Pueros

The Lycian Prince

Chapters 51-60

Chapter 51
Rape

Anthonius proceeded carefully along the quiet dark streets of Rome, naked and hands tied behind his back. His beautiful body displayed its full ornamentation, the Ganymede medallion, the gold nipple and cock rings, the eagles branded round his tits, just above his genitals, on his upper front thighs, in the side hollows of his buttocks, as well as squarely in the middle of each bumcheeck and on his upper arms, hands and feet. A small circle of branded intertwined snakes surrounded his navel, a memento from his African adventure. Streaks of drying semen decorated the boy’s chin and inside legs. The delicious spectacle was completed by the sight of his erect cock pointing his direction. The lad was scared but also strangely excited by his predicament. There would still be people about at this early hour, because the city never went completely to sleep, and more would soon spill into the thoroughfares with the imminent arrival of dawn.

Anthonius hoped that he would both remember the route back to the brothel and avoid being observed on the way. If anyone did see him, the boy trusted that they would just laugh at him but he was afraid that some might take liberties. His fear was to be substantiated for, as he came round an alleyway corner, suddenly in front were two soldiers, one with a drawn sword in his hand and the other carrying a flaming torch. They had been looking for a reported burglar but decided to abandon the search temporarily because the surprised nude Anthonius was just too late in jumping into the shadows of a doorway. The soldiers approached the lad.

"What have we got here?" the ugly bearded and smelly swordsman asked, surveying the lovely scene. "Just returning to the ‘House of Ganymede, sir," answered a tremulous Anthonius, "after visiting a client." The man, lifting the point of his sword so that it was level with the boy's throat, responded "A high class, well-decorated and conveniently packaged boy whore, eh. I was hoping to enjoy a cheaper one of your kind at another much less posh establishment later. Do you give free samples, whore?" The sword tip was now pressed against the lad’s thyroid as his body was forced against the door behind.

Anthonius, voice quaking, managed to respond "Not usually, sir!" The soldier’s mouth started to ooze lustful spittle. "You’re a nice juicy little animal," the man declared, whilst examining the dried sperm on the boy’s chin and legs and viewing the lad’s hard penis, "who’s already obviously enjoyed a lot of cock tonight but seems desperate for more. Turn round!" His chosen victim reluctantly obliged.

"That bum’s crying out for a another good fucking!" the soldier crudely announced, whilst feeling the fine orbs with his free hand. Anthonius’ penis started to drool precum and rise to the vertical. "You’ll give me a free taste, won’t you whore?" The man, reaching round to fondle the boy’s damp erection, added "In fact, I think you’re desperate to give me a free treat, aren’t you whore?" The lad did not answer until he felt the sword tip press against his sphincter after the hand had been withdrawn and the last question was repeated.

"Yes, sir," Anthonius was obliged to say. The boy now felt his rope bondage being severed by the sword before being ordered "Then brace yourself against the door, splay your legs and push your bum out. Of course mine won’t be the first cock you've had inside you but it may be one of the biggest!" As the lad began to assume the required degrading position, he peeked around and his horrified eyes saw the soldier pass the sword to his companion before dropping his loincloth and pulling back the front of his tunic to reveal a truly massive penis.

The soldier spat on his hand and rubbed saliva over his erection, whilst asking his colleague "Do you want a go after me?" "You can have sole use of the whore," the second man replied, "I prefer them without cocks and balls between their legs. Just get on with it as we don't want the centurion catching you having fun when on duty!" "Well there's no accounting for taste," the rapist answered sarcastically, "though I think you’re fussy for this one’s got so little between his legs that you can hardly tell what he is." The man laughed at his own joke before returning his attention to his humiliated and terrified victim, commanding "Now, whore, get your legs wide apart, bum fully out and brace yourself as I've told you once already!" The man reinforced this order with an open handed hard clout across Anthonius' raw rump, causing the boy to yelp with pain.

Anthonius knew there was no escape. He had to submit if he was to survive for he was sure that the soldiers would have no compunction in running him through with the weapon, thinking up their reasons later if anyone noticed. Obediently he splayed his legs, bent forward, rested his hands palm down against the door and pushed his bottom up, offering it to the soldier. The man licked his index finger, ran it down the cleft of the boy's bum and then jabbed it hard into him. The lad gasped as more pain hit him.

The finger was withdrawn and Anthonius soon felt the head of the soldier's huge cock pressing against the remarkably tight lips of his young anus. The man dug his thumbs into the raw flesh of the boy's buttocks before viciously prizing the lad open as the penis forced a passage past the sphincter. The rapist grasped Anthonius’ hips, pulling him back as he thrust forward and burying his throbbing cock to it's hilt. The boy’s shrill screams echoed down the alleyway. The lad had been sodomised many times before but never quite as cruelly.

This, Anthonius thought, as the pain tore through him, is how a slave is truly, using the soldier’s plebeian terminology, fucked. The man withdrew and then drove forward again and the former Prince could feel the rapist’s coarse dirty pubic hair rubbing against his smooth buttocks. Impaled on the soldier’s pulsating cock, it seemed to the lad as though his whole body was being split open from his rectum upwards.

As the action proceeded, several parties of late revellers, men and women, staggered past, all pausing to take in the sight of a young boy being malevolently sodomised by a member of the Roman garrison. Without exception, they presumed that the lad had not succumbed voluntarily but no-one gave any consideration to intervening. It was simply too dangerous to question the actions of soldiers and anyway the youngster probably deserved his fate for being out alone on the streets at such a time. Most therefore just laughed, whilst watching a bit of the spectacle before moving on.

The soldier suddenly thrust forward with such force that he lifted Anthonius’ feet from the ground, ramming him head first against the door. The heads of some people, wakened by the racket, appeared at a few of the windows above and opposite but all, like the passers-by, simply took a glance at proceedings before returning to their original activities.

Anthonius eventually felt the soldier come deep inside him, the man holding the boy firmly in place as he completed his orgasm. When the soldier finally let go, the lad tumbled to the floor at his rapist’s feet. The quietly sobbing Anthonius, semen oozing again out of his ravaged hole, was left in peace momentarily before kicks thudded into his ribcage. "Get up whore," the soldier shouted, "your job’s only half done. Lick your filth off me, you lump of dog turd!"

