Pueros

The Lycian Prince

Chapters 58-65

Chapter 58
Deliverances

For the appalled Anthonius, the only redeeming feature of the speeches he had just heard was that they had been spoken in his native Greek, although Lysus' accent betrayed his years of self-imposed exile in Rome. After the new King had finished, a small contingent of palace guards, the only soldiers now permitted the Lycians, emerged from behind the dignitaries at the top of the temple steps to accept the former Prince from the youthful black eunuch. Their orders from the chamberlain were to escort someone who had displeased the new King across the plaza to the male latrine. They had been as shocked as anyone to discover who the victim of the distasteful penance was to be for all of them had been in the late King's service when the boy, beautiful in both appearance and personality, had been a lively refreshing presence in the palace. Without exception, all of them loved the lad, if only platonically.

Anthonius recognised his new escorts and the clear look of disdain and sorrow for their mission on their faces. However, disobeying an order would mean death, so the commander of the small levy reluctantly took hold of the boy's neck chain and began to guide him down the steps, with guards either side of the young naked penitent and at his rear.

Lysus grinned broadly at the sight of his nude half-brother, oiled body now dirtied by dust thrown up by wagon wheels during the march from Patala, being led through the silent crowd. He chuckled to himself when he realised that the dirt would soon be washed off the boy, but not with water. He realised that many would be hesitant in abusing their former Prince but surely not for long as a gold piece represented half a year's income for most of the populace. The new King was not worried about depleting his treasury through his largesse as the money now spent would be more than recouped when he imposed an immediate tax increase. He proposed to live a life of ostentatious opulence, which his subjects could fund, starting with the acquisition of a boy harem even bigger than that of Diocletian.

The public latrine was very basic, comprising a walled roofless enclosure with a narrow shallow channel, through which clear cold mountain water ran speedily, against the far wall. Two palace servants were already in place inside, situated either side of the entrance. They sat behind tables on top of which chests containing gold pieces rested. Provision had been made to deliver more chests if needed.

Anthonius was led into the latrine and chained to three rings, specially embedded in the floor of the middle of the urinal, a hand and foot attached to each of the two outer ones so that he was presented to the customers of the establishment face-forward in a kneeling position. The boy's slavecollar was chained to the central ring so that his face retained an uplifted pose. Goosepimples invaded the whole of his naked torso as the cool water of the trough now washed over his legs. However, the chill and awkward discomforting posture were not what concerned the young nude most. He knew that all who chose to piss over him would, except for the smallest boys, be able to do so downwards onto his head and body and that they would be able to see his humiliating full erection as they did so.

Meanwhile, in Rome, Queen Irene had managed to organise the smuggling, at dead of night, of the still-recovering but much improved Sebastian out of the Imperial palace, with the help of his small band of Praetorian friends. Sebastian would return the compliment a month later but by the time the news of the rescue of Anthonius' mother and sister from Diocletian's clutches reached Lycia, the boy had long departed the country. The lad would additionally not learn that his last wish to his mother, that Sura be delivered from his misery, had also later been fulfilled. The Queen, living anonymously at first in Neapolis, with the help of Sebastian's rich merchant friend, would bring up the young eunuch as if he were her lost beloved son. Both would subsequently devote their lives to the propagation of the Christian faith.

Diocletian and Casperius were not over-bothered at the disappearance of the two Lycian females, as they had served their purpose in making Anthonius go quietly to his destiny and it resolved the problem of what to do with them. However, the Emperor was apoplectic when Sura subsequently disappeared from demeaning menial service in the Imperial boy companion quarters. He would never see the young eunuch again but many years later, after his retirement to Spalato, he almost choked on his chicken when he was told at dinner about a particular very important personage in the new Imperial regime and realised who he was.

Lysus went to the royal palace after the welcoming ceremonials on the steps of the temple of Jupiter to enjoy a feast with the nation's most important men, deeply content as he wined and dined at the thought of what was happening to his half-brother. After several hours, the new King asked the chamberlain how much had so far been spent on entertaining Anthonius. He knew that the frugal official was concerned about the expense and had been keeping tabs on the accumulating cost via a relay of messengers.

Lysus was delighted to see a worried expression on the chamberlain's face as he hesitated to reply to the royal question, realising that the expense must be huge. The official coughed before eventually gathering the courage to say "Your Majesty, the latest report indicates that er, that er." The King became impatient with the man's hesitancy and demanded "Oh, get on with it. I don't care about how much it is as long as my sibling is enjoying himself!" This encouraged the chamberlain to finish his sentence by advising "that, er, er, er, no, er, coins have yet been used."

Lysus' flabby face turned purple and spittle began to ooze from his lips as incandescent rage overwhelmed him. He stood up and overturned his table, sending many dishes and several goblets crashing to the floor. There was sudden stunned silence in the previously noisy banquet hall as the furious new King struggled for words.

Lysus eventually managed to spurt out "Ungrateful wretches! How dare they ignore their duty! I'll make them pay!" He then looked slowly around at the many guests and shouted "Get out! Never come back unless you now go to piss over my half- brother." He added another loud "Get out!" before everyone complied, leaving him alone in the hall apart from a few terrified servants.

Only ten sycophantic men went to the latrine, the rest preferring exile from court to dishonouring Anthonius, who they still considered their Prince. No-one had believed Lysus' accusations about the boy's debauchery, believing it more likely that it was the new King who was depraved. The ten knew that their actions to gain royal favour would be unpopular but considered that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. They entered the latrine and collected their gold coins.

Anthonius had at first been puzzled by the lack of custom for the facility and then quietly thanked his gods and his people when realisation as to the reason dawned. He knew that many could ill afford to ignore the monetary reward.

By the time that the ten sycophants arrived, Anthonius' fatiguing awkward fixed posture had caused painful stresses in his limbs and back but these were forgotten as the human urinal's first client arrived before him. The boy recognised the man from his father's court. He had never liked his fawning ways, seemingly always out to profit in some way from royal patronage. The late King had only tolerated him because he was distant kin. However, his remote relationship to the former Prince did not stop him from raising his toga and lowering his undergarment to expose his cock, semi-erect at the sight before him.

Anthonius closed his eyes and soon felt warm piss splash over his upturned face and into his hair before the stream was directed downwards onto his chest, belly and groin. Neither the giver nor the recipient of the urine shower knew that the courtier had effectively just signed his own death warrant, as did some of the nine who followed. None would live in the Kingdom for much longer.

Anthonius, drenched in urine, had to wait some time for the next clients to arrive, a group of six pretty 14 years old boys. Two guards had been posted on the outside of the entrance to control the anticipated rush of customers but the plaza had quickly emptied and was now deserted as dusk approached, people preferring to return to their homes. Two of the boys delayed entering, wanting to chat up the soldiers before they did so. The other four divided themselves into pairs seemingly to collect their coins from either servant. The latter were therefore rather surprised to find that the first to whom they had dispensed the gold did not proceed to urinate but, after being distracted by paying the second their dues, found knives instead against their jugulars. The two guards entered shortly afterwards, similar blades held by young hands pressing into their backs.

Anthonius had recognised the boys as soon as they arrived. The group comprised his closest Lycian friends, bent on delivering their Prince from such shame to safety. They were all sons of nobles and it was planned to smuggle Anthonius to sanctuary on one of their remotest estates. The servants and guards were not displeased to see a rescue attempt being made and made no move to prevent its success. Even though all of them knew who the youngsters were, they would of course, when questioned later, have no idea who the band of vicious heavily armed men were who had undertaken the audacious deliverance.

The rescuers themselves gave no thought to their own welfare but were perplexed by Anthonius' apparent reluctance to escape. However, they put their friend's desperate entreaties that he should be left alone to sickness of mind, a condition only to be expected after what he must have gone through. One of the guards happily gave one boy the key to unlock the former Prince from his bondage but the lad had to be forced to his feet and almost dragged to the exit of the latrine by the two friends not keeping watch on the adults. They had almost achieved their goal when a party of Roman soldiers entered.

