My Theme Song

What?

You don't have a theme song? Every Gorean needs a theme song!

Like any good piece of music, you can read a lot of things into the lyrics. I was tickled to see how much of this actually *did* seem to fit my life and what many perceive as my public personae. ;0)

This is my good friend Lyle Lovett (and should we ever meet one day I am sure he would agree with me about our retroactive friendship) singing my theme song.

Enjoy.

A funny thing happened on the way to the rest of my life...

I'll bet you all thought I was dead.

Didn't you?

C'mon, admit it. I promise my feelings won't be hurt.

Much. ;0)

There were times, to be sure, that I thought I might be a bit better off on the other side of the mirror. If nothing else so that it would just not hurt so goddamn much anymore. Then, my friends the chemicals would whisper to me, and I would get so tired and everything would fade to grey.

I hate drugs. Always have. I won't even take an aspirin if I can help it. What I had in the hospital and what I had at home, were certainly not aspirin. I lost weeks of time, honestly, in a stupor. I left most of you in mid-July, and here it is the first part of November. To this day I cannot function painlessly without the chemicals, but they are of the most benign and of the least dosage that I can tolerate.

Obviously, things did not go completely as planned with my surgery, and due to this I am getting used to some new physical limitations in my life.

Big deal. I'll manage.

I live.

That's enough.

I am not yet to the point where I can spend much time at the keyboard, and I suspect that it will still be quite a while before I can get to the point where I can turn up at my old haunts.

But I wanted you all to know I live, and that I appreciated all of the kind things that were sent to me in my gmail here. I will be checking it semi-regular, so if anyone needs to speak to me or wants to chat or compare the chemicals and their effects, I can be found there. ;0)

I wish the best to all of you reading, and I hope to return here to post more as soon as I am able.

Bear-

And now a message from our sponsor...

Happy Friday everyone,

This blog post is going to be a bit different than others here.

A few of you know that over the last year or so, I have been struggling with spinal problems related to a back injury. I fully expected to have surgery to help correct these issues in a month or two. I met with my neurosurgeon yesterday and the decision has been made to move the surgery up to this coming week.

What this means is that for several weeks, I will be unable to update the blog. If all goes well, while it will be several months before I can get my strength back, I should be able to get back to some normal activity before then. The surgery is not overly dangerous, and I am optimistic, but the chance for something bad happening is always there.

So, this will be the last update for a while. If the blog never gets updated again, then remember me fondly. ;0)

Many thanks to all of you who have read the blog, commented and complained, and who have encouraged me to continue to openly explore what it is to live Gorean in this society.

I look forward to being back with you all soon.

Bear-

Please, don't feed the monkeys

(Preface 2011: Interaction on the internet is a challenge, at times. The thought that one is anonymous (which is truly not the case) allows some to behave irresponsibly. This essay, written back around 2000, addresses the issue and is just as relative today as it was then.)


Hello again,

I wrote this essay back in July, at a time when a few people who should have known better (look who is talking!) were spending time trying to debate and discuss with some who had created forums for the specific purpose of luring them in and flinging shit on them. These people, all banned from the few popular Gorean boards for their activities, deperately and transparently wanted to agitate some of us so that we would go there and the ensuing ruckus would give them them the attention denied them after they failed and/or they were rejected by the community at large.

It was easy to see the one thing that brought these twisted and sad individuals pleasure was our attention, therefore I denied them mine - although they flung shit far and wide to attract it. ;0)

Others who were standing hip-deep in the monkey cage had perhaps not thought through what was happening, and this is my essay to them, to let them know why feeding the monkeys is a fruitless endeavor.

Enjoy! ;0)

=========================================

If you feed them, they become excited and agitated. If you give them attention, they will accept it and demand more and more of it from you. If you speak with them, they will simply screech louder, throw more excrement, and try to piss further in order to splash some of their bile onto you. They seek to keep you there, talking, since being a monkey is really not a very interesting thing in and of itself. It does not mean anything, it does not stand for anything. It does not seek to accomplish anything. It is a defensive mindset simply fueled by frustration, guilt and fear.

When you trek to their cages and respond to them, you simply give them what they want - attention. You lend, through your name and time, a measure of attention and perhaps even credence, if you are not careful, to what they are trying to do. In any case, you never can accomplish the purpose you seek to achieve. You often run the risk, through frustration, of becoming a monkey yourself.

In short; You lose. 

