HUMAN GEOGRAPHY OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS

By Hersius

INTRODUCTION

This Geography Department discusses the Gorean landscape in terms of geography and its underlying geologic structures. Areas are identified, described, showcased with a scenic description, and then discussed regarding some aspect in detail. General concepts, such as latitude and longitude, are likewise discussed and applied the virtual landmass of the Gorean supercontinent. This article discusses a specific topic, human geography, within the expanse referred to in this series as the northern plains.

Special thanks go to ~sensual~ and to sha{KoA} for help in chasing down errant quotes.

NORTHERN PLAINS AREA

The northern plains is bounded on the north by the southern edge of the northern forests, placed in this series at about 60 degrees north latitude, and on the south by the northern edge of the rainforests, placed in this series at about 18 degrees north latitude. The eastern boundary is formed by the Thentis and Voltai mountain ranges, considered in this series to form the prime meridian. The western boundary is the Thassa coast. This series suggests a western coastal longitude of around 45 degrees if the Turkey model is used and suggests an alternative longitude of between 60 and 85 degrees if the African model is used. If the region encompasses some 40ish degrees of latitude and between fortysomething and eightysomething degrees of latitude, then it is immense. The landscape is a series of elevations decreasing from the rainforests northward and from the mountain ranges westward. Although the slope of the land is fairly steep at the northern, eastern, and southern edges, it quickly settles into broad plateaus, such as the Plains of Sarpeto north of the rainforests and the Plains of Sanchez, placed in this series off of the southwestern section of the Voltai to the northwest of Tor, and into gentle hills and plains approaching sea level in elevation.

KEY CONCEPTS

The human geography of the northern plains is characterized by an internal frontier being slowly colonized by consolidated expansion achieved through clustering patterns using a hierarchy of settlements. This settlement systems model reflects key values within Arian culture, that is, the culture exemplified by the city of Ar, which is the defining cultural form for the entire geographic region.

INTERNAL FRONTIER

One of the most significant statements describing the northern plains as well as the entire landmass in general is that most of it is terra incognita. Book 4 Page 3, Book 13 Page 16. The planet has all climate zones, and the northern plains region is certainly the most temperate and therefore favorable to large scale colonization. Human occupation in the northern plains stretches for its entire length and breadth, from the edge of the northern forests to close to the rainforests and from the Voltai to the Thassa coast. However, that occupation is incredibly uneven, with most of the land area remaining unoccupied. The historic movement of northern plains people has been mainly from the coast eastward and from the Voltai westward toward the vast inland spaces. Rather than attempting to displace or conquer people in the adjacent climate regions, that is, rather than focusing on an external frontier, the people of the northern plains are in the process of settling their own internal frontier by slow methodical expansion.

CONSOLIDATED EXPANSION

Human expansion into the internal frontier is a systematic process. Northern plains expansion is not normally the result of pull forces that might make an area attractive to over reaching conquest and thoughtless exploitation. Instead, this expansion usually happens due to push forces within existing settlements. Population growth exceeding the practical limits of a settlement and dissatisfaction with the governance of a settlement are two customary reasons for groups to found a new settlement. Before a new settlement is founded, it is normally integrated into the sending settlement area by first drafting a charter, constitution, and laws and by choosing a Home Stone. The cultural and historical bonds between the new settlement and the sending settlement are assumed to remain strong over time. Book 15 Page 266. This consolidates the new settlement within the area and ensures that law and civilization rule throughout the areas of human occupation. There are no isolated frontier cities on the northern plains. Every city and its supporting settlements are political units within a regional hierarchy. Places are commercially linked to each other, and a number of trade routes cross this region of the supercontinent. There is a balance of autonomy with the recognition of common commercial laws. The interrelationships of settlements are essential to replicating the culture as it expands. Book 26 Page 510 gives an excellent illustration of a planned series of commercial transactions intended to span Harfax, Besnit, Brundisium, Esalinus, Market of Semris, Corcyrus, Argentum, Torcadino, and Ar. Settlements are linked into the mainstream and realize their own socioeconomic niches within the regional structure. The unincorporated places remain unexplored, unclaimed, and as far as anyone knows, pristine and virginally ripe for later occupation through the slow establishment of settlement clusters.