Chapter 59
Retributions

{for Tom}

(September 291 A.D. – 6 months until Anthonius' nullification [?])

The six 14 years old boys, armed only with knives, were no match for the professional, heavily armed, soldiers and they quickly found themselves under arrest and being dragged to the walled citadel that formed the garrison's headquarters. The two Lycian guards were dismissed, to be replaced by twenty Romans surrounding the public facility, and the servants were ordered to resume their work whilst Anthonius was returned to the urinal. The centurion and his men were determined not to allow the diversion of a failed rescue attempt deflect them from securing their welcome bonuses. The former Prince was to be anointed with military and canine urine remorselessly overnight and throughout most of the next day as the Roman garrison enriched itself with much Lycian gold. The boy's half-brother was delighted to be told that two fresh chests had to be collected from the treasury in order to keep up with demand.

Anthonius did not only suffer urine falling on top of him as some soldiers, aroused by the sight before them, also masturbated. The boy's acute shame was exacerbated when he came once himself. One Roman had deliberately directed his piss at the lad's engorged cockhead, producing much laughter from the soldier when he saw an arc of semen gush out in response.

Meanwhile, the six young erstwhile rescuers were to be questioned about their actions. Long unused chambers deep in the bowels of the citadel were reactivated for the purpose. Much dust and many cobwebs had to be brushed away, and several large families of rats dispersed, before the boys were placed in chains in individual cells. The central torture chamber took longer to return to full working order, with a number of military craftsmen needed to restore the various equipment to functionality. The ancient rack, unused for almost a century, had to be almost completely rebuilt by carpenters. However, with typical Roman army efficiency, full interrogation facilities were ready by the time that the urine-drenched Anthonius joined his friends in the dungeons at dusk on the following day.

The soldier charged with eliciting true confessions from the pretty 14 years olds was expertly practised in the art, having seen similar service in several of the Empire's trouble spots. The first terrified boy, identified correctly as the likely ringleader, was hauled into the torture chamber, and stripped. His anus was checked, as the torturer did not want the death of a virgin on his conscience for it displeased the gods. The man had no intention of killing the lad just yet but accidents did happen and the youngster would have to be raped if he was discovered to be virginal. However, only one of the six had not yet consummated his pedagogic relationship with his older suitor as his true beauty had blossomed late and he was still deciding whom to choose from the many candidates.

Having been found to have anally accommodated a man, the ringleader was bound firmly to the restored rack. Several turns of the wheel that activated the device soon had the boy's naked body fully stretched. The torturer was pleased to see that his crying victim sported the usual full erection despite his obvious agony.

The soldier began his questions, centring round what precisely the plotters were hoping to achieve and who else was involved. When he was unhappy with the answers, the wheel would be turned fractionally, usually securing a loud scream, heard throughout the dungeon complex, before a hesitant verbal response. The man himself eventually heard cracks as first shoulders and then ankles were dislocated.

The boy was now literally at breaking point, for another turn of the wheel would produce the sound of skin tearing. However, the questions still came for the torturer was not yet entirely satisfied as to the fulsomeness of the information gained. Another turn of the wheel opened large bloody wounds in the lad's ripping armpits and saw a fountain of sperm spurt from his engorged throbbing penis. The amused soldier rubbed the white fluid into the moaning 14 years old's chest, belly, scrotum and upper legs, where the creamy substance had come to rest. His young victim managed one final answer before another turn of the wheel made him faint. The tormentor did not bother reawakening the tormented as he was finally happy that he knew all that he wanted. It was time to confirm this fact by attaching Anthonius' five friends to the device.

Anthonius, soaked body hurting not only with shame but also with intense pain as the stiffness caused by his many hours chained in a demeaning posture was to take many more to diminish, heard his friends' agonised shrieks throughout the night. The former Prince, hands chained behind his back, shouted through the bars of his filthy cell, begging for mercy for the boys, but his desperate entreaties went unheeded and he had to give up when his voice finally went, reducing his utterances to barely audible croaks. The smelly piss and semen covering his body had dried, forming scum marks over much of the skin, by the time dawn arrived and the awful screams finally came to an end.

Anthonius finally slept for the first time in two days when quiet descended, his only consolation for recent events being the fact that he had heard yelling from only five of his friends. He hoped that the sixth was to be spared being put to the question. He was not to know that that was not his half-brother's intention when he had the beautiful 14 years old removed to the palace. The new King, who had come to the citadel to watch the delightful torture of his sibling's friends, had kindly decided to give personal attention to depriving the one virgin amongst the sextet of his innocence.

Prodicus was given the task of preparing the appalled Vinius for his royal master's bed by bathing the younger boy and greasing his virgin anus. The tearful 14 years old was shivering in fright when placed on top of the royal bed to await Lysus' arrival, despite the best efforts of the royal page to calm him. The virgin did not have to wait too long for the eager King or for the man's cock to invade his previously pure rectum. Tears and squeals flooded the bedchamber as the lad was readied to enjoy the pleasures of the torture chamber.

Lysus was thoroughly entertained by Vinius' deflowerment and was looking forward to similar amusement when the boy was placed later on the rack. However, the King first needed some sleep before experiencing further delights and the debauched hurting lad, the lustrous curves of his gorgeous bottom besmirched by blood and semen, found himself trapped face-down under the obnoxious fat sweaty odorous form of the snoring monarch, softening adult cock still inside him.

Lysus woke several hours later. It was mid-morning and sun streamed through the window of the bedchamber. The King was surprised to find that the no longer virgin 14 years old was not still lying on the bed as he had not given the brat permission to leave his company. The monarch's surprise turned to fury when he subsequently discovered that the boy seemed to have disappeared into thin air. The Roman soldiers, now charged with guarding the personage, assured him that they had not seen the lad leave the royal quarters, a careful search of which by them and Prodicus finding no-one hiding.

Vinius' disappearance was a mystery that Lysus was never to resolve. The incensed King had to be content, one week later, with executing just five of his half-brother's friends, a spectacle that was to be the culmination of the new monarch's coronation in the temple of Jupiter, at which the Roman commander and Ebana were the principal foreign guests. Three wooden crosses were laid on the ground at the foot of the temple steps, with exceptionally sharp stakes, about the height of a normal man, firmly embedded into the ground on either side of the middle crucifix. Six blunt stakes were positioned further into the plaza with another solitary one in front. The whole scenario was heavily ringed by Roman soldiers.

Anthonius, still naked but body washed for the occasion by the youthful black eunuch, was first to arrive. He was chained to the front solitary stake, facing the others and the temple. His five injured nude friends followed, dragged from the citadel as their dislocated limbs made them incapable of walking. They were chained spreadeagled between the six blunt stakes, also facing the temple.

Anthonius felt physically ill when he saw the state in which his wonderful beautiful heroic friends were now presented, bodies displaying their wounds and faces their agony. The bloody scabs under their arms particularly sickened the former Prince. Roman soldiers, wearing only loincloths and holding vicious whips, took up position behind each condemned boy. The torsos of the powerful men rippled with muscles.

Various entreaties for mercy had been made to Lysus for the youngster's lives, not least from their important noble families, but they had fallen on deaf ears. A determined attempt to rescue the boys from incarceration in the citadel led by some fathers, older brothers and lovers had been bloodily thwarted, causing the Roman governor to declare martial law. This capped unrest amongst the wider populace for now. However, no citizenry felt obligated to celebrate the coronation of their new King. When the crowned monarch emerged at midday with his few guests onto the top of the temple steps, it was to see the city's main square empty apart from soldiers guarding and waiting to attend to Anthonius and his friends. However, Lysus' disappointment at the Lycians' attitude was not going to stop him from enjoying the spectacle of observing Anthonius watch his friends being put to death in front of his young eyes.

Lysus signalled to the officer supervising operations at the bottom of the temple steps and the Roman responded by issuing an order. Anthonius' friends soon felt the agony of the whip being laid with vigour across their rears. Screams echoed round the plaza as the skin of the boys' backs, bums and legs gradually became a bloodied pulp. The victims had to be resuscitated from faints several times whilst the flagellation proceeded.