Honest, open debate and disagreement is a good thing. I have spent many years online, in a Gorean context doing so in various venues. So have many of you. A lot of it has been constructive, if rancorous and even bitter at times. Together, we have learned much, about ourselves and about living Gorean in this society. The number of adults seriously and honestly seeking to live this way has grown, due in large part to the words we share in public.

But at some point, in some places, you look down at your wet shoes and realize that some of them are just monkeys, and that their delight is not in the verbiage, the argument, the search for understanding or compromise, but rather their delight is in their ability to piss all over you and what you are, doing so openly and/or discreetly, and still keep you coming back for more.

We are unlike any other Gorean forum on the net. We do not have monkeys here. We stopped feeding them and sent them on their way. You watched it happen, from day one. 

Think about that.

Those people then have created cages of their own making, where they screech and scream and whine and cry, waving their arms frantically at you and calling you by name to try to get you to come close enough so that they can simply wet your shoes and smile.

"Gor is a fantasy!", they whine.

"You are all Nazis!", they scream.

"Collar me and prove me wrong!", they beg.

"You are all misogynists!", they bleat.

The ironic thing is, we have seen this same thing all before. Many, many monkeys have come before them, doing the exact same things, for the exact same reasons. Those monkeys are all gone now. They disappeared once the food source dried up. They disappeared, once people stopped feeding them.

It is no fun for them, it seems, to be playing in shit when no one else is interested in, or cares about, being their target. ;0)

At some point, folks, if your shoes are soaked, it ceases to be their fault.

At some point, the credibility you lend them by paying attention to them starts to detract from the very thing you argue for, because they are not there to find answers, only fling shit and get as much of it on you as possible.

At some point, my friends, you have to wise up and stop making yourselves such easy, willing and accessible targets, for no worthwhile gain. ;0)

And at some point, you have to decide to stop playing thier endless, hate-filled, psychotic games. What do you do? You just go out and live Gorean and let your life amongst your peers provide the best example that there can be. ;0)

I wish you all well this sunny, wonderful Saturday afternoon. 

Bear-

A flaw in her training.

In which our intrepid essayist responds to one of the varied excuses that the subbies and their doms might use to deflect attention from themselves when, in pretending to be Gorean slaves, the sub exposes herself  for what she is..

"It very well could be a flaw in training."

See, that's an argument that I don't buy into and never did.

If some woman is prepared to give her entire life to a Gorean owner, she damn well better have the intelligence and strength to be able to discern what correct behavior in public consists of in a Gorean context (Read The Fucking Books, or RTFB as we used to call it). It is not a matter of training, indeed, training will be hampered by such a weak-will in a potential slave. It is a matter of maturity and strength - both emotional and intellectual.

If potential Gorean slave is too stupid and weak to prevent herself from opening her mouth (or putting fingers to keys) knowing full well what she is about to do will be displeasing, then she is damaging her value and closing off many potential avenues in life that might otherwise have been open to her.

To live as a Gorean slave, most especially as we do in this society, one needs to develop three things, all concerning strength; strength of character, strength of will, strength of mind and the ability to shut the fuck up when she knows she should.

(I just tossed that last one in there) ;0)

Addendum:

Let's toss this out here. Narrowly defined for our discussion, but to the point in any case.

Strength of character: The ability to abide by her decision to surrender and all that this implies.

Strength of will: The ability to shut the fuck up and not act out when she knows her behavior will be displeasing.

Strength of mind: The ability to realize the difference between being pleasing and being displeasing.

One might think that how to behave in public in places where Goreans might be (and for goodness sake, we're just talking about ONLINE here, not even bringing the complexities of face-to-face encounters into it) would be one of the first things an owner might be sure that his property understands.

We easily see here online is that is not the case.

In BDSm circles, a "brat" is seen as a good thing. The bratty subs use the doms for their pleasure and everyone laughs and has a great time. But then, in walks an actual Gorean slave. She does not want to misbehave, she does not want to act out, she simply wants to be pleasing to the free. Many there then see how actual kajira comport themselves in public and come to the conclusion that they are weak "door-mats". Nothing could be further from the truth. To reach the level of behavior to achieve even the minimum standards as a Gorean slave, she must have the strength to have already have far outgrown her "brat" stage. Rather than control the dynamic, as the "brat" does, the Gorean slave has to be mature and strong enough to abide by the one requirement of her surrender: that it be total and complete.