The soldier seized Anthonius by his hair and hauled him up onto his knees. The boy could see the man's obnoxious cock, covered with blood and cum, hanging limply just in front of his face. Automatically, the revolted lad pulled backwards. "Oh, too high class a whore to do your duty by the men of the garrison of Rome are you slut?" the rapist teased before addressing his companion, "Just let the little gentleman feel the point of my sword would you." As he complied, the smirking colleague advised "The whore came himself when you were having him. His belly and chest, and the doorway, are covered with his sperm, which is also still dribbling from his prick." After checking for himself, the rapist declared "You really have found your true vocation, haven’t you whore?"

Anthonius hoped to escape answering but the second soldier pressed the sword tip more firmly into his back, causing some blood to erupt from the skin. The boy therefore replied hesitatingly "Yes, sir, I’m a truly sluttish whore!" Further pressure on the sword hurried the lad into bending forward to lick and suck the filth from the rapist’s odorous limp member.

After a while, the soldier grabbed hold of Anthonius’ hair again and, pulling the boy’s head back, announced "That's clean enough, whore" before driving his knee into the lad's face. Anthonius shrieked and fell backwards, covering his face with open hands and blood squirted out between his fingers. "Come on, you've had your fun," the rapist’s companion finally suggested, "and there’s a thief to try to catch before I go to find some nice young female cunt. Redress and take your sword!"

"Still think you’re too fussy," his friend replied before they moved off together, "the boy whore’s tight pussy was better than any girl’s!"

Chapter 52
Destiny

Anthonius lay traumatised in the dirty alleyway as the sun finally emerged over the horizon. His delay was to cause the former Prince more trouble as six street urchins, dressed in filthy rags, surrounded him. They were all boys, aged from about 8 to 15. The oldest prodded Anthonius' back with his bare foot. "What are you doing lying naked in the gutter?" he asked, not unreasonably. Anthonius had just managed to stem the blood running from his nose and answered truthfully "I've just been kneed in the face by a soldier but only after he raped me."

The 15 years old walked round the nude 14 years old, noticing the various bodily adornments, including the semen stains. "What do all these brandmarks mean?" he queried. Anthonius paused before replying and received a heavier kick on the leg for his delay. "They're mainly Imperial eagles, indicating that I belong to the Emperor," he was thereby encouraged to reply. The inquisition continued with "So, what's Imperial property doing in this part of the city?" The response from the shamed and blushing Anthonius was "I've been lent to a boy brothel for two months and I was on my way back there after visiting a customer at his villa."

"So you're a boy tart," announced the gang leader with a smirk, "that explains the dried cum. Get up!" Anthonius complied whilst the urchins gathered in a closer circle around him, their smell causing the former Prince to wince. The 15 years old fondled the 14 years old's jewellery, causing the latter's flaccid cock to twitch and begin to grow when his genital-encircling ring was felt. "Very nice prick" commented the leader, still smirking, "but the ring's even nicer and more valuable to us. I think that you can let us have it, along with the other two and your medallion!"

Anthonius immediately tried to make a break for it but his move had been anticipated and he was restrained by several members of the gang. They dragged the struggling Prince down a number of alleys, beginning to fill with people. However, the waking populace were completely disinterested, particularly at this early hour of the morning, in the antics of a group of disgusting urchins, even if the pretty cleaner naked one, partly hidden from view amidst the small agitated throng and who appeared to be the centre of attention, seemed very different from the others.

The six boys and their young captive eventually arrived at the steep bank of the River Tiber. Anthonius, having been punched in the stomach several times to quieten him, was led down to the muddy foreshore and along to a wide dank smelly cave in the side of the embankment. His escorts released him about 10 paces inside where the rays from the rising sun still permitted decent illumination. "Now take off your jewellery," ordered the leader, "or we'll do it for you!"

"But the rings are impossible to remove without tearing my skin," replied Anthonius. However, the unsympathetic response from the 15 years old was "So what? Do you want to rip it or do you want us to do it?" The former Prince glanced down his nude body at the nipple and cock rings before, with tears in his eyes, looking again at the gang leader and pleading "Please, I beg you, can't you find something to cut them off with?"

There was something about the vision of the desperate vulnerable naked 14 years old now presented before the 15 years old that caused the latter to relent. "Alright," he said, "but there'll be a price for our trouble." "I'll do anything in return," declared Anthonius. "Well," continued the gang leader, "none of us have been or are ever likely again to be serviced by a high class tart like you. I think that you can reward us for our pity by providing us the opportunity of a lifetime!" After a brief pause, the boy prostitute responded quietly "I said that I'd do anything and I always keep my promises!" "So do I," advised the leader, a broad smile invading his grimy face, before issuing an order to the two youngest gang members, who left the cave to obtain the requisite tool.

"Sit down," invited the 15 years old, "they shouldn't be too long." However, the 14 years old replied "I'd sooner wash some of this blood and muck off me. If you want to be serviced by a high class whore, I should at least attempt to look the part!" The grinning gang leader issued another order and another boy left the cave, returning with a half-broken pot containing liquid extracted from the river. Anthonius was lucky for once for the Tiber at this point was upriver from where it became Rome's main sewer and he could therefore proceed to wash his face and body free of blood, semen and other dirt in pure clear cool water. By the time that he had finished, the two youngest gang members had returned with some pliers, stolen from a local blacksmith.

The subsequent removal of Anthonius' rings was carefully undertaken by the leader, but it still induced considerable pain, especially when the cock ornament was extracted from under the skin of his upper scrotum. The former Prince tried to show bravery in front of the gang but could not prevent himself from audibly wincing during the operation. A couple of tears also ran down his gorgeous face. However, the boy did not begrudge the urchins the rings. He had never liked them, although he was sure that they would be painfully replaced, and the poor lads would clearly benefit, if only temporarily, from the money that the gold would bring.

The rings and the much less valuable medallion, made of baser metal, were eventually in the 15 years old's hands and would soon be sold on the black market for melting down, the urchins receiving a pittance of their true worth for their efforts and their captive's suffering. It was now time for the latter, penis embarrassingly re-hardened whilst the cockring was being removed, to deliver his side of the bargain.