The sobbing Anthonius constantly shouted useless pleas for pity for his friends at seeing their plight, which only added to his half-brother's rapture. The former Prince's begging intensified when the soldiers moved their attentions to the boys' fronts, including their genitalia. One of the lad's scrotums was split open and another's cockhead was partially severed as the evil sharp leather struck them.

The flogging took almost an hour to complete, the irreparable damage terrible to behold to Anthonius.

However, even worse was to come as his half-dead friends were unbound and dragged to where they were to die. Three were laid on the crosses, the ringleader on the middle one. Several soldiers crowded round each victim to order to secure them to the wood. The relevant wrist cartilage, through which the large square headed nails had to be hammered in order to prevent the arms from tearing away from the crossbeams when the crosses were raised, were expertly located. Further awful shrieks indicated that mallets were being used to drive the spikes through the tissue. The yells reached a crescendo when larger metal spikes were hammered through the boys' crossed ankles, overwhelming the sound of many bones being crushed. Young human attachments complete, the crosses were then raised, the vertical beams sinking into pre-prepared relevantly-sized holes dug into the ground.

Meanwhile, the other two boys were each lifted off the ground by four soldiers holding their sanguine striped legs. The lads' sphincters were lowered onto the tips of the spiked stakes and their legs pulled downwards, causing the extremely sharp wood to make inroads into their anuses, which started to spurt blood. Heavy weights were suspended from each foot to encourage the gradual advance of the stakes into the lads' insides.

Despite their suffering, all five boys now approached their lingering deaths exhibiting hard-ons. Anthonius was now silent, mortified at the crucifixion and impalement of his young friends, who had so loved him that they were prepared to risk their lives in his rescue. His mortification was brought to a peak when ladders were placed against each cross to enable soldiers, each holding a knife, to climb the rungs. They cut open, without ceremony, the crucified lads' scrotums, exposing the contents before slicing the membrane retaining the testicles so that they fell onto the hard soil below. All five youngsters spurted semen as they were unmanned. The former Prince vomited when he saw the first small bloody testis land. Ladders were not required to castrate the impaled victims. No action was taken to stem any blood loss, which would eventually stop when the blood congealed.

The sight of the concluding action and Anthonius' reaction caused Lysus' smile to broaden before he eventually led the coronation party down the righthandside steps and back to the palace for a celebratory banquet. The new King relished the thought that this would be his last sight of his half-brother, left to watch his friends die very slowly and agonisingly. The man hoped that the delicious vision would be retained vividly in his memory for the rest of his life. He was to be granted his wish but not for personally desirable reasons.

A distraught crying Anthonius observed his friends' breathing become shallower and shallower over many hours as their ends crept nearer. The crucified victims gradually suffocated as fluid accumulated in their lungs, whilst the bodies of the impaled duo were slowly lowered further onto the wooden stakes by the force of gravity, their anal wounds getting bigger, more terrible and finally fatal.

It would be late afternoon by the time death came mercifully to the last of the five boys. The tearful traumatised former Prince was then packed into a wagon, escorted by Roman cavalry, to return with the youthful eunuch to Patala, from where the Nubian galley would leave for Alexandria in Egypt on the following afternoon's tide. Meanwhile, Ebana was enjoying the new Lycian King's coronation feast. He would not leave Xanthus until the morning, after sharing Prodicus' sexual favours with his host overnight, but took the trouble to send the eunuch on his way with a generous message for his ship's crew. As the Nubian King would not be requiring the white boy that night, they could enjoy him in any way they wanted as long as he was not permanently damaged. The black monarch liked to keep his servants happy.

Prodicus did not learn of what had happened at the foot of the temple of Jupiter's steps until after the event. He was duly horrified at what had occurred and also deeply saddened at hearing that Anthonius had already been despatched to Patala, denying him the chance to see his friend one final time. It was whilst he sucked Lysus' obnoxious cock in the royal bedchamber, after agonisingly entertaining Ebana earlier in one of the palace's guestrooms, that the 16 years old decided on his own act of retribution.

The following night, the royal page was as usual lying naked on the royal bed waiting for Lysus to enter the bedchamber after dinner. When the King finally arrived at about midnight, the nude boy, displaying an alluring smile and rigid erection, rose from the bed. He noticed that the monarch had brought some toys to play with, a spiked dildo and a riding crop. The man was obviously in a mood for sadistic sex that night. Prodicus' penis extended to the vertical and began to ooze precum at the realisation.

Lysus grinned wickedly as his catamite approached to collect the playthings and aid his disrobing. He had little time to wonder why the boy was holding his right hand out of sight behind his delicious bare body before he saw the glint of metal and felt a blade enter his heart. The new King was dead before he hit the floor, his consecrated reign having lasted just over a day.

Chapter 60
Alexandria

(September 291 A.D. – 6 months until Anthonius' nullification [?])

Despite the late hour, most of the crew was still awake. They could not afford to indulge at the harbour taverns or brothels but had purchased cheap wine in order to celebrate their last night in Lycia. Ebana's generous offer, as well as news of the happenings in Xanthus, was conveyed by the youthful eunuch, via the captain, to the boisterous sex-starved gathering, which numbered over fifty and did not of course include the galley slaves. The latter had been cleaned but were now reattached to their oars, most unable to sleep because of the raucous noise from the upper level.

The exclusively black crew reassembled on the aft deck with their wine in order to watch the nude white boy, washed by the eunuch for the purpose, dance on the stern platform. It was not Anthonius' best performance as the former Prince remained traumatised, as he would be in one way or another for the rest of his life, by the events of the previous day. Nevertheless, his erotic routine, robotically delivered, was still appreciated by the noisy spectators, who regularly shouted obscene remarks.

As the dance ended, Anthonius should have been fearful for his oral and anal orifices as the crew looked forward to satisfying their voracious lusts. Many had already exposed their invariably huge precum-oozing cocks to stroke as they watched the white boy's performance. The lad's own penis was, as usual in such circumstances, hard but he no longer cared enough to be embarrassed. It did not even matter to him, in his deep distress, if the black assemblage gang-raped him all night. However, despite appearances, that was not the intention of the spectators.

Despite their current barbaric main religion, which would soon be replaced by worship of more gentle deities, the Nubians were not at heart a particularly cruel people, especially given the general attitudes of the time. Despite their progression to inebriation, the captain and crew were genuinely shocked to learn about what the white boy had been subjected to the previous day. Their pity did not extend to foregoing their pleasures entirely but did save the 14 years old's mouth and anus from night-long utilisation.

Anthonius was instead required to walk amongst the crew, helping them to masturbate whilst they fondled his delicious body. It was still an all night task as the sexual appetite of many of the men seemed insatiable and most wanted further helpings from the nude boy, whose body was covered in semen by the time dawn arrived. However, that was better than having a stomach or rectum full of the stuff and, despite his acute grief, the former Prince recognised and appreciated the gesture, even managing several accidental ejaculations of his own as a result of the regular handling of his genitalia.

Ebana arrived back at the galley early afternoon and the ship sailed out of the port on the subsequent tide. Anthonius was being painfully sodomised by the Nubian King when Prodicus was stabbing the Lycian equivalent.

"You can come out now," advised Prodicus after checking that the regular abuser of his body for a decade was dead. Vinius emerged from his hiding place under the late King's bed, where the royal page had hidden him after extracting him from under Lysus' snoring somnolent body over a week earlier. Naturally, during the search for the missing 14 years old, it had been Prodicus not the guards who had checked that particular potential place of concealment.

Vinius only spent time under the bed when Lysus occupied the royal quarters, which mainly tended to be at night. The boy's secret concealment had therefore not been too distressing, particularly as Prodicus, whose duties included the cleanliness of the King's personal accommodation, regularly fed him with scraps stolen from the royal kitchens and alerted him whenever the monarch's return was imminent. It had been too dangerous to leave the rooms as the palace was infested with Roman troops guarding the new despot, their untrustworthy Lycian counterparts having been assigned policing duties in the streets of the capital. However, the assassination meant that an immediate attempt now had to be made.