If the potential slave has gotten to the point where she is willingly giving her life, possessions and everything else connected with her to her owner, and she still struggles with the concept of attempting to be pleasing, then there is a flaw in the potential slave.

A very serious one.

Unless the potential slave has the strength of mind to fuel her strength of character, which in turn manifests in her strength of will, she has very little value as a Gorean slave.

Bear's Confession

Hello everyone.

I have something I wish to tell you about.

It's a rather startling revelation, and not one I reveal to the general reading public in a light manner.

In the past, I have earned some small reputation in dealing sternly with issues when discussing living Gorean in this society. While not every issue we face is black and white, I've found that most are not too far away in the grey shades of things. If you have read this blog before, you know that I have spoken, and written, about the role and place of the male and the female in our lives.

To be sure, like most Goreans, male dominance and female submissiveness are a cornerstone of a certain part of my existence.

But I am here to confess to you all today something you might find shocking.

(Bear takes a deep breath)

I have knelt before a female.


Not only have I knelt, I have done so with both knees.


Hell, both knees and my palms flat on the floor.


I must tell you! Hear me!


When she cries, I rise and come to see what the issue is!


When she eats, I am there to feed her!


So just who is this mystery female who has changed me and brought me so low as to admit what I have here today?


What overwhelming beauty must she possess, what wiles must she practice, that I've become enraptured enough of her to act as I do?


It can no longer be hidden!


I now present to you all loyal readers, so that you too can understand my situation, a photo of the only female whom I have ever knelt before, in my adult life.

(She is so special that you may all go right ahead and be completely jealous of me now, I know I would if I were you)

This is my Bella Luna.
Eight year old female silver tabby.
I'm in love. ;0)

Mutdaria - The Director's Cut

(Almost done...)


Hello everyone,

I'm sure by now that most of you have seen the new channels/rooms popping up on IRC and AOL and Powwow and Yahoo and such places, called MUTANTS. They seem to be proliferating, and multiplying at a rapid pace, and as such they piqued my interest. So, the other night, I went to one of the MUTANT channels on IRC.

I have to tell you, I had a great time. ;0)

You see, everything in there is based on the X-Men, a comic book published by Marvel Publishing for many years. In my very younger years, I was a rabid collector of these comics, and devoured each one every month that it came out. Sure, at times the stories were a bit far-fetched and the writing could be pulpy, but it made up for it both in action and the tight-fitting and revealing costumes the female heros wore. Every month, it seemed the X-Men saved the world from this or that menace (as an aside, in case you were curious, I sold my collection years ago. For a huge profit, of course.) I would have to admit to being a bit of an X-Men expert; flora, fauna, etc. ;0)

To cover it quickly, the X-Men are mutants, each have a specific power (one guy shoots laser-like rays from his eyes, another can control the weather, another looks like a big black dog and is incredibly agile and strong, that sort of thing). The stories would tell, amongst all the saving of the world stuff, the tale of these people and how they sought to fit into and gain respect in society at large, even though they were mutants and not like everyone else. Some of the stories were very poignant, with issues addressing love, marriage, bigotry, intolerance and hatred included in the story lines.

So I went to the MUTANT channel, and noticed immediately that everyone there was talking and interacting as if they were actually a Mutant!! They all claimed to be born mutant, and to possess mutant powers. I was confused for a bit, until someone privately messaged me and told me that what I had found was one big *game*, a game they play called MUTDARIA. They said I could play too, if I created a MUTANT character, and powers to go with him, and a spiffy name that refers to what he is and does.

So I became Scorpio, the Mutant scorpion/man (actually, I originally wanted to be IGUANAMAN, but I think the whole idea of a 14-foot tongue made some of the women there nervous, and I was advised against it). I had a stinger in my mutant tail, which I could use paralyze evil-doers. I brought a whole new meaning to the phrase "Shake your booty"! ;0)

We had a grand time! We defeated MagnMoron, the Master of the country of Bation, in his evil plot to control the universe. I found out, in playing out the storyline that was created by the players there, that the pretend people in the city at large hated us because we were mutants (But, I ask you, who could not help but love a large hairy guy with a big stinger on his butt?) So we had to keep a low profile, and do good deeds without being seen most times. The storyline did not deal too much with the whole "hate the mutant" thing, or much of the love, honor or personal growth that I saw in the comics, as there is really no *action* in that. We busted up Magnameters fortress in Bation and then returned to our secret headquarters concealed in the natural caverns underneath a naugahyde factory in Cleveland. There, we partied hardy. In fact, LadyPantherPuss and I kind of ... sort of... I mean... well, you know. ;0)

I looked up finally (that is, my "mun" looked up, that is to say me, Bear-, here in my home) and saw it was 4am! I had been playing MUTDARIA for about 6 hours! How time flew when we were defeating evil and postulating personal possibilities with Lady PantherPuss! I was *tired*! I thanked all my new friends for the game (LadyPantherPuss's "mun" is named Rachel, she told me so and gave me her ICQ) and left the channel.