"What do you want me to do?" asked the blushing boy prostitute. "You can suck them off," the gang leader answered, "I don't think that it's the right time or place for them to learn to fuck!" The 15 years old encouraged the youngest gang member forward and the 14 years old knelt in front of the 8 years old who eagerly raised his flea-infested, hole-ridden filthy tunic revealing, as he wore no under-garments, an equally dirty small erection. Anthonius, whose body had broken out in goosepimples as his knees experienced the chill from the damp cave floor, leant his head forward and encased the tiny mucky cock with his lips. He began to entertain the hard member as if it belonged to the Emperor for, like the jewellery, he now did not begrudge the lads their enjoyment, their lives certainly permitting little pleasure. It did not take too long to induce the 8 years old to his delicious dry orgasm nor the four boys who followed, although those of the last three were far from dry.

"Right, you can go!" the gang leader told the boy prostitute, down whose chin some semen again dripped. "What about you?" queried Anthonius, his mouth tasting a strange mixture of cum and dirt. "It doesn't matter about me. I'm happy that the others were looked after and you're bound to be in enough trouble having lost your jewellery without us adding to it by making you arrive back late at your brothel." The naked 14 years old, cock now vertical and drooling precum, stood up and walked towards the 15 years old before kneeling again in front the older lad.

"I keep my promises," Anthonius said, lifting up the front of the gang leader's tunic, although rag would probably be a better word to use to describe the decrepit covering. The 14 years old pulled down the 15 years old's even worse foul loincloth and a large throbbing cock popped into view, the head of which the younger boy kissed causing his surprised elder to shiver in delight and succumb to the subsequent exquisite attentions. The former Prince used all of his now considerable experience and expertise to give the filthy urchin the most wonderful time of his life, skilfully bringing the lad back from the brink several times before permitting him a long wonderful transcendent climax without precedent in his young life.

"Wow," declared the red-faced gang leader, as he slowly recovered from his unparalleled ecstasy, "you really are an expert tart!" Anthonius knew from the tone of voice used that the sentence was genuinely meant to be a compliment not an insult. After pulling his loincloth back up, the smiling 15 years old helped the 14 years old to his feet and ordered one of the boys to re-offer the pot of water to their captive. "Thanks for that," the leader remarked, "it was marvellous but I think that you'd better clean your chin before you go."

After Anthonius had obeyed and was just about to leave the cave, the gang leader said "I don't know your name." The former Prince told him. "I'm Cratinus. Take care, Anthonius. I'm sorry for what we've done but I have to look after the others!" "I understand," advised the naked 14 years old, surveying the bedraggled sextet with sympathetic sadness, "and I didn't really mind. You all take care too!" He sighed at the pitiful sight of his erstwhile captors, waved and ran off down the river foreshore. As he climbed up the embankment to a thoroughfare that he thought might lead towards his destination, he determined that, if his gods ever afforded him the opportunity, he would devote his life to looking after such destitute waifs. Alas, four of the lads he had just serviced with his mouth would be dead within six months despite Cratinus' best efforts to care for them. Two, including the 8 years old, died from typhus, malnourished bodies quickly succumbing to the disease, whilst two were killed by soldiers who were often ordered to cull the capital city's homeless itinerants.

Fortunately for Anthonius, his sense of direction proved correct, as did his change of tactic in order to reach his destination without further trouble or delay. He decided to use his natural running ability to speed along Rome's streets. The ever-increasing numbers spilling into the thoroughfares along which he passed were given little opportunity to spy the young nude runner with the unusual number of brands and sporting an embarrassing hard-on. The boy's excellent stamina enabled him to maintain a steady fast pace, despite occasionally and agonisingly stepping on sharp stones, until he finally entered the cul-de-sac of the 'House of Ganymede'.

Anthonius reported to the slaves at the front entrance of the brothel, and he was immediately sent to see the mistress in her room, where he had to explain his missing finery. The boy told about his escapade with the urchins, knowing that nothing would be done to try to track them down, for there were simply too many such waifs, and omitting certain events, such as the acts of fellatio and departure in friendship. He also did not bother telling about his rape by the soldier as no-one would care.

The woman was furious because she knew that she would have to replace the gold rings with ones of equal high quality before the whore was returned to the Emperor's palace later that day. She was also irritated that she could not have the slut beaten for his carelessness in allowing himself to be the victim of crime as his body had to be unmarked for his restitution to Imperial service. However, she placated this by having the delighted servant take him to one of the unused private entertainment chambers, where Anthonius was manacled and suspended off the floor before having the severest of clamps applied to his nipples. Apparently reddened tits did not violate the requirement not to mark. Weights were gradually hung from the connecting chain, preventing the agony from dulling, whilst everyone waited for the local goldsmith to fulfil the expensive rush order for replacement rings. The sobbing boy's vertical cock continued to drool precum throughout his torture.

When the new ornamentations arrived, the former Prince was released from his torment and taken to the boy prostitute quarters for one last time. Prodicus was, for this time of day, unusually not present. Anthonius was not informed that the 16 years old was not even on the premises for he had been sold. The 14 years old, nipples scarlet and very sore, was quickly cleansed and groomed under the supervision of the servant, who now took great care as well as pleasure in attaching the new rings. The boy yelped in agony as each was snapped in place under his skin. However, the application of the cockring also had another side effect for the lad convulsed and spurted cum all over the man's face and hair. The servant immediately punched the miscreant young genitals in revenge.

After a groaning and tearful Anthonius had recovered from a different type of convulsion, whilst squirming on the floor grasping his hurting organs, his Imperial boy companion neck jewellery and loincloth, which had been kept for the last two months in the mistress' custody, were restored to his body. The boy was then taken to the woman for a final check of his readiness before being led unceremoniously out of the establishment for the last time.

The cost of the replacement rings had been insignificant compared to the huge profits, even taking into account the enormous initial cost, that Anthonius had brought to the 'House of Ganymede'. The proprietors were sorry to see him go, not that they would ever consider telling the whore that or thank him for his services, and they had reluctantly turned their minds to how they could again boost custom. Later that day, another near-nude boy was paraded around the streets of Rome. The pretty but distressed 13 years old was not a newcomer to the brothel for he had already provided a couple of years of steady loyal service. However, he was about to be sold to another, even more specialised, establishment. The boards that the escorting adult slaves carried, advertising the final entertainment that the lad would provide for his current clients, read 'House Of Ganymede announces……public castration of this young whore tonight……for your delight……All other tastes satisfied……by other lovely fresh boys.'

