Pueros

The Lycian Prince

Chapters 13-22

Chapter 13
Penances

As the Arab saw Anthonius' engorged penis erupt its last stream of semen, he carefully took hold of the triggering ring between the finger and thumb of his right hand and said sarcastically to the still petrified boy "It look's as if I over-estimated the size of your erection." Anthonius was terrified that the Arab would still trigger the blade but the man instead ordered the guards to release the boy. After they had done so, and Anthonius had gratefully withdrawn his genitals from the wicked contraption, the Arab pulled the ring fractionally and the blade fell. The boy had never thought that he would be so pleased that his cock was not a little longer. However, his relief at his survival, and that of his maleness, was short for the Arab now reminded him "Well, whore, you have surprised me by staying alive, but now I shall have the delectable pleasure of punishing your body with exquisite tortures. They await you and I'm sure that you would like to enjoy them straight away, but I'm also sure that you'll be tired from your exertions. As I want you at your best to fully appreciate the delights that I shall inflict on you, I shall let you be watered and fed and take rest. We shall meet again later. Do have sweet dreams. Take him to the torture chamber!"

The guards escorted Anthonius along a couple of passageways to another chamber, again windowless and illuminated only by wall torches, but this one was much larger and the sight of its contents almost caused the boy to faint again. The walls were covered with frightful instruments of punishment and torture, suspended neatly in rows. There were many types of paddle, cane and whip. There was an array of different sizes of skewer, knife, cleaver, cutter and tong. There were a number of branding irons on the wall above a row of unlit braziers. There were several sacks that seemed to move occasionally. There were many other implements that the horrified boy did not recognise but was sure were very unpleasant when put to use. On the floor of the chamber sat a number of heavy bloodstained tables, all with some form of restraint at the corners and metal rings fixed to the edges. There were several types of bondage frame and stock, at least one rack and, in a few places, nasty spikes and blades were embedded in the floor, which was also littered with fixed metal rings. A myriad of chains and pulleys hung from the roof. The guards took Anthonius to a small barred empty cell in one corner and locked him inside before leaving. The very scared 14 years old curled up in the corner, trembling.

The silent slave later arrived to supply water and bread to the dehydrated and famished boy who eagerly consumed his fill. The slave then checked Anthonius' naked body, as he had done to the very few survivors over the last decade, including the poor mites who had somehow lived through their nullification. He had never seen anyone escape the ordeal with so few marks for the boy seemed fine, at least physically, apart from the odd abrasion and his obvious cold. The slave cleansed the boy and tended the sores, finally wrapping him in a blanket. Anthonius rapidly fell asleep despite his apprehension of what his awakening would bring. Awful nightmares caused him to wake several times but not for long as his exhaustion quickly reasserted itself.

Anthonius was roused by the returning slave, who allowed the boy more water before subjecting him to three enemas. It seemed obvious to Anthonius that his Arab tormentor did not want any accidents from that part of the boy's anatomy whilst he was torturing other parts. The slave then cleansed and perfumed Anthonius and had the boy turn slowly before him so that he could admire his work. The slave saw that the lad was almost back to his previous bodily perfection and reflected sadly that this state would not last for long and that the next time he tended to the boy's body it would be covered in wounds from head to toe. The slave left, taking the blanket with him and the boy curled up again in the corner of his cell, but not for long as the obese Arab soon entered accompanied by the same two guards and a young naked black girl.

"Get up, whore," the Arab commanded and Anthonius slowly rose to his feet, trying to conceal his genitals with his hands because of the girl's presence. "No use hiding your privates, whore, because Impheli here will soon be playing with them," the Arab continued. One of the guards unlocked the cell. "Come here" the Arab instructed and Anthonius reluctantly left the cell and approached the man who had promised him excruciating punishment, with his hands still strategically placed. The Arab nodded to the guards who grabbed the boy by the arms, causing his hands to reveal what they were trying to hide, and dragged him across the chamber to where a square metal frame, about two hands tall, was embedded in the floor. They threw him to his knees within the frame. "Lay face down and spreadeagle yourself" ordered the Arab. Anthonius obeyed and it was not just the cold of the ground that then caused goose pimples to erupt all over his body, for he observed that the floor underneath and the frame surrounding both bore clear scorch marks. The guards used the pulley system to raise from nearby a similar, but unfixed, metal frame and manoeuvre it over where the nude splayed boy lay. There were leather restraints attached to each corner of this frame and Impheli stepped forward to attach them tightly to Anthonius, permitting the boy little room to move when the guards hauled him into the air by raising the frame further. The boy found himself uncomfortably suspended facedown squarely above the other frame at a distance about a head above the girl's height, and saw that the Arab had sat in a chair at the side to eat some fruit and enjoy the entertainment. Impheli then went to the collection of cutters on one of the walls and, to Anthonius' consternation, returned with a small but evil looking one. The girl stood under the naked and spreadeagled boy and opened the cutter around the base of his scrotum. Anthonius jumped slightly in shock and tried to move his genitals away from the encompassing coldness of the metal but his tight bondage prevented him. "No, please no," he heard himself crying but Impheli and the three watching men just laughed. However, the screaming boy felt the blades withdrawn to be returned between the base of his balls and his cockring. Impheli cut the ring with a loud snap, prised it open to remove it and presented the gold ornament to the Arab. She did the same with the boy's throat chain before restoring the cutter to its former position on the wall and collecting a short chain.

At first Anthonius wondered what this might be, but his own chains shook noisily when he saw Impheli prise apart the mouths of two serrated clamps attached to each end of hers. The boy knew that they would be applied somewhere to his body and again heard himself begging for mercy. The girl gave him none. Instead, she smirked, stood under his chest to rub one of his nipples between a finger and thumb and snapped one of the clamps to the erect tit, letting the other clamp fall. Anthonius screamed as the agony emanating from his chest reverberated throughout his body. Impheli waited patiently for the boy's pain to subside before applying the loose clamp to his other nipple, causing him to scream and beg fruitlessly again amidst the loud clattering of his restraints.

Impheli paused to allow Anthonius to resettle before collecting another chain, this time much finer than the first and without clamps. She tied it to the boy's dangling genitals, carefully and firmly wrapping it around and across the boy's balls, separating each testicle and leaving a length hanging underneath, before gathering a round metal ball with attached hook from the wall. Anthonius' chains rattled when the suspended boy recognised where this was to be placed but he had managed to compose himself a little and remained otherwise silent. The girl hung the heavy weight from the trailing piece of chain and let go. The silence was immediately broken by a shriek as Anthonius' genitals were stretched almost to tearing, and some vomit spewed from his mouth. Impheli's laughter, and that of the Arab and the guards, increased the noise.

Impheli had acquired with practice the sadistic skill of recognising the right moment to move on to the next torment, and so now allowed Anthonius to hang for a while until the painful sensations searing through him began to dull. She then increased them again at the appropriate times by adding extra weights to both the nipple clamps and genital chain until the maximum on both had been reached. By this time, Anthonius had been suspended for almost an hour and the discomfort to his arms and legs, caused by his unnatural position and the restraints that held him there, was becoming intense, adding to his woes. Impheli realised this but not only did she not care, she was happy to increase the boy's suffering even more.

Anthonius had seen that the guards had lit a couple of the braziers earlier but his agonies had prevented him from considering the implications of this until they were dragged towards him. To the boy's horror, Impheli and the guards started to transfer the hot coals from the braziers to the inside of the metal frame embedded in the ground beneath him and soon had it filled. Anthonius emptied his bladder onto some of the coals as he was then lowered towards them. His decent was stopped about half way, when the weights attached to his chest and loins hung just above the glow. Anthonius felt the strong heat and began to sweat profusely, fearing that he might burn. However, the distance between the boy and the coals had been judged perfectly by Impheli to cause great discomfort but no worse. Instead, the weights would roast and the heat would conduct upwards through the chains attached to them and Anthonius' whimpering intensified when he realised this.

The alloy from which the weights and chains had been made had been carefully selected for its slow but clearly vivid conductivity. They noticeably changed colour from light to dark grey as the heat spread so the petrified Anthonius could actually see it rise gradually towards him. He therefore decided to try to reduce their temperature by moving them away from the coals. The only way that he could do this was by swaying his body so that the weights swung as well. His restraints prevented his body from shifting too much but he managed to start the weights moving at the cost of an acute heightening of the aches to his chest and loins. However, after about a third of an hour suspended over the coals, painful seizures to his arm and leg muscles eventually forced this movement to a halt. After another third of an hour, the heavily perspiring and now immobile boy could see that the heat was not far from either his very sore nipples or cock and started pleading again. He closed his eyes when he felt its first fiery touch and began to howl as his nipples seemed to explode in suffering. Then, surprisingly, the pain lessened, the stretching in his groin ceased and he heard loud chortling. He reopened his eyes to observe that the clamps had been removed from his chest and the loose chain hanging from his loins had been severed, with Impheli in the process of cutting the remainder off his sore genitals. The last agony he had experienced was the blood rushing back into his nipples.