As I was logging off, I was messaged by someone named Steve - some fellow I had never spoken to before - who asked me if I had been in MUTDARIA playing MUTANTS. I told him that I had, that I had had a great time, and I started to tell him about Scorpio, just the usual things, like hit points, attack points, armour class and stuff. I mean, I was *proud* of Scorpio!

Then he asked me something I found rather silly. I'll share it, because I am still laughing about it tonight. ;0)

He asked me if I knew that there were people out in this society, men and women who in their lives try to embody the ethos expressed in the X-MEN comics? He told me that these people believe in the MUTANT philosophy of tolerance, of rising above ones differences to see one another as people and not "mutants vs. non-mutants", of doing the right things, making hard choices to *help* others, even if that could end up costing you personally, and of being responsible and striving for personal growth. He told me that these things make up a difficult philosophy to live by, in this society, where it is "every-man for himself" and "do unto others before they can do unto you".

He told me that there were others, a small number to be sure, but others who have taken this MUTANT philosophy into their lives and have found themselves bettered by it. It fulfills them, he said, it is what they are - they even call themselves MUTANTS - although none of them have super powers, or can do the things that are written about in the fiction of the comic books. He was quick to point that out, and to tell
me of the difference between the *philosophy* of the MUTANTS, and the stories in the comics, with such things as mutant powers, and inter-dimensional shifts, and such.

I finally broke in and asked him why he was telling me all this?

He replied that he wanted me to know that there were people out there who really *were* MUTANTS, in that they lived to the higher standard that the MUTANT philosophy demands, that these people exist, they meet offline, they help their community and strive to educate others about how - if more people understood MUTANTISM, the world might be a better place.

I again asked him why he was telling me all this?

He replied that he saw me in the MUTDARIA game, and knew that I was new. He thought that because my first exposure to MUTANTISM was a silly game (his words), I might not be able then to take seriously the idea that there are people out there who try to live the philosophy and improve their lives and the lives of others through it.

I told him he was right.

I told him that MUTANTISM is just a game. That there are no MUTANTS, for goodness sake, and that he lived in a fantasy world!

I mean, c'mon! Who would get a philosophy of life out of a comic book?! Absurd! 

Besides, I *ENJOYED* playing Scorpio (and doing the scorpion butt-tango with LadyPantherPuss), and it was just a *game* anyway, and who the heck could take seriously or be harmed by a game?

He tried to tell me something about him understanding that it is hard to believe, as the philosophy does come from comic books, but the fact that people play MUTANTS as a game - that in and of itself makes it much, much harder to get people to understand and give credence to the fact that actual adults live by the philosophy expressed in the comics, and are working to make themselves and others fulfilled, and...

And I don't know what else. At that point, I put him on ignore.

What an *asshole*! Trying to ruin my fun and my new friends fun, just because they try to live as MUTANTS in this society? I mean, c'mon. Let's be real! They do not have super-powers, they do not have a secret hideout under a naugahyde factory in Cleveland... and they call themselves MUTANTS???

If you can't do that, HOW can you be a MUTANT?

I mean, c'mon!

Besides, I want to play Scorpio, again!

I mean, it's all a comic book, isn't it?

Well?

Isn't it?

Bear- 


Hello everyone.

I am revisiting this thread because of some of the private responses I have recieved about it. In writing it, I was rather subtle (Bear? Subtle?) about my point, holding off till the end and playing it straight throughout. In doing so, I think that some may have gotten the wrong impression.

Let me correct it here.

There are no MUTANT channels. No place called MUTDARIA, no game called MUTANTS, no fellow named STEVE who messaged me. I have never played a game called MUTANTS. For those who know me, I sprinkled a number of clues about the piece to let them in on the joke (Aside from the name of the realm and the villians name, I despise ICQ with a passion. I get enough messages as it is, when I log onto IRC, I do not need people messaging me when I am doing other work on the net).