As the servant escorted Anthonius across Rome to the Imperial palace, the boy, ignoring the frequent ribald comments from passers-by, contemplated his time in the brothel. He knew that he should be enormously relieved and grateful to depart but was not. This was not just because he was sad to leave Prodicus, whom he was almost certainly destined never to see again, or because of his fears for the future. He was ashamed to have to readmit that to himself that, deep-down, he had enjoyed most of the sex, as well as the regular humiliation and pain. He believed that he really belonged in a brothel because he was a true whore, and his reinforced self-realisation was compounded by the restoration of hardness under his skimpy loincloth.

Anthonius shivered when the Imperial palace finally came into view and his thoughts turned to the destiny that the Emperor had lined up for him, which he knew would be very unpleasant. He remembered the young Prince suggesting that his penis should be cut off before he was sent to the Lucanian quarries. The boy was led by the brothel servant up to the front gates of the magnificent complex but they were a little early. The duo therefore had to wait a while before the Nubian eunuch, who had originally been allocated to Armillatus before being reassigned to Anthonius, emerged to collect the former Prince and return him to the Imperial boy companion quarters.

Anthonius was received by his fellows with undisguised contempt as he was escorted through the quarters to Sura's old tiny room. "The whore's back!" and "Enjoy yourself in the brothel?" were amongst the less insulting comments that the boy had to endure before reaching the safety of the room. The eunuch stripped him to check his naked body for any imperfections and was again amazed at the continuing libido, exhibited by his erection, and the tightness of the lad's sphincter and anus despite the multifarious invasions it would have received during the previous two months. The Nubian then re-attired the former Prince in the minuscule black thong, with gold eagle insignia, that he had last worn when in the harem before also re-applying manacles to his hands and feet and leaving. The slave had not uttered a word all the time.

Anthonius, with his thong again shamefully ballooning, lay awkwardly on his side on the small bed as his hands were chained behind him. He tried to rest but worry only allowed fitful sleep. It was several hours before the eunuch returned to take the boy for the usual ablutions, including an enema, and redressing him. The former Prince had never seen a garment like it for an array of thin gold chains dangled from a narrow gold belt fitted around his hips. If Anthonius remained stationary, the garb looked like a very short skirt extending to just below his genitals. However, if he moved, some of the chains would fall away to reveal delights underneath, what was exposed depending on the kind of movement. The boy immediately recognised the garment's highly erotic nature and his softened cock began to rise again. However, this was stopped when the Nubian ran one of the rear chains down the lad's bumcrack and attached a ringlet at the end round the middle of the ill-disciplined member, holding it firmly in a downward position. The front of the golden skirt was not to be distorted outwards by uncontrolled excitement.

The black eunuch finally spoke, telling Anthonius that he was imminently to dance again at a state occasion in the palace's main banquet hall. His skirt was to be his only attire until the Emperor signalled him to remove it so that he could then perform nude in front of the many guests. The Nubian did not explain that the boy was to be the central feature of another entertainment, although he did add menacingly that it was to be the last night that the lad would spend in the palace for the morrow would see him setting off towards his destiny.

Less than an hour later, Anthonius again found himself before the side doors of the palace's main banquet hall awaiting entry for he was the next act. Within, several hundred people, guests and minions, yet again eagerly awaited the boy's arrival to see him dance and discover his fate. The doors opened and a naked boy and girl, both aged 15, came through looking flushed, a natural reaction after just making love in front of such a raucous crowd.

Anthonius was pushed through the doors by his Nubian slave and, as on his previous arrival in the hall, there was immediately a lot of cheering and laughter, the latter now being induced by the delicious sight of various parts of the boy's privates being revealed as he walked across the entertainment platform. The shamed Anthonius reached the front of the dais nearest to the Emperor's couch, seeing the smirking Diocletian for the first time in over two months and noticing that the young Prince was again in attendance. The same big, middle-aged black man, dressed in multi-coloured flowing robes, occupied as last time one of the neighbouring guest of honour positions, with another again accommodating Lysus. Also like last time, there was no Sebastian but to the boy's horror there was someone else present whom he loved, for Queen Irene sat nearby. Both mother and son blushed from head to toe at mutual recognition. However, Anthonius knew better than to hesitate and performed the usual homage by kneeling to kiss the Imperial eagle embossed into the floor. The laughter rose again as this action caused most of the rear chains to fall to the sides to expose most of the boy's bottom to view. As the lad stood again, he felt an intensity of shame that caused him to sway and almost faint.

The music started and somehow Anthonius overcame his acute mortifying shock and embarrassment to begin his erotic and revealing dance. His degradation was increased by the knowledge that his cock, still held in place by the chain and now regularly exposed to public view, was hurting as the gold ring bit into its rapidly expanding form. Tears trickled down the boy's face as he performed, but they were not as copious as those of his mother when she ran from the hall to intensified chortling from all around, particularly from the couches of the host and his entourage.

Anthonius' degradation for the evening was further enhanced when the Imperial signal came for the golden cover to be shed. The boy first had to reach underneath to remove the ring from his penis and this took some awkward and humiliating manoeuvring before success was achieved to yet more laughter as his cockhead immediately popped out from between the front chains. This changed to more cheering as the catch on the gold belt was released and the garment fell to the floor to reveal, in all its glory, the lad's wobbling erection, with a nice long string of precum dangling downwards.

Anthonius' dance finished as usual with a well-executed back somersault that left him standing back in front of the embossed eagle, both hands in the air and legs on the floor wide apart, cock throbbing wildly. The thoroughly abashed boy lowered his arms, placed his legs together and knelt to pay homage in front of his Imperial master again before regaining his feet.

Casperius stood up from his couch close to the Emperor and announced "As you know, this is Anthonius, former Lycian Prince but now treacherous whore, who has spent the last two months plying his skills in a city brothel. I shall shortly announce, on behalf of His Imperial Majesty, what has been decided should be the traitor's destiny. However, we shall now give everyone, including the whore, a clue!" With these words, the hall's side doors were reopened and the bondage frame, to which Anthonius had been chained to receive his first brands during his initiation as an Imperial boy companion, was brought in, in pieces, by several slaves before being fixed in place at the centre of the dais. The slaves then collected the terrified boy and chained him spreadeagled to the frame, facing the Emperor.

