~Paga: a fiery drink, called ‘Pagar Sa-Tarna’, which means the ‘Pleasure of the Life-Daughter’ is brewed by Sa-Tarna grain, almost always called simply “paga.” It comes in bottles, vats, casks, barrels, pretty much anything you can think of, though mainly bottles or vats. It’s served in goblets, pots, bowls, glasses, or cups -warriors in the books tended to prefer metal goblets in public areas
“Many civilians, I believe, do not know why certain warriors, by habit, request their paga in metal goblets when dining in public houses.” Renegades of Gor
Online, most actually prefer it in a three footed bowl or kantharos. It is most commonly served warmed or even hot
The effects can be felt sooner that way, but room temperature is not unheard of. There are going to be different variations of taste to paga “generally a function of the brewers choice of herbs and grains.” Explorers of Gor
~Sul-paga: Brewed from suls, a starchy tuberous root vegetable the result of which that comes out clear as water and is almost tasteless; this is a peasant drink.
“Sul paga, as anyone knew, is seldom available outside of a peasant village, where it is brewed. Sul paga would slow a thalarion. To stay on your feet after a mouthful of Sul paga it is said one must be of the peasants, and then for several generations. And even then, it is said, it is difficult to manage. There is a joke about the baby of a peasant father being born drunk nine months later.” Slave Girl of Gor
Tuchuck are highly unlikely to order sul-paga because they do not eat or drink of anything that has touched soil: “The Wagon Peoples grow no food, nor do they have manufacturing as we know it. They are herders and it is said, killers. They eat nothing that has touched the dirt. They live on the meat and milk of the bosk.” Nomads of Gor
~Ka-la-na: usually a bottled wine that comes from fruit of the yellow ka-la-na trees, described as an almost incandescent wine, bright, dry, and powerful; this wine is said to have an almost instant aphrodisiac effect on females. Most of the ka-la-na wine in the books is red, but there is mention of a golden ka-la-na as also. There is no specific mention of a white ka-la-na.
Ar is the biggest producer of ka-la-na wines, but it can come from Cos as well. There are many ranges for this wine from a medium-grade known as ‘Boleto’s Nectar of the Public Slave Gardens’ to an expensive wine known as ‘Slave Gardens of Anesidemus.’ It comes in bottles, casks, barrels, decanters, and the like and it’s simply served in a goblet, glass, crater, or anything that you feel is appropriate -as finely etched or plain as you want.
Serving this in silver is perfectly fine, though some low castes might object due to the superstition that silver renders ka-la-na poisonous despite the untruth of that. It is usually served room temperature, but sometimes warmed is requested. It is poured sometimes in rings, known as fingers on Earth, usually between the first and third ring.
~Cosian Wine: as the name implies this is a wine from Cos. Most likely out of wine barrels, decanters, or bottles; you can serve this in a goblet, crater, or glass -however finely etched or decorated as you feel is appropriate.
~Ta-wine: made from the Ta-grapes from the terraces of Cos. The grapes are purple, but the wine color is not described. Served as other wines, from wine barrels, decanters, or bottles into goblets, craters, or glasses.
~Palm Wine: exported from Schendi, this is an un-described wine other than it is delicious. Served as other wines, from wine barrels, decanters, or bottles into goblets, craters, or glasses.
~White Wine: “The first wine, a light white wine, was being deferentially served. (…) In a Gorean supper in a house of wealth, in the course of the supper, with varied courses, eight to ten wines might be served, each suitably and congruously matched with respect to texture and bouquet not only to one another but to the accompanying portions of food.” Fighting Slave of Gor Served as other wines, from wine barrels, decanters, or bottles into goblets, craters, or glasses.
~Nectars: “… where high ladies might exchange gossip, sip nectars and toy with dainty repasts, served to them by male silk slaves…” Served as other wines, from wine barrels, decanters, or bottles into goblets, craters, or glasses.
~Falarian Wine: I only mention this wine as some people try to “trick” slaves into serving this. This a very rare wine, considered even a secret or legend to even exist, and would be an extremely expensive wine. This would likely be kept under lock and key, if it even exists. If it does, and I would be sure the Owner of the Establishment you’re in himself gave you permission to serve it to begin with; it would be served like wine but with great reverence and in a fancy vessel.
~Turian Liqueur: described as a thick, sweet wine from Turia served in tiny glasses. The less warm this drink is, the harder it will be to pour due to its thickness. It most likely comes in bottles due to the nature of its substance.