To make my point clear: There is nothing wrong with roleplaying games. I have played them in my youth (not to date myself, but I was around when D&D was born, bought the first white box set, wrote uncredited for some of the third-party publishers, and won awards at regional conventions for my roleplaying. Heck, I was even ranked in the RPGA). I have enjoyed roleplaying games thoroughly. They have a place, in a fantasy setting.

But *any* game, *any* pasttime which causes harm to others - as playing Gor as a game does to the reputation of this lifestyle - should weigh like a stone on those who insist on playing them despite that fact.

Sadly, as we all know, personal responsibility is a thing in short supply, in those who live in this society.

In the story, I placed myself in the gamers spot, of course, and made up another fellow who proceeded to educate *me* about the harm the MUTDARIA game was causing. I used all the typical gamer excuses and then simply did what they do - I kept on playing and ignored the harm, since I could not refute the fact that the game did harm them, and besides, Scorpio was such a "cool character". ;0)

My thanks to all who responded in my mail and here, who got it. For those who did not, thats okay too; sometimes the point gets made plainly, later, and hopefully it will give more people pause to think about the harm their selfish actions cause.

I wish you all well.

Too strong to be a Gorean slave?

"She is too strong to be a Gorean slave."

I have seen this sentiment expressed from time to time, either directly or implied, over the years I have interacted with others who have explored living Gorean in this society. In every case it was tossed out by the one who used to own the girl, after she failed. Often, upon questioning, the thought was noted to have originated with the girl who failed herself. I have seen it used as both an excuse and as a rationalization - both to little effect on the eventual outcome.

Can a woman be too "strong" to be a Gorean slave?

The notion obviously presupposes that in order to *actually* surrender ones life to another, that one must be weak, or incomplete, or in some way damaged (the "door mat", "automaton" and "mindless zombie" syndrome/excuse). This is, of course, just a handy smoke screen to toss out by the girl who just shown by her actions that she could not, despite her best effort, actually surrender to a man. It seeks to denigrate and swipe at those few women who prove that they can, by implying that there is something wrong with them that they can actually give more than lip-service to the notion of surrender. It is also handy for the man, allowing him a manner of getting off the hook, so to speak, for his inability to recognise that what he had was in no way a Gorean slave, and his inability therefore to control what should have been his property but what in reality was nothing more than a sub eventually topping a dominant man.

So can a woman be too strong to be a Gorean slave?

Strength is the single most important trait a woman can have, if she seeks to be a Gorean slave. Nothing, and I mean nothing is more important than that is in her efforts to live a surrendered life to a Gorean man. It is the fuel, so to speak, for everything that she does, all the decisions that she makes, and probably the most obvious that we online see, the things that she "says".

A strong girl who seeks to be a Gorean slave does not give in to the temptation to rage at a free person or free peoples. She has the strength to resist calling them names if they upset her and even if they are being "unfair" to her. She does not allow her frustration at the difficulty of trying to live Gorean in a society that rejects many of its tenets to cause her to be displeasing, and to fail. She does not allow her lonliness to cause her to lash out, when she realizes that she may never belong to a Gorean man due to the small numbers of actual Gorean men in existance.

(Note that I, in no way said that the girl denies her feelings. Simply that her strength allows her to deny them to be used as the excuse to cause her to be displeasing.)

In short, she has the strength to succeed, not fail. She uses her strength to fuel her surrender, to get her over the rough times, to keep her on the right path and not as an excuse for her inability to do anything deeper than simply submit when it pleases her to do so.

As I have told literally thousands of girls: "Being a Gorean slave is the hardest easy thing you will ever do in your life." ;0)

Some simply do not have the strength to achieve it. No man can give it to them nor can they demand it of them. It is why there are, in truth, very few women who can become Gorean slaves in our society. It is why some women have value as Gorean slaves, and others are valueless in that same regard.

That is why those scant few can succeed, and why the rest are left with nothing but excuses, rationalizations and denial.

I wish you well.

Bear-

After watching two subbies hiss and spit in public

Earlier this week I came across a discussion in a Gorean venue on FetLife (don't ask) where a weak dom masquerading as a Gorean man said:


"The best kajirae I have ever known, where the same one who would hiss and claw at any male who they sensed was less than dominant, for daring to speak with them while there Master was away.(sic)"


The thought obviously excited him. He and I eventually had some exchanges through the text of that venue. It did not end well.  ;0)


However, what it did also do was remind me of this piece, written years ago when I was becoming disillusioned with IRC and wandering out to various other venues to see what they held in the way of things Gorean and Gorean interaction.


