THE VOSK

By Hersius

Introduction

The main characteristic of the Vosk, noted throughout the series regardless of what other rivers are encountered, is that it is “incomparable.” There are three aspects of it that show this to be true: its volume, its length, and the commercial activity upon it.

The volume of the Vosk is noted by its width in its eastern portion, by the fact that it terminates in a vast delta, and by the fact that it is itself a drainage basin into which other drainage basins empty. The capacity of the Vosk is first hinted at by the statement that at places it is 40 pasangs, read, 28 miles, wide. Book One Page 72. The capacity of the Vosk is also noted by the fact that the delta is about half tidal marsh from the ocean and half fresh water from the combination of the Vosk and the Thassa Cartius. Keep in mind that the surface area of the delta may be approximately the size of the state of Iowa, or twice the size of Ireland, or half the size of New Zealand. The pressure of the Vosk and Thassa Cartius as they form the delta remains strong enough to maintain it having a westward flow in spite of the water pressure being diffused over such a vast marshland. TGV May 2003. Finally, the capacity of the Vosk is noted by the fact that it is a major basin that drains a good deal of the northern plains, which is itself a continent’s worth of land area, and that the tribuatries that feed into it are basins in and of themself that drain a good deal more of the continent as well. The Olni and Verl are eastern tributaries, and the Issus and Thassa Cartius are western tributaries.

The length of the Vosk is not shown well in online maps since they retain the bias of the “straight up and down with squiggles” coastline interpretation. In fact, the Vosk is described as being extremely long. The Ua, which is thousands of pasangs long, and the Cartius, which crosses the continent over the southern plains, do not equal it. The Vosk originates in the Vosk to the northeast of Ar, and it travels all the way to the delta. One major clue to its length is that the Viktel Aria was laid in mostly a straight line and is some 2100 pasangs in length. Book 23 Page 24. If one triangulates with the Vosk being the length and the distance between Ar and the Vosk being the height and the Viktel Aria being the hypotenuse, then the Viktel Aria must intersect the Vosk at a point way to the west of Ar’s longitude. Additionally, the Thassa Cartius flows in a northwesterly direction from perhaps 200 pasangs east of the Thassa coastline at the rainforests’ longitude. Online maps retain the accepted coastline only by curving the Thassa Cartius eastward so that it can reach the Vosk at the eastern edge of the delta. If one is willing to scrap the coastline popularized online and instead begin with Norman’s description and allow the Thassa Cartius to flow to the northwest as an apparent continuation of the Cartius, then the intended length of the Vosk has to be much, much greater than online maps suggest.

The commercial activity along the Vosk is staggering compared to that along other major rivers. Its settlements have docks and actively trade, and several novels in the series concern or mention piracy and riverine warfare. It is the major waterway for Ar. Trade roads parallel it. I also believe that the Vosk and the roads paralleling it are used for pilgrimages to the Sardar, but that is a topic for another article.

In contrast, the other major rivers have minimal commercial activity. The Larius is used for the extraction of a limited inventory of raw materials from the Northern Forests to the northern coast. The Thassa Cartius and presumably the Issus are used for facilitating local commerce in the northern plains southwest between the rainforests and the Vosk. The Cartius floats southern plains and perhaps other goods into the rainforests interior without having to go through Schendi intermediaries, and it may perhaps supply Turia with goods from the rainforests, but again, one would surmise that its inventories would be mostly regional and limited. The Ua has no commercial purpose for most of its length except for facilitating contact within the rainforest riverine villages. The Olni faiclitates local commerce in the extreme northeastern corner of the northern plains. Only the Fayeen system approaches the Vosk in commerce, as it supplies Turia with goods from the Tahari and from the rest of the world so that Turia is a luxurious “Ar of the South.”

Background

These articles locate the Vosk at approximately 50 degrees north latitude, comparable to that of London and to that of the US - Canadian border. With the difference in planetary axial tilt, the temperatures are warmer. However, the Vosk does, at least in the east, ice over in winter. Book 4 Page 137.

The Vosk is a basin. It becomes the repositiory for rivers across the continent as the waters flow toward sea level. Some of its tributaries are themselves basins. TGV October 2003. Basins are collection areas for regional water. Creeks, streams, and rivers flow into rivers, which in turn either flow into other rivers or reach the Vosk directly at innumerable points. Waters from the north and south converge at the Vosk, to be taken westward into the delta nad the ocean beyond.

According to the World of Gor website, the Vosk originates in the northern Voltai. The Vosk originates to the northeast of Ar. These articles picture the Voltai north of the Tahari as being roughly triangular in shape, with the eastern side being the longest and being the base, and the apex occurring at about 10 degrees west and 47-48 degrees west. TGV February 2004. Accordingly, they estimate that the Vosk leaves the Voltai at about 52 degrees north and then angles southwest, paralleling the Voltai, to 50 degrees before turning west and retaining the westward flow. The turning point is therefore located at some 10 degrees west 50 degrees north.

These articles locate Ar at about 45 degrees north and around 9 or 10 degrees west. This places Ar near the Voltai and far enough away from both the Vosk and the Voltai to allow for a swamp forest and other settlements, such as Venna, to the north. Geometry would therefore place Ar’s Station at around 40 degrees west. That distance can be shortened somewhat by slightly squiggling the Vosk, so the estimated longitude of Ar’s Station is closer to 37 degrees west. This has implications for the overall length of the Vosk.

The order of Vosk River settlements, east to west, is Lara, White Water, Tancred’s Landing, Iskander, Forest Port, Ar’s Station, Jort’s Ferry, Point Alfred, Jasmine, Siba, Sais, Sulport, Hammerfest, Ragnar’s Hamlet, Fina, Victoria, Tafa, Port Cos, Tetrapoli, Ven, and Turmus. Jasmine and Siba are centrally located. Book 15 Pages 62-65; Book 16 Pages 134, 235; Book 23 Pages 34, 442. Both Port Cos and Ar’s Station respectively control the river for hundereds of pasangs. Book 15 Page 223. Two towns separate Ar’s Station from Jasmine and Siba. This has to place Jasmine at about 45 degrees west. If Jasmine is centrally located, then Ven and Turmus must lie somewhere between 80 and 90 degrees west.

This paints a panoramic picture of the Gorean supercontinent, as the delta extends some 10 or more degrees westard. Some 80-ish degrees of longitude at 50 degrees latitude anount to around 4,400 pasangs. This length is not unreasonable for a major river; in fact, a river this long on Earth would only be the eighth or ninth out of the top ten for length, with the Nile being half again as long.