Chapter 26
Brunei 

Returning to Surabaya, Nico purchases the freedom of a fourteen-year-old slave boy, I Wayan, from Bali from a trader. Arriving at Brunei, Nico's companions decide to return to their homes. Nico abstains from having sex as he seeks passage to Cathay and has an audience with the Sultan where he meets 54 yo Zhang Xing-fu Xiansheng, imperial envoy from Cathay to whom he reveals his true identity. The two travel to Sarawak where Nico encounters the manang bali, a doctor/priest who dresses and acts like a woman. Travelling on to the Sulu Makassai Nico encounters a bissu, the equivalent of the manang bali, with whom he has a drug induced vision of evil spirits and dangers, and learns of the five genders of the Buginese.
Codes: M/t

After breaking our fast with trenchers of fowl's eggs, slabs of ham, diced tuber and flat bread, we were presented with a cask of coconut wine as a parting gift from our host. We of course objected, saying he had been more than generous already, and when he persisted, we pointed out that we had a fifty-mile trek back to our ship. He responded that it was his parting gift to us, and he would gift us also with two servants to carry the cask for us. There stepped forward two neatly groomed, beaming boys in new clothing of the servant class, the boys I had congress with the previous two nights. We objected even stronger of course but he replied that men as worthy as we were should not be concerned with such menial tasks and deserved to be waited upon. We pointed out again that we were heading to our ships and leaving the island, to which he responded that it was all the more important that the next kingdom we arrive at we arrive as worthy men with servants.

We protested that it was not necessary and that he had already gifted us most generously and that we really did not need servants, and reminded him again that we were leaving the island. His response was that he had already purchased the two boys from their parents, who were grateful that their boys would be employed by worthy and honourable men. And he argued that it was the least he could do considering the agreements we had made with him, which we all knew was the real reason for his gifts and which were added assurance that we would keep our bargain once we had left. He pointed out that if we wished we could always sell the boys in Surabaya, and if they could not be sold as servants, we could sell them as slaves. We objected that we were not slave traders. He responded again that the boys were his gifts to us and he had purchased them from their parents with the promise he would leave them with worthy men, and that the boys and their parents were honoured to have been selected.

To refuse his gifts would of course be an insult, as he well knew, so we had no recourse but to accept them and decide what we would do upon reaching Surabaya. Given his promises to the boys and their parents, he had also bound us in what we could do though his promises had been unnecessary. He knew we would not abandon the boys nor leave them in the hands of unworthy men. As I have said before, I know of no peoples as wily as the Persians, and this man was as wily a man as they, which accounted for his success as a merchant, and for that we had to admire his cunning for he was indeed gifting us though at the same time indebting us to him.

So, having no choice, we headed out, our two companions from Malacca taking the lead and setting the pace for they were the oldest, followed by the two boys who had slung the casket of wine on a pole carried over their shoulders and stuffed our purchases into packs which they had strapped on their backs. Ferdazi and I followed them and Chen brought up the rear. The two boys kept up the pace with no trouble, being young and healthy and excited about the new "adventure", so we were able to make our destination by the end of two days.

Despite the lateness of the day, we were eager to continue on our way on the morrow so we immediately made it known we had two young and willing boys who could be hired as servants by the right party and began making enquiries, but as we suspected there were few interested in employing one never mind two boys and none who met the high expectations we had set, all five of us having become fond of the two boys and being most particular who we would leave them with. I was approached by one individual of questionable repute, a greasy Hindu slaver, who motioned me aside and made me an offer he did not dare suggest in front of my companions.

I of course abruptly rejected his offer and he quickly reversed roles, offering to sell me one of his slaves instead, one he had in tow with him, a virgin boy he added suggestively, and when I again rejected his offer just as abruptly, he offered to sell the boy for the night. Even in his dirty, tattered rags and beneath several layers of grime, he was beyond doubt one of the most beautiful boys I have seen. Of course the slaver was well aware of the boy's attractiveness, which is why he was the one he had chosen to accompany him.

Returning not with a solution to our problem but adding still another boy, I was met with great consternation by my companions, but what was I to do? I could not leave the boy to the fate the slaver had in mind for him, and to that my companions had to agree, none of them being advocates of slavery even when it was in the best interests in the one enslaved and a position which by nature of their race are best suited for. Arranging for a bath for the boy, I burnt his rags and purchased him sandals and a new robe, plain and inexpensive and clean.

I also purchased him a bowl of rice, which he devoured in a dozen breaths, saying he was fortunate to receive leftover scraps since he had been captured five days earlier. He was, I discovered, fourteen years of age and from an island by the name of Bali. I learned later from our companions from Malacca that the island was some hundred leagues to the west and formerly part of the Majapahit Empire. Since its collapse the island was ruled by several independent and competing minor kingdoms and in their opinion had little of value.

The boy had introduced himself as I Wayan Baylik Nuri Ngurah, explaining that the first four children, regardless of their gender, are given the name indicating their order of birth, and that the cycle of names was repeated for the next four. "I" indicated he was a male, and Baylik meant "another", meaning he was another Wayan, the fifth child. Nuri was short for Nuriasih, a common Hindu name, and Ngurah indicated he was of the Ksatria class, the class of kings and warriors. It was while he was out collecting driftwood for his uncle to carve that he had been captured.

After eating he was prepared to pay me for his rescue with his body, which was most tempting, but I told him that was not necessary for I had purchased him not for myself but to prevent the fate that otherwise awaited him. Of course he insisted, proudly, and angrily, saying he had been taught to pay his debts even if I claimed there was none, and needless to say my resistance was weak. At fourteen and in training as a warrior when not carrying out his physical responsibilities for his family, his flesh was firm and his muscles already defined, but at fourteen still rounded with the fat of childhood, a delight to behold and to hold. His complexion was smooth and unblemished, a rich light chocolate brown, his lips thick and his smile seductive and revealing perfect, white teeth, and his bright eyes bright with the innocence and wonder of youth. He said the trader was not quite honest in that though he had never had congress with an adult, he had explored the delights that two boys can bring each other, and added that he was eager to show me what he knew and to learn the adult way of doing things. How could I possibly refuse?

So, slipping away into the jungle, we found a secluded spot where we would not be discovered or interrupted, and he proceeded to demonstrate what he and his close friend did. His smile alone had my member swelling and when he knelt before me and raised my member between thumb and forefinger and brushed his smooth lips against my bulb I tensed with arousal as pleasure rippled up the core of my member. So I stood there and watched and enjoyed as he slipped his mouth over my cock and began to suck. He had barely begun when I had to instruct him how to cut off a man's impulse by tightening his lips about his shaft below the knob and he was surprised and delighted that I had found him so arousing that I was ready to ejaculate so soon.

Arousing he certainly was and I had to stop him several times until I could wait no longer. I warned him I was about to release my seed and I wondered what he and his friend did, and what he would do about it, leaving the choice up to him. Drawing his lips up my shaft so he had only my knob in his mouth to provide room for my seed, he continued to suck. He had been honest when he had said he had experience. As I felt my seed begin to race up the core of my cock I grasped his shoulders to steady myself and inhaled deeply. He collected my slime in his mouth, which I filled copiously, and savoured it before swallowing it.

The boy was erect, evidence of the pleasure he had felt, and I had him stand and to his surprise, and delight, I squatted before him and took his slender, rigid boyhood in my mouth. It was still a novel and exciting experience for him, and sharing that experience with him brought me as much pleasure as he was feeling. Indeed, being the cause of and sharing in the release of a young boy's seed I find just as pleasurable as the release of my own. He was soon squirming and gasping for breath and I clamped my lips tightly below his knob to cut off his impulse to squirt and when I was sure the flow of his humours had subsided, I resumed. I delayed his orgasm only once more, knowing his eagerness, and when he came it was with such force I am surprised his seed did not blast out the back of my neck. It was copious and surprisingly thick for his age, creamy and mildly sweet, as a young boy's seed often is.

We rose early and broke our fast the next morning with a fellow traveller also eager to take advantage of the winds and be on his way, a trader from the Demak Sultanate which we had bypassed earlier and who we learned was travelling east, planning on trading sacks of rice for wood and stone carvings which he said were among the most beautiful in the world and would fetch him a good price. Wayan and I exchanged glances, his filled with hope and disbelief at his good fortune, and when I nodded he broke into a wide grin and excitedly informed the trader that what he had said was true and that his uncle was one such carver, and he offered to introduce him, asking only that he be taken east back to his home! I of course vouched for the boy and asked for nothing in return other than he treat the boy well and considering his future service I was sure he would.

So we were left once again with the other two boys, and none of us wishing to delay our departure seeking suitable men who would take the boys on as servants, an event we had deemed most unlikely, we packed up our craft and left the island with them.

Our companions from Malacca took the stern and handled the rudder, Ferdazi and I took the bow and handled the oars and sails, and Chen took his place mid-ship and gave a hand to the four of us as needed. The two boys took it upon themselves to prepare our meals and to clean up afterward and to see to the general upkeep of our craft and assist the four of us in the afternoon and evenings while Chen saw to his meditation. At night they slept on the deck beside the cabin. I had made it clear to them that there could be no intimacy between them, nor with me, and it was as if they had never met me before though I am sure their yearnings were as great as mine.

We had been told there were many islands to the east, some inhabited and many not, and none with any significant trading centres, not even this island called Bali. And so we sailed north, our companions reasoning that in doing so we would have to cross the shipping lanes which had been established to carry goods between west and east. We continued to sail these uncharted waters for four days and four nights, sighting land the evening of the fourth night and dropping anchor off coast for we did not know what to expect on shore. The sea was choppy and the distance large, but our craft was sturdy, our companions from Malacca having known the conditions and distances we would be travelling and choosing a craft capable of handling the journey though at times the waves were so high and the waters so turbulent I, despite my experience and skills at sea, feared we would capsize. If I was frightened, the two boys had to be doubly so, but they were brave youngsters, and put on brave faces though I could tell deep inside they were greatly afeared they would not see land again.

The next morning we cautiously approached the shore to take on fresh water and wood for our cooking fire. We were met by a half dozen nearly naked inhabitants searching for sand crabs and sea life stranded in tidal pools by the outgoing tide. They professed to be subjects to no king and to live close to the shore and off the sea for inland there were wild tribes who killed and ate anyone venturing into their territory, wild savages that were more beast than human, having arms as long as their legs and walking bent over so they ambled along using both hands and feet, much like monkeys and apes, which they resembled and which share the jungle with them and were further reason to stay close to the shore. The jaws and snouts of these human-beasts we were told were extended like those of tapirs and they had large fangs that were so large they extended outside their upper jaws. They were said to eat human flesh and to suck out the brains of humans they captured, and to use the empty skulls as drinking cups. Fortunately they knew nothing of sailing and remained deep in the jungle.

Needless to say we gathered our wood and water hurriedly while the boys kept watch and before noon we continued on our way. For twelve and a half days we sailed north, travelling a great distance for the winds were constant and from the southwest, but it was difficult sailing nonetheless for the winds kept blowing us to shore and we constantly had tack to avoid running aground, and other times we were blown so far off course it took us a day to just travel east to relocate the coastline. There were also violent storms during which the sky turned dark and there were torrential rains from the heavens so we had to trim our sails and lash ourselves to our vessel and bobbed about the grey-black seas at the whim of the wind and the sea and we each prayed to the gods we believed in that we might live.

Finally we spotted a large habitation surrounded by a stone wall and we made for shore, exhausted, our limbs weary and sore and our hands calloused and bleeding, our clothing and belongings soaked. At that point I would have readily had my brains sucked out by headhunters to end my pain and misery. We had arrived, we discovered, at the capital of the Sultanate of Brunei. Finding lodging at a respectable inn for travellers, we changed into dry clothing, feasted on a hearty fish and oyster stew, and collapsed in stuffed beds for a much deserved sleep.

When we broke our fast in the morning, we learned that over a hundred years ago the Sultanate had been a vassal state of Majapahit, which we found surprising considering how far away the capital of that empire was. When the power and influence of Majapahit began to decline the king of Brunei at that time declared independence and changed his allegiance to the great Ming Dynasty of Cathay. To me it seemed a waste of time and much needless fighting to just change your loyalty from one emperor to another, but such is the way of rulers and the world and not for me to question. It was shortly after changing allegiances that the Arabs began to arrive and the king, or his successor, converted to Islam and the kingdom became a Sultanate.

The present Sultan was apparently well liked and the populace was prospering under his rule. He had ascended to the throne, we were told, fourteen years ago, which was a long time to rule in these turbulent times. The succession was not the result of a coup nor the murder of other contenders, and not even the result of the death of the former ruler, all of which seem to occur regularly and frequently in these countries. It was because his father, the former ruler, had abdicated so his son could assume the throne, and that was not because of any ambition nor intrigue, but simply because the father by then had seen eighty-five years! Also most unusual and unheard of, this present Sultan travelled abroad to gain new ideas and he sought suggestions from his nobles and from the chiefs who represented the various tribes in the sultanate which made him even more liked. (1)

Stable now after five generations, the Sultanate was prosperous and the city a hub for trade between countries to the west and those to the east. There were many ships in the harbour and the market busy. We quickly discovered, however, that goods came from the east or the west with little being produced locally. We also discovered that trade agreements had been long established and extended far to the east, there being, we were told, over four hundred islands controlled by the Sultanate. To the north was the great empire of Cathay.

After two days of scouting the market and questioning the merchants, our two companions from Malacca were eager to return home. There was little opportunity for new trade to the east or the north. Chen, too, was eager to return to his home. He was well acquainted with the beliefs and knowledge of the Arabs and of the Chinese and after the revelations in Sumatra and Giava, he was secure in his faith and ready to return home and spend his remaining days enlightening others. To my surprise, Ferdazi was of the same mind as the others. His family already had trade agreements with Cathay and there was little chance of establishing any agreements here, or on the four hundred islands to the east, and besides, he was in the gem business and there were no gems to be found here nor beyond, ships from the east being loaded with spices, and those from the north with silks. I suspect our gruelling journey from the south had also taken its toll on all four of my companions.

In a private moment with myself the evening of our third night here, Ferdazi confessed to me that in his mind, and to his satisfaction, he had accomplished what he had set out to do. He had seen many different countries and cultures, and, he said with a smile, become acquainted with the fair members of both. He had reaffirmed and strengthened the trade agreements his family already had, and he had established many new and profitable agreements that more than doubled his family's gem business and at over twice the distance it had previously covered. We had been travelling together now for eight months and he had left Shiraz that many months earlier.

"By the time I return home I will have seen forty-nine years. It will be time for me to find a woman who can cook for me and bear me a dozen children and for me to put my feet up and enjoy my prosperity," he said with a grin.

I too had accomplished what I had vowed to do. I had accompanied da Gama around the Cape of Storms and on to Calecut as requested, and when he had angered the king of that land and had begun his return to Lisbon in failure I had ventured out on my own to assess the strengths of these heathen kingdoms, and as the ears and eyes of the Holy Father and my King I had much to report that he could not. Though admittedly poorly and not as frequently as I should have, I had done what I could to spread the word of the true God besides. It was now twenty-two months since I had left my family and I greatly missed Father and Uncle, my mother and sisters and even my kid brother whom I had barely gotten to know, and my wife and my son and stepson. My wife would have given birth to our second child eighteen months ago and I had no idea if it was a boy or girl. As I thought of my loved ones my heart ached and I yearned to return to them and was sorely tempted to turn back along with Ferdazi.

I was, however, within months, perhaps even weeks, of the Spice Islands, and though I was much too far away to consider establishing any trade relationships, I would see these lands so I could tell of them to Father and Uncle, and to the north was the fabled empire of Cathay whose citizens were in as great a number in this city as the Arabs who ruled this Sultanate. I was too close to turn back now. Besides, if I did return now with my boon companion, he would insist on accompanying me to my supposed homeland to meet my supposed parents and he would discover the truth about me and the lies I had told him. We had a fond friendship, and I could not do that to him, nor end our friendship in such a way.

So on the morrow I accompanied my companions to the docks and we made our farewells. There was much weeping and cries of angst from Ferdazi who had indeed become as a twin brother to me and whom I loved as dearly as he loved me. He removed a large emerald ring, a favourite, from his finger and put it on mine, and as a memento of our time together I gave him a small jewellery box with intricate gold trim I had obtained in Pedir that he had greatly admired when we had seen it. Keeping what I figured I would need for trade in the days to come, I turned the rest over to Ferdazi who promised he would see that they would be given to the couriers I had arranged to handle the agreements I had made to be sent to my family. Having no need for the two boys my companions left them with me, and would have left me our vessel and booked passage with another heading east but I declined, saying it was much too large for me to handle alone.

As they weighed anchor and pulled away, I turned with the two boys and pretended to turn my attention to the merchants and workers at the docks, knowing that if I stood there and watched them depart I would be unable to stop the moisture filling my eyes from overflowing the brims. As it was I had to dab my eyes, pretending dust had blown in them. To get my mind off my sadness over their departure, I began seeking a vessel that would take me east, either in payment as an able seaman or as a paid passenger, and searching for a worthy noble who would take the two boys as servants. To my discouragement, most ship owners were traders and had a steady crew and no wish for pampered passengers. Given the beauty of the two boys, my other search turned up many potential individuals. Determining which would be the kinder master and letting the boys go was the problem.

Curious about the ruler of this city and if the rumours I had heard were true, I approached his palace to inquire about an audience, and to my surprise and a boost to my sombre mood, I received an audience for the next morning. With my companions gone, I was sorely tempted to engage in congress with my two young charges, and I know they were equally as eager to continue our relationship, but I also knew to do so would only weaken my resolve that we had to separate, and would make our separation even more difficult for them. Chen would have been proud of my abstinence that night, which for me, was spent with much tossing and turning.

Upon my arrival at the palace early the next morning, my sense of importance quickly deflated as I found a dozen others waiting and discovered this was no special concession for me because of some perceived worthiness, but a regularly scheduled meeting the Sultan had with nobles of his land and any foreign visitors that had happened by.

Adding to the blow to my pride, I was escorted to the end of the line and seated just before the last person, a person at the advanced end of middle age of the Chinese persuasion. Most of the Chinese I have ever met are tall, slender, and austere, or short, plump and talkative. This individual was of the latter sort. His long, drooping moustaches and goat's beard chin hair were grey with strands of white. Unlike all the others in the room who were wearing elaborate robes, including myself, having followed Ferdazi's example and advice and having purchased the best available robes for the audience, he was wearing a velvet knee-long jacket with long and extra-wide sleeves in which he tucked his hands, baggy trousers, a tall mitre-shaped hat with two large, oval side flaps, and slippers all of the same material and all a dark purple-black with a bluish hue due to the nap of threads which gave the cloth a dimpled look. It was clearly expensive but plain and very different from the rest of us. Further to his apparent poverty, he wore no jewellery. He had with him a bundle of scrolls and I suspected he was either a merchant come to have some trade agreements signed, or perhaps some minor dignitary from distant Cathay with credentials to present.

He was an affable type and immediately struck up a conversation but we had little time to talk before the Sultan's appointment secretary arrived. Coming to the end of the line, he motioned for the Chinaman to come with him. Having expected him to begin with the most important individual in the room at the opposite end of the line and to work his way gradually to the least, I was greatly surprised. It was an insult in the highest degree to have a distinguished guest wait while the host dealt with lesser matters with lesser supplicants and I wondered if it was a matter of ignorance or arrogance on behalf of this ruler, or if this was some strange custom I was unaware of. Not only was it a surprise, but it was an exceedingly long time before the secretary returned, much too long for a minor dignitary.

By that time I had concluded that in my inexperience with the language of this country I had not been scheduled for an audience with the Sultan at all, but with some minor court official whose priority would be much different from a monarch's. I rose uncertainly when I was summoned, and to add to my confusion, and apprehension, I had not seen the Chinaman leave. Having noticed earlier that here, like many places I have travelled through, nobles were accompanied by their young followers as a show of their power and popularity, I had brought my two young charges with me, both for show and because I had nowhere else for them to stay. Uncertain what the protocol was and what I should do, the appointment secretary solved the problem for me by indicating the boys were to accompany me, confirming I had mistaken the nature of this audience and was meeting with some lesser official.

However, when I entered the audience chamber, I was again confused. It was small but the furniture, wall hangings, vases and other ornamentation were exquisite and highly expensive, far beyond the means of a minor official. The individual sitting on the dais was of middle age and dressed in expensive robes though he wore no diadem nor jewellery other than an emerald in each earlobe. Two uniformed guards were stationed at the door I had just entered, and another two at another door on the opposite side of the room, and three young serving boys stood behind him, one of them with a huge palm leaf used as a fan, adding to my confusion as to the authority of the individual seated before me. I was brought forward and taking my clue from the secretary, I bowed low, making the circular gesture of obeisance and reverence before my head with my right hand that was common in this land. I was motioned to sit, the stool strategically placed so I was sitting at a level lower than the man receiving me. When he spoke and moved it was with great authority and command that removed all doubt as to whom I was speaking.

"I am told you come from a land so far away none of my advisors have heard its name," he began.

"That is true, Your Eminence. I am Nicolau Ribeiro, Esquire and Knight of the Langue of Aragon and of the Order of Santiago, come from the Kingdom of Portugal, and I have sailed twenty-two months to arrive here to bring greetings from King Manuel." I had decided before seeking an audience to speak the truth. There would be no benefit for me to continue my charade, and the persona I was impersonating was not one who would be given an audience with a Sultan. I spoke slowly and carefully in his language, reciting what I had practiced a hundred times since being granted the audience.

"You come alone? No attendants? No army?"

"Neither, Your Eminence." I had a sick feeling in my stomach.

"Why does your king send a man such a great distance to only bring greetings to another man?"

"He seeks knowledge of other kings and great leaders so he may befriend them and learn of their ways and benefit from their wisdom, Your Excellency." I had attended enough audiences with many potentates to know what to say, and what I spoke was the truth.

"To learn the nature of my defences and the size and strength of my army and naval forces."

"Of course. Those are the interests of kings. But twenty-two months across uncharted and turbulent seas and through violent storms is a long way to send a navy. King Manuel is more interested in trade and friendship. Even in distant Portugal we have heard of the spices of the east and the silks of Cathay and the mighty emperors who rule these distant lands."

The Sultan allowed himself the slightest of smiles. It was again the truth, and he was a man, I could tell, who had great respect for the truth. There was also enough flattery that no man, no matter how modest, could ignore. So we talked, about Portugal and King Manual and his good intentions and desire to be a wise and good king, and yes, the size and strength of his armies and navy, those nations who were friends and those who were enemies, and of the Spice Islands and the tributaries to the Sultanate of Brunei, and all things of interest to Kings and Sultans.

"You are not of this Portugal," he observed some time later, turning to one of the boys.

"No, Your Eminence. I–we are from Ponorogo, on the Island of Giava."

"A most beautiful island," the Sultan observed. "Had I known Ponorogo produced such beautiful boys I would have visited."

The two boys lowered their eyes and blushed. It was a sight that would have aroused the staunchest opponent to boy love.

"Have you known a man?"

"One," the older of the two boys confessed, glancing up at me.

"When one is presented with such gifts he is accustomed to doing his own deflowering," the Sultan observed, looking at nobody, his voice flat and neither it nor his face showing emotion but there was no question I had inadvertently displeased him.

I opened my mouth but did not know how to respond. I had never even considered making the two boys presents so could not be accused of presenting him sullied gifts, but to admit I had not intended them to be gifts would be a worse insult, and to correct his misinterpretation of their presence, in front of them besides, would be the worst insult of all.

"Two nights," said the second boy. "To ensure we would not be a disappointment, or a disgrace."

I continued to sit there with my jaw agape at the boy's comment. I would have never thought of such a justification. How had he come up with the idea? The Sultan once again allowed himself the slightest of smiles. "A just reason," he said softly, again to nobody. He gestured almost imperceptibly. The audience was over. As we left the chamber the boys were escorted in one direction, I in the other, and I found myself in the courtyard. The Chinaman was sitting there in the shade of a fruit tree. He rose upon seeing me and I approached him, confused and disappointed by my audience.

"Your audience went well."

"Ah, yes. It did, I think." Not well, but it had not gone badly.

"Not a huge surprise considering your two gifts. A most wise choice." (2)

So he too had misinterpreted my intention.

"You arrived here with two merchants from Malacca and one from Shiraz and a Bodhisattva, who have all left. You are a trader, a sailor, and a warok. You have been seeking passage to the east, and to the north," he continued before I could explain about the boys.

"That is correct," I said in surprise. It was and he knew it, so there was no point in denying it. How, and why, he knew was a different matter and his comment had caught me off guard.

"I am Zhang Xing-fu Xiansheng, imperial envoy to his Royal Highness, Emperor Zhu Youcheng," he said with a bow so deep I was amazed his tall cap did not fall off. "I am sailing east, and north, and I can use an able seaman and a Warok. Will you give me the honour of joining me?" he asked, surprising me still again.

"Why, yes. I would. Be delighted. That is, it would be my honour."

"Good. Then let us leave. But first I must sail south."

Before I could reply, he began a brisk walk toward the harbour and I had to hurry to keep up. "I have just come from the south," I panted, "from Giava. There is little there."

"We go further south. To the big island."

"But Giava is the largest–."

He did not stop to listen and I decided it best not to contradict my new travelling companion. I was travelling by his invite after all. He would discover his error, though I did not look forward to a return trip through the turbulent seas I had just traversed. We paused at the inn where I had stayed to pick up the remainder of my belongings, which did not amount to much, the sword and scabbard given to me by Pope Innocent, the short bow and curved sword, gifts from Prince Abbas, my medicine bundle from the Thimogona Shaman Mugbey, my ud, and my old panpipe. Sent back to Portugal long ago were my cape from the Order of Santiago and mantle from the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, the plumed hat and fancy dress clothes I had purchased in Venice, and the amethyst ring I had purchased in Samarkand.

Keeping only four changes of clothing I had purchased with Ferdazi, I traded the rest with the innkeeper in return for what I had paid for my keep, knowing he could easily sell them at a profit. I was of course wearing my Cross of Saint Christopher from Uncle Paolo under my robes, the silver clasp in the form of a rearing horse given to me by Prince Afonso, the large emerald ring just given to me by Ferdazi, and two simple silver loop earrings. All that remained to take with me was a small chest of coin, rubies and other gems and a few gold trinkets from Pedir I had retained for trade and for paying my way.

Arriving at the dock, I was dismayed at the vessel my new companion planned on travelling in, a small, single-sail junk. Stepping aboard reluctantly, I helped to raise the sail and we headed out of the harbour, and to my surprise, north despite what my companion had said. We had the advantage of a wind from the south and mid-afternoon of the third day we reached our destination and steered our ship toward land. This country, Sarawak, was divided among several minor tribes, including cannibals in the interior, and ruled over by the Sultan of Brunei. While Xing-fu met with the sultan's representative and several of the tribal chiefs the following day, I visited the market and wandered about the village. The market was small and had little to offer. There was a dealer in gold which he claimed to have been obtained from local mines and I made note of its presence for King Manuel.

One of the groups in this region, known as the Iban or the Sea Dyaks, was the only one living along the coast and consisted of sailors, pirates and conquerors, and head-hunters. They are an aggressive and fierce-looking tribe who uses poison darts and blowpipes and are greatly feared by the others living along the coast. While wandering about the village I visited one of its prominent leaders, the manang bali, a doctor and priest, hoping to learn about the medicinal herbs used in this area to add to my store of medicinal knowledge, the possession of such knowledge having proven to be valuable in my travels. The individual, I discovered, was a man who dressed and had all the behaviours of a woman.

Having encountered such individuals in my travels across the Ocean Sea, his appearance and mannerisms did not surprise me, only his presence in this land, which gave me cause to wonder what caused such individuals to appear where they did, but not in other places. Like his counterparts, his sexual interest was in other men, and like them, he was treated with great respect and reverence, and also with great fear in that he dealt with death and the spiritual world. It was an informative afternoon, and discovering my own knowledge and interest in herbs, he shared his knowledge of herbs and local spirits readily with me, and while there, I witnessed him expelling an evil spirit which had invaded an elderly, feverish patient who had wandered too near its spirit home, leaving him so crippled he could only crawl and his mind so scrambled he spoke gibberish. Seeing with my own eyes the invalid rise and walk and talk quite normally, it was easy to see why such individuals are treated with respect, and fear. (3)

We left early the next morning, continuing to head north and pulling in next to the area known as Sabah. This area was very mountainous and heavily forested and was also inhabited by minor tribal groups, the Dayak, Dunsun, Bahau, and Brunei which are all agricultural and fishing tribes; the Murut or hill dwellers, the Suluk who are seafarers, and the Kadayan who are farmers. Tin, diamonds, and iron are found in the area, which is also controlled by the Sultan of Brunei. The diamonds were not of any significant size nor quality that Ferdazi would have been upset about missing them. We stayed for only one day before continuing on our way, rounding the northern tip of the island and heading in a southeast direction.

My new companion was a man of great experience and most congenial, and trapped together from sunrise to sunrise on our tiny vessel, when not fighting the monsoon winds or the currents we talked, and we shared much, about ourselves and our countries. In Cathay, even more so than in Portugal, family is highly revered and considered most important, so he, like his countrymen, had introduced himself to me by his family name, Zhang, first. His given name, Xing-fu, I learned meant joyful, or happy, and he was well named for no matter how bad the weather or how difficult or unpleasant the task facing us, he greeted it with a smile and a hearty laugh, and usually a proverb that left me thinking of its profoundness for many hours afterward. His honorific, Xiansheng, meaning in his tongue Master, he had stated last much as we use the honorific Esquire.

I introduced myself by my true name, seeing no reason to continue with my deception being this far from the unpleasantness of Calecut and the, justifiably, antagonistic attitudes toward Portuguese, and feeling obligated to be truthful in reciprocation to my new companion's openness and honesty. Similarly, I told him my true origin, and having never heard of my homeland, he was most eager to learn about it and I found myself most eager to tell him, singing the praises of my country from the mild and pleasant climate to the bounty of the land, my family and friends, and the livelihood of myself, Father and Uncle and my recent acquisition of land and the ventures I had initiated before my departure. I spoke honestly about why I had left and my oath to my King, whom I spoke of fondly, and of the Holy Father and of my faith, and in doing so, it felt like an immense weight was lifted from my shoulders. After living a lie for so long, it was a great relief to speak and act as an honest man. I also greatly missed homeland and family and found my spirits uplifted being able to openly talk about both.

To a large extent my comfort was due to the nature of my companion, his affability and good humour and his joyful outlook on life quickly putting me at ease and encouraging me to speak openly and honestly. He was, I discovered, fifty-four years of age, much older than he looked and acted. For his first fifteen years he was raised by his grandfather, a revered naval officer who served under Zheng He, a great naval general and seafarer who commanded six expeditions consisting of hundreds of ships and involving thousands of men under a man he called the Yongle Emperor. The largest of these ships according to Xing-fu was 440 feet long and 186 feet wide and was laden with treasure. If I did not know the man's honesty, I would never have believed him. The ships I sailed upon with Cristóvão Colombo and traversed the immense Ocean Sea in were in comparison 78 by 30 feet! I could not imagine any vessel of that size being able to stay afloat, nor being able to navigate it. It was from his grandfather that he learned sailing and military strategy and developed his love of the sea and of adventure, loves we had in common.

At the age of fifteen Xing-fu entered the navy himself and at the age of 25 the Chenghua Emperor, the ninth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, appointed him a naval general and decorated him for his bravery and achievements. At that time his father was in the Ministry of Justice and an advisor to the ninth and to the present emperor, the tenth. Because of his lineage and service Xing-fu was appointed to the Ministry of Rites at age 44 by the present Emperor and became well known for his keen observation and insight into the behaviour of others and his attention to details, key skills for one whose duties included receiving envoys from tributary states.

The Yongle Emperor had, through the campaigns of Zheng He, obtained tributes and homage from over thirty nations and thousands of his citizens had moved to those countries and settled, greatly expanding the power of the empire through trade, emigration and cultural influence without resorting to warfare and having to invade and conquer those lands. Those expeditions however required the building of thousands of ships and the employment of tens of thousands of sailors and soldiers, at great cost to the empire, so subsequent emperors, including the present, had to curtail these costly missions and return to a long-held policy of seclusion.

The present emperor, Zhu Youcheng, apparently being a very wise emperor and a skilled leader who realized the power and influence of his empire and knew the danger and the ease with which it could be lost, arrived at a solution to prevent that from happening: Zhang Xing-fu Xiansheng. Six months ago he had appointed Xing-fu, shortly after his fifty-fourth birthday, to travel to the far-flung reaches of the empire to remind the leaders there of their promises of tribute and to ferret out any thoughts of changing allegiances, to assure his immigrated people of the protection and concern of their homeland and thus ensure their loyalty and support, and to investigate rumours about other lands and untapped riches that had reached his ears.

So, while the third emperor had expanded his empire with hundreds of huge treasure ships and thousands of troops, the tenth aimed at keeping it together with one man and a thirty-foot junk with a single cotton lugsail! I was not sure who was the greater fool: the Emperor who came up with the plan, or the man who accepted it.

We travelled a great distance, well over two hundred leagues, leaving the sight of land the evening of the first day and travelling for nine days across the open sea before sighting land again. It took us twice as long to cover that distance as it normally would having to fight the south-west monsoons most of the way, giant waves and fierce winds tossing our little craft about like a cork and leaving me in constant fear of capsizing. Much to my surprise and relief our vessel proved to be most seaworthy and my companion most skilled, but after ten and a half days at sea, struggling all the way, despite my experience as a sailor I was relieved to at last set foot on solid land, and so was my companion.

Here was a large kingdom which governed the northern section of the island. It had a native king but to my surprise a huge population of citizens from Cathay that almost equalled the size of the native population. After arranging for an audience with the king the following morning, Xing-fu mingled with the Chinese population and met with the leaders of the Chinese community. I accompanied him in the role of attaché-diplomat-in-training, interpreter, or bodyguard-valet, depending on whom we met and what was needed. In our long voyage I had been learning the language of Cathay under Xing-fu's tutelage, and he had been most impressed with my knowledge and skill in languages and encouraged me in my lessons.

After meeting with the king, a man of great power and influence to whom minor kingdoms paid tribute and allegiance, and who he himself paid tribute to the Emperor of Cathay, we continued to meet with the leaders of the Chinese community and then the next day with the major traders in the kingdom, traders of sugar, coffee (which I had thought was only grown in Arabia), nutmeg, copra, and ebony, all of which I noted in my Journal for the enlightenment of King Manuel. The more we met the more I began to wonder who really ruled this kingdom, the Bugis king who was considered divine by his subjects, the leaders of the Chinese community who were treated with great reverence and fear, or the leaders of the trade community who wielded great power and authority.

The next day we continued south and west and at first I thought we were travelling through an archipelago, but to my surprise I discovered we were travelling along the coast of the same island, a most peculiarly shaped island that consisted of four great curving peninsulas separated by huge bays. We continued to make slow progress having to fight the winds and currents all the way and having to make a huge arc to travel to the southwestern peninsula of the island, travelling I estimated eight hundred miles and taking fifteen days to do so. We did have the advantage of hugging the coastline and being able to pull into the many coves thus avoiding the worst of the storms which we learned were particularly frequent in this area this time of year, something which both of us made note of.

Upon reaching land once again, Xing-fu set immediately to work, visiting the traders and Chinese community leaders from Cathay who had settled in the area and appeared to have their own hierarchy of leadership and enforcement, and making arrangements to meet with the local rulers, of which there appeared to be a great many, the tiny island divided into a half dozen little petty kingdoms and many more who were subservient to those six. I again accompanied Xing-fu as his assistant and diplomat in training and as his interpreter, having become quite proficient in the local language, much to his gratification.

The first of these kingdoms was the Kingdom of Luwu. (4) Its ruler, Dewaraja, had only been on the throne for four years. Like most of these kings he was seen as divine and he was particularly aggressive, in his short reign having already attacked the neighbouring kingdoms of Wajo and Sidenreng. Banggai in the east-central part of the island and the Kingdom of Siang were two other major kingdoms that warranted visiting, the kings of the smaller kingdoms of Gowa and Talloq acknowledging the authority of Siang as the major kingdom in the southern portion of the island.

To my surprise Xing-fu made arrangements to visit the kings of these two minor kingdoms also. On our way to the first, I was even more surprised to learn from Xing-fu that Gowa had once been a tributary to the Kingdom of faraway Majapahit over a hundred and thirty years ago, showing how important it was to know the history of these kingdoms and illustrating how far-reaching these older empires once were, but Gowa's history was not the reason for our visit. The eighth and present king of Gowa, Tunijalloq ri Passukkiq, and the second and present king of Tallo, Tunilabu ri Suriwa, had only recently become kings. Their fathers had been the eldest and second eldest sons of the sixth king of Gowa and upon the death of their father had split the kingdom and had declared war on each other, and now their two sons were continuing that war! Who might eventually win that war was what was important to the Emperor of Cathay of course, and so was important to Xing-fu!

It was most fascinating to watch and listen to my new companion dealing with these emperors. Each of these petty kings thought very highly of himself, even though subservient to other kings. All were seen by their subjects as divine and descended from the gods and the two kings thought of themselves in the same way. They initially greeted us with great aloofness and arrogance, and the greater their acknowledged power over each other the greater their aloofness, but by the end of the meeting they were fawning and most eager to please and accommodate Xing-fu and took great efforts to demonstrate their allegiance and loyalty, so great was the empire he represented, and so smooth was he in manipulating these great men of power. They all sought, and feared, the power of the great Emperor of Cathay, and they treated his envoy accordingly. Xing-fu knew that and wrung great concessions from them, and there was no doubt those agreements would be honoured by whoever ended up being the winner.

Travelling to, meeting with, and being entertained by all these kings and their courts, royalty and the nobility wishing to demonstrate their prowess and outdo each other, and hosting the envoy and his assistant from Cathay being a mark of esteem itself, all took time. In addition, Xing-fu continued to meet with the Chinese leaders in each of these kingdoms as a demonstration of the benevolent protection of their Emperor and to gain insights that one would not have obtained from meetings with the nobility. In that regard I proved to be of additional assistance. I freed up Xing-fu by meeting with minor officials so he could meet with the Chinese community, and in addition, as a musician, singer, and trader, I mingled with the common native people where I could find equally useful information and at times information that would be withheld from those in authority, official and otherwise.

The main enterprise of the people in these small, minor kingdoms was rice farming, fishing, and trading, the kingdoms being part of the maritime trade network which joins them with Cathay, Malacca, and the other islands in this vast ocean. The island was reputed to have gold. That I was unable to confirm but the island did have large deposits of iron-ore. I discovered it is populated by people called the Bugis (or Buginese), who in outward appearance are pleasant, looking much like those native inhabitants of the other islands and of Malay. They appear to have lived here for hundreds of years, surviving as the kingdoms come and go and compete with each other for trade, and are constantly at war with each other.

One of the larger tribes and the people I spent most of my time with were the Sulu Makassai. Those along the coast live in homes built on tall stilts, some nine feet tall, and are fishermen and traders, occupations I can easily identify with. I found them all to be friendly, open, simple people who went about their daily lives with the attitude that it did not matter much to them who proclaimed himself king and led for one was no different from the other and it was not for them to know the way of kings. As for the way of gods, there were individuals whose role was to know such things and such matters were best left in their hands.

When I met with one of the elders he thought I was one of those men and so took me to meet the local savant knowledgeable of all things spiritual. When I first met the person, a bissu, I thought I was in the presence of an ancient woman, bent, wrinkled, and frail. I was very wrong in two of my assumptions. This was no woman, and certainly not frail. These bissu serve both as community priest and doctor and are treated with the highest of respect and the greatest of fear, most having even greater power than the village headman. And though they dressed and acted as women, they were men. I was immediately reminded of many of the shamans I had met in my travels across the Ocean Sea who were also men who dressed and acted as women, causing me again to wonder why that was so, why they dressed and acted as women, and why so far apart from each other.

Upon this first bissu discovering my interest in and knowledge of herbs and medicines and learning of my own experiences as a high priest and intermediary with the gods, and seeing my tattoos and learning their significance, word quickly spread from village to village and I was revered and feared as the bissu were wherever I went, and readily accepted by them. I learned it was the belief of these people that some individuals are born with all aspects of all genders and the propensity to be a bissu, and these individuals are treated as special from the day of their birth, an older bissu eventually taking them in and training them just as the shaman across the Ocean Sea are. These individuals are male physically but are considered to be female inside. They are celibate and serve as intermediaries between the people and the gods.

When I told the first bissu I met of my own experiences in that regard, she concluded my appearance here was the work of the gods and that they were sending a message to her through me and she immediately began preparations so we could contact the spirits together. We drank a dark tea that was exceedingly bitter despite the generous helping of sugar cane she added and then sat around a fire upon which she tossed dry leaves, creating much smoke which we inhaled while she began a chant. I gradually grew dizzy and then sleepy. In my dream I appeared to be floating and the next thing I remember was walking in a grey wasteland and being engulfed in a thick fog or a cloud. We were met by a tribe of black men the colour of burnt firewood covered in a white ash and their bodies and faces covered with blisters and deep slashes that exposed their white bones. I sat on a huge rock and a man approached me with a stone knife and I realized his penis and that of all the others was split in two from the base to the tip and it was evident he was about to do the same to me.

Leaping up in fear I ran through the fog and lost them only to run into another group of men with heads like wild boars sitting and eating around a fire and as I approached I realized they were eating a dead man and the children were scooping out his brains and licking their fingers as if dripping with honey and as they looked up at me with those demon eyes I ran again knowing they were looking upon me as their next meal. Once again I ran in fear until I stumbled into a group of men, impossibly obese men with roles of fat, men I had seen in a vision once before in San Jorge, and they leaped up and surrounded me as if to protect me from the cannibals, but they drew me to them, engulfing me in their folds of flesh and smothering me. They must have suffocated me and I must have died for I could remember nothing until the next thing I became aware of I was on the peak of a mountain higher than one could imagine, so high it was covered with ice and snow, and all around were deep, dark chasms and lower snow-clad mountains. An ancient, frail man dressed as a Buddhist monk in robes of red and yellow sat smiling at me and talking but I could not understand a word he said. Hanging upside down beside him like a bat was a young boy with a mature woman's breasts and the large, erect member of a man, and he smiled at me and gestured for me to come to him.

When I awoke, it was morning and my clothing was soaked with sweat and the old woman was looking at me with wide, frightened eyes. She said that never before had she seen such demons and unfamiliar spirits nor sensed such evil and that many dangers lay ahead of me. She added that great dangers and great change were coming to her people also but thanks to me she would be prepared, and that she had never met anyone with such strong powers as I to converse with such powerful spirits. And lastly, she said she and the elders were wrong, I was no bissu but something else, but she did not say what and I suspect she did not know. Her words deeply frightened me, as did what I had seen, and I spent many days following worrying and wondering what it all meant.