It did not end well, either. ;0)


As always, I can be reached at the email on my bio.


Enjoy.


=======================================




Bear pulls up a chair... 

... grabs his bowl of popcorn and a diet Coke and checks his scorecard to see which of the two subbies these are, who they belong to, what their won-loss record is, if they like to scratch at the eyes or if they are the hair-pulling type, and if this is a set time or a to-the-death match.

(Bear munches)

You know, you powwow "masters" have convinced me! You really have! I am going to give up all this "Gorean" nonsense that I have lived for nearly the last two decades and sit here with you, and watch your subbies hiss and spit and bitch and piss and moan at one another - all done with your "permission" of course. Man, how foolish I was to waste all my time trying to be a Gorean man, when such entertainment was right here in front of me?

Why did it never occur to me before, that in order to be a man, all I need an out-of-control subbie brat or two who have no idea how to behave in public, to represent me! 

Duh!

I will go to powwow tonight, find me a girl and tell her to hate someone - then I'll set her loose to cause a big ol' ruckus - all so those "Gorean" guys on IRC can see how much I *really* own my slave. Sheeee-it. I hate those guys! They think they are so smart, they think they are so much "More Gorean Than Me"(tm), well, I'll shew them! I will find me the stoopidest, meenest, cruelest, ugliest, most evil slave gurl on powwow t'night and beg 'er to take my collur! Then, when she comes out in public all hissing, scratching, biting, insultin', and spewing bile, I kin stand ready to deefend her if any of them there "goreens" dare to say anythin' bad about her. Wy not? She is speeking wit my purmisshun! I luv that shee is strong eeuff to do egsactly what she wants, whin shee wants to. Maybee, if I pik me a gud won, and I beg her enuf, she will gimme some syber-hed when she feels lahk it?

(Bear wipes away a stray tear)

Gosh, I dunt eevun knoe her yet and I luv her alreedy!

(Bear scratches his suddenly long, sloping, thick upper brow)

Go gulrz go! Smash 'em! Crash 'em! Wee wanna see blud! Stele Caje Match! Yeh! Wee knos that yu is goreen slaav gurls and wee luvs you! We is so prode of how yu repreesent us MAZTIRS heer for all to see! It wurms the cockels of are harts! It maks us *REEL MEN*. REEL MAZTIRS!

To hek with those gorreens, you giys heer cunvinsed me! This is soo much moor fun than being goreen and alot les wurk!

(Bear munches on the popcorn and looks for the remote control, so he can see what if there are any tits on Cinemax, when they break here for a commercial)

*click*
*click*
*click*
*click*
*click*...

Two Caste stories - one joke

A CASTE STORY #1

Four men; a Warrior, a Physician, a Merchant and a Builder were drinking in a tavern. Having imbibed for most of the night, they proceeded to have an argument about the importance of the various castes in their city. It went something like this:

The Builder said: "Were it not for my caste, there would be no city, for my caste designs and sees to the building of such things as cities.

The Physician said: "Were it not for my caste, the city could not be completed, for my caste treats and heals the sickness and injuries of those who build the city."

The Merchant said: "Were it not for my caste, there would have nothing to build with, for my caste sells such materials so that others may build cities."

The Warrior said: "Were it not for my caste, you would soon be forced from your city, for my caste defends its walls with our lives."

With that, all four men looked at one another for a moment and as one, and uttered a word:

"Brother".


A CASTE STORY #2

Five men, a Warrior, a Physician, a Merchant a Builder and an Initiate were drinking in a tavern. Having imbibed for most of the night, they proceeded to have an argument about the importance of the various castes in their city. It went something like this:

The Builder said: "Were it not for my caste, there would be no city, for my caste designs and sees to the building of such things as cities.

The Physician said: "Were it not for my caste, the city could not be completed, for my caste treats and heals the sickness and injuries of those who build the city."

The Merchant said: "Were it not for my caste, there would have nothing to build with, for my caste sells such materials so that others may build cities."

The Warrior said: "Were it not for my caste, you would soon be forced from your city, for my caste defends its walls with our lives."

With that, all four men looked as one at the Initiate, who said:

"Barkeep! More paga!".

I wish you well.

Bear-