CLUSTERING PATTERNS

Settlements are not evenly spaced throughout the region but rather relate to some geographic or geological feature. Viewed from orbit at night, the basic regional settlement pattern reminds one of a giant Homan, with a line of lights stretching north and south along the Thassa coastline, another stringing the western edge of the Voltai, and the crossbar of lights defining the Vosk River. More lights cluster along the Issus and the Thassa Cartius, each of which juts visually in a southeasterly direction from the western part of the Vosk like the scabbard that hangs from the belt of the Orion constellation. Groupings north of the Vosk in the vicinities of the Olni and the Laurius also illuminate small portions of the region. Many of the places named in the Books are said to be within 100 to 200 pasangs of each other, which is a respectable social distance when trekked on foot but which is clearly a clustering pattern when viewed from orbit. On a supercontinental scale, distances of 100 to 400 pasangs are nothing.

The settlements so clustered are integrated through a hierarchy of places defined by function and authority.

SETTLEMENT HIERARCHY

Many forms of permanent year round human occupancy exist. Gorean political integration is always expressed by a local hierarchy of places, yet the region operates on principles of alliances to determine relative political strength. An alliance of major towns with minor cities, such as the Vosk League, can challenge the geographic claims of a city or an alliance of cities. Because hierarchical and allied political realities impact the patterns of human geographic expansion, understanding settlement hierarchies is important.

The model of the highest expression of human urban achievement is the cylinder city, sometimes referred to as the high city. The primate city is Ar, located at the base of the Voltai south of the Vosk River. Ar is the most populous city in all of known Gor and was estimated by Tarl Cabot to contain over a hundred thousand cylinder buildings. Book 1 Page 76, Book 5 Page 25. In classical urban primacy theory, the secondary cities are expected to have a tenth of the population of the primate city, with tertiary cities having about a tenth of that.

Gor has several named secondary cities. Secondary cities are large, and they control regional commerce. I class Port Kar, Brundisium, and Thentis as secondary cities within the northern plains, with Turia, Schendi, and Tor functioning in that capacity for the northern plains while being located outside of that region. Port Kar, while not having overland access to settlements, controls much of the shipping along the western coast and is large enough to be known as the Tarn of the Sea and the Jewel of Thassa. Book 6 Pages 5 and 103, Book 9 Page 2. Brundisium, the closest coastal city to Port Kar, is on a major trade route connecting coastal cities with inland cities and is one of the busiest ports in the world. Book 21 Page 38, Book 22 Pages 101 and 147, Book 24 Page 19. Thentis is the last bastion of civilization in the northeast and has a diversified economy, producing silver, monopolizing black wine, Veminium, and needle tree oil production, and controlling most of the tarn flocks and most of the regional trade with the Barrens. Book 1 Page 67, Book 3 Page 62, Book 4 Page 42, Book 5 Page 163, Book 9 Page 114, Book 10 Page 50, Book 13 Page 10, Book 15 Page 91, Book 16 Page 245, Book 17 Pages 76 and 77. Turia, which is the only named inland cylinder city located outside of the northern plains region, is known as the Ar of the South and is at the hub of intricate trade routes, but it is not counted as the actual equal of Ar and so must also be considered a secondary city. Book 4 Page 87, Book 7 Page 160, Book 13 Page 10. Schendi and Tor are large cities that are not built on the cylinder city model. Both are regional distribution centers and so function as secondary cities. Schendi has an estimated population of a million people and hosts ships from numerous ports. Book 13 Pages 115 and 116. Tor is easily the most populated center of its region. Book 10 Pages 36, 37, and 39.