As we moved on to the next kingdom, my reputation preceded me. Though I was made welcome and treated with great respect, I sensed there was an even greater fear by the local chief and bissu than in the previous village. While there I met another individual, a calabai, an individual who is also a man but who dresses and acts as a woman and takes on female roles. He danced and played cymbals and after his performance I joined him and others of his kind, many of whom I discovered were entertainers, performing in the markets and streets as musicians, singers, and dancers. I spent a most enjoyable evening in their company entertaining them with my panpipes and learning their folk songs and legends. Most enjoyable of all was that I was not held in great reverence and fear as I had been with the village chief and bissu, and for a time I was able to put aside my worries and fears. Through the songs and legends they shared, I learned that there was another group who was identified as a third sex, the calalai, women who dress and act as men, many living with female partners, and to whom I was introduced the following morning. (5)

Chapter 27
Timor 

Arriving at the kingdom of Wehalit, while Xing-fu conducts his business Nico visits the market and a recently arrived Arab trade caravan camped at the gate. Assisting the young caravan leader, he spends the night with two zun-e-suffuree, boys who follow trade caravans and serve their leaders, including sexually. The following night he joins the trader in introducing two virgin black boys captured and sold to the Arabs, one of them in front of his father.
Codes: M/b, M/t  

Characters: Zun-e-suffuree 14 and 15, slaves 7 

Xing-fu having concluded his business on the island, we continued to sail south and east, fighting a strong, hot, south wind and travelling about a hundred and ninety leagues but taking twelve days to reach our destination, the kingdom of Wehali and its sister kingdom Wewiku who together have domination over the surrounding kingdoms. They are populated by a black-skinned peoples who base their relationships on the female in the family instead of the male as is right and proper. The number of perversions of this black race continues to surprise me. Their ruler, the Nai Bot (Great Lord) had the title Maromak Oan which in their language means Son of God. I quickly discovered these are not Christians however but believe in pagan deities and spirits which live in the woods and rivers.

This king met us with great pomp dressed in a white and blue skirt and an elaborate headdress of the same colour with long cloth flaps on each side extending half way down his chest, which was bare and hairless. Accompanying him was another man, the Liurai, whose title means Surpassing the Land. We discovered the king's position is actually passive and symbolically female, his assistant, the Liurai, dealing with the actual administration of the kingdom. We also discovered, again to my surprise, that the twin kingdoms were once part of the Majapahit Empire, and again its once great size and power amazing me. They are now part of the Chinese-Indian trade network.

While Xing-fu met with the Liurai, I wandered about the city and the market. Most of the traders were from the rural countryside and traded simple goods, textiles, livestock, vegetables and the like, to the city folk. Local craftsmen had for sale carvings and boxes made from sandalwood. There were also a number of traders from Cathay and from India trading their wares, mostly silks and spices. There was also, I discovered, a small amount of gold and silver in the kingdom which were made into ankle, wrist and forearm bracelets and medallions worn by the king, nobility, and warriors. At the edge of the city was camped a caravan of Arabs from the distant Sultanate of Brunei in the north. Arabs were still a rarity in this land and the trade caravan was doing a brisk business having brought goods from still further north and unseen here, carpets, wall hangings and cloth from Persia and Ghazni and goods I recognized from Malacca, and collecting local goods that were rare in the north, sandalwood, honey and wax, making a large profit at both ends. Their leader, a man by the name of Malik ibn Mohamed al-Mahmoud, was an enterprising and shrewd man but new in his trade, being only two years older than myself. Being fluent in the Arab tongue and understanding enough of the local language, I was able to assist him and the members of his caravan with interpretation and was warmly welcomed into the camp.

Our evening meal was served by three boys, fourteen and fifteen years of age, dressed and perfumed as women, slender and graceful, nut-brown, smooth-cheeked, dark-eyed beauties with long, feathery eyelashes. Needless to say I could not keep my eyes off them, and although I tried to be discrete, it was impossible for my host not to notice my interest. The boys were, he explained as we relaxed with a cup of coffee after our meal, zun-e-suffuree, boys who travelled with trade caravans such as his to serve the leaders of the convoy, himself in this instance, including special, private services, which he hinted were also available to others who could afford the price. His eyes narrowed, a slight curl came to his lips, and his voice dropped when he mentioned the latter.

"These ignorant blacks do not appreciate the beauty of young boys. It is a tiring duty, but being the only leader of this caravan, the responsibility falls upon me," he said, laying back with a dramatic sigh.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," I said, taking out my purse and taking out a ruby.

"The moment I laid eyes on you I knew you were a man who appreciates what Allah provides here on earth as examples of what await the faithful in Paradise," he said, his eyes on the ruby. "And for that much appreciation, you can have two, for the night." As I looked up at him, a smile slowly curled his lips. "It is a tiring duty, but it would not be right for me to sleep alone."

I returned the smile and handed him the ruby and he summoned the three boys. Selecting one, he told the other two I was a greatly honoured guest and he expected an appropriate accounting of them. The boys led me to a small tent next to his, apparently their accommodation. Other than three small chests and an ornate cabinet, it contained only a thick carpet and an abundance of pillows.

"Your wish is our pleasure, çahib," the older of the two boys said with a deep bow.

"Your pleasure is my wish," I replied. They glanced at each other uncertainly. "Choose whatever brings each of you the greatest pleasure," I explained with a smile. The two boys glanced at each other again and a smile slowly curled their smooth, sensuous lips.

The older of the two boys approached me and slipping his warm, soft hands inside my robe, he began to caress my back and my chest as he stretched up on his toes and raised his head and our lips met in a light, tender kiss, followed by another and another, each becoming firmer and longer. The sweet aroma of jasmine, the fresh fragrance of his boy breath, and his caresses resulted in an immediate stirring of my member and I returned his kisses with passion and began to slip off his robe. His body was slender and nut-brown from the tips of his ears to the tips of his toes, his muscles beginning to develop the definition that comes with adolescence but still smoothly contoured. He had a small curly patch above a small, circumcised, nut-brown cocklet and small, walnut-sized, darker balls, and smooth, compact, nut-brown buttocks. My member quickly began to rise in appreciation and anticipation. Twelve weeks and four days had passed since I had congress with the two boys from Ponorogo.

Opening and slipping off my robe, he was surprised to see my tattoos, and delighted to see my rising member. He caressed my chest and my back and traced the vines tattooed about my arms and legs and he cupped my firm buttocks and caressed them, knowing to avoid what had really caught his attention given the speed with which it was swelling and knowing how great its need must be. He kissed my chest tenderly and mouthed my nipples, and then affixing his lips to the right one he sucked gently, causing it to become firm and to burn with arousal. After a moment he turned to the left and gave it equal attention until it burned as hotly as the right. Continuing to nibble, he continued downward, following the hair trail between my breasts to my belly button, and crouching down he continued, bypassing again the centre of attention, now rigid and pointing to the roof of the tent, and nibbling and kissing my right and then my left thigh.

Now on his knees, he skipped his lips up my left thigh and snaking out his tongue, he licked my dangling, hairy nuts and took one and then the other in his mouth and sucked on them gently. He followed the dark vein running along the underside of my rigid cock with his tongue to below my knob and then gently ran his tongue along the rim of my bulb and swirled it about the turgid flesh. As the first clear bubble of my nectar oozed out the tip he flicked up the sweet treat and smeared it over his smooth lips as he gazed up into my eyes. Another generous dollop oozed out the tip of my now wildly jerking cock and I knew I was dangerously close to ejaculating as he flicked it up with the tip of his tongue and drew it into his mouth and savoured it.

He knew also and his head suddenly darted forward like the head of a snake, his mouth wide open, and slipping his mouth over my knob he clamped his lips tightly about it where it joined my shaft, cutting off the impulse to squirt out my seed as I rested my hands on his naked shoulders. We stayed frozen like that for the longest time, this beautiful fifteen-year-old boy eight years my junior and me, naked, my bulb clamped in his mouth as it filled with spittle, his companion, a year younger, sitting attentively amongst the pillows and watching us closely. My heart was racing and I inhaled and exhaled slowly and deeply, willingly myself to relax. Twelve weeks and four days is a long time.

At long last the boy began to suck, slowly and gently, his lips unmoving, and then ever so slowly he began to lower his head. My cock, two hands and two fingers long, was slowly engulfed by the mouth of this beautiful boy, a quarter, a half, three-quarters down my shaft. This young cobra swallowed my member further than any boy ever has and he worked his mouth, slushing his spittle about my throbbing, swollen flesh. Then slowly slipping his lips back up my shaft until only my bulb remained in his mouth, he swallowed his cock-flavoured spittle. Loosening his grip he began to descend once again and then tightening his lips once more he began to suck as he drew his lips back up, his mouth filling with saliva with the tasty treat in his mouth. And so he sucked, swallowed, and slipped his lips up and down my shaft, and each time his mouth slipped over the knob of my cock it sent thrills of delight and agony through the spongy knob and down the core of my member.

The boy alone was worth the ruby I had paid, but even with his skill he could not delay the inevitable for long given my lengthy period of abstinence. He paused several times and clamped his lips about my member below the knob like a vice, prolonging the pleasure far beyond what I thought possible. I was breathing heavily and so was he, blowing the air out of his lungs through his nose and sucking it in deeply as he continued to keep the suction on my throbbing flesh. With a deep sigh I warned him but he already knew and was drawing his lips up to encase just my knob as I spoke. My seed gushed up the core of my cock like the molten rock that erupts from the mountains in this strange, hot land, and spurted out the tip of my cock with a burning, delightful sensation, and I filled this young boy's mouth with my slime until his smooth cheeks were bulging and he had to begin swallowing.

With each gulp he swallowed I squirted another blast, my cock throbbing continually and my seed spurting out spurt after delightful spurt, my entire cock numb, the opening and rim of my bulb burning with sweet pain, my nuts drawn up tight below my benumbed member as I emptied twelve weeks and four days of seed into this beautiful teenage boy's mouth. His eyes closed with delight as he drank my thick slime, and he inhaled and exhaled with arousal and exertion as he savoured it, and when I was done, he fastened his lips tighter about my bulb and sucked deeply, drawing out the thick cream still in the core of my throbbing, numb member.

When at last he released my cock, the two of us collapsed on the pillows, delighted and exhausted, my cock still stiff and glistening with his spittle, his lips slick with his spittle and my slime and curled into a smile of sheer delight as he gazed over at me with glazed eyes. Neither of us spoke, the silence broken by only our deep, laboured breathing.

We rested for the longest time, a candle mark at least. The younger boy glanced over at me questioningly and apprehensively with hope in his bright eyes, and as I smiled at him and nodded his lips curled into a smile. Discarding his robe and revealing a nut-brown body as delightful as that of the first boy, softer and less defined being a year younger but developing the contours of adolescence having reached puberty, he got up and walked over to the cabinet and returned with a jar of lubricant. Removing the stopper, he handed it to me and dropping to his knees and elbows he presented his backside to me. Dipping my pointer finger into the lavender paste, I spread apart his cheeks with my other hand and smeared the paste over his pucker. I scooped out another dollop and as he pushed out with his anus I slipped my finger inside and greased the inside of his rectum.

He turned and scooping up a dollop of the pale purple ointment with his middle two fingers, he spread it over my bulb, my member already rising in the air in anticipation. He spread it thickly over my knob and over the top of my shaft as the sweet fragrance of lavender filled the room. The other boy had retrieved warm, damp towels from the cabinet in the tent and I and the boy wiped off our fingers. Stacking two of the larger, firmer pillows, the boy lay down on his back, his hips raised on the two pillows and his legs outspread. I quickly knelt down between his legs and shuffled forward, my stiff, greased member pointing the way. Reaching down and grasping it at the base and bending it parallel, I leaned forward and inserted the tip in his hole. Crouching back while slowly seesawing forward to keep my knob wedged in his hole, I straightened and pressed forward. The boy relaxed and pushed outward at the same time without the need for me to tell him and ever so slowly my knob began to stretch open his anus.

I glanced down at him as I continued to press forward but he did not notice, his gaze lowered and brow knitted as he concentrated. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as he continued to push out and I continued to push forward, staring intently at his crotch as he concentrated. I continued to push ever so slowly but relentlessly, my blood-engorged knob stretching open his anal muscle until the rim pushed past and my knob popped inside his body. Inhaling deeply, I continued to push, sinking my stiff member deeper up his cavity and he inhaled deeply also as he felt me sliding into him, a smile gradually curling his lips. He slowly raised his eyes and as our eyes met his lips parted and his smile widened, and the deeper I sank my long, thick cock up his rectum the brighter his eyes shone. Two palms and two fingers long and three fingers wide and I sank it all up his body until his stones in their loose sack were nestled in my hairs and his anus was gripping my cock by the base. With the lubricant, my experience, and his skill we united with our first attempt and with a minimum of pain.

I paused for a moment to delight in the sensation of having my entire cock surrounded by hot, moist, pulsating flesh, and to give him time to focus on the delight of having his rectum stuffed with a man's thick member. Inhaling deeply, I slowly drew my cock back and I felt his anus tighten about my shaft as if trying to stop it, and then as I slowly sank my member back up his tight, narrow rectum I felt his anus relax, revealing his experience. Balancing myself on my knees between his raised, outspread legs and on my elbows on either side of his body, I began a slow and deliberate rhythm, easing my cock deep up his rectum until his eggs were nesting in my curly hairs, and then easing my cock back out until my knob was at his entrance.

As I fucked this tender, fourteen-year-old boy I smiled down at him, delighting in the hot, throbbing flesh surrounding my cock and in the sheer pleasure in his bright young eyes. His cheeks flushed and his lips parted, he looked up at me from behind hooded eyes, his hot, sweet breath blowing in my face, and the look of pleasure in his eyes brought me as much pleasure as his hot, tight asshole. My breathing slowly became more laboured, as did his, as that pleasure pulsated between my legs, my throbbing cock and his throbbing flesh becoming one. The blood throbbed through my cock now as rigid as tempered steel, and my knob burned and itched with that sweet pain that only a male can know. I inhaled and exhaled deeply as I thrust my cock in and out of the sweet body of this young boy and my cock slowly grew numb.

I paused to prolong my pleasure and the boy lay still, knowing why I had stopped, and then I resumed fucking this beautiful, nut-brown cherub, and his eyes crinkled with delight and he gasped with pleasure through moist, parted lips as his anus burned and his rectum throbbed. His young cock, a palm-width in length and two fingers thick, had become erect, proof of his pleasure and willingness. I fucked slowly and having only recently shot a load, it took a while, but gradually I felt the pressure developing once again in my loins. This time I could not delay and I continued my slow, deliberate rhythm, gradually increasing in speed as the humours of lust poured into my veins and throbbed through the swollen flesh between my legs. The burning itch circling the rim of my bulb grew stronger and I began to thrust my hips to and fro in response to the demand in my loins, and the sweet fourteen-year-old boy beneath me began to thrust his hips up and forward in eager response.

Inhaling deeply, I snorted with delight as once again I felt my hot, thick lava burn up the core of my swollen, numbed cock and erupt out the tip. I spurted as forcefully as the first time this night, shooting my seed deep up the young boy's rectum, and the first spurt was quickly followed by a second and a third. It was as if I had not come earlier and my balls tightened and spurted out my seed spurt after spurt, flooding the young boy's rectum. And then he gasped and he began to spurt also, the thin seed of a fourteen-year-old boy blasting out of his stiff, jerking little cannon, causing the boy to thrust his hips to and fro, his thin chest rising and falling as his seed shot through the air and basted his smooth, nut-brown chest with watery slime, his seed collecting in pools and oozing down along his ribs as he christened himself with his own seed as I flooded his bowels with mine.

His companion was erect and breathing heavily with arousal as he watched the two of us reach our orgasms, and I jerked my head, motioning for him to approach us. He did, uncertain of my intent and not wanting to intrude. I jerked my head again and opened my mouth, and as he approached us on his knees I slipped my lips over his erect cock, only slightly longer than his fourteen-year-old companion's, and began to suck. The boy was heated and in seconds he began to spurt his hot, delicious seed in my mouth and I allowed his slime to collect and fill my mouth. I savoured its sweet flavour and thin constituency, the slime of a fifteen-year-old boy, before I swallowed it, and like any teenage boy, his ripe nuts were full and easily filled my mouth a second time.

At last the three of us disentangled, our cocks stiff and dripping with our seed, the numbness slowly receding as the hot flush that follows the spending of one's seed spread over our flesh from our crotches to our cheeks. We inhaled the humid air thick with the fragrance of spilt seed, filling our lungs, my breath smelling of teenage seed and my lips tasting of teen cock, the fifteen-year-old boy's breath smelling of my seed and his lips tasting of my cock, the fourteen-year-old spattered with his own seed and his rectum flooded with my thick slime.

When I sought out Xing-fu the next morning I found he had left a message yesterday for me saying he had gone on to the sister kingdom of Wewiku and expected to return on the morrow and that there was no need for me to follow. Exhausted from my evening and having risen early, I slept the rest of the morning and relaxed in the heat of the afternoon in the accommodation Xing-fu had secured for us the evening of our arrival. I talked to several of the workers at the inn and returned to the market and talked to several of the entertainers, but I learned and found nothing new, and as one would suspect, I found myself once again at the Arab caravan outside the city gates.

"So, my friend, you have returned," greeted the caravan leader warmly. "From what I was told about last night, I suspected a man of your virility would not be satisfied with only one evening."

"It is a tiring duty, but one must show his appreciation to Allah for such providing such heavenly gifts here on earth," I replied.

Malik laughed loudly and slapped me on the back. "I do not know if the boys can handle two nights in a row," he said seriously as he stroked his dark, neatly trimmed goatee.

"If there is a question of–," I began as I reached for my purse. For another evening like the previous I would gladly pay another ruby.

"Oh, no," he interrupted, reaching out and stopping me. "That is not necessary." He thought for a moment. "Perhaps tonight you would like to try something different."

"Different?"

He motioned for me to follow him. Taking me to the end of the caravan, he spoke quietly to an older, rough-looking individual with a full beard and bristly eyebrows who unlocked the gate to an enclosure that looked like it had been recently and hastily built. Inside I found a dozen and a half bound natives.

"These kingdoms have little of value, nothing that warrants the distance one must travel to get here, but this island and those surrounding are populated with many blacks who like all blacks breed like rabbits and are constantly at war with each other. Their leaders have discovered instead of killing their enemies off to stop them from breeding, it is more profitable to capture their enemies and export them," he said with a smile. "Not just the men, but women and especially potential little warriors."

As I glanced about the compound I discovered that a number of the prisoners were women, and hiding behind them and in the shadows were a number of children. Among other things, Malik ibn Mohammed al-Mahmoud was a slave trader! Had I known I would not have visited the caravan yesterday and I would never have paid for the pleasure of the previous night, and I certainly would not have returned today. Father and Uncle have many strong opinions, often contrary to those of others, but none as strong as their opposition to the selling and the keeping of slaves, claiming the practice is unchristian though I know many Christians who do, including Princes of the Holy Catholic Church. I am not a supporter of those who sell humans for such purpose and I would never employ slaves myself, though I must confess I do not feel as strongly about it as Father and Uncle for there are some races which are best suited for such a position.

"So we do the local chiefs a favour by disposing of their enemies for them and thereby decreasing their numbers, and besides," he added with a shrug, "we do their enemies a favour also by bettering their lot. These local blacks, like their cousins on the dark continent and all of their race, are an inferior lot compared to civilized men, and of little intelligence. At least as slaves they will lead far better lives than they do here and they will be put to some use, so we will be improving the lives of their future owners besides. So we do everyone a favour, and perhaps you can do me a favour also."

"A favour?"

"Have you ever had a black boy?"

I immediately thought of my week herding cattle with the three teenage boys of the Karanga, and of the sixteen-year-old mystic twins of the Temne from Serra da Leoa, and of course of the six-year-old who had introduced me to sex with my own gender in the Kongo, a boy whose name I never knew.

"I thought so," Malik said with a grin without me saying anything. "Then you know these savages are as lustful and uninhibited as the wild monkeys with whom they live in the jungle and over whom they are barely more advanced. They even sit in the trees and openly masturbate like their monkey cousins. And you know once they have sampled cock, especially one which is not black, the women and children cannot get enough." He motioned for two boys to step forward, boys about half the age of the boys I had the previous night. "Would you do me the honour of joining me and introducing these two boys to such pleasure?"

The two boys were black as night with only a bit of rag covering their loins and leaving glimpses of their black little sausages. They looked up at us with those big white eyes in wide-eyed innocence, and fear. "I would." He had been most accurate in his description of the blacks

"I thought you would," Malik said with a laugh. "Wash these two down and check them for lice and bring them to my tent," he said, turning to the man with the thick beard. As we turned to leave, one of the men stepped forward and dropping to his knees began to wail and wring his hands and jabber rapidly in their tongue. I translated for Malik as best I could. The man was apparently the father of one of the boys and he was begging us to spare the boys, to do them no harm and not to kill them, and that he would do whatever we wished if we let the boys be. Malik thought for a moment and then with a smile told the keeper to wash down the man and check him for lice too and bring him along with the boys, bound.

We retired to his tent and the boys who had served us yesterday brought us fresh fruit dipped in honey and a fermented drink that I did not recognize and was too cloyingly sweet for my taste. They glanced at each other and then at me and at Malik but they said and revealed nothing. I wondered what they were thinking. The black boys and the black man were soon ushered into the tent and the man was forced to his knees and tied securely to one of the tent poles. The man looked from Malik to myself fearfully but had talked himself hoarse and said nothing. Malik stood and opened his robe and let it drop and he motioned for one of the boys to step forward and kneel before him.

"No," groaned the man. "No. Not my son! Not that. Let me take his place," he begged.

Malik needed no translation. He said nothing. He picked up his scimitar which hung from a tent post beside him and raised it and then grasped his penis with his other hand and wagged it. "This," he said coldly as he looked smugly at the man, waving the sword, and then shaking his member, "or this." The man snapped his mouth closed. Malik glanced at me and I stood and opening my robe, I let it fall about my ankles also. "I heard about your markings," he said appreciatively. "You must explain them to me later." He motioned for the other boy to approach me and the boy did so immediately.

Turning his attention to the little black boy fearfully and obediently kneeling before him, he hung the scimitar back up and told the boy to lick his balls. A quick glance at the scimitar and the boy stuck out his tongue and began to lick enthusiastically. A glance from Malik and the other boy quickly began licking mine. "Just look at that," Malik said, "natural little perverts, every one of them just as I said." He glanced over at the man and then looked down at the two boys and smirked. "Now my cock, boy," he said, hooking his finger under his swelling member and flipping it. The boy immediately began to lick his shaft and knob, lapping his swelling cock like it was a cane of sugar. The boy kneeling before me did likewise, his hot tongue swirling around my stones and then licking my swelling member from base to bulb as if it was the tastiest thing he had ever had. "What did I tell you? Once they get the scent of cock they can't get enough of it."

Of course the demonstration with the scimitar was a big motivator but I had to admit from my experience the black race is not as inhibited as the more cultured white. I have never met a white boy who was as eager to lick a man's balls and dick as any black, and certainly not as eager as these two boys. Such is the way the Lord made the black race. Both Malik and I continued to swell and the two boys licked us dutifully until we were both erect. Malik was almost two hand widths long, a generous length, and circumcised, as is the custom of his faith. His tawny body was firm and muscular, a body fit for a soldier and kept fit by the heavy work of a trader. His dark, black beard and moustache were thick and neatly trimmed, and a thick mat of curly hair spread across his broad chest and continued down in a narrow trail over his stomach to spread out in an inverted triangle above his erect member and stones.

Following Malik's instructions, the boy slipped his mouth over Malik's bulb and eased his lips half way down his cock and began to bob his head as his cheeks sunk in and he sucked on the man's member. The other boy did likewise and I inhaled deeply with pleasure as the youngster sucked on my stiff cock and slipped his lips up and down the shaft, doing his best to go down as far as he could, and drawing up and over my sensitive bulb. Malik grinned broadly and asked again if he had not been right about black boys being naturally eager for a man's cock, looking over at the boy's father as he asked and ordering him to raise his head and watch. The man did so, humiliation, anger and shame in his eyes as he watched his young son sucking Malik's stiff cock. I thought of the many tales I had heard in my travels across the Arab lands of Christian fathers choosing death for themselves and their sons over congress with their Arab conquerors and from the look on the man's face I am sure at that moment he was thinking the same, and certainly was wishing Malik was dead.

Stopping the boy, Malik sent him to fetch a jar from the cabinet along the wall of the tent, and the boy returned with a container that was immediately familiar. Having the boy remove the stopper, he had the boy first lubricate the anus and rectum of the other boy, and then he had the other boy do the same to the first boy, and then the two boys lubricate his and my stiff cocks. Having them wipe off their hands with warm, wet towels placed along with bowls of water on the cabinet earlier, he had the two boys return and then turn around and bend over and grasp their knees. He asked the boys if they had ever been mounted before, or if they had ever mounted another male, and both replied in the negative to both questions.

As we wedged the tips of our knobs in the anuses of these two innocent, virgin boys, we grasped their narrow hips and pressed forward as the boys pushed out as they were told. They were young and tight and inexperienced and we were better endowed than the average man, but we were experienced and those parts we were trying to unite were well lubricated. Even so it took much effort on the part of all four of us and we grunted and snorted and panted with exertion as Malik and I tried to insert our swollen members up the tight, unexplored rectums of the two boys. Ever so gradually we succeeded and I was delighted to feel my knob pop inside the rectum of the young black boy bent over before me. Inhaling deeply and grasping his hips more firmly, I slowly pushed forward, sinking my cock up the boy's tight ass, and moments later I heard the other boy gasp as Malik did likewise.

Sinking our cocks up to the hilts, we began to fuck the two black, prepubescent boys, easing our cocks in and out of their hot, tight holes. Our members throbbed with desire, and I felt the boy's flesh throbbing hotly around my cock. He tightened his anus as I drew my cock out, and relaxed as I thrust my cock forward as Malik had told the two boys to do. Knowing that this was the first time for the two boys was particularly erotic, and not normally engaging in the act in the presence of another man, I found fucking the young boy along with Malik fucking the other boy even more arousing. Having the father of one of the boys in the room witnessing the taking of the plum of his son added to the eroticism and I was soon at the brink of cumming. So was Malik apparently, as he paused moments after I did. We stood there silently, allowing our passions to subside.

Although I had cum twice the night before, I was ready to do so again this night and could not postpone the pleasure more than once. And so with much huffing and puffing and grunting and snorting, I ravaged the young boy bent before me, seeking only my own satisfaction I admit much to my shame, but it had been twelve weeks and five days since I had enjoyed the pleasures of the boys from Ponorogo and last night had hardly been sufficient to satisfy my hunger. I know that is no excuse for my behaviour, and in my defence I can only say that under normal circumstances I am just as concerned about the pleasure of my partner as I am mine and this was not a typical situation. Besides, they were blacks and destined to be slaves, and were lucky they were still alive and with their heads. So I groaned with great delight as I roughly fucked this young boy and filled his virgin cavity with my hot, thick seed as Malik did the same to the boy before him.

Having the two boys clean our cocks of ass slime and our seed with warm, wet cloths, we relaxed and the three zun-e-suffuree replenished our plates of honeyed fruits and sweet drinks and Malik talked about his trade caravan and his journey to this country and he asked me about my tattoos and I explained their meaning and their origin, saying only that I had gotten them in my travels far to the west. By west he assumed I meant the Berbers of Algiers or the Kingdom of Granada, saying he had heard both pierced their bodies in such a manner, evidently not having heard the Catholic Monarchs had defeated the heathen kingdom of Granada seven years ago. He had also assumed from my fluency in his language that I was a fellow Arab, though from my accent and lighter skin that I was not from the East. It was a natural assumption, my own skin having darkened considerably under this relentless sun and I myself knowing Moors even lighter-skinned than I. He also spoke of another Malik, the Arab Imam and philosopher Malik ibn Anas, who said it was the duty of every Muslim to subjugate nonbelievers by sodomizing them to glorify the superiority of Islam, a duty he took most seriously.

And saying so, we rose to do just that, this time he taking the boy I had sodomized and I taking the young son. Again we had the boys fondle and suck our balls and cocks to arouse us, which they did obediently and willingly and which was not a difficult chore, the two boys being young and attractive and the two of us having a preference for young boys. They once again lubricated our stiff cocks, not having to lubricate each other as they had not cleansed themselves from the first time, and their channels now having the added lubrication from our slime. Once more the two boys dutifully bent over, and again we mounted the boys with little difficulty.

Grasping the slender hips of the young boy bent before me, I began to pump my hips to and fro, driving my stiff cock in and out of his hot, tight rectum, moist with lubricant, ass slime, and the seed of my host, and as I pumped my cock in and out of his rectum you could hear the slucking of those lubricants inside his body. I glanced over at the boy's father and wondered what the man was thinking, seeing his young son bent over and being fucked by the man whose cock he had just sucked and aroused. I wondered what the young boy was thinking, being used this way before his father. Fucking him before his father I found erotic for some reason, more so than if I had done it in private. As I thought about that, my mind jumped to Fernão Nunzio, the teenage son of the owner of our adjacent estate, now the sexual companion of my equerry Arasibo, and as I pictured myself and my equerry fucking the boy before his father I felt a rush of arousal pass up the core of my swollen cock so debased I had become.

Whatever his thoughts, Malik was also aroused by the situation, and like myself, he had to pause to prolong his pleasure, and like me, he could not wait too long. And so once again, we filled the rectums of the two boys, my slime joining and mixing with Malik's up the ass of the young black boy as his father watched, and Malik's seed joining and mixing with mine up the ass of the other young boy.

Chapter 28
Terra Australis and Land of the Etoro

Continuing south Xing-fu and Nico arrive at Terra Australis, long predicted to exist but never found. They accompany a tribe in their hunts, and seen a spiritual beings, join them in their coming of age ceremonies (one of the visions Nico had in Brunei. Aided by strong winds they travel north to what is now Papua New Guinea where they learn of the belief that one's life force is found in semen and Nico engages in imitative magic with a 15 yo boy to ensure fertility of the land and the practices to ensure the fertility of males in coming of age ceremonies with three prepubescent boys while Xing-fu drenches foetuses with his semen to ensure their health, beliefs still held but now fading.
Codes: M/b, M/t

Xing-fu returned from Wewiku late the following afternoon and we set sail the next morning. We had been told the land to the south was dry, barren and useless, and the hot, dry wind we faced gave us cause to believe what we had been told, but both of us were determined to see this land with our own eyes. We estimated we travelled a hundred and fifty leagues, fighting the wind and currents all the way and reaching land the morning of our ninth day. Arriving at a rugged, rocky lowland with no sign of a village or inhabitants and a hot wind blowing from the interior, we did not find it a welcoming place. Our approach had apparently been noticed however and shortly after our arrival we spotted about two dozen individuals cautiously making their way down the cliffs toward us.

They were black, the colour of burnt firewood, and their faces and naked bodies were marked with dots and slashes with white clay, and as they got closer I saw that they were all males, adolescents and adults, and that their members were badly mutilated, and my heart suddenly leaped in fear. These were the men in my dream, the men who wished to mutilate my member as theirs were! They circled us and studied us closely, making the universal gestures to indicate they meant us no harm though for me they were most anxious moments. The language they spoke neither Xing-fu nor I had heard before, but it was similar enough to the language spoken in Wehali that we could make ourselves understood. They called themselves the Warramunga and we learned they were a hunting party from a tribe that was camped inland. They had spotted our ship and had come to investigate. From what we could determine, they followed no king, and nor did any other tribe that they knew. They said there were stories of others who looked similar to us arriving from the sea, both mortal men and spirits, but we were the first they had ever seen themselves. (1)

We assured them we were men as they were and we were invited to return with them to their village to talk to the elders who were much wiser and could tell us more, but first they had to finish their hunt. Though we were suspicious of their motives and fearful for our safety, being greatly outnumbered and they being heavily armed, most assertive, and most fierce-looking, we accompanied them, being curious, and not wanting to offend them, and really, not having much choice. For hunting they had stone knives, spears tipped with flint or bone, and angled pieces of wood used to launch their spears and which to my amazement allowed them to hurl their spears twice the distance I was aware men could throw. Most strange was a curved and polished piece of wood they called a kai-in which when tossed made a wide arc and if it did not strike its target returned to the thrower!

The animal they were hunting was as strange as they were, a beast covered with a brown, woolly fur and almost as tall as an adolescent boy with large ears, short front legs, and huge hind legs upon which it hopped and a large, thick tail. When cornered, these beasts punched their attacker repeatedly with their front paws or kicked with a hind foot, one of the four toes having a large, sharp claw that could easily eviscerate a man with a single sweep.

Having managed to bring one of these beasts down, they surrounded it and repeatedly stabbed it with their long spears in an attempt to kill it until I drew my scimitar and cut its throat, mercifully putting it out of its misery. They were much awed by my weapon and its sharpness, and despite my warning, several cut themselves on the blade when they tried to inspect it. After the first incident, I swear that several others grabbed the blade and injured themselves on purpose so great was their ignorance, and I came to conclude, so great was their eagerness to cause themselves pain! Scars, it would appear, were valued signs of courage and masculinity.

We returned to their village triumphant and Xing-fu and I received as much attention as the beast they had killed. While they eviscerated and skinned it and roasted in on a spit over a fire, we met with the elders, the Puntúku, wizened, white-haired, heavily-scarred old men with bushy, wiry hair and beards. They had evidently met with others outside of their own tribe because they knew bits of language spoken at Wehali and a smattering of trade language. We were told there were many tribes such as theirs in this land, each with a different name, none of whom Xing-fu nor I had heard of, and they repeated that they knew no leader other than the elder of their tribe.

We were also told the coast stretched from one horizon to the other without end and that further inland was a vast desert that took several cycles of the moon to cross, which was possible only if accompanied by one of those who lived there and knew where there was water, and beyond that was still more land. They also talked of spirits, the Puntidir, who lived scattered across the land, of the Paúwa, a mischievous creature, and many other beings that were unknown by either Xing-fu or myself and so numerous it was impossible for me to record all of them.

When we had first arrived at the village, I had noticed the hunters were welcomed back by wives and children and by elderly parents, family groups. After our meeting with the elders, we left the women and children at the village and moved off to what we were informed was a special, sacred place for men only and a second fire was started around which we sat. I noticed the men gathered in groups that had similar markings on their bodies, some recognizable as animals and especially snakes, of which there appeared to be a great many kinds. We learned that these were totems, each group having their own rituals, beliefs and position in the village.

Xing-fu suggested I reveal my tattoos and our hosts were all most impressed and inspected my markings with great awe and conversation, most of which I did not understand, and each was eager to show me the totem tattooed on their body and to explain the merits of the particular animal, reptile or bird they associated with. That my markings were of vegetation came as a great surprise and were met with great awe and wonder.

As we talked I also noticed several males sat in pairs, an older with a younger, and that they were particularly attentive to each other. The older males, usually in their late teens or early twenties, they called thrumbruknára, which we discovered meant fully-initiated but unmarried men. The younger boy in a pair, I figured around five years of age, they called a chookadoo, and those between the ages of five and seven a mullawongah. The oldest of these pairings appeared to be between the ages of ten to twelve but I could not understand their pronunciation and did not record the name they gave. All of these boys, I noticed, were uncircumcised. We were informed that today was a very special day, and our appearance made it even more auspicious. Today three of the boys had been selected to participate in the first ceremony that marked a boy's passage into manhood, the removal of his foreskin, which they called a gnúru. This occurred, we were told, upon the first sign of a beard.

So saying, three boys, about the age of thirteen and obviously on the onset of puberty, were called forward. What followed next I had difficulty following due to my unfamiliarity with their language, and my horror at the crudeness of the procedure, but it involved the oldest of the elders, who from his behaviour and role I suspected was also a shaman with connections to the spirit world, instructing the boys on the duties they would be assuming as men, hunting, protecting the village, and producing children, the latter explained with accompanying universal gestures, including forming a circle with thumb and forefinger and thrusting the forefinger of the other hand in and out of the circle, which caused the three boys to glance at each other and grin.

The boys were given leaves to chew as they learned other things meant only for the ears of men and these initiates as the elder chanted and performed a ritual dance, and then the first of the boys sat on a huge stone, legs outspread, while the others formed a circle around him and the elder produced a rugged, wicked looking stone knife.

As I forced myself to watch, the elder took the boy's flaccid penis and stretched his foreskin forward with one hand and raised the knife with the other and suddenly brought it down, causing me to flinch and my member to cringe. Evidently numbed by the leaves he had been given to chew, the boy did not cry out though he did tense and contort his face with obvious pain. Besides, being able to withstand pain, and what he was experiencing was the greatest pain he would ever experience, was a mark of bravery and manhood and so he put on a strong front. The elder held up the boy's foreskin, a bloody flap of flesh, and then rubbed the mangled knob of the boy with sand, which had to have doubled the pain the boy was feeling and further mutilated it.

The second boy, pale and frightened but sitting defiantly and proud on the bloodied rock, spread his legs, and the procedure was repeated, followed by the third boy, and the three foreskins were thrown into the fire. There was much jubilation, chanting and dancing around the boys now beaming with pride, their mutilated members hanging and bleeding between their legs. Upon returning to the village, we were met with great cheers from the women and children, the latter, especially the boys, staring in awe and with a combination of great respect and great fright. As we sat down to eat, the chief elder who had performed the circumcision gave a lengthy speech and the boys received the choice parts of the beast they had roasted. Too preoccupied with my own thoughts, I did not even try to understand what was said. I did not sleep well that night.

The next day they insisted we accompany the hunters again, feeling we somehow had some influence with the gods of this land. This time we sought out our game in the brush of a nearby ridge. From that vantage point we could see what we had been told was true. To our right and left the coast extended to the horizon, before us was the expanse of ocean we had crossed, and to our backs stretched an endless wasteland of brush and desert. Again the hunters were successful, which they accredited to our presence, and we returned with a gigantic, strange looking, flightless bird that can run faster than any beast I know of and whose name I do not know. We arrived at the village again in great cheer and were welcomed again with great enthusiasm.

Again as the meal was prepared, we met with the elders at the sacred place we had gone to before and learned more about this land and the customs of these people. Never had they been so successful in the hunt, often surviving on insects and grubs and smaller animals, and they were especially pleased. This day, we discovered, was another significant day in the lives of the tribe, the day selected for párra, the second ceremony marking a boy's rite of passage. We were told after the moon had gone through a complete cycle and half of the next, the purinthai, boys who had recently had their gnúru removed, engaged in this ceremony which, we were told, would make their members lighter and more beautiful. This ceremony for one group of boys and that of circumcision for another group of boys were not normally observed one day after the other or even within the same cycle of the moon, but the elders had seen the omens and foreseen our arrival and had determined now was the appropriate time for both.

So, two naked boys, two purinthai, whose foreskins had been hacked off six weeks earlier but whose penises were now healed were brought forward and nervous and uncertain, they took their places on two large rocks beside the fire and the elder I had earlier assumed to be the shaman approached them. As the others formed a circle about them and began a chant and a line dance, the elder began chanting as he tossed dry leaves into the fire, creating great clouds of smoke with a very distinctive and unpleasant odour.

The boys were given something to drink, I suspect some sort of drug to deaden their pain or numb their awareness, and the penis of the first boy was pressed flat on the rock on which he was sitting and the elder again produced his wicked-looking stone knife. Two men stepped forward with lengths of wood with a hole at one end and the other tied to a length of cord. These two men began to swing the wood rapidly through the air, resulting in a loud, thrumming roar. They spun the wood still faster, increasing the pitch and volume and setting up a rhythm, as the man with the knife proceeded to flatten against the rock and then slice the penis of one and then the other boy, cutting a deep slit from the base to almost the knob.

I would have been screaming at the top of my lungs, but the two boys took the treatment stoically. The two boys stood and rubbed their bleeding members on the backs of whom we were told were relatives, close friends and totem members, increasing the kinship bond between them, and then the boys rubbed sand into their fresh wounds to result in larger and more irregular scars, to make them still more beautiful. The whole process sent shivers through my body and reminding me of the piercing of my member deep in the jungles of the world across the Ocean Sea and having my member threaded with the similarly-pierced members of others, I unconsciously cupped my hands in front of my crotch.

I do not know if it was part of the ceremony or if it was because those watching had become aroused, or if it was just their habit, but I noticed several of the young boys who had not yet reached puberty and whose members were still intact had become erect, as had the older partners they were paired up with. These young boys now stood facing their older partner and inserting their smaller, erect penis in the slit in the larger erect penis of their older partner, they grasped both penises in their hand and began to stroke both together.

Under other circumstances I would have found the idea of a young boy pressing his penis against mine and stroking the two together highly erotic, but the sight of those jagged slashes and the shock and horror of what I had just seen had left me without any feelings of lust. That was far from the case for the men I was watching and it did not take long for the older of each pair to ejaculate. His thick seed spurted up into the air and landed back on the joined penises and the hand of the youngster pumping them and oozed down over his fingers, anointing both of their cocks.

In that we had supposedly been sent by the gods to witnesses today's ceremony and that of yesterday, the elders and the other male members of the tribe were mystified as to why Xing-fu still had his foreskin, and while I did not, and my member had obviously been pierced through, it had not been sliced open and the opening had now healed over. Both of our conditions were obvious with us having had to make water before them on several occasions while on the hunt these past two days. I certainly was at a loss to explain but Xing-fu, whom I had found was accustomed to improvising on the spot, often to exalt his Emperor and Empire when information was lacking or conflicting, and to impress his audience, imperiously informed them that what they were seeing were not our real bodies for if we had appeared before them here on earth as we really looked they would have been struck blind by the brilliance of our magnificence and the beauty of our sexual parts. It was an explanation that I thought ingenious and that they readily accepted.

Several men stroked my long locks in admiration and examined Xing-fu's long, thick braid which he coiled on the back of his head and fastened with a long pin. From their comments apparently another strange ceremony they engage in, púathan, involves biting the scalp of another to encourage his hair to grow, a ceremony we had obviously engaged in from the length and thickness of our hair. I was greatly relieved not being required to participate in the ritual. I certainly had no wish to gnaw on another's scalp, nor to have someone gnaw on mine!

Still another strange practice is the Kuntamara Ceremony which involves the reopening of the subincision in the penis of older men and cutting the shaft deeper to strengthen the bonds of kinship, and in explanation, some of the men proudly displayed their penis with their deep, jagged slashes as proof of their faith. Some observed, to the amusement of the others, that considering my size I could accommodate the penises of several boys, and some of the younger boys looked upon my member dreamily as they considered the possibility. Others observed with great concern that my member had to be particularly heavy with the insinuation that they would be happy to relieve me of its weight and the opportunity to make it more beautiful, especially since it had obviously been pierced before. I did not sleep at all that night.