The worst part of Vinius' enforced confinement had been listening to the sounds of Lysus abusing Prodicus, the man usually liking to spice their longstanding sexual relationship by inflicting pain in one way or another. The 14 years old frequently heard his 16 years old saviour scream and saw the bed above him shake in tandem with vigorous action taking place on top. However, the King's cruel predilections produced the means by which Vinius' escape from the palace would now be achieved.

Vinius was shocked and panicky at the sight of Lysus' dead body as Prodicus had not confided his intentions, although the younger boy was far from sorry. The 16 years old had also not yet told the 14 years old about the horrific deaths of his friends as he did not want to cause the lad undue anguish that might induce hysteria whilst he remained in such a perilous situation. The sad news would be relayed only when the escapee was safe.

The original plan was to smuggle Vinius out of the palace, when prevailing circumstances became less tense and the guards less alert, to the sanctuary of his family's remote estate in the north east of Lycia, on the border with Pisidia. The Roman commander had politely declined Lysus' request to send troops there in search of the missing boy, telling the King that it was a purely Lycian matter. The angry monarch had no-one else to send apart from the Lycian palace guards but they were small in number and he could not trust them even to attempt to fulfil their mission. The breakout plan now had to be implemented without delay, and the fugitive would be accompanied by a young regicide.

Prodicus was the epitome of calm when he further surprised the deeply worried Vinius by applying grease from a large pot, placed next to the bed, to the evil-looking spiked dildo before placing the readied implement on top of the mattress and lying face down next to it. "Pick up the riding crop," the 16 years old instructed the 14 years old, "and whip my bottom as hard as you can. Then insert the dildo in my anus!" Vinius, amazement overcoming fear, spluttered out in response "This is no time for sex games!"

Prodicus, patiently tranquil, replied "I know. We're not playing games, just organising our escape. The two guards outside will have seen Lysus enter his quarters with the items and will expect them to be used on me. They've probably already indulged in much ribald comment about it. They'll also anticipate me leaving, as I usually do, to return to my own room to repair myself after receiving the King's loving attentions. When I do so, they'll expect me to be exhibiting a striped bum. I'll naturally need help to remove the dildo and I'll ask it of the two Romans. I'm sure that it's a service for which they'll insist on repayment of a particular kind as, judging from the looks they give me, the pair fancy me. That should keep the men occupied whilst you get out of this place. I'll take them into a small empty room opposite, insisting on servicing both at the same time. When you come out, turn right, go to the second stairwell on the left, which is rarely used, and I'll meet you at the bottom of the steps after I've satisfied the soldiers. However, for the plan to work, you'll have to beat me and stick the dildo inside me."

Vinius picked up the crop and approached the bed. He lifted the implement into the air but could not bring himself to use it on his saviour's buttocks. Prodicus, seeing the 14 years old's hesitation, tried to reassure the boy about what he was required to do by advising "Don't worry. I've suffered much worse. Anyway, I've come to like it. Let me show you." The 16 years old, turning over to reveal a raging erection, continued "I'll cum when you whip me. You want to give me pleasure, don't you?" The first hard blow from the crop landed across the royal page's lustrous posterior shortly afterwards.

Vinius had created twelve vivid red stripes across Prodicus' backside before the dildo replaced the crop in his hands. He had noticed that the 16 years old had orgasmed with the seventh stroke but had nevertheless insisted that a few more be applied to provide the appropriate visual display for the guards.

"This'll tear your insides to shreds," declared Vinius as he examined the dildo, feeling the short round-headed metal spikes with his forefinger. "No it won't," answered Prodicus as he splayed his legs to make fitting easier, "it'll hurt but won't cause permanent damage. Lysus enjoyed my bum too much to want to do that to it, although he would have beaten me with the thing inside me. The bastard would have made sure that it's sized perfectly to inflict maximum pain without long-term injury. You'll just have to take great care when putting it in me!" The 14 years old followed the 16 years old's advice, his own cock, hidden under his now tatty tunic, hardening as he took a quarter of an hour to insert the vicious tool. A number of agonised winces emanated from the recipient as he proceeded.

Prodicus gingerly rose from the bed, leaving a pool of semen on top of the cover, after Vinius had finally completed his task. The anguish from the spikes was considerable but he nevertheless still displayed a resurgent full erection. The 14 years old was astonished at the sight of the vertical throbbing cock but the 16 years old showed no embarrassment when he looked down at his hairless groin, instead smiling and calmly correctly suggesting "It should help in the seduction of the guards!"

Prodicus walked slowly to the door of the bedchamber, collecting his tunic on the way, his lovely face flinching and hard penis twitching when he felt the spikes press against the wall of his rectum. When the 16 years old arrived at the door, he turned to Vinius and said confidently "Wait until you hear the opposite door close before you come out. I'll try to slam it. I don't expect to be too long with the soldiers!" He smiled reassuringly at the scared 14 years old before, after taking one last look at Lysus' dead form, he opened the door and stepped outside.

The two Romans almost came in the loincloths they wore as undergarments when they saw the beautiful erect nude, tunic held in his hand, emerge from the royal quarters. Prodicus grinned alluringly at the soldiers and asked politely if they could help him. The men laughed at the boy's request but were more than happy to assist the lad with his little local difficulty, although at first reluctant to leave their posts in order to do so. However, this was overcome when the royal page insisted that he had time only to service them simultaneously and would not, in return for their kind favour, perform fellatio on one whilst being sodomised by the other in such a public place as the passageway outside the King's chambers, enticing them as planned into the empty room opposite.

The Romans, in their eagerness, were not too gentle in extracting the spiked dildo from Prodicus' anus, causing the boy to shriek when it was pulled out. Most of the spikes were sanguine and some blood also began to drip down the lad's inside legs. However, the soldier who would bugger the royal page did not mind his cock becoming dirty as he would insist that a certain 16 years old tongue cleaned the rampant member after its desperate need had been satisfied.

When Prodicus, now re-attired in his tunic, met up with the petrified Vinius half an hour later, dripping sperm had been added to the blood running down the 16 years old's legs. However, this did not prevent him using his knowledge of the palace layout to guide the 14 years old successfully out of the quiet building, carefully avoiding the night guards who were on the lookout for intruders from outside not escapees from inside. A number of days later, two bedraggled boys arrived safely at the younger's distant family estate.

When Lysus' body was found, suspicion immediately centred on the missing royal page. The Roman commander made token efforts to find the culprit but did not want to waste too much manpower in the effort. He had disliked the new King from the start and knew that his provocative actions would cause him and his men trouble that they did not want. However, he had been obliged to try to assist and protect the new monarch by order of the Emperor. The obligation was no more and the country would be much better for it. No rebuke for allowing the assassination to occur ever came from Rome.

Diocletian was not over-surprised or unhappy to learn of Lysus' death, fully knowing how obnoxious the man, whom he had never regarded as a friend, could be. He had supported his claim to the Lycian throne as thanks for services rendered, although he had reservations about the wisdom of the move, not wanting to have to bother with crushing another revolt.

The murder now conveniently gave the Emperor the opportunity to bring Lycia under direct Roman rule as there was no other obvious candidate for the throne, the treacherous Anthonius having ruled himself out of the reckoning. The kingdom became an Imperial province. 25 years later, Prodicus, through the patronage of a friend, became Governor, the position becoming hereditary as he and his progeny ruled the prosperous peaceful country proficiently and wisely for generations.

The immediate aftermath of the assassination was not tranquil as the deliriously happy people celebrated by taking revenge on the ten courtiers who had accepted the late unlamented King's money to urinate over Anthonius. Their homes were attacked. Eight met their ends by being beaten, stoned or lynched whilst a lucky duo escaped into impoverished exile, never daring to return to their homeland.

Anthonius of course did not know of these events as the Nubian galley sedately traversed the Mare Internum to Alexandria. The boy serviced the oars every morning and Ebana every night, with lessons from the youthful eunuch in between. The voyage from Lycia took three weeks until the great port city, harbour dominated by the Pharos, one of the wonders of the world, came into sight. The former Prince was unexpectedly to come across two former acquaintances in the Egyptian capital, one bearing some excruciatingly unpleasant presents.

