Any initiate who refuses to observe the obligatory duties, rituals and ceremonies of the Caste, and / or the temple to which he has been assigned by his superiors in the Caste, as required by his rank and status, shall be tried by initiate Court. If found guilty, his punishment shall be ordered by the Initiate Magistrate, according to the severity of the offense. Any initiate who has completed his novitiate and been instructed in the secret knowledge of the caste may not be released from his caste vows. If the offense is severe enough that he may no longer practice his caste duties as an initiate, he shall be executed by impalement, or such other punishment as decreed by the Initiate Magistrate, or imprisoned for life.
In the case of an initiate who commits an act which is a crime under civil law or merchant law, a preliminary hearing on the case should be carried out by the Initiate Magistrate, if one is available, or by the High Initiate of the local temple, and if sufficient evidence is presented to bring the case to trial, the accused shall be remanded to the authority of the civil magistrates or merchant magistrates to be tried in civil or merchant court. The defendant may hire a male advocate of the Civil or Merchant Law, as appropriate, if approved by the Temple, or request a Temple Advocate to represent him.
The Initiate caste of each city shall build and maintain a Pit for the quarantine of those suffering from the Holy Affliction of Dar-Kosis, as diagnosed by the Physicians of the City or of the Initiate Caste. Anyone suffering from the Affliction shall not be slain or their blood shed, unless they attempt to escape from the Pit or approach too close to a city, whereupon they may be stoned to death on order of the High Initiate of the City. Those suffering from the Affliction whether initiates or others, shall be considered legally dead under all types of Law, civil, merchant, initiate or caste, and their personal property confiscated and distributed to their legal heirs. Any Temple which digs a Dar-kosis pit is responsible for all within it, and shall provide adequate food, water and other necessities to those quarantined there.
Any initiate who has committed an offense for which the penalty is enslavement shall be tried and sentenced only by an initiate court and, if convicted, shall become the property of the Caste of Initiates. In such a case, the former initiate shall be rendered mute by removal of his tongue or vocal cords before sale. This is to ensure that no caste secrets are revealed to any not of the caste.
Any property of an enslaved or deceased Initiate reverts automatically to the Temple, and no contrary claims by any other other party shall be recognized under Initiate Law.
Initiates shall make every reasonable effort to conduct themselves at all times in a manner which does not bring discredit on the Caste of Initiates or on the temple where the initiate is in residence, or to appear to do so. To this end, an initiate shall not go abroad outside the temple alone without a guard, escort, fellow initiate, or authorized senior temple choir or sacristan slave, so as to provide a chaperon and witness to said initiate's proper behavior according to the codes of the caste during the time he is absent from the temple or initiate living quarters.
LAWS WHICH APPLY TO SLAVES OWNED BY TEMPLES OR PRIVATE INITIATES
Choir Slaves
Are required to follow the purity codes which apply to initiates Any violation of the rule, whether intentional or not, shall be punished by death.
Temple Slaves
Are required to follow the purity codes of the Caste of Initiates if they work inside the temple. Any violation of the rule, whether intentional or not, is punishable by death.
Work Slaves
No specific prohibitions except those commanded by their owner
LAWS WHICH APPLY TO LAY PEOPLE
Any actions by lay people which are violations of initiate law not covered under the civil law of the city shall be tried under the authority of Initiate Law in Initiate Court. These include, but are not limited to, heresy, blasphemy, intentional impiety, deliberate profanation of a Temple or sacred place, violence against an initiate or initiate property, or direct disobedience of the will of Priest-Kings as interpreted by the White Caste. If convicted, the criminal shall be remanded to the civil authorities for execution of the sentence.
Any actions against initiates which are crimes under civil law will normally be tried and punished by the civil magistrates of the city involved, but may be remanded to Initiate Court at the discretion of the High Initiate.
Any person attempting to deceive with respect to caste by impersonating an Initiate by means of wearing caste robes of an initiate or in any other manner, or by engaging in religious activities, writings, or initiate rituals in or outside of a temple under false pretenses, and/or claiming explicitly to be of the White Caste while not being so, shall be guilty of a capital crime. The accused shall be tried in an Initiate Court and, if convicted, the penalty shall be death by impalement or other appropriate means, to be determined by the High Initiate of the temple of the city in which the deception takes place.
Any free women entering the temple shall behave in a modest manner, and be modestly dressed according to the custom of the city where the temple is located. This shall normally include robes of concealment and veils. This rule may be modified at the discretion of the local high initiate of the city for sufficient cause.
