As many know Kaiila were not used widely all over Gor. The Wagon People of Course used them. The Red Masters of the Barrens and many in the Tahari.
These different cultures of People,Men/Warriors did much of their combat on kaiila back.
Therefore their weapons of choice must also be very effective if they wished to survive during battle.
One weapon which was not used by the Tuchuks, and the Wagon People as a whole was the short sword.
The following quotes consist of words from books dealing with Warriors who do Combat mainly on Kaiila back and their weapons.
Also to show the Short sword, or twin shorts as many say do not exist within the Tuchuks, the Wagon People as a whole and Kaiila Riders/Warriors as a whole also.
"I knew the light lance, and the swift, silken kaiila. I had learned these with the Wagon Peoples. But I did not know the scimitar. The short sword, now slung over my left shoulder, in the common fashion, would be of little use on kaiila back. The men of the Tahari do not fight on foot. A man on foot in the desert, in warfare, is accounted a dead man." (Tarl Cabot) Tribesmen of Gor, page 38
"I saw the pennons on the lances. I listened to the drums. I was eager to begin the march."
"In the march were Kavars, and Aretai, Ta'Kara, Bakahs, Char, Kashani, Luraz, Tashid, Raviri, Ti, Zevar, Arani and, holding the position of the rear guard, with their black lances, Tajuks." Tribesmen of Gor, page 364
It was said a youth of the Wagon Peoples was taught the bow, the quiva, and the lance before their parents would consent to give them a name, for names are precious among the Wagon Peoples, as among Goreans in general, and they are not to be wasted on one who is likely to die, one who cannot handle the weapons of the hunt and war. Until the youth has mastered the bow, the quiva, and the lance he is simply known as first, or the second, and so on , son of such and such a father.(NO SHORT SWORD or TWIN SHORTS mentioned EVER!) pg 10-11 Nomads of GOR
End of chapter#2, Nomads of Gor Now the man facing me lifted his small, lacquered shield and his slender, black lance.
"Hear my name," cried he, "I am Kamchak of the Tuchuks!"
As suddenly as he had finished, as soon as the men had named themselves, as if a signal had been given, the four kaiila bounded forward, squealing with rage, each rider bent low on his mount, lance gripped in his right hand, straining to be the first to reach me.
3
The Spear Gambling
One, the Tuchuk, I might have slain with a cast of the heavy Gorean war spear; the others would have had free play with their lances. I might have thrown myself to the ground as the tart hunters from- Ar, once their weapon is cast, covering myself with the shield; but then I would have been beneath the clawed paws of four squealing, snorting kaiila, while the riders jabbed at me with lances, off my feet, helpless.
So gambling all on the respect of the Wagon Peoples for the courage of men, I made no move to defend myself but, heart pounding, blood racing, yet no sign visible of agitation on my face, without a quiver of a muscle or tendon betraying me, I stood calmly erect.
On my face there was only disdain.
At the last instant, the lances of four riders but a hand's breadth from my body, the enraged, thundering kaiila, hissing and squealing, at a touch of the control straps, arrested their fierce charge, stopping themselves, tearing into the deep turf with suddenly emergent claws. Not a rider was thrown or seemed for an instant off balance. The children of the Wagon Peoples are taught the saddle of the kaiila before they can walk.
(the following are excerpts from Nomads of Gor)
"It seemed scarcely had he passed than the kaiila had wheeled and charged again, this time given free rein, that it might tear at me with its fangs."
"The feast steward was handed a slave whip and stood toweling over the leader of the girls.
His hand drew back but the blow never fell, for with a cry of pain he reeled away, the hilt of a quiva pressed against the inside of his forearm, the balance of the blade emerging on the other side.
Even I had not seen Kamchak throw the knife, Now, to my satisfaction, another of the blades was poised in his finger tips..."
As you will see, there are placed here, many quotes, both in the weapons section and the comments section.
The quotes(though many)..are to show many who potray those of the Wagon People that other than Kamchak sparring with Kamras of Turia in the Love Wars the Wagon People used no shorts swords, single or twins.(Even a kaiila is used as a weapon before that of a short sword)
The only reason Kamchak knew the short sword was due to the fact that for 6 years he was Captain of the Guards in the City of Ar. Posing as a Mercenary, spying on Ar for his own people for the planning of an invasion.
This was also how Kamchak earned his Red Courage Scar, the only scar defined in the books.
favored by the Wagon peoples, it hangs from their saddles. It does not have the range or force of the more powerful long bow or cross bow, but it is a fearsome weapon at close range. The young men of the Wagon Peoples are not given a name until they have mastered the bow, the lance and the quiva.
...*he carried in his right hand the small, powerful, horn bow of the Wagon Peoples and attached to his saddle was a lacquered, narrow, rectangular quiver containing as many as forty arrows... Book 13: Nomads of Gor, pages *10, 11 and 66
"Bring me,"I said,"the small horn bow of the Tuchuks, the barbed war arrows of the Wagon Peoples."Assassin of Gor, page 365
"a Tuchuk Warrior can, in swirling combat, from the saddle of a running kaiila, accurately fire twenty arrows, drawn to the point, in half an Ehn."
Assassin of Gor, page 365
"the truest reason is that Tarnsman, never learning respect for the small bow, tend to despise it as such a weapon, regarding it as being too puny and ineffective to win approval of a true Gorean fighting Man. Some of the riders of the Steels, I recalled, seeing it among the belongings of Gladius of Cos, had jested with me about it, asking if it were a toy, or perhaps a training bow for a child; these men, of course, had never, on kaiilaback, and it is just as well for them, met Tuchuks." Assassin of Gor, page 366
Used usually in battle on kaiila back. It is worn or slung across slung the back of the rider.