Chapter 61
Arabs

(October 291 A.D. – 5 months until Anthonius' nullification [?])

Prodicus quietly maintained a taste for sex of a particular kind. Vinius would enjoy inflicting pain on his older handsome adoptive brother until the younger sibling married at 18. Thereafter, a variety of readily compliant young servants and slaves obliged. However, Prodicus did marry as he wanted children. He treasured his wife and many offspring but still enjoyed a secret weekly flogging, a predilection happily tolerated and even aided by his spouse, grateful for a thoroughly happy union.

Prodicus eventually wanted to broaden his non-sexual horizons. Having assured himself that Vinius was ready to carry on his good work, he left Lycia, with his family and under his new name, for Thessalonika. He intended to try to become one of the eastern Caesar's, Galerius', court administrators, possessing a number of letters of recommendation from prominent Lycians and the then provincial Governor. However, he did not follow through with this intent, perceiving far more potential in the western Caesar's, Constantius Chlorus', son, who happened to be visiting the Macedonian capital at the time of Prodicus' arrival.

Prodicus became one of this man's main advisers instead, his family establishing home for a few years in Trier, in Roman Germania, as a result. His judgement was well placed, although it would be many years before the duo discovered that they had both loved a certain beautiful blonde blue-eyed Lycian.

The obese Arab, who had entertained Anthonius with tests, tortures, sodomy and fellatio in his north African coastal fortress ten months earlier, was staying in his other large luxurious home in Alexandria. He was with his own black nullified eunuch, Impheli, who had inflicted so much pain on the former Prince on behalf of his master. The Arab knew Ebana well, from visiting Nubia to purchase slaves, the trade in which he specialised and which had gained him great wealth. He had dined on the Nubian King's galley before the vessel had sailed for Rome and was expecting another invitation on its return. The Arab's expectation was realised and he was pleasantly surprised to discover the identity of the star entertainer.

The Arab was well aware of Anthonius' successful escape as the boy's new owners had returned to see him to demand the return of the black slaves for whom the white lad had been exchanged, or a monetary equivalent. The Arab did not really feel obliged to comply, as it had been the Africans' carelessness that has caused their loss. However, as he valued their trade, he paid them some gold. The Arab therefore considered that the young Lycian owed him some compensation.

Having been appraised of their previous acquaintance, Ebana was only too happy to permit his guest to extract some retribution from Anthonius, not wanting to displease a very important trading partner. The King's only condition was that the boy was not permanently harmed as he had to be presented to Priapus in perfect condition. Impheli, who had accompanied his master to the banquet, was then dispatched back to the Arab's residence to obtain the necessary apparatus.

Anthonius was aghast to see the sadistic Arab and his cruel black servant amongst Ebana's guests as he stripdanced on the galley's stern platform. The boy's alarm was to be fully justified as, at the end of his erotic performance, his hands were attached with rope to one of the rear sail's crossbeams, so that he was suspended just above the deck. His feet were splayed and bound to rings embedded in the wooden floor.

Impheli, with the help of another servant, had brought two wooden boxes back from his master's villa, one much smaller than the other. The smaller was opened first and inside were eight very sharp thin long needles. Impheli regularly practised their use on young male slaves. The Arab and his eunuch liked the way in which the implements could, if used correctly, inflict great anguish without necessarily visibly marking victims.

As Ebana's white slavegirls now danced on the stern platform, Impheli, holding the box, approached the terrified Anthonius. The black eunuch placed it on the deck in front of the naked boy so that the victim could fully appreciate the evil contents. He then picked up one of the needles to display it in front of the eyes of the appalled lad, who well remembered that it had been the same young sadist who had given him his original nipple rings. The silvery alloy glinted in the light from the flaming torches held in numerous metal stands.

None of the guests, who included the Governor of Egypt, watched the dancing. All eyes were focused on Anthonius as his tormentor presented one tip of the needle to the horrified boy's left nipple, above where the gold ring was embedded. Impheli held it there momentarily with one hand whilst he made the tit stand more upright by pinching it between two fingers of his other hand. The pause also allowed the victim's mind to digest fully the awfulness of what was about to happen. A loud scream then reverberated around the crowded deck as the eunuch pushed the needle through the papilla before stopping when half the metal had penetrated. Another shriek was heard when the righthandside of the boy's body was similarly ornamented.

Impheli now gave Anthonius' cute nose attention, adorning the septum, before turning to the boy's genitals. The black eunuch pulled forward the foreskin on the lad's cock, softened through shock and pain, and placed another needle against the flesh. He smiled at his victim before pushing the implement through the skin to leave the flaccid penis dangling vertically through the weight of the metal, which was displayed horizontally.

Anthonius fainted when a further needle was inserted into the left of his scrotum, carefully avoiding the testicle. He was reawakened to experience the delight of another entering the right orb of his nicely hung sac. The remaining two needles were shoved into the boy's armpits.

The second larger box was now opened. It contained a leather water carrier, a type very familiar to Anthonius from his frequent enemas, but this had a long attachment made from expandable animal bladder, fixed to a narrow but strong slither of wood, at the end of the leather tubing running from the container. Impheli forced the slither of wood and co-joined empty bladder into the boy's rectum until the device could go no further. The carrier was filled and suspended above the traumatised lad from the crossbeam. The victim was soon to feel the gradual expansion of the anal intrusion as water slowly poured into it.

Conversation returned to the guest table as Anthonius' torture now proceeded with less noisy screaming. The sobbing boy was reduced instead to more quiet groaning as he experienced the leisurely expansion of the flexible dildo inside him. The boy, who had long lost track of calendar time, did not realise that his 15th birthday was being celebrated with these torments.

The noise from the tearful Anthonius was increasing as the inexorable flow of water began to cause considerable pain in his backside. The boy started begging for mercy when he felt that his full anus could not possibly accommodate any more of the fluid. However, no-one came to his aid and the outpouring of both liquid and desperate pleas was allowed to continue remorselessly until the container was empty.

Anthonius was permitted to enjoy his agony long after the banquet had finished and the guests departed, as he was left with the needles and dildo inside him overnight. A crew member was assigned to guard the former Prince but he had succumbed to sleep by the time daylight came. The quayside was already busy and many passers-by stopped to look at the boy. One, a rich trader walking with his son, immediately recognised the anguished lad and knew that he had to do something to end his purgatory.

The kind Arab, who had rescued Anthonius from his last African peril, was to attempt to do so again.

Chapter 62
Heroes

(October 291 A.D. – 5 months until Anthonius' nullification [?])

The crewman opened the bag and saw enough gold coinage inside to match at least twenty years' wages. He immediately helped the Arab lower the semi-conscious, deeply traumatised and moaning Anthonius on to the deck from his suspended bondage. The Arab was as disgusted to see the brands all over the boy's beautiful body as Impheli and his master had been delighted, all having previously only seen the lad display two eagles on his front thighs and a circlet of snakes around his navel.

The Arab was also shocked to see the appalling evidence of Anthonius' more recent mistreatment. He decided that he had to be cruel to be kind and, after unbinding the boy and telling the crewman to prevent the lad from collapsing onto the deck, withdrew his ornate scimitar from his equally opulent scabbard. The Arab used the razor-sharp weapon to cut the leather tube that had introduced water into the former Prince. After allowing the liquid to empty from the young ravaged anus, he pulled the cruel expandable dildo out carefully but without ceremony. The Arab also did the same to the evil needles, throwing them onto the deck, before lifting the tortured nude victim, newly 15 years old, over his shoulder.

The Arab was a strong robust man and Anthonius' weight caused him no trouble at all. He and the happy crewman disembarked, the latter to use his unexpected new riches to find a better life for himself in the great Egyptian metropolis. The Arab's pretty son, a little younger than the boy his father was carrying, waited for them on the quayside, unsurprised that his parent had decided to rescue someone in distress.