The chains rattled when the black man with the biggest cock Anthonius had ever seen, and whose rape of the Syrian twins had caused the boy's early exit from his first palace banquet, also entered through the side door to reinvigorated cheering. It was obvious to everyone who the man's next victim was to be. The African advanced to the front of the dais to bow to the smirking Emperor before taking up position behind the spreadeagled boy, whose anal opening, nicely exposed by his demeaning posture, invited alluringly.

The loudest noise of the night now reverberated around the hall as the man threw off his one garment, a long flowing cloak, to reveal his enormous engorged black phallus. Anthonius begged "No!" repeatedly, even though he knew that his pleading would be fruitless even if it could be heard. Music restarted and a large troupe of pretty thonged boy and girl dancers entered and began to perform around the bondage frame whilst the African pressed his massive damp cockhead against his victim's sphincter. He grabbed the lad by the side of hips and, as he pulled the 14 years old's loins backwards, pushed his own viciously in the other direction. An ear-shattering scream emitted from Anthonius' mouth before he fainted. A slave quickly ran onto the dais to reawaken the boy with cold water for the victim had to enjoy the full sensations of his impalement to the full.

Anthonius' screams were rekindled and tears not only streamed down his face but also his chest, some reaching his cock, now flaccid as a result of the agonising sensations flooding his body. The boy's rectum was too small to accommodate the whole of the black phallus without causing irreparable damage and so the African contented himself with thrusting just over half of his member inside. As a result, it was the girth of the invader as much as the length that tortured the lad.

The thrusting continued remorselessly, to accompanying dancing and cheering, for almost half an hour and whilst the spectators proceeded to consume more food and wine. Anthonius' prostrate for once never came to his rescue and the pain was relentless until eventually the African yelled loudly and vast amounts of hot semen spurted into the boy's devastated innards, much somehow finding its way back out to spill onto the floor. However, the African's orgasm took longer than anyone's the lad had ever known and so it was still a while before the searing agonies began to recede after the phallus was removed. A loud slurp emanated as this was done, followed by a pop as if a vacuum had suddenly been introduced to air. More overflowing sperm emerged.

The devastated and agonised Anthonius was left chained to the frame as the black man put his cloak back on and went to bow again in front of the Emperor before leaving with the dancers. Casperius, grinning in unadulterated happiness, stood again to address the guests. "His Imperial Majesty," he announced, "authorises me to advise what is to become of Anthonius, former Lycian Prince but now treacherous whore." The major domo turned to the big, middle-aged black man, dressed in multi-coloured flowing robes, who had thoroughly enjoyed the recent spectacle, and said "King Ebana of Nubia, His Imperial Majesty wishes to request that the traitor be offered as a penalslave to the god Priapus at his temple in your own capital city!"

The surprised Nubian King, who hardly knew a word of Latin, sat up to look at Diocletian when his interpreter, standing discreetly behind his reclining monarch, whispered the translation in his ear. Ebana replied, via the same man, "Do you realise, Imperial Majesty, that Priapus' penalslaves are all also offered later to the god for genital sacrifice and that the deity hasn't been known to refuse any offerings accused of treachery in living memory? It would mean almost certain nullification for the boy!"

The Emperor did not bother answering. The smiling Casperius replied instead "His Imperial Majesty is conscious of this fact and also that the nullified male remains permanently in the temple afterwards, initially offering his body to Priapus' worshippers so that they might honour the great god before, once he loses all attraction, spending his remaining days as a menial slave. His Imperial Majesty is additionally aware that, during the months leading up to the sacrificial offering of genitalia, the penalslave suffers daily bodily purifications of water, male seed and pain to try to expunge the sins from his body before Priapus decides whether the ministrations have succeeded in expelling his evil which, as you say, has very rarely been the case with traitors. His Imperial Majesty hopes that you will accept this offering to your paramount god and he only asks a small memento in return. His Imperial Majesty thinks that the traitor's penis will be most appropriate. The great Priapus can keep the scrotum and its contents!"

Chapter 53
Priapus

King Ebana was more than happy to accept the young offering to Nubia's paramount god. His was the first visit to Rome by a ruler of his ancient land. The trip had been organised to provide Diocletian with formal fealty in recognition of the Kingdom's status as the Empire's latest client state, despite the fact that the Romans had no real interest in the country. The Nubians had volunteered their own vassalage in the hope of improving trade, needing desperately to supplement the income from their current main export, black slaves including many young nullified eunuchs. As Diocletian once remarked to Caperius in the palace torture chamber, when the major domo was threatening to cut off Sura's cock and remaining scrotum, only the Nubians seemed to have the knack of guaranteeing that victims lived after nullification.

The King and his entourage had used the opportunity of their trip to try to discover and learn the secrets of the Empire's military and mercantile successes and establish better trading contacts, spending two months in and around the capital in so doing. The party also purchased some items to take back but within the constraints of a very limited budget. Nubia had fallen on hard times since the collapse of its main export market, Egypt, into being merely another heavily-taxed province of Rome, an event that had caused prolonged regional economic recession.

The two banquets that Ebana had attended at the beginning and end of his stay in Rome, at which Anthonius had been the star performer, were the formal state welcome and farewell in respect of his visit. Before Anthonius' arrival at the latter, Diocletian, wanting to be generous in return for the favour that he was to request, had presented the Nubian King with several magnificent farewell gifts. They included chests of gold and precious jewels, four superb white horses and twelve young white pretty virgin slavegirls, all paraded on the entertainment dais before the ecstatic monarch.

Ebana, having a surfeit of black concubines at home, was grateful for the white slave girls for variety, especially as he dare not spend any of his small budget on acquiring his own. His subjects would not be too pleased if he had utilised valuable funds to acquire luxuries for himself, and there were dangerous rivals for his throne. No white people currently lived in Nubia and few had been known to visit. The girls would become the kingdom's first white residents. However, the King's immense gratitude in receiving the gifts was at first slightly tempered by the omission of some pretty white slaveboys, who would have represented his preferred sexual tastes. He was therefore even more elated to be presented with Anthonius, who would become the only white male in the distant land.