The frame from which Anthonius was suspended was swung away from the coals, and lowered to the floor and the boy was realeased from the shackles. The guards lifted the distraught lad onto his feet and allowed him a little time to recover before dragging him over to another part of the chamber where a metal plate with long razor sharp needles had been placed on the floor. The guards forced Anthonius into a squatting position over the wicked needles and chained his feet wide apart to two metal rings embedded in the ground just in front and his arms behind to two more just on the other side. The intent was clear for Anthonius' position was such that he would be forced to sit on the needles once his thigh and arm muscles became exhausted. It was also clear that the needles would rip his bottom to shreds.

Anthonius found himself begging the now re-seated but still eating Arab "Please have mercy, master, I'll do anything!" The Arab stood up, approached and knelt in front of the squatting boy and sneered "Anything, whore?" whilst beginning to fondle the lad's cock with the index finger of his right hand, on which the boy noticed a large gold ring, designed in the form of intertwined snakes. "Yes, master, anything" replied Anthonius as he realised that his arms, in particular, could take the strain lonely a little longer. The Arab responded, whilst masturbating the boy to full erection, "Will you swear by your gods that you will make your orifices available for me morning, noon and night every day for ever, whore?" Anthonius quickly said "Yes, master, yes, but first please mercy!" The Arab stood again and retorted "You're too late, whore, you had your chance" before sitting again and picking up another fruit. Anthonius' arms began to vibrate. He screamed "Please, master, mercy please," but the Arab was right, the boy was too late. His arm muscles gave way and he sat. However, the grief expected from the needles as the boy's bum hit the ground did not materialise. Anthonius saw instead that the plate had been quietly moved to one side by Impheli, presumably when he had been distracted by the Arab, who now declared sardonically "But I'll keep my options open for now!"

Anthonius was again unchained by the guards and allowed to recover for a bit before being led to what looked like a large phallus embedded in the floor and covered in grease. The boy's hands were tied behind his back and a heavy metal collar, with four integral equally spaced rings around its external circumference, was securely bolted around the his neck. Anthonius was again forced into a squatting position, this time with the tip of the phallus resting against his sphincter. Four heavy weights rested on the ground facing each of the collar's rings. The weights were linked by strong cords, through pulleys suspended from the roof, back down to metal rings fixed to the floor. Whilst the guards continued to hold Anthonius in place, Impheli untied one of the cords from its ring on the floor, pulled upwards to lift its weight high into the air and retied the end to the respective ring on the boy's collar. He then repeated the action with the other cords.

"Have fun, whore" said the Arab as the guards released their hold on Anthonius, who squealed as he was immediately pulled further onto the phallus by the sudden downward pressure imposed on his neck and body by the four weights. The boy tried to lift himself off but found that he only had enough strength to maintain his current posture and, as with the needles, he realised that he could not do this for long. He also realised that this time the torture was not a tease and that only his thigh muscles prevented him from impaling himself, but the strain on them was slowly increasing. As Anthonius recognised that he would soon succumb to the pressures, and that pleading for release would fall on deaf ears, he began to worry about what affect the phallus would have on him. It would be by far the biggest thing to enter him. It was about two hands long and the small rounded tip quickly expanded to a width of about four fingers. Its invasion into his innards would entail immense pain and cause damage, but he was unsure how severe or permanent. He silently begged his gods for pity instead of the Arab, who was watching with a broad grin on his face, and quietly began to sob as he recognised that his thighs were about to give. Impheli sent him on him way by applying just one more heavy weight to the cord behind the boy's back.

Anthonius decent onto the cruel phallus was as swift as it was terrible. The boy thought that he was being split in two and his screams were long and shrill, lasting well beyond the time his severely stretched and bleeding buttocks struck the ground. It felt that the phallus had reached inside his stomach and he looked down, between shrieks, expecting to see it emerge from his navel. However, the phallus had actually been chosen carefully and well by the silent slave, based on his expert appraisal of Anthonius' form. It would fill and stretch the boy's rectum to a maximum without causing irreversible harm. The four watchers snorted loudly and then left to allow the boy to enjoy his impalement whilst they enjoyed their meals.

After a couple of hours, the silent slave arrived to release a still crying Anthonius from his collar and bondage and carefully lift him off the phallus, leaving a pool of blood behind. The boy was gently placed face-up on one of the tables with his knees folded over stirrups attached to posts at the table's side, in the manner usual for an enema. Anthonius' poor damaged hole was fully exposed and the slave cautiously began to clean the bloody and gaping orifice to occasional yelps from the prone boy. He finished by delicately applying a greasy salve to the defiled rectum with his fingers and, for the most remote insides, a long quill. He cleaned both fingers and quill on the boy's genitals. Before he left, he told Anthonius not to move from the table. He need not have bothered because the boy was in too much pain to contemplate doing so.

The Arab returned with his companions an hour later. Impheli proceeded to tie Anthonius' hands to the top corners of the table and his knees and ankles to the side posts, retaining him in the same posture but roughly and without any consideration for the boy's distress. She then collected one of the sacks that hung from the wall and emptied its contents on Anthonius' chest. The boy screamed in shock as he saw the head of a large green snake with yellow eyes rear above his own face. A black forked tongue emerged from the creature's mouth when it hissed at him, but then the snake seemed to detect something and began to slither its cold slimy form the other way and slowly down the boy's naked quivering body. Its head eventually reached and lingered at Anthonius' groin and the boy suddenly felt the slimy tongue licking his soft cock and balls. It was then that he realised that the greasy substance that the slave had applied was not healing salve but snake food. He also realised where the creature would be heading once it had finished with his genitals. Anthonius' sobbing restarted and the word "No" quietly emerged from his lips a number of times but addressed to no-one in particular. The boy did not notice that his cock had become hard from its caressing by the black tongue until he felt his climax begin and splashes of semen fall on his body to cheers from the observers.

It was shortly after his unwanted orgasm that the snake started to make its way towards Anthonius' open and hurting rectum. The boy first felt its tongue licking the entrance before venturing inside but he did not begin to yell until he felt its head enter. The snake advanced inside Anthonius very slowly and deliberately, not wanting to miss out on any of its favourite sustenance, and the boy could feel every slimy move of the creature along his sore anus until eventually he realised that it had reached his prostrate. Impheli realised this too from the resultant automatic re-hardening of Anthonius' penis. This was the signal that she had been waiting for and she quickly pulled the snake by its tail out of the screeching boy and threw it back into its sack, which she replaced on the wall.

Anthonius was untied by the guards and dragged to the rack. The boy was soon fully and painfully drawn out, his chin held upwards and the shape of his ribcage fully revealed. His agonised shouts were stifled by application of a gag. The wheel of the rack was turned a further notch. Anthonius' body shuddered in pain. The wheel was turned another notch and the boy again felt that he was being split in two. The wheel was turned yet another notch and the lad thought that his limbs were about to tear away from his body, and they would certainly have begun to do so if the wheel had moved any further. However, Impheli again recognised that the point of no return between maximum distress and permanent damage had been reached and stopped. She left Anthonius to enjoy the sensations flowing through him for a while before rubbing one of the boy's raw nipples upright to muffled groans. A petrified Anthonius then observed her produce a long thin very sharp needle, glistening with fluid, which she held against the raised tit, pausing to allow the implications to sink into the boy's befuddled mind before ramming it through with neat precision. The lad's body shuddered despite his racking, and a stifled howl could be heard. Impheli produced a similar reaction from Anthonius when she repeated the exercise with the other papilla and, once the needles had been withdrawn, narrow strands of blood ran from both lesions down the boy's side onto the table. Anthonius then felt a needle on his genitals, where his cock joined his upper scrotum. This piercing created two lines of blood running either side of the ball sac before joining to course down the boy's bumcrack.

Impheli now collected the short-handled branding iron that, unknown to Anthonius, had been reddening within the coals of his first torture. Impheli presented it before the boy's terrified eyes to allow him to appreciate what it was and what it portrayed, the circle of entwined snakes he had seen on the Arab's ring. The boy could not even attempt to struggle in his stretched state and obeyed the Arab when he heard him say "I'd breath in deeply and keep your belly very still if I was you, whore, or the iron might penetrate your flesh and fire your innards." Anthonius fainted when Impheli carefully centred the circular brand round the boy's navel and firmly lowered it onto his skin.

