In Beasts of Gor, John Norman offers one of the more detailed accounts of the Caste of Assassins, exploring their training, codes, methods, and place within Gorean society.

Through the character of Drusus, the novel examines the demands of caste loyalty and the merciless standards expected of those who wear the black. The text describes a rigorous and unforgiving training process, including a final test in which training partners must hunt one another. It also establishes clear boundaries within the Assassin’s craft, including the caste’s prohibition against the use of poison.

The novel further explores the rivalry between Warriors and Assassins, contrasting their allegiances, methods, and understanding of their respective castes. Yet through Drusus, it also raises a deeper question: whether strength lies solely in obedience to the code, or whether the refusal to abandon one’s conscience can itself be an act of strength.

Scormus of Ar paced angrily on the stage. He wiped the palms of his hands on his robe.

He would not look upon, nor touch, Centius of Cos in friendship. Such a simple gesture might weaken his intensity, the height of his hatreds, his readiness to do battle. His brilliance, his competitive edge, must be at its peak. Scormus of Ar reminded me of men of the caste of Assassins, as they sometimes are, before they begin their hunt. The edge must be sharp, the resolve must be merciless, the instinct to kill must in no way be blunted.
Page 86

I heard the dagger cutting at the canvas. He had elected flight, it seemed.

The cutting at the canvas, of course, had been a feint. He had shown an admirable coolness.

I thought him now of the assassins for the trick with the canvas was but a variant of the loosened door trick, left ajar as in flight, a lure to the unwary to plunge in his pursuit into the waiting blade.
Pages 101

“I am he,” said the man, in fur jacket. “What do you want? Are you an assassin? You do not wear the dagger. What have I done?”
Page 135

Little love is lost betwixt the castes of warriors and assassins. Each deems himself the superior of, and the natural foe, of the other. The sword of the warrior, commonly, is pledged to a Home Stone, that of the assassin to gold and the knife.
Page 136

“I see you are not of the assassins,” I said. It is a matter of pride for members of that caste to avoid the use of poisoned steel. Too, their codes forbid it.
Page 141

The man stood in the doorway, in the somber garb of his caste.

“I see you wear the scarlet of the warrior,” he said. It was true. I had awakened in the tunic of my caste. The furs had been taken from me.

“And you, my friend,” said I, “are clothed now in the proper habiliments of your caste.” He wore now, brazenly, the black of the Assassin. Over his left shoulder, looped on a ringed strap, he wore a blade, the short sword.
Page 347

He seemed slow. But I knew he did not come to his somber garb by any tardiness of action or hesitancy in deed. The training of the assassin is thorough and cruel. He who wears the black of that caste has not won it easily. Candidates for the caste are chosen with great care, and only one in ten, it is said, completes the course of instruction to the satisfaction of the caste masters. It is assumed that failed candidates are slain, if not in the training, for secrets they may have learned. Withdrawal from the caste is not permitted. Training proceeds in pairs, each pair against others. Friendship is encouraged. Then, in the final training, each member of the pair must hunt the other. When one has killed one’s friend one is then likely to better understand the meaning of the black. When one has killed one’s friend one is then unlikely to find mercy in his heart for another. One is then alone, with gold and steel.
. . .

The assassins take in lads who are perhaps characterized by little but unusual swiftness, and cunning, and strength and skill, and perhaps a selfishness and greed, and, in time, transform this raw material into efficient, proud, merciless men, practitioners of a dark trade, men loyal to secret codes the content of which is something at which most men dare not guess.
Page 358

“There is perhaps poison on your blade?” I said.

“My caste does not make use of poison,” he said.

I then decided that it would not be easy to agitate him, perhaps impairing his timing, or making him behave in a hasty manner, too zealous for a quick kill.

“Fight,” said the man at the side of the ring.

We met in the center of the ring. Our blades touched and parried.

“I received my early training in the city of Ko-ro-ba,” I said.

Our blades touched one another.

“What is your Home Stone?” I asked.

“Do you think I am fool enough to talk with you?” he snarled.

“Assassins, as I recall,” I said, “have no Home Stones. I suppose that is a drawback to caste membership, but if you did have Home Stones, it might be difficult to take fees on one whose Home Stone you shared.”

I moved his blade aside.

“You are faster than I thought,” I said.

Our blades swiftly met, a moment of testing. Then we stepped back, retaining our guard position.

“Some think the caste of assassins performs a service,” I said, “but I find this difficult to take seriously. I suppose they could be hired in the service of justice, but it seems they could be as easily hired in the service of anything.” I looked at him. “Do you fellows have any principles?” I asked.

He moved in, swiftly, too swiftly. I did not take advantage of it.

“Apparently staying alive is not one of them,” I said.

He stepped back, startled.

“You were open there for a moment,” I said. He knew it and I knew it, but I was not sure those in the tiers knew it. It is sometimes difficult to see these things from certain angles.

There were jeers from the tiered benches. They did not believe what I said.

I now stalked Drusus. He kept a close guard, covering himself well. It is hard to strike a man who elects defense. He limits himself, of course, in adopting this stratagem.

Now jeers against Drusus came from the benches. He began to sweat.

“Is it true,” I asked, “that you, in attaining the black of your caste, once slew your friend?”

I pressed the attack, but in a courteous fashion. He defended himself well.

“What was his name?” I asked.

“Kurnock!” he suddenly cried out, angrily, and rushed toward me.

I sprawled him into the sand at my feet, and my blade was at the back of his neck.

I stepped back.

“Get up,” I said. “Now let us fight seriously.”

He leaped to his feet. I then administered to him, and to those in the tiers, a lesson in the use of the Gorean blade. They sat in silence.

Then, bloodied, Drusus, unsteadily, his sword arm down, wavered before me. He had been cut several times, as I had pleased.