Much to my relief, early the next morning Xing-fu and I departed, taking advantage of a strong south wind and the outgoing tide, and I could not be quit of the place fast enough. Geographers have long proposed that there was a great land mass, which they called Terra Australis, in the south to balance the weight of Europe and Asia to stop the earth from tipping over, and I will report my suspicion that was the land we had visited to King Manuel and the Holy Father and that the geographers were right, with my strong recommendation it be avoided by all civilized men.

A strong southwest wind blew us north and east, first along the coast of this huge land mass, confirming what we had been told regarding how far the coast stretched and confirming my suspicion this was the hereto undiscovered Terra Australis, and then out to sea and to the east, which suited both of us fine.

With the strong wind behind us we sailed a great distance, travelling at least a thousand miles and skimming along the surface of the water at a frightening speed no ship was expected to travel, sighting land eleven days after leaving Terra Australis. This land and its residents being unknown, we anchored offshore and approached the coast in the morning. The low-lying coast has deep indentations of bays and river estuaries. There being no sign of habitation, we followed a well-travelled northbound game trail along one of these rivers through a marshy interior and thick, lush forest reminding me of the dense forest through which the mighty Amassona River flowed. It was hot and humid and we were soon perspiring profusely and beset with thousands of mosquitos. It was a struggle to push through this dense forest and only the occasional footprint in the mud gave us motivation to continue, the trail obviously used by more than game. Flitting about in the trees were the most beautiful birds I have ever seen with long tails, a reddish-brown plumage, brilliant yellow vests and a deep black face and throat. When night fell suddenly and quickly our second day on land, as it does in these lands, going from daylight to the pitch black of night in half a point, we decided we would turn back in the morning. There were evidently no riches nor kingdoms to be found. (2)

In the morning much to our surprise we found ourselves surrounded by a dozen nearly naked, dark, black-brown men with thick curly hair and carrying stone knives and spears tipped with bone and flint. So quiet they had been, they had crept right up to where we were sleeping without us hearing a thing. They were not as rugged nor as ferocious-looking as the natives from Terra Australis and I did not have the same sense of danger. They spoke in another unknown language but similarities with the language spoken by the native population of Giava in which I had become quite fluent thanks to my acquaintance with the sixteen-year-old gong player Noboru gave me sufficient understanding to establish initial communication. Also, Xing-fu said there were components of their language similar to a language spoken in a province of the Ming Dynasty called Fujian which was one of many languages and dialects he had learned while serving in the Ministry of Rites.

So between the two of us along with pantomime and universal gestures, we were able to establish that we were friendly and that they meant us no harm. There were, we learned, several tribes in the area, the others living further to the north in the highlands. The names meant nothing to us and the people of so little significance I did not record them. They were timid and shy but a curious and loquacious people and innocents in many ways, living deep in the forest and having little contact with other tribes and almost no contact with outsiders such as us. So great was their isolation, they were most eager to know where we had come from and most curious about our customs and beliefs and way of life when they found we were not from the island nor from the islands nearby. As we talked, I found they lived simple lives, hunting to supplement their diet of grubs and insects and fruits and roots which they spent much of the day looking for.

Taking us to their village, two of the men who had done most of the talking and seemed to have a better understanding of language, took us aside. Each taking half a clam shell and handing each of us half a clam shell, to our surprise, they took their members and began to stroke them while indicating for us to do the same. With great hesitancy, we did as requested, knowing not to do so would offend them. The two men behaved as if this was quite normal and their members quickly began to swell. Neither of us found the situation arousing but in time our members responded to our stroking and became stiff. We continued until the inevitable happened and each of the four of us ejaculated into his half shell. One of the men took out a pouch and sprinkled a pinch of white crystals on his ejaculate and then passed it around. When I inquired what it was he replied and gestured for me to taste a few grains. I did so hesitantly and found it to be salt. A second pouch was produced and a light sprinkle of a brownish-yellow powder was added. Again in response to our query a name was provided and we were encouraged to taste the powder. It had a hot, biting taste which Xing-fu immediately identified as ginger, a spice frequently used in his homeland.

Exchanging our half shells with the two men, they raised our shells to their lips and to our shock slurped down the mixture with great gusto and proceeded to lick the shell clean. We glanced at each other with consternation and then down at the puddle of slime in our half shell. Closing his eyes and grimacing, Xing-fu raised the clam shell to his lips and sucked down the contents quickly. Inhaling deeply, I did the same, grimacing as I felt the slime oozing down my throat, and following the directions of the two men, we licked the clam shells clean of semen, salt and ginger, hoping our lack of enthusiasm was not evident. We were told by morning we would be speaking each other's language fluently.

That evening we were treated to a feast of wild pig roasted on a spit with yams and the mild, pale yellow, cylindrical fruit we had first encountered in Calecut. Xing-fu ate with great zest, I am sure to be rid of the taste of our appetizer in his mouth. We talked long into the night, everyone being in a festive mood and everyone curious. All of the following day was spent talking and asking questions also. Never had Xing-fu nor I met people such as these, and they clearly had never met anyone like us.

In the course of our conversation, which covered many things, we learned that these people believe that a man's life force, which they call jurungdu, exists in his semen. Jurungdu, they said, was responsible for bravery, stature, and strength, all needed to be a successful warrior, developing muscle, and ensuring boys developed properly. Women, on the other hand, possess tingu through which they practice sorcery and use their manipulation skills. To develop properly in the womb and avoid the effects of tingu, the developing boy must be repeatedly drenched in jurungdu while in his mother. Once born, the boy must receive jurungdu regularly to ensure he grows properly until he can produce semen himself, and for men to have intercourse safely, they must go through a series of rites of passage as youth so they would not be tainted by the woman as an adult.

As the day drew to a close one of the men from the previous day observed how well we were now conversing, and Xing-fu and I exchanged glances. I could see in his eyes his fear that we were about to engage in a repeat performance but to his relief, the men were evidently satisfied with our progress and the results of the previous evening. That the fluency of our conversation was more likely the result of practice and familiarity with our growing vocabulary than our ingestion of jurungdu I kept to myself. My thoughts were interrupted when several women, obviously well into their pregnancy, and several prepubescent boys I estimated to be between the ages of ten and thirteen were called forward and presented to us. The choice and the expectation was obvious.

Selecting one and after much urging a second of the women, Xing-fu was taken into the jungle to perform his duty. Selecting two of the boys and thankful they were more pleasing to the eye than the boys with their mutilated members in Terra Australis, I followed them into the jungle in the other direction, leaving behind the men to determine the fate of the others. The two young boys I had selected were most excited and eager and easily helped me forget Xing-fu and the others. Disrobing me and seeing the size of my swelling member, they grew even more excited as they fondled it and licked it, and as it rose to its full length their eyes widened in appreciation and anticipation as they imagined sporting similar appendages with the support of my jurungdu.

The bolder of the two squatted down and slipping his lips about my knob he began to suck eagerly while his companion sat back on his haunches and watched. The first boy sucked on my cock without the slightest hesitation or guilt, eager to receive my semen. As I stood there and watched him I pictured him and his companion eagerly sucking on the cocks of the other men of his tribe while others stood by waiting their turn. Although he did so out of duty and a perceived need rather than out of pleasure, there was no doubt in my mind that he was finding pleasure in the act from the way he was bobbing his head and from the fact he himself was becoming erect, his little thumb-sized member jutting up in the air and wagging with arousal. His companion was also erect and from the look on his face the boy could not wait to be doing what the bolder boy was doing.

Under the circumstances, I could not be faulted for finding pleasure in our act myself nor for approaching my climax so quickly. Warning the boy what was about to happen, I spread my legs to balance myself and reached out for his shoulders for support. I inhaled deeply as I felt the twang in my groin and the rush of my seed up the core of my swollen cock and I arched my back as I spurted out my seed and filled his mouth. He swallowed quickly and eagerly, a starving calf at its mother's teat, and I dutifully refilled his mouth as fast as he could swallow. He did not miss a drop, further proof of his experience, and when I stopped spurting he continued to suck and to work his tongue and lips about my bulb, coaxing and sucking out the remainder of my marrow.

The two of us dropped to the ground and we talked, about what it was like to produce a man's seed and that I must have received a lot of jurungdu when I was young from the size of my member and the amount of seed I had produced, and he and his companion talked about their dream of becoming men like their older brothers and fathers and uncles, and they admitted that though sucking a man's cock was a duty and expectation, it was not an unenjoyable task. As they said so, they glanced at each other with a twinkle in their eyes and knowing smiles.

The second of the two kept glancing at my crotch with obvious concern, fearing he would not have a chance to experience what his companion had, but I assured him that he need not fear and that it would not take me long before we could continue. As if desiring to provide proof of my words, my cock began to stir, much to the amusement and delight of the two boys. And so once again I stood and the young boy dropped to his knees and took my flaccid member in his mouth and began to suck on it, and once again my member rose to the occasion and the boy soon found himself sucking on a thick, rigid cock, barely able to accommodate my knob in his mouth. He sucked on my member with gusto and with expertise, knowing how to bring me pleasure and at the same time deriving pleasure himself. Once again his little member rose in imitation of mine as did the little cocklet of his companion, and once again I filled his eager mouth with my jurungdu filled slime. To the delight of both boys, and myself, I was able to provide each a second serving that night.

Xing-fu was asleep when I at last returned, and when he awoke late the next day, he said nothing about his experience, and nor did I. That afternoon was spent in the company of the two men we had exchanged semen with the day before, answering their questions while they continued to explain their way of life and beliefs and I am sure they found our answers as surprising and difficult to believe as we found theirs. As we talked, I noticed several boys, whom I figured to be under the age of ten, take thin, sharpened sticks and stick them up their nostrils until they bleed. We were told this was necessary to rid their bodies of blood that had been tainted by being in the woman's womb. Their abhorrence of such defilement of their bodies by association with women was evident in their voices and the way they cringed when they discussed the topic.

Late that afternoon as the temperatures began to cool off, I accompanied the men to a grove of trees where these curved, yellow fruit grew in clusters at the crowns of the trees. After picking some to take back to the village, we went to another section where the trees were older and the fruit had been harvested. The crowns were withered and brown but there, poking out of the soil were many little plants which I discovered were growing up from suckers not unlike some climbing vines in my homeland. I was told much to my surprise and disbelief that these fruit trees do not have flowers like other plants, but grow up out of the ground from old roots.

As we were talking much to my surprise one of the young boys, around the age of fifteen, approached me while others paired up with the other men, and there being more men than boys, other men paired up with each other. The purpose of the pairing quickly became obvious as the men began to caress and fondle each other and the young boy with me opened my robe and began to fondle and stroke my member. Picking up one of the curved fruit we had collected, he placed the tip in his mouth and his eyes crinkled as he sucked on it suggestively and then presented his penis to me. His action reminded me of the suggestive looks I had been given by the betel-leaf server back in Vijayanagara as I had tasted the first of this strange fruit, and I understood now what he had been thinking, the similarity between the curved fruit and a man's member now obvious now that it had been pointed out. The boy could not know my thoughts but he interpreted the rising of my member accurately, and from the look on his face his thoughts could not be more clear.

So, the two of us dropped to the jungle floor and there among the young shoots we caressed and fondled each other, and then lying on our sides in opposite directions, we sought the curved fruit of a different nature and slipped it into our mouths. The boy's dark brown member was about a palm and a half long and jutted out below a thick patch of curly, black hair. He was proud of his size and rightfully so. All around us others were doing the same as we were, and others had dropped to their knees and elbows and were being mounted. Two dozen men and boys sporting stiff members and bringing pleasure to each other. I was reminded of a similar scene that seemed now so long ago, myself as a priest of Xochipilli, the God of Agriculture and Prince of Flowers, along with two fellow priests and three noblemen's sons fucking the asses of six teenage slave boys in an open, tilled field in honour of Xochipilli and seeking his blessing for a fertile season.

Now here I was, half a world away, in a strange, lush jungle, one of two dozen others all sporting stiff, aching erections as the humour of lust throbbed through our members and our veins. The fifteen-year-old boy beside me was sucking eagerly on my stiff cock, slipping his lips over the knob and down the shaft as far as he could and then easing his lips back up, eager to bring forth my seed and squirming with delight as I did the same to him, sucking on his deep brown cock and eager to bring forth his seed. All around us were others sucking and fucking with one goal in mind.

As my stiff cock began to throb rhythmically in the mouth of my teenage partner, I worked my lips up and down his stiff shaft and felt his own cock throbbing rhythmically also, the two of us pulsing together, the two of us, one fifteen and the other twenty-three, throbbing with pleasure as we brought each other pleasure, the two of us eager to taste the other's seed and to fill the other's mouth with our jurungdu rich slime. I concentrated on the flavour of his cock and on his laboured breathing and the pleasure I was feeling between my legs and that I knew I was bringing him. I closed my eyes and inhaled the fragrance of his young, ripe, teenage balls, accented by his sweat in the heat of the late afternoon, a fragrance more exotic and exciting than that of any spice or perfume.

And then we were spurting, our seed gushing up the core of our throbbing cocks and into each other's mouth, and I experienced the sweet-tart flavour of this young boy's watery, teenage seed, fresh and fragrant, as he savoured my own. We filled each other's mouth and swallowed each other's slime as all around us others were gasping and spurting out their seed. We collapsed there in the open field, sucking in air, humid air laden with the fragrance of lush vegetation and spilt seed, the hot tropical sun beating down on our naked, perspiring bodies. As I lay there I thought of another time, another place, dancing below a gibbous moon for Xochipilli, gyrating and thrusting my hips seductively before a group of teenage boys. They were easily aroused at that age and were soon fidgeting with arousal. My member began to rise with the memory.

My fifteen-year-old companion noticed and a smile slowly curled his lips and his own member began to rise. Other pairs surrounding us began to stir. The teenage boy beside me glanced at my swelling member with growing desire, trying to act nonchalant and as if what was happening to his body was a routine occurrence in his life but obviously self-conscious of his arousal, an experience and feeling that was still something new and mysterious. It was also a sign of his manhood, something to be proud of, and conscious of his masculinity he flagrantly exhibited his arousal, proud of his endowment. Getting to his hands and knees, he offered his backside to me and I willingly and eagerly got to my knees and shuffled up behind him.

Applying copious gobs of spittle to my swollen member and to his anus, I mounted him there in the opening as couples around us were assuming the same position. Spittle was a poor substitute as a lubricant given my size, but we were both eager, and the boy had been mounted many times in the past despite his young age. I penetrated the boy with little difficulty and shoved my cock up his ass as far as I could. Grasping the teenage boy's narrow hips I began to pump my hips to and fro, working my stiff cock in and out of his tight hole as those around me did the same. Our raw sexuality pulsated around us as we fucked with wild abandon, grunting and groaning with unabashed pleasure, twelve of us ramming our cocks up the asses of the other twelve who grunted and arched their bodies with lust and tightened their anal muscles about our stiff cocks, the twelve deriving the same pleasure being fucked as we were doing the fucking.

So great was the lust surrounding me you could feel it throbbing in the air and I thrust my cock in and out of the young boy on his hands and knees before me eagerly, delighting in his tightness and the warmth and moistness of his hole. We and those around us rutted openly and unabashedly like animals, our grunts and panting exciting each other until we twelve were filling the rectums of the twelve bent before us, and those twelve gasping and arching their backs as they squirted their seed on the rich, pungent earth where it soaked into the soil, the fertility of the soil hopefully mimicking our own in the future. I had no idea how such magic worked, but I did know there were things that were beyond the ken of mortal man, and being practiced at the opposite ends of this world, there had to be truth in it.

As the boy gasped for breath, his rectum filled with my hot, thick seed and his stiff cock dripping with his own seed, I wondered what he was thinking. Was he thinking of the spirits of the soil and his part in encouraging the fertility of the soil and the growth of future fruit trees, or was he thinking of how it felt having his rectum filled with another man's hot seed and how it had felt feeling his own seed rise and spurt out of his body? From the labored breathing around us as we sucked in the humid air rich with the pungency of rich dark earth and freshly spilt seed, the fertility spirits had to be pleased. I certainly was.

As we returned to the village, I thought about what we had done, as I am sure the others did. With a smile, I thought of the vineyard and herb and vegetable gardens on my estate and me and the men and boys employed on my estate encouraging their productivity in a similar manner. Implementing such a practice would surely cause the tongues of my neighbours who criticized my new, unorthodox methods to wag. Perhaps it would cause more than just their tongues to rise, and I could not stop grinning at the thought. I could imagine the look on my overseer's face as I explained what I wanted our workers to do! As I thought more about it, it dawned on me that I had already done something of the sort–in the north pasture with my estuary and the son of the manager of my estate and the son of my neighbour. I tried to recall if the grass was greener where we had engaged in our sport. I resolved then and there that upon my return we would have to purposefully copulate in my grazing fields and vineyard, without guilt, and see if our labour bore fruit. When we arrived back at the village, I am sure Xing-fu had to wonder what the cause of my wide grin was.

During our feast that evening, we learned it was the custom of these people for a boy's father to choose a partner for his son, and that relationship lasted over several months or even years. Apparently the boy could also choose his own partner but this occurred less frequently. Under what circumstances he was allowed to do so they did not explain. We also learned about the bau a. Every two to six years males between the ages of eight to twenty-eight went on an extended hunting trip called the bau a. They were often secluded for fifteen months, thus allowing them to cover large areas so game near the village was not depleted. While on this trip they built a ceremonial hunting lodge, also called the bau a, where they contacted the spirits. They hunted from early morning to late afternoon. During these extended hunts, and extended absence of women, young boys and their partners engaged in sex, either in private in the forest or openly in the bau a. It was about time, we learned, for the tribe to go on their next bau a. Our presence seen to be propitious, we were obviously being invited to join them. (3)

After our evening feast, we again slipped into the jungle to ensure the proper development of their prepubescent boys, leaving Xing-fu behind to drench the developing babies in their mother's wombs with his masculine life force, something I assumed he had been doing while I had been communing with the fertility spirits in the jungle. Despite having spent my seed that afternoon, I quickly rose to the challenge and I had to wonder if the ritual that afternoon had so pleased the fertility gods that they extended their blessing to us besides the soil surrounding the fruit trees.

I paired up with only one boy this time, but one different from the two boys I had joined previously. Although only eleven, the boy was eager to participate, already having a year's experience, and from his appearance and his behaviour the previous year was very successful. He still had the soft contours of a preadolescent boy, but his muscles were beginning to develop definition and like all eleven-year-old boys, he proudly flexed his muscles to demonstrate the size and hardness of his developing biceps. Unlike eleven-year-old boys back home, he was equally as proud and eager to demonstrate the size and hardness of another muscle much lower down.

Seeing that young boy proudly displaying his stiff little member jutting up above his marble-sized balls and below his flat stomach and smooth, hairless pubes, caused my own member to wag with excitement. We lay down on our sides, facing each other in opposite directions, and as I slipped my lips over his little root and sucked on it and worked my lips up and down its length, the boy slipped his lips over my swollen root and to my surprise managed to go half way down the shaft before he began to suck. Feeling his little muscle throbbing with a pleasure most boys his age back home are denied, or a pleasure they are made to feel guilty about, I had to wonder that despite their primitiveness and ignorance, if these people were much advanced in this particular matter.

As the boy squirmed with pleasure, the pleasure of having his throbbing little cock sucked and the pleasure of sucking a man's member, I sucked on his little cock as if it were a sugar-coated sweet, and in its own way, it was an even tastier and better sweet. I inhaled deeply with delight, filling my lungs with the fragrance of the groin of an eleven-year-old boy, the throbbing of his little prick causing my own to ache. He sucked and bobbed his head eagerly, swallowing his cock-flavoured spittle and thrusting his little prick in and out of my pursed lips in desperation until he shuddered and squealed with his dry orgasm, his legs jerking uncontrollably in his ecstasy, and I began to fill his mouth with my thick jurungdu rich semen.

Chapter 29
The Spice Island 

Travelling to the Spice Islands Nico and his companion attend a banquet hosted by the Sultan of Ternate where one of his chief advisors uses his 12 yo son to curry favour with Nico and finding the boy eager Nico accepts. Travelling on to the next Sultanate, Nico devises a way to spread the Word of God to make up for his past neglect. The Sultan of Jailolo offers his guests their choices and Nico unknown by the others chooses the Sultan's 11 yo son by his concubine over his mother, and the next night engages the Sultan's 12 yo virgin son Yusuf Kaicel by the boy's choice. 

Codes: M/b

I fell asleep that night exhausted and content and with pleasant thoughts of joining these men and boys on a fifteen month hunt, stalking game through the steaming jungle by day, seeking the guidance of the spirits in the shade of the bau a in the heat of the afternoon, and in the evenings ensuring the prepubescent boys received a regular injection of jurungdu and I exchanging my male essence with the pubescent boys in the group to ensure the fertility of the jungle and that they and I would live long. Fifteen months! The idea of remaining on this island and joining them was most tempting and made for a pleasant dream, but with the arrival of morning's light and sober thought, logic prevailed and Xing-fu and I said our farewells and made our departure.

There was nothing here for Xing-fu, nor for me. There was nothing of value to be found for King Manuel, and, in my opinion, bringing these people the Word of God would so upset their beliefs and way of life it would do them more harm than good. The moment that thought entered my head it was shocking and brought me much consternation and being unable to erase it from my mind I fell into a great depression. How could such a thing be? Xing-fu of course noticed my silence and dark mood but I could not explain the reason. He assumed correctly that it had to do with our encounter with the inhabitants of this island, though not exactly for the same reason. He was wise enough not to press the issue and only observed that there are a great diversity of peoples and ways of doing things on this earth, and much to be learned from each other. Choosing which was the better to believe and follow, he observed, was the mark of a wise man. That explained the confusion in my mind, and I marvelled at the wisdom of Xing-fu.

We slept aboard our little vessel two nights later, and waking with a rare easterly wind, we raised sail and headed west. I spent much time in prayer the following days asking forgiveness for doubting the word of God and the wisdom of spreading my faith, and seeking direction, but so sinful was my thought no answer was forthcoming. Or perhaps, God, like Xing-fu, had decided it was a matter I had to work out myself.

We again sailed a great distance, at least another three hundred and thirty leagues, and we would have made phenomenal time had we not had to continually tack to the south to maintain a westerly heading in order to search for and confirm the presence of islands that Xing-fu had been told were below the established trade routes with Cathay which he said were further to the north, and of course if they did exist, to ascertain their value.

Not to any great surprise given the reliability of Xing-fu's informants thus far, the islands did exist and we finally arrived at them, a cluster of ten tiny islands, some inhabited and some not, after fifteen days at sea. The people here are robust, ugly and gloomy, small in stature, tawny with lank hair and broad, round faces, and are of the worst repute in these parts. They reminded me of the Poliar who worked in the vineyards and the Hiraca who worked in the rice fields around Calecut, two of the lowest classes of human beings in the world who must follow their own trails in the marshes least they meet any of their betters whom they dare not approach any closer than fifty paces.

These people know no king nor lord and quarrel among themselves. Whether they be Moors or Pagans I do not know. They live like beasts, going barefoot and wearing only a shirt, have no vigour, and are weak of understanding. They are so stupid that if they wished to do evil they would not know how to accomplish it. We took on fresh water and fruit and wood for our cooking fire, and we met with the rulers of these people, the richest and most powerful men on the island, the Orang Kaya.

In our discussion we discovered the islands are rich in nutmeg and mace, spices that the Arabs have been selling to the Venetians at exorbitant prices and who in turn have been selling them to us at even higher prices. These were the islands whose location the Arabs have long kept a secret! Long-range Malukan and Javanese traders bought cloves from nearby island states they called Ternate and Tidore, bird-of-paradise feathers from the Aru Islands and the land of the Etoro which we had just left, and massoi bark used in medicines and salves from still somewhere else in this cluster of islands in return for the two spices. Also in return for nutmeg and mace, the Orang Kaya received from the Arab traders rice and cloth, light cotton batik from Giava, calicoes from India, and ikat from still other islands. (1)

We stayed for only two days, one to take on provisions and meet with these leaders, and one to rest, and on the third day we set sail north to visit the islands the Orang Kaya had told us about. A day and a half later we arrived at the first of these, the ancient and powerful kingdom of Ambon. The island was tiny, but the ruler long-established, popular, and of great influence, and rumours were that the Sultan of Ternate to the north was sending overtures of peace and wished to form an alliance such was the power and strength of this monarch. Again I had occasion to watch Xing-fu at work. Wishing to do business with both powerful rulers, he not only had to remain on friendly terms with both, but he had to ensure they remained on friendly terms with each other. I recalled the stories I had heard in Malacca of the envoy of Malacca being attacked and castrated by a rival kingdom but they were hesitant to retaliate as they and their rival were both tributaries to Cathay and under the empire's protection, yet they could not sit idly by so had to first petition Cathay before they attacked which took so long to be granted most had long forgotten the incident. I am sure Xing-fu was aware of that situation, and wished to avoid putting his Emperor in a similar situation of having to choose between nations here.

We met with the ruler the morning after our arrival, and that afternoon we met with the local chiefs, the local population, the Alfuros, being governed by clans which are divided into several groups, each group containing five to nine subgroups, and each of those subgroups consisting of several villages, each with a headman who was consulted. It seemed very cumbersome to me but was not unusual and seemed to work well, each leader of each group knowing his position and authority and respecting the one above him. It had to be efficient for I have encountered several peoples who follow such a strange governance instead of leaving such matters to kings.

So we set sail the following morning, arriving three days later at another ancient island kingdom, the kingdom of Bacan. As with the ruler of Ambon, Xing-fu extended greetings from his emperor and expressed his emperor's desire to establish trade relations and a peaceful alliance, the reputed power and fear of hostilities from such a large nation being sufficient impetus for a peaceful negotiation. So, with politeness and words, Xing-fu achieved what giant treasure ships, armed battleships and bombardments by other emissaries of other nations achieved at a much greater cost and over a much longer time. After a stay of two days, we set sail once more, arriving a day later at our next destination, the Sultanate of Tidore.

Tidore was another small island but an old Sultanate, having turned to Islam in 1409, almost a hundred years ago. Although the nation was much older and controlled the minor kingdoms of several other rulers, including the kingdom of Jailolo, it lived under the shadow of its neighbouring competitor, the Sultanate of Ternate. We remained there three days while Xing-fu and I met with the ruler and members of his court to ferret out the current relations between the two Sultanates, seeking the weaknesses of both that might be used to Cathay's advantage, and assessing the military strength and threat of the two Sultanates to Cathay. The afternoon of our fourth day we sailed the short distance of two leagues to the tiny island Sultanate of Ternate.

Finding accommodation in the foreign quarter where distinguished visitors and governmental delegates to the Sultan stayed, Xing-fu arranged for an audience and we spent the remainder of the day and the next determining the pulse of the nation by meeting with merchants in the market, other dignitaries from neighbouring nations, and with lesser court officials. Ternate and the neighbouring island of Tidore are major producers of cloves which we had learned is purchased locally primarily with quicksilver, cinnabar, cloth, pepper, porcelain vases, metal balls, brass and tin basins. Their Mohammedan rulers as a result are the wealthiest and most powerful sultans in the region but much of their wealth is spent fighting each other. On our second day we split up to make further inquiries and contacts, Xing-fu approaching the rich, upper classes of the island while I talked to the entertainers, sailors and labourers and the less reputable members of their society. As for the common people, I found them even more beastly, vile and worthless than those living at Bandan and talking to them a waste of my time.

We met the third day with Sultan Bualawa. He has two wives and six children and is a formidable man and highly respected as a valiant warrior, pious scholar, and great diplomat. We were told that while he was away studying Islam early in his reign, while others fled he beheaded a crazed killer, bringing him much praise and fame. He brought a mubaligh named Tuhubahanui back from Giava to propagate the Islamic faith in his land and created a Bobato to assist in matters of Islamic law, and in the course of our stay we met with both. This sultan was in the process of developing strong friendship treaties with Makassar. How far away and how long ago it seemed that we had walked among the Suku Makassai and had met with the Sultan of Gowa and learned of his battle with his cousin who ruled the other half of their grandfather's kingdom. The rumour that he was planning on meeting with a ruler reputed to be of great power from the ancient kingdom of Ambon was also circulating through the court, confirming what we had heard from that ruler.

Sultan Bualawa and Xing-fu met for many hours that day, and again for just as many hours on our fourth day on the island and for a while I thought the two men equally matched. When our audience ended both men left amicably, both feeling they had negotiated the better deal. I consider myself having a good head for such matters but I myself had found myself lost in the details and intricacies hours earlier. I already had a high respect for my companion and his skills, and I left with even greater respect for the man. In my mind he had negotiated highly favourable concessions on behalf of his Emperor but the Sultan acted as if he had come out the winner. That evening Sultan Bualawa held a huge banquet in our honour, and his own, using the occasion to inform his court of his successful negotiations with the honoured envoy from the powerful Empire of Cathay, and to demonstrate to us the love and respect he had from his court.

During the banquet the son of one of his chief advisors and supporters caught my eye, and my interest caught the eye of the father. Among the many things Islamic that this ruler brought to his kingdom, the penchant of these Arab heathens for the flesh of young boys was one of them. Seeing that we had the favour of the Sultan, and figuring if he gained our favour he would gain the favour of his Sultan also, this noble was quick to use his innocent son for his own gain. From my experiences at the Vatican and courts around the world, as far away as the jungle kingdoms in the new world where I and my close companion had acted as spies, I was well aware of such intrigues and plots and had developed a great distaste for them, especially when a parent used a child for his own advantage.

Normally I would have avoided any contact with the man and despised him for callously using his son in such a manner, and I certainly would never take advantage of the boy, but the man pressed himself upon me and I knew to rebuff him could endanger the relationship we had just established with the Sultan so I took the role of the innocent and played along, being no novice at this game myself and certain I could extricate myself when necessary. Besides, the prepubescent boy, whom I figured to be close to twelve, was most attractive and did not hesitate to flaunt his charms.

So I put on a pleasant face and participated in the man's small talk and game, confident with my experience I could better him at it. When at last I slipped away with his son with his knowledge and encouragement, he was either bribing me in the hopes that by pleasing me I would speak favourably of him to the Sultan, or he was setting me up for an entrapment so he could coerce me into doing him a favour. Such was his skill and conniving that I could not be sure which was his intent. Taking the boy to a room of my own choosing and ensuring we were not followed, I foiled him if he was intending the latter plan. Alone with the boy, I planned on talking to him and possibly learning some secret about his father that I could use to my own advantage or that of Xing-fu, using the boy as a pawn just as his father was, defeating him at his own game but unlike him, causing the boy no harm nor discomfort.

After half a candle mark, the boy looked up at me with his beautiful, innocent eyes, and softly asked, "Do I not please you?"

"You are a very attractive boy," I replied in surprise.

"But I bring you no desire?" he asked, reaching out and placing his hand on my thigh and slipping it up to my crotch, causing my member to stir despite my intentions.

"You bring much desire," I admitted. He had to have felt my reaction so I would be a fool to lie. "But I do not use a boy for my pleasure even if his father wishes it."

"But I wish it also."

"That is a very honourable thing for a son to say. A loyal and obedient son is a pleasure in the eyes of Allah, Blessed be His Name, but I would not ask a boy to make such a sacrifice for his father." The boy looked at me in bewilderment, no doubt having never met a man of principles. "You need not fear punishment for not having succeeded. I will tell your father I am most satisfied."

"Ah," he said slowly in understanding. "You do not like young boys."

"Oh no, quite the contrary. I like young boys, very much."

The boy laughed, but not out of good cheer. "If this is a test by Allah, Blessed be His Name, I do not understand. When Father forces me to have congress with men who are vile and repugnant and with whom I would rather not, Allah does not intervene, for it is a son's duty to obey his father and to pleasure his elders. But now when I am told to bring pleasure to a man whom I find desirable and whom I desire to please, he has no interest in the pleasures I can bring. Surely this is the work of some trickster god, and if it is a test by Allah, the most powerful and the most wise, I do not understand!"

"You say this with your own tongue and heart, not out of duty or fear, that you yourself wish to bring me pleasure?"

"Yes," he replied defiantly. "You are not unattractive and appear to be pleasant enough in nature."

The look in his eyes and firmness of his voice told me he was speaking the truth and with mature understanding of what he was saying and my heart leaped with joy. So did my member, fortunately still concealed in my robes. "Then perhaps that was the test," I suggested, "to see if you had the courage to speak the truth and from your heart without fear of the consequence, and for you to admit out loud your desire." He looked at me doubtfully. "Congress is much more pleasurable when engaged in openly and willingly than when in coercion, or with suspicious or ulterior motives, or in obeisance to the motives of others."

I smiled down at him and a smile of understanding and of delight slowly curled his lips. I opened my arms and he stepped forward and deftly untied my sashes and slipped his hot, smooth hands inside my robe. He went directly to my balls and cock and fondled them, rolling my delicate eggs in their loose skin and gently stroking my member. I in turn untied his sashes and opening up his robe, I slipped it off his slender shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He stood at about fourteen hands tall, the top of his head level with my teats, and weighed perhaps six and a half stone. His muscles were still roundly contoured but his chest and biceps had the beginning signs of definition. His pubes were smooth and hairless, his testicles in a loose, pendant sack, and his member was cut, a sign of purity, and about the size of my thumb.

My robe having fallen to the floor also, the boy examined my tattooed body with surprise and curiosity, and my firm, muscled thighs, chest and abdomen with admiration. He reached up tentatively and ran his fingertips over my chest, tracing the contour of my muscles and the tattooed vines down to my stomach, around my hips and over my buttocks. As his soft fingers continued to trace the vines and flowers inked into my thighs, his touch caused my member to begin to swell.

"You like to be touched," he observed softly, looking up at me with those large, innocent, brown eyes. "And yours is a body that is a pleasure to touch. You are very strong and masculine. I have never seen markings such as these."

I explained how and why I had gotten them, adding to his awe and admiration. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I ran them down his soft but firm body, along his back and his chest, pausing to finger his nipples which quickly became firm, and down and over his compact buttocks. His little member began to rise. "Your body likes to be touched also," I observed with a smile, and as he looked up at me and his lips curled, the look in his eyes caused my own member to rise even faster. "And gazing at your beauty brings me as much arousal as the touch of your hands."

He reached out and took my member in his right hand again and he gently stroked it. I dropped to my knees and kissed him, first on his smooth cheeks and then on his velvet-smooth lips. His breath was fresh and clean, the breath of a boy unscented by perfumes or honeyed sweets. I kissed him again, more passionately, intoxicated by his pure, natural scent and by his innocence. I slowly crouched down, kissing his chest and nibbling his now firm, aroused nipples, causing him to squirm with arousal and his little member to twitch. I continued down, nibbling at his body, down over his flat, smooth stomach and hairless pubes to his crotch. I slipped my lips about his slender, upright cock and sucked on it gently, delighting in the fragrance and taste of his boyhood.

And then I stood and he dropped to his knees and nibbled at my dangling balls, nuzzling them and filling his lungs with their musk, and he slipped his velvet-smooth lips about my still swelling member and he sucked deeply on it as he began to slip his lips up and down the shaft. My cock quickly grew and he continued to suck and to caress it with his lips, his mouth filling with saliva and he delighted in his anticipated taste of cock and eagerly sucked on the rapidly growing flesh. As I became fully aroused he continued to kneel there, my swollen cock in his mouth, and I grasped him by his smooth shoulders and looked down and watched him as he sucked on my bulb and slipped his lips up and down the shaft, sending thrills of pleasure through my swollen flesh. He ran his tongue around the rim of my bulb, sending more pangs of pleasure through the turgid flesh, and as the first of my clear nectar oozed out of the tip of my cock he removed his mouth and flicked up the clear droplet and drew it into his mouth. As he savoured it with obvious delight another droplet formed at the tip of my swollen cock and he flicked it up with his tongue also and painted his rose-red lips with it.

I drew him up and kissed him, tasting my nectar on his lips and feeling my slime upon them and his little, stiff cocklet wagged with excitement. He dropped down to his knees again and taking my bulb in his mouth he began to suck on it like a hungry calf at its mother's teat, and the thought and the sight caused a tremor up the underside of my member. The boy immediately clamped his lips down below my bulb with amazing strength, cutting off my impulse to squirt, keeping up the pressure until it subsided, and then he resumed. He was a skilled cock sucker, and he did so with a relish and out of pure joy and desire, finding sucking my cock as enjoyable and arousing as I was finding being sucked by this prurient child.

He began to squirm and to snort and I slowly realized the boy was having an orgasm. The fidgeting of his body and irregular breathing was from the delight of sucking my cock! He had reached an orgasm out of the pure joy of basting my member with his saliva and swallowing his spittle flavoured by my dick. The thought of this boy reaching an orgasm without having touched his cock triggered my own, and with a gasp of anticipation I tensed as I felt my seed race up the core of my swollen, numb cock and spurt into his mouth. Anticipating my orgasm, the boy drank down my hot, thick slime as fast as I squirted it into his mouth, gulping and gasping as I filled his mouth with slime until it oozed out the corners of his mouth. It was sudden, and violent, and delightful, and I found myself gasping and snorting as loudly as the boy.

The two of us collapsed on the pillows on the floor and lay there, the boy in my arms, our cocks still stiff, the boy's little balls drawn up tight below his stiff little member and mine drawn up tight below my rigid, upright cock, drained of their slime which hung as a pendant from the tip of my numb cock and from the boy's chin. The room was filled with the fragrance of spilt seed and the two of us sat there in numbed pleasure as we sucked the deliciously scented air into our lungs.

It was the boy who initiated our second round, reaching over and taking my now limp cock in his hand and slowly and gently caressing it, taking care not to overstimulate the tender, sensitive rim of my bulb, overly sensitive having shot a load of cum into the boy's mouth. He fondled my balls, now descended once again, bringing his fingers to his nostrils occasionally to delight in the musky fragrance of their sweat clinging to his fingertips. He produced a jar of lubricant, I know not from where, but in that I had chosen our room he had to have had it on his person when his father had sent him to me. As he lubricated my cock and then as I lubricated his tight boy hole, I thought of his father and wondered if the man knew how skilled his son was, or if he knew how much the boy delighted in having congress with a man. Whether this was from familiarity and repetition or if it was the boy's natural persuasion I did not know, but I like to think it was the latter, just as my desire for young boys is innate and comes from my heart and very being. The boy's delight and orgasm earlier were proof to me that the boy's joy was something he was born with and always had,

Standing and bending over and grasping his knees, the boy steadied himself as I stood and approached him, my member now stiff and aching and preceding me. The boy had been fully aware of my size yet had chosen to be penetrated so he knew what he had gotten himself into, which to me, was further proof that the boy was engaging in sex with me out of pure desire and joy and not out of some sense of duty or obedience to his father. Wedging the tip of my monster cock in his tight hole, I grasped his narrow hips and slowly pressed forward. The boy was experienced and knowledgeable and began to push out as I pressed forward. We were both generously lubricated but I was far more a man than most and the boy was only twelve, but I need not have worried. We grunted and snorted and strained, but ever so slowly my bulb stretched open his anal muscle and I slowly penetrated him until my swollen bulb popped inside his rectum. We could only have done so with such ease because of the boy's desire and joy in being fucked.

And so I slowly sank my stiff cock up his ass, two hand-widths and two finger-widths in length, until my coarse hairs were pressed against his smooth ass cheeks and the tip of my cock was buried deep up his bowels. I paused to revel in the delight of having my thick, rigid cock buried up this young boy's ass and feeling his hot, moist flesh tightly grasping it. I then slowly eased my cock back out of his ass until my bulb was again stretching open the entrance, and I slowly sank my cock back up his ass. His breathing was slow and laboured and as I reached under him and found his boyhood, I found to my delight he was stiff, proof of the pleasure and desire he was feeling.

And so assured, I slowly fucked this gorgeous, eager boy, pumping my cock in and out of his tight ass, sending thrills of pleasure up his rectum, and I slowly stroked his stiff little member, milking it as I fucked his ass, sending thrills of the same pleasure up the rigid thumb-sized cocklet as was rippling up my swollen member and shooting up his rectum. It being my second time, I did not have to pause to delay my orgasm, and I knew this oversensitive boy needed little encouragement. So I returned my hand to his hip and concentrated on fucking him and enjoying the pleasure of fucking an eager, tight, twelve-year-old boy.

In time I felt the familiar twang deep up my groin and the rush of my seed up the core of my cock. This time I squirted my slime deep up the young boy's rectum, far deeper than any man has squirted before, and as I trembled and gasped and snorted with my release and my pleasure, the young boy trembled and began to snort and whimper and jerk with his own orgasm, his body jerking about uncontrollably as spasms of pure pleasure ripped through his groin as I flooded his rectum.

It had been a most enjoyable evening, but the next morning when Xing-fu announced his plans to travel next to the nearby Sultanate of Jailolo, I was most agreeable. The noble who had used his son the night before would receive no benefit from his odious deed, and the boy would have the gratification of knowing that our evening was truly for pleasure and not for any political gain on my part or his father's. As for the courtiers and their intrigues and as for the beastly and vile common people in the market and streets, I would be glad to be quit of all of them. (2)

So that morning we sailed the short distance of seven leagues to the Sultanate of Jailolo, still another ancient nation which had turned Muslim. The island, like the other islands of the Malukas, produces nutmeg, mace and cloves. There are so many cloves on these islands the population cannot collect them all and they are left hanging on the trees to go bad. If the citizens of my homeland were to see such waste they would weep, and honest merchants the likes of Father and Uncle would call upon God to bring down on the heathen Arab merchants who control our supply open sores and pustules for the unreasonable prices they charge us for something so available.

The ruler of this island nation is Mohammedan and he has a Mohammedan wife, but he also has three to four hundred Hindu harem girls by whom he has many sons and daughters. Those children are pagan and have no hope for inheritance, but the sons of his Mohammedan wife are considered Mohammedan and his heirs. He also has eighty to a hundred hunchbacked women who serve as his pages, handing him betel-leaves to chew, filling his wine cup and bringing him fresh fruit to eat, and fanning the air with large palm fronds to keep him cool. I marvelled at first how he had collected so many deformed women, and I had thought him a kind and considerate man to keep such deformed and crippled women in his employ while most rulers surround themselves with the most beautiful and curvaceous of women and young boys. Then I discovered that he had broken the backs of these women in their infancy for the sake of show and demonstration of his power and proof of his cruel reputation. (3)

The depravity and arrogance of these heathens never fail to amaze and disgust me and give me all the more cause to rejoice in my own faith and knowledge and to encourage me and give me strength to spread the word of the one true God. My energy and time is far better spent thusly than spent with the primitives on the island north of Terra Australis. Realizing that, I continued with a clear conscience not having attempted to spread the word of God earlier and resolved to double my efforts where it would do the most good.