Sexual congress between an Initiate and another, male or female, free or slave, is a serious violation of caste codes.
a)The penalty for the initiate, or initiates, if both of the accused are of the Caste of Initiates, on conviction by an Initiate Court, shall be death by impalement or other method as determined by the court.
b) If the partner is slave, either male or female, the slave shall also be executed for blasphemy.
c) If the partner is a free woman or a free man, he or she shall be tried by an Initiate Court and, if convicted, be reduced to slavery. His or her property shall be confiscated by the Caste of Initiates. He or she may then be executed or sold at the discretion of the Initiate Magistrate.
d) Any living child born of sexual intercourse between an initiate and a woman, free or slave, becomes a slave of the Temple, and may be killed, castrated or sold at the Temple’s discretion regardless of the wishes or desires of either parent or parent's family.
Weapons are not allowed in the temple except as authorized by the Chrism of Temporary Permission, as required for defense of an initiate or violation of sanctuary.
Blasphemy and heresy shall be tried in Initiate Court under the provisions of Initiate Law. If the accused is convicted, the penalty is death by impalement, burning, boiling in oil, or such other appropriate method as shall be decided by the Initiate Magistrate.
a) It shall be considered blasphemy to invoke any god or gods other than Priest-Kings in the hearing of an initiate, city official, or lay person, except in the privacy of one's home.
b) It shall be considered blasphemy to teach or state that Priest-Kings do not exist, or are not gods, or are beings with physical form of any kind, such as "big yellow bugs." Any attempt to portray a supposed "Priest-King" in visual form shall be treated as blasphemy.
c) It shall be considered heresy to teach or state that the Caste of Initiates are not intermediaries between Priest-Kings and men, that the Caste of Initiates do not interpret the gods' Will to men as the Holy Ones intend, or that any person is not required to obey the Will of Priest-Kings as interpreted by members of the Caste.
d) Laymen or initiates may bring a complaint against an initiate for violation of Caste vows or other unlawful actions under City, Merchant, or Initiate Law, which shall be investigated by the Initiate Magistrate and his staff. The accused initiate, however, may bring a countersuit for slander, and the accuser shall be fined by the Initiate Magistrate if found guilty.
"I hoped that those humans who returned from the Nest would not be hunted by Initiates and burned or impaled as heretics and blasphemers." _ Priest Kings of Gor _ p 299
Sanctuary will be decided by the temple involved. If it is denied, civil authorities may be anointed with the Chrism of Temporary Permission and the offender removed from the temple using the degree of force necessary, If this involves death or bloodshed of the denied applicant for sanctuary, or arresting guards, the temple shall be purified and reconsecrated.
Lay free people may enter the temple at any time to pay honor to Priest-Kings but may not go behind the white railing, unless anointed with the Chrism of Temporary Permission by an initiate of the temple for some legitimate purpose. The penalty for violation of this rule is death. Permission to enter the temple may be revoked if the person involved is disruptive or acts while inside in an impious manner offensive to Priest-Kings.
The obligation of the Pilgrimage will normally be enforced by the civil authorities of the city, on pain of outlawry. The Initiate Caste of each city shall keep a scroll naming all persons eligible for the Pilgrimage and those who have completed it, which shall be accessible to all legal officials of the Caste or the City at any time. At the discretion of the High Initiate of the City, a gold tarn coin may be given to pilgrims who undertake the journey to the Sardars when requested by the Initiate Caste. The High Initiate of the city may excuse any person from the obligation for sufficient reason, at his discretion.
"Besides, she knew well that, some year, prior to her twenty-fifth year, such a journey must be undertaken by her. The Merchants of Teletus, controlling the city, would demand it of her, fearing the effects of the possible displeasure of the Priest-Kings on their trade. If she did not undertake the journey then, she would be simply, prior to her twenty-fifth birthday, removed from the domain of their authority, placed alone outside their jurisdiction, beyond the protection of their soldiers. Such an exile, commonly for a Gorean, is equivalent to enslavement or death..." _ Captive of Gor _ p. 234
LAWS WHICH APPLY TO SLAVES NOT OF THE WHITE CASTE
No slave who has not been properly anointed to serve inside the temple may enter any temple. The penalty is death. Likewise, no non-human animal shall be permitted to enter a temple. No item held in the hand of a slave or thrown by a slave, or carried by an animal, shall be allowed to touch or cross any Temple threshold.
Any such slave attempting to enter a temple or cross over a temple threshold by any degree may be punished according to the discretion of the high initiate, up to and including death.
Any slave deliberately displaying insolent or intentionally lascivious behavior in the presence of an Initiate is subject to punishment at the discretion of the initiate. If such behavior is commanded by the slave's owner, such an owner may, at the discretion of the offended initiate, be tried by the Initiate Court on the charge of impiety. This provision shall not apply if the initiate voluntarily enters an area where such behavior should be expected to occur, such as a tavern or brothel.