It did not matter that Anthonius was destined for Priapus as Ebana was the god's archpriest and, as such, he would have plenty of opportunity to enjoy the boy's sweet body both before and after the lad's almost certain nullification. Diocletian had also granted the King a couple of bonuses. Ebana could use Anthonius as he wanted on the voyage home, despite the fact that the former Prince was to remain formally an Imperial boy companion until his anticipated acceptance as a Priapic penalslave, maintenance of such status increasing the honour being afforded to the god. Additionally, on eventual return of the offering's severed penis, the Emperor had promised to despatch a harem of white slaveboys to the King in thanks.

It is only recently that the magnificence of much of ancient black Nubian civilisation is being fully appreciated. It pre-dated that of the Egyptians and continued long after their northern neighbours had succumbed to direct Roman rule. In fact, the Nubians once conquered Egypt and black Pharaohs ruled both realms for about 100 years around the 8th century B.C.. Archaeological research now suggests that the first city in Africa and the first place of dedicated learning in the world were both Nubian. The Nubians built many superb structures, including their own large pyramids, some of which are extant and can be seen in today's northern Sudan. Unfortunately, much has also been lost to archaeological study. In a terrible act of cultural vandalism, many of the main sites of Nubian society, including that of the city for which Anthonius was headed, were lost under the vast deep lake formed by the construction of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s.

Nubia's earlier glories had faded somewhat by the time of Anthonius, exemplified by economic hardship, political instability and the adoption and dark adaptation from Greek culture of the worship of Priapus. This had become the main religion and the temple to the god in the country's capital was huge and sinister. It was in effect a type of roofed amphitheatre, with steep stone terracing, accommodating several thousand worshippers, surrounding a sunken rectangular area where the ceremonies were conducted. Public entrance from outside was to the top of the terracing via stairwells that led to a long wide encircling corridor, from which steps led down into the amphitheatre. The corridor was also lined with kitchens and latrines, serviced by the temple's menialslaves. The cooking facilities existed because it was customary for all worshippers to feast slowly whilst watching the long ceremonials, which were the main source of free public entertainment.

Hidden underneath the terracing and in the cellars were the quarters for the priests and acolytes and the cells for the offerings and slaves, as well as some shrines for minor rituals and several free male brothels, each catering for different tastes. The brothels were divided by age of prostitute and into those for men who enjoyed nullified catamites and those who did not. The Priapic religion of Nubia actually promoted homosexuality as a divine practice and most freemen, even those with several wives and large families, indulged, if only for variety.

The whole temple was windowless, being illuminated by many oil lamps, suspended from the ceilings or attached to the walls, and was decorated, inside and out, with many wall carvings of Priapus' sacred symbol, a huge black phallus. The stone surrounds of the main ceremonial area, plus all of the shrines and the main corridors, were lined with cubby-holes displaying red bowls embossed with the Priapic insignia and containing black genitalia immersed in preservative fluid. Ebana was looking forward to affording a certain white scrotum pride of place amongst the collection.

At one of the short ends of the main ceremonial area was the entrance through which the senior priests, their acolytes and their young charges would enter. Above the entrance was the cushioned royal enclosure. At the other short end stood the altar to the god, the centrepiece of which was a genital guillotine, similar to the one Anthonius had encountered in the obese Arab's fortress. The device had actually been invented locally many centuries before the eponymous Frenchman claimed credit, although its allegedly humane ingenuity was subsequently lost to history. The Arab, who had conducted some trade with the Nubians, had bought his own copy of the contraption from the Priapic Highpriest.

The Kingdom did not encompass all the Nubian race. There were large tracts of territory to the south inhabited by more primitive but fiercely independent tribes. The Nubian Kings had long ago given up their attempts to conquer these peoples, satisfying themselves instead with sending the army on frequent plundering raids to secure, in particular, slaves for both the domestic and foreign markets, the Kingdom's economic lifeblood. A carefully chosen selection of these captives would be temporarily presented to the Priapic Highpriest.

They had to be pretty boys who had not yet developed pubic hair but who could nevertheless produce semen. One, attired only in a minuscule red loincloth emblazoned with the Priapic motif, would, after purification in the sacred Nile, be presented every evening to the main altar for the god to decide whether to accept the offer of genital sacrifice. This was determined, after the conclusion of lengthy preliminary rituals, by requiring the usually quaking offering to pull one of 64 small wooden balls from a red cloth bag, also displaying Priapus' symbol. 32 of these balls would be black and 32 red. Selection of one of the latter would be unfortunate for the boy as he would then find himself hitched naked to the guillotine. His soon-to-be lost genitals would be immovably secured in the chopping hole through which the heavy and exceedingly sharp blade would pass easily without real hindrance, causing the severed organs to fall into a red bowl below. The boy would be permitted one last climax before the ringlet, attached to his cockhead, triggered the catch that released the blade for it would be expertly set to do so only with the expulsion of semen, a technique that, fortunately for Anthonius, the obese Arab had never mastered. The last ever sperm produced by the victims was collected in another red bowl for other ritualistic use. The odds of the draw meant that genital sacrifices occurred on average every other day but excited full houses of appropriately anointed worshippers of all ages and both sexes were always present to observe the outcome. In fact, demand for terrace seats invariably exceeded the number available and a rotation system for the plebeian populace had been established to overcome the problem in a fair way. Royalty and nobles had the ancient equivalent of season tickets. Ebana was already wondering whether he could get away with auctioning seats when it was time for Anthonius to appear before the altar, as he believed that interest would be overwhelming.

The required sacrificial orgasm would be induced by attaching a similar small bag of excited bees to the boys' cocks, as experienced by Anthonius in the young Prince's quarters, the victims having previously been subjected to enforced chastity and strong aphrodisiacs. Niachiarus had recommended the crude but effective vibrator to Diocletian's son as an aid in Anthonius' humiliation. He was aware of the devise because, like all nullified Nubians of the time, he had suffered his emasculation in this temple at this very guillotine, which was encrusted with dry blood as it had been responsible for nullifying thousands of victims and the external wooden surface was never cleaned, although the blade and triggering system were serviced daily. The Priapic priests had uniquely become experts at ensuring that the valuable new eunuchs lived afterwards so that they could be sold on as slaves, mainly abroad.