When Anthonius wakened, he found that he had been chained spreadeagled and upright to a bondage frame and detected the unmistakable smell of burnt meat. The pains in his chest and groin were intense but nothing compared to that on his stomach. He looked down and saw the tiny bloody holes created either side of each nipple and at the top of his genitals, with stings of dried blood running from them. He also saw the distinctive brand encasing his belly button. "Well, whore, you'll be disappointed to know that we're all tired and can therefore only entertain you with one last punishment" teased the Arab, holding a whip in his right hand. It was relatively short but comprised eight knotted cords of hardened leather. The Arab walked to Anthonius' rear and the boy would probably have started pleading for mercy again if he his gag had not been still in place. Only the boy's buttocks had been beaten previously and he hoped that perhaps this assault would be confined there, but he was quickly disillusioned when the first lash struck him across his upper back, creating eight bright red stripes. The Arab progressed with the flagellation slowly and methodically. He wanted Anthonius to relish every blow and he wanted to spare no part of the boy's body. After the upper back had received several strikes from both the left and right, the man moved to the middle back, then to the lower back and on to the lad's bum and rear legs. Many times the blows curled round the sides of the boy's body to leave their pernicious marks there. The Arab then transferred to Anthonius' front and gradually moved the flogging down from the boy's upper chest to his feet, although he avoided the lad's genitals for now. Anthonius writhed in agony within the constraints of his tight bondage and continually moaned into his gag, his tear-stained face a picture of torment. His contortions and muffled outcries reached their maximum when the barbarous cords hit his brutalised nipples and scorched navel.

The Arab returned to Anthonius' rear to inflict further damage but this time, instead of hitting across, he struck downwards so that the stripes decorating the boy's splayed body criss-crossed. These stripes were now a mixture of colours, some scarlet, some purple, others brown and a couple green. Blood flowed from a few cuts where the lashing had been particularly severe but the change in the angle of attack produced much more, especially where the horizontal and vertical stripes intersected. The Arab had ordered the guards to throw pails of water at Anthonius on several occasions when the boy had seemed not to be fully appreciating his thrashing. He had to do so again after he had aimed a few blows right along Anthonius' bumcrack, hitting the exposed and damaged anal entrance with perfection, and causing the boy to faint again. The Arab introduced the criss-crossing pattern to Anthonius' front before concluding that, if he continued any longer, he would begin to scar the boy for life and he had already decided against this. The lad's final penance would require his body to be in good shape but it would scar him for life in a manner far worse than the whip could achieve. The Arab therefore contented himself by finishing with several blows that would ultimately return Anthonius to unconsciousness. He nodded to Impheli who knelt and took the boy's cock into her mouth. It took only a little sucking to entice the thing to unsoften. Impheli then moved away. The Arab said "Thank you, boy," before creating first eight and then sixteen vivid marks across the top of Anthonius' excited member. A couple of upward blows onto the boy's balls finished the Arab's work.

Anthonius was again reawakened to see Impheli agonisingly attach two small metal rings to his bloodied nipple piercings and another cockring through that of his scrotum, snapping the flanged ends together under his flesh in all three cases. The Arab again said "Thank you, boy" and, despite his traumatised state and mind tortured with pain, Anthonius was temporarily stunned by the use of the word 'boy'. The Arab recognised, amidst his obvious suffering, the boy's sudden puzzlement and decided to relieve him of at least the latter. "Didn't I tell you, whore, that Impheli here also showed the ingenuity to pass the first seven tests but, in his case, I managed to judge the size of his full erection perfectly and, unlike most others, he did not then bleed to death. The blood quickly congealed so I let him live. His pubic hair hides the scars of his total emasculation well, don't you think. I find him useful. He likes to help me with my little pleasures and you, especially, will know how well he does so. I also regularly enjoy his mouth and bum. I don't remember his real name but I call him Impheli because that means 'anguish' in his language and is, I think, suitable for him in many ways. Now, we must leave you, whore. I'm sorry that I'm too tired to play any more."

Chapter 14
South

(January 291 A.D.)

The Arab called for his guards and the same two who had participated in Anthonius' tortures entered, picked the naked boy up and led him out. They eventually emerged into a big courtyard where several ox-driven wagons were waiting. Anthonius' hands were tied behind him and he was thrown into a large wooden cage on the back of one of the wagons, where his right leg was manacled by a short chain to one of the bars. Inside the cage with him were two young but plain-looking women, four similarly ordinary girls and five scrawny boys, the youngsters aged from about 9 to 14. All Anthonius' fellow prisoners were, like him, naked and white-skinned. The door of the cage was locked and the guards disappeared back inside the fortress. They returned shortly afterwards, escorting the Arab and Impheli to a luxurious curtained litter on the back of another wagon. Anthonius rued that, wherever they were going, their journey was going to be much more comfortable than his own.

The caravan set off, accompanied by a number of mounted guards, and left the fortress' gates to head south into the desolate countryside. Anthonius was initially grateful for the heavy cloth awning that had been placed over the cage to protect the occupants from the sun, relentlessly beating down from the cloudless sky, but the temperature and humidity soon made conditions within the cage very hot and stifling. As the caravan progressed sedately, the boy could see that the surroundings seemed unchanging, treeless brown scrubby plains and hills. The journey lasted five very uncomfortable days and none of the solemn fellow inmates of the cage ever spoke. They were released only to eat and drink and toilet. Their water was rationed and the food was always the same foul weak gruel, so their thirst and hunger were little assuaged. They also could not wash so they were all filthy when, at dusk on the fifth day, they finally and thankfully reached their destination, a group of low stone buildings on the outskirts of a decrepit town.

Anthonius and the others were taken to a bath-house and allowed to wash themselves, under the close supervision of the now dismounted guards, before being fed and watered and imprisoned for the night in a large communal cell, with hands and legs restricted as they were in the cage. The following morning, Anthonius saw the silent slave for the first time since they left the fortress when he appeared to attend to all the captives' bodies and dress them in kilts, doing his best to improve their appearances. However, he lingered longest with Anthonius as the boy was the only one he could be proud of once he had finished. The guards then came to return everyone except Anthonius to the caged wagon. The boy was instead taken, hands rebound behind his back like the others, to the side of the Arab's curtained litter. The curtain parted and Anthonius saw the Arab and Imphelii, both of whom were flushed as if they had just enjoyed sex.

"Well, whore, this is where we say goodbye. You need not know the name of the town below. It is of such little consequence that the Romans probably do not know of its existence. Certainly, they can't be bothered with it as none have ever been known to come here. However, for you, it will be your last sight of civilisation as you know it. You see, this dingy impoverished rat-warren provides a service for me every second new year, for then the black chieftains come from their distant forested lands, across the dry plains and the great desert, to barter their young black slaves for what I consider trinkets. I make great profits from the transactions for the most that I am required to provide in return is the odd white slave. You see, the tribes of some of the chieftains like to have one such slave, woman, girl or boy, never more and never men, for their rituals, often of a sexual kind and, if that slave dies or becomes unsatisfactory and is killed, they seek a replacement. I do not even have to barter the best white flesh. The chieftains' requirements are always modest so I reserve that for the Roman slave-markets. However, you are an exception. I cannot easily dispose of you within the Empire, especially as you are so clearly marked as Imperial property, and it would be too dangerous to keep you. It would be a shame to have to kill you after you managed to survive my tests, and my displeasure with you has been partly revenged. I would also lose profit in so doing. No, I believe that bartering you to the chieftains is the best way forward. I am sure that I shall gain many young blacks in exchange, especially as the bidding chieftains will never have seen a blonde, blue-eyed white boy before, let alone one with your looks. My revenge will also be complete for your final penance will be to spend the remainder of your days in demeaning slavery as the sole white person in the black tribe's faraway homeland. The thought alone brings me great satisfaction. Goodbye, whore, enjoy your new, I was going to say life but existence would be the more appropriate word!" The aghast Anthonius was led to the caged wagon to rejoin the other captives, with the laughter of the Arab and his nullified boy friend resounding in his ears.

Chapter 15
Display

Anthonius could see that, beyond the crowd gawking mainly at him with only occasional glances towards the others, all sorts of goods were being sold throughout the square to a number of black men attired in long colourful robes. Each appeared to have a group of black helpers dressed less splendidly in grey tunics. He also saw several large wooden stockades accommodating many young and bound black boys and girls, whose only coverings were small loincloths. His guess that these were the slaves to be bartered appeared to be confirmed when, on several occasions, Arabs entered the stockades with some of the black helpers and seemingly perused the human stock before taking some away.