Remembering the edit of the Arab Malik ibn Anas to sodomize nonbelievers to show the superiority of the Moslem faith came to my mind and I conceived of an even better method to proselytize my faith than to preach from the mount or attempt to convert the unbeliever in the absence of priests to ensure continuance of their faith. I am not certain if the Holy Father would approve of my method publically, but I strongly suspect I would have his support at least unofficially. I know what I just said about my condemnation of those who would use children for their own gain, but I feel this is quite a different matter and is justified given the wantonness of the Arab race and their aggressions against Christians they encounter, and in that I did so in the interests and promotion of God. Besides, it was done within the nature and the purpose of all young Arab boys as my discourse that follows will show.

I began my mission by choosing a boy of about eleven, a beautiful boy with ecru skin, the result of mixing the blood of his tawny pagan mother and the royal blood of the Sultan, large, dark, seductive eyes, and thick kohl black hair. Viewing us, and particularly Xing-fu, as powerful allies, the Sultan was eager to please us and while he heaped lavish, and most deserving, praise on Xing-fu and did his utmost to provide him the greatest pleasures he could provide in terms of food, drink, comfort, precious gifts and honour, he offered me the pick of his choicest concubines, seeing my interest in his concubines and thinking that would please me better, and besides, I was obviously an aide and a man of lesser import and therefore deserving of lessor gifts.

I chose instead the son of one of his concubines. The Sultan, I was sure, in his sincere desire to see I was favourably treated, would enquire about my choice on the morrow and discover that I had used his son. The mother, whose sole purpose was to see to the sexual needs of the boy's father and to fulfil any other wish of his, would see my liaison with her child only as an extension of her duty and a duty of her child, and perhaps even with the hopes that in my selection of her child she would gain in status over her fellow concubines. The father would not be so generous, given it was still his son even if a bastard, and he would be reminded of what I had done every time he saw the boy in the future, but that would be rare and even he would raise no objection in my deed for he would see using the boy for such a purpose as ultimately benefiting himself and he had ever so many sons.

As I retired with the boy to one of the many rooms in the palace, my expectations of the boy came as no surprise to him, which is why I said earlier such is the nature and purpose of all Arab boys for such is the perversity of their culture even for its youngest members. He was a virgin, being the son of the Sultan even if illegitimate, but not by his choice, and to be relieved of that stigma was a blessing and most welcome in his eyes. And so it was that I bore no shame nor guilt in using the boy, for the boy wished to be used, and would be a better person because of it. And, if in the process of being aroused and satisfied by him I enlightened him on the existence of the One True God, and the superiority of the Christian faith over the heathen, then I was enlightening his mind while educating him in the ways a boy can please a man, both of which would bring him pleasure and better his lot in life. Such was my plan to bring Christianity to the heathen.

And so I had the boy strip for me and then slowly turn so I might inspect and enjoy his nakedness. Like all prepubescent boys his contours were soft and rounded and his breasts full and round like a girl's and his buttocks and thighs evoked the same delight and arousal as his feminine counterpart did for other men. His waist was narrower and his buttocks more compact than that of a female, and his breasts were beginning to develop the firmness and definition of a young boy, making him all the more attractive to me, and his smooth pubes and dangling little sausage and pendant eggs in their silky sack aroused in me a lust that no female child's privates could raise.

I caressed and kissed this beautiful child, running my fingers over his firm, compact ass in anticipation, circling and tweaking his little nipples until they became firm and stuck out pertly and itched with sweet pain. I fondled his silky little cock with reverence and rolled his tender little balls and delighted in watching his little cocklet swell and stand up proudly and eagerly. He looked up at me with trust, and watching my hand and the conversion of his flesh with surprise and anticipation.

Having aroused him, I had the boy, naked and erect, disrobe me, and like all boys he was surprised and impressed by my tattoos, and even more so when he learned of the pain I had endured. Of course my muscular physique and the size of my member and stones aroused in him an equal admiration, and even greater lust. I told him of the creation of the first man in the image of God, and of course he was aware of the story of Adam and that I attributed his creation to the one and only true God and he to Allah made no difference to the boy. I allowed him to trace the vines decorating my limbs and to touch and stroke my member and to fondle my stones, and as he did so I became more aroused and his little cocklet, already stiff, jerked in anticipation and excitement.

Having arranged for lubricant, I had the boy grease my stiff cock and I lubricated his hole, inserting first one finger and then two up his rectum to lubricate it and to stretch it. Then, with him standing and bending over and grasping his knees, I stepped forward and wedging the tip of my knob in his greased crevice, I slowly pushed forward as he pushed out upon my instruction. It was a tight fit but he was eager and so was I and ever so slowly my slopped knob stretched open his anus until it popped inside his rectum. The two of us grunting and snorting like two dogs in rut, I continued to sink my stiff, throbbing member up his ass until my coarse hairs were pressed against his smooth buttocks and my cock was surrounded by hot, moist, pulsating ass flesh.

And so I fucked him, drawing my member back out of his ass and sinking it back in, working slowly and rhythmically, the friction of our union sending ripples of pleasure up my stiff cock and up his rectum, his hole and my flesh pulsating as one. All too soon I felt the pressure in my groin and I thrust my hips to and fro faster and with greater urgency, the fire in my loins blazing until I felt my seed race up the core of my swollen cock and gush out the tip to extinguish the fire, flooding this innocent, virgin child's rectum with my seed. Spurt after spurt shot up his hot, tight ass, and feeling my hot, thick seed penetrating deep up his rectum, the boy quivered and jerked uncontrollably with his own dry orgasm and he gasped and snorted in awe and delight, marvelling at his orgasm and mine.

As we lay down among the pillows to recover, I told him of my homeland so far away and so different from his land, and of my faith and that of my countrymen, and of the blessings available to the true believer. He was aware of the pagan faith of his mother and this new religion of his father sweeping through their land, and the possibility of a third faith did not surprise him. The way of the gods was not for a mere boy to know, and that what we had done had brought us both pleasure was all that mattered, and he just as readily gave thanks to my Christian god as he did to his Muslim and to the nature spirits of his mother, with greater reverence and thankfulness to my Christian God, for it was He whom I thanked for the pleasures of the bedchamber that night and in His name that I had taken the boy's virginity. And to celebrate his sexual awareness and his conversion to the truth faith, we fucked a second time.

The next night Xing-fu and I were treated to one of the most lavish royal banquets yet, rivalling that put on by the Sultan of Vijayanagara or that provided by the Sultan of Ternate, to impress his court with the importance of his guests, and to impress his two guests with his wealth and power and the love of his people. And so we feasted on crispy-skinned fowl stuffed with mushrooms and nuts, sharply seasoned whitefish with lemon wedges and large, meaty shrimp and clams dripping with butter with hot, spicy dishes of rice with fresh salads and fruits with an impressive rice wine.

His wives were present of course, as were his daughters and sons, of which there were six of the latter. They were all dressed in their finest and bejewelled of course, and Xing-fu and I had donned our best formal apparel for the occasion, Xing-fu in his usual winged mitre cap and dimpled velvet purple-black jacket, trousers and slippers, and myself in contrasting pure white robe embroidered with multi-coloured threads and fastened with pearl clasps, matching white turban festooned with a necklace of tiny pearls, and large silver hoop earrings, all designed to impress but not outdo our host. Ferdazi would have been proud to walk beside me and I hoped he was doing well.

Seated on either side of the sultan and beside his closest advisors and envoys from tributary islands, Xing-fu and I were clearly on exhibit and generated many questions, and our table companions were just as clearly the elite of the nation and were there to impress us. It made for interesting conversation and I deferred to Xing-fu's expertise and largely listened and observed, a very important role I had discovered. In particular, I observed the sultan's six sons, ranging in age from six to twelve, all dark-eyed, dark-haired, and handsome, all carrying themselves with confidence, aloofness, and royal dignity, and all watching Xing-fu and I closely and with curiosity, the two of us very different in appearance and manners from everyone else in the room.

After our meal we were entertained with very fine, very handsome young musicians on drums, gongs and bells while the elite approached the emperor to receive recognition, and to introduce themselves to us. The sultan's primary and secondary wives were introduced, along with their daughters, and with special pride, his six sons. The oldest, Yusuf Kaicel, son of his primary wife, was the most forward, because of his upbringing as the heir or due to his personality I do not know and suspect probably because of both, and immediately engaged me in adult conversation with a confidence and knowledge far beyond his years and that greatly impressed me. I had no doubt he was doing so on his own without any prompting from his father, but I could see also his father was most favourably impressed, as he should be. And so of course I entertained the boy's questions about my homeland, my visit with the Sultan of Tidore to whom they paid tribute, and of course the markings on my cheeks and forearms.

As the evening wore on and the major dignitaries had made their introductions and lessor guests began to leave, I made a point of expressing to the young prince my pleasure in having made his acquaintance and of observing that I had found his maturity most impressing as he and his mother and siblings were about to leave, and I expressed my regret that we would not have another opportunity to talk in that regretfully my companion and I would be leaving soon. The boy, as I had expected and hoped, pressed his mother to allow him to talk to me a bit longer, and being a male and the heir, she gave in to his wishes, also as I had expected and hoped.

There was the problem of my responsibilities as an honoured guest to my host and his other guests, but the Sultan himself, seeing the eminent departure of his eldest son, solved the problem. Approaching us, he observed that he had noticed us deep in conversation earlier and that we appeared to have found something of common interest, and when the boy expressed his desire to talk longer, his father granted his permission with the implication my continued attendance was not required. In reality, I knew Xing-fu could more than adequately represent the two of us and I knew the Sultan knew that, and I knew the reason he was so quickly agreeable was because he suspected his son could discover things from me that nobody else in his court would be able to. I was a mystery, and though the boy was only twelve, he was already aware of and experienced in the ways of the court, more so than many adults.

So, young Yusuf Kaicel and I departed and retired to one of the royal inner chambers where no guests and most certainly no infidels were permitted, and where we could be alone and uninterrupted. The room was much more lavish than the one in which I had met his bastard brother. I had of course an ulterior motive in continuing our discourse, and again, I make no apologies and defend my actions on the same basis as I had presented regarding the Sultan's bastard son. The boy was exceedingly handsome, the boy had the choice and the authority and maturity to accept or refuse any advances I might make, and he was a boy, with the same needs, and the same rights, as any other boy despite his royal status.

In answer to his questions, I told him more about the Kingdom of Portugal, including our armies and navy and strengths, information nobody else would dare inquire about and I would never reveal to an adult. I told him honestly of our motives, which were not unlike those of any other nation, and I told him about my Christian faith, true to my promise to the Holy Father and to God to promote it, and I honestly gave my impressions of the Sultan of Tidore, which I am sure others had reported already, all of which I knew the boy would relate back to his father on the morrow.

I also informed him of my other faith and my position as the Impersonator of Xochipilli and what I did and stood for, and the sexual practices of the god's priests and followers, all of which I knew he would find of particular interest, more so than the other information, and, given his age, arousing, for boys, especially his age, no matter what their culture or country, are prurient by nature. I was right of course, and as I talked he squirmed and discretely, and he thought secretively, reached inside his robes to adjust what had arisen into a more comfortable position. I pretended not to notice and feigned ignorance regarding the effect I was having on him, and I offered in all innocence to show him the full extent of my tattoos. He was of course most interested, as I had also suspected and hoped.

So I opened and dropped my robe, revealing the swirl of vines and the depiction of flowers and mushrooms circling my limbs, and of course my manhood, and I invited him to examine them, the tattoos of course, closer. He took me up on the offer as I knew he would, and examined what else was available besides, with the expected result. He expressed his appreciation of the pain I must have endured, and appreciation of the size of my manhood, meaning it as a complement from one male to another. I inquired about his knowledge and experience regarding the opposite sex, and he admitted with regret his interest but so far lack of experience, quickly justifying his virginity in that he was the son of the Sultan and heir to the throne, and so could not indulge in the pleasures that boys with less responsibility could.

I smiled and told him I understood and I complemented him on his fortitude and forbearance, and I observed most innocently and conspiratorially that there were other ways that an enterprising young boy could find pleasure. He blushed and admitted that there were, but again circumstances dictated that he seek those pleasures alone and his position denied him the opportunities that presented themselves to commoners, including his bastard brothers who need not worry about their reputation or did not frighten off those who might be tempted to engage them in such intimacies.

Again I commiserated with him, and I extolled the Tenochca and their attitudes, and how even royal and noble sons who were descendants of the gods themselves enjoyed the pleasures that could be found with other males, and especially older males, that the commoners engaged in. Then, as if a totally unrelated thought, I commented that my companion and I were about to leave, and in all likelihood would not return. The boy asked if as the Impersonator of Xochipilli I had congress with the sons of the royal family, and if I had enjoyed the experience. I confirmed both and he mused if I was about to leave I was in a different situation than those who lived on the island or dignitaries who visited and had business with his father on a regular basis.

Acting surprised, I observed that he was very right, and that he was very astute in recognizing the difference, something I had not considered, and that he had arrived at the solution to his dilemma, and just as he had made the observation and left it open without asking the question, I left my comment open without making an offer.

"So when the sons of nobles came to worship this god, what did they and you and the priests of this Prince of Flowers do?"

"Many things. Sometimes they danced and disrobed. Other times they appeared already naked, and still other times they were disrobed by the priests as part of the ceremony. It varied greatly and what we did is difficult to describe to the uninitiated. Perhaps, with your permission, it might be easier for me to show you."

"You may."

I did so eagerly, and he did so willingly. I am sure I had not deceived him, and I am sure he did not think he had deceived me, but now we could proceed without talking and needing to justify our actions. I was already naked so I began by untying the sashes of his robe and slipping it off his shoulders. He was wearing an undergarment, no more than a linen pouch, which was bulging and had to be uncomfortable. He made no objection and blushed with embarrassment when I removed it and freed his member from its confinement. He was already partially aroused and as I reached out and caressed his back and his smooth chest with a feather-light touch, his member continued to swell, and seeing its excitement caused mine to continue swelling also, which caused his to swell even faster.

I caressed his buttocks and then cupped his balls and rolled them in their loose skin and I fiddled with his swelling member, and I took his right hand and brought it to my own crotch. He immediately copied my actions, rolling my much larger balls and stroking my rapidly swelling member. The concentration and delight in his eyes as he looked down at what his fingers were doing and the touch of his young, hot hand transformed my cock quickly and I was soon standing before this young Prince fully erect, his own little, erect cocklet between my thumb and first two fingers. Being of the Muslim faith, he was cut, as was I, and his cocklet was close to a hand-width in length. His pubes and balls were hairless. I had him run his fingers through my coarse hairs as I ran mine over his smooth pubes, both of us delighting in the other's difference.

I expressed my regret that I had no lubrication and advised him that at times a man and boy used spittle, but given my size and his virginity I was uncertain if that would be adequate. He replied, his voice cracking much to his embarrassment, that he could likely get lubricant from his father's concubines but he did not want to take the time, and that he was confident he could endure the pain for what he had been told was the greatest of pleasures.

Eager to continue also, I had the boy take my bulb in his mouth to induce his flow of saliva, which of course began to flow most copiously, and he drooled his spittle over my bulb as I instructed until it was slick. Coating my middle finger with the spittle on my cock, I transferred it to his anus, which I took care to coat most thoroughly, and I slowly eased my finger into his rectum and twisted it to help loosen and prepare him for the much larger appendage to come.

I had him suck my cock a while longer, to further arouse him and to pleasure me, and as his mouth filled with spittle I laid my head back and had him drool his saliva into my mouth. Having filled my mouth with his spittle, flavoured with my cock, he turned and bent over and I squatted behind him, fastened my lips to his asshole tightly, and as he opened his anus as I instructed, I blew our combined spit up his rectum, increasing his and my arousal still further. I had him continue sucking my cock but then to swallow his cock-flavoured spit which I knew would further excite him, wanting him to be as aroused as I could for what he was about to endure, and I had him once again baste my swollen and by now aching cock with his bubbly saliva.

I at last had him bend over and grasp his knees and I shuffled up behind him and wedged the tip of my spit-slick cock against his slimed hole. Grasping his hips I pressed forward as slowly and gently as I could, telling him to push out his anus and to push back on my cock at the same time. He did so obediently, and eagerly, and with his spittle and his eagerness and my experience, I managed to stretch open his anus with a minimum of effort and pain on either of our parts. Of course once I felt my knob pop inside his rectum and I knew the most difficult was over, I continued to push forward as he continued to slide down on my cock, thus sinking my thick, hard cock up his royal ass.

I heard him gasp, with the pain and with the pleasure, and with surprise, having his tight ass plugged with solid flesh for the first time in his young life and extending far up his rectum, farther than most men would ever penetrate. I then began to fuck him, slowly now to extend the pleasure for both him and me, pausing frequently so neither of us would orgasm too soon. As I felt the familiar ache in the pit of my groin and the core of my cock and the burning, itching pleasure encircle the rim of my bulb, I reached under him and finding his cock stiff and aching also, I wrapped my fingers about it tightly, easing its pain. I slowly began to stroke it, bringing this twelve-year-old virgin boy the same and familiar pleasure he had up until now only created himself and by his own hand, the same intense pleasure as he was bringing me and that I was now feeling with my stiff cock pumping in and out of his ass.

He gasped and sighed and trembled with the pleasure I was bringing his stiff little cocklet and with the pleasure my huge cock was providing up his ass, his anus burning with the same maddening delight as the rim of his little stiff cocklet. While he panted and his mind spun with the pleasure of the stimulation of his cock and anus, I delighted in the pleasure of having my hot, hard cock surrounded by his tight, throbbing flesh, and of feeling this young, innocent boy's stiff little pricklet throbbing with the same erotic pleasure between my fingers. As he delighted in the pleasure I was bringing him, so was I delighting in the pleasure he was bringing me. That is the true beauty of congress with young boys, the sharing of pleasure only males can know, and the bringing of pleasure that one was receiving oneself.

I released his stiff little cocklet and let it wag as I felt my orgasm approaching, wanting him to concentrate on what was about to happen and wanting him to orgasm himself because of the enema of hot, thick slime I was about to squirt up his ass, not because of my stroking. With that thought I closed my eyes in delight and grasped his hips tightly as I thrust my cock deep up his rectum and began to squirt out my seed even deeper up his body, and as my stiff cock throbbed with delight with my orgasm I felt his flesh throb in unison, and then the boy jerked and gasped and bucked with his own orgasm, spasms of pain and pleasure ripping through his groin and causing his knob to burn, not because of his own hand, but because of having his ass flooded with a man's hot, thick seed, and of having his asshole burning with the delight of being stretched by a man's shaft.

Chapter 30
Mindanao

Arriving at Mindanao, Nico mingles with the Moro (who are of Arab, Chinese, and Philippine ancestry) population of the island and neighbouring Sulu Archipelago seeking information and young boys. 

Codes: M/b, M/t 

Characters: 16 yo Moro musician Han, 15 yo Menang dark-skinned slave of a local noble, a nameless poor 9 yo storm orphan, 14 yo's Jafar and Abdul divers and son and nephew of pearl vendor 

The following day was spent gathering supplies and readying our craft for the next leg of our journey, and the morning after that we headed north with a strong southeast wind filling our sail, both Xing-fu and I pleased with our sojourn at Jailolo. As I sat back and enjoyed the strong wind speeding us on our way and not having to tend to sail or oar, I thought of the past couple days and silently debated which of the two sons I had enjoyed most. I could not choose. I let my mind wander as I pictured young Yusuf Kaicel looking up his bastard brother as I had suggested and doing to his brother what I had done to him. The boy was close to coming of age, and I pictured the delight of both boys the day when it happened, while he had his stiff little cocklet up the tight, hot ass of his bastard brother. I got up and checked that the belaying pins were secure and the knots still tight under the strong wind at our back, knowing that they were but having to turn my thoughts to other things or I would find myself in an embarrassing and sticky situation.

Six days and Xing-fu figured two hundred leagues, we arrived at our next destination, a most irregularly shaped island known to Xing-fu. Its coastline is indented by many large bays and headlands providing shelter to ships from the many storms which occur in this area, especially between June and October, one of which had passed through the islands two weeks earlier leaving behind uprooted trees and flooded crops half buried in silt and sand. Their description of the storm and the aftermath that I saw two weeks later reminded me of the violent storms I had experienced while with the Thimogona. The Thimogona had a special name for those storms, huraca'n, which they said was caused by a god they called Juracán, who actually left the work up to the goddess Guabancex and her two male assistants, the god Guatabá who created the thunder and lightning and the god Coatrisqule who brought the floods. I wondered how their priests would explain the existence of these storms so far away, but I suppose if the power of the One and only True God was world-wide, the same could be believed about other gods.

These islands are occupied mainly by the Moro, people of predominantly mixed stock from the hundreds of surrounding islands and as far away as Malacca with the addition of blood from the Arabs and Chinese resulting in a peoples ranging from exotic butterscotch brown to kohl black and from lithe, beautiful bodies to short, squat monkey-like specimens similar to the pygmies of the Congo. Their language was similar to that spoken on the other islands which both Xing-fu and I were becoming quite proficient in. They were divided into a number of small tribes, each having its own leader and loosely reporting to one man who in turn we were told responded to the Sultan of the Sulu, who ruled a nearby group of close to a hundred islands! These people converted to Islam well over a hundred years ago but a large proportion of them continued to practice the animistic faith of their ancestors.

The people being of a friendly nature and acquainted with the great empire of Cathay, Xing-fu and I took advantage of the opportunity to relax without the pressure of needing to negotiate with, impress, or be impressed by a supreme leader. Xing-fu visited with the small community of citizens from Cathay and I mingled with the Moro. The men here have many wives, and many children, and are mostly fishermen and farmers and knowing about both I was readily accepted and I easily related to them. I met with equal comfort with their leaders and the common folk. Next to the tribal chief in importance were the shamans who acted as healers, spirit guides, historians and sorcerers, and I was just as comfortable talking to them, and, to my surprise, they were just as comfortable talking to me.

I was approached on my first day on the island by one of these individuals who said she could sense about me a great spiritual force and that I had a strong connection with the dead and the spirit world, and was a powerful healer. I admitted that she was not the first to make such an observation about my connection with the spirit world, and that I was known by some as a healer and I was interested and knowledgeable about healing, particularly as it pertained to the use of herbs.

It was a muggy day interrupted with several fierce showers and we spent much of the day with her showing me the local plants and explaining their uses and sharing with me their seeds, and she told me much about the local spirits, these people, like many others, believing there are spirits all around us and living in auspicious places. They were called by different names, but shared the same behaviours and personalities of spirits in other lands. Of course I took the opportunity to acquaint her with the one and only true God and to tell her of some of the miracles His only Son performed. She listened seriously, not necessarily believing but knowing there is much about that other world that even privileged mortals like ourselves still had to learn.

I discovered most of the healers in this land were women, like her, but I learned there were others who were men but had all the physical and behavioural characteristics of a woman, except that which distinguishes a man from being a woman, and that they use with other men just like the shamans I had met across the Ocean Sea. Nobody saw any shame in that, and some of these healers, she said, were actually women in men's bodies and constituted a third gender. There were also others, she said, a fourth gender, that were women but preferred congress with other women and took the roles normally taken by men. It was not the first time I had heard of such things of course, and our discussion gave me cause to wonder once more what it was that caused a person to act and think like a person of the opposite sex and why this occurred throughout the world.

That too was not the first time I had wondered such things, but now with my recent experience with the Etoro, I began to wonder if a man's semen did contain a male life force and if the amount of that force somehow determined the extent to which a man looked and acted like a man. It was not unlike the opinion expressed by my former Buddhist companion and friend, Chen, that a person who had been a strong woman in a past life carried forward with him some of her essence in the next life even if in the next life he was a man. My new knowledge did not explain my own situation but it did give me more to think about. There was no question I looked like and was built like a man, a well-endowed man, and I did not act like a woman except in one way, my preference to have congress with other men, though there I as readily took a top role as I did a bottom. And none of what I had learned explained my preference for males much younger than myself.

Speaking of youth, on my way back to the inn at which we were staying, a young, slant-eyed, copper-skinned musician performing in the market caught my eye. He was standing on a corner singing with a most beautiful, melodious, high-pitched voice in a tongue I had heard first in Malacca. He had suspended about his neck at about waist level a sturdy bamboo shoot upon which were hung a half dozen small bell-like gongs which he struck with a mallet and played either by themselves or in accompaniment with his singing. I also noticed hanging from his belt a bamboo flute.

I tossed several coins to join those on a carpet before him, and then I took out my panpipe and gestured to his flute. I motioned for him to begin and then I picked up the tune and accompanied him. As more people stopped to listen, he stopped playing and sang to my music, and then as he played I stopped and sang to his in Arabic, being more familiar and practised and knowing many here spoke or understood the language. As we performed, we smiled at each other and looked into each other's eyes as if we were long time companions, perhaps lovers. His pile of coin grew considerably.

As the sun set and the crowds began to disperse, he gathered up the coins he had collected and offered me a share, but I refused. We stopped at a vendor in the market and he purchased flavourful meat pies and juice made from a spiny-skinned fruit they call a pineapple. He introduced himself as Han and I gave him my true name, Nicolau. His parents, he said, made chairs and tables from bamboo and had seven other children besides him, all younger, five of them girls, he himself being sixteen. He still lived at home with them and helped supplement their income by performing. I complemented him on his music and voice and he complemented me on mine. He observed that from my name and in that I had eaten a pork pie I could not be of the Islamic faith, and I told him I was not and told him the nation I came from was called Portugal and that I was a merchant and sailor and adventurer.

He asked if I had a wife at home and I replied that I had, and a son and stepson and a third child who had been born since I had left and would be two next month. He looked at me sadly when I told him this and I told him that my wife understood my responsibilities to my country and my faith. He thought for a long time before responding to that, and observed with his eyes downcast that he was not yet married, and likely would never be as he found no interest nor pleasure in the company of women.

Thinking that was why he had grown suddenly sad when I had commented on my marital status, I replied that I knew many who felt the same as he did, and that I myself found greater pleasure in the company of those of my own gender. He looked up at me with a flicker of hope and I realized his earlier look was not of sadness but of disappointment. When I added "especially those who are younger than myself" his faced brightened, confirming my suspicion. He reiterated that I was not of the Islamic faith, and I replied with a smile that one did not have to be of the Islamic faith to belief that congress with a woman is a duty but with a boy is pleasure.

"And what is it with a boy that brings you the greatest pleasure?" he asked much more cheerfully.

"Bringing each other pleasure," I replied instantly. And so saying, I leaned over and taking him in my arms I kissed him on the lips. He promptly returned my kiss, eagerly and passionately.

"I know a place where we can go," he said and I gestured for him to lead the way.

It was a short distance, a secluded spot in the bordering dense jungle, and evidently we were not the only two interested in congress with our own gender for hidden in dark arbours I spotted other couples, males with males and women with women. The night air was fresh and sharp after the afternoon showers and the scent of the lush vegetation and now sleeping flowers hung heavy in the air. We embraced and kissed and as we disrobed each other we caressed each other's exposed flesh. I cupped his compact buttocks and drew him close to me and he caressed my ass cheeks, our groins pressed together, our swelling cocks side by side. I cupped his tender testicles and rolled them in their loose sack and he slipped his tongue between my lips as he kissed me. As I caressed his smooth, muscular chest he fondled my stones and stroked my swelling cock.

The thick vegetation had caught and channelled the rain so that the thick, rich grass at our feet was dry. We lay down on it as we continued to kiss and caress each other. I asked if there was anything we could use for lubricant and he smiled and retrieved a jar from his robes. I do not know what it was, but it was creamy in colour and texture and had the faint fragrance of coconut. To his surprise I scooped a bit out and smeared it over his cock, which was now erect and a palm and a half in length, and I wiped my finger off on my anus. I asked if he prefer I lay on my back or my stomach, and he smiled and replied my back.

So I lay on my back and spread my legs and as he approached me on his knees I raised my legs and hips, resting the backs of my calves on his shoulders. His arms were strong and muscular from playing his gongs all day and now he supported my ass as he slipped under it and aimed his stiff cock for my hole. He was narrow and lubricated and I was experienced and lubricated also, and we were both eager. His bulb slowly spread open my anal muscle and I studied his face as he penetrated me, his eyes half-closed and his moist, thick lips parted as he concentrated on entering me. As he did so ever so slowly, his lips curled with pleasure and satisfaction and I pushed out to help. We snorted and gasped for breath, neither caring if we were heard for we were surrounded by similar sounds and our neighbours knew what we were doing as well as we knew what they were. Slowly he sank his stiff, sensitive member up my hot, moist rectum until he was fully inserted and his coarse, curly hairs were pressed against my buttocks.

And then this sixteen-year-old youth slowly began to fuck me, easing his cock in and out of my anus as he held up my buttocks and supported my widespread legs with his chest and shoulders. I watched his face as he fucked me, the advantage of coupling face to face, and he glanced down at me and his smile widened. His smooth chest was rising and falling rhythmically with the effort and with the pleasure between his legs, and as the thrusting of his hips increased in speed so did his breathing. My own chest was rising and falling in time with his, and my rectum was pulsating in time with his stiff, throbbing cock. Sharp stabs of pleasure penetrated my anus and shot up my rectum, and my stiff cock wagged as the rim of my bulb burned with the same pleasure as my anus and his cockhead and I felt an ache in the pit of my groin. Each time his bulb passed a spot up my rectum it shot stabs of sweet pain up my hole and up the core of my cock and each time my need to release my seed grew stronger.

He was the first to come, spurting his hot teenage seed up my rectum, spurt after powerful spurt shooting up into my bowels and he gasped and groaned with the pleasure of his release. I grasped his swollen cock with my anus and clamped down on it as feeling his seed spurting up my rectum caused the release of my own seed. I clamped down tighter as I felt it race up the core of my benumbed cock and then spurt out my turning tip. It shot through the air, a thick, white streamer, and laced my heaving chest, a second and third quickly following. I inhaled and exhaled rapidly and deeply as my stones contracted and my seed flew through the air and struck my rapidly rising and falling chest, pooling in the hollows of my body and following my ribs and oozing down along the sides.

Finally we both stopped and he slowly eased out of me, drawing back for the last time, and though flooded with his slime my rectum felt empty as he eased his cock out and lowered my body. He dropped down beside me and leaning over on his side, he sucked up a pool of my slime, pressing his thick lips against my perspiring flesh and sucking the thick goo into his mouth. He swallowed, and sticking out his tongue, he lapped up one of the streamers of cum lacing my chest as if a sugared custard. He smiled down at me with those slanted eyes and we kissed and I tasted my cum on his thick lips. We lay there cuddled together, my chest a pillow for his head, and we inhaled the night air, the fragrance of grass and sweet blossoms now scented with the musky fragrance of fresh seed.

"Do me," he said dreamily sometime later as he looked into my eyes and he smiled as I reached for the lubricant.

On our second day Xing-fu and I met with several of the leaders. As I have said, there are several tribes living on the island, each with their own leader, and they report to one man not due to any official structure but because he was the stronger and wiser and most experienced and so his council was sought and followed. The island has gold, copper, and iron and rich soil on which they grow corn, rice, and coconut, the fruits they call banana, the pale yellow, curved fruit I have mentioned previously, and the spiny fruit they call pineapple, which I have also mentioned.

Each of these leaders have several wives, a practice widespread not just among the nobility but the common people also, and so they have many children besides, and all have slaves whom they have captured from tribes on neighbouring islands or other parts of this island and who maintain their households and work in the corn or rice fields. All this they can support because of the natural riches of their island, and because of the lively trade they engage in, the island having, as I have mentioned, many bays and headlands providing protection from the frequent and violent storms which are common in this area. Because of the large number of ships seeking refuge in their bays and the profitable trade attracting ships from many nations, the leaders of this island are familiar with many languages, and their interpreters, which each leader has, are particularly conversant in the main languages of trade so our audience went smoothly.

One of the senior advisors to the leader of these men was one of those interpreters and a member of the royalty besides, an elderly, grey-bearded patriarch with his own cluster of wives, brood of children and grandchildren, and collection of slaves. Following our meeting, he invited Xing-fu and me to his home, eager of course to secure the favour of the mighty empire of Cathay for his leader over all the others, and perhaps even over the overall ruler of these men, the Sultan from Sulu. I am well aware of the minds and the plotting of such men. One of his household slaves who assisted in serving our meal was a young, short, dark-skinned boy of fifteen by the name of Menang. His last name, if he had one, he never provided. While our host engaged Xing-fu in conversation after our meal, I took my leave and sought the boy out.

My purpose of course was purely physical. The boy was from another nearby island to the north, the main population there being short, dark-skinned people not unlike those I had first met so many years ago in the Dark Continent. As we talked, I discovered the boy had more intelligence than most of his colour, but fortunately, like other blacks, he had a high level of sexual desire and a lack of restraint bordering on the animalistic. He quickly realized my purpose of singling him out, and it was he who approached me and offered to see to my needs. Taking me to one of the guest rooms where he evidently was sent to entertain important guests privately, he immediately dropped to his knees, opened my robes, and took my flaccid cock in his mouth.

His thick lips were well suited for sucking cock and he put his to good use. He was experienced handling large men and he went down on my limp cock almost to the base, a rarity for even the most experienced. Clamping his lips tight about my shaft, he sucked deeply on my flute, relying on suction alone to arouse me. As I continued to swell, he was forced to slowly slip his lips up my shaft to accommodate my length. Once I was stiff, he began to slip his lips up and down my shaft while he sucked on it. The rim of my bulb began to burn with arousal and I opened and closed the opening of my cock with delight and in anticipation of the release of my seed.

The boy was well versed in what he was doing and he knelt there on his knees before me and clamped his thick, muscular lips about my shaft below my knob, cutting off my impulse to squirt my seed. We remained like that for the longest time until my heart and blood slowed, his mouth collecting with drool and basting my cock. He finally swallowed the cock-flavoured spittle and resumed his suction and slipping his lips up and down my shaft.

He had grown erect with arousal and he opened his robe and allowed his stiff, black cock to poke out of his parted robe to watch. He was of a generous size and his arousal was proof that he was finding as much enjoyment out of sucking my cock as I was finding being sucked. That of course was of no surprise, the black race being inferior in most things but sucking cock not being one of them. Sucking cock comes as natural to them as fucking does for a white boy of fifteen, and I have found no difference in the race whether they live here, on the Dark Continent, or as slaves throughout the civilized world.

After several delays, I approached my climax once again and this time the boy knew I had enough delay and he continued to suck and slip his lips up and down the length of my cock as eager as any calf sucking on its mother's teat, and this boy knew the nature of the milk he would soon be drinking. I held back as long as I could and then warned him as I felt the twang in my groin and the familiar rush of my seed up the core of my swollen cock. Having been held back several times, it squirted out of my body in a rapid succession of spurts, flooding the boy's mouth. He immediately began to swallow the thick slime but even with his skill and his thirst for a man's tart goo he could not keep up and my slime oozed out the corner of his mouth and around his lower lip to hang in a milky pendant from his chin.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply as I released my seed, my head spinning with the force of my ejaculation, and I had to grasp the kneeling boy's shoulders to maintain my balance. My swollen, benumbed cock throbbed out my seed and the tip and rim of my knob burned with delightful pleasure. The boy swallowed all I had to give and knelt there and sucked out the remainder of my marrow, the greedy black pig unable to get enough of my slime, and I thought of the Etoro. Given his thirst for a man's seed and the amount he must have consumed in his short fifteen years, it was no wonder the boy was handsome and well-built and generously hung himself, his aroused cock at fifteen equalling that of many men I have seen fully erect. As he drained me of my essence, I also had cause to wonder if his higher than normal intelligence had anything to do with the amount of semen he consumed.

At the market the next day I stopped at the booth of a Moro vender of pearls and pearl shells who had some very beautiful wares, and a very beautiful son and nephew who were assisting him. I learned they were from the nearby Sulu archipelago and I engaged him in conversation about his nation and his ruler and ended up purchasing several pearls and shells for my own use. I wandered on down to the docks knowing that after being at sea for many days sailors were eager to talk and much valuable information could be gleaned by those who took the time and effort to seek it out and separate it from the gossip. I was not disappointed and learned much more about the trade goods of the island and the nature of its rulers that I knew Xing-fu would find interesting. They also talked of a violent storm many leagues and many days to the south and many were anxious to continue north before it arrived, something else I was sure Xing-fu would like to know.

On the way back I noticed a slight, grubby looking girl lurking in the shadows and watching the traders and fishermen on the dock. I knew that look in her eyes and what she was thinking and feeling, having spent many days on the docks with my friends as a boy listening to the foreign accents and tales of lands and adventures far away and dreaming of some day growing up and heading out to see those lands and have those adventures myself, or even just to be at sea with the wind in my hair and the spray in my face as we trawled for fish instead of at school or sitting in a church pew. Now I was grown up and doing just that. It was unusual to see a girl at the docks, but these were unusual lands and unusual people. I also saw the look on her face as she watched a crew unloading their catch. I knew the look, and the ache, of hunger. Walking over to them, I selected one of the larger specimens, paid them a few coins, and carried it over to the youngster.

"For you and your family," I said, handing her the fish.

She looked at me in disbelief and then suspicion.

"Ain't got no family. My parents and sister were killed in a typhoon last year."

"Well, for you and the family you are staying with then."

"Not stayin' with nobody. Just me. My home and everything was swept away, everything except my sister's skirt," he said, plucking at his skirt. "She'd took it off before she went to nap."

I realized then that I was speaking to a boy, not a girl, a boy of about nine. "For you then."

He took it and nodded for me to follow him. He took me to a collapsed and abandoned shed, apparently where he was living.

"You want me to suck, or bend over?" I looked at him in surprise. "For the fish."

"That isn't necessary."

"I don't take nothing for free. I earn my way," he said, shoving the fish back.

"Really. That is not necessary."

"Tis."

I had to admire his determination, but pride is not always a good thing. He would rather starve. I also knew I was not going to win this argument. "Suck then. I am a little large for the other."

We stepped a little further into the shadows and he dropped to his knees and reached out and parted my robe. As I have said many times, I do not take advantage of young boys for my own pleasure, but I knew the boy would leave the fish to rot and starve before he would accept charity. I had not come to the docks for congress and was not prepared mentally, but the boy was good-looking in a dark way, and from the way he had deftly extracted my member and immediately taken it in his mouth, he was not inexperienced nor reluctant. So, I let nature take its course and it was not long before I was erect and my cock was throbbing with pleasure.

The boy's concept of pleasure was to bring me off as quickly as he could, and though I wanted to instruct him in the finer techniques of congress between man and boy, I knew that he was not doing this for pleasure himself and so I decided to let him proceed. I closed my eyes and focussed on the throbbing of my swollen flesh and the burning along the rim of my knob and as he sucked on my member and slid his lips over my knob the pleasure intensified and though I would have preferred to enjoy it longer, I knew prolonging my pleasure would not prolong his. And so I filled his mouth and he drank down my seed. It was not my most memorable nor most pleasurable experience.

I returned to the market as the pearl vender was packing up his goods and I asked if I might accompany him, his son, and his nephew to the nearby Sulu Archipelago, intending to find out more about this Sultan of their island. The man's son and the boy's cousin were both fourteen and had come to the market to help sail their boat and to learn about the vending side of their trade, and as a reward for their labours diving to the floor of the ocean and retrieving the pearls and shells, being young and lithe and having developed tremendous lung capacity diving for pearls every day.

The island was a short distance away. That evening I met with the man and his family, including his wives and his brother, the father of the other boy. Their homes were built in a protected alcove on high poles lashed with rattan on account of the tides, and the sides and roof were thatched with sewn palm leaves. They were a simple folk leading simple lives, the others in their tribe also coastal dwellers and living by fishing, gathering clams for food, or collecting pearls. They were all Muslim as had been their fathers and were devout in their faith.

The archipelago consisted of hundreds of islands, some barely a mile in diameter, many unoccupied. Every boy knew how to handle a boat before he knew how to walk, and when not helping their parents, they explored the surrounding islands, looking for food or unusual stones or other objects they might sell at the market in Mindanao. The people knew little of the governing authority other than he was also a strong believer and a good leader, asking little of the people and protecting them from slave traders from other islands. In return for meeting with me and their information, I entertained them, playing on my panpipe, and they sang and danced and we feasted on baked sea fish and yams and drank fermented coconut wine. Like most hard-working folk, they enjoyed partying and seized on any opportunity to do so.

We rose early the next morning and I joined them diving for pearls and shells. They rowed out with several other villagers in their own boats to where the clams were particularly bountiful and where because of the turbulence of fresh water from a nearby island stream the clams were prone to having thick pearl-lined shells and multiple pearls. While the man opened and checked the clams for pearls and shells, I and the two boys, his son and his nephew, dived to the ocean floor and searched. I love the sea, the cool, clear water, the smell of salt from the ocean, the fresh cooling breeze, and the multitude of brightly-coloured fish and other sea life that lived among the corals and reefs and I joined them eagerly, though I could not match the boys in the time they were able to remain below the surface of the ocean.

That night we again feasted on the bounty of the sea and the land and for my keep I entertained them again with my panpipe and by relating stories of some of the nearby islands I had visited. They offered me a share of the pearls and shells I had collected but I declined, taking only a couple choice pearls and a couple of the more unusually coloured pearl shells. Later that evening in the dark of the night, I slipped away into the dense jungle with the pearl diver's son, Jafar, and his cousin Abdul.

They were both beautiful, attractive boys, the mix of Arab blood and that of several different islanders over time resulting a creamy, coppery-bronze complexion, thick black hair, and dark, almond-shaped eyes and teeth as pearly-white as the pearls we had collected. The adults were perfectly aware of our departure and the reason, these people exhibiting an openness about one's sexual desires. The men were too poor to support more than one wife, but having several was considered natural, as was the fact that there were men, women, men who preferred men, and women who preferred women, and men who did their duty with women but preferred their nights with boys. I envied these people their way of life and their attitude.

As we sat on a secluded beach nearby that could only be approached by the sea and talked about their island and their lives and me and my people and land, my tattoos, for we had dived in the ocean naked, the three of us, there being no women to see us. We talked of the creatures of the ocean and the jungle, their dreams and mine, and of course about being a man and a boy and the mystery of girls and sex and the glory of being a boy and the bountifulness of Allah. I thought back of two other pearl divers many leagues and many months away, two brothers, and the pleasure we had shared. They had been two Hindi boys of the Mukkuva class from Chayl, one a year younger than these two boys and his brother six years younger. They had been inexperienced and hesitant but like all boys curious and daring.

Jafar and Abdul were similarly curious and adventurous, like all boys, particularly when it came to matters pertaining to sex and other adult secrets. Unlike the two Hindi boys, they were not saddled nor impeded by low social class and low respect and were treated as any other boy in any other trade. They also had the support and encouragement of each other so were not totally ignorant of the pleasures of being a boy.