The kind Arab had used well Diocletian's large reward for his original rescue of Anthonius from north African torment, expanding his trading operations lucratively in the intervening ten months. His specialism, spices from distant lands, much prized by the Egyptians and others within the Empire, was quickly helping to make him one of Alexandria's richest men. The bag of gold that he was carrying was to pay the captain of another ship for the import of more such precious cargo, a transaction that could now be concluded later in the day once his new young guest was safe and on the mend.

Ebana was naturally apoplectic at learning of Anthonius' disappearance. The King could not make up his mind whether the missing sailor was involved or had fled in terror when he discovered, presumably after falling asleep, that his charge had gone. He sent the remaining crewmen out to scour the Egyptian capital for the boy and to investigate who could have been responsible for aiding the escapee but they enjoyed no success.

Ebana began to fear for his trading relationship with the Empire once Diocletian found out that Anthonius had escaped his destiny. The loss of the white boy harem, which was to be despatched to Nubia by the Emperor when the former Prince's penis was returned to him, was now the last of the King's worries. The failure of his expedition to Rome could easily see him bloodily deposed. The monarch knew that he could not leave Alexandria until the lad was returned.

"This is the second time that I've worn your tunics," Anthonius announced as he removed the expensive garment to reveal his wonderful body in complete nakedness before the kind Arab's son. He was lying on a huge bed in one of the luxurious guestrooms of the wealthy trader's splendid villa, in the western suburbs of Alexandria. There was a magnificent view of the sea through the window. "I know," replied 14 years old Hron, who had taken on the task of aiding the 15 years old's recovery himself, "father told me what happened ten months ago. It did after all change our lives. Until then, we were a good proud family but now we are also a wealthy one. We'll forever be grateful to you for that!"

Anthonius had overcome initial shyness at being undressed in front of Hron during the four days that he had spent here. He had instead become accustomed to the twice-daily application of salve that the young Arab, kneeling next to him on the bed, would apply to the healing needle marks and rectum. However, the former Prince, initial distress dissipated, was now concerned that the administrations might bring fresh embarrassment when he found himself becoming hard as his host's lightly tanned, dark-haired dark-eyed son gently rubbed the cream onto some of the most sexually sensitive parts of his anatomy.

At first, Hron politely pretended not to notice, although the feel and sight of his lovely patient's excitement caused his own cock to grow. The 14 years old, instinctively inquisitive, instead bombarded the 15 years old with questions. He insisted on being told the former Prince's life story, often interrupting to ask secondary points. However, he interrogated the guest sympathetically, showing genuine horror and sadness at all the, now many, bad bits of the verbal autobiography and the narrator found himself happy to relate the melancholic tale, finding it therapeutic to share his history with someone. The subject was to be the main topic of their long conversations for a few more days yet.

Hron showed particular interest in the accounts of how Anthonius acquired his rings and brands, and the 15 years old agreed to tolerate the intensely curious14 years old's close examination of all of them. However, the intimate inspection, especially of the cockring, caused the small eagle displayed on the skin just above the former Prince's genitals to become partially hidden by a rampant erection pointing upwards to the navel.

Hron smiled at the wonderful vision and, to the blushing Anthonius' astonishment, could not resist pulling his own tunic above his head and throwing it to the floor, where it was quickly joined by the boy's undergarment. The 15 years old saw that the 14 years old exhibited a similar hard-on.

"I hope you don't mind," declared Hron, "but I didn't want you to be ashamed of your excitement. As you can see, I'm rather aroused as well!" A 15 years old hand soon reached for the rigid 14 years old member, gently pulling to encourage its pretty owner to lie next to him on the huge bed. The duo did not emerge from the guestroom for several hours and, for once, chatter was missing, replaced with quiet pleasurable groans. For Anthonius, the experience was more restorative than the salves.

The second hero was Anthonius for four days later, having already said goodbye to the sombre but understanding kind Arab, he was now doing so to his new lover, the man's son. "Don't do this, Anthonius," begged a sobbing Hron, "you're safe with us and I'm sure that Diocletian won't harm your mother and sister." "As I've said many times," answered the former Prince quietly, patiently and sadly, "I'm not at all sure and I just can't take the risk."

The two boys had argued fiercely for two days over Anthonius' shocking declaration of intent but Hron, even with the assistance of his father, had been unable to dissuade the determined lad. Anthonius looked into Hron's gorgeous tear-stained eyes one last time before kissing his friend. The former Prince, wearing nothing underneath, then removed his tunic and returned the garment to its owner before walking naked up the gangplank onto Ebana's galley.

Within days of the ship sailing, both the obese Arab and his young black eunuch were found murdered, throats cut, in their shared bedchamber, a crime for which no-one was brought to justice. There had been a limit to the kind Arab's generosity towards his fellow humans. Unfortunately, it would be a long time before the avenger discovered that Anthonius' selfless sacrifice on the Alexandrian wharf had not been needed as Queen Irene and Princess Anthonia had already been spirited to safety.

The third hero was Hron and not just because he helped Anthonius to recover fully from his earlier ordeal at Impheli's hands through literal loving tender care. Hron is generally known to history as Hero of Alexandria, great thinker, mathematician and scientist, responsible for many worthy philosophies, discoveries and inventions that have passed down to the modern age. Amongst his accomplishments were geometrical formulae, such as that for the area of a triangle, and many contrivances operated by water, steam and compressed air, such as spectacular fountains, siphon systems and the first practicable fire engine. A device in which recoil of steam revolves a ball or wheel has been described as the first working steam engine.

Hron's writings, all in Greek, include a record of the thoughts of other philosophers. However, the Arab also wanted to document a testament of thanks for the display of courage that had inspired him to try to contribute positively to the world. Few know that Hron's works additionally comprise Anthonius' history, as related by the boy himself and chronicled in his native tongue.

Chapter 63
Nile

(October 291 A.D. – 5 months until Anthonius' nullification [?])

Anthonius' previous daily routine of work on the oars, lessons and performing dance routines on the stern platform and sexual ones in Ebana's bed had been resumed, the only interruption being when the ship entered the fresh water of the Nile from the salt sea of the Mare Internum. The boy, a good swimmer, was then required to remove his loincloth and jump overboard to clean barnacles and other matter off the hull of the ship whilst it lay at anchor. The naked lad received no help and it took all day to complete the task using a metal scraper. He was permitted only short respites and was exhausted by the time that he had finished. Although there was no requirement to row and he was excused lessons, the former Prince was still required to entertain the King that night.

The galley called in at many riverside cities of first Lower then Upper Egypt, including Naucratis, Heliopolis, Memphis, Antinopolis, Ptolemais Hermia, Coptos, Thebae and Syene, with Ebana enjoying much local hospitality. The King paid his respects at the Great Pyramids, some of his predecessors having ruled Egypt a thousand years previously. He took a party that included, for show, Anthonius performing servile duties, but the boy thereby saw a second wonder of the ancient world during the voyage to his destiny. As the galley eventually approached the border with Lower Nubia, a royal visit was made to the temple at Abu Simbel.

Nubia suffered one of the harshest climates in the world, the country basically being desert and mountains apart from the area bordering the Nile. However, it used to be mineral rich, possessing many gold mines, until they were depleted over time, and once being a major source of ebony, ivory and incense, much secured from lands even further south.

The ancient capital had been located at Napata beyond the 4th cataract of the Nile, just after the mighty river turns back on itself in a gigantic curve before again finally heading south to its source. Gebel Barkal, sacred mountain of Amun, dominated the metropolis. A great temple to this god was located at the base of the mountain, inside which the deity was supposed to reside. Although Napata remained a holy city, the capital was eventually moved much further down the Nile to Meroe, beyond the 5th cataract, because of the Egyptian threat, the two countries enjoying uneasy relationships and many wars over the centuries. However, Ebana's immediate predecessor had moved his administration back north to a town close to the Egyptian border in order to facilitate much needed trade with its neighbour and the wider Roman Empire. His successor renamed it Ebania.