No slave shall deliberately allow or cause any pleasure silk, camisk, collar, chain, slave restraint or other garment of a slave, worn or unworn, to come into contact with the robes, possessions, or physical body of an Initiate.
OTHER
An Edict of Anathema shall be proclaimed by the Inquisitor General and the High Council of the Initiate Caste as a whole against any city in which an infamous act of blasphemy or heresy has been carried out, if the city civil authorities support the act, or refuse to turn the accused over to the Initiate Court for trial. If Anathema is proclaimed, the appropriate ritual shall be carried out officially to remove the favor and protection of the Priest-Kings from the city and its inhabitants, and to declare the city's Home Stone invalid. The former city shall be declared no longer to exist, and its former citizens to be outlaw.
The temple of the city shall be declared impure and desecrate, nor shall any member of the Caste of Initiates conduct any ritual there, or within the territory of the city. The guilty city shall be formally declared to lie under the judgment of Priest-Kings and utterly condemned. Any person or city which shall injure the city or its inhabitants, or levy war against the said city, or permits such injury or attack to occur, shall be judged innocent by Initiate, civil, or merchant law of any wrongdoing, and considered to be acting as the legitimate agent of retribution of the divine Priest-Kings.
Any city or individual which shall offer aid or support of any kind to the city declared under Anathema shall likewise be declared Anathema and suffer the same punishment.
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CEREMONY & WRIT OF ANATHEMA PRONOUNCED UPON ONE KNOW AS MAL
The Initiates gather in a circle and turn toward the highest ranking official of the caste present, Blessed Adilokos, Grand Inquisitor of the Caste.
"My brothers, we gather today to render judgment on the false Initiate known as Mal, to remove him from the Caste of Initiates, and to deny him the immortality given to those members of our Caste who live pure lives, obedient to the Codes under whose authority we are set by Priest-Kings and our superiors."
"Mal, the false Initiate has knowingly and willfully violated the oath he swore to uphold at his entry into the Caste. He has offended against the Codes, and is unworthy any longer to be considered a member in good standing of the Caste of Initiates. Among those violations known to us by sure and certain evidence of eyewitnesses are eating meat, and having carnal relations with females. We therefore find him in violation of his ritual purity and befouled by forbidden behavior before Priest-Kings and his Caste-Brothers."
"He is also reported to have neglected to carry out the proper duties of our Caste, by refusing to hold a memorial for the son of one of the most noble families of the Island and city of Svago, after that Free Man met his death in an accident and his ashes were returned to the island. Thus this man, Mal has offended in both things done and things left undone which he was obligated by his Professed Oath to do."
"Moreover, Mal has also brought disgrace and shame upon the Caste by wanton and willful breaking of the civil Law of the Island of Svago, by the furring of the property of Warrior Mjarko of Svago, and the theft of this Free Man's lawfully owned kajira, fleeing with her from the island. Following this, we are informed, Mal lost the kajira in a game of chance and abandoned her, rather than return her to her rightful master after carnally using her."
"THEREFOR, in the name of, and by the authority given me by, the Holy Priest-Kings -- as Grand Inquisitor and highest judge of the Caste of Initiates, -- I, Blessed Adilokos of the Great Temple of the Sardars, hereby utterly CAST HIM OUT of the Caste of Initiates and remove him from membership in our blessed society!"
"We hereby remove the false Initiate known as Mal from all fellowship with either Men or Gods. We separate him utterly from the society of all believers and servants of the holy Priest-Kings, and from all privileges of membership in the White Caste. We declare him excommunicate and anathema. His words are not heard by the Holy Ones, or by men. No one shall shelter him, give him food, or grant him any communication of any kind. Should he pretend to celebrate any rituals of the Caste, they are not valid to be recognized by Priest-Kings, or by Men. Entry into any temple or shrine is forbidden to him. All Caste doors are shut to him. He shall not touch book nor scroll nor altar nor candle nor any furnishment belonging to the Caste. Any such contact shall be regarded as blasphemy and theft."
"Likewise, after his death, we condemn him to forfeit that immortality granted alone to Initiates by Priest-Kings. Let him be sent to the Cities of Dust, where he shall wander forever as a mindless and insubstantial shade. Let his name be blotted out before the Holy Ones and forgotten by Men. He shall no longer exist. He is banished from the Light of Priest-Kings into Darkness!"
"So be it! Fiat! Fiat! Fiat!"
The initiates each repeat: "Fiat! Fiat! Fiat!" and extinguish their candles.
