All About Tor

In Travels to Fahdamin-Ra, Tor is the first Masamba that Celestine and Joel meet. He is being hustled to the city by Harun guards because someone caught him talking to Jetta. Tor is strong, stubborn, and when he is knocked off his feet and gets a gash on his head, he stoically handles the pain. When Tor does not want to give his name, Raymond smoothly names him "Hunter." Unlike other characters that come later in the book, once the kids find out Tor's real name, they never refer to him as "Hunter" again.

Tor had a hard life. His mother was soft-spoken, like her parents. His father was Kan Eme, one of the priests that ruled the Masamba tribe until the Bridges family arrived and changed everything. After his mother died when he was a teenager, Tor did not get along with his father because he saw some of the things that Eme and the other priests were doing. As soon as he was old enough to get his own leopard, Tor started building his own tree house. It is a significant step in the Masamba tribe for a young man or woman to build their own house. They do it for three reasons; because they are getting married, because they never intend to marry, or because they have a significant falling out with their parent(s). Tor built his house so he could get away from his father. After he did that, the priests were harder on him than most of the other people in the tribe, so Tor would leave and visit the Jabulani, the Outsider Village, go exploring, or hunt. The Outsiders and the Jabulani were happy to see him, but the Harun started having guards patrol their lands and capture anyone who trespassed.

Tor lost some people whom he cared about. His grandparents on his mother's side disappeared after they disagreed with Kan Eme, and his father's parents died. He became a solitary person, often away from the tribe, developing his hunting and tracking skills.At times, Tor would hunt with other Masambas, often dropping off a fresh kill to the Outsiders and that is how Mosi remembered seeing him. He lost his best friends, Dal and Bo, because Dal disappeared and Bo married a Jabulani girl and went across the savannah to live.

His life changed when Tor met Jetta. He was used to avoiding Harun, thinking them as his enemies, but when he met Jetta, he liked her instantly. Tor found himself prowling around the edges of the Harun land and watching for her, which was easy, because like most Harun, she followed a predictable schedule. He was taking chances, because the Harun kept spreading out, clearing more Masamba jungle, so the boundaries between the two tribes was blurred. There had been several scuffles between the Harun soldiers patrolling the borders and Masamba hunters, who wanted to pass quietly through the edges of the fields on their way to hunt.

Eventually, Tor did get caught, but was lucky enough to have Raymond step in and save him from a terrible beating. It also freed up Jetta and Tor's relationship, letting them be together openly and not come to any harm. When Raymond discovered that Creators often held marriage ceremonies, he offered to marry them. Not only would a marriage sanctioned by a Creator allow Tor and Jetta to be officially recognized by all of the tribes, but Raymond saw it as sending a message of acceptance and peace.

Now, Tor is growing a beard and learning how to plant. He and Jetta think that it is a privilege to live at the stone circle and assist the Bridges family whenever they are visiting Fahdamin-Ra. That is where you will find them, unless I come up with an assignment for them in the future.