Niachiarus had delighted in proposing to Casperius that the same fate that had befallen him should be encountered by the former Lycian Prince, but with a far worse aftermath by also offering the boy as a Priapic penalslave, and had been ecstatic that his suggestion had been accepted by Diocletian. Priapic penalslaves were not generally captured plunder but were usually citizens of the Kingdom. The boys would commonly meet their sad fate not because of any action on their own part but rather because of that of their fathers. Entire families of criminals, dissidents and rebels were invariably condemned to enslavement and any sons that met the required physical criteria were forwarded to the Priapic Highpriest.

The offerings, kept permanently chaste and of whom there were usually several concurrent, had to face the possibility of drawing a ball from the cloth bag twice. The first time, always performed the day after an equinox or solstice, was to see whether Priapus considered the boys' evil, instilled in their blood by being the sons of deeply sinful fathers, was sufficient for them to deserve to spend the rest of their lives in penal servitude in the temple. If the god decided that they were not, the boys would be sent to the city market to be sold as ordinary slaves. However, if the god decided that they were sufficiently full of iniquity, they became new penalslaves who had to undertake an initial period of penitence during which attempts would be made to expunge their sin.

On the god's weekly sacred day, the boys would be purified, in a small shrine in the temple cellars, under a shower of sacred water funnelled from the nearby Nile. They would then, so that their bodies could be infused with good essence provided by virtuous seed, either be sodomised or made to perform fellatio before the main altar, in early days by the priesthood, later by noble laity selected by lot. Finally, again before the altar, they would suffer torture, progressively more severe as the days passed, in an effort to purge some of their corruption through the infliction of pain. These rites before the main altar, which formed part of the preliminary rituals for the day's genital sacrifice offering, were interspersed by dancing from the penalslaves. Temple boy prostitutes danced as part of the sacrificial preliminary rituals on other days.

On the intervening six days between such unpleasantries, the boys would be required to perform penal labours. Sometimes these would be within the temple, such as being part of the team of six slaves allocated to each of the waterwheels that fed the vast complex's elaborate system of running water. Sometimes the unenviable tasks would be outside, in quarries or on public works, the biggest of which was currently the construction of Ebana's huge pyramid tomb.

This weekly routine, which Anthonius was to be the first white boy to experience, would last for three months until the next equinox or solstice. The penalslaves, after purification in the sacred Nile, would then be required to submit to the usual ritualistic requirements in front of the main altar before performing the second draw. This draw was to determine whether Priapus considered that the expulsion of the penalslaves' evil had been completed or whether it had to be expedited through immediate genital sacrifice. If the latter was declared to be the god's will, the earlier rituals would be repeated. However, the infusion of virtuous male seed into the boys' anuses would now be provided by the god's sacred cheetahs, leather guards having to be attached temporarily to the shoulders of the recipients to protect them from the claws of the animals. Nothing would be supplied to defend their rectums from the massive phalluses possessed by the trained eager creatures. The subsequent ritualistic tortures would concentrate on the boys' naked genitalia.

Regardless of the outcome of the second draw, the penalslaves would spend the rest of their lives in the temple, initially acting as whole or nullified catamites in the brothels until they lost their attractiveness. They then became temple menialslaves. Temple slaves, several hundred in number, rarely attempted to escape and none of those who did were known to have succeeded. They, especially the new penalslaves, were very well supervised by the many lesser priests, who were effectively just guards. When not required for rituals or labours, slaves were always kept in chains, locked in tiny gloomy but clean single cells, devoid of any furnishings or facilities, with daily ablutions and consumption of the one meal of gruel taking place in communal areas.

If an attempt to escape was made, the slaves were not difficult to identify amongst the wider population, and not just because of their sparse but unique loincloth attire. The bodies of all new penalslaves were adorned with prominent tattoos, a pleasure awaiting Anthonius' delicious white form. The difficulty in escaping was compounded by the large rewards available to anyone who returned an escaped slave, alive or dead, and the nature of the country. The only viable route out of the Nubian capital was along the Nile for the land all around was arid desert. The fact that returned live slaves had their feet chopped off was usually the clinching factor in convincing them not to try in the first place.

It was now August and Ebana and his entourage would not return to Nubia until well after the autumnal equinox as they were to visit two other locations on the way home. Anthonius, who would pass his 15th birthday in October during the journey, would therefore not make his first draw until the day after the winter solstice in December. The virtually inevitable second draw would be scheduled for the vernal equinox in March. Ebana thought that it was rather ironic that the beautiful white boy would almost certainly be losing his reproductive capacity at a time when nature begins to bloom in celebration of its marvellous cyclical vitality, facilitated by fertility.

The odds that penal offerings were faced with were the same for both ceremonial draws but were much harsher than the 50:50 chance confronting ordinary captives and varied according to their or their fathers' crimes. Culpability for treason presented the worst opportunity to escape either penal servitude or nullification as the bag would contain 63 red balls and only one black one. However, Ebana, the Priapic archpriest, had decided to make a kind exception for the treacherous Anthonius. The black ball would be changed for a white one.

Chapter 54
Departure

As Anthonius lay facedown on his bed to which he had been carried after the banquet, he learnt much about what to expect in Nubia from his now suddenly very talkative Nubian slave, who was trying to repair the 14 years old's ravaged anus. The nullified eunuch was elated that the subject of his recuperative but painful ministrations was not only soon to be one of his own kind but would additionally suffer his terrible destiny in the same place and by the same method as he did. The former Prince would also suffer prolonged and far worse preliminaries and a dire subsequent existence, no better than a living death. The Nubian frequently looked at the boy's flaccid genitals, lying flat on the bed just under where he was applying some salve with his forefinger, and could not stop displaying a broad grin whilst proceeding with his informative but, for the patient, very alarming discourse.

The appalled Anthonius, still suffering agonies from his devastated backside, had heard the ecstatic Casperius announce his awful fate and, despite his natural curiosity, did not really appreciate the eunuch's gleeful factual elaboration. It was therefore not just the pain that the lad suffered as the bloody wound that was his rectum was attended to but also shame of his recent past and fear of the future that caused his sobbing to return. The remainder of the night seemed to pass very slowly for the very lonely and dispirited child, whose shackles had been reapplied to his hands and feet.