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*CORRECTED VERSION* GREAT SARDAR TEMPLE UKASE OF ANATHEMA!
TO ALL Initiates,
Guardians,
Inquisitors,
Temple Associates
and concerned people!
Regarding the City of SAIS:
WHEREAS this city has been the site of a most heinous Desecration - to wit: The furring of a female slave on the very Holy Altar itself by a Saisan Citizen -- requiring the efforts of the Great Sardar Temple to re-sanctify the Temple and -
WHEREAS although the slave responsible was executed by her master immediately following the offense, the man responsible (one Mausolus Alonzo of Sais) is STILL AT LARGE, living in Sais and being sheltered BY them and -
WHEREAS our efforts to find this man Mausolus Alonzo and bring him to justice have been thwarted by Sais at every turn and -
WHEREAS more recently a family of Sacred White Larls were in the City of Sais, and were driven from the gates DESPITE the adult female larl wearing a clearly visible COLLAR indicating ownership by the Great Sardar Temple - A man of Sais, an official named Brogan Rhiadra, then did wantonly and willingly, with malice aforethought, set his hunting sleen, Didi, upon the larls and -
WHEREAS the adult female larl, mother of the two cubs, has vanished, and has apparently perished of her wounds, or abandoned her cubs, causing grievous loss to the Great Sardar Temple of its Guardian Sacred White Larl and -
WHEREAS the male cub has also vanished, presumed to have died of the wounds inflicted by Didi the sleen, owned by the Saisan citizen Brogan Rhiadra, further inflicting material harm to the Great Sardar Temple and -
WHEREAS the female cub, named Bailey, has been wounded physically AND deprived of both mother and sibling, possibly causing her to become unfit for her future role as Sacred Guardian of the Great Sardar Temple and -
Whereas attempts by Initiates, acting in official capacity as representatives of the Great Sardar Temple, to ascertain the culpability of parties within Sais regarding the attack and presumed deaths of two of the three Sacred White Larls, have been met with complete lack of respect for the White Caste, highest Caste of all Gor and -
WHEREAS one member of Saisan society their Head Scribe, Nicholas Eel of the House of Eel, did expound, in the very Presence of the Initiates and within hearing of many citizens did proclaim and expound HERESY against the Priest Kings in a bold and unrepentant manner so as to weaken the faith of those there present and -
WHEREAS Sais now shelters not only the desecrator of their Temple, Mausolus Alonzo, but also the Heretic, Nicholas Eel, and Brogan Rhiadra, the owner of the sleen, Didi, which was responsible for the injury to the larl cubs, and has stated that it has no intention of aiding the Initiates in their pursuit of the truth of the matter and justice for the Priest Kings and the Sacred White Larls of the Sardars and -
WHEREAS A slavegirl one "sahara" who provided material aid to the cubs in question and has knowledge of the events and truth of the matter, being an eye-witness to the attacks, is prevented by her owner, one Play Torii of Sais, from testifying concerning this crime, again materially thwarting the Great Sardar Temple -
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that SAIS, now lacking a proper Temple, and lacking also an Initiate to administer unto them, and willfully and negligently FAILING to remedy such loss BE PLACED ANATHEMA AND OUTLAW BY THE WHITE CASTE OF INITIATES!!
BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that apart and divorced from civil justice, whereunto the White Caste of Initiates has no responsibility, nor let, nor hindrance, being thereunto SUPERIOR BY AUTHORITY OF THE MOST HOLY PRIEST KINGS!, LET THE WORD GO FORTH, that - upon pain of loss of his Immortality, and violation of his sacred Vows - NO INITIATE, nor his helper, agent, associate or slave shall render aid, comfort, spiritual guidance or any communication unto Sais, her citizens, slaves, visitors or sympathizers residing within the city's compass!!
BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that ANY man, woman, Free or slave, that harms Sais or her citizens or permits harm unto that condemned, stricken and abandoned city SHALL BE ADJUDGED AND HELD INNOCENT by Ecclesiastical Court or Temple Jurisdiction and that all CIVIL courts shall be hereafter WARNED that the Priest Kings have turned Their favor AWAY from Sais!
The CITY OF SAIS LIES BENEATH THE JUDGMENT OF THE PRIEST KINGS!
MAY THE IMMORTALS HAVE MERCY UPON ALL PENITENTS!
SEALED This Date
4th Ahn, 21st Ehn 3rd Day of 5th Hand of 9th Month year 10160 C.A.
The Blessed Taltos Luxor
One of Three By Rank Among The White
his seal
Dorian Serenus
Preceptor, O.P.O.
Great Sardar Temple