He could no longer lift the blade. Blood ran down his arm, staining the sand.

I looked up to the mirror in the wall, that which I was confident was in actuality a one-way glass. I lifted my sword to that invisible window, in the salute of a Gorean warrior. I then turned again to face Drusus.

“Kill me,” he said. “It is twice I have failed my caste.”

I lifted the blade to strike him. “I will be swift,” I told him.

I poised the steel.

“Let it be thus that an old debt owed to one named Kurnock is repaid,” I said.

“That is the first time I failed my caste,” said Drusus. I regarded him. “Strike,” he said.

“I do not understand,” I said.

“I did not kill Kurnock,” he said. “He was no match for me. I could not bring myself to kill him.”

I handed the sword to the third man on the sand.

“Kill me!” cried Drusus.

“Do you think a warrior can show less mercy than an Assassin?” I asked.

“Kill me,” wept Drusus, and then, from the loss of blood, fell into the sand.

“He is too weak to be an assassin,” I said. “Remove him.”
Pages 359

“We have failed,” said Drusus.

I nodded in agreement. The strange common project of two men, of diverse and antagonistic, yet strangely similar castes, an Assassin and a Warrior, had failed.

“What is now to be done?” he asked.

“We must attempt to reach the chamber of Zarendargar,” I said.

“It is hopeless,” he said.

“Of course,” I said. “But I must attempt it. Are you with me?”

“Of course,” he said.

“But you are of the Assassins,” I said.

“We are tenacious fellows,” he smiled.

“I have heard that,” I said.

“Do you think that only Warriors are men?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “I have never been of that opinion.”

“Let us proceed,” he said.

“I thought you were too weak to be an Assassin,” I said.

“I was once strong enough to defy the dictates of my caste,” he said. “I was once strong enough to spare my friend, though I feared that in doing this I would myself be killed.”

“Perhaps you are the strongest of the dark-caste,” I said.

He shrugged.

“Let us see who can fight better,” I said.

“Our training is superior to yours,” he said.

“I doubt that,” I said. “But we do not get much training dropping poison into people’s drinks.”

“Assassins are not permitted poison,” he said proudly.

“I know,” I said.

“The Assassin,” he said, “is like a musician, a surgeon. The Warrior is like a butcher. He is a ravaging, bloodthirsty lout.”

“There is much to what you say,” I granted him. “But Assassins are such arid fellows. Warriors are more genial, more enthusiastic.”

“An Assassin goes in and does his job, and comes out quietly,” he said. “Warriors storm buildings and burn towers.”

“It is true that I would rather clean up after an Assassin than a Warrior,” I said.

“You are not a bad fellow for a Warrior,” he said.

“I have known worse Assassins than yourself,” I said.
Pages 412

The Code of the Assassin

The novel establishes specific boundaries governing the Assassin’s craft. The use of poisoned steel is forbidden by the caste’s code, and an Assassin is expected to carry out his work according to its standards. The passage on pages 141 and 412–413 explicitly reinforces this prohibition.

The Assassin’s Training

Pages 358–360 describe a demanding and cruel system of instruction. Candidates are carefully selected, training is conducted in competing pairs, and the final test requires each member of a pair to hunt the other. The passage presents the killing of one’s training partner as a defining moment in understanding the meaning of the black.

The text also states that completing the course is difficult and that withdrawal from the caste is not permitted.

Loyalty to the Caste

The account of Drusus reveals the severity of the expectations placed upon an Assassin. His refusal to kill his friend, Kurnock, conflicts with the demands of his caste. His actions raise a central question: what happens when personal loyalty and conscience oppose the code to which an Assassin has committed himself?

The Nature of the Kill

On page 86, the Assassin is used as a comparison for a man preparing for competition: the resolve must be merciless, the instinct to kill undiminished, and the edge kept sharp. This presents the hunt as requiring a particular state of mind, in which hesitation and personal sentiment must not weaken one’s purpose.

Cunning and Deception

Pages 101–102 compare a deceptive escape through canvas to a known Assassin’s trick involving a door left ajar. The apparent opportunity to pursue becomes a lure into a waiting blade.

The passage associates the Assassin’s craft not only with physical skill, but also with the ability to mislead an opponent and exploit expectation.

The Black Garb and the Dagger

Pages 135 and 347 refer to the dagger as a recognizable sign associated with the Assassin, while page 347 describes the somber black garments of the caste. These references show how clothing and symbols help others recognize an Assassin and understand the identity he represents.

The Rivalry Between Warriors and Assassins

Page 136 describes the antagonism between the two castes. Each considers itself superior and views the other as a natural enemy. The passage contrasts their allegiances: the Warrior’s sword is commonly pledged to a Home Stone, while the Assassin’s is pledged to gold and the knife.

Pages 412–413 continue this comparison through a conversation between Drusus and a Warrior, contrasting the Assassin’s quiet execution of a task with the Warrior’s more overt and destructive methods.

The Assassin’s Place Beyond the Home Stone

Pages 359–360 and 412–413 explore the distinction between the Assassin and the Warrior. The discussion of Home Stones connects the Assassin’s work to hired service rather than the conventional territorial allegiance associated with the Warrior.

The passages also raise questions about the principles behind the Assassin’s work, including whether the caste’s services can be employed for justice as readily as for other purposes.

Efficiency, Skill, and Professional Pride

In the exchange on pages 412–413, Drusus compares the Assassin to a musician or surgeon, while describing the Warrior as a butcher. The comparison expresses the Assassin’s pride in precision, discipline, and controlled execution.

The statement that an Assassin enters, completes his task, and leaves quietly further emphasizes the distinction between the Assassin’s approach and the Warrior’s more conspicuous methods.