Glancing at each other for support and confirmation, one and then the other broached the topic of being male and their pending elevation to the status of men, and of boyhood secrets and pleasures. It was they who approached me, though I must confess I let slip many hints myself and did all I could to encourage them, carefully of course realizing I was alone on a strange island and dependent on the adults in their lives for my safety and return. The adults in their lives also followed many customs and beliefs of their Arab ancestors and I relied on the hope that meant they were at least aware and accepting of one of those practices if not participants themselves.

"Your reed must be very large when it is aroused," Jafar finally dared to observe.

"It is larger than that of any man we have ever seen," added Abdul in support.

"Even in the cold water," observed Jafar and the two boys glanced at each other and giggled.

"I have been blessed being more endowed than most men," I admitted. "But how do the two of you know a man's member becomes larger when aroused?"

The two glanced at each other and giggled. "We have younger brothers and sisters," Abdul replied.

"And no matter how quiet or secret, a mother and father cannot make a baby silently."

"Especially when they must do it so many times."

"And especially at the end," added Jafar and the two boys again exchanged glances and giggled.

"It is not possible for a man not to express his pleasure at the end," I observed.

"We have heard it is possible for two men, or two boys, to find pleasure … in the end," observed Jafar with a sly look at his cousin.

"That is one way two men, or two boys, or a man and boy, can find pleasure," I admitted.

The two boys glanced at each other when I added the third choice and they could not hide their hope. I pressed the topic. "The two of you have begun the growth of your short hairs, and I noticed fine silk in your armpits." The boys glanced at each other again and smiled and then beamed with pride as they looked back at me. Boys everywhere look with eagerness for that first sign of hair on their pubes or underarms or upper lip, and display their growth for others to see proudly. These two were no different. "So you know the pleasure of producing seed?"

Again the exchange of glances, this time accompanied by hesitation and guilt. They slowly nodded. "By our hand," admitted Abdul, unable to look directly at me.

"Our own hand, not each other's," quickly added Jafar.

"Why not?"

"We are boys, inside," Jafar replied, tapping his chest.

"We do not wish to be girls," added Abdul, the look on his face and in his voice reflecting his loathing of the idea.

"Two males can pleasure each other without one dressing and acting like a woman, or wishing he was one." The boys said nothing. "I have known men, great and powerful leaders, who have many wives and harems of beautiful women to bring them pleasure and bear them sons, and harems of beautiful boys to bring them pleasure when they do not wish to produce sons and daughters."

"And how do these boys bring these powerful men pleasure?" Jafar dared to ask.

"I could tell you, but you would still not know," I replied, "or I could show you and you can judge for yourself if it brings you pleasure."

"We would like that," Jafar observed softly and Abdul nodded his agreement vigorously.

So we disrobed and I explained and then demonstrated with each boy how one male can arouse another orally. I eagerly took each limp, little dick in my mouth and sucked on it and licked it, swirling my tongue over the knob, and encouraged by the feelings I created each tried the same on mine, certainly with greater hesitation until they realized the taste was not as unpleasant as they had thought it would be. As their humours of lust began to flow through their veins, their little cocklets became firm and they licked and sucked on my cock more eagerly; and having these two fourteen-year-old boys lapping at my most private and sensitive parts had me swelling quickly, which encouraged them still further.

I went on to explain and again demonstrate with one and then the other ways two males can arouse and please each other with tongue and lips, kissing each of them in turn and licking and sucking on one nipple and then the other of both boys and having them do the same with me and with each other, by which time all three of us were stiff. I went on to tell them some men also pleasured each other by applying their lips elsewhere, but from the look on the boy's faces I chose not to demonstrate, only assuring them it was not as unpleasant as they suspected, for both the one being licked and the one doing the licking. They were satisfied with my assurance but declined the opportunity to discover if I was telling the truth.

They of course knew from observing their parents the basics of making a baby, and I explained the alternate opening two men can utilize to bring the same pleasure, again being received with looks of doubt, hesitancy, and disbelief. I again demonstrated by caressing each tender pucker and using spittle to insert my finger and work it in and out each virgin hole. Encouraged by the pleasure that brought, the two boys did the same to me. Of course throughout all this our lust continued to grow, the two boys easily excitable at their age and their obvious delight and wonder giving me as much pleasure as any physical contact between us.

Finally I had Abdul lay on his back with his head raised and I straddled him in the opposite direction with knees and elbows on either side of his body and my back arched so that my genitals hung in front of his face and his were directly below mine. Jafar knelt and watched, thinking this was still another demonstration until I told him to kneel behind me and to lubricate his member and my anus with spittle and then to insert his cock and pump it in and out of my body. I then turned my attention back to Abdul, who needed no further instruction. As his lips fastened about my stiff staff and began to suck, I slipped my lips about his slender cock and proceeded to suck on it. Jafar hesitated of course but seeing his cousin and me pleasuring each other temptation triumphed and I felt his wet finger coating my anus with his spittle and then moments later the head of his stiff little cocklet press against my hole.

The boys were hesitant and awkward at first, which only enhanced my own pleasure, but once they got used to their task and the pleasure between their legs grew they pursued their given task with the zeal of novices, wondering at the intensity and mystery of the pleasure pulsating between their legs, and at the delight of being pleasured by another while bringing that other pleasure themselves. I had not warned them to go slow to enjoy their pleasure, nor informed them of techniques to delay their physical reactions, knowing that such advice would go unheeded in their awe and in the novelty of their pleasure. Such finer details they could learn later. For now, they were living for the moment, and I used my experience and strength of mind to curb my own arousal. I suppose in a way it was no different from my experience with the boy at the dock, but these two boys had engaged me in congress for pleasure, not out of a sense of duty, and that made all the difference in the world.

Abdul sucked eagerly on my knob, being unable to take much more than that in his mouth, and eagerly swallowed his saliva flavoured with my cock. He attacked my swollen knob with the savageness of a starving calf, and with as much delight and as much desperation, driven on by not just his desire to please but also by the throbbing pleasure he was feeling between his legs. For the first time his swollen little cocklet was throbbing in the mouth of another and for the first time the rim of his little plum was burning with the pleasure caused by another and by another's mouth instead of his own hand. For the first time in his young life another was sucking his cock and bringing him pleasure and he was just as eager to do the same. As with the first pearl diver to suck on my cock, he inhaled deeply and the suction on my stiff cock was enough to suck the flesh out of my balls. The recipient of his extraordinary lung power, I delighted in his efforts and rewarded him with the first of my clear nectar, which only made him suck all the harder.

I sucked on his own little cocklet deeply and felt the stiff flesh throbbing between my lips. At the same time I could hear his cousin snorting and panting behind me and I could feel his stiff little thumb-sized cock throbbing in my anus. I tightened my grasp on that little pecker as he pumped it in and out of my rectum, the thrills of pleasure shooting through my anus equal to the thrill of knowing the immense pleasure the boy was feeling, the physical stimulation of his little cocklet compounded by the pleasure of fucking another for the first time, knowing that the pleasure he was feeling was matched by the pleasure of the man whose ass he was fucking.

We reached our orgasms so close together they appeared to be simultaneous. Abdul's stiff little cocklet throbbed between my lips and he shot his thin, sweet, watery teen juice into my mouth, squirt after squirt erupting from his young body and causing him to inhale sharply and quiver with delight. Jafar meanwhile thrust his stiff little pecker up my ass and began to spurt, his thin seed squirting up my rectum and flooding it with his teenage slime. He grasped my hips tightly and pressed his new curly hairs against my buttocks as he filled me, and his tiny balls drew up tight under his stiff cocklet.

I squeezed my anus tight about his stiff little pecker as I felt the twang deep in my groin and the familiar rush of my seed up the core of my cock. I squirted blast after blast of my thick goo into the mouth of the fourteen-year-old boy as he filled my mouth, and as he swallowed my thick slime and trembled with delight I swallowed his sweet offering and trembled also.

Drained and delighted, we at last separated and collapsed on the grass, our chests heaving and our lungs sucking in the night air scented now by the release of three loads of seed. We closed our eyes with our delight, the delight of having released our seed, the delight of having been brought pleasure by another male, and the delight of having returned that pleasure. The two boys gasped for breath, having for the first time had their seed drawn out by another, and for the first time having caused another to release his seed, for my release was triggered as much by Abdul's sucking as by Afar's fucking of my ass. I glanced at one and then the other, more delighted by the looks of pleasure and pride and wonder in their eyes and curling their lips than I was by the emptying of my balls.

Allowing them time to recover, I made the first move, reaching over and caressing Jafar. He immediately responded by rolling over on his side and caressing me and kissing me gently and appreciatively on my lips. Abdul was quick to notice and joined us on my other side, caressing both me and his cousin, and then kissing the two of us. Jafar and I embraced him and included him in our caresses and kisses. The young, slender boys pressed their lithe, naked bodies against mine, and as we caressed and kissed I felt their little cocklets begin to swell. My cock of course began to swell also and the two boys reached down and stroked it and fondled my balls and stroked my thighs, causing my cock to grow all the faster.

This time I engaged Jafar, rolling him over on his back and straddling him in the opposite direction as I had earlier straddled his cousin, my elbows and knees on either side of the slim, naked fourteen-year-old boy, my swelling cock dangling above his face and his little cock rising up between his legs before my eyes. Abdul needed no prompting as he took Jafar's former position behind me and began to lubricate my anus with his spittle and caress it with the tip of his pointer finger. Jafar was eager for my cock and slipped his mouth over my bulb and began to suck it. Gone was any hesitancy and doubt and he sucked on my flaccid flesh and slipped his lips up and down over my bulb, delighting in the flavour of my cock as if it were his favourite food. His little cocklet rose with his delight and desire and I bent my head and took his cocklet in my mouth and began to suck on it. At the same time I felt the knob of Abdul's stiff cocklet pressing against my anus and I relaxed and pushed out as he pushed in and I was rewarded with another slender cocklet of an adolescent boy penetrating my backside.

The boys attacked with zeal as if they had not only a candle mark ago shot their seed, and invigorated by their adolescent desire I matched their zeal and quivered with delight, being fucked by the cock I had recently sucked, and sucking on the cocklet that earlier had been up my ass. The two fourteen-year-old boys sucked and fucked with the awkwardness and lust of novices, for it was the first time for each of them to engage in the act they were performing, and again their delight and awe ignited in me the same feelings of pleasure.

So the cock that had been throbbing with pleasure up my ass was now throbbing with pleasure between my lips as Jafar sucked eagerly on my cock, delighting in its unique taste and in anticipation of the cream he would soon be drinking. As we sucked each other, Abdul pumped his slender, little cocklet in and out of my ass and I clamped down on it with my anal muscle, delighting in feeling his little dick up my ass with as much delight as I felt with a cock twice its size and thickness plugging my asshole. I was his first fuck, and he was experiencing for his first time the pleasure of having his stiff, aching cock plunging in and out the hole of another and surrounded by hot, moist ass flesh. It was a pleasure he might repeat many times in the future, but that pleasure of his first time would forever be in his memory.

It would also be in my memory, as would be the first orgasm his cousin would experience sucking another's cock and his first orgasm being sucked. I closed my eyes with delight as my stiff cock throbbed and my knob burned and as I sucked on one young teenager's cock as the other's pumped in and out of my asshole. The pleasure of my throbbing member and knowing the pleasure their young, throbbing cocks were bringing them would forever be in my mind, and I knew, forever in the minds of the two young boys. This was how congress should be.

I returned to Mindanao with another trader the next morning, taking with me a small collection of pearls and pearl shells and the memories of two prurient young boys and a delightful evening. I shared with Xing-fu what information I had gathered on the Sultan of Sulu and greatly pleased with my initiative and information, Xing-fu decided it would not be necessary for him to visit with the Sultan, particularly in that the islanders said a violent storm was approaching. So, deciding on taking a chance and taking advantage of the strong winds preceding the storm, he proclaimed we should leave immediately, and trusting his experience and the gods, I agreed.

Chapter 31
Dai Viet

Arriving at the rival empire of Dai Viet, the companions spar with the emperor and Nico engages the services of a teenage (?) boy whore Kim who besides using cock rings introduces Nico to douche, anilingus, and the horn of delight; and Nico spends an evening seeking political information with a 13 yo court page. 

Codes: M/t  

Pushed north and west by the violent winds from the advancing storm, we sped on our way under full sail, arriving at the island of Palawan four days later, a distance of some one hundred and twenty leagues. The island being populated by Moro and subject to the Sultan of Sulu, we paused only to replenish our drinking water and wood for our cooking fire and were on our way the next morning. We continued for another week, still heading north and west before strong winds and again I marvelled at the sturdiness of our vessel and the nautical and navigation skill of my companion, travelling I estimated a good two hundred and twenty leagues in those seven days.

The area we were approaching I was told by my companion was called Annan by the Chinese and was occupied by a people called the Chan. Xing-fu knew the area and its history well and informed me that the area had actually been claimed and occupied by the Chinese several times in the past. As he related the history to me I realized for the first time just how ancient the empire of legendary Cathay was. According by what I was told by Xing-fu, the region was first conquered and occupied two hundred years before Christ was born! I cannot begin to imagine an event happening so long ago.

Annan, which he said means "liberated south", was ruled for over a thousand years by Cathay until a revolution in what would be the year 939 resulted in it breaking away from the Empire. For a land to be ruled continuously for a thousand years I cannot imagine either. Most kingdoms I am familiar with have existed perhaps one or two hundred years, many less. In 939 my own homeland was occupied by Moorish Muslims and it was not for another sixty years before the land between the Douro River and the Minho River where my estate now lies was freed from the heathen horde by Bermudo II, King of Leon, and became a Spanish fiefdom. It was another hundred and forty years, not until 1139, that our first king, Alfonso I, declared Portugal an independent kingdom, a mere three hundred and sixty years ago. And Xing-fu was talking about events occurring twelve hundred years ago!

The Empire of Cathay reconquered Annan finally in 1407, now calling it Jiaozhi, and the Ming dynasty tried to reintegrate the people but twenty-one years later, in 1428, another revolt, this one lead by a man called Lê Loi, restored the former kingdom, which is now called Dai Viet. A great emperor by the name of Lê Thánh Tông ruled the kingdom from 1460 until his death two years ago, in 1497, thirty-eight years! Xing-fu said this emperor was concerned with maintaining good government and keeping personal morality and was very popular. He reduced corruption and built many temples, called Văn Miéu, to K'ung Fu-tzu, a venerated teacher, sage and philosopher. This Emperor also captured the seafaring coastal Champa empire capital of Vijaya in 1471, five years before I was born, ending Champa rule in the south.

It was under the rule of this highly praised man that the envoys of Malacca had been captured and castrated! Xing-fu informed me that three years later a ship from China had been blown ashore and a hundred men had been castrated and forced to become Dai Viet soldiers. He also said two years before the Malacca incident thirteen men from China had been captured and forced to work in the fields, the thirteenth, a young man by the name of Wu Rui being castrated and forced to work as a eunuch in the royal palace, eventually being promoted to a military position in the north of the kingdom where he escaped back into China just two years ago and was now a eunuch in a Ming palace. The oldest of Lê Thánh Tông's fourteen sons, Lê Hién Tông, took over upon his father's death and is the present ruler.

To my astonishment, Xing-fu hoisted his flag representing the Ming Dynasty, a yellow circle representing the moon over a many spiked red sun, colour of the Ming, against a blue sky, symbol of the Han, and a smaller triangular flag, his personal flag as the Emperor's envoy, a triangular green flag with four gold stars and a long-legged crane encircled by a red ribbon, and sailed our tiny vessel into the vast and ancient port of Câng Thi Nai where huge vessels of other nations towered over us. The port was one of the largest of the Dai Viet and conducted trade between the cities of the former kingdom of Champa, their enemy China, the island nations of South East Asia, and the empires and sultanates of South West Asia. Immediately the following morning Xing-fu arranged, again to my astonishment, for an audience with the present emperor.

During our days at sea Xing-fu had enlightened me on the teachings of this scholar and philosopher venerated by the local people, K'ung Fu-tzu, and after securing accommodation and arranging for the audience, we visited the Văn Miéu in the city. I expected to be met by senior monks but to my surprise I discovered these vast temples had not been built for worship, but for ritual and structure. teaching, holding rituals and ceremonies, which for those who followed the beliefs of this man K'ung Fu-tzu were many, and to my surprise the practice of music, which was paramount in their beliefs. The monks of course were eager to talk about this great man and to share with us copies of his writings.

The rest of the day was spent on the docks and in the market where Xing-fu meet with Chinese merchants and I mingled with the many traders from other nations, the intent of the two of us being to ascertain the current status and projected stability of the Dai Viet Empire and its new leader. Both of us were familiar with the ways of those we met and quickly gained their trust and confidence so that they spoke to us freely and honestly despite the danger to themselves. Forever mindful of what these people do to their enemies, I kept my hands cupped before my crotch.

As night fell I found myself in the company of a teenage boy whore who went simply by the name Kim. Slender, short, clear-skinned and beardless, he appeared to be in his early teens though I suspect he was toward the other end, perhaps even in his twenties. He reminded me of the first Chinese boy I had congress with, also a prostitute, China Boy Zhang, now many years ago. Kim too was familiar with the way of merchant-traders and happy the new regime had not disrupted trade nor his business. He was eager to sing the praises of the emperor and his court even when there was no evident reward for him in doing so which quickly earned him my trust and belief. He was even more eager to engage in the pleasures of the flesh, at which he was particularly skilled and earned him my admiration and appreciation even more.

Returning to his tiny and simple, but by no means impoverished, room, we embraced and kissed and he slipped his tongue in my mouth and duelled with my tongue, causing my member to quickly swell and twitch. Our groins were pressed tightly against each other and he instantly felt my arousal, causing him to dart his tongue in and out of my mouth, and causing my member, and his, to twitch harder.

"Perhaps you would like to lie on your back and raise your legs and my tongue can bring you even greater pleasure in your other portal?" he asked seductively.

Although that was not a pleasure high on my list, all I could do is nod. Not many would be willing to do such a thing, and it was not an experience I could expect to engage in often. He quickly disrobed me and stripped at the same time and I lay on my back and spread my legs and raised them. Taking a strange-looking device consisting of tubes, a bulb, and what looked like a wineskin, he inserted one of the tubes up my anus and squirted a liquid of some sort up my anus. He continued squirting until my rectum was filled and stretched to capacity and I was sure I could take no more. Pulling out a chamber pot, he had me squat and empty my rectum as a woman empties her bladder and I felt, I am sure, much the same. He repeated the process, calling what we had done having a douche. Taking a jar and a swab from his shelf, he stretched open my anus with his thumb and fingers of one hand and inserted the swab and twirled it around and the unmistakable fragrance of honey wafted up from between my legs, reminding me of the honey I had first seen used in lands across the Ocean Sea to prevent pregnancy, and the thought caused me to begin laughing and I had to explain why. He laughed and said that unlike some others who worked the docks, that was not one thing he had to worry about.

Having said so, he had me raise my hips and legs and spread my legs once more and slipping straps hanging from the rafters about my ankles he raised my legs further and secured them. He then proceeded to lick my anus and to insert his tongue up my rectum, licking out the honey he had coated it with. Of course my swollen member twitched and jerked uncontrollably until I felt the first droplet of nectar ooze from the tip and he immediately bent over my wagging cock and flicked up the droplet with the tip of his tongue, which I quickly replaced. He smiled and observed that my nectar was even sweeter than the honey. This went on for the longest time and I am sure I had never produced so much nectar in my life. He said what we had done was known by the name "humming bird drinks honey dew."

He again fetched something from his shelf and watching between my raised, outspread legs I saw him slip two rings over my swollen cock, one about the base of my member and the other just below the knob. Their purpose had been explained and demonstrated by China Boy Zhang years ago and I looked forward to what he was going to do next with eager anticipation. He then took out another object, a horn about the size and shape of the fruit they call a banana but two and a half hand widths long and covered with wart-sized bumps and tapered at one end and three-fingers wide at the other. This he called "the horn of delight". Inserting the tapered tip in my anus and pushing it about half way up my rectum, he began stroking my cock, saying he would not stop until I had impaled myself on the horn until it was entirely up my ass.

Considering its length and thickness, I of course told him that was not likely to happen. So he began to stroke my cock and it was not long before it was throbbing with pleasure, and then aching for the release of my seed, which of course could not happen with the rings about my swollen cock. At first I delighted in the heightened pleasure and desire, but as time passed, the pleasure became more urgent and less pleasurable. Still I smiled up at him and focussed on the throbbing of my member, determined I could hold out until his arm tired, but that was not about to happen.

Finally I told him he had best stop or remove the rings and he smiled and replied there was only one thing that would make him stop. I held out another two dozen strokes at which time I began to lose count and finally I began to push back on the horn up my ass. He smiled devilishly and I pushed harder and the horn slowly sank up my rectum. He still would not stop. Cursing him, I pushed harder, the pain surpassing the pleasure and I could feel every bump as I descended.

"Ride it," he said with a devilish grin as he stopped stroking.

I rode it. I drew my hips back, easing up along the rigid horn, and then thrust my hips back, sliding back down on it until it was totally submerged up my ass. Desperate, beads of sweat forming on my forehead, I thrust my hips to and fro and willed myself to come. My cock had gone numb and was beginning to turn a bluish-purple. Finally, he withdrew the horn and immediately placed the tip of his stiff member at my entrance. I slid down on his cock until his coarse hairs were pressed against my buttocks and I drew back, gasping for breath and gritting my teeth as I ached to climax. Harder and harder and faster and faster I rode his cock as he grinned down at me until suddenly he loosed the rings.

With a mighty gasp I felt my seed race up the core of my numb cock and as I gasped and gulped and groaned with relief my seed spurted out of the tip of my abused member and sprayed my heaving, sweat-streaked chest with more force than I have ever shot before and I felt his young seed spurt up my rectum, flooding it with his slime. I did not know whether to cry out in ecstasy or to strangle him for the pain I had experienced. I had never experienced anything so agonizing, nor a climax so powerful. When at last we parted company, I was sure I would never have an experience like that again, and to my surprise, I was not sure if that would be good or bad.

In the morning Xing-fu and I compared the results of our inquiries and found they were identical. The rest of the morning we visited the temple of literature in the capital An Nhan, formerly called Vijaya when it was the capital of the Champa Empire. There people laid out offerings to the spirit of K'ung Fu-tzu, and, I was informed, to the Four Correlates and the Twelve Philosophers. The temple itself was plain compared to the temples I was acquainted with, and especially compared to our churches and the Vatican. There were no statues to K'ung Fu-tzu nor any other personage or god nor any paintings or other images depicting the history of their faith. There were many tablets and scrolls, however, which Xing-fu studied and greatly praised. Again the monks were eager to share their knowledge, and they were excellent storytellers.

Our audience was mid-afternoon, pointedly in the latter part of the day and after the envoys of several major trading partners. The emperor had been thirty-eight at the time of his father's death and all reports that Xing-fu and I had concurred that he was affable and meek and that his rule so far had really simply been an extension of his father's rule with little change in policy or practice. The man we met was admittedly mild-mannered and we were greeted with due cordiality and respect, but throughout the audience you could sense the tension in the room and see the caution in the eyes and tone of the emperor's senior advisors and the man's own reserve.

It was, to me, a strange audience unlike any other audience I have had with the rich and powerful. There was certainly the arrogance and pomposity of a man accustomed to being in authority and being unquestioned, but there was also the uncharacteristic gentleness and complacency that we had been told about, perhaps a reflection of his true personality. Instead of making him easy to talk to and immediately likeable as had been the case with the brutal, warrior-king of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Binna Ran, the quiet demeanour of Lê Hién Tông made me uncomfortable. Or perhaps it was his uncomfortableness that made me uncomfortable.

The Kingdom of Dai Viet and the Ming Dynasty had a strange relationship which I could not understand. Although once ruled by the Dynasty and now an independent Kingdom, Dai Viet still paid tribute to the Ming as the superior nation, but that tribute appeared to be more of a token than a source of revenue. It was not paid for a pledge that Dia Viet would not be invaded, but more as a reluctant admission that a battle between the two powers would be costly to both. Xing-fu and I had been granted an unquestioned and speedy audience as was our due representing a dominant power, but at the same time scheduled after other nations, bordering but not quite passing over the line of insult.

Xing-fu, at the same time, demanded and received the respect and reverence due the envoy of a nation to which one paid tribute, but was careful not to say or do anything that might be seen as arrogant or condescending to this minor emperor. It was as if the two great men were tolerating each other and playing a game of skill and endurance, a game whose rules they and only they knew and in which who had the dominant position neither conceded. It was an interesting dance to watch and elevated my already high respect and admiration of my companion's skills. It also made me fear the loss of my stones even more and I was glad when the audience was at last over.

Our duty done, we parted company to continue gathering information about Dia Viet, especially its military strength and defences, I mingling with the patrons of the tavern nearest their army compound, including the younger members of the military, and Xing-fu, I later discovered, daring to mingle with those known to be rivals of the present regime. That evening we attended one of the ceremonies at a temple to K'ung Fu-tzu, notably, to me, in the absence of the royal family, a further insult and show of power by the Emperor. The dancers performed what was called the Eight Row Dance, eight rows of eight dancers each. The music was performed by a small ensemble of zithers, flutes and panpipes in the terrace with a choir and extolled the virtues of past emperors and the present ruler.

A much larger ensemble and choir singing the praises of heaven, the five virtues of kindness, uprightness, decorum, wisdom, and faithfulness, and the principles of good conduct, practical wisdom, and proper social relationships played in the courtyard. There were eight types of musical instruments arranged in five directions, the four points of the compass and the centre, and included silk (zithers), bamboo (flutes and a type of panpipe), wood (the zhu and yu), stone (chimes and tablets), metal (bells and metallophones), clay (oranna), gourds (mouth organs), and hide (drums at each corner). The performance was most impressive but I must confess of greater interest to me were the performers, highly skilled musicians, an athletic and acrobatic group of dancers with oiled and muscled torsos, and delightful singers including several handsome, teenage boys.

Xing-fu and I were not totally ignored and following the performance Xing-fu joined several dignitaries from the court, they being as curious about him and the empire he represented and his courage in appearing before them, and he curious about them and the government of this land. I retired that evening with a court page, a boy of thirteen. He, no doubt, had been instructed to seduce me in the hopes that in our pillow talk I would reveal secrets about myself and my companion and what we were doing here. As for myself, he was young, handsome, and bursting with adolescent lust and energy.

He had spent all of his short life as a page, thanks to his good looks, his quick mind, and illustrious ancestry, and though only thirteen, he had the knowledge and skills of one twice his age, which would be one just less than three years older than myself. He did at first ply me with rice wine and flattery and played the role of an innocent and impressionable child and I dumped the wine when he was not looking and played the role of a gullible, vain and besotted foreigner. I revealed no secrets but let slip choice fragments about my origins and the credentials of my companion that would put him in good stead to whomever he was reporting to, and he himself knew no secrets and was guarded in what he did say, but was also in a position to hear things that held more meaning than he realized.

Once we got past the talking stage and action replaced words, he quickly forgot the secret purpose of his mission for what I had to offer was far more interesting and pleasurable, and I found what he had to offer far more important than any information he might have tucked away in his mind. As a page he was fully aware of the charms he had to offer and of the pleasure there was to be had, and as a thirteen-year-old boy he was eager to engage in those pleasures and to learn more. My interest and willingness in such pleasures had to have been evident for those who were hoping to use me to have sent a boy to do the work, but then I had made no effort to conceal my preference.

By the time we had disrobed and he had discovered my tattoos and my endowment, and I had been charmed by his youth and his body, the two of us had only one objective, and it was the same for both of us. His combination of experience and naivety ignited my passion, and his youthful curiosity and lust spurred him on. His lips were velvet soft and his breath fresh and sweet, his body smooth and luscious. He caressed my back and my chest, my thighs and my buttocks, and I cupped his ass cheeks and caressed them. His youthful cock quickly began to swell and I took it in my mouth so I could feel it grow and become firm between my lips. He cupped my balls and rolled them tenderly and reverently, and he grasped my limp member and stroked it and bent to inhale its musky fragrance and to taste of its unique flavour.

My member grew in his mouth as his grew in mine, and finding ourselves in the position, we sucked on each other's growing cock and caressed each other's backside, and as we grew firm we slipped our lips up and down each other's member, basting each other's cock with our saliva and then swallowing the cock-flavoured spittle with eagerness. His slender cocklet throbbed between my lips, and my cock throbbed between his. I sucked deeply on his staff and slipped my lips up and down the length, delighting in feeling it throb between my lips, and he sucked on my knob and slipped his lips down the shaft as far as he could. We paused to allow each other time to relish the pleasure throbbing between our legs and to give each other time to recover, and then resumed, the two of us knowing how far we could go.

After another pause, we closed our eyes and focussed on the pleasure of having our cocks sucked and on sucking cock, knowing the pleasure we were feeling was the pleasure we were bringing, knowing the desire and urgency building in our loins were building in the other's. He was half my age but he knew the pleasure he was about to experience, and I knew it also, and remembered how it was when I was his age. We came so close together it was impossible to say who came first, and it did not matter. His thin, watery seed spurted into my mouth as my thicker slime spurted into his. His slender cocklet throbbed between my lips and my member throbbed between his. He swallowed my slime and I swallowed his. My cock throbbed and the knob burned with pleasure and his cocklet pulsed between my lips and he quivered with his pleasure. We played a wonderful duet.

We lay there in silence, our hearts pounding, our chests rising and falling. We looked into each other's eyes and smiled and we kissed. I tasted my cock on his lips and smelled my slime on his breath, and he tasted his cock on my lips and smelled his slime on my breath. We talked, on the pleasure of being male, on the pleasures of congress with an older man and with a younger boy. And then he lay on his back and I propped up his hips with pillows and he spread his legs and I lubricated his anus and my swelling member and we fucked. He gasped and groaned and sighed with pleasure as I stuffed his ass with my cock, and I gasped and groaned and sighed with pleasure as his hot, tight ass grasped my throbbing cock tightly. I eased my cock in and out of his young body and delighted in the pleasure of having hot, moist ass flesh gripping my throbbing member, and he grinned up at me delighted in having his rectum stuffed with a man's thick, rigid, throbbing cock. It was a delightful give and take.

The look of pleasure in his eyes and in his smile brought me even more pleasure than the tightness of his ass, and I am sure the pleasure he saw in my face brought him as much pleasure as did the pumping of my throbbing cock in and out of his body. Nobody who has seen the look of pleasure on the face of a young boy being fucked can deny the rightness of our act, nor deny a boy that pleasure. I paused to enjoy that pleasure, and to allow him time to delight in it also, and to delay our climax as badly as we wanted it. As I looked down at him, his moist lips parted in a sensuous smile, his feathery eyelashes fluttering and his dark eyes blurred by ecstasy, my heart ached and my cock throbbed, anxious to continue. As if feeling it throb, he smiled up at me and thrust his hips forward and drew back, urging me to continue fucking him.

I needed little urging, and so we continued, each gasping for breath and throwing back our heads in lust. When I came up his ass, flooding his rectum with my slime, he erupted also, his teenage slime spurting out his stiff little cocklet and spattering his heaving chest with his watery seed which pooled in the hollows of his body and oozed down along his ribs. Spurt after spurt of slime erupted from our bodies and we sucked in the moist air scented with our fresh seed. I bent forward and we kissed, softly, tenderly, my cock throbbing up his ass and his ass grasping my stiff cock, basting now up his rectum in my hot slime.

I joined Xing-fu late the following morning and that afternoon we once again visited the Văn Miéu and left offerings. I have heard it said by these followers of K'ung Fu-tzu that the innate goodness of human nature can become depraved through one's own efforts or through an evil environment. I imagine then that one's innate goodness can be enhanced through one's efforts and by a benevolent environment. There are Christians who would say what I did the previous night was evil, and there are others who would say it was good. I do not know which the followers of K'ung Fu-tzu say, but I left among the offerings one of the pearls I had collected, knowing that the monks in the temple would consider that something good. If the spirit of K'ung Fu-tzu did also and would appreciate my thanks I had no idea, but leaving the offering could not hurt. Having demonstrated our good intentions and our devoutness, we rested the remainder of the day and stocking up our provisions we departed early the next morning. Before we left, I made quick enquiries, and purchased an exquisitely crafted horn of happiness.

Chapter 32
Fujian

Nico and Xing-fu continue to Fujian, one of the fifteen Provinces of the Ming Dynasty. Fujian has the same reputation in the East as Greece had in Europe, the practice of homosexuality called the southern custom, and boy love common and widely accepted. Suffering from trade restrictions imposed by the current regime, Xing-fu's arrival is seen as a hopeful change and he and Nico are courted. Nico learns about formal marriage between younger and older men and about promotion through the writing of imperial exams, and the rabbit god of homosexual men Hu Tianbao.

Codes: M/t, M/b

Characters: young men Cai Jing and Ong Sum Tan, their two teenage friends, and 16 yo Lee Yuan, son of a Han jade carver; Yin, 9 yo son of senior noble; 12 yo nephew of Prefect; and the Commander's 14 yo son 

Xing-fu said nothing, but I sensed that he was as relieved as I was to leave Dai Viet, and with all his parts besides. We sailed close to the coastline for the next seventeen days. The winds that had been blowing us northward gradually subsided, the storm having either veered to the east or the west or having died out. We still made good speed, relying only on the wind and the currents and seldom having to resort to the oars, and wishing to capitalize on our good weather we stopped only to replenish our water and firewood and take on fresh food. Besides, according to Xing-fu we had left the jurisdiction of Dai Viet and were now in the domain controlled by the Ming Dynasty and were sailing along the coast of lands he did not have to visit.

We finally arrived at the mountainous Shêng of Fujian. So vast is the area controlled by the Ming that the Empire is divided into fifteen huge administrative districts, each called a Shêng or Province. The Shêng of Fujian lies along the coast and has an irregular coastline resulting in many bays and harbours providing shelter from the storms and as a result the province has a bustling trade. As we approached, I noticed many defence forts along the cliffs. These, Xing-fu informed me, were to provide protection to foreign traders and to local merchants from the Wokou, pygmy pirates from an island to the north and east. He said these pirates were small in stature but many in number and vicious in nature and had been harassing the Cathay Empire since the fourth Century, a thousand years! Besides being an important trade centre, Fujian had been the staging area for the great naval expeditions of the famous general Zhen He seventy-five years ago and so had a special history and relationship with the empire.

Immediately the next morning an audience with the provincial regent was arranged for two days hence with great apologies by the Secretary making such arrangements that it was not sooner but our arrival had been unexpected and time was needed to ensure a proper, and lavish, reception was provided such distinguished visitors. Following our meeting, we wandered the city of Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian. News of Xing-fu's presence quickly spread and was seen as a great honour, and was the cause of much rumour and speculation. The edict forbidding contact with Dai Viet, the seclusion policies of the recent emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and the austerity program of the present emperor had all impacted on Fujian and its citizens negatively and the hopes that things would improve in the future ran high with Xing-fu's appearance. Commerce with foreigners being presently discouraged, the only chance for expanding trade was the tributary system which I had briefly learned about in Dai Viet and which was strictly controlled by the Emperor himself. The presence of a white-skinned foreign Prince, a man of evident riches and power, accompanying the Emperor's envoy was also a good sign, and Xing-fu capitalized on my mysterious background, foreign looks, and propensity for extravagant dress and flamboyance cultivated and encouraged by my former companion

Ferdazi al-e-Ahmad-ibn-Zadeh from Shiraz, Persia.

As we roamed the streets and wandered the market and Xing-fu stopped to visit with venders and dignitaries alike, I noticed the wide assortment of people of different appearances and costumes. Fujian, I learned, has had many waves of immigration over the years so has a very diverse and rich mix of cultures and customs, and of languages and dialects. I also noticed another peculiarity. An exceptional number of men were accompanied by a younger male companion. I learned that these pairs were referred to as qi xiong, older brother, and qi di, younger brother. They were married couples, the two families having held a marriage in the traditional fashion as between a man and woman, including the ritual of nine cups of tea, a very formal and structured ritual with very precise and respected procedures. This marriage relationship between men, I learned, could last for many years before the younger individual eventually married a woman and raised a family. Meanwhile the younger man lived with the older man who adopted children who were raised by the younger man, and was treated as a son-in-law by the parents of the older man, a most peculiar practice.

Something not so unusual but also common I noticed, was a number of young boys standing on street corners or in the doorways of particular establishments striking seductive poses and revealing provocative glimpses of flesh whenever I looked their way. The market for young boys was not suffering. I was informed by my companion that many older men in Fujian preferred young boys over women, so much so that a euphemism for the love between those of the same gender in China is "the southern custom" in reference to Fujian just as we in Europe refer to Greek love in the same way. And, just as many believe that this practice was spread throughout Europe by the Greeks, or some say the Arabs, so it is in this part of the word that people believe the love of boys was spread throughout Asia by those from Fujian. Such relationships were no secret and to have such a relationship was the pinnacle of elite status. As the day progressed, I was approached by several teenage boys, and by parents of such boys, eager to gain my favour.

I also learned of still another strange practice, the writing of Imperial exams. Apparently these exams on writing and literature were written to select candidates for the bureaucracy to temper the presence and power of the historic aristocracy, established military authority, and the gentry class of scholar bureaucrats, all claiming a right to hold a government position. To write exams in order to hold a political position instead of inheriting it, being gifted it, or buying it seemed most unusual and unnatural, one more strange way of thinking of these slant-eyed, yellow-skinned peoples whose ways are so different from those in the west.

We were dinner guests of a well-read and educated older couple, acquaintances of Xing-fu. Their home reflected their scholarly background and while not exceedingly so, certainly substantial wealth. Their son, to my surprise, was the older partner of a married male couple. Watching their son, who was in his mid-thirties, and the interaction between his parents and his partner, and the interaction of his adopted children with the adults, was fascinating, and I could not help think of my own family, and that of my parents, and the family of my steward. They all would have been shocked to learn of the relationship between the two men, but the love between the two men was unquestionable, as was the love and respect by all members of the family toward the two of them, and seeing them brought an ache to my heart as I thought of my own loved ones whom I had not seen now for so long.

Two years and five months have passed since I left my dear Portugal. I had known when I left, the voyage would take a long time, though I had not suspected I would be away this many years, and I had known it would be dangerous, but, as Uncle had said, travel and exploration were in my blood and not something I nor anyone else could ignore. There are certain things a man is fated to do and I and my family, both the one at Viano do Costela and the one at Quintas de Ribeiro, knew that. Still, as prepared as I was and as much as I thrill with new discoveries and new dangers, I did miss my kin, every one of them, and seeing now the love and interactions of these strangers brought tears to my eyes and a heaviness to my heart as I longed once again to laugh and sing and dance with Mother, Father and Uncle Paolo, to listen to the wisdom at the feet of my grandparents Ribeiro and de Resende, and to lie in the arms of my wife and watch with pride my son and stepson.

While Xing-fu visited with the older couple, I was invited to join their grandson, the son of an older son who had a traditional marriage to a woman and lived in his own home nearby and had joined us, and a friend of their grandson, both men my age. I joined them eagerly, for their company as they were enterprising and young, and to get my mind off the sombre thoughts I had been having. The grandson had recently written his Imperial exams and was a clerk of some importance in the ritual department, and a fascinating man to talk to. His friend was in the military and had also passed his examinations with a high grade. Both were bold and confident with bright futures and were full of energy. Each was, from his dress and behaviour, a bit of a dandy, and in their culture, cut dashing figures. As we wandered the streets, weaving from one drinking establishment to another, the two of them attracted a following of a number of male teen admirers, young teens who were looking for a good time and who admired and wished to emulate these two young affluent heroes. I of course with my flamboyant robes and not being without physical attraction quickly developed a following of my own.

I was reminded of Leonardo da Vinci and young Michelangelo and the other artists, sculptors and philosophers gathered by Lorenzo de Medici in Florence and the intriguing conversations and gay parties we had until the wee hours of the morning, and of the rich young nobles of Venice who sought forbidden sex for the pleasure, adventure and the risks, the same here but here with the absence of the paranoia of the city fathers over God's wrath and the fear of prosecution by the Lords of the Night. I ended up in an upstairs room in the Five Doves, an establishment catering to those who participated in the "southern custom" with the grandson Cai Jing, his friend Ong Sum Tan, their two teenage friends, and Lee Yuan, a friend of their friends and the sixteen-year-old son of a Han jade carver.

The room smelled of lavender and roses and how we managed the stairs to get to it I have no idea, none of us capable of walking down the hall without weaving from wall to wall and two of the boys having difficulty forming their words. The boys accompanying Jing and Tan were two of their favourites and had spent the night with them numerous times so as soon as the sliding door to our room was shut the four of them embraced and kissed and began to disrobe each other. Under the circumstances, Yuan and I quickly followed suit. Yuan was not inexperienced and was an attractive, somewhat effeminate boy so I was easily aroused, and he and his two friends were at that age where being aroused was their usual physical and mental state.

Having removed each other's clothes and fondled each other's privates unabashedly and openly, it was no surprise that we included whoever was closest to us in our foreplay, and given our prurient state, we easily moved from one to the other. Yuan ended up sucking my cock and the other two boys had begun to do the same to Jing and Tan. Tan shuffled around so he was able to suck the boy who was sucking Jing, and Jing shuffled around to take Yuan's swollen member in his mouth, leaving me with the sixteen-year-old boy sucking Tan to complete the circle. It all occurred quite naturally without the three boys even having to interrupt their sucking. Jing and Tan were of average endowment, as were the three boys, although all five appeared to have larger equipment in that they were of a slighter build and shorter. All five clearly found as much pleasure sucking cock as they got out of being sucked.

Each of us eager to please and eager to be pleased, we sucked each other slowly but without pause and soon brought each other to an orgasm. As I felt the tension building in my loins, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the throbbing pleasure of my swollen member and on the pleasant itching circling the rim of my bulb, knowing that soon I would be ejaculating. The cock of the boy I was sucking was throbbing and he was squirming with his pending climax also.

As I felt the twang deep in my groin and my seed begin to race up the core of my benumbed cock, I stopped sucking and concentrated on what was happening between my legs. As my seed spurted in young Yuan's mouth, the boy I was sucking began to spurt his cream into mine so that the two of us came together. That was the beginning of a chain reaction so that as one began to empty his balls he began to swallow the cream of another. I came copiously but Yuan managed to swallow my offering just as I managed to drink the copious load of the teenage boy I was sucking. I drained him dry as Yuan drained me, both of us eager for every delicious drop we could suck out of our partner.

We were all young and prurient and it was not long before we were arousing each other once again, kissing, caressing and fondling whomever was nearest so I found myself caressing one of the three teenage boys while kissing Jing and being fondled by Tan, and then being kissed and fondled by two of the teenage boys while I fondled the third. It was not long before all six of us were rigid once more. Yuan being bent over before me, I mounted him as Jing and Tan mounted the other two boys on either side of me. The fresh scent of lavender filled the room as we oiled our cocks and the anuses of the three teenage boys, and then the room was filled with the heavy breathing and slapping of flesh against flesh as the six of us rutted openly and lustfully. The three of us fucked the younger boys side by side, ramming our rigid cocks in and out of their tight assholes and bringing them as much pleasure as they were bringing us.