~Turian Wine: “… sweet, syrupy wines of Turia, flavored and sugared to the point where one could almost leave one’s fingerprint on their surface.” Nomads of Gor -This is described as being served in goblets and spiced or sugared manually with stirring spoons, but it can also come come pre-prepared in bottles such as Turian Liqueur does. Again the less warm this is the harder it will be to pour, and even so it will remain very thick.
~Kal-da: this is usually a peasant’s drink, served almost scalding hot and is made from a poor grade diluted ka-la-na and mixed with citrus juices, as well as spices. It’s popular with the lower Castes, particularly those of manual labor. Where there is kal-da there should be bread and meat, so is rarely served alone. Served in pots, gourds or cups, usually straight out of the vat or kettle it’s simmering in.
~Ale & Mead: These are Northern drinks, most likely come from barrels or casks, and usually served in a tankard or horn, respectively. You should already be familiar with these from Earth, but don’t be afraid to make the tankards finely etched, though usually I tend to do so with them with scenes from the North; snowy mountains, long halls, or serpent ships on Thassa. Horns may be artistically decorated or plain. If they carry their own horn they will generally let you know -if they don’t hand you one it’s likely they will take one you bring them.
Mead is made with fermented honey with spices as part of the process; so if they do not say anything but “mead” you should bring them this. If they want “unspiced” mead or “extra” spices they usually say so. Unspiced will be in a different cask or barrel given that the manufacturing process will be different from normal mead. You can always manually add extra spices.
Mead will be easier to pour forth from its holding vessel if it is warm, even hot given how much honey is used to make it. As such most of the time is served warmed from a barrel or cask near the fire. If it is ordered room temperature, then it will take longer to pour into the vessel.
There is no reason to deviate from the Southern way of serving unless directed otherwise; you would serve this as normal to you. This will come down to the personal preference of the Free. If you are to do a “Nothern” serve, and again they will typically say so from the outset, then they will expect you to instead climb directly into their lap and offer the vessel between your breasts allowing for a more sexualized or playful serve.
~Beer: this beer is made from the pith of a rence plant. It will most likely be stored in casks, kegs, or barrels, though it wouldn’t be unheard of to be bottled as well. You can serve this in a tankard, goblet, mug, or glass -again finely etched with whatever scene you can think of, decorated with jewels, or just plain and stamped with the Inn or Tavern logo.
~Fermented Milk Curds: rarely asked for outside of a Tuchuk camp, this can get a person drunk from the fermentation. The curds are generally chewed. This usually comes in a bota given that it is a camp scenario. They tend to drink it directly from the bota.
A note about cutting with water:
“This is not unusual at an inn. The proportions, then, would be one part paga to five parts water. Commonly, at a paga tavern, the paga would be cut less, or not cut at all. When wine is drunk with Gorean meals, at home, incidentally, it is almost always diluted, mixed with water in a krater. At a party of convivial supper the host, or elected feast master, usually determines the proportions of water to wine. Unmixed wine, of course, may be drunk, for example, at the parties of young men, at which might appear dancers, flute slaves and such. Many Gorean wines, it might be mentioned, if only by way of explanation, are very strong, often having an alcohol content by volume of forty to fifty percent.” Renegades of Gor
~Non-alcoholic Drinks~
~Bazi Tea: Traditionally, this is served from the kettle into three cups at a time, usually heavily sugared. However, to many free this is also desired in a single cup of varied sugars, creams, milks or honeys. If bazi tea is asked for and not specified I tend to bring the traditional three cups, but also a tray of the other items just in case and ask them how they wanted it prepared when I am at their feet. There are no ceremonial elements to serving this tea in the books; it is served like any other drink.
~Tea: there is a wide assortment of teas available, none of which are specifically described more than as simply “tea.” As you can imagine there is a wide variety of ways to serve tea -so this will be up to the free to instruct you. If they say simply “tea” they likely want the previously mentioned bazi tea. Otherwise you can bring a tray of options: sugars, creams, honey, etc and ask them at their feet how they want it prepared. It’s served out of a kettle into cups, or anything else the free might want, or you feel is appropriate.
~Black wine: this is always two words, and never spelled with a wyne. This comes from Thentis, who does not trade the beans, and is a very rich, dark brew that is concentrated coffee, and is even called coffee in several of the books -though for the most part is referred to as “black wine” to Goreans.