Tertiary cities include places such as Tharna, Argentum, Rarn, Torcadino, Lydius, Laura, Treve, Ko-ro-ba, and the four Salerian Confederation cities of Lara, Vonda, Port Olni, and Ti. Tharna and Argentum specialize in silver extraction, and Rarn specializes in copper extraction. Book 2 Page 159, Book 11 Page 110, Book 12 Page 41, Book 19 Page 89. Torcadino is the crossroads of five major trade routes. Book 21 Page 101. Lydius and Laura are commercial centers in the Laurius River area. Book 7 Page 59, Book 8 Page 45. Treve fills a geographic power vacuum between Ar and Thentis, as noted by its range of influence, its history of military engagement with Ar, and its position in the war between Ar and Cos. Book 3 Pages 60 and 61, Book 26. Ko-ro-ba fills the power vacuum between Thentis and the western coast north of the Vosk. Book 2 Page 39. The Olni River cities comprising the Salerian Confederation appear to have been established as oppositions to the power of Thentis and of Ar, as shown by Port Olni having attacked the Thentian trade center Fort Haskins, by Ar having fought engagements along the Olni, and by Lara being strategically located to control commerce at the junction of the Olni with the Vosk, and the combination of the cities into the Salerian Confederation as a serious local power in its own right was demonstrated when the cities, acting together, eliminated piracy from the Olni River. Book 14 Page 171 and 172, Book 15 Pages 60, 61, and 62.

For settlements of a certain size and power, the distinction between being a city and being a major town may be blurred. Ven, which controls the juncture of the Thassa Cartius with the Vosk, and Tetrapoli, which resulted from the merging of four towns founded by brothers, are seen both as small cities and as major towns. Book 12 Page 41, Book 15 Pages 63 and 65.

Major towns function as consolidation and distribution points for trade goods. Along the Vosk River, for example, a number of towns are identified as being major towns. Book 15 Page 65. Ar’s Station and Port Cos are the largest Vosk River ports and control riverine commerce for hundreds of pasangs in their respective vicinities. Book 13 Page 26, Book 15 Pages 185 and 223. Turmus is the trade center at the eastern edge of the Vosk Delta. Book 13 Page 16, Book 15 Page 65. Victoria has a significant wharf and dock operation, one that comprises an infrastructure large enough to accommodate hundreds of battling Victorians and pirates and later to host all the dignitaries and onlookers present as the Vosk League treaty was signed. Book 16 Pages 128 and 235. One assumes that Jort’s Ferry is situated at a significant locale in order to facilitate travel across the Vosk and that Sulport provides market ties for a sizeable sul production area.

Minor towns are mentioned as well. Market of Semris is a minor town. Book 22 Pages 106 and 281. It may be safe to assume that many times when towns are referred to but not named, they include minor towns.

Villages are settled for agriculture. Villages sometimes support cities directly, but usually they are considered autonomous. Book 11 Page 112. From time to time, villages are mentioned by name. The village of Tabuk’s Ford is a farming community near the Verl River. Book 11 Page 135. Minus owes allegiance to Ar. Book 7 Page 298. Rarir is located south of the Vosk near the Thassa shore. Book 7 Page 232. Rorus is not far from Ko-ro-ba. Book 7 Page 254.

Hamlets are also mentioned. This appears to be the smallest communal unit of permanent human occupancy that arises on its own. The locale known as Ragnar’s Hamlet retained its original name even after expanding into a sizeable town. Book 15 Page 63. There is mention of fields as a unit of habitation in Book 15 Page 64, but these must be thought of as being associated with communities, as the rural agriculturalists are organized into the Caste system and must maintain Caste ties.