Having emptied our balls only a short time earlier, it took us longer to reach an orgasm again, which meant we had that much longer to enjoy the pleasure. One by one we began to grunt and gasp more irregularly and to thrust our hips to and fro faster, the sweet fragrance of lavender being replaced by the sour scent of sweat, and that replaced by the musky odour of fresh semen and the six of us emptied our balls a second time, the three of us spurting our seed deep up the rectums of the three teenage boys, and the three teenage boys gasping and grunting as they felt their rectums being filled with hot, thick seed as their own seed spurted out of their aching cocks.

I slept well that night and rose late the next morning. Xing-fu apparently had a late night also as he too did not rise until the sun was well above the horizon, most uncharacteristic of him. When we rose we found several written messages and a line of pages bearing greetings. News of our arrival had spread and Xing-fu and I found ourselves besieged with requests to attend banquets, balls, operas, plays and military reviews by the nobility, each noble trying to outdo the other. Our reception in Fujian was much more welcome and a much appreciated difference from the reception we had received in Dai Viet!

We had tea with one of the senior nobles that afternoon, and that evening we attended a banquet as guests of another, a young noble of the historic aristocracy holding office in the provincial court with a lengthy and flowery title and being a distant cousin of some sort of the Emperor himself, several times removed. He himself was nondescript, as was his official position, but several things stood out that evening.

One was the main dish at the banquet, something called Fotiaoqiang, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. It was a most elaborate dish consisting of, among other things, shark fin, considered a great delicacy here and something I had never heard of but found quite tasty, sea cucumber and abalone which I had never heard of nor tasted before either, lemon grass, and a delightfully seasoned white fish, with side dishes of assorted stewed vegetables, steamed rice, spicy noodles as thin as hair, and a dish of pork in a sweet and sour sauce so you never knew which bite was going to be which, resulting in a strange but enticing contrast, accompanied by Shaoxing, a rice wine so deep red it was almost purple.

Following the banquet we were entertained with a Chinese opera called xiqu, a mix of theatre, music, song, dance, martial arts, and acrobatics, all of which were superb and the handsome young men in their tantalizingly exposed, highly oiled bodies performing with gleaming, razor-sharp swords standing out in particular. The third to stand out was the man's nine-year-old son Yin with his beautiful, seductive eyes and lips and shy smile, the oldest of five children, three of them boys.

He watched the martial arts performance with the eager, adoring eyes of a young boy dreaming of the day he would have muscles such as theirs and such enviable skill at swordplay. As he sat there watching them, I sat there watching him, thinking he had all the muscles I would want from a boy and thinking of equally admirable but very different skills I would like to teach him. From the look on his face and the way he licked his lips, I got the impression that his interest in these young men went deeper than the normal idolization of young boys for the life of a warrior, though I had to readily admit that was more likely wishful thinking on my part.

Following the performance, the children's mother had them bid us all a good night and she ushered them off to bed. Xing-fu had earlier admired the many artefacts hanging on the walls of their home and inquired now about our host's ancestry, and our host was most eager to relate his family's history, and, of course, to impress his honoured guest. Feigning exhaustion, I thanked our host for his gracious hospitality and apologised and made my exit. I was tired, and I was not really interested in the man's background and connections, which I knew Xing-fu was and could question in greater depth and with greater confidentiality in my absence. To my surprise, as I was being escorted out by one of the servants, the man's oldest son intercepted us and said he would see me out.

On the way he observed that he had never seen a scabbard as elaborate as mine and that he imagined I had an impressive sword, and from the way he chose his words and the look in his eyes, I got the impression he was talking about something other than my scimitar. I again suspected that his behaviour, words and facial expressions were no more than my imagination and hopeful thoughts, but I suggested with my own insinuations that if there was somewhere more private I could show him my sword if he might like to see it. He responded most eagerly that he would and led me to one of the many rooms in their home, finding a servant, a young boy, on the way and posting the boy at the door with the warning we were not to be disturbed.

As soon as the door was closed behind us, the boy stepped up to me and slipped his right hand inside my robe and deftly found what he was looking for. He smiled up at me and before I could speak he said that he had noticed my attention throughout the evening. I replied that he was a most attractive boy to which he replied that many men had told him so though he suspected their sincerity. Coming from a nine-year-old boy, I was most surprised, so surprised I did not hide it well.

He smiled again, that smile that causes the heart of men such as myself to melt, and other parts to harden, and said that he was well aware that his father held a very important position in the court and that there were many who would use him to get closer to his father to gain favour from those his father could influence, or would use him to blackmail his father to get what they wanted. Those whose lives are surrounded by intrigue learn young.

I quickly assured him that neither influence nor blackmail was my motive and he replied most confidently that he knew that and that he could tell my interest was in him and was genuine, speaking like a man thrice his age and with experience. He added that he knew so because many men had approached him in the past with ulterior motives, and assured me that if he had any suspicions about a person he would never give him an opportunity to pursue his interest, and he certainly would never meet him alone.

Amused and surprised by the sophistication and self-confidence of this nine-year-old child, I tried my best not to show my thoughts and instead asked if there were many men he had not been suspicious of. His response was of an even greater surprise. I had meant to imply that there had to be many men attracted to him for his own attributes, and to inquire just what his experience was with men, but instead he took my comment as an accusation about his character and morals, and he angrily retorted that he was not a rabbit, evidently a derogatory term though I did not understand the reference, and that having arranged that we might meet should be seen as an honour and an exception.

Nine years of age and he had all the arrogance and bearing of his class and I knew that this child could probably have me whipped, perhaps even worse, for just being in his presence alone, never mind the comment I had made which he clearly perceived as an insult. I also knew he was a boy taking action without his parents' awareness and was in enticing but unfamiliar territory. Acting on that, I replied that I was not of his country and was a guest of his father's, and that it was he who should consider my interest in him as an honour. He clearly was not accustomed to being spoken to in such manner and was taken aback.

"So, do you intend on withdrawing my sword and examining it now that you have found it?" I asked with what I hoped was an encouraging smile.

He looked up at me uncertainly and then slowly smiled also. Opening my robes, he looked down and studied my partially aroused member appreciatively. I asked how it compared to others he had seen, and he confessed that though many others my age and older had made approaches, mine was the first he had seen that was an adult's. I suggested if he was of a mind to, he could hold it, and he reached out slowly and apprehensively as if about to grasp a snake. Of course the touch of his hot, little hand caused my member to respond, and his response was to raise it and examine it closer.

Standing there gingerly holding my penis in his hand, he was a very different boy than the one who had boldly intercepted me and taken me aside. I discovered that in truth many had desires and intentions, most because he was an attractive boy but others for the reasons he had stated. The relationships between men and between men and boys was no secret in this land as I had been told, and even at his tender age he was well aware of those relationships, and knew several by name who engage in such activity. He himself had resisted any advances, largely because he was aware of the importance of his position and the ramifications of such an encounter whether the man's intentions were honourable or not. He was of course curious, and had engaged in intimate explorations with two of his younger brothers, and with a servant boy his age and one who had recently reached puberty.

That of course had increased his curiosity and deepened his resentment that he was being denied what others were able to do, others who were his inferiors. This evening, seeing my interest and in that I was not a countryman, and someone who would soon be leaving and of no future import, he had made his bold decision on the spur of the moment and had dared to intercept me. Now, however, having done so and having hinted at his willingness to have congress, he was having second thoughts.

I assured him that his hesitation was natural and understandable, and once again that my motivation was as he had hoped, because of my attraction to him and in him alone, and that he need not fear any repercussions. I added that we would go only as far as he felt comfortable as I untied his sash and opened his robes. At the gorgeous sight that met my eyes, I was immediately sorry I had made the rash promise for if he wished to go no further I was not sure I would be able to restrain myself. Fortunately, curiosity and the temptation of forbidden adult delights won out.

And so I caressed and fondled this delightful nine-year-old boy and he copied my moves, well aware of the tenderness of my stones and the sensitivity of my knob. He, like Yuan, still had his hood and he squirmed as I slowly drew it back to reveal his plum, and he was curious as to why I was unhooded as he slowly stroked my member. As I explained, he, like most others, cringed when he heard why. I had him lie down and I bent over him and aroused him orally, and tempted by the pleasure I brought him and lying in the opposite direction, he did likewise, licking my shaft and swirling his tongue about my knob, causing my member to slowly rise and stand at attention.

His little cocklet was rigid also and I continued to tease it with my tongue and lips, bringing him pleasure he was aware of but had never experienced this way and causing him to copy me. Feeling myself approaching my climax, I stopped our play and asked him if he had used a lubricant when he had congress with his brothers and servants. Instead of answering, he got to his feet and searched in his robes and returned with an ornate jar and a smile. At the time he had made his decision, he had been confident, and he had come prepared.

As he handed me the jar, he professed to be fearful now given my size, but I assured him I would be gentle and that a boy's orifice could stretch far more than one would imagine. Even so, I lubricated his anus and rectum thoroughly and my rigid member besides, and I spent much time finger fucking the boy first with my index finger and then with both index and middle fingers to prepare him. I debated which position we should use and at last decided to have him lie on his back on a low divan with his legs spread and raised and with me kneeling on the floor between them so I could watch the expression on his face as he was penetrated and fucked for the first time, which, as you know if you have read my journals, is my favourite position.

It was a new position to him, and when I explained why I preferred it he proclaimed that he would have to try it with his brothers and servants. And so grasping the boy's hips and looking into his eyes, I inserted the tip of my lubricated knob in his opening and ever so slowly began to ease forward. He was eager and willing and we were well lubricated, but he was a virgin with respect to penetration, and I was of extra size. We strained and grunted but we were both determined and ever so slowly his anal muscle stretched open as I knew it would, and I was in no rush. Although he had penetrated his brothers and servants many times, being penetrated was a novel experience and as he felt my knob slowly stretching him open and penetrating his anus, he concentrated on the new sensations, his eyes reflecting his apprehension, his joy, and his desire.

Ever so slowly my knob stretched open his sphincter until at last it popped inside, and the change registered in the expression on his face, and as I ever so slowly pressed forward, slowly sinking my rigid member up his rectum, the pleasure he was feeling being penetrated for the first time was reflected in the look on his face, and he realized for the first time how his brothers and servants had felt when he had penetrated them. That knowledge alone I knew would make him a much better lover in the future, and would bring him even more pleasure than he had felt before. Knowing how it felt to be penetrated and the pleasure that brought made penetrating another so much more pleasurable, and that alone brought me immense pleasure, knowing I had enlightened him and enriched his life.

Having sunk my rigid cock up his rectum until his wrinkled little eggs were nestled in my coarse nest of hairs, I paused to relish having my rigid cock totally surrounded by his hot, pulsating flesh, and then I slowly drew it back out, watching his eyes brighten with delight as his anus burned with arousal and his rectum throbbed with pleasure. And so I fucked this virgin boy for his first time, delighting in his loss of virginity and his awareness of the pleasure he had brought his brothers and servants. I slid my rigid cock in and out of his body slowly, delighting in every stroke just as much as he did. Slowly I felt myself approaching my orgasm and I paused, causing the boy to impatiently draw his body back and to impale himself on my pole in his eagerness to reach his own climax, and that brought me even more delight than the pleasure causing my own member to throb.

I had him stop and concentrate on the pleasure he was feeling until it had subsided, and then I resumed fucking him, delighting once again in the throbbing of my cock and the throbbing of his flesh as it grasped my cock with each withdrawal and then relaxed as I thrust forward until my groin was pressed against his smooth, compact buttocks. Slowly I worked us back to that peak of ecstasy and then beyond, and as my seed rushed up the core of my benumbed cock and spurted deep up his rectum, filling it for the first time in his life with the rich, thick seed of a man, the boy trembled and jerked uncontrollably, reaching his own dry climax, and as he gasped and shivered with that unique delight, the nine-year-old boy groaned and sighed with the pleasure of having a man spurt his seed deep up his rectum. We curled up together then and delighted in the bliss and contentment that follow, reliving in our minds what we had done. I had barely crawled into bed back in our accommodation than I heard Xing-fu enter the room beside mine. I slept contentedly and deeply, as I was sure young Yin had.

The next morning we were received by the provincial regent in the presence of his court in full regalia with even more pomp and ceremony than would be awarded the leader of another nation. I do not know if he was trying to impress us with his court, or if he was trying to impress his court with our presence. I suspect it was a matter of both. There were many long speeches and words of praise of the emperor and the royal family, each dignitary even more grateful than the preceding one, and each speaker was praised for his loyalty and devotion to the Emperor and the Empire, and his virtues and efforts on behalf of the Empire and the Sheng proclaimed. As the noble who had entertained us the night before, whose name I have forgotten, stood and was so recognized, I wondered what he, and the regent who was praising him, would think if they had known what I and the man's son had done the night before despite the common acceptance of the relationship. The man I have long forgotten, but his son I will never forget.

The reception was followed by a private audience between the regent and Xing-fu and myself, throughout most of which I remained silent or noncommittal as previously arranged with Xing-fu. I was there to impress by my presence and foreignness, not by my words. Assuming such a role allowed me to listen and to observe unhindered, picking up nuances in speech and behaviour that would otherwise go unnoticed and which I could later report to Xing-fu. Much he had noticed himself, further impressing me with his skill and experience.

Much of the conversation was couched with hints that the restrictions on trade with foreigners was to the disadvantage of the Sheng and its merchants and how welcome the granting of special tributaries to further trade with Fujian would be. How a man could engage in such weaving of promises and praise, entreaties and threats, and keep track of what was being said and what was being implied and catch those nonverbal nuances besides amazed me and I learned much about negotiations just sitting and watching the master at work.

That afternoon we had tea with the Prefect of the Prefecture (Zhou) of Fuzhow, one of several prefectures in the province. Although I knew there were several types of tea, not in my wildest imagination would I have guessed just how many types and flavours of tea there were, and never would I have dreamed there would be such precise and elaborate rituals associated with its preparation and serving. The particular tea we were served was called oolong, which I was informed has many different flavours depending on its cultivation, the leaves of this particular strain having a fruity taste with a hint of honey and having a woody aroma when roasted. It had been brewed for a long time and was very thick and was very dark green, almost black.

I could not begin to do justice describing the ritual of preparation and presentation. It was served in a pure white porcelain tea pot and tiny, delicate white tea cups of a local Han design, and the taste, I must admit, challenged the finest wine I have ever tasted. The ceremony concluded with the remaining tea being poured over a ceramic toad perched on a lily pad. This was, I was told, a tea pet, and was used to soak up the remaining tea, which resulted in the frog and pad forming a dark green patina. I was told that this tea pet symbolized good luck, fortune, and happiness for whoever engaged in this ceremony. I would have to purchase one and a supply of this tea to take home with me.

I found it all very complex and unusual, and very interesting. I could also say the same for the nephew of the Prefect who had accompanied us in the tea ceremony. He had recently turned twelve and was on the cusp of adolescence, thin, with exceptionally large, prominent ears and a narrow nose. Quiet, unassuming, and serious, the boy's presence at the ceremony was a mystery to me until at the close of the ceremony when the Prefect requested a private meeting with Xing-fu and said that his nephew could entertain me. So, the boy had been present in much the same role as I had played when Xing-fu had met with the Regent and I am sure would report to his uncle everything he had seen and heard during the ceremony, and in addition he was a distraction so his uncle and Xing-fu could meet privately.

Taking me to one of the adjoining rooms, the boy politely observed that he had never met anyone whose skin was as pale as mine, nor with body markings such as I had, and he politely inquired as to my native land and my presence with the Emperor's envoy. I quickly realized that this young, unassuming boy had a brilliant and quick mind, and his assignment was not just to observe me and then entertain me but to discover whatever secrets he could about me besides.

To use a boy for such purpose did not come as any surprise and I took no offense. I was equally skilled in such subterfuge, and much more experienced, and so as the boy plied me with seemingly naive and innocent questions, I played along and carefully probed for information myself. There is a saying, "little pitchers have big ears," and anyone reading these journals knows I myself have used young and seemingly inconsequential boys as a source of information. And so as I revealed minor and inconsequential information about my homeland and my relationship with the honoured envoy, I sought information on the Province and Prefecture from my young host.

As we talked, I came to appreciate the intelligence and integrity of the boy and of the position he had been placed in and I revealed probably more significant details of my background and of Xing-fu's mission than I normally would have. In response, however, the boy did likewise and revealed more about his uncle and the Regent than I am sure he normally had intended. Interspersed with our political inquiries were more intimate questions of a more personal nature, the natural questions of a twelve-year-old boy in private discussions with a mature and very different man.

One of those inquiries of course pertained to my tattoos. Most people are intrigued by my explanation, young boys even more so, and this young boy was no different, and when I offered him a more intimate view his reaction was like that of any boy his age. By then I had come to quite like the boy and I must confess in my depravity I took the opportunity to show him more than just my tattoos. What I exposed, he found even more interesting, which was of no surprise, and lead to an even more intimate discussion even more removed from our original purposes.

The boy confided that he was well aware of the practices of the men and boys about him, and not only that, that he knew others, including kin, who had been approached to engage in those practices, but that none had approached him. He said, with some bitterness and disappointment, that he knew he was not as attractive as other boys and not as desired, and also that because he was the son and nephew of men of significance, men were hesitant to approach him regarding anything so intimate in fear of offending him or his father or uncle. I myself was swayed by physical beauty and guilty of ignoring those of lesser attraction and I felt a twinge of guilt, but I also found his honesty and innocence arousing.

I finally implied that if he was of such a mind to pursue those intimate desires, I was more than willing to accommodate him, and that I was motivated by him and him alone, not because of his kin or any benefits that might result for me, and that at the same time, in that I was passing through, he could pursue his interest and desire without fear or consequences regarding our future relationship. He was a boy, curious, obedient to the wishes of his elders, subject to the same humours of other boys his age, and wise and mature enough to know opportunity when it arose.

Retiring to a more private room, we kissed and caressed as we disrobed each other, me taking the lead of course and the boy copying me. His breath was fresh and his lips smooth and delightful, his tentative caresses arousing. The boy of course was quick to become erect and I was careful not to over arouse him as we fondled and caressed. At last I had him sit and I knelt before him and took his erect little cock in my mouth and pleasured him, bringing him to peak after peak of arousal until the boy was out of his mind and could not sit still, and then with his throbbing little cocklet in my mouth I brought him to his orgasm and he squealed and bounced and quivered with delight.

We then switched places and I instructed him on how to pleasure me with his tongue and lips, knowing he could not go down as far on me as I was able to go down on him. I felt good having congress with the boy, knowing that with his looks and his position he would have little opportunity to engage in such pleasures. I told him what to look for in men that would tell him the man's true intentions, and how to let such men know of his availability and interest. The boy was most grateful, and revealed to me court intrigues and individuals and their ambitions that he was aware of.

And then we were lost in the pleasure of a boy pleasing a man. I sat back and watched as this young boy on the cusp of puberty sucked on my cock as if it were some new, exquisite and delicious fruit, as I suppose it was, and when at last I felt my seed rush up the core of my throbbing cock and gush into his mouth I grasped this boy's head and sighed with pure pleasure. He eagerly swallowed my slime and sucked me dry, deriving as much pleasure in sucking me off as he had gotten early being sucked off by me.

That evening we attended a kunqu, a poetic play, in the company of the regent and his family. This particular play was entitled the Tale of Pipa and was about a loyal wife whose husband was forced to marry another. She played the pipa, sort of a four-string lute, to earn a living as she searched for him for twelve years. They were finally reunited and lived happily forever after. This, I learned, was a favourite play of the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang who reigned a hundred years ago, from 1368 to 1398, and who enjoyed it so much he had it performed every day in court. The plot and action held my attention and the actors performed well, but I would not want to see them performing every day.

During the play, we, the regent and his family were served refreshments by the household servants, beautiful young girls and boys, and it was discretely made known by one of the senior officials that they were available to see to other needs after the performance if we so wished. Xing-fu of course graciously declined, but he indicated that I was welcome to indulge in whatever pleasure I wished, with whichever sex should I be inclined to try the southern custom, or even both if such was my desire. Throughout our travels he had not once inquired what I did in my absences and though I did not hide my preference I was discrete. Still, the man was highly perceptive and I suspected he was well aware of my desires.

The boys were attractive but after my previous experiences, and the one that very afternoon, I had no great urge to have congress with those whose intimate services were available to anyone favoured by the regent. There was one boy, however, who had caught my eye, a young page who had attended the regent during the public and later the private audience, and who had sat behind him during the play ready to be summoned should business intrude on pleasure. My interest, I admit, was primarily because of his comeliness and that aurora of raw sexuality that pubescent boys emit though I also figured given his position and his apparent closeness to the affairs of the Regent I might gain further insight into the man and his court that would be of use to Xing-fu. So I discretely and privately indicated my interest to which the man smiled knowingly and appreciated my discernment but replied that the boy was not one of the servants. Disappointed, I let the matter drop.

I began the next day, my last day in the Province, with a visit to a shrine to the god Tu'er Shen in the company of Jing and Tan. It had been mentioned by the son of the elderly couple we were staying with and his husband and by Jing and Tan. It was a simple shrine in a well-maintained grotto enclosed in vines and with an artificial waterfall, a shrine like any other shrine, except the worshippers were all male, older men with a younger partner, or young men such as Jing and Tan. It was there that I learned the story of Hu Tianbao from my two guides. There were apparently several versions of the legend.

In one, he was a young Fujian soldier who spied on the handsome, young imperial inspector through a bathroom wall. He was caught, tortured and killed by the incensed Inspector. In another version he was a young man from Fujian who fell in love with the handsome young inspector from the capital. He was discovered and sentenced to death by beating but the gods of the underworld made him a god and the guardian of the affections between men. He was also called the rabbit god, rabbit being a slang term for men who love other men, which explained the mysterious comment I had heard earlier from the young boy Yin. From the number of worshippers, he evidently had a large following.

That afternoon I joined Xing-fu in a visit to the temple to K'ung Fu-tzu, who was also known and revered here and which was much the same as the temples we had visited earlier in Dai Viet. From there we went to the market where I bought several exquisite carvings of jade and pieces of jewellery for gifts upon my return to Europe. Spotting in the shadows in the back of the shop the boy from my third day, I sought out something he had done, a small figurine, not as a gift or to add to the family's income, but as a memento of the boy. Next we were given a tour of the fortification on the sea cliffs I had noticed upon our arrival and that evening we were the guests of the military commander for another sumptuous meal, and a subtle interrogation and plea for assistance from the Empire in maintaining the province's fortification.

That evening I was the guest of the commander's fourteen-year-old son who had been assigned to me by his father as a spy to determine the true nature of the visit by the Emperor's envoy and myself, and to further his cause for financial and military assistance. The boy was of fair looks, his dark hair cropped short in military style, and he was of firm, athletic build. He was very much his father's son and was following in his father's footsteps, already having the stripes of a non-commissioned naval officer. As the evening progressed, I suspected that his seduction of me was as much his idea as his father's, and for a much different reason. I was easily seduced and we were both soon naked and arousing each other. The boy was more muscular than most and his thighs, forearms and chest solid and toned and he was very well-endowed for a boy his age, his equipment more the size of a sixteen-year-old's than a boy of fourteen.

We began by masturbating each other, the boy doing to me what he did to himself routinely. Unlike most boys his age, he did so slowly, taking time to enjoy the pleasure rather than being in a hurry to ejaculate. We talked afterward, about the dwarf pirates I had heard about and the burden of providing protection to the merchants, both those of his province and foreigners. He was very interested in and knowledgeable about his father's work in particular and could talk at great length about it, but he was also fourteen and our conversation soon turned to my tattoos and we pleasured each other orally.

That too he did slowly, allowing time to enjoy the pleasure he was feeling, and for me to enjoy the pleasure he was providing. We lay side by side in opposite directions and sucked each other, pausing frequently to allow our desires to subside. Having a young boy eagerly sucking my cock for the pure pleasure of doing so and the pleasure of bringing pleasure to another male was pure delight. The boy had been ordered to do whatever was necessary to please me to ferret out whatever information he could and I had to wonder what sort of father would use his boy in such a manner, but as we talked and as we pleasured each other I realized it was not as immoral as it sounded.

The boy did what he was doing out of pleasure and desire, not out of duty nor because he had been ordered to do so, and in his culture congress between boys and men was seen by most as not only natural but as a mark of esteem. I suspect that he would have approached me even if his father had not arranged for us to be together. He was eager to engage in sex and I was an unusual and desirable partner.

We talked of many things when we were done, about his country and mine, about himself and myself, and yes, about Xing-fu and our presence in his Province. We talked of his father and military strategy, which might seem a strange topic for a naked fourteen-year-old and a naked twenty-three-year-old man to be discussing, but having an informed discussion with one so young was a delight in itself. We aroused each other a third time and I fucked the boy, which was not a new experience for him, timing my ejaculation to match his.

The boy was lustful, and we fucked a second time, this time the boy fucking me, again not a new experience for him other than it was his first time to fuck an adult. He was, as I had suspected, experienced in the pleasures one male can bring another, and it was that pleasure that was a priority for both of us. It was a pleasant seduction and I rewarded him with a few secrets regarding my background not for his efforts or to place him in good stead with his father, though there was certainly that, but in appreciation for the pleasure we had shared that night.

The visit to Fujian had been a most enjoyable pause in my journey and I could have easily stayed twice as long. I have heard many different versions of heaven in my travels, and I must say these days on Fujian certainly rivalled any of them. I know Xing-fu had enjoyed our pause here also, but duty called and so the next morning, with some reluctance and with much pomp and ceremony, we departed.

Chapter 33
Cipan-guo: Renzai

Bypassing an island of savages and headhunters, Nico wonders about the origin of such primitives as they head to the ancient Land of the Rising Sun, an ancient tributary and rival of Cathay, ruled at the moment by the Deputy Shogun and engaged in an internal power struggle. They stay at a monastery where Nico learns of Zen Buddhism and the practice of wakashudo among the priests.

Codes: M/b

Characters: Jingxuan an 11 yo chigo

We continued north, sailing between the mainland and a large forested island to the east. When I asked if we were not stopping at the island, Xing-fu informed me that the island consisted of only rugged mountains and dense forests, both of which had nothing of value for trade, and were populated by tribes of violent savages who lived in primitive villages and were constantly at war with each other. He said early Han fishermen, traders from Fujian, and warriors from Cipan-guo to the north had approached those living on the island over the years and every time were attacked and those captured were killed. Those who managed to escape reported there were two tribes, a tribe of farmers and hunters living on the plains, and a more savage tribe of hunters living in the highlands. In both tribes every man was a hunter and a warrior first and did not marry until around the age of thirty when he had become too old to hunt and conduct war. They lead a wasteful, useless life in his opinion, and I had to agree.

Both tribes practiced head hunting he said, which to them was a sign of great bravery and valour. They captured each other's children and raised them as members of their own tribe, and the heads of their enemies were invited to become members of their tribe also and to participate in their ceremonies. Rulers from Cipan-guo claimed the east side of the island to be theirs according to Xing-fu, and as far as he was concerned, they were welcome to the entire island and its inhabitants. (1)

The many long days and nights at sea that followed gave me much time to ponder how it was that there existed one group of highly sophisticated and civilized people whom I had just left, people who dined on elaborate feasts consisting of products of both land and sea, wild and cultivated, vegetable and animal, in exquisite sauces and flavourful spices off fine, delicate porcelain, who engaged in elaborate rituals of tea drinking, and who attended talented, complex musical performances and imaginative dramas for amusement, while a day's travel away was another group of people who were half-naked savages who spent their days hunting game and collecting nuts and roots that they roasted over an open fire in order to merely survive, and who boiled the flesh from skulls of their foes and included them in their ceremonies.

How could they both be creations of the one true God? Why would He create the latter? Were the latter creations the perverted result of Satan instead? Or perhaps fallen angels, demons escaped from Hell? Or were they not spirits nor creations of a god at all but the result of chance, and if by chance, what factors caused the one group to be highly sophisticated and cultured and to be emulated and the other group a day's travel away to be savages who were best exterminated to the last man, woman and child? How was it for that matter that back home people similarly lived side by side but some had become Portuguese and others Spaniards? Our differences are perhaps not so drastic, but there are significant differences, and there are many ways in which our Portuguese culture, customs and beliefs are obviously much superior to our Castilian and Aragon neighbours. Was that also the will of God, the work of Satan, or because of some other unknown reason? Were not the atrocities I had witnessed while travelling with my Prince in the land of our neighbours and rivals to the east not demonic in nature? They did not cut off the heads of Jews and boil their skulls, but was burning them alive not as barbaric?

I also had cause to wonder how it was that on a group of islands thousands of miles to the west there existed men who lived from morning to night lives of warriors and hunters and who beheaded their enemies and ate them, and here, on these islands, thousands of miles to the east, there were also men who spent their days and entire lives hunting and at war and who beheaded those they captured. What similarity was there between them, or between the islands that they lived on, that though they occurred at opposite ends of the earth they were so similar in temperament and behaviour? What could possibly be a common cause over such a great distance?

Again, I had to wonder how this could be the doing of a Merciful God? I know He operates in mysterious ways, but that this was His doing I found difficult to accept. Again I had to wonder if they were not some form of demon that followed the ways of Satan and not human at all. Who knows what manner of beasts exist in the dark and unexplored regions of this world? Had I not witnessed some already myself? I had much time to ponder such questions and to debate them with Xing-fu as we sailed silently over the waters beneath clear skies and star-studded nights and fought the incessant, cold winds from the Northeast. I could arrive at no answers and Xing-fu's legends and proverbs did not satisfy me, so I resolved to pose my questions to greater minds in Florence and the Vatican upon my return.

As we travelled I noticed the seas becoming darker blue and greyer and the days growing colder. Why Xing-fu had insisted on purchasing heavy cloaks and wool-lined garments I now understood and appreciated as I donned them to ward off the blustery weather constantly descending upon us from the north. As the skies darkened and the sea became more turbulent and we had to constantly, and with great effort, adjust our sails to remain on course, my companion remained cheerful and optimistic and he greeted each unpleasantness with a smile and a hearty laugh and a proverb that left me thinking of its profoundness for many hours later so that I forgot my misery, which I wondered at times if that had been his real purpose. His given name, Xing-fu, meaning joyful, he was well named, and the honorific, Master, Xiansheng, was well earned. I was most fortunate to have as my travelling companion Zhang Xing-fu Xiansheng.

As we sailed, he told me about the land we were heading to, the Land of the Rising Sun, Cipan-guo. It had become a tributary a hundred years ago, a requirement demanded of any country in order to engage in trade with Cathay, or Cīna as it was known in the lands I have visited since Calicut, when its emperor (the Mikado) had suppressed the lords whose pirate ships were marauding Cathay's coast. The monarchy had grown weak over the years though and was now almost broke. Below the Monarch was the Great Council of State and reporting to it were eight ministries, occupied by members of the extended royal family and ancestral families whose power and influence depended more on the individual than title.

The country was currently in upheaval with war between various samurai warlords and clans going back thirty years. With the weakening of authority of the monarch, actual power for many years has rested with the chief military commander, the Shogun. The present Shogun however had been only thirteen when he had been proclaimed five years ago so was really a puppet of the Deputy Shogun, the man with the real power. It was all very confusing to me and how Xing-fu was able to keep it all straight in his head and remember it well enough to tell another added to my admiration of the man.

The country was currently sending tribute once every ten years. The tribute goods were actually only a small part of the ship's cargo which was delivered to the Ming government for copper coin by merchants, most of the tribute trade goods being from the Shoguns, the hereditary military commanders appointed by the emperor, and those goods being presents the Shoguns had received as gifts from the great temples and provincial governors or compulsory contributions from the house of Ouchi, one of the most powerful and important families in the country which benefited greatly by a lack of competition as a result of their contributions.

Cīna goods, brocade, silk fabrics, ceramics, jade, and fragrant woods, were distributed to the noble families of Cipan-guo, and Nippon goods, as Xing-fu called them, swords, fans, screens, lacquer wares, copper and agate, went to the Cīna government as supplement trade items to the tribute. Buddhist priests were generally selected as envoys for the Shoguns as their subtle reasoning was able to overcome the bargaining of the Cīna authorities Xing-fu noted with a wry grin and a hint of admiration for their cunning, and the implication that despite their wisdom, he was better.

It took us sixteen days to travel to this island empire, mostly sailing into the prevailing winds. Xing-fu had raised the flag merchants use to identify themselves with the Da Ming Guo, the Kingdom of the Great Ming as they refer to their land, and his personal flag as the Emperor's Envoy when we had entered the inlet, both of which I have described earlier, and when we reached land that evening we were met with great pomp and honor by the local dignitaries and escorted to an obviously expensive waiting litter made of lacquered and gold-inlayed bamboo with a roof and screened sides to protect the rider from the sun and the rain and from the curious stares of the peasants. It was, I was told, called a norimono and used by the warrior class and aristocracy and had been sent for immediately upon sighting our vessel.

There was some confusion regarding my presence and status, and there was much fuss and apology that there was only one norimono when my position was discovered, but they had had the foresight to request a second litter, a less ornate one they called a kago, which was basically a three-foot long sling with removable roof and sides, in case it was needed by the Envoy for a scribe or assistant, which I indicated would do just fine. Their humble apologies were, in fact, becoming most embarrassing, nobody having ever treated me with such deep reverence since my sojourn as priest/impersonator across the Ocean Sea. Each litter was fitted with a crossbeam which was born on the shoulders of a man in front and a man behind. We climbed in and the four men set off on a trot with four others behind them, and as one carrier tired he was replaced by one of the four unburdened men on the run without so much as a pause to make the exchange.

The land was mountainous and the capital city, Heian-kyo, was in a valley sixty miles away. I did not envy our litter carriers and I had to admire their strength and stamina. They reminded me of the messengers I had met in the high mountain empire of the Tahuantinsuyu in the land across the Ocean Sea and I passed the time musing if one of these lean, muscular men might be interested in congress with one of his own sex as the Tahuantinsuyu messenger I had met had been. After an abstinence of sixteen days such thoughts were a mistake, and as I was bounced along the narrow mountain trail I shifted uncomfortably, causing great dismay for those who were providing our transport. I tried to convince them my discomfort was not due to the litter, without much success, but it did put an end to my musing.

Taking two breaks, for Xing-fu's comfort more than mine or theirs, we reached Heian-kyō in an amazing twelve hours, arriving early the next morning. We were taken to a huge three-storied temple, Tōfuku-ji, where we were met by one of the senior monks and each assigned a boy who showed us to our rooms and then the communal bathhouse, which was much needed after sixteen days at sea. We were then provided with drinks and solid refreshments and then our beds, all three also much needed. When we awoke the sun was setting. We were escorted to the head priest or jūshoku, who was like an abbot, Ryōān Keigo, a soft-spoken man of about seventy-five but who moved like a man half his age.

We were treated to a lavish banquet prepared in our honor and attended by the top monks in the temple. There was much interest in the presence of Xing- fu of course, and great curiosity about me, the monks having never seen anyone of my skin color or features, even someone as travelled as the abbot. Although the renown Marco Polo had written about this land, he had never visited it himself so I was the first European they had ever seen. I was introduced as an envoy from a kingdom so far away it had taken me a month short of two and a half years to reach Cipan-guo, and who was on his way to seek trade arrangements with the mighty Hongzhi Emperor.

They were greatly impressed and I suspect my companion had shared that information about me for that exact purpose, it also increasing the already lofty esteem these people had of the Ming Emperor. The abbot had received his training in Cīna and so was fluent in the language, and Xing-fu was fluent in the language of the land, and I had become reasonably versant in both with Xing-fu's tutelage, so conversation was not overly cumbersome.

I had learned much about Buddha and Buddhism from my former travelling companion Chen Phnom Louangngum of course, but most of his information had been about the branch Theravada Buddhism which he followed and I discovered the monks here followed the newer branch, Mahayana, which he had dismissed as being inferior and had held very firm prejudices against. I had learned from Chen, sex was seen as limiting one's enlightenment, and that sex with women was worse in that women were impure whereas sex with men was just seen as a lapse in judgement and self-control. On that at least, the two branches were in agreement. In our discussions I discovered from the abbot and Xing-fu that the main difference between the two was that the Theravada followers believed that only monks could achieve enlightenment or Nirvana, whereas the Mahayana faithful believed that both monks and the common people could achieve such enlightenment, which to me was a more acceptable and benevolent position and caused me to look upon these priests more favorably, with no insult to Chen intended.

I also learned these monks followed still another division in their faith, a branch of Mahayana they called Zen Buddhism, which I was told emphasized self-restraint, meditation, insight into the nature of the mind (kensho), and insight into the nature of things, all of which sounded very much like any other religion actually. While the Theravada priests seek knowledge, and practice their faith for their own enlightenment, these priests do so in order that they can enlighten others, which was also more in line with my Christian beliefs and nature and furthered my leanings toward them. Learning their beliefs and rituals through interaction with an accomplished teacher or Master was considered essential in their faith which reminded me of Christ and his method of teaching and preaching, and that gave me pause to wonder how it was that the two faiths were so similar in that regard.

There were, I had noticed, a large number of young boys in the temple and when I inquired about them I was told that many young boys were sent to the temples where they received room and board and training. Considered to be at the top were the kindachi, the sons of noble families who had been sent for a specific enlightenment and whose stay was temporary. Unlike the other three groups, they did not directly serve the monks. Below them in status was the chigo, the youngest group, prepubescent boys seven to fourteen years of age, who came from aristocratic homes and whose official work was to study and possibly become monks.

They provided entertainment by singing, dancing, playing music and reciting poetry in return for their room, board and education. An older monk, a nenja, took the chigo as his acolyte who provided his master companionship and saw to his sexual needs, which stopped when the boy came of age. He also provided sexual favors to high ranking clerics and elite courtesans. This practice I was told was called nanshoku and was widely practiced and held in esteem.

Believed to be the incarnation of a bodhisattva, usually Kannon, the goddess of mercy, a chigo was considered a divine boy and a third gender, a sacred sex with a unique sacred power much like the love of a son for a parent or an acolyte for a master. "Ichi chio ni sno. Chigo is first, god of the mountain, second," the abbot observed with a smile. "The ideal Buddhist practitioner is not an arhat or bodhisattva or monk, but the exemplary son and sacred chigo," he added with a respectful nod to the chigo standing by, ready to be summoned if needed.

The third and second oldest group of boys were the chudouji, the children of temple administrators and laborers, who served within the monastery as servants and often as food servers. At the bottom were the oldest youth, the daidouji, the children of samurai and lower ranking temple workers who had a variety of tasks, most of which involved outdoor maintenance. (2)

The temple we were in was one of the oldest of the Zen Buddhist temples and consisted of several compounds including the meditation hall, the founder's hall containing a statue of the first abbot, the residence of the present abbot, and many sub-temples and gardens, dry rock gardens with intricate patterns raked into the fine pebbles, moss gardens, and pond gardens, though now with the cold weather the latter seemed rather bleak, the weather here being colder due to the elevation, just slightly colder than at home in December.

Seeing my interest was more than just curiosity or academic, the abbot arranged for the boy who had originally been assigned to me, Jingxuan, a chigo, a chubby boy of eleven years, to accompany me that evening, and not to recite poetry or passages from their Holy Book, though we did begin the evening with a discussion of Zen Buddhism and his perception of the arrangement between monks and boys here at the monastery. He was genuinely surprised by my question, and even more surprised that there were people who opposed such a relationship and countries where one could be imprisoned or receive lashes for engaging in it.

"You are making fun of me because I am not travelled or experienced," he said sadly.

"No, I would not do that."

"You tell the truth?" he asked incredulously.

"I do."

"But why would they do such a thing? Do they not see the beauty of such a relationship?"

"Some do," I replied, thinking of Leonardo da Vinci and some of his compatriots, "but most do not."

"They do not follow wakashudō?"

"I doubt any of them have heard of it."

"Then someone should inform them."

"Someone will," I said with a smile. That was a future conversation with my friends in Florence, or even my compatriots in Portugal, I looked forward to.

"Then we should be sure someone has it right," he said with a smile also.

"That is an excellent idea," I said, my grin widening.

And so he reached over and untied my kimono, and as it fell to the floor he reached out and cupped my testicles. His touch was tender and knowledgeable and I knew I had no need to worry. He fondled my balls gently, raising his fingertips to his nose to admire the fragrance clinging to them as I untied his kimono and slid it off his shoulders. The naked body of an eleven-year-old boy is indeed a thing of beauty, and I stood there and openly admired it. Jingxuan was not a heavyset boy, but he had more flesh on his bones than most, contouring and softening his body, and it looked good on him.

My penis began to stir in response and Jingxuan was quick to notice. He looked up at me innocently and yet seductively, knowing that his looks alone could arouse, and that arousal through one's mind alone is a very pleasant and provocatively slow way to become aroused. My arousal had a similar effect on him and his little member slowly began to swell and rise in response. Such arousal through thoughts and the senses of sight and smell alone was one of many things I learned from this delightful, precocious boy. All too often one is eager to move on to more intense arousal and pleasure, especially boys his age or those whose focus is only on their own satisfaction, and as a result one misses much of the pleasure to be had. Thanks to this eleven-year-old I was able to experience and enjoy the simple process of becoming aroused once again.

He at last reached out once more, but he avoided touching anywhere on my body that would hasten my desire, like my nipples or my anus or my genitals. Instead he skillfully caressed my back, my forearms, and my calves, eventually of course moving on to my thighs and my loins and the other places I have mentioned. He was skilled in the art of pleasing a man and I lay back and enjoyed the experience, and I in turn copied what he had done and aroused him in the same way. Seeing a young boy growing hot and tense with desire, desire for congress with another male, is as delightful as seeing his initial arousal, and again I learned all over again to be slow and patient, something I found I frequently had to preach.

Of course there is a point where delay can be irritating and even painful and can destroy the pleasure of stimulation and the pleasure of anticipation. Jingxuan knew this also and expertly moved on to the next phase. Slowly slipping his hand down, he slipped his fingers about my swollen, aching bone and squeezed it below the bulb, quelling its desire but not destroying it. He did not begin to stroke it as most boys would have done, but sat there and concentrated on its strength and power and absorbed it through his hand so that it travelled to his mind and filled his body. I followed suit and reached over and slipped my thumb and forefinger about his slender, erect penis and squeezed it gently until I could feel his hot, young blood pulsating through his stiff, swollen flesh, and I too sat there and concentrated on that throbbing power of a child's erection until my mind and my body was throbbing in unison with it though the desire to continue to ejaculation subsided.