Ebania was on the banks of the Nile before the 2nd cataract. It was not as big, populous or splendid as Napata or Meroe, consisting mainly of low mud-brick buildings. However, it had been the centre of the cult of Priapus and consequently one of its two main structures was the huge Priapic temple. The other was Ebana's half-built pyramid. He would be the last Nubian King to attempt to build a tomb of this kind for himself. Those who succeeded him would, because of the economic hardship that had befallen the country, have to content themselves with tumulus burial sites instead, although most retained the practice of taking sacrificed retainers, horses, camels and donkeys, along with other possessions, with them into the underworld.

The galley would not have been able to reach Meroe, because the Nile through much of Nubia is narrow and possesses many rapids with rocky obstructions, but Ebania, whose status as the capital would not outlive the King, was finally reached in mid-December. It was just seven days before the winter solstice when Anthonius would be expected to participate in a ceremony in the Priapic temple to determine whether he would remain there for life as one of the god's penalslaves. If he failed to draw the single white ball from the bag containing another 63 red spheres, it would also now be just over three months before he would learn, at the vernal equinox and via the same method, whether he too was to become, without further delay, a nullified eunuch.

Chapter 64
Ebania

(December 291 A.D. – 3 months until Anthonius' nullification [?])

Much later, Anthonius was again the last to leave the boat, although this time unbound as there was no possibility of escape. His slavecollar had been removed and he had been washed and groomed extra carefully by the youthful black eunuch before being redressed in the tunic, as well as a fresh loincloth, of a Roman Imperial boy companion. The lad's standing was to be initially maximised to the people in order to emphasise his trophy status. This was further stressed by his positioning in the triumphal parade, about four paces behind Ebana's magnificent new steed, another present from Diocletian.

The sun was relentlessly hot overhead as, to now cheering throngs, few of whom had seen white people previously, the cavalcade proceeded slowly from the quayside along the wide road. Anthonius was grateful for the liberal re-application of oil to protect the uncovered parts of his body from the searing sunlight. However, he was also very frightened. Apart from the young slavegirls, who followed him, his was the only white face to be observed amongst thousands of blacks. He could also see, directly in front, the ominous enormous rectangular dark shape of the windowless Priapic temple, where all of the now many nullified eunuchs, whom he had known, had been emasculated. The boy fearfully wondered whether this really was to be his true destiny, to live in that unmanned state for the rest of his life within the edifice that he was gradually approaching.

The building loomed bigger and bigger until Anthonius could clearly make out the massive sacred phallic symbols of Priapus carved in the exterior stonework. Despite the heat, the sight caused the boy to shiver.

The procession eventually arrived in the extensive square in front of the temple, Anthonius' feelings of terror and doom increasing with every step forward. He saw that a group of men and boys had gathered at the top of the temple steps, around what appeared to be the main entrance. The boy surmised correctly from their attire, long black robes for the adults and similar but sleeveless and shorter garb for the youngsters, all emblazoned with red phalluses, that they were some of the Priapic priests and acolytes.

The people crowded into the square as the parade disbanded, Ebana and his senior cohorts dismounting their horses to climb halfway up the long wide steps. The only people who followed them were Anthonius and the youthful eunuch, the latter guiding the former by his arm. The rest of the cavalcade departed for the royal palace, which was actually nothing more than a large villa. The tremulous former Prince, observing the slavegirls leaving towards their own destinies, wondered when he would see another white person again.

Ebana's speech, recording the successes of his visit to Rome and the largesse provided by the great Emperor Diocletian, which the populace had seen paraded through the capital, regularly received tumultuous cheers. However, the loudest acclaim came for the further public display on the steps of the temple of the beautiful Anthonius and the announcement that the white boy, Prince of Lycia and young aid to Diocletian, was to be offered, through Roman Imperial generosity, as a penalslave to Priapus at the winter solstice in 7 days.

Word had already been sent to the Highpriest about the new unique offering's imminent arrival and a couple of his liturgy now came to collect the white benefaction at a nod from their king. The two smirking priests took one of the very scared boy's arms apiece and led him to the top of the steps. The other smiling liturgy, extremely pleased to see such a delightful new donation to their god, divided to allow the duo and their charge to pass through the large open doorway of the temple.

Anthonius glanced behind to see the square bathed in hot sunlight and full of cheering people. This was in stark contrast to his new environment. Coolness, almost a chill, immediately hit him as he entered the dark of the empty entrance corridor. The boy, cock embarrassingly hard despite his terror, smelt strange fragrances whilst his eyes became accustomed to the gloom, lessened only by wall torches. As he as his escorts advanced deep into the innards of the terrible place, the light and apparent size of the doorway behind rapidly diminished. The lad began to discern smaller phallic carvings before noticing, to his horror, the many dishes containing severed black genitalia in preservative fluid also lining the passageway walls. Although he had been briefed about such display, the former Prince almost fainted at his first sight of the severed organs.

Anthonius did not know that the Priapic Highpriest, who now waited to greet him, had already selected a bowl in which to show off prominently the temple's first young white genitals.

Chapter 65
Lottery

(December 291 A.D. – 3 months until Anthonius' nullification [?])

The Highpriest, dressed similarly to the priests although his black robe displayed an even larger red insignia, was sat on a wooden throne, with Priapic carvings, flanked by two acolytes and in front of a high free-standing phallus. Behind the large edifice, a downpour of sacred Nile water ran from a hole in the ceiling into a circular low-walled bath, from which the liquid emptied rapidly through small drainage apertures. It was a form of primitive constantly running shower. There were also the usual carvings and bowls containing young genitalia in cubby-holes on the walls.

The quaking Anthonius was brought before the Highpriest. The boy knew, from his lessons in ritual from the youthful eunuch, whom he would not see anymore, what he had to do. After his arms were released by the priests, the lad bowed and awaited instruction, now also being conversant with the rudimentaries of the local language. He would not have to prostrate himself before any of the liturgy unless he became a Priapic penalslave, officially remaining a Roman Imperial boy companion in the interim.

The escorting priests departed leaving Anthonius alone with the Highpriest and his pair of 15 years old acolytes. The latter were not, unlike the Priapic priesthood, permanent fixtures in the temple. Boys who met the usual physical stipulations could be nominated by their families to serve Priapus for two years in such a capacity. Each priest was allocated a pair to assist them with their duties, which never included sexual favours as this was regarded as sacrilegious and, anyway, there were plenty of Priapic male prostitutes to satisfy such needs. Acceptance for and service in the role was considered a great honour, and former acolytes were granted privileges within wider Nubian society not granted to others, securing for many much better livelihoods than could otherwise be expected.

"I shall inspect you!" announced the smiling Highpriest and Anthonius, having practised the ritual whilst at sea, placed his hands on his head, causing his short tunic to rise so that the bottom of his loincloth flaps became visible. He counted silently to ten before turning to his right, hands still on head. He recounted the same number before again turning to the right so that the Highpriest could view his rear. Two more rightward movements and counts of ten brought the boy back facing the liturgical threesome.

Anthonius then removed his tunic, throwing it to one side, and repeated the exercise, covered by just his skimpy loincloth. The boy's hidden cock embarrassingly expanded further as he followed the procedure, which, once completed, was again replicated but without the benefit of his detachable loincloth flaps. He saw the smirks on the faces of the two acolytes as they perceived the clear outline of aroused 15 years old genitalia under the remaining sparse undercloth.

Anthonius blushed from head to toe as he finally removed his last cover to begin to complete the inspection routine, nude and exhibiting a throbbing erection. As previously instructed, when his back was turned to the Highpriest, the boy bent over and used his hands to spread his bumcheeks so that the man could check the still remarkably tight and pink, but far from virgin, sphincter. He also advanced towards his examiner one he had resumed a face-forward position.

The Highpriest picked up a metal spatula-like implement, which he used to inspect Anthonius' excited genitals very intimately, lifting up the cock to look at the underneath and weighing the balls inside the delicious curves of the nicely hanging and clearly defined orbs of the boy's scrotum. Despite now being 15 years old, the smooth hairlessness of the lad's body and sexual organs had been carefully maintained by both Diocletian's and Ebana's nullified black eunuchs through daily application of appropriate very effective herbal creams, whose formulas have been sadly lost over time.