Anthonius and the others had to wait half of the day before they were all escorted in line across the square, through the milling throngs and to constant derisory jeering, to a tall rectangular wooden platform accessed by steps on its shorter sides. The sad little group was kept at the foot of one of these sets of stairs until the auction of the Arab's white goods began. One by one, the others were unbound and led individually onto the platform to be sold. Anthonius, as the most valuable, was being kept for last. The waiting and scared boy saw that the sale routine was always the same. The captives would be met on the platform by an Arab auctioneer who then, in a strange language, apparently extolled their virtues to the front assemblage, comprising about one hundred potential black chieftain bidders, their many black helpers and a multitude of Arabs, the latter present simply to enjoy the spectacle. The captives' bodies would be shown off at all angles, first with their skirts on then nude, the removal of their covering always producing loud and mocking cheering. He had to guess what happened when they were then led down the other set of stairs but his assumption, gained from his earlier viewing of the site, proved correct. The final step acted as a small dais for the chieftains to inspect the goods individually and more intimately. Sometimes this lasted up to a third of an hour, depending on the numbers considering a bid. However, few of the crowd departed despite their impatience, as most were waiting keenly to observe the sale of the one whose type they had never seen before, blonde and blue-eyed and possessed with a perfect light complexion, despite the attentions of the unforgiving yellow orb overhead. The captives would eventually be brought back onto the main platform and the bidding would take place. It was invariably fast and the purchased goods were soon standing naked in front of their buyers, surrounded by gloating watchers.

Anthonius was finally the next to be exhibited. The surrounding gaiety was raucous as the tremulous boy was led up the stairs and onto the middle of the platform. The auctioneer grabbed him by the arm and shouted long and boisterously before making him place his trembling hands on his head and prodding him into a variety of standing positions so that his form could be appreciated from every perspective. The accompanying turbulence never faltered until everyone suddenly comprehended that his cover was about to be removed, when there was a momentary and almost miraculous silence. It was broken by the loudest cheers of the day when the auctioneer, after an initial fumble, managed to release the toggle on the boy's skirt to cast the encumbrance aside. Anthonius already knew that he was hard. However, he could not calculate whether the many fingers now pointing at him, and the many people clearly discussing him, were fascinated by his overall shape, his clearly displayed sexual excitement, his newly revealed and unexpected brands, his ornamental rings, or other aspects of the young nude body now exhibited before them. He did ascertain that the loudest commentators were the group of Arab girls he had seen earlier. Somehow, they had managed to make their way to the front of the platform for a close view of proceedings. The boy had previously suffered many humiliations but he thought that this moment, being paraded naked and fully aroused before the eager multitude, was by far the worst.

Anthonius was taken down the stairs for the bidding chieftains to have a much closer look at him. About twenty gathered in an orderly fashion and the auctioneer allowed them, one by one, to inspect the goods on offer. The boy felt their hands all over him. They ran through his hair and across his face. His mouth was opened for its contents, including his dazzling white teeth, to be checked. The hands ran over his neck, limbs and torso. His genitals were weighed and prodded. The foreskin on his erect cock was pulled back for the head and slit to be examined. The hands ran over his buttocks. He was bent over and his bum cheeks were pulled apart to expose his hole, which was now as tight as usual. The silent slave had been amazed at how it had repaired itself after being invaded by the monster phallus. The anus would once again provide great pleasure to the sodomiser and pain to the sodomised.

Anthonius was eventually returned onto the main platform, his excited penis conspicuously throbbing. The bidding took a little longer than previous but was nevertheless soon over. The boy was led off the platform and into the front of the crowd where the winning chieftain stood, surrounded by about ten helpers and many crowing Arabs, including the eight girls. Anthonius was forced to his knees before the man, who nodded to a young black boy nearby. Anthonius noticed that the boy was about his own age, was dressed in a simple but tidy grey tunic and had a very pretty face. He also noticed that the boy carried a wide metal collar with a long chain lead attached to one side and wrist shackles to the other. The collar was placed around Anthonius' neck and bolted in place. Anthonius instantly felt discomfort from its tight fit and heavy weight and this was increased when his hands were shackled behind him, halfway up his back. The black boy then pulled the white boy to his feet and led him by the chain lead through the surrounding throng, closely followed by the chieftain and his helpers. The Arab girls followed too, giggling at the sight of Anthonius' nude rump preceding them.

The party finally came to a couple of covered wagons just off the square in a quieter side street and Anthonius' lead was fixed to the rear of the second wagon. The chieftain issued some orders and he departed with the black boy and most of the other helpers to complete his business in the square, leaving his latest purchase in the charge of a couple of older boys, both about sixteen. The Arab girls were standing nearby eyeing Anthonius and pointing and chortling at his continued arousal. The fifteen years old leader then approached one of the young guards and entered into a form of conversation with him, both knowing some words of each other's language. Anthonius then saw them hold hands and disappear down an alleyway. They returned about a quarter of an hour later, both adjusting their respective tunics. The girl called to her friends. They all quickly gathered round Anthonius and two of the bigger ones took hold of his arms to keep him in place. The leader stood behind the white boy and started to caress his naked back with her left hand. The sniggering of the others increased noticeably. She moved her left hand to the lad's bum and her right to his throbbing penis, which she began to pump whilst at the same time invading his hole with a finger. This intrusion soon became two then three fingers. A number of passers-by had stopped to watch the fun and, when the girl realised that Anthonius' cock would no longer require the attentions of her right hand, she stood back to allow herself and everyone else view the results of her administrations. They saw the boy's cock rise vertically towards his belly and the foreskin slip back to reveal the head. It was quickly followed by a stream of white fluid that splashed as far as the lad's hair. The girls then left, still chuckling loudly, and the passers-by continued on their way, leaving a deeply humiliated Anthonius guiltily displaying the evidence of his own passion on his hair, face, chest and stomach.

Anthonius was allowed some water and to sit cross-legged while he waited for the chieftain and his entourage to return. They did so late afternoon, several hours later, and placed their latest purchases in the ox-drawn wagons before mounting themselves, having pulled the boy to his feet. The wagons set off slowly out of the still-bustling town on a track heading south, proudly showing off their most expensive purchase as he trailed behind, shame-faced at his nakedness and new demeaning status. Some children followed for a while teasing Anthonius with insults and little stones, but the people they passed eventually became fewer and fewer and they came to the empty countryside.

Chapter 16
Love

The black boy with the pretty face came to release Anthonius from the wagon. He then followed the old man to the smallest of the huts, gently pulling Anthonius along with him by the chain lead. When they reached the hut, the old man took the chain off him and roughly pulled the white boy through the door and onto the empty floor where, locking the door, he left the naked lad. Anthonius regained his feet only with some difficulty because of his awkward bondage. The unlit hut was dark but he could see some light coming in through a small hole in the wall next to the door, from where a knot of wood had fallen long ago. He peered through the hole with his right eye to see the old man enter another hut, presumably his home, and the blacks making camp some distance away. The boy suddenly realised how tired he was and curled up in a corner. He was soon asleep but not for long because the old man returned, carrying a cup in one hand and a large bowl in the other. He placed the bowl on the floor and knelt in front of Anthonius, putting the cup to the boy's lips and saying in Greek "Drink!" The boy was reluctant to do so because the white liquid in the cup looked and smelt awful, but he was worried at the consequences of disobeying and so drank. It took a mighty effort to prevent himself gagging and vomiting the horrible fluid back up. The old man left, this time for the night, and Anthonius quickly fell back to sleep despite the nasty taste in his mouth. He was woken again shortly afterwards, but not by someone else. He felt a great pain in his stomach and found himself being violently sick into the bowl. The boy was to be in great distress for a full hour until his body had fully emptied itself from both ends and he could finally sleep again.

Anthonius was woken the next morning by the sound of the black boy with the pretty face entering the hut, carrying a pitcher of water. He put the pitcher of water to Anthonius' lips and grinned, revealing his brilliant teeth, as the white boy greedily consumed the proffered refreshment. He then took the bowl with its smelly obnoxious contents out of the hut and returned with another full of soapy water. He helped Anthonius to his feet and pointing to himself said "Zeni". Anthonius nodded in recognition and responded with his own name. Zeni made several attempts to say 'Anthonius' but in the end, to mutual laughter, settled for "Antus". He then dipped a cloth into the water and started to wipe the white boy's body clean, starting at the back.