You can prepare this yourself in a kettle and bring a tray to pour into the mug, cup, or bowl or ladle it out of a warming vat and bring is directly to the Free depending on your style or location. This is supposed to be a very rare drink, and as such is usually very expensive. It can be served “second slave” which means black, or “first slave” which will include creams, milk, and/or sugars. (This is actually reversed in the Tahari with the second slave offering sugars/creams while the first poured.) If they order black wine first slave and do not specify how they want it, I generally bring a tray of options: sugars, creams, milk, etc and ask how they want it prepared.
Remember, while there are four sugars mentioned -only white and yellow are specifically named in the books:
“Lola now returned to the small table and, kneeling, head down, served us our dessert; slices of tospit, sprinkled with four Gorean sugars.” Rogue of Gor
“She carried a tray, on which were various spoons and sugars. She knelt, placing her tray upon the table. With a tiny spoon, its tip no more than 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.” Tribesmen of Gor
~Milk: there is bosk milk, verr milk, and a strong salty and red milk from the kaiila in the Tahari. There is even a powdered milk version. You can serve this freshly milked from pitchers, bottles, or gourds or prepare it from the powdered milk. Again glasses, cups, mugs, or anything you feel is appropriate will do here.
~Chocolate: in the books this was being served like hot chocolate. It’s probably best to prepare this yourself from scratch using milk and the chocolate. I would serve it in a mug or bowl from a kettle.
~Water: there is all manner of hydria, pitchers, gourds, or holding vessels for water. It can be served in glasses, goblets, bowls, or anything else.
~Juices: any kind of fruit or vegetable can be made into a juice, and as such there are plenty of different kinds. Larma is mentioned by name in the books. Pitchers or gourds could hold them, served in glasses, or goblets as appropriate.
~Elements of a Serve~
these are by no means ‘steps’ -they are more like highlights you may want to hit in however many posts you think is appropriate. Serving is a highly personalized area of slavery so make this unique and your own.
There are no real steps to a serve per the books, and I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but there is not a single “one way” or “right way” to do this. For every quote stating one thing, there is another stating it is done another way, as this comes down to regional custom or tradition. That said, the following will be drawn from the majority of the quotes – but be careful, every Free Person has their own personal preference.
~Approaching the Free Person is your time to shine; try to be as descriptive as you can. There is nothing wrong with describing yourself down to hair color, what you’re wearing, or even that you lower your eyes submissively.
Don’t say words like ‘tits’ or ‘ass’ and instead aim for a more sensual and delighting of the senses approach over directly attempting to arouse or be sexual -there’s a time and place for everything. In a tavern, being slightly more open with sexuality is all right, but it’s still not a time to be openly crass. The purpose is to please and be attuned to the preferences and desires of the Free Person, never focused on the slave’s own. The men like to take the lead in this area; slaves follow the lead of the Free.
Approaching the Free Person and begging to be of service is a personalized area for each person-make it your own. Don’t hesitate to put your feelings into the emote, either afraid, obedient, or anything you or your character might be feeling -though it is always best to make it about the person you are about to serve first, and your own self second. Most prefer that serving be done from their left, like heeling, but there is no hard and fast rule about this -serving on the right is just as acceptable, and for some free, preferred -it’s a learning process on preferences.
Most of the time a simple “May I please serve you, Master/Mistress?” or if they might not know your name you can say something like, “May [Your Name] be of service, Master/Mistress?” If a man and his companion are together, you may be called upon to bring two drinks at once -always look to the man either silently or otherwise to indicate to you who should be offered their drink first -some prefer their women served before them, others do not.
Sometimes, if you bring a tray of many drinks for many people, you look to free person who gave you permission to bring them in bulk the order you should serve the drinks -and if they do not indicate, guests first, men then women before hosts. Sometimes they prefer women to be served first, but it comes down again to personal preference.
In feast serving you would approach, sometimes kneel (but not always), and simply offer what you have been assigned to serve in an unobtrusive fashion, such as “Wine, Master?” If they want it they will hold out their cup or even nod: you either pour, serve the dish and/or move on.
~Confirming the Order: Don’t give the Free Person the third degree over their order. One to two questions is generally ok to clarify an order but after that, it’s better to just bring a selection rather than interrogate the free on what it is they want. So for example of they say simply, “Black wine,” you might ask first or second slave -but if they say “first” without being more specific, it’s best to bring the kettle on the tray along with a various assortment of options and ask them when you return how they wish it prepared.
Also repeating back the order isn’t supported by the books in any quote, though I know many kajiri who feel more comfortable doing so. Past the one or two clarification questions, it is more elegant to not overly question, however if you feel more comfortable repeating back the order, by all means there isn’t really anything wrong with that either.