After the conclusion of the genital examination, Anthonius finished the inspection ritual by stepping backwards and bowing again. "You may receive purification!" declared the Highpriest and the two grinning acolytes, delighted at the delicious sight of the first white they had ever seen, a beautiful specimen adorned with erotic gold rings and brandmarks, now took control of matters and moved towards the naked boy. Each held one of the lad's arms and guided him to the purification area.

Anthonius had been trained in this rite as well and, arms released, bowed before the downpour before stepping underneath it. His body immediately developed goosepimples and shivered because the water, despite the high temperatures outside, was cool. The boy counted silently to thirty before turning to his right. Another ninety seconds and three further rightward movements saw him able to step out of the sacred water but not to be dried by artificial means. It was sacrosanct that his chilled nude body had to dry naturally, although one of the acolytes did restore his golden silky but very damp hair to some form of order with a comb.

Anthonius was now subjected to further ritualistic inspections in front of the Highpriest, first still nude, second with his full loincloth, but not his tunic, restored, before his hands and elbows were tied together behind him. The bondage was not to prevent escape but to deter masturbation as the offering was to be kept celibate. After bowing again to the man, the boy was led by the acolytes out of the shrine to a nearby empty cell, clean but devoid of amenities. The sturdy wooden door, with a tiny window, was opened and the lad pushed inside. He heard the door locked behind him.

Anthonius sat in a corner of the dark room, the only illumination coming through the door window from the oil lamps and torches in the corridor outside. The boy moved his legs up against his body for warmth and began to cry. His feeling of foreboding being added to by his sense of lonely despairing desolation.

Anthonius would be subjected to the inspection and purification rites every day that he remained in the temple. For the next six days, these were supplemented by subsequent brief ritualistic dancing, unaccompanied by music, so that the Highpriest could check the boy's proficiency, as such activity would be a key integral part of later public ceremonial. The man was very surprised at the lad's ability as he had never seen anyone better.

Anthonius was also taken the following evening to see that day's genital sacrifice ceremony through a small open window next to the entrance through which the ceremonial participants arrived in the huge roofed amphitheatre. It was a viewing location not visible from the crowded spectator terraces, full of feasting black faces.

Anthonius saw several young temple male prostitutes, attired in black loincloths with red Priapic motif, perform quite a decent, albeit lengthy, erotic dancing routine to accompanying percussion music. The pretty sacrificial offering, about 14 years old and dressed in an obverse coloured loincloth, was then unbound from two stakes, situated several paces in front of the altar, to which the boy had been attached spreadeagled facing the entertainment. Two acolytes led the clearly terrified lad before the genital guillotine, itself just in front of a monumental black stone altar phallus. The youngster was presented with the red cloth bag with Priapic emblem that contained 64 balls, one of which would decide his destiny. His shaking right hand reached inside and he slowly pulled out a sphere. To everyone's disappointment, except his own and the watching white boy's, the object was painted black.

Anthonius therefore had to be returned the next day to observe but again a black ball was retrieved. However, the 13 years old on the former Prince's third viewing was not so lucky. The young, now uselessly struggling, naked offering was fixed immovably to the genital guillotine, his lovely smooth sexual organs displayed nicely through the tight-fitting chopping hole. The triggering mechanism was attached to the end of his erection, boosted by many days of forced celibacy and infusion of strong aphrodisiacs, and the little bag of excited bees was suspended from the rigid penis. An acolyte placed a small red bowl with Priapic emblem in front of the cockhead to gather the inevitable semen, another similar dish having already been situated on the ground underneath to collect the inevitable severed genitalia.

Anthonius could see from the sacrificial victim's facial contortions that he was desperately trying to fight off orgasm but his cock was still expanding as a result of the vibrations being felt throughout its throbbing length. The boy suddenly screamed as he came and, despite the wild shouting from many of the thousands of excited watchers, he heard the trigger release the emasculating blade. The lad fainted just after the razor-sharp implement had swiftly completed its work for the day. The Highpriest advanced to collect the bowl from the ground to walk around the ceremonial area, with the dish held high so that everyone could view the neatly severed organs. Meanwhile, priests attended to the unconscious victim to ensure that another young black nullified eunuch was available for auction. The secret of their success in regularly managing this feat, which had defied the Romans, was quick and efficient cauterisation followed by frequent subsequent cleaning of the terrible injury using herbal salves. The Nubians had realised the importance of such careful attention at a time when bloody wounds were generally treated more cursorily and unhygienically.

The shocked Anthonius, observing the scene from his window, realised that what he had just seen would happen to him, but with more trimmings, in 3 months unless his own lottery draw proved more favourable. However, he also knew that the odds were very much against him.

Anthonius was not required to watch the next two days' ceremonies but was again a guest at that taking place on the winter solstice when the one current penalslave, awaiting the sacred ruling regarding his own unmanning, was to discover his fate. The former Prince saw the pretty black 14 years old dance before making his own draw. The ball was red but the boy did not struggle as he was stripped of his loincloth and tied spreadeagled to the two stakes, this time facing the altar, seemingly having accepted his fate long ago as he too had faced odds of 63:1.

Leather guards were attached to the penalslave's shoulders and the trained sacred cheetah, massive member already rampant in anticipation, was brought in to resounding cheering. Screaming was the prominent sound after the animal rose on its hind legs to mount the boy, although mercifully not for long as the recipient of the creature's sexual attentions fainted. The priests were not able to revive the lad fully until the creature had finished and withdrawn, leaving a vast amount of sperm both inside the victim and running down the insides of his legs. However, once the 14 years old had regained full consciousness and the cheetah had departed to more enhanced shouting, some priests began the genital torture that would precede the genital sacrifice. Anthonius closed his eyes as he could not watch any more. He somehow knew that he would suffer the same ordeal at the vernal equinox, having spent an almost equally discomforting interim three months. Tears flowed down the white boy's cheeks.

Anthonius himself, as he knew, was to be the centre of ritual in the sacred amphitheatre on the following day. For the occasion, he was dressed as a Lycian Prince above the loincloths of a Roman Imperial boy companion. He had last worn the royal attire to stripdance from at one of Diocletian's banquets, deliberately arranged by Casperius and Lysus to emphasise the boy's loss of status and degradation. It was now worn here to stress the unprecedented importance of the offering to Priapus.

Anthonius had to go through the inspection and purification rituals before being attired and escorted by the Highpriest and acolytes to the packed expectant sacred amphitheatre. The sound inside was already extremely loud before the quartet arrived. As the double entrance doors from the bowels of the temple to the ceremonial area were swung open and the small party advanced through, the sound reached a crescendo, with even Ebana, in the royal box, cheering loudly.

Anthonius was eventually left alone in the middle of the ceremonial area, the huge black altar phallus and bloody genital guillotine in front of him, the royal box behind, above the entrance doors, and many thousands of raucous Nubians all around. The crude percussion music began and the boy started his long erotic ritualistic stripdance, well-executed, whilst the spectators were partially quietened by the arrival of the first of their many feast courses.

Anthonius' face became redder and redder, and not from exertion, as he gradually disrobed before the massive tumultuous throng until he was left wearing only his skimpy loincloth. It was be the first time that most of the spectators had seen the boy's uncovered body and many wondered loudly if all whites were so delicious and adorned with such jewellery and brands. The boy's intense discomfort was compounded by observing the many severed black sexual organs displayed all around the ceremonial area in dishes of preservative.

The music finally finished to announce Anthonius' first fateful moment in this terrible place. The tremulous boy was presented with the bag of 63 red balls and single white sphere. The choice of one of the former would mean penal servitude for life in this terrible place, with another similar draw in three months, after much harsh treatment in between, to determine whether he kept his genitals. Selection of the white orb would entail a return to Diocletian. The boy prayed to his gods as he placed his right hand in the bag. To cheering that seemed to cause the huge building to vibrate, the withdrawn ball was then seen to be red.

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