Forts also exist as creations of Arian culture. Forts are planned extensions of political units and so are supplied by and tied to their sponsoring entities. In that sense they are artificial settlements. Their purpose is not to sustain themselves independently but to serve the entity that determines whether they remain or close. The famous Fort Haskins was twice burned, once by Port Olni and once by savages, and each time it was rebuilt by Thentis. Book 17 Pages 76 and 77. Note that Fort Haskins is not located within the northern plains but rather is located in the mountains at the edge of the Barrens as a formal Thentian commercial presence relating to the Barrens. Fort Haskins is an economic expansion into the market of another region.

Strongholds are privately owned, selectively populated communities organized to support the commerce and military power of specific local interests. Strongholds can wield significant power. Fortress of Saphronicus is small yet has four tributary villages. Book 11 Pages 110 and 111. The strongholds of Ragnar Voskjard and Policrates were large enough and rich enough to support the major war efforts along the Vosk recounted in Book 16.

ARIAN VALUES

The human geography of the northern plains reflects deeply held Arian values. Four of these are mentioned here.

The fact that the northern plains region still has an internal frontier relates to the concept of the Home Stone. Whether the Home Stone is seen as something sacred passed from the Priest-Kings to men for establishing a place of belonging, or whether the Home Stone is seen as having been the center of the hearth and therefore the heart of the home for hundreds of generations, the fact remains that Arian culture claims a Home Stone heritage going back over 10,000 years. Book 1 Page 26, Book 2 Pages 22 and 23, Book 22 Page 302. The Home Stone is part of Arian identity. Book 11 Pages 213 and 214. The Arian does not simply look to the horizon and claim all land in every direction. Rather, the Arian establishes a recognized location using a Home Stone. Book 14 Page 144, Book 18 Pages 473 and 474. Territory may be claimed, but it is a delimited expanse. The Home Stone declares a legitimate presence while also maintaining geographical limits to that presence. The authority of the people identified with any given Home Stone remains within recognized boundaries.

The consolidated expansion strategy fulfills the Arian need to be civilized. Areas occupied by people of Arian culture are referred to as civilized Gor whereas areas occupied by people of other cultures are referred to simply as known Gor, and that in itself means known to Arians. Northern plains people are not frontier people. Note the commentary that people in Lydius conspicuously display trappings of major inland cities and even have public baths in the manner of Ar and Turia. Book 8 Page 45. Overland trade routes link coastal cities to midland cities and to eastern cities, and although strangers are popularly considered enemies, the major cities contain both permanent and special event populations from many locales, showing the importance of maintaining the link of civilization throughout the region. Intercity Kaissa tournaments reflect the importance of binding colonized places through shared aspects of civilization, and the fact that the year date is customarily counted in most northern plains settlements using the ascribed founding year of Ar as the initial year likewise proclaims the identification of northern plains settlements with the dominant civilization.

The clustering patterns demonstrate the Arian understanding that cities are living entities. Book 2 Page 22. As something alive and with a history, a settlement must remain in community. Arians do not live in isolation but rather form solid relationship niches to other settlements, facilitated by settlement location decisions that balance access to resources, access to commodity exchange points, the development of an economic base, and rules of social distance that have not been explained in the Books. Caste meetings at Sardar Fairs compensate for the inherent limitations on sharing knowledge that this clustering imposes.

The hierarchy of settlements reflects the Arian need to have a designated place within a hierarchical society. The Arian recognizes levels of authority within the differing but complementary functions of civil and Caste leaderships. Familial relationships are also governed by hierarchy, with the free males protecting the free females and controlling much of their behavior. The relationship between owners and slaves is status based authority writ large. In northern plains society, no one is left out except those who reject its values, leave its protections, and become outlaws. Book 1 Pages 44, 45, and 46. Everyone, whether free or slave, has a place, and if that places changes over time, the individual obtains a new secure place.

CALL FOR WRITERS AND RESEARCHERS

Future articles will highlight other areas. People who wish to work with me to provide Book research, heartfelt descriptions, and important background information relating to the area are encouraged to contact me at hersiusofthentis@yahoo.com.