Most of the time if what they want deviates from the norm “example un-spiced or extra spiced mead” they will generally say so. Sometimes they don’t though, so be prepared to give it another go if you bring them the default and they are displeased. Never argue with the free over this – if you brought the default because they didn’t specify this is still your error. If they spill their drink, it’s still your error. You are at fault for whatever goes wrong with their order, always.
It’s recommended that in cafes and Inns most things be poured and served side-table. This means that the bottles or kettles are brought to the table on a tray, trade seals are broken before the Free, or any tea or black wine is poured before them and prepared at the table. Goreans love presentation. It’s more likely in a tavern that you would bring the drink directly to the free after being prepared in the kitchen.
It’s always good to remember a Free Person’s preferences for certain drinks -how they like their tea or black wine. It can highly impress the Free if they ask for black wine and you ask them if they wanted it prepared “with two white sugar and bosk cream,” (provided that was their preference last time) but always remember -give them the option by asking instead of assuming they want it the same every time.
~Returning to the kitchen is again your time to describe yourself as well as your emotions as being called to serve -whatever this may be. A slave that has been serving for many years might have movements that are fluid, graceful and well trained. Another slave fresh to collar might be still learning, or a captive woman who was most recently free might be obedient but still sullen. Remember this is your personality choice, so play it how you want to -but always be prepared for the consequences!
Please note, there is not a ‘three steps back’ condition to this part of the serve. That is an online-ism, along with “never turn your back to the free.” That’s simply a statistical impossibility, plus you are slaves -most Free don’t care about your position in relation to them when you are not directly interacting with them. That said, it’s always wise to be as polite as possible as you can with this, and if you feel like moving back first, by all means do so. If it can be helped you should avoid it, but never make needless movements to do so -especially if you are facing the Free person you are currently serving or your own Master/Mistress; they will direct you if they want you to move.
Many many kajiri who wash their hands at this point in the serve, but again this isn’t really supported in the books by any quote, however hygienic it might seem. Goreans are not as germ-phobic as their Earth counterparts. There can be a strong argument for it if your hands have touched the ground; they usually do to be able to rise.
~Making a selection of the vessel can continue your typing/emoting along the lines of choosing just the right vessel for the Free. Attempt to personalize each vessel to the Free Person that is being served. Many times there might be clues of their caste from what colors they wear, but if not there is a wide selection of animals, plants, or places you can chose from that the artist could etch into just about any vessel you can think of.
Wiping it down for dust does have a book quote:
“I watched her carefully wipe the goblet. Woe to the slave who would dare to serve paga or wine in a dirty goblet!” Vagabonds of Gor
but that’s it. There is NO testing the rim on your skin or any other way though some kajiri who still do so with at least a rep cloth.
This is where you would prepare the tray for a side-table serve, or the drink if you are bringing it directly like say in a tavern setting. You might also prepare a meal or have the meal dished. Remember, Goreans love presentation, so make the tray as pleasing to the eye as well as the palate of the food or drinks you are bringing. Some kajiri decorate the trays in certain patterns, or add flowers to it -this is as detailed as you feel is appropriate.
~Returning to the Free can be as emotive as you like -again this is to delight and appeal to their senses, so sensual is a great way to go. Again, it’s best to never be crass, and try to be as elegant and sensual as possible.
If you have food and drink together, place the tray of food before them but prepare and/or keep the drink and serve that normally. After they have accepted the drink you can say, “This slave has brought you … (describe the meal).”
“”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.
“For your pleasure,” she said, “I bring you paga and a slave.” “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
~After this, it is customary to wait to be dismissed before moving on, unless you are doing a feast serve or your Owner tells you to come to them. There is isn’t really a known situation as being “in service” to a specific free, and most of the quotes have the slave moving on immediately, but it is probably best to be specifically dismissed before moving on to the next unless someone of higher rank or ability commands you to leave their side; you would wait for that specific free to dismiss or release you. Sometimes, drawing back but being nearby and ready to serve them again is acceptable, but a slave never withdraws totally from the presence of the Free without permission.
Greeting and speaking is also to the Free’s preference as well until you are dismissed. Sometimes, if the Free seems to have forgotten you, and there are others waiting to be served you can ask if there is any thing else you can do for them, or even beg to be of service to others; but generally speaking you should be focused on them and what they need or desire until you are dismissed. It is probably best to always thank the Free for allowing you to serve them prior to moving on, as that is always a privileged thing -being allowed to serve them is something to show gratitude about
“”It is a great honor and privilege for a slave to be permitted to serve her master. Too, it is what she is for.” Swordsmen of Gor