Opening a stoppered phial, he poured a small amount of the liquid in his palm and coated my erection with it. Wiping his fingers on his anus, he turned and dropping to his elbows and knees, presented his ass to me. Dropping to my knees behind him, I placed the tip of my lubricated penis against his anus and slowly pushed forward. The lubricant was odorless and colorless so I had no idea what it was, but it was effective and I easily penetrated the boy with the first attempt, but then we were also both experienced. Again following the nature of our foreplay, I paused not just to catch my breath or calm my lust, but to enjoy the pleasure of having my stiff, aching cock inside the boy's hot, moist rectum. He contracted his anal muscles, grasping my cock, his flesh pulsating all around it, soothing it and arousing it all at the same time.

We both knelt there silently, motionlessly, our minds focused on our throbbing flesh, mine stuffing his rectum, his grasping my member, focusing on the way they throbbed in unison as one. And then we slowly began to fuck, me slowly easing my thick cock in and out of his ass, he grasping my cock by tightening his anus as it withdrew and then relaxing his anal muscle as I sank my cock back up his rectum, the two of us fucking as one. We fucked slowly so we could prolong the pleasure, gradually speeding up as we gave in to the anticipation of the pleasure to come. Our breathing became erratic and I held back as long as I could before releasing my seed. I gasped with the pleasure as I felt it race up the core of my swollen, benumbed cock and begin to squirt with a burning pleasure out the tip of my member and deep up his rectum, and at the same time he began to jerk uncontrollably and to pump his hips, riding my throbbing cock in his own dry orgasm.

The next day Jingxuan was my constant companion. We spent much of the day discussing Zen Buddhism and the simplicity of beauty in nature and manmade structures, like the simple rock gardens with their raked patterns throughout .the temple grounds. I had never seen such gardens before and had never felt such peace and calm as I did when sitting and studying the arrangements of the different-sized and different-shaped stones and the patterns, like ripples made by the tides along the shore, raked into the fine sand. Representing the essence of nature and harmony, the gardens served as an aid in meditating about the true meaning of existence, things I have never given much thought to before this. I have sketched several of the arrangements in this journal with the intention I would have such a garden or several back in my estate when I returned, for my own health, and for the enlightenment of my countrymen.

Of course I learned much more about Buddha and his life and their sacred texts, and I made my case for Christianity and Jesus with Jingxuan, the Abbot and senior monks, both of which were new to them and generated much interest and many questions but no converts despite my best efforts. One of the monks even suggested that Jesus was a reincarnation of Buddha and I made particular note of his arguments to present to the Holy Father upon my return, certain that the idea would give him much amusement, or, perhaps, much cause for reflection. And so I passed the day, and that night was spent much as the night before to the delight of both Jingxuan and myself.

Chapter 34
Cipan-guo: Daimyo, Catamites, Jugglers, Actors and Whores

Moving to an inn Nico and Xing-fu are courted by the rich landowners and Nico learns more about the culture and customs of the land. 

Codes: M/b, M/t 

Characters: 9 yo luán tóng, a catamite, Munenori; 12 yo sarugatu, an acrobatic entertainer, Ishuke; 13 yo actor Takatane; 14 yo prostitute , Tsugukiyo

News of our arrival spread quickly and Xing-fu began receiving invitations from the surrounding daimyo, lords of the Samurai class with large hereditary estates under whom were several vassals to work the land, sharing the produce with the lord and swearing their allegiance in return for his protection, not unlike Portugal and most of Europe. The daimyo were subordinate to the Shogun and nominally to the Emperor and kuge, the aristocratic class that dominated the imperial court in Heian-kyō. All who made contact with us were those eager to maintain or increase their present trade with Cīna or those hoping to initiate new agreements, which they tried to achieve through their own skills at persuasion, through third parties skilled in negotiation speaking on their behalf, and of course through bribery, another commonality I found in all nations.

Eager to meet this pale-skinned stranger, those invitations were extended to me also, out of curiosity, or in the hopes of enriching their coffers and enhancing their reputations. Again over our stay on this island nation I would witness the brilliance and skills of my companion who committed to nothing but exacted great promises from the lords or those speaking for them. I was introduced as a powerful daimyo in my own country and appointed an envoy speaking for my monarch and for the leader of my faith, an exaggeration but not that far from the truth. By this time I had honed my own skills and was able to follow the lead of my companion and over the subsequent days I arrived at several agreements to be fulfilled through the caravan trade already existing between Cathay and Europe which Xing-fu assured me I would have no difficulty accessing.

On our third day in the capital we vacated the monastery and moved into an inn near the royal palace, a large, respected, luxurious establishment where ambassadors and other important dignitaries who did not stay at the palace stayed during official visits. We had of course been entreated to stay at the monastery and had offers to stay at the palace and at the residence of the Deputy Shogun or at other establishments they recommended, at their expense, but Xing-fu declined them all, explaining to me we had to maintain neutrality and above all had to avoid any suggestion of indebtedness during our stay and negotiations. I was reluctant to leave Tōfuku-ji and especially Jingxuan, as he was saddened to see me leave, but I saw the logic behind Xing-fu's decision, as I am sure did Jingxuan.

Our first acceptance of one of these many invitations was on our fifth day in the capital, waiting what Xing-fu thought was an appropriate time before responding to signify to the man inviting us and to the others extending invites that we accepted at our leisure and pleasure, a subtle but effective message. We were hosted by a great lord who was also a fierce and respected warrior who had the ear of the military commander Xing-fu had come to see. The revenue of his estate was from the manufacture of arms, particularly swords, and he and the other lords who supported him and were also in attendance at our reception were much impressed with my knowledge and skills in that regard, and in my scimitar, gifted to me by Prince Abbas and which I had put to good use while riding with him across Korasan.

I told them of my training at the age of fourteen with the famed Egyptian Mamelukes and serving beside the Tamurid noble Prince Abbas as he waged war against enemies and rivals across the steppes of Asia, tales they took great delight in hearing being warriors themselves, and I took great delight in telling for their praise was gratifying, though some memories were not that fond, not being a warrior by choice myself. Although ending over two hundred years ago and in the defeat of their enemy, they were still much impressed by the bravery and fighting skills of the Mongol hordes of Kublai Khan, and having served with them also of my military claims.

My boasts were quickly put to the test and I was challenged to a friendly contest by a warrior under our host's employ and a hero among his companions, and who used their traditional curved sword, the katana. He was a worthy opponent but his techniques were limited by his narrow experience and I ended the successor as a result. I was then challenged by a warrior using their long sword, called the daitō, not unlike the sword I had first learned to use as a boy. Both my opponents were of course cheered and supported by our host and his other guests and their warriors, though they also recognized my expertise and cheered my successes also, and especially when I demonstrated my skill by exchanging my scimitar for their long sword. I conducted myself well, though much wearied after the second contest not having kept up my sword practice, and I received many complements afterward.

That night I spent with a luán tóng, a catamite, one of several kept by the lord for his pleasure or that of honoured guests, in my case as a reward for my performance on the training field for the lord was much impressed with my swordplay, and as a bribe for he had hopes of securing a trade agreement in swords with me.

The boy, Munenori, was nine, and had witnessed my performance and was most eager to see my private sword, my pale skin and appearance having created as much gossip as my swordplay among both adults and youth, male and female. The people of this island empire were of various shades of ochre from tawny to a very light yellow the colour of the flesh of the fruit the Arabs call the banan, but value above all else fair or white skin, even coating their faces with cosmetics to appear white as chalk, females and males alike.

Munenori was presented to me matter-of-factly without any guilt or hesitation, it being a normal and acceptable practice for honoured guests to have congress with the male concubines of their host, a practice not unlike that of the heathen Arabs. Considering the short time I had spent in this land and my brief introduction to their beliefs, their customs still surprised, and delighted, me. The boy and I retired to a private room in the vast mansion of the lord, a room specifically set aside and designed for the pleasure of guests with several mats, pillows of assorted sizes and shapes, and various phials of perfumes, lubricants, and aphrodisiacs, all of which Munenori was acquainted with and trained in their use. The room reminded me of the pleasure rooms set aside by the Turkish Sultans for use by their guests and guarded by eunuchs unable to participate in the delights of the room's occupants, memories both fond and not so fond as I recalled my experiences in that land.

Munenori first stripped me and then performed a provocative dance as he removed his own clothing, moves similar to those I myself had learned long ago as a dancer with the Gilman Entertainment Troupe. Unlike Jingxuan, he was slender of build, about four feet tall and five stone in weight. His body was completely hairless with the exception of his long locks, not yet having had his forehead shaved marking his transition from child to youth. His limp penis was the length and thickness of my smallest finger and hung below smooth pubes and over tiny, hairless eggs. He, like Jingxuan, had a hood, and like Jingxuan, was most curious about my lack, and my tattoos. Like Jingxuan, he cringed as I explain how I had come by the lack of a foreskin and my tattoos. He finally wrapped his slender fingers about my cock and began to stroke it and I reached over and played with his, resulting in the two of us becoming erect.

He asked what my preference was and I replied that it was whatever he liked best. He glanced at my erect member and replied with some relief, that though he had many men of generous size mount him, he had never been mounted by a man of my size, and if it was alright by me, he would prefer to engage me orally. At two hands and two fingers in length and three fingers thick I could not blame him and I had to smile at his honesty and apprehension. I assured him I enjoyed oral equally well and he immediately crouched before me. Grasping my member by the base, he began to lick the shaft and whirl his tongue about my knob, sending tingles of pleasure through it. Watching a young boy child licking and sucking on your member and the pleasure curling his lips and the excitement sparkling in his eyes is as pleasurable as the actual physical stimulation and I sat there and sighed with delight as I enjoyed the sight of this beautiful nine-year-old child licking my cock like it was some sweet confection.

He eventually slipped his lips over my knob and clamped them tight below the bulb to cut off my desire and then he eased his lips further down and proceeded to suck and my cock grew tenser as he sucked the air out of it. He tightened his lips and slowly began to ease his velvet lips up and down the shaft, being careful not to overly stimulate the rim of my bulb. Again, the sight of this black-haired, flaxen-skinned, slant-eyed boy sucking on my cock, his dark brown eyes glistening with arousal and pleasure, caused my cock to throb with additional pleasure. Fortunately the boy was skilled and experienced and was able to avoid over stimulating me. He also knew when to pause to let my ardour diminish so he was able to please me for a long time before I felt the familiar building of pressure deep in my loins.

I warned him what was about to happen as I tugged on his stiff, little penis, causing him to squirm with the pleasure of his own approaching orgasm, and I held back until he was squirming and twisting uncontrollably before I released my seed. As he trembled with his orgasm my seed raced up the core of my swollen, numb cock and spurted into his mouth. He allowed it to collect and he savoured its flavour and texture as it filled his mouth as if it were honey before swallowing it. When at last we were both finished, he slipped his mouth off my still stiff member and smiled up at me, his lips glistening with my semen, my cum clinging in strands to the roof of his mouth and his gums.

The next afternoon while strolling through the market, I paused to watch four sarugatu, young men skilled in acrobatics, juggling and pantomime, who combined all three to perform a humorous skit about the first trip of a peasant's son to the city, and I chuckled for I had found myself as much in awe as he had been though I hope I was not so obvious nor naive. Once a very popular form of entertainment for the rich, it was now performed as a street performance for coins from those passing by. They were skilled, and I tossed a few coppers in their hat and complemented them.

As I continued on my way I was followed and approached by one of them, a boy of twelve, who having seen and correctly interpreted my attention particularly to him, offered me a private performance to supplement his income. He had caught my attention not just because of his skill and acrobatic ability but because of his looks also, lean, limber and muscular with the emerging contours and definition of an older teen with a round, attractive face with the shaved forehead and long forelocks announcing he had commenced his transition from childhood to adulthood, and needless to say I readily followed him to a nearby home where he and his companions were living.

He introduced himself as Ishuke, son of Genbei, a stoneworker by trade with three older sons and two daughters. He immediately reached into my kimono, traditional dress in this country, and began to fondle my testicles as I untied his robe and slipped it off his shoulders and caressed his hard, smooth body, slipping my hands down and over his still smooth pubes to fondle his own testicles. Dropping to one of several sleeping mats, I wondered if he and his companions sought each other's caresses when their day was done. We lay in opposite directions and caressed each other's loins and buttocks, rolled each other's eggs in their loose sacks, and stroked each other's cock. The boy was well hung for his age and he quickly became stiff, as did I.

As he leaned over and took my stiff cock in his mouth, I lay there for a while and watched this prurient twelve-year-old boy on the cusp of puberty suck my cock, the delight and arousal reflected in his face arousing me even more than his tongue and lips did. As my stiff member throbbed with pleasure I concentrated on the pulsating arousal of my cock and the itching of my knob, and on the intense concentration in the young boy's eyes as he sucked my member. He was doing this for money to supplement his meagre income as an entertainer, but you could tell he was also doing it for pure pleasure.

I at last turned my attention to his own stiff member and slipped my lips over the bulb and down his shaft. He was about a palm-width in length and I was able to slip my lips down to the base. The musk of his balls wafted past my nose and the masculine fragrance caused me to ache with lust. I sucked on this young boy's throbbing flesh and slipped my lips up and down his shaft and over his bulb. Like all others I have so far met in this nation he still had his foreskin. Slipping my lips off the tip of his cock I quickly glanced up to catch the sparkle of delight in his eyes and the flush of arousal in his cheeks, and that look of puerile lust on the fresh face of a pubescent boy brought me dangerously close to releasing my seed. Anyone who has ever seen the look of desire and delight in the eyes of a young boy approaching an orgasm can never deny the pleasure a boy experiences from this forbidden pleasure.

I also saw a look of surprise and disbelief, and he observed that while he and a few friends had tried this on each other, and while it was something that men expected boys to do to them, it was something that men, real men, did not do to boys. That was not a surprise and to me was a great shame, for men can teach boys much about how to do the act, and the best way to teach someone was to show them. It was also a shame in that a boy knowing what it feels like to be sucked can do a much better job at sucking than a boy who has not been the recipient so by doing it to a boy enhances a man's later experience.

I replied that was also true in my country, but not a practice I agreed with myself. Before he could reply, I quickly slipped my lips back over his slender cock and resumed sucking before that lust began to fade and I heard him inhale with delight. I knew he had to be close to his orgasm and I ran my tongue over the encased rim of his knob as I sucked deeply on his stiff member and focussed on bringing him pleasure instead of the pleasure and pressure I was feeling between my legs, delaying my own release with years of practice. I was successful and was rewarded soon after as the boy reached his orgasm and began to tremble and jerk uncontrollably as wave after wave of pleasure pulsated up his swollen flesh and his balls contracted in a desperate attempt to release seed that was not there.

While he was undergoing the throes of his dry orgasm, I at last released my seed and it raced up the core of my throbbing cock and spurted out the tip and into his mouth with the force and urgency of a teenage boy despite the number of times I had emptied my balls since arriving in this strange and delightful land. He knew what to expect and easily swallowed my slime as I tried to fill his eager mouth. Squirt after squirt erupted from my balls with burning pleasure and he gulped down my slime as he quivered and jerked with his own orgasm. Being an experience rarely awarded him by an older man made his orgasm all the more powerful for him, and knowing that made the experience all the more powerful for me.

The next day Xing-fu and I were hosted by another rich daimyo, this individual's fortune coming from the production of silk screens. They were all beautiful and exquisitely made, as were the young apprentice artisans who we witnessed making them under the tutelage of several masters all of whom were members of the daimyo's family. I would have readily taken screens and apprentices back to Minho with me.

That evening we were treated to a live drama performance, what they call Noh theatre, the troupe being under the patronage of our host. The theatre was packed with powerful men, guests of our host. The play was about a famous female poet renown also for her great beauty, played by a lithe, beautiful teenage boy, thirteen, who dressed as a female and wore a mask to depict her at her various stages of life. Now at the end of her life and in poverty, she is visited by an abbot with two monks and a child who dances for her and she dances and ponders the impermanence and shortness of life, the play being set during a summer festival commemorating the love of two Nippon deities, both sexes played again by young males.

In addition to the actors dressed in silk costumes, wigs and hats, there was a chorus of eight, two flutists and three drummers in black kimonos, stage hands, and four other actors, two males and two females, who performed the comedic interludes between the five scenes in the Noh play. At the end of the play the actors appeared in order of importance, the most important, the female poet, first, followed by the abbot and the two deities, and each was generously applauded. I had greatly enjoyed the performance, the actors, the choir, and the musicians and I was eager to talk to each of them about their occupations, theatre in this strange land, the performance I had just seen, and for a couple of them, their personal lives of course. (1)

As we prepared to leave, I was approached by one of the stagehands who informed me that one of the actors wished to meet me. To my surprise and delight I discovered it was the lead in the play, the young boy who had who had played the female poet. He said that my host, his sponsor, had mentioned before the performance I would be present and had suggested he might enhance his performance by learning about the type of plays and nature of acting in my land. His sponsor's motive of course was to introduce innovative changes in the performances of his troupe and thus gain the advantage over the competing daimyo, and larger audiences, and larger donations. Needless to say I was eager to comply with my host's request, and the boy's eagerness to meet with me increased greatly once he saw me.

The other guests, I learned from him, were other daimyo, military leaders, and nobility, all who were attracted to beautiful youth of both sexes so both beautiful boys and adolescent young men and young women were featured in their drama productions, which were usually erotic in nature besides. Of course the more aroused the audience became the more pleased they were, and the more pleased they were the greater their donations to my host, his sponsor.

If there were no women available, onnagata (oyama) such as himself, male actors portraying women, dressed as women and wore masks representing girls and by tilting their heads showed moods and different emotions. If they had entered the transition to adulthood, they sometimes wore a purple cloth over their shaved foreheads. In this case there were females available, but the audience consisted of older, more traditional men who preferred effeminate young boys.

A simpler version of the play I had just witnessed with less traditional observations, I learned, was also being sponsored by our host for the public to raise money for the building of a shrine on his estate, the public having to pay to see the play whereas today's audience made voluntary donations. His sponsor had also suggested he meet me for another reason, and having met me, he was most willing to oblige, and not just to please his sponsor and gain his favour. The bribe was not really necessary in that I had already planned on buying several screens from him for my own use, and for Father and Uncle for trade, but I was glad the boy's sponsor had suggested it to him, and even happier that the boy was in agreement.

The troupe lived in a building on the estate separate from the daimyo and from the servants and the boy took me to his bedroom there, separated from the others by sliding screens like the other buildings. He proudly introduced himself as Kaneko Takatane, informing me the Kaneko family had a long history of acting. Of course I asked him about Noh plays and his training and he was delighted to tell me, and in turn asked me about drama in my country and the life of actors. I knew little compared to his knowledge, drama not being a common form of entertainment for my family nor the villages in which I lived. Interestingly, plays in Portugal were largely based on great events in our past and on religious occasions like Christmas, Easter, and Holy Thursday, and included pastoral plays, comedies, the clergy, and the nobility, not unlike plays in Cipan-guo.

All of this I explained in great detail, and that of course lead to a discussion on religious events we celebrated, and on Christianity and Jesus, giving me the opportunity to fulfil my obligations to the Holy Father and I earnestly and sincerely quoted scriptures and promoted the faith. Considering that I was also eagerly anticipating congress with this thirteen-year-old boy, my attempts at converting him was incongruous, but then I was finding so was much of life. Our conversation looped around to the presence of males and females on the stage, and that in my homeland, like here, boys traditionally took the roles of females, women and girls not having the intelligence nor the emotional control needed for a convincing performance.

Takatane confessed that he enjoyed the challenge of taking on the roles of females, and the fame that accompanied him in doing so. He was quick to add that despite his preference to take on such roles, he was very much a male, and enjoyed being a male. I shared with him my experience as a koçek and how I too enjoyed personifying and dressing as a girl, and on the thrill it gave me as a man to see the effect my body and dancing was having on other males, and the pleasure that fame and popularity that came with my acting and dancing brought me, though I was very much a male and enjoyed having the equipment of a male also. He had never heard of the koçek and was delighted when I took several pillow slips and demonstrated for him.

He confessed that his preference was to take the passive role or being the bottom, xiăo shòu, rather than xiăo gong, being the top, which was not surprising for a boy his age, and that his favourite position was being penetrated lying on his back so he could watch his partner's face when he came. To that I replied with a grin that we had to have been meant to be together because I preferred being the top and in the same position for the same reason.

Having satisfied our curiosities and our obligations, him to his sponsor and me to the Holy Father, we turned to the satisfaction of another common need. My experience with the opposite sex in that regard has been limited, but as soon as we began I recognized the feminine aspects of his love-making, the result of his training in portraying those of the female persuasion, and his thoroughness in imitating their mannerisms and behaviour. Such tenderness and modesty in a male I found arousing, from the softness of his kisses and caresses to his feminine hesitancy and apprehension in touching me intimately. Of course I knew he was a boy and that made our foreplay all the more erotic.

He found my technique in pleasuring my partner equally arousing and his member was soon stiff and pointing at me. Lying on his back and raising his hips on several pillows and spreading his shapely legs, he looked up at me demurely and seductively and the sight of this comely, effeminate thirteen-year-old boy offering his love hole to me was enough to make me want to come on the spot, and the imp knew it. Forming a circle with my thumb and first finger, I grasped my cock below the knob and squeezed tightly, cutting off my impulse to ejaculate.

I dropped to my knees between his outspread legs and he handed me a phial of lubricant which I eagerly applied to his anus and my erect cock. Putting it aside, I placed the tip of my cock against his anus and slowly pressed forward. The boy was experienced and eager and immediately opened his greased hole and I easily penetrated him, studying his face as he studied mine. The look of apprehension, strain, and then of achievement and pleasure that crossed the face of this prurient thirteen-year-old boy brought me as much pleasure as feeing my cock sink deep up his rectum and become encased in his flesh, and I am sure the expressions on my face as I found my cock surrounded by pulsating boy flesh brought him equal pleasure.

I eased my cock in and out of his body slowly and he caressed my back and buttocks as my body rose and fell between his outspread legs. He tightened his grip as I withdrew and he relaxed his anal muscle as I sank back up his hole, working with me as I fucked him. As I felt myself approaching my climax I paused to let my ardour cool, and he similarly lay quietly, to assist me and I suspect to allow his lust to subside also. The boy was skilled in his role and as much as I wanted to look into his beautiful face I found I had to look away so erotic was the expression on his face, the glow in his eyes and the flush of his downy cheeks.

Our common understanding and appreciation how portraying the opposite sex gave us a different insight into the roles of top and bottom, and enhanced the act of copulation for both of us, gave us a far different perspective than those who lacked such an experience. The role of the woman is to serve and obey and to bring pleasure to their mate, and so was our role when we took the position of a woman. We were not just an alternate hole as is the case for many men who take only the top role. And while it was the woman's duty to pleasure the man but deriving no pleasure herself, we derived as much pleasure in giving another man that pleasure and being stuffed by a man's swollen, throbbing flesh. We were more than men playing the woman's role, we were for a time women in men's bodies.

After pausing twice, I knew I could not delay a third time and when the time arrived I continued to pump my ass, increasing the speed and the depth of my thrusts with each stroke. As my desire and pleasure increased so did the speed and force of my fucking, and I could see the same anticipation and desire in Takatane's slanted eyes. Gasping with exertion and delight, I inhaled and exhaled deeply and more and more rapidly, and as I felt the twang deep in my loins and the rush of my seed up the core of my swollen cock I groaned with pleasure.

My seed spurted out the tip of my member with burning delight and shot deep up this sweet thirteen-year-old boy's tight ass, deeper than any man's cock can reach. Spurt after spurt shot up his rectum and then he began to spurt also, his slender, stiff cock, the length and thickness of my thumb, jerking wildly as his thin, teenage seed spurted through the air, basting his slender, naked chest and mine with his slime. Streamer after streamer flew through the air and laced our sweating bodies and his young slime pooled in the fleshy pockets of his heaving chest and trickled in twisting rivulets down my chest and hung in pendants from my teats to drip on his sweat-slick body.

The air was filled with the pungent fragrance of spent seed and of sweat and we inhaled it deeply with delight and relish, filling our lungs with the musky perfume as we emptied our balls. We rested there on the mat, arm in arm, chests heaving, and bodies sticky, each lost in memories of the pleasure we had just experienced and had just brought each other. There was no need to exchange words when at last we glanced at each other and smiled and kissed, nor when we united for a second time.

The next morning I examined and selected several screens I hoped to install in my home on my estate and to give as gifts to Mother and my sisters, and several more for Father and Uncle which I figured would sell. That of course brought my thoughts to my family and a wave of sadness washed over me. As a traveller and adventurer I had accepted my separation from those I loved as a necessity of my privileged position and a condition of my God-given nature, and though I missed my family greatly, I was comforted by the fact that I had left all in comfortable positions and in good hands during my absence, and that the fruits of my labour would benefit all of them.

Still, I did miss them and thought longingly of my aging parents, Father likely having begun training my younger brother, who would now be seven and a half, how to run the business with the likelihood he would take it over when the time came with me having my own estate to look after, and my mother having prepared preserves for her daughters and my wife and now fussing over her growing brood of grandchildren. Old Uncle Paolo would have likely turned the heavy work over to younger men now and would be sitting in the winter sun in his favourite chair in front of the shop supervising and advising them and anyone else who would listen. How I missed his knowing wink and broad smile and worldly advice.

I thought of my dear, trusting wife living in a strange, foreign country. She was strong, of body and of will, but she had no man to turn to, and was left to raise my young children. My stepson Jutia would be nine now, older than some of the boys I was having congress with, and my son Val would be three. The youngest, whom I have never seen, would have turned two last month! I did not even know if I had a son or daughter! My loyal attendant, Arasibo, would have turned nineteen this month and I am sure was a huge help on my estate. My estate was in good hands under Alvaro, my elderly steward, who had been seventy-eight when I left, and his grandsons. As I strolled the foreign streets of this distant land the rest of the day and the next, buying little gifts to send to my family through a trade network Xing-fu assured me he could arrange, my thoughts were sombre and I sought something to lift me from my melancholy.

All large cities I have visited have many things in common, large, expensive buildings surrounded by beautifully landscaped grounds owned by the rich and powerful; close, crumbling, and usually filthy homes crowded against each other in which the poor lived; crowded markets with merchants from faraway lands hawking their wares alongside local farmers selling garden produce, local tradesmen selling their wares and talented craftsmen hawking their fine-crafted work; the stench of human waste and unwashed bodies packed together in spaces too small; and prostitutes hawking their bodies, their revenue declining as their bodies aged. Heian-kyō was no different.

Given the accepting attitude of the religious and civic leaders and the general populace, I was not surprised to find a large number of prostitutes in the public places and streets, male and female, in open view, the girls often dressing as boys to make themselves more attractive, and the boys affecting the dress and hair styles of the young. I was approached by one individual who was twice my age but looked to be in his teens and another who claimed to be eighteen but looked eight. I turned both down. I had no need for the services of a whore in this strange land where congress with boys was not just accepted but treasured, but I finally relented and chose one, a boy of fourteen, not just because of his looks, but because I suspected from his speech and mannerisms that he catered only to the affluent and powerful and could tell me much about the important citizens of this city, and as I have said often before, those who sold their bodies were often the source of vital information shared only between the sheets. (2)

So I followed the boy, Tsugukiyo, and he proved me right. Some boys are quick to disclose their more distinguished clients and brag about liaisons, their connection giving them prestige, often desperately needed also, just as a merchant boosts his reputation by casually mentioning his wealthier patrons. Others are discrete about making such revelations, knowing that knowledge, especially knowledge gained between the sheets, is power, and they use that power with discretion. Tsugukiyo was of the latter, knowing he would quickly loose his privileged position if his tongue was too loose, but he also knew the revelation of one secret often resulted in the acquisition of several others, and besides, he was a boy and boys are prone to bragging.

Besides, he was most curious about myself, and he knew that to learn any secrets about me, he had to reveal some. And so as he revealed his physical charms and disrobed me, he also revealed choice bits of gossip about his clients to impress me and to encourage me to reveal mine. Of course I did not do so but did not have to, my circumcised and pierced member, my tattoos, and my unique appearance initiating much discussion and being of such uniqueness that conversation flowed easily, and the more aroused the boy became the looser his tongue.

His tongue was talented and eventually our mutual inquisition was replaced by a much more desired use of that appendage. He eagerly licked my shaft and knob, causing my member to swell, and he fastened his lips about my cock below the bulb and sucked with as much eagerness and delight as I was feeling. As was my habit, I sat there and watched this handsome, eager, fourteen-year-old boy suck my cock and deriving as much delight in sucking my member as I was deriving from being sucked. After a bit as I felt my desire rising to a point where I knew I had to pause, I stopped him. He thought at first that I had enough and wished to finish off with another act, and he was about to turn around and offer his backside to me when I stopped him and had him stand.

Much to his surprise, and delight, I grasped his smooth buttocks and leaned forward and took his teenage cock in my mouth and began sucking as I slipped my lips down his shaft to the root. Burying my nose in his silky, curly hairs, I inhaled deeply and then slowly eased my lips back up his slender shaft. He was only slightly longer and thicker than Takatane and I delighted in sucking his teenage member, knowing that for him at his age the experience of being sucked was still new and exciting, and that the release of his seed a delight and a marvel. I sucked on his cock until his laboured breathing and fidgeting warned me how he was feeling and I stopped and offered him my cock once more.

Even more eager and desperate, he resumed sucking my member where he had left off and it was not long before he had me back to the point he had me before. I concentrated on the building desire in my loins and the burning of the rim of my bulb, and then on the burning of my seed as it raced up the core of my swollen member. I watched with delight as my first squirt shot into the mouth of this pubescent youngster, quickly followed by a second and a third, and he savoured the taste and consistency of my slime, clearly as delighted with my thick cream as he had been with my cock. The fourteen-year-old boy slut swallowed all I had and sucked out the remainder when at last I ceased to spurt.

And then, flushed with my climax, I had him stand and I took his cock in my mouth and finished the boy off. Aroused by my ejaculation and drinking my seed, the boy was quick to come, and spurted his thin, teenage slime into my mouth with a force equal to mine, and I allowed the sweet milk of this pubescent boy to fill my mouth and I swirled it with my tongue, delighting in the sweetness and thin constituency of youth. He gasped and quivered with this unexpected pleasure, and bringing him to his climax and seeing the joy flushing and darkening his cheeks and sparkling in his eyes, even more slanted now, brought me as much pleasure as my own climax. Knowing that even as a prostitute, being brought to an orgasm by a client was rare, made my pleasure all the more precious.

Chapter 35
Cipan-guo: Samurai, Bureaucrats and Nobles

Nico participates in the classical art of kodo and learns more about wakashudo as practiced by the Samurai and nobles.

Codes: M/b, M/t

Characters: 10 yo Munetoshi son of a bureaucrat, fifteen-year-old Takatsukasa Masasuke son of high ranking noble

The following day I shared the information I had obtained with Xing-fu. He did not ask how I had come to have such knowledge but I know he was much pleased, and much impressed. That day he and I were courted by still another daimyo, one in the business of making and selling lacquered tables, cabinets, chests and such. Made of red pine and coated with a clear lacquer to bring out the grain, the furniture was beautiful and of high craftsmanship. Like all the other daimyo, he had several warriors, samurai, hired to protect his land and buildings, and while Xing-fu and I inspected his fine wares, I spent as much time inspecting his fine samurai.

They ranged greatly in age, from the age of Father, much to my surprise, to men younger than myself, and all were of muscular build. Several were engaged in sword practice with each other and a couple were instructing their young apprentices in hand-to-hand combat and I thought back to my initial training as an apprentice/slave Mameluke. I had begun as a frightened, confused slave, but I had grown to love my master in more ways than one, and to this day am indebted to him for my prowess in the use of weapons, the appreciation of the male body, especially that of youth, and the enjoyment of congress with boys.

I paused to watch these warriors and warriors-in-training and I admired and applauded their skill. One of them, by the name of Soma Tsuguki, had witnessed my demonstration of swordplay five days ago, having accompanied this daimyo to my reception as the daimyo's personal guard, and had been much impressed, so much so he dared approach me now and complement me. His lord had been similarly impressed and understood this man's appreciation, himself being a warrior, and he knew besides the value of having me, a potential client, praised. Following our discussion on swordplay, this samurai invited me, with the permission of his lord of course, who was also eager to please me, to join him in something called kodo, which Xing-fu explained was one of three classical arts of refinement according to the customs of this land. Curious and not wishing to offend, I readily accepted and followed him to the compound where he and the other samurai and their apprentices lived.

With much ceremony, he first of all took out his utensils from an ornate cabinet, no doubt made by one of the artisans under his daimyo's employ, and cleaned them until they sparkled and I had enough sense to know to praise him and his possessions, which of course greatly pleased him. He then took out the kōboku, which I was informed was a fragrant wood combined with herbs and aromatic grasses and used in religious ceremonies, and heated it on a mica plate held in the ceramic censor he had cleaned and purified. As he did so he explained that incense sharpened the senses, purified the body and spirit, calmed the individual, and awakened the spirit, and this ceremony was practiced by all true samurai. Then taking out a spatula and tweezers from a vase and selecting an assortment of spices, each in its own ornate container, he added the powder from one container to the burner and used metal chopsticks to pick up and tamper the charcoal.

He, his fifteen-year-old apprentice, a third boy (Onosaki Moritaka) of the same age who's relationship to the other two was not clear to me at the time, and I sat in a circle and he passed the censor around. His apprentice commented on the excellence of the incense and he was asked to guess the incense used and its origin, in this case something called kyara, a bitter incense all the way from Viet Det. The censor was then passed to me and then the third boy who passed it back to Soma Tsuguki and the four of us in turn inhaled deeply and savoured the uniqueness of the incense several more rounds until the powder was completely burned.

Our host then cleaned the bowl of the censor and ground and added the second, and then the third of the spices he had selected, passing the censor around after each of the spices he had selected and again having his apprentice identify the incense and he explaining its source and what it did. Each was very distinct. The three spices he had selected complemented each other and I have to admit that my senses felt much sharper and I felt much calmer after we were done. He then used a feather brush to sweep away the last ash and everything was again ceremoniously cleaned. I commented on the exquisiteness of his utensils again and expressed my appreciation being invited to join him in the ceremony, which was customary but also sincere in that I believe in giving praise and thanks when it is warranted, and my comments greatly pleased him coming from someone he admired.

Following the ceremony, he asked me if I was familiar with Wakashudo, the Tao of the Adolescent, to which I replied I was only vaguely familiar with the term and confessed that many of the words in his language sounded very similar and begged his forgiveness for my ignorance. He quickly and eagerly offered to enlighten me and proceeded to explain that it was the custom of the samurai to take on an apprentice, a boy of wakashudo age, such as his fifteen-year-old apprentice Ishikawa Harumitsu sitting beside him, to teach him martial arts and the life skills of the warrior, and if he agreed, to be his lover until he reached adulthood. The other fifteen-year-old boy, Onosaki Moritaka, had recently been sent from the countryside by his father to this daimyo's estate in the hopes of finding a teacher and had been befriended by Harumitsu. This he told me as straight-forward as if he were explaining the ceremony of kodo without the slightest sense of taboo or embarrassment when referring to his apprentice as his lover. (1)

I told him I was not unfamiliar with the concept and I told him of my experience with the Mameluke. He knew nothing of the Egyptian Empire nor of the Mamelukes, and he was most interested in learning about both, and particularly about their methods of fighting, and of course instructing new warriors. He concluded that Egypt had to be a worthy nation and the soldiers mighty warriors, and he marvelled that an empire so far away practiced shudo as they did. Although there were differences in specifics, there were enough similarities to make me wonder also how it was two nations otherwise so different could have such a similar belief and practice, and once again I had to wonder if this was evidence of some similarity between the Arab god and the deities of the Cipangou, or some connection between their prophet Mohammed and this Buddha of this land, though I had never heard mention of Buddha while living with the Mohammedans, and here they had never heard of Mohammed. It was again a question to ask the Holy Father for it was beyond my ken as a simple layman.

Intrigued, Soma Tsuguki bade me tell them more about the Mameluke soldiers and my experiences with them. So I described my new life as a kuttabiyya, a young Mameluke slave boy, and how slave traders captured young boys and sold them to be trained as soldiers to serve in military posts or as guards. I explained that boys who were captured were skilled in the use of the bow or spear or in horsemanship, and had reached or were about to reach the age where they could produce seed because such boys were young enough to be moulded into whatever it was they had in mind for them, yet had enough experience to have the aggressive and warlike qualities their future buyers were looking for. Onosaki had blushed when I had mentioned the production of seed, and his companion Ishikawa Harumitsu had smiled knowingly.

I described how arising at sunrise, we knelt for morning prayers, the first of five sets of prayers from sunrise to sunset which we were required to memorize and recite. I explained how after a simple meal of ground millet and milk, we were escorted to our classroom where we spent the morning learning the Arabic alphabet and learning to read, speak, and write the Arabic language by studying and copying their holy book, the Qur'an. I told them how in the afternoon until the sun set we received lectures about the Moslem faith, Islamic law or shari'a, and Arabic history, were taught medicine and especially treatment of wounds, which came easy to me and I enjoyed, and were given lessons in archery, spear throwing, and in my case since I had a sword, swordplay.

"Others," I explained, "received training in using the lance and the mace and older boys were taught horsemanship. After our evening meal, again plain and simple, and our evening prayer, we went to bed. The next morning it was all repeated. Being a Mameluke soldier, one of the ahl-as-saif, people of the sword, is not a bad thing. A Mameluke soldier is much respected and to serve in the army or as a guard are honourable professions. One who works hard and does well can become free, even become Sultan over all the land, the ultimate ruler above all others in their country. In what other land have you heard of that?" I asked, and they agreed, that was a marvellous and unheard of thing.

"And, if you are lucky you might be apprenticed under a soldier who will not only train you to be an excellent fighter, but will also love you and bring you much pleasure. Many boys and their trainers become lovers. It is an honourable and most desired thing to have a lover, to experience true love between one man and one boy, for such is a special love, even better than love between a man and woman. All free Mamelukes, soldiers and rulers, were at one time captured and began their new lives as slaves. Slave traders seek young boys, boys of twelve to fourteen years of age, sometimes younger, sometimes older, boys who are fierce warriors and with brave hearts and strong bodies.

"These boys become slaves and are taught the true faith, that of Islam, and of the one true god, Allah, and of his prophet, Mohammad, and are trained to be soldiers and guards and are sold to the Amirs and the Princes who rule their land, or to the Sultan himself. I was told a man would have to be dead below the waist not to desire me for I was bold and aggressive, strong and skilled for my age, and a handsome boy, all the qualities a Mameluke soldier valued and found arousing," I said, and they grinned knowingly.

"Political and military positions were not hereditary, nor available to the common Egyptian citizen, and so the need to capture young boys and convert them to Islam and train them to become soldiers for those governing, who themselves were former slaves before being granted their freedom. The practice of having congress with young boys was not extended to include boys who were common Egyptian citizens."

All this they accepted without question except the latter. That their leadership was not inherited and that congress with the young was not extended to their own citizens were met with surprise and bewilderment, and while they had earlier praised these Mamelukes, they now questioned their wisdom. Heredity, family and clans were of extreme importance here and wakashudo was especially cherished and valued. To deny it to their own citizens was inconceivable. Seeing their negative reaction, I quickly went on to explain how I had been taught that there were four ways to make love, each with a different purpose and a different pleasure, to be active and bring yourself pleasure, to be passive and bring someone else pleasure, to be active and bring another pleasure, or to find pleasure being passive.

That they had to mull over for to them congress between members of the same sex was between a man and a boy, and the purpose was for the boy to bring pleasure to the man and involved much deeper bonds of comradery, loyalty, and respect. Again I saw their disbelief and objection in their faces and I suggested perhaps it would be best if rather than me tell them that I show them with me taking the role of my early mentor with the boy Onosaki Moritaka taking my former role. The boy was hesitant and doubtful, but I was a learned and respected visitor, so he agreed.

Of course I began with the active role, disrobing and kissing and caressing the boy Moritaka to show him the pleasure one who was passive felt through such lovemaking, which of course they all knew, though it was customary for the boy to bring his master such pleasure. When he was hard, I had him do the same to me which was much more in line with their practice. Though even more hesitant and doubtful, Tsuguki copied what I had done, disrobing and arousing his apprentice Ishikawa Harumitsu by kissing, caressing and fondling him, and then being aroused by the boy. Normally inscrutable, they were even more so now, but I could see they were uncomfortable with the first and sensed that they had not gotten as aroused as I had.

Having gotten me hard, I took the active role again and having Moritaka assume the traditional position on his elbows and knees, I knelt behind him and penetrated him and began to fuck his ass. That being what they normally did, they had no difficulty with that, but I could sense their reservation. Being watched by the two of them I found arousing and I had to stop several times to allow my ardour to decrease. They did not share my arousal though they observed how much I was apparently enjoying myself, and how well Moritaka was pleasing me. That he was and he was pleased by their comments. Though getting his ass fucked was bringing him pleasure, the praise brought him more. I continued fucking him until I filled his rectum, and doing so in the presence of Tsuguki and his fifteen-year-old apprentice made it even more erotic and pleasurable for me.

Knowing the pleasure of one in the passive role and after what we had just done assuming that Moritaka did also, I assumed the position on my elbows and knees and told the boy to mount and fuck me. For a boy to mount his master was totally unheard of and he and Tsuguki and his apprentice Haumitsu exchanged perplexed glances. He definitely had no desire to do so, and it was with much reluctance that he knelt behind me despite the fact he had an erection and had clearly enjoyed being fucked, and knew that he had brought me much pleasure allowing me to fuck him. Lubricating his erect member and my anus and grasping my hips as I had grasped his, he placed the tip of his cock against my hole and slowly eased his member up my ass. He did so with reluctance, and only because I was an honoured guest and had requested he do so, and was not Nipponese.

As he began to pump his hips to and fro, he was awkward and unable to maintain a rhythm, having intercourse as the active partner for the first time. It was like having congress with a virgin, which in a sense he was in that he had never penetrated anyone before this. For me, that was highly erotic and I had expected the experience to be so for him also, and though I could not see his face, it clearly was not. The physical contact and the physical stimulation of his knob resulted in him releasing his seed, which of course was highly pleasing though nowhere as pleasing as I had expected. I had expected having a fifteen-year-old boy squirting his seed up my ass for the first time to be highly erotic, and that I would be squiring mine also. Sensing his surprising lack of enthusiasm and pleasure, needless to say I did not.

When he was done and pulled his still erect member out of my ass, the tip dripping with his seed, the three of them looked at each other abashedly and then at me with great hesitation and apprehension, not wishing to offend me but clearly finding what Moritaka had just done disconcerting. The roles of xiăo shòu and xiăo gong were strictly age related and the idea of Moritaka being the xiăo gong was repulsive. Of the three of them, Moritaka definitely was uncomfortable, and Tsuguki and Harumtsu were not even curious and definitely were not tempted to follow our example.

