Family

Goodness but doesn't every free man or woman born of Gor have family? I have passangs and passangs of them myself, though only four I consider my immediate relations. The remainder of them are aunts, and uncles, cousins and second cousins, and third cousins, and a few fourth cousins. Nice people, and family yes, but no one I've spent much time around, except at family functions or on festive occassions. When I was younger, I spent more time with my cousins, but since we've grown, we've got our own lives to live. One can't expect to remain very close with those one rarely thinks of.

Which reminds me, I must contact my cousin Hillary about the robes for her upcoming companionship. She still owes a balance.

First, there is my father, Aurtoro. He is born of clothmakers, as we all are, and proud to be as well. It is the best of all the castes, and that includes merchants, although most merchant daughters have many pretty baubles. Aurtoro had seven brothers, and three sisters, all of whom lived to reach adulthood, companion, and bear broods of their own, which accounts for nearly half of my extended relations.

When Aurtoro was thirteen, he considered he might be a warrior at heart and so had attempted to rise caste. However, since he was blind in one eye since an unfortunate accident involving a spinning wheel, and since that blindness had tossed off his depth perception to the point he really had none, and since he was also illiterate, he was discouraged from joining that caste. A shame if you ask me, my father is brilliant, strong, brave and just about the best dyer of cloth you could ever ask for. But he says he is glad they turned him away, for had he risen caste, he would no longer be of the cloth makers. And that would be awful!

Aurtoro contracted the daughter of a business partner of his named Geraldine. Geraldine had been an accomplished embroiderer, and as such, brought with her another level to the family business. She has authored a book on the subject of embroidery, considered by many (me at least) to be the definitive piece on the subject. Custom Embroidery, is the name of the work, and I highly recommend everyone to read it, it is a fine, fine work with many bright colored drawings adapted by her brother. My uncle of course is of the cloth makers too, but he draws so nicely that no one minds if he does that from time to time, even though mosaics, chalks, paints and charcoal have very little, if nothing, to do with cloth.

Aurtoro and Geraldine first had a daughter, who would be myself. Since it was not the son they had been hoping for, they contracted for another year, and that is when my brother Maxwell was born. Max was a good little brother, as I remember, but he did have his own way of doing things, didn't he? Stubborn and fool headed, he still works in my father's shop, running things but not as father did. If mother were still alive, she might be annoyed with him, but I prefer to just let him have his way in such matters. After all, my father passed the shop to him, not to I, and certainly not to Mareena.

Right on the heels of Maxwell was Mareena. Mareena had been the apple of Father's eye, the rose in Mother's cheek, and the envy of many a girl, including myself. Beautiful, graceful, a lovely voice, talented fingers- who could be surprised what befell her then? I guess she thought she was just doing her part to enliven the spirits of the fighting men. She did enliven them, that is for sure!

We don't speak much of Mareena anymore. I think she ended up in Port Kar, but it could have been Bazi. She always did like the feel of silk.

And that is about that then. My family, such as they are, I love them to pieces, I do! I would especially like a few pieces loved off Max, for he owes me for several jobs now, and I have the feeling he does not intend to pay. Ah well, at least he's afforded me my own studio-shop. Family is like that, it does for family, and takes care of family when they need to be taken care of. Or something like that I am sure.