Anthonius enjoyed the application of the damp cloth on his body by the cute black boy, especially when it seemed to spend a lot of time cleaning his bum, and his thrill revealed itself in the usual way. Zeni pretended not to notice when he transferred to Anthonius' front to wipe his face before moving downwards. He initially bypassed the excited genitals before eventually returning after everything else had been cleansed to his satisfaction. Zeni could hear Anthonius' breathing become heavier and see the boy's cock harden even more when he brushed the lad's balls with the cloth. His own lust, which he had been trying to suppress, then overcame him and he could not resist performing the last cleaning task with his own mouth. Anthonius closed his eyes in ecstasy as the mouth tenderly encased his rigid cock and gentle hands caressed the curves of his bum and he soon felt his body shudder as he was brought to climax. Zeni swallowed all that Anthonius produced and greedily continued to suck and lick the white cock and balls. Anthonius kept his eyes shut and continued to moan quietly as his softened prick was gradually coaxed back to erection to enjoy a second orgasm.

Zeni stood up, grinning again and wiping some spilt semen from his chin. There was a noticeable bulge at the front of his plain grey tunic. He reluctantly turned to leave but was recalled by Anthonius quietly saying his name. When he turned back, it was to see the white boy on his knees with a pleading look in his eyes and tongue licking his lips. Zeni's grin broadened as he returned to the naked boy, lifting his own tunic as he did so.

Chapter 17
Sacrifice

Anthonius spent the next hour or so sitting alone in the hut. His mouth had enticed Zeni to feed him three separate and delicious quantities of boy sperm but he had been given nothing else and was now very hungry, especially as any other sustenance his body might otherwise have retained had been expelled overnight. Then the old man entered carrying a thin leather cord. He grabbed Anthonius' hair and pulled the boy into a standing position, before kneeling to tie the cord very tightly round the lad's ball sac whilst avoiding the soft penis. Tears appeared again in Anthonius' eyes as the old man left and the next half an hour was very uncomfortable for the boy as his balls started to ache and turn red.

Anthonius heard noises outside and peered through the little hole to see what was happening. He saw that the old man was dragging a heavy table out of his hut, with difficulty but apparent eventual success as he brought it to rest in the middle of the yard outside. Anthonius could see that the table had four leather restraints at each corner and was heavily bloodstained but did not put the accumulating evidence together until he saw the old man return to his hut and re-emerge with a small bowl with a knife resting on top. The boy looked down at his hurting balls, becoming an even deeper red, and realised that the chieftain did not want to return to his homeland with a young white boy but with a young white eunuch.

Anthonius was on the verge of panic. He knew that he had to escape but how? The hut was windowless and the locked door was the only exit. He peered again through the hole and saw the black chieftain and his entourage approaching the yard from their camp, presumably to watch the castration performed. Anthonius now did panic. He threw himself hard against the door in an effort to open it but just rebounded onto the floor. He scrambled back to his feet and was about to attack the door again when it suddenly opened. Anthonius recoiled in terror, expecting the old man to be there to collect him. However, it was Zeni's face that appeared. The black boy grabbed Anthonius by an arm and tried to lead him towards the door. Anthonius resisted until he saw the imploring look in Zeni's eyes and realised.

The two boys ran quickly out and headed for the rocky escarpment behind the hut. They heard shouts from behind but did not at first look back as they scrambled up the slope, Zeni still holding Anthonius' arm to help the bound white boy to retain his balance. However, both looked back when they heard the sound of a dog barking. The terrified pair did not see a mere dog running towards them but a huge black hound, jaws agape, drooling spittle and revealing malevolently sharp teeth, and leaving the chasing group of men and boys well behind. Anthonius and Zeni had almost reached the top of the incline when they discovered that the quicker hound was almost upon them. Zeni turned to face the monster, producing a small knife from under his tunic. The hound jumped at him and boy and creature fought each other viciously on the ground, with the bound Anthonius standing by helplessly. Hwever, the fight was short as Zeni managed to cut through the hound's neck arteries.

The black boy struggled to stand up. He was covered in blood and much of it was his own for he had been severely mauled. It was obvious that he could hardly walk let alone run and the chasers were approaching fast. Zeni looked at Anthonius and, recognising that he was now an impediment to escape, shouted his version of the white boy's name and plunged the knife into his own belly. Anthonius had not seen it for a long time but instantly recognised the look in the dying lad's eyes as he continued his stare whilst falling to the ground. It was one not of anguish but of love. Anthonius' initial instinct was to rush to his friend but the chasers were now very close and he realised that to do so would be to desecrate his sacrifice. Anthonius therefore turned on his heels and ran over the brow of the escarpment, tears flowing liberally down his cheeks.

Chapter 18
North

Anthonius knelt before the Arab's now stationary camel and pleaded in both Latin and Greek "Please help me!" The Arab paused, taking in the sight before him, before tapping his camel with his whip. The animal sat down to let the man dismount. The Arab withdrew a knife from a scabbard attached to his belt and approached the kneeling boy. Anthonius scrambled to his feet intending to flee but something in the man's eyes stopped him. The man came up and aimed his knife at the boy's almost black genitals. Anthonius closed his eyes before screaming and falling to the ground in acute agony.

The Arab stood over the howling and doubled-up boy but knew that he could do nothing until the blood had fully returned to the lad's scrotum. When the boy eventually quietened, the man gently encouraged him into a standing position and knelt to inspect the damage. "You're lucky," he said pleasantly in good Greek, "it looks as if we cut the tie off just in time to save your balls. Lack of blood would soon have killed them." He stood again, looked at the boy's shackles and said "I can't do anything about the metal collar or wrist manacles but I can cut the chains that link them. Go over to that rock and lie on it face up." Anthonius complied whilst the Arab collected a large curved sword from a scabbard on his camel and used it to slice the chains. The relief in the boy's arms as he gingerly brought his hands down and round to his front was profound.

The Arab led Anthonius to his camel, gave him some water and advised "You can have more with some food when we're on the move as we mustn't remain here long." The man collected a plain tunic from a bag attached to the second camel and continued "I bought it for my son who's about your size. Put it on." Anthonius was glad of the covering as he would never lose the shame of being unwillingly naked in front of others. The Arab brought the second camel to its knees and helped the boy to mount, before fulfilling his promise of more water and food. They then set off towards the north.

When dusk came, the Arab made camp helped by the recovered boy. They ate a plain but filling meal before a large fire because the night was cold, and it was soon time for sleep. However, the Arab explained "Alas, I only have enough blankets to keep one warm overnight so you'll have to snuggle up with me." He saw the concern on the boy's face and dispelled it by saying "I have to admit that if you had girl's equipment between your legs, you might not be safe next to me. However, my nature is such that, despite your beauty, the equipment that you do possess means that you'll be unharmed." Both laughed and Anthonius was quickly asleep under the blanket, curled up in the warmth of the man's body.

They arrived in the port of Oea three days later to discover that Diocletian and his army were still in the province but at Leptis Magna to the east. However, Oea's Roman governor was aware that the Emperor had sent men to search the whole coastline for signs of his boy favourite and was happy to provide a ship so that the two could be reunited. He knew that he could expect a significant dividend in return. The Arab also received a large reward, some of which he used to provide his son with a much better education than would otherwise have been possible. Anthonius was never to discover that his chance encounter with the man was ultimately to produce one of the greatest of pre-Muslim Arab thinkers, responsible for many worthy philosophies and inventions that have passed down to the modern age.

Chapter 19
Sura

Diocletian, who had given Anthonius up for dead, was amazed when the boy described his recent adventures. However, Anthonius had had to lie for the first time in his life when he was closely questioned about whether his body had been sexually violated. The boy did not dare confess that he had been raped by the bad Arab or that he had felt compelled to perform fellatio, with the Arab through fear and with Zeni through lust. He knew that he would not have spent a moment longer as a boy companion if he had told the truth because Diocletian covetously accepted nothing less than exclusive use of his boys' bodies. Avoiding the consequences for his homeland, that veracity would undoubtedly have wrought, was more important than his conscience. The Emperor believed instead that Anthonius had managed to protect his sexual integrity but at agonising cost and made a sacrifice to Zeus in thanks for his favourite' survival and recovery, allowing the boy to make his own donative at the same time for his late black friend. Diocletian considered Anthonius' piercings to be attractive but had the rings of base metal changed for ones of gold despite the pain that this caused the boy. Anthonius was then quickly reintroduced to Diocletian's bed and they returned shortly afterwards to Rome, where Casperius and Lysus had been busy organising their revenge on Sura.

The vengeful plotters had had Sura's trainer brought before them after the games. They explained that Sura had caught the Emperor's eye and enquired about the boy's background. They discovered that he was an orphan and that the trainer was his guardian. The pair came from Sicilia. They were also reassured that the boy remained a virgin and that they could check for themselves if they wanted. The trainer elucidated by stating that he had always discouraged approaches for the lad as he believed that it would adversely affect athletic performance. He did not confess that he had once been very attracted to the boy himself but, when the opportunity came to have him, it was too late. An injury in a drunken tavern brawl had made the man impotent. He also did not mention that he was tempted by some of the monetary offers that he had occasionally received for Sura's sexual services but they had unfortunately been made at times that could jeopardise the boy's ability to win the more lucrative games prizes, which had afforded him a comfortable lifestyle. However, Casperius made the man an offer he could not refuse.