So ended my attempt at enlightenment, as much a failure as my attempts to convert them to Christianity. As I left with Xing-fu, the experience left me with much to consider. How could something that brought me such pleasure, and in fact aroused me with the mere thinking of it, be considered so repulsive by another, and especially those who took such pleasure in instructing the young in the ways of adult amusement? Having once been the recipient in such a relationship, how could one later in life find being the passive partner repugnant? Why did I find being fucked by a boy erotic while Tsuguki found no sexual arousal whatsoever? That was a matter I would have to raise with Michelangelo, or perhaps Leonardo for I could think of no answer nor anyone else I might ask.

Two days later we were invited to a banquet hosted by a member of the Daijō-kan, the Great Council of State, which consisted of seven officials below the emperor, and the regent if there was one. Below them were the eight ministers in charge of the eight government ministries. This large bureaucratic class frequented the imperial court and officially was above the daimyo class but below the nobility, though in these turbulent times the positions and authority depended more on the personal strength and persuasion of the individual, as seen by the mixture of guests at the banquet.

Our host, Kaneko Masayori, was the Assistant Chief Steward of the Imperial Household, the Daizem-no-daishin. I had no idea what that meant nor what he did exactly though I suspected it would be equivalent to being the assistant to my chief steward, Alvaro de Azurara, if he had an assistant, except of course at a much higher level than the assistant to a steward of an estate. These people have a great inclination to use lengthy and elaborate titles. The only difference I could tell between him and our other hosts was that he had much more expensive clutter and many objects imported from China, which he was quick to point out. He also had many servants, and many children. (2)

The purpose of our invitation was to impress other bureaucrats of his importance, being host to the powerful Envoy from Cathay and his mysterious and powerful fellow envoy and companion, and to impress us with those on his guest list, which was a waste of effort regarding Xing-fu for he was not swayed by such pompous displays and already knew who the important leaders in this land were and who they were friends with. It was also a waste of time on my part for our host's name was not among those mentioned by the young prostitute Tsugukiyo and therefore of no interest to me, and the long-winded titles of his guests meant nothing.

We were served by several beautiful youth, both male and female, the boys all effeminate with long forelocks and the girls all imitating the boys in hairstyle so that I had difficulty determining who was of which sex, which I found amusing and I am sure everyone was wondering what was bringing me such pleasure, and their efforts to discover and duplicate the cause themselves became even more humorous. Throughout the meal and the musical entertainment that followed, it became evident that our host had a favourite who had his host's eye and spent much time waiting on him, a boy of about ten. It was also evident his wife similarly had her favourite who waited on her and had her attention throughout the meal and entertainment, a lithe, handsome young man in his mid-teens. As for myself, one of our host's middle children, a handsome boy of ten with the wakashudo haircut indicating he had begun his path to adulthood, caught my eye.

When the guests finally began to depart, our host discretely advised Xing-fu and I that if any of his servants had caught our eye their services were available. Xing-fu graciously declined, but instead of quoting some proverb or obliquely providing a reason, he indicated bluntly that such pleasures did not interest him, making it clear he was not to be bribed by anyone and yet managing not to make his comment sound like a rebuke and leaving our host flustered for he was uncertain if he should be offended having his offer turned down or if he should apologize for making it. Oh, such marvellous skill!

His son, the one who had caught my eye and I am sure aware of his father's uncomfortable predicament, came to his rescue, indicating that he was curious about me and my land, and would like to learn more. Suspecting the boy's interjection was more than a faithful son's extrication of his father from an embarrassing situation, and that his curiosity went beyond what he had indicated, I replied I would be delighted to answer his questions, now or at some later date at the boy's pleasure, to which the boy replied he would ask now if it was not too late or inconvenient. Having the attention diverted to me, our host readily and hastily gave his consent and bade Xing-fu and I a good night.

So the boy lead me to what I assumed was his bedroom, which despite our very different backgrounds contained those things that indicated a ten-year-old's interests, in this case seashells, odd-shaped stones, a sling-shot…. We sat cross legged on a floor mat as was their custom. He asked me a few questions about my country and how it was governed, referring to comments I had made earlier in response to his father's questions, obviously having listened to our conversation. He quickly turned to questions of his own about the coming of age practices of my land considering the front of my scalp had not been shaved and my practice of wearing my hair loose and over my shoulders so that it and my forelocks extended half way down my back. Of course he asked about the tattoos under my eyes and my pierced earlobes, I having chosen to wear earrings though it was not customary in this land to add to my mystique and individuality. His questions were ones frequently asked and I answered them easily and comfortably, finding my tattoos and piercings excellent openings to discuss other things of an intimate nature.

I explained the source and purpose of my tattoos, which of course lead to my revelation that I had other tattoos and me revealing them to him. In revealing my tattoos, I of course exposed myself, which lead to questions about my lack of a hood and my attitude toward wakashudō and his assumption I was interested in him in particular. I of course replied to the latter question that I was, if the interest was reciprocal, and he quickly replied that it was.

And so I let the boy investigate and fondle my member and as it began to swell so did his. I likewise stroked his little noodle, pulling the foreskin back slowly to expose his knob and rolling his little nuts in their sack until we were both aroused. Lubricating my stiff cock and his asshole, I knelt behind the boy and mounted him, much to his pleasure and mine. As I did so I could not help thinking of his father down the hallway mounting a willing young boy of the same age, and of his mother laying on her back and spreading her legs for a prurient teenage boy only five years older than her son.

What was young Kaneko Munetoshi thinking as I mounted him and began to pump my hips to and fro, sliding my cock in and out of his asshole just as his father had mounted and was easing his cock in and out of the backside of a young boy his age, and as in another room a teenage boy was pumping his cock in and out of his mother's cunt? And, what were his mother and father thinking about their young son being fucked as surely they had known would happen? I was finding the customs of the peoples of this land most confusing and most strange. And most enjoyable.

I also found the situation highly erotic and as I pumped my cock in and out of this ten-year-old's asshole I imagined his father's cock doing the same down the hall, and the cock of a teenage boy pumping in and out of his mother's cunt. I imagined her groaning and thrusting her hips to and fro in ecstasy as she was being fucked and as she approached her orgasm, assuming under the circumstances that unlike most women and was proper she was enjoying having congress.

As I began to squirt my seed up young Kaneko Munetoshi I imagined the senior Kaneko Masayori filling the rectum of a similarly squirming boy the same age as his young son while his wife's cunt was being filled by the slime of an obedient and prurient fifteen-year-old boy. As young Munetoshi squirmed and gasped with his own orgasm as he felt his rectum being filled with seed I wondered if he was thinking of the boy down the hall having his ass filled by his father, or of his mother with her legs spread and her cunt being filled with a teenage boy's slime. Was there any possibility of her becoming pregnant by this boy child? My perverted thoughts tripled the volume of my ejaculation and my pleasure and I trembled with delight.

Two days later we were hosted by still another individual seeking our favour, this time a noble, a member of the royal household, the Major Counsellor, a Dainagon or Counsellor of the First Rank, one of three individuals holding the position. Among those in attendance was his nephew, fifteen-year-old Takatsukasa Masasuke, a distant relative and one of many nephews but still with all the privileges and arrogance associated with the nobility. He was a handsome boy with an athletic physique and I was not the only one admiring him, a collection of young girls and other young men gathered around him and from the looks on their faces interested in more than just what he was saying. Again, traditional positions and actual authority had become blurred by this time in the country's history, but this individual was unquestionably the richest and most powerful yet from his possessions on display and the amount of bowing and ass-kissing by his guests, including his own nephews. (3)

By this time I had grown quite bored with all the bowing and fawning, the lengthy, formal ceremonies, meaningless talk and doubletalk, and blatant bribery. Watching Xing-fu mingling with our royal hosts without a hint of boredom or annoyance and equally matching them in this give and take, it was evident why he had been given such an important task.

"Are you as bored with all this idle prattle and innuendo as I am?" whispered young Masasuke as he sidled up to me.

"Is that not the purpose of these affairs?" I whispered noncommittedly, having learned long ago to never make a disparaging comment about anyone or anything at such events. Such comments have a nasty habit of being repeated in the presence of those you do not wish to hear them.

He laughed. "Your words are as wise and carefully chosen as that of your reknown companion."

"I will take that as a complement," I replied with a smile.

"Of course," he said smoothly, his narrow eyes growing even narrower with humour. "Your companion is not one anyone would dare to offend."

"I take it that you are bored with all this talk?"

"I can be blunt. I have little to offer to those who attend affairs such as this," he replied with a shrug. "Besides, I am more a man of action than of words. There are better and more interesting ways to put your tongue and lips to use."

"Indeed, there are," I agreed, raising an eyebrow and allowing a slight smile.

"When I first saw you undressing me with your eyes I knew you were a man of taste."

"I confess, your presence does brighten what has been so far an unremarkable occasion, and one would have to be dead below the waist not to imagine what you conceal," I replied, paraphrasing the old phrase I had heard long ago about myself.

"Your imagination would not be far wrong. My cousin Yoshihiro has taught me many ways to brighten an evening, and has engaged me in many hours of practice."

"That is your cousin?" I asked, nodding to a young man talking to Xing-fu who from his appearance and hairstyle appeared to be five years or so older than young Masasuke, and a young man of wealth and position from the cut of his clothes and his poise of confidence speaking to one as revered as Xing-fu.

"Oh no, that is Takatsukasa Kanesuke," he replied. "He is the son of one of the former Regents of our present Emperor. He is also my cousin and of the same age as cousin Yoshihiro, but the revered cousin who has been my teacher that I refer to is Takatsukasa Yoshihiro, over there talking to our uncle." He nodded to another handsome, richly dressed young man talking to our host. The family resemblance of the three young men was remarkable. "So, shall we slip away and I can show you what I have been taught?"

"Let's," I agreed, and I let him lead me through the house, which he was apparently very familiar with, to a vacant room.

He slid the screen door closed and immediately turned and embraced me and kissed me on the lips. "You do not waste any time," I joked. His hands were already inside my kimono.

"With fruit such as this for the plucking, how can even the most patient harvester wait?" he asked, squeezing my testicles gently.

I could easily say the same thing as I disrobed him. My estimation of his physique had been most accurate and his smooth, young body had the firmness and definition of a young man who exercised regularly, and I observed as much as I stood back and admired his young body. This was a body that the sculptors of Venice would use as a model to depict the ancient gods of Greece or young Greek heroes. He was pleased with my observation and confirmed that he worked out with weights and ran ten miles daily to stay in shape. As he removed my kimono, he observed that I too had to exercise regularly and I replied that although at the moment I was an envoy and diplomat, to arrive here had taken many months as a sailor on the vast ocean seas, and that I also had much training and practice in the use of the sword and bow.

Slipping his fingers about my member he commented that it was my sword he was most interested in and I reminded him of his comment regarding the use of tongue and lips besides for talking. He smiled at that and immediately put both to that other use. He was indeed well-trained and experienced and it was a delight to be made love to by a fifteen-year-old boy who did so out of the sheer joy of engaging in sex with another, older male, not out of obligation or respect or gratitude, not for reward or payment, but for the pure joy of physical contact with another male.

I of course received as much pleasure and joy from the contact as he did and his passionate kisses and his caresses soon had me erect and aching for his mouth. He dallied, kissing my chest and nipples and then licking and sucking my teats until they were hard and burning. He continued kissing as he descended down the centre of my chest where other men had a trail of hair, over my flat stomach, and on to my eggs, which he took in his mouth and sucked, and finally to my swelling member which he licked and then sucked until it was hard.

At last he went down on me, slipping his lips over my bulb and descending down my shaft, taking in at least three-quarters of my cock, doing his instructor proud. There are few men and fewer boys I have known who can go down so far on my cock. He sucked on it gently and with obvious delight, savouring it as if it were a fruit as he had alluded to, and then slowly drew his lips back up toward the tip only to descend again. The suction on the core of my cock and the stimulation of the rim of my knob sent thrills of tingling pleasure through my bulb and caused me to ache for the release of my seed. Again he demonstrated the skill of his cousin, pausing so my lust subsided, and clamping his lips about my shaft below the knob to cut off my impulse to release my seed.

And so this fifteen-year-old boy, a noble and the nephew of one of the highest ranking nobles of the land, the nephew of a former Regent, knelt before me with my cock in his mouth and brought me such intense pleasure I would have cried out my delight were it not for the fear of being discovered with one of such esteemed position. When I at last released my seed I did so with such a force that it was a surprise my seed did not squirt out his ears, and it left me so light-headed I had to grasp his shoulders to maintain my balance. He swallowed all I had to offer, and then sucked the remainder of the marrow from my bone, leaving my balls as drained as he left me.

Eager to give the boy as much pleasure as he had brought me, once we had both recovered, I took the boy in my arms and kissed and caressed him as he had kissed and caressed me, and then licked and sucked his nipples, an experience that was rare for him, most of his partners delighting in having it done to them but few finding pleasure in taking the active role themselves. That is their loss, for seeing a fifteen-year-old boy squirming with delight, his tender teats swollen and red and burning with a pleasure he normally associates with the rim of his knob, and his face beaming with unexpected joy is as much a delight as one's own climax.

I allowed him to fully savour that delight before continuing down to his cock. Now stiff and protruding up in the air, a hand and a finger long, it too was a delight to behold, particularly for another male for only another male can appreciate the ache and the pleasure of that swollen appendage. I at last went down on it, as he had gone down on me, gently sucking on his teenage cock as I slipped my lips down his slender shaft until they were wrapped about the base, my nose buried in his silky, curly hairs, of which he was just as proud as his long, curling forelocks, for it was that black bush that was a true indicator of his manhood.

That, and of course what was about to happen. I knew how highly aroused he already was so I of course clamped my lips about his throbbing cock below the knob as tightly as I could, cutting off his teenage lust. I then proceeded to pleasure him as he had pleasured me, sucking on his stiff, throbbing cock as I slipped my lips up and down his shaft and over his skin-encased knob. It was not that long before he was squirming and gasping with pleasure once again. I could have delayed him a second time but I knew how badly he ached, and so I continued. It was not long before he tensed and grasped my shoulders and seconds later he released his seed. Like most youth it was sweet and copious and I allowed him to fill my mouth, swirling the slime with my tongue and savouring its taste and consistency before swallowing it. When he was finished squirting, I continued to suck on his swollen flesh, draining him of that delicious milk. The look in his eyes and his flushed, downy cheeks gave me as much of a rush as his ejaculation had brought him.

Chapter 36
Cipan-guo: Ninja, Wrestlers, Weavers, and Deputy Shogun

Nico has encounters with a 14 yo ninja and a 16 yo sumo wrestler Sumoto Nagachika, the latter bringing back memories of an early vision he had with the Temne twins of Africa, and the 13 yo son of a weaver. At last he and Xing-fu meet with the legendary Deputy Shogun, Hosokawa Masamoto, much to Nico's confusion. 

Code: M/t

The following night I prepared for bed alone, or so I had thought, but as I began to disrobe, a figure, in a black hood and black robes and black leggings tucked into tall, black, leather boots and wearing a black mask covering the lower half of his face appeared out of the shadows. I immediately reached for my sword, only to find with surprise it was not there. How it had been moved without my notice was impossible.

"Do not be alarmed. I am here to offer you my services." The voice was high pitched, soprano, obviously that of an adolescent.

"I have no need for a prostitute," I replied, "and if I desired one, it would be one of my choosing, not someone who appears uninvited out of the shadows."

"That is not the service I had in mind," he laughed, "though from your night time acrobatics I can see why that would be first in your mind."

"What do you know of my night time activities?"

"I have been hired to watch you since your arrival at Kennin-je. Your nights have kept me very busy." Again, his voice carried a tone of amusement.

"Hired? By whom? And why?"

"That I cannot tell you. I am sworn to secrecy, and if I were to reveal the name of my employers I would not be long in this profession, or this life."

"And what profession would that be?"

"I am a ninja," he replied proudly and with a hint of arrogance. "Let it be sufficient to say the one who hired me has much to lose if he were to lose his position, which is causing him much concern, enough concern so that when he learned of your visit with the Kugyo, he gave me authority to assassinate you if need be should his position be threatened. These are unsettling and unpredictable times. But I think your visit with the royal daifuku is not something he need lose sleep over. He is not exactly an attractive man, and he is much too old for your tastes," he added with a chuckle. "And even if he had need for concern, having seen what you are best at, I think I would like the experience of piercing you with a different tantō first."

He spoke in jest and in abstracts and was clearly educated and cultured for one whom I assumed to still be beardless. That was also confusing for I knew for certainty that one so young did not aspire to the position of the one who did the piercing. I knew however a daifuku was a popular sweet treat and a tantō a small dagger, and I had a good idea what he meant by a different one. Though the term ninja meant nothing to me I sensed also that the sudden and unexpected appearance of one would normally be a concern for most, though I gathered not for me. (1)

"Well," I replied, "if you have been following me, you will know that normally I am the one who does the piercing."

"Which is why I am offering you a change, and a chance to learn," he responded, unfazed.

I was still confused after my failed attempt to teach the samurai Soma Tsuguki but I had to smile at his presumption and confidence and told him it would be an interesting experience.

So I let the boy approach. He was bold and aggressive despite our age difference and he was direct and efficient in his approach. He soon had my clothing removed, and his own, revealing a firm, muscular body clearly hardened by rigorous exercise, and an impressive cock for one so young, the boy having confessed to be only fourteen. His foreplay was purposeful and lacking the finesse and the tenderness one found between lovers, or even by those whose time was paid for, but the abruptness and the business-like manner of his approach was erotic and between it and his attractiveness he soon had me erect. Producing a phial from his pile of clothes, he had me bend over and he lubricated my anus and then his by then stiff member, and slipped his greased fingers one by one up my anus to lubricate my rectum and wipe the lubricant off.

Then with me on my hands and knees, he knelt down behind me and penetrated me, doing so in one smooth movement and with no difficulty. He was rigid and slender and we were both experienced. Feeling this young boy penetrating me was highly arousing, not just the physical penetration but the thought of a boy eight years my junior mounting me and I felt as I had expected to feel the previous day when I had tried to show the samurai Soma Tsuguiki the pleasure to be had being mounted by a boy. He pressed forward until he had me fully penetrated, his coarse, curly hairs pressing against my backside, and then he fucked me the length of his cock, withdrawing until the bulb was stretching my anus and then penetrating me until his hairs were again pressing against my ass. He was experienced, and skilled. He fucked me slowly, taking time to enjoy the pleasure unlike most youth who are in a hurry to ejaculate and achieve that ultimate peak of pleasure.

I enjoyed our congress as much as he did. Being the one penetrated is rare for me but always reminds me of the joy to be had as the passive partner, something important to remember for providing one's partner pleasure is just as important, if not more so, as the pleasure one is experiencing, something I was unable to explain adequately earlier. As he tightened his grip about my hips and began to pump his cock in and out of my ass more rapidly I knew how he was feeling and realizing his eminent ejaculation increased my own arousal. And then he was grunting and snorting and I felt his hot seed spurting deeper up my rectum, penetrating far deeper than his member could, and as he trembled and moaned with pleasure so did I, delighting in the sensation of having my rectum filled with the young boy's slime and in the fact that the fifteen-year-old had reached his climax.

Together the physical pleasure and my erotic thoughts brought me to my peak and as the boy's cock throbbed and spurted up my rectum, my own swollen cock throbbed and began to spurt also, spraying my seed over the mat upon which we were kneeling. The tip of my member burned with the force of the ejection of my seed and the rim of my cock itched with pleasure despite having never been touched.

As we relaxed afterward, he asked about my tattoos, and I asked more about him. He said he and others like him, ninja, were trained specially in the craft of covert warfare, and were hired as spies and assassins. He said the samurai looked down upon them as cowardly because they often required the dark and the element of surprise when they fought, but it was actually the opposite. It took much courage to approach a skilled warrior in the dark and engage him in combat face to face. He said his name was Murakami Yoshitoyo and that he came from a long line descended from a former emperor and consisting of warriors who underwent a rigorous physical training from childhood to prepare them to move quickly and silently, and I asked him if that training included how to mount men.

He laughed and said that was a special part of his training, and that though many boys were taught the way of youth by older ninja, few were taught the active role, which of course I had unfortunately learned earlier on my own. He asked more about my background and knowledge, and when I mentioned that I was also a student of the medicinal art, he said that he too, like most ninja, had been trained in the use of herbs and medicines. That lead to a lengthy discussion in which we shared our experiences and knowledge and he agreed he would show me some specimens available this time of year on the morrow. Our discussion could have continued until morning but another matter of greater interest arose and he mounted me a second time, much to my pleasure and his, and again as he filled me with his teenage slime I sprayed mine on the mat upon which we were kneeling.

We awoke early the next morning despite our mutual lack of sleep, Yoshitoyo eager to show me his other area of expertise, and me eager to learn. And so he took me to where he stored his belongings, trusting me to keep the place secret. After discussing his collection of herbs and obtaining some seeds of those not in season, he said if I ever found myself in need of his services, that of his profession, not those we had engaged in last night he added with a smile though he would be available for that also, he would be honoured to provide them. We bowed with mutual respect and I returned to my abode.

That evening I accompanied Xing-fu to what I was told would be a sumo wrestling match, guests of still another member of the nobility. By this time I had become completely confused by titles and their order of authority but from the greetings by the other guests our host was clearly of importance and power. (2)

We sat around a ring of straw bales embedded in a clay and sand platform and the wrestlers, wearing only a thick belt wrapped about their waists and between their legs marched in and sat around the circle. Several, apparently the favourites, were immensely fat and as they took their places I recalled with a shock a vision I had many months ago while with the mystical and mysterious twins of the Temne from the Lioness mountains, a vision of attempting congress with a man of such size and being sucked up his anus where I curled up like a child in his mother's womb. It was so strange and improbable that I had dismissed it as one of those dreams one has after eating food that had spoiled, or drinking too much wine. These two huge men looked so much like the men I had envisioned, the long top knots, their immense size and rolls of flesh, their belts, and their tawny skin, not as exaggerated as in my vision but similar enough that I recalled the vision. (3)

I recalled the other visions that I had also, all fantastic, all exaggerated, of the group of boys being initiated into manhood whom I later actually encountered in a lodge near the Rio de Infante in the Land of Good People, of the fabulous city where the leader and his council plotted against us which turned out to be Calicut from which we had to flee, of the savages who mutilated the members of boys coming of age, and of the vision of my dead crewmates littering the beach with cracked lips and bleeding lips, which I hoped was as exaggerated as the vision I had of these wrestlers for it was something I had not yet encountered, and hoped I never would. So vivid were those visions and so frightening, and unexplainable, I did not notice most of the wrestling matches and before I knew it the wresters were being presented to us.

One of them, a sixteen-year-old boy by the name of Sumoto Nagachika, made several comments and provocative movements that indicated he was a lover of men, and interested in me. His interest in my past as a warrior, splendidly detailed and exaggerated by my companion, was genuine, and when he offered to teach me some of the basic moves in sumo wrestling, I could not refuse. You could never tell when such knowledge could prove useful or even save one's life, and after my late night visitor I knew that I was being watched and that my life could be in danger. Besides, I had no doubt this wrestling lesson was going to end in a wrestling lesson of a very different nature, and my vision was too absurd not to give Fate a chance.

So I followed the boy to the residence where the sumo wrestlers were living and training, and donning the thick belt they wore, I trained with the boy for a good two hours, him teaching me his moves and me showing him some of the hand-to-hand combat moves I had learned, the two of us working up a sweat. The boy finally asked me if any of the older men I had trained under had ever taught me the techniques of making love, to which I replied that several had, and asked if it was the same for him. He of course said it was, though it was not as common as between a samurai and his apprentice, to which of course I responded that I would learn the ways he had learned and would similarly share my knowledge, as I knew the boy was hoping. No matter what their social class or occupation and no matter which nation I have travelled through, teenage boys, I have found, are all the same, curious, prurient, bold, and eager and innocently obvious when it came to their sexual desires and hopes.

So, already sweat-streaked from our physical exercise, we embraced and caressed and found that despite our differences in backgrounds, experiences, and homelands, when it came to arousing and satisfying another male, we were remarkably similar. Having discarded our mawashi, we stroked each other's member and fondled each other's sweaty balls and inhaled their exotic fragrance. We were soon erect and I mounted the boy, all the while recalling my vision and having to smile and half wishing that he could actually suck all of me into his immense body as he had sucked in my stiff member. It was delightful feeling it submerged in his hot, moist rectum and feeling his flesh pulsating and squeezing it tightly as I commenced to fuck him. I delayed several times but at last released my seed, much to his delight and mine, though I was disappointed not to bring him to an orgasm also.

That disappointment was momentary as we then reversed positions and the boy penetrated me, much to my surprise until I realized that in a few short years he would be of that age where he would be expected to be the penetrator. Again there are some things that are universal and for boys who begin as bottoms ending up as tops is one of them, though I do admit the majority appear to have a preference to remain as bottoms, and he easily penetrated me, and feeling his large, fat member stuffed up my rectum and pumping in and out of my body brought me as much delight as fucking his ass had brought me. He was as skilled in this art as he was in wrestling, and when at last he reached his orgasm and filled my rectum with his seed I was gasping and quivering with pleasure.

Finally, at noon the next day, seventeen days after our arrival, we went to the impressive, palatial residence of the Deputy Shogun, Hosokawa Masamoto, the man Xing-fu had come to see, the man having cut short his mission upon learning of our presence and having returned to the capital only the day before. I had heard much about the man since our arrival, of his bravery and wisdom, of his skill as a warrior and as a military commander and leader of his country, and particularly of his immense power and reputation as a fierce and brutal man, a man you definitely did not wish to cross. I have met with great warriors, powerful kings and formidable leaders of the church, but I admit to being intimidated and more than a little worried about our upcoming meeting. Even with his quiet nature and superb control, I could tell that Xing-fu was apprehensive also. (4)

The armed guard at the door summoned an elderly servant who took our winter coats, a jacket called a jittoku worn only by one who had earned the right and worn over our lined kimonos, and then showed us to a back room where there sat, I at first thought a priest from his kanmuri, a stiff, lacquered black cap with a tubular knob at the back to hold his topknot with two long, flat tails, and a pin in the centre to hold the cap in place, and his simple, coarse, black hemp outer robe. He was a solemn-looking man, thirtyish, with an oval face, thin eyebrows accenting his slanted eyes, a thin, short moustache barely past the corners of his mouth, and a pronounced chin with a short, fuzzy, triangular beard and looked very much like a priest with his sober look. He was sitting cross-legged on a mat before a low table upon which were numerous potted plants and several scattered, individual branches and flowers, which caused me to instead assume this was the head gardener and to wonder why we had been taken to him and if the elderly servant had misunderstood the purpose of our visit and who we had come to see.

He greeted us with a warm smile and motioned for us to sit on the mat beside him. When Xing-fu, who did not seem surprised at all but then who never looked perplexed, expressed his admiration of the flower arrangement the man was working on, he proudly explained the pattern of the various flowers he had arranged and the significance of the pattern and of each flower. "The pine branches signify eternity and endurance and are complimented by the yellow chrysanthemums which symbolize life, which is transitory and brief," he explained, making me wonder if perhaps he was both priest and gardener. I had never heard a bouquet of flowers so described. I also wondered if perhaps we had been taken there to be entertained while the Deputy Shogun prepared to meet us.

"And the chrysanthemum is also the symbol of the royal family, whose members live but short spans, but whose family name spans many generations past and hopefully many more to come," observed Xing-fu, interrupting my musings.

Once again I was witness to the finesse and skill of my companion and his vast store of knowledge. Xing-fu's comment much impressed and delighted the gardener/priest who went on to explain he had chosen a bronze vase as the colour bronze symbolized mother earth and I observed how its plainness and shape complemented the flowers he was arranging, also much to his delight, especially not expecting such an observation by one as young as I. I was sincere, but I was also learning from my companion, though why impress and complement a mere gardener/priest, a servant of the household, perplexed me other than it was the proper thing to do when a man deserved praise for his skill and knowledge regardless of his rank and position.

He observed that his potted plants gave the kami, the spirits, space to live, especially in the drab winter months, and that he was careful not to disturb the plants when he selected blossoms so as not to disturb the kami. When I commented on the beauty of his arrangement, he beamed with pride and observed that the art of flower arrangement was excellent training for a warrior, and that it calmed the mind for clear thinking and decision-making. Xing-fu observed that in that case he was going to have the advantage in their upcoming negotiations, and the gardener laughed and said that was his purpose.

With that he summoned another servant of the household who lead us to another room where we were to have tea with our host. As we followed the man I pondered Xing-fu's comment, which made no sense to me, and wondered what I had missed. I then recalled that he had told me the Buddhist monks were used by the daimyo to negotiate tribute and I wondered if perhaps we were going to meet with this mild-mannered gardener/priest instead of the Deputy Shogun after all. I was relieved with that thought, having been filled with trepidation over our meeting, but also a bit disappointed for having heard about this renown warrior we were to have an audience with, I had been eager if somewhat apprehensive to meet him.

Entering a waiting room in which was hanging in an alcove an elaborate scroll, we put on fresh stockings (tabi) which had a pocket for the large toe and a second pocket for the rest so they could be worn with thong sandals, which were also provided for us, and we were served hot tea made from kelp by one of the servants. We were then escorted to a simple garden of moss and pines. There we were met by the head gardener again, who had removed his simple hemp smock and was wearing a plain but very expensive-looking, lined, black, silk kimono. We exchanged bows and he inquired as to our comfort and then slipped away as we purified ourselves, washing our hands and rinsing our mouths in a stone basin, and then entered the tea room through a low door which Xing-fu closed loudly to announce our arrival to our host.

We examined the tea equipment set out in the room and then knelt on the mats set out for us before beautiful lacquered tables, each with an elaborately painted serving tray. Once again the head gardener/priest appeared and sat before us and Xing-fu commented on the elaborate printing on the scroll in the other room and the gardener/priest explained that it referred to the first tribute and the harmony and respect between their two nations and the hope for tranquillity with my country, harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity being the four key principles of the Way of the Tea. His comments supported my earlier assumption that this was the man we were going to do business with, and though not with whom I had expected, still a worthy individual.

Our host lit the charcoal in the fireplace in the centre of the room between himself and us and began heating water for our tea as servants, three preadolescent boys, served our meal, ichijū sansei, one soup, three side dishes, each boy assigned to one of us. The portions were small and served in a precise order and position in expensive, decorative bowls and garnished with edible flowers and leaves. Xing-fu observed later that the aesthetic experience of seeing the food was even more important than the physical experience of eating it. That I found was very true. Both were unique experiences for me and I had to smile as I thought of the expression that would be on Mother's face the day we sat down for our noonday meal and I described the experience upon my return, perhaps even serve such a meal to her, and for a moment I felt a pang of longing.

The soup was made of sardines, kelp, a white fish I was unfamiliar with but common in these waters, mushrooms, and a paste made from fermented soybeans. The three sides consisted of a bowl of raw fish (sashimi), a bowl of grilled fish of a different sort (yakimono), and simmered vegetables or nimono (bamboo shoots, lotus and burdock root and mushrooms in a soy sauce) served with rice. There followed a clear soup to clear our palates before exchanging sake, served everywhere we went but this version sharper and stronger than any I have yet tasted, a tray of tidbits (hassun) including pickled clam, wedges of duck, that white fish cut in chunks and raw, and shoots in soy sauce, which we helped ourselves to with more sake, a pitcher of yutō (hot water in which was soaking slightly browned rice), and pickles (Kō no mono). The meal concluded with small sticky sweet dumplings of rice flour on a skewer.

With many complements on the meal, we retired once more to the waiting room until summoned by the sound of a gong. Purifying ourselves once again, we returned to the tea room. The room had been swept clean and the scroll replaced by a tall, simple vase with a simple flower arrangement of a single blossom and a willow branch and the equipment for preparing and serving our tea had been laid out on a low table. No longer to my surprise, the gardener/priest returned and we examined the new items in the room, again with many complements, and sat back as our host ritually cleaned the tea bowl, whisk, and tea scoop in a precise order and flourish and replaced back in exact order and prepared a thick tea obviously made from choice leaves from its rich flavour.

Bowing to Xing-fu, who returned the bow, he handed the bowl to him and Xing-fu in turn bowed to me and then raising the bowl to the gardener, turned the bowl so he did not drink from the front and took a sip. Remarking on the excellence of the tea, he took several more sips, cleaned the rim with a cloth provided, and passed it on to me. Following his lead, I did as he had done. Returning the bowl to our host, who also took several sips, we both admired the bowl, which was exquisite, and the gardener cleaned it and the rest of the equipment and left again.

Confused and growing weary, at least three hours having passed without the slightest attempt to discuss business, I was about to ask what was going on when the gardener/priest returned, carrying pillows for our comfort. He rekindled the fire and prepared a thin tea in individual bowls for each of us, served with a tray of confections, dry discs made from rice flour, the size of coins but much thicker and of various shapes and stamped with intricate designs, each shape with a different flavour, cinnamon, ginger, or citron. As we drank and ate we engaged in casual conversation, the weather, our stay so far, our impressions of what we had seen during our wait, and concluding with great apologies by our host for being absent upon our arrival but observing that during these uncertain times one had to ensure law and order was maintained, and that he had hastened to return the moment he had learned of our arrival. This he said with a broad smile and I slowly realized with great astonishment that we were speaking not to the Deputy Shogun's representative but to the man himself and I felt exceedingly foolish, and fortunate that I had done nothing to offend him!

A great admirer of the former Shogun Yashimasa, our host described how the man had invited artists, poets and court nobles to his villa and had encouraged the development of their arts, and was a great collector of Chinese ceramics, lacquerware, paintings and calligraphy. It was clear that our host wished to emulate him, and from what I had seen, was succeeding very well. I was reminded of Lorenzo di' Medici who had died over seven and a half years ago now and the artisans he had collected about him along with their work. I described the man and his garden and the banquets he hosted for the artisans of his country. Our host was most interested in the man and saddened to learn of his passing, and desirous to see the work of this man's country and of mine, hinting of a prosperous trade agreement in art work.

As our host began to clean the utensils, Xing-fu asked that we might examine them more closely. We were given brocaded cloth to handle them for they were very old and clearly priceless. When we were done, our host bowed deeply and we returned the bow just as respectfully and left. We had spent the entire afternoon and though it did not seem that we had done much business, Xing-fu was much pleased with the day and observed that I had best get a good night's sleep for tomorrow would be a demanding day. He had never commented on my leisure activities but he was too astute not to be aware of them and I wondered what prompted him to make the observation now. I did as he advised, and drifted off thinking of Uncle Paolo, who would have turned fifty-seven on this day and would have been amazed by my day's activities, and to a most pleasant sleep with thoughts of flower arranging and afternoon teas. (5)

I found out early the next morning when we returned to the estate of the Deputy Shogun. He was a sharp negotiator and well-informed. He knew who had made contacts with us and what they had offered and found the competition for our business amusing, and beneficial for his own negotiation with us. We spent the morning with him and arranged to meet again the following morning. Xing-fu left with a firm commitment of tribute goods and an agreement what other trade items would accompany the trade goods, and I established an exchange that I was satisfied would greatly please both King Manuel and Pope Alexander, and my family, an exchange I knew from our discussion and what was said yesterday and today was in part because he was aware of and respected my own version of wakashudō as I was aware of and respected his preferences when it came to a partner.

Having concluded the business he had come for, Xing-fu announced that he would be concluding his business tomorrow and we would be leaving first thing in the morning after. I was surprised so soon after our meeting and so abruptly but it was mainly, I soon discovered, to avoid the visits we would otherwise be receiving upon the discovery we had made final agreements with the Deputy by those who would capitalize on those arrangements.

Having the remainder of the day on my own, I returned to the market for one last look. I stopped by a stall attracted by colourful and unusual kimonos and I thought immediately, and with nostalgia, of Ferdazi and his obsession for new and expensive clothing. While examining the robes and trying to decide how I could transport such beautiful but fragile garments back home, I noticed two small, misshapen statues, and when I asked about them, was told one was Take-ha-dzuchi, the spirit guardian of weavers, and the other was an ujigami, a spirit that protected the shop.

I also had cause to admire the shop keeper's young boy, and was jokingly told he was not a spirit. The weaver was a believer of Shinto, the old religion of the country before Buddhism. The emperor was also a member of the faith and was considered divine himself, and I recalled the Deputy Shogun followed a religion that included elements of Shintoism. (6)

I finally decided on purchasing three bolts of cloth, one called nishijin made from threads of raw and scoured silk of different colours, the second a shimmering fabric called nerinuki, and the third of dark blue silk that I planned on having made into kimonos for Father, Uncle, and myself. The master weaver thanked me for my business, which I hoped would be the beginning of a profitable relationship for both of us, and he told his son to help me take my purchases back to my residence.

The boy, thirteen, hefted one of the bolts while I shouldered the other two and we set off for my room in the lodging in Heian-kyo where Xing-fu and I had taken up residence. It was one of those pleasant winter days when there was no wind and the sun beamed down warmly from the clear blue skies which reminded me of winter at home. We sat in the rock garden of the inn and admired it in silence and then talked. I asked him more about his life as a weaver's son, which he was very proud of and surprised I was interested, and of course he wanted to know all about my life as an envoy and the land I came from.

I inquired about his religion and his gods, and he asked about mine, and I took great pains to explain how there was only one true god who had begotten his only son to save us. Explaining the concept of the immaculate birth and the Holy Spirit was difficult considering our differences in culture, but was something he was much more open to believing than I found many boys of his age in my own land, the result of his acceptance of the early generations of all male kami I suspect.

He pointed to the row of black pine bonsai growing in the shade in a border of thorny shrubs with a mass of leafless tangled branches he called a quince and observed how they formed an ideal hiding place for wintering birds, and for kami. Indeed, flitting from tree to tree were the familiar great tit and beautiful waxwings. As I watched, occasional shadows appeared and disappeared in the under bush, bumping into each other, there for a moment and then gone.

"There," he said with an impish smile and a whisper, "did you see those two kami tōchō?" When I looked at him curiously, he formed a circle with his thumb and first finger with one hand and then thrust his pointer finger of the other hand in the hole in the universal sign, and then patted his backside with a grin.

"Buggering," I said, and he repeated the word. Just hearing the thirteen-year-old boy saying it caused a stir in my kimono, and the little bugger noticed it and smiled impishly as he repeated it.

It was only two shadows bumping into each other, two twisted thorny twigs–or two horny kami? "The spirits of your world do not do such a thing, your God and his son?" he asked innocently. The blasphemy would have Father Francisco's ears burning and I had to smile at the thought of a conversation between the two. I was not a very good missionary. That led to a further discussion about Christianity and Shintoism and their comparative beliefs regarding congress between those of the same sex, and particularly between a man and a boy. He found the prohibition of such congress incomprehensible, and I found their acceptance erotic. Again Shintoism won over Christianity hands down as it were. I could only tell the Holy Father that I had tried my best. The boy snuggled closer and soon had his hot little hand inside my kimono.

"Perhaps we should go inside, where it will be more private, and warmer."

"The kami will not mind watching, and we can soon warm things up," he replied, wrapping his fingers about my limp but swelling penis.

"Most certainly," I replied, "but it would be more comfortable. And the chef makes delicious daifuku and takoyaki."

A huge grin curled his lips and his narrow eyes widened as he quickly got to his feet. So we retired to my room and promptly disrobed and I suspected his eagerness had as much to do with my promised sweet treat as it did to our upcoming congress. He of course, like all boys, was most curious about my tattoos and my lack of a foreskin, and when I explained the covenant between God and Abraham it forever severed, if you pardon the word, any possibility of the boy's conversion to Christianity, and besides, he confused the covenant with also a requirement regarding the tattoos and the piercing of my member which had caused him to shudder with the imagined pain.

As we began to caress and fondle each other, and as I introduced Mino to kissing, something he was aware of but as a rule did not engage in, we both forgot all about covenants and piercings. My member quickly became stiff with the precocious, attractive youngster eagerly and innocently stroking and nibbling my penis and delightfully smelling my sweaty balls. The sight of his slender member swelling until it was as long and thick as my middle finger and the sight of his little sack and short, curly hairs hastened my own erection. By the time he bent over and offered me his backside we were both eager to unite.

I lubricated my member and his anus, and as he assumed the universal position on his elbows and knees, I knelt behind him, pulled apart his smooth ass cheeks, and placed the tip of my penis against his greased opening. He was experienced, having engaged in this sport with friends and with men who appreciated his charms, though, he admitted with some apprehension and a smile, not with a man with a shuttle as long and thick as mine. I have heard many euphemisms for the male member, but never that one, and I smiled at the reference. I assured him I would be gentle, and I was, for it is never my intention to bring pain to my young partners. So, I entered him slowly and carefully, and paused once I had sunk my shuttle in as deep as I could so he would become accustomed to being stuffed with something so large.

And then I fucked him slowly, and he gripped and released my throbbing cock as it pumped in and out of him, his hot, moist, flesh throbbing delightfully as it gripped my cock and then released it. Of course I paused to prolong our pleasure, a technique he was aware of and during which he lay still before we continued, until neither of us could wait any longer and I filled his rectum with my seed after our third pause.

We relaxed, and then, to his delight, I lay on my back and let him mount me, an experience and a position he was familiar with but which he experienced rarely, most men desiring only his backside, a great waste and mistake in my opinion, and the predominant opinion being that such a position was reserved only for copulation between men and women, though, he claimed, many were of the opinion that the kanji did not care which position they assumed, face to face or from behind, for both brought pleasure.

Whether the boy was quoting something he had heard adults say, or if he was taking advantage of a stranger and justifying his thirteen-year-old lust I did not know, and did not question. The novelty of being the top brings a special joy to a boy, a joy that is a delight to participate in, and as I have said frequently, a joy to observe in the sparkle of his eyes and the flush of his cheeks when fucking face to face. Despite the novelty and the boy's eagerness, he fucked me slowly, as I had done him, and paused so both of us could enjoy the pleasure.

In time he speeded up and was spurting his fresh, young seed up my rectum, and I quivered and sighed with as much pleasure at being filled as he had releasing his seed. Sharing in that experience that was still novel and mysterious for one so young is a joy that cannot be adequately described by even the most literate of men. When he was done, he lay on his back, his thin, smooth chest heaving with his exertion and streaked with sweat, his cheeks flushed and a huge smile of contentment on his face.

As I had promised, I rewarded him with a treat. He chose the takoyaki, a fruity, tangy treat, the batter filled with octopus, pickled ginger and green onion and covered with bonito flakes, thin flakes of dried, smoked tuna. We both consumed half a dozen of the treats, with as much joy and eagerness as we had congress. Afterward, we returned to my room for a repeat performance, this time with him on his back and me on top, and then with me on my elbows and knees and him kneeling behind me in the more traditional pose. We celebrated, this time with a plate of sweet, red bean filled daifuku. When at last the weaver's young son left it was still dark but I knew the sky would soon be lightening with the rising sun and I would be leaving this delightful isle of boy lovers in only another day.

To Be Continued