The sun had just risen above the horizon when a Praetorian crept into Anthonius' room. The soldier was one of the Christian friends of Sebastian, still very poorly but slowly recovering from his extensive wounds under Queen Irene's expert supervision. He had dangerously smuggled himself into the Imperial boy companion quarters in order to deliver a verbal message from the Queen to her son. After the brave man had left with a lengthy return message, basically expressing Anthonius' love and explaining the reasons why he had to accept his fate, with some requests for help in certain other matters, fulsome tears returned to the boy's eyes.

It would be the final time that Anthonius and Queen Irene would communicate with each other. The last view of his mother that the boy would retain in his mind would be the sad vision of her scurrying tearfully from the banquet of the previous evening. The anguish raised by the thought was always exacerbated by recognition of his mother's last sight of him, dressed before hundreds in just the very revealing golden girdle, nipples adorned with rings and body covered in brands, prostrating himself before Diocletian, simultaneously revealing his nude 14 years old bottom to all.

Anthonius later received the usual ablutions from the Nubian eunuch before being having his loins re-attired in the small black loincloth, with gold eagle, of an Imperial boy companion and his hands re-shackled behind his back. No covering tunic was supplied but instead a leather slave collar was attached to the boy's lovely neck, partly obscuring his throat chain. Anthonius remembered being fitted with a similar adornment when he had been sent, two months earlier, to Rome's main slave market to be sold into temporary prostitution. As then, a chain was attached to a metal ring fixed to the front of the collar and the eunuch led the boy by it out of the quarters that had been the lad's home, on and off, for the last 1½ years to various sarcastic shouts from the other boy companions. "Bye, bye, whore, enjoy life as a eunuch" and "Hope you like enormous black cocks" were amongst the least humiliating.

Anthonius experienced yet another intensely embarrassing walk through the busy palace passageways, compounded by frequent hurrying tugs on the chain by his escort. They eventually emerged in the front courtyard, above which the boy had almost met his end two months previously, to see that two formal parades had gathered. One was the procession of the departing Nubians. This comprised Ebana and his three senior lieutenants mounted on the four white chargers gifted by Diocletian, followed by several horse drawn litters containing the remaining officials of the Nubian party and a carriage with the chests of gold and jewels. The chests were open so that the Emperor's generosity could be seen by all. The white slavegirls were chained in line by their necks to this vehicle. Conveyances, carrying other lesser gifts, were behind them whilst the rearguard consisted of wagons bearing a variety of luggage. The whole ensemble was guarded at the sides and rear by lines of Nubian servants and slaves. The second very similar but bigger pageant was headed by Lysus, returning to Lycia in triumph as the country's new King. Anthonius, heart missing several beats, saw with great sadness that amongst his half-brother's slaves was Prodicus.

The chain attached to the former Lycian Prince's collar was linked to a similar one round the neck of the trailing white slavegirl, about his own age and dressed only in a tiny black thong, in the long Nubian column, positioning the boy about two paces behind her. Even though Anthonius was not normally sexually attracted to girls, he felt his cock twitch under the tight constraints of his loincloth at the sight of her lustrous uncovered bottom.

The Lycian procession moved off first heading for Ostia, the fat Lysus giving a straight-armed salute to Diocletian as he rather awkwardly rode his leading black horse past the palace balcony, where the Emperor and his entourage stood to watch the departures. The Nubians had to wait for a while until their turn to leave arose. Anthonius was conscious, throughout this pause, that the people on the balcony frequently glanced at him, some pointing and chuckling. The faces of Casperius and the young Prince and his friends bore permanent broad grins.

The time to move finally came and the unaware distracted Anthonius' neck was tugged by the slavegirl as she began to walk, causing the boy to stumble. The sight induced raucous laughter from the balcony. Anthonius, as he followed, could not resist glancing at his vindictive tormentors. It was the last time that the boy would ever see Casperius, the young Prince or Diocletian.

Diocletian was actually one of the great Roman Emperors despite his depravities, cruelties and sadism, which were not unusual for the age. He became particularly notorious for his persecution of the Christians, sending many to their deaths in the forum. However, he did bring back stability, order and reform to the Empire after many years of turmoil and many short-lived Emperors. One of the first issues that he tackled on his accession in 285 A.D. was how to control such a vast inheritance and how to pass it on safely to his successors. He resolved this by appointing another subsidiary Emperor and dividing responsibilities. The other Emperor was another hardened general, Maximian, and he was to concentrate on the western half of the Empire whilst Diocletian looked after the east. Both were titled 'Augustus'. Diocletian also decreed that both should rule for a maximum of 20 years and then hand over power to two named 'Caesars', Galerius and Constantius Chlorus respectively, who would become Augusti and in turn nominate two successors. The system was called the 'Tetrachy' and was designed to ensure that the Empire did not return to civil war and anarchy.

One of the main consequences of Diocletian's reforms was a shift in power from Rome itself as Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius and Constantius Chlorus eventually established their headquarters at Nicomedia, Milan, Thessalonika and Trier respectively. The influence of the capital city and its people and Senate soon waned and this process was to be speeded in the years to come.

Diocletian did actually retire after 20 years in 305 A.D.. Maximian was reluctant but was compelled to follow by his still much more powerful fellow Augustus. Diocletian spent his remaining years, until his death in 316 A.D., happily with his boy companions at a magnificent palace he had had built at Spalato in Illyria, now Split in modern-day Croatia. He had planned that his son, the young Prince, would become Caesar to Galerius but the boy died young.

The Tetrachy did not survive Diocletian's retirement. The system had only worked initially because the supreme authority of Diocletian willed it and, when that was gone, there were soon squabbles and strife between those left in power. The former Augustus, reluctantly emerging from his pederastic bliss at Spalato, tried to mediate in 308 A.D., at Carnumtum on the Danube, but to no ultimate avail. A few years later, another man was to emerge from the chaos to become master of the known civilised world, and he was to prove even more influential on history than Diocletian.

This man had never forgotten his brief acquaintance with Anthonius.

Chapter 55
Armillatus