Sura was to join the Imperial household and the trainer would be compensated for his loss. The man knew that he could not decline even if he had wanted, for to deny the Emperor his pleasures would be fatal. However, he was happy to accept because the generous compensation would set him up for life. He envisaged buying a smallholding, perhaps in Campania, which had always taken his fancy. There he would marry a woman desperately needing a husband, and there were always plenty of them. Not for sex as he no longer wanted that but she would cook and clean and manage the holding whilst he enjoyed the pleasures of the local inn. The deal was quickly done and Sura found himself being escorted by Casperius from his humble lodgings to the magnificence of the Imperial palace. His plebeian background meant that he could not be one of the Emperor's boy companions. Instead, he was to become one of the Imperial pages.

When Diocletian had become Emperor six years earlier, he quickly reassigned the group of adult servants who had served his predecessors as palace messengers, taking verbal and written communications between the various Imperial administrators. As the establishment of the boy companions showed, he liked to have pretty boys around him and the job of palace messenger seemed ideally suited for any non-patrician free boys he fancied. The major domo of the boy companions was made responsible for the pages, although in practice the task was delegated to assistants. Diocletian would often enjoy the young bodies of the boys when they delivered a message into his presence. He was also known, whilst walking through the palace, to intercept others who were on their way elsewhere and take them somewhere quiet for a quick molestation. The Imperial pages, as the group of about fifty boys became known, were informed during their training about Diocletian's habits and the consequences of resisting them. Unfortunately for Sura, Casperius kept the new recruit to the ranks isolated from the rest and somehow neglected to acquaint the boy about the Emperor's little foibles.

Anthonius arrived back in Rome with Diocletian at the end of January. Casperius and Lysus were pleased to learn about the boy's African sufferings but disappointed at his survival seemingly unscathed. However, they had already carefully planned to make Anthonius' reintroduction to court life an unpleasant experience.

A few days after his return, Anthonius was shocked to see Sura in the palace dressed in the tunic of an Imperial page, similar to that of a boy companion but brown. Casperius had deliberately arranged for Sura to deliver his first message to Diocletian during the later stages of a banquet, when the Emperor's inhibitions would be overtaken by wine. The major domo knew what Diocletian's reaction would be when he observed his pretty new page and trusted that the boy would behave as he and Lysus hoped. In the event, the plotters' aspirations were far exceeded and produced a very pleasant bonus.

When Diocletian groped under Sura's tunic, the boy instinctively responded by slapping the intruding arm away and pandemonium ensued. Diocletian turned purple with fury and called for the Praetorians. The terrified Sura was soon held firmly by the arms by two of the guards in front of the raging Emperor, who stood up and smacked the boy fiercely across the face twice before focusing his attention on the lad's belly. Diocletian turned to Casperius, who had stood up from his own couch, and said "Get the brat out of here to the dungeons. I want to see him whipped in the morning and his body scarred for life!" Casperius, somehow managing to keep a straight face, bowed in acknowledgement and signalled to the guards to take the screaming miscreant away. Diocletian and Casperius sat again, with the latter waiting for the Emperor to calm before making his pre- planned proposal. "Highness," he said quietly, "will you kindly permit me to make a suggestion?" Diocletian nodded affirmatively and so the major domo continued "Two birds with one stone!" He quickly answered the Emperor's puzzled expression "I can think of one cut that would be a far more effective punishment for the urchin who has insulted you than the many from the whip. It would also help resolve a problem I have in looking after the Imperial boy companions. You see, I believe that I can improve their care by providing their eunuchs with some help. More adults would be unnecessarily expensive but a few slaveboys would do nicely. Of course, they would have to be gelded." A broad smile gradually formed on Diocletian's face as he recognised the full implication of the major domo's proposition and again appreciated why he had chosen the young man for the post. However, Anthonius' face paled. He had been sitting on the floor on the right hand side of Diocletian's couch so that the Emperor could run his hands through his hair whenever he wanted, as was his whim, and had overheard the conversation. The boy had been wondering what he could do to save Sura from the whip, and he now knew that he could not delay or his friend would be condemned to much worse. He had to act immediately before Diocletian could respond to Casperius.

Anthonius startled Diocletian by jumping to his feet, kneeling before him and begging him to have mercy on Sura. However, Diocletian's surprise rapidly changed to renewed ire He stood again and reached for one of his sandals. Anthonius immediately recognised that, not only had his plea fallen on deaf ears, it had rebounded with wrath for he had seen the Emperor inflict informal punishment on a boy companion once before. The red-faced Diocletian took up position on Anthonius' left, pulled him upright by his hair before ripping away the boy's detachable rear loincloth flap and bending him over. The undercloth just about obscured the lad's bumcrack and so afforded little cover or protection to his bumcheeks. Still holding Anthonius firmly in place by the hair, the Emperor began to slap the boy's near buttock with the footwear as hard and as frequently as he could, instantly reddening the skin and leaving the clear imprint of the tread all over the surface, before relocating to the other. The many guests in the banquet hall had originally been silent, intrigued by the goings on, but now began to laugh loudly at the spectacle of the Emperor's boy favourite being publically spanked, and harshly, by the man himself. However, there was no-one more amused than Casperius and Lysus and, watching from a remote cubby-hole, Niachiarus. The eunuch's advice to Casperius about Sura's likely instant reaction to the Emperor's advances had not only proven correct, his supposition regarding the likely response to this plight from the page's friend had also been vindicated. Niachiarus looked forward to his reward, for which he had been conscientiously and ecstatically practising over the last few days.

Anthonius' whole bottom was scarlet by the time that Diocletian's arm tired. The Emperor put the sandal back on his foot and returned to his couch, signalling Armillatus to join him, and, still enraged, ordered Casperius "Strap Anthonius later, twenty strokes all over, and I want to hear his screams whilst Armillatus here amuses me." Before Diocletian had stopped speaking, the elated major domo was already working out how the twenty lashes could be converted into many more.

As Anthonius was dragged away towards Diocletian's pleasure quarters, the Emperor turned again to Casperius and pleased the major domo further by saying "I like the brand round Anthonius' navel even though it does not bare my emblem. I want all future companions to display one that does in that place. As for my Nubian eunuchs' new gelding, I want him to have one too, as well as others round his nipples, in the hollow sides of his thighs and in the middle of his buttocks, in addition to the usual places."

Chapter 20
Practice

Niachiarus had spent much of the previous few days in Rome's main slave market. As befitted the Empire's capital and centre of commerce, this was a huge building and actually comprised a series of different markets catering for the different types of available merchandise, based on their sex, age and prior status. The eunuch spent the days in the market specialising in freshly acquired boys. They would be brought onto a high dais and exhibited before the large crowd, not all buyers, first clothed and then naked, much as Anthonius had experienced in Africa. They would be brought down to let potential buyers inspect their nude bodies more closely before being returned onto the dais for the bidding.

Niachiarus spent much of the first day waiting impatiently for one particular kind of purchase but none of the offerings seemed to appeal to the relevant buyers who had been pointed out to him earlier. The eunuch was considering a return to the palace when a pretty blonde youth, aged about fifteen and apparently a German captive, was brought onto the dais and he perceived interest in the eyes of a nearby woman. She was standing in the crowd with two male servants and Niachiarus had been told that she was a rich widow seeking an addition to her household. The naked youth was brought before her and she examined him intimately, paying particular attention to the blushing lad's genitals, smooth except for a nice crown of golden pubic hair. To Niachiarus' immense delight, she bought the boy, who was taken to a room adjacent to the dais. Niachiarus' market informant now prepared for his first job of the day. On some days, he would be occupied almost none stop whilst on others he would remain idle, but over the years the commissions he had earned from his craft came to a tidy sum. Niachiarus was intrigued as he closely watched the man exercise his skill.

The now terrified naked youth had been bound face-up and spreadeagled to a heavily bloodstained wooden table and a gag placed in his mouth, as much to protect his lips and tongue from his own teeth as to silence him. A leather cord was tied tightly round the lad's ball sac causing him to start crying both in pain and realisation as to what was to happen. The youth's hands and feet tried to break out of their restraints but they held firm. The man produced a little bowl and a very sharp small knife. He glanced at the widow who was standing in a corner with her two servants. At her nod, the man bent over the splayed youth's groin and placed the point of the knife where the now erect penis intersected with the scrotum. As the incision began, the man was sprayed with sperm as the lad ejaculated for the last time in his life. However, the man ignored this common annoyance and expedited his task with practised precision, his well-used knife having been responsible for castrating thousands over the years.

