This following is the generally accepted history, or what is known of it, for the city of Varn in Second Life.
Role-play (RP) on Varn is enacted in respects to the books of John Norman and the Chronicles of Gor but it is obviously not strictly a By the Book (BTB) role-play (RP) environment. Hard line By the Book (BTB) roleplayers are encouraged to visit, but should, for obvious reasons, probably make their home on a (BTB) sim elsewhere on the grid as Varn has adapted to its own customs, unknown to the majority of Gor outside “World’s End”.
Varn is an “imagined” city. It did not appear in any of the books by John Norman, but of course, we can assume a great many Gorean cities did not appear in the books. This is simply one of them. Below is a brief history, which may aid you in your roleplay here.
GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY
The city of Varn, which is sometimes referred to as the lost city, is located on an isle 300 pasangs west of Cos and Tyros, in the “unexplored” area on the maps of Gor known to Goreans as “World’s End”. The isle is remote and has not been explored by the majority of Gor outside of the Isles. The City prospers from its rich mineral mines as well as its developed understanding of agricultural living. The isles soil is rich in minerals from the underground mines, which allows Varn to produce a great amount of its plant-based food. There are expeditions on a routine basis led by the Red Caste of Varn who control the fleet of naval ships Varn holds. Varn’s strength lies in its war ships, built to sustain attack and weather the conditions of the rough ended sea at “World’s End”. It is not unheard of for whales to be spotted off the coast of Varn, these large beasts able to topple any unprepared ship. For this reason Varn’s ship are built able to maneuver and are equipped with harpoons.
Hidden for much of its life by its remote and generally unexplored location, in the last few generations the Priest Kings have revealed the passageway to Varn to the explorers of Gor and the city has prospered greatly. Trading much of its naturally great bounty from the mines and farms and fields to the extent that it has become quite possibly one of the most prosperous regions of Gor.
However, prosperity has come with a price. The people of Varn, for generations a peace loving people who knew no strife, are now fiercely defensive of their way of life and newfound prosperity. Do not be surprised that amongst these gentle, love folk there is a Red Caste, which practices daily and has become as lethal an opponent as any in Gor.
Day to day life is largely peaceful however, there is friction at times between natives born on the isle and newcomers from elsewhere in Gor.
CUSTOMS
The customs of the city and its people runs parallel to many other areas in Gor, however because of its isolation some differences do exist.
For example, sexuality is more fluid on Varn. The inhabitants are, and have always been, a pleasure loving people and non-judgmental about bonds that form between them.
Another small difference, which might confuse a new visitor to the city, is that while the Gorean caste system is strictly in place and all members of the various Castes behave accordingly, Caste colors are not as religiously kept. Perhaps this is because the people of Varn delight in color and texture and their sense of fashion is at times daring and unexpected. Here you are just as likely to find the handsome Scribe you are talking to decked out in the scarlet cloak of a warrior. Alternatively, a physician clad head to toe in the Royal Blue of a Scribe.
Nevertheless, these small oddities, while giving Varn its peculiar charm, do not really influence the day to day life of its citizens. Mostly, while the slight differences seems to stand out to visitors at first, very shortly people find that the longer they stay in Varn they see that Masters and slaves, high castes and low castes, all interact and behave for the most part quite as you expect them to.
Never has there been a more fun, pleasure loving, people than the citizens of Varn.
KAJIRI
Masters and slaves behave in Varn as they do in the rest of Gor however, there is an enormous difference between slaves who have been brought to the city and the exotic kajiri who were bred and born in Varn.
The native kajiri are exceptionally trained and astoundingly beautiful. They are, for the most part, bred to be pleasure slaves and their ability to calm the fiercest warrior or to soothe the most troubled scribe is uncontested. Always respectful, but never conventional, they are the peacocks of Gor and sadly many of them have been sold for astoundingly high prices to collectors from other cities and taken off the island. Those that remain are fiercely guarded by the warrior caste. At the present time, there is a massive effort to restore the breeding kennels that created such excellent stock.
A BRIEF NOTE ON THE RP IN VARN
As previously mentioned, because the city of Varn exists in such a remote location, and was hidden from the rest of Gor for so long, it is not a strictly BTB environment. Rather, role players are encouraged to help the city develop its own unique history and story… to imagine what a Gorean city, slightly separated from the rest of Gor, but still led by its Priest Kings, might have become. To be sure, much of Varn is truly Gorean. For the creative roleplayer who is not ticking off boxes on a BTB spreadsheet there is an opportunity to imagine a broader story line here. All are encouraged to do so, within reason.
City of Varn - Second Life 