His lance remained on his back. Nomads of Gor pg. 10 Its light weight and shortened length makes for quicker access to the weapon.
Lance, kaiila
used for hunting kailiauk and mounted warfare, there are two types. The hunting lance are longer, heavier, and thicker than the war lance, and are undecorated except for the feathers of the prairie fleer. The point of the hunting lance is longer and narrower. The shafts are made from black, supple, and strong, made from tem wood. head is made of metal, bone or stone, affixed to the shaft with sinew, rawhide or metal trade rivets. Any decoration or mountings, such as wrist loops are bound onto the weapon with rawhide and sinew. Book 4: Nomads of Gor, page 15 Book 17: Savages of Gor, page 42
balanced saddle knife about a foot in length double edged; it tapers to a daggerlike point. It is regarded as more of a missile weapon than a hand knife. *in the saddle itself, on the right side, indicating the rider must be right handed, were the seven sheaths for the almost legendary quivas, the balanced saddle knives of the prairie. Book 4: Nomads of Gor, pages 10, 11, 67, and 124
"Slowly, singing in a guttural chant, a Tuchuk warrior song, he began to swing the bole. It consists of three long straps of I leather, each about five feet long, each terminating in a leather sack which contains, sewn inside, a heavy, round, metal weight. It was probably developed for hunting the tumit, a huge, flightless carnivorous bird of the plains, but the Wagon Peoples use it also, and well, as a weapon of war.
Thrown low the long straps, with their approximate ten-foot sweep, almost impossible to evade, strike the victim and the weighted balls, as soon as resistance is met, whip about the victim, tangling and tightening the straps. Sometimes legs are broken. It is often difficult to release the straps, so snarled do they become. Thrown high the Gorean bola can lock a man's arms to his sides; thrown to the throat it can strangle him; thrown to the head, a difficult cast, the whipping weights can crush a skull. One entangles the victim with the bola, leaps from one's mount and with the quiva cuts his throat. (chapter 3 Nomads of Gor)
on the other, a long, three-weighted bola of the sort used in hunting tumits and men. Book 4: Nomads of Gor, page 10, 24 Book 25: Magicians of Gor, page 299
I could see he carried a small rounded shield, glossy, black, lacquered. Nomads of Gor, page 10
*helmet, Wagon Peoples He wore a conical iron helmet fur-rimmed a net of colorful chains dangling before the face to protect leaving only holes for the eyes. ...... I could not see his face because of the net of chain that hung before it. Book 4: Nomads of Gor, page 10
The rope which is almost likely to be a working tool for hearding Bosk could also in a combat situation become a weapon. On the saddle there also hung, on one side, a coiled robe of braided bosk hide. Nomads of Gor page 10
Although the kaiila is used for riding the kaiila which often bite and claw at each other while riders do battle, can also be used as a weapon against his foe's. The mount of the Wagon Peoples, unknown in the northern hemisphere of Gor, is the terrifying but beautiful kaiila. pg 13 Nomads of GOR
The charge of the Tuchuk, in spite of its rapidity and momentum, carried him no more than four paces beyond me. It seemed scarcely had he passed than the kaiila had wheeled and charged again, this time given free rein, that it might tear at me with its fangs.
I thrust with the spear, trying to force back the snapping jaws of the screaming animal. The kaiila struck, and then withdrew, and then struck again. All the time the Tuchuk thrust at me with his lance. Four times the point struck me drawing blood, but he did not have the weight of the leaping animal behind his thrust; he thrust at arm's length, the point scarcely reaching me. Then the animal seized my shield in its teeth and reared lifting it and myself, by the shield straps, from the ground. I fell from some dozen feet to the grass and saw the animal snarling and biting on the shield, then it shook it and hurled it far and away behind it.
I shook myself.
The helmet which I had slung over my shoulder was gone. I retained my sword. I grasped the Gorean spear. I stood at bay on the grass, breathing hard, bloody.
The Tuchuk laughed, throwing his head back.
I readied the spear for its cast.
Warily now the animal began to circle, in an almost human fashion, watching the spear. It shifted delicately, feinting, and then withdrawing, trying to draw the cast.
I was later to learn that kaiila are trained to avoid the thrown spear. It is a training which begins with blunt staves and progresses through headed weapons. Until the kaiila is suitably proficient in this art it is not allowed to breed. Those who cannot learn it die under the spear.(chapter#3 Nomads of Gor
"I could see he carried a small rounded shield, glossy, black, lacquered: he wore a conical, fur rimmed iron helmet, a net of colored chains depending from the helmet protecting his face, leaving only holes for the eyes. He wore a quilted jacket and under this a leather jerkin; the jacket was trimmed with fur and had a for collar; his boots were made of hide and also trimmed with fur; he had a wide, five-buckled belt. I could not see his face because of the net of chain that hung before it. I also noted, about his throat, now lowered, there was a soft leather wind scarf which might, when the helmet and veil was lifted, be drawn over the mouth and nose, against the wind and dust of his ride. He was very erect in the saddle. His lance remained on his back, but he carried in his right hand the small, powerful, horn bow of the Wagon Peoples and attached to his saddle was a lacquered, narrow, rectangular quiver containing as many as forty arrows. On the saddle there also hung, on one side, a coiled robe of braided bosk hide and, on the other, a long, three-weighted bola of the sort used in hunting tumits and men; in the saddle itself, on the right side, indicating the rider must be right handed, were the seven sheaths for the almost legendary quivas, the balanced saddle knives of the prairie." Nomads of Gor pages 10-11