The rent went vertically down the ball sac but the blood produced was not too distracting and the man soon squeezed one testicle to visible exposure in the outside air. Another proficient slice with the knife along the membrane that attached the testicle to the inside of the scrotum meant that it was soon resting alone in the bowl, but not for long for it was quickly joined by its companion. The wound was carefully cauterised by a waiting hot iron and covered by a clean rag. The youth's gag was removed, to accompanying cacophonous shrieks, his limbs were released from their bonds and the man's assignment was done. It had taken five minutes.

Niachiarus would watch the man operate on several more youths over the next couple of days until it was agreed that he could practise what he had learnt. The victim was a pretty Slav boy aged about ten, selected because his balls were so nicely shaped and sized to be perfect training material. Niachiarus had never been so happy as he was when his knife first cut into the beautiful sac, and the eunuch was to create two more of his own kind before it was time to return to the palace to make another.

Chapter 21
Strap

Anthonius was stood on the entertainment dais in the pleasure chamber and had to wait an hour for Diocletian and his boy entourage to appear, although to the petrified lad it seemed much longer. The Emperor looked at his trembling former boy favourite and smiled when he again saw the marks that he had laid on the lad's bottom. However, he was feeling tired and did not dally. He made straight for his bedchamber for he was eager to enjoy the delights of Armillatus' body to the sound of Anthonius' delectable screams.

The other boy companions sat excitedly on the couches surrounding the dais awaiting Casperius' belated arrival. The major domo eventually entered carrying, by an integrated handle, a strap made of hardened leather, with many small holes and about two thirds of a pace long and a hand wide. Anthonius had never seen it before and shuddered when he thought of the pain and damage that it would inflict. "Well, Anthonius," said a gloating Casperius, "I have to spend time chastising you again for your bad conduct in front of the Emperor. Will you never learn? Remove what's left of your loincloth and stand with your hands on your head and feet together." The boy obeyed to reveal yet again a humiliating arousal. "Dirty slut," continued the major domo when he saw the boy's erection, "but I don't think that will be upright for much longer."

Casperius took up position behind the quivering Anthonius and commanded "You will remain still whilst I apply your just punishment, unless I order you to adopt another stance, and will thank me for each well-merited blow. If you fail to do either, I start again. Do you understand, boy?" Anthonius replied "Yes sir, thank you sir" before having to wait whilst the major domo primed his swing. However, as calculated, Casperius caught the boy off-guard by not rehearsing for long before suddenly and without warning delivering the first blow to the lad's already sore rump. Anthonius squealed and jumped forward, although he did just about manage to keep his hands on his head and remember to say "Thank you sir." A smirking Casperius chided, to giggles from the watching boys, "What did I tell you about staying still. I'll just have to consider that swing as practice. Now stand still or we'll be here all night!"

The next blow was across Anthonius' upper back and this time the boy, with a mighty effort, succeeded in remaining still, and only uttered a muted groan before thanking Casperius for hurting him and hearing the major domo reply with the word "One." Nine more blows were slowly reigned on Anthonius' poor back, bum and rear legs, turning them scarlet and leaving small round wheals where the holes fell, but the boy somehow maintained his position. A smiling Casperius then came to Anthonius' front. He was pleased to see the boy's beautiful face marred with an agonised and terrified look in the eyes, from which tears flowed freely. He began to strike the boy's front legs and thighs. The major domo avoided the genitals for now, they would prove a useful later target, and gradually moved his attentions up the boy's stomach towards his chest. "Eighteen" he said before taking aim at the lad's nipple ornaments. Casperius had delayed beating this part of Anthonius' anatomy until now for a special reason and he was cheered that he achieved the desired affect when the blow fell. The boy's scream was shrill and he collapsed to the ground, grasping his tits, to hear the major domo snigger "Oh dear, did that hurt?" before adding "Now look what you've done, I have to start from one again. Get up!" Casperius encouraged the boy to stand again by tapping the lad's aching bottom with his foot. Anthonius heard the spectators chortle gleefully as he did so.

Casperius restarted at Anthonius' rear, each blow now accompanied by a loud scream which intensified Diocletian's rapture as he was simultaneously penetrating Armillatus next door. The major domo eventually returned to Anthonius' front and had just said "Seventeen" when he commanded one of the watchers onto the dais and ordered "Get him hard!" The boy knelt in front of Anthonius and began to suck the weeping lad's soft penis. His ministrations rapidly bore fruit, despite the agonies seeping through Anthonius' ravaged body, and he moved away to allow the major domo to inspect the result. The blow of the strap that then hit the rigid member was proof that Casperius had been happy. It was followed by another and the major domo said "Nineteen" to a barely audible or understandable "Thank you, sir" from Anthonius.

Casperius responded with an order to "Stand with your legs apart". Anthonius complied but with great reluctance for he knew where the next strike would be directed. The major domo rested the strap's end on the floor between the boy's legs before viciously launching it upwards. It struck Anthonius' balls square on, causing the lad to bellow and collapse to the floor clutching his boyhood. Anthonius' reaction created much loud hilarity amongst the spectators and his yelp occasioned Diocletian to orgasm deep inside Armillatus' tight anus.

Casperius joined in the laughter before eventually saying "Oh dear, back to the start again" and ordering two of the chortling watchers to help Anthonius back to a standing position, this time arms at his sides. "I'm tired," he said, "who wants to take over?" The other boy companions pleaded desperately and vociferously to be chosen, hands in the air to gain attention. "All right, all of you can have one stroke each," Casperius said to the general satisfaction of all except the boy who would be the centre of their attentions, "and concentrate on his arms first. They haven't been touched yet." It was of little compensation to Anthonius that the blows from the boys were not quite as strong as those from the major domo for they put all their strength behind their strikes, which were accordingly still very painful.

Once his arms had been turned into the same consistency as the rest of his body, the blows had returned to Anthonius' back. The strap was restored to Casperius after he had indicated "Seventeen" for the third time that night. He ordered Anthonius to "Bend over, legs apart" for he intended to launch his last three swings at the boy's anal opening but it only took the first to return the lad to a heap on the floor. The major domo had already recognised that he could carry on little longer. Anthonius' body was a rainbow of colours and blood was spurting from the wheals created by the holes and burst by later strikes. The Emperor would not want the boy permanently disfigured and the limit to avoid that had been reached. Casperius therefore informed the boy, groaning in agony on the floor in front of him, "You're hopeless. If you're hoping that I'm going to start another twenty now, you're mistaken. I need my bed and anyway I feel that I've done enough to try to correct your behaviour. It's time for someone else to have a go and I think I know the ideal person. It'll take a few weeks for your body to repair but, once it has, I'll ask the Prince to allow you to be the cup bearer at his next dinner." Anthonius' sobs intensified as Casperius turned on his heels and left the chamber.

Chapter 22
Gelding

Niachiarus experienced more mixed feelings than usual when he tended to Anthonius' devastated body. He was happy that the boy had received such a comprehensive thrashing and that his ministrations, although careful and expert, would add to the lad's short-term woes. He was sad that he had to ensure that they also aided his long-term recovery, because the consequences of the Emperor's displeasure at failure were too horrible to contemplate, and annoyed that they diverted his attentions away from his preparations to entertain Sura later that day. However, by the fourth hour after midnight, he had finished and he could leave the quietly sobbing boy to endure an agonising night and return to his own small bedchamber. There he would continue to sharpen the new knife that he had acquired and that had already been responsible for the removal of six testicles. He was really looking forward to the seventh and eighth shortly joining them in the jar of preservative fluid that he was now keeping as a memento at his bedside.

Diocletian, Casperius and Lysus all enjoyed trouble-free sleep. Anthonius did not and neither did his friend. Sura, in his dark dank dungeon cell, had earlier been told of his impending fate by a very happy Lysus, causing terrible emotions to run through the boy throughout the night.

Casperius asked Lysus to organise the late morning entertainment, telling the fat Lycian that the Emperor had agreed that it should be watched by all the Imperial boy companions and pages as an example of what could happen to them if they misbehaved. Lysus decided to extend the invitation to some others. He also decided that the main banquet hall would be the best location for the event and arranged for the new wooden table that Niachiarus had acquired specially for the purpose to be placed in the middle of the large dais.

By the eleventh hour of the day, the boy spectators, all very pretty and almost seventy in number, had been gathered to stand around the table in a wide circle. Anthonius was one of them. He had been dressed in a longer than normal tunic because his loins were too sore for a loincloth and had been helped to the hall by Niachiarus and two fellow boy companions. The slow walk had been extremely painful and not just because of his wounds for Anthonius knew that there was nothing that he could do to save his friend. Pleading with the Emperor clearly had not worked and Anthonius was in no physical shape to try a daring rescue. Though he was unconcerned about his own safety, Anthonius also realised that, if he had been able to make an attempt, the consequences of either success or failure could have been disastrous for his homeland.

When they finally reached the hall, the boy escorts had to maintain a light grip on Anthonius' aching arms to ensure that their colleague's obvious physical distress did not cause him to fall to the floor. They both shivered slightly when they clearly noticed, despite the blackness of the tunic, some blood seeping through. Niachiarus took up position at the foot of the central table, placing his bowl and knife underneath. Anthonius had been shocked to discover that it was to be Niachiarus who would perform the awful deed and had been unable to elicit from the Nubian why or how he had acquired the skill. For the first time, doubts about the eunuch's role in his life entered the boy's mind.

It was just half an hour before midday when the crying Sura was dragged into the hall by Praetorians, stripped of his tunic and loincloth and firmly bound face- up on the waiting table's smooth surface. Niachiarus grinned at Sura as he gagged the hysterical boy and tightly tied the boy's ball sac to cut off the flow of blood. He placed the bowl on the table, resting against the splayed lad's lower buttocks, just under the beautiful form of his genitalia, and finished his preparation by cruelly placing the handle of his knife on Sura's navel, the point directed downwards towards the boy's penis. The eunuch then moved to the head of the table to await the guests of honour.

Lysus arrived shortly afterwards, closely followed by Diocletian's son, accompanied by his tutor and fellow pupils. The 11 years olds looked disdainfully at the surrounding throng before crowding round the table and laughing at the sight of the naked 14 years old boy spreadeagled there. "Now, Highness and young masters," the tutor said in a rather effeminate voice, "please remember that we are here to learn. It was very kind of Lysus to suggest that I supplement my talks on animal husbandry and human anatomy with a practical demonstration of castration." The tutor picked up the knife from Sura's body and, to the terrified bound boy's utter astonishment and disbelief, lifted the lad's cock up with the blade and began to discuss his topic.

"Castration of human males is performed for two reasons and they are often, as in this case, inter-connected. The first is to punish and the second is to make the male more suitable for his assigned role by removing his sexual capabilities. Such roles are often in the service of a household's females or sons where it is important to eradicate any sexual temptations male servants might otherwise have towards their mistresses or young masters. The removal of just a penis such as the boy's here is called a penectomy and is an excellent punishment but very poor preparation for service of the type that I describe. You see, the male's sex-drive, which is driven mainly by the contents of the ball sac here," the tutor continued whilst rubbing the point of the knife gently over Sura's tied and reddening scrotum, "would remain intact but he would be unable to satisfy it because he would have no means of achieving relief. A person having to endure such torments of frustration would be too dangerous to serve in any household, although I believe that your father, Highness, has sent many traitors in such condition to the Illyrian salt mines. The removal or destruction of the male's testicles would have to be arranged to annul the sex- drive and this gelding can be achieved in several ways. Please, Highness, feel for the boy's testicles" and the tutor stood back to allow the 11 years old Prince to squeeze each of Sura's 14 years old balls in turn before inviting his eleven elated friends to do so as well. Sura writhed in agony at the mistreatment to his boyhood.

The tutor eventually continued, after the boys had finished examining Sura's scrotum, "These testicles could simply be squashed with a hammer or tong but the chances of the male losing his life as a result would be greatly increased. Instead, two safer methods are generally preferred. You see how this boy's ball sac has been firmly tied around the base. At this moment, the tie is cutting off the blood flow. See how red the sac is becoming. Soon it will be purple and eventually it would turn black as the lack of blood kills the testicles. Over many months, the dead testes would gradually disappear, dissolved by bodily fluids. It is a neat but prolonged and very painful method of castration and, because of the latter, a second method is usually considered superior and will, I understand, be the one that we shall witness today. A cut is made along the sac here," the tutor said as he ran the blade down from the underside of Sura's cock, "the testicles exposed one by one and sliced off. The tie has been placed to restrict blood loss. Sometimes the resultant wound is helped to heal either by cauterisation or stitching. An advantage of gelding is that the penis is untouched and is therefore still available for urination and for ornament, although it might have a tendency to shrink over time. If needed, the genitals can still be attractive to look at if the sac heals well, despite its lack of contents, although I do know of some establishments of a certain type where the eunuchs' own balls have been replaced by ones of wood or metal to restore full or even greater roundness to their sacs."

"Another method of castration would be to sever the genitals entirely. This is called nullification and, I believe that the Nubian here is one on whom this has been practised." Niachiarus' facial expression remained unchanged despite this reference to his own unmanning and the tutor continued, to titters from his audience, "A bit too drastic for my taste, especially as the emasculated male often has to use a straw to urinate tidily. However, again I know of establishments of a certain type where such eunuchs are prized. Some are occasionally mistaken for girls after hair has grown to cover their wounds, and I believe breasts can be developed to increase the illusion."

The tutor concluded his talk by informing his chortling young audience "The long-term affects of testicular castration are primarily the elimination of the male sexual organs as a source of sexual pleasure and regeneration. No more will the penis become hard, orgasm or produce seed, although some pleasure can still be achieved by the insertion of some object in the anus long enough to tickle the prostrate. The development of facial and body hair is stopped or severely restricted and any growth still due in the whole body often reduced. However, eunuchs can gain fat rapidly if not properly exercised."

The tutor ran the knife once more over Sura's now semi-hard penis and purple scrotum, and was beginning to wonder what to say next when Diocletian arrived with Casperius and several Praetorians. The tutor returned the knife to its original position and he and his pupils stood back to let the Emperor see the spreadeagled naked boy, whose dread had been heightened considerably by the lecture. Diocletian walked up and felt the lad's genitals, squeezing the ball sac and stroking the penis. With his own cock rapidly hardening, the Emperor looked into Sura's terrified tearful eyes and smiled before raising his head to nod at the waiting Nubian and moving to one side. Niachiarus transferred to the foot of the table again and picked up the knife. He did not have to lift up Sura's penis because the Emperor's handling had brought it to full erection but he held it in his left hand anyway, pointing it towards the boy's navel, whilst his right hand positioned the tip of the blade on the upper scrotum. Sura felt his own semen splash onto his face and upper body as the Nubian began to cut. At the same time, a loud shout of "No!" came from amongst the watching boy companions.

Niachiarus was to be disappointed in having Sura's testicles added to his collection for the Emperor, after inspecting them in the bowl, had ordered that they be sent to the palace kitchens. They were to be ground, mixed with appropriate spices and cooked, one for his new boy eunuch and one for Anthonius. Neither was to be given any other food until this delicacy had been consumed and both took several days before succumbing. However, the two boy's torments were far from over.

Two weeks after being gelded, Sura was taken from his dungeon cell and moved into an adjacent larger chamber. The very scared boy would have known instantly what was to occur even if he had not been told days earlier by a crowing Casperius. The glowing brazier, with three branding irons embedded in the coals, located next to where he was chained suspended from the ceiling, provided clear indication. The same two irons that had marked his friend months earlier were roasting nicely but the same man who had applied them had had to have the third one recently made to the Emperor's specifications. It portrayed a small circle of tiny interlocking Imperial eagles. Sura's feet were off the ground but fixed taughtly in place to it by manacles. The now gagged boy was therefore unable to move when the man pricked the upper fronts and side hollows of his thighs and the middle of each bumcheek plus, a belated choice from the Emperor, a place directly above the lad's damaged genitals. The man did not have to highlight the spots where the circular iron would be used because they were already naturally demarcated.

The man approached Sura with the first red-hot iron with exactly the same look as he had Anthonius, and received the same look back from the aghast boy as he had from his friend months ago. The man used the new iron first as its initial target was just below the boy's appalled eyes. The smell of burning flesh pervaded both his and the boy's nostrils as the circular iron was firmly laid around the lad's left nipple. The man only had to wake Sura four times from a faint during the ordeal, which was lengthy because the irons had to reheat after each application. However, after he had finished two hours later, the man was very pleased with the quality of his work and the two other men, who had been watching from nearby seats as they eat some grapes, complimented him. Casperius and Lysus inspected the seven black eagles and three round emblems now painfully decorating Sura's body and felt immensely satisfied. They knew that their revenge would soon be complete. Within a couple of weeks, the boy would be performing his menial tasks within the Emperor's boy harem, attired only in a tiny black thong to hide his gelded state but not his lovely demeaning brands. The new eunuch would also undoubtedly have to endure frequent snide comments from most of the boys he served as a slave.

Meanwhile, Anthonius was waiting in dread for the day of the young Roman Prince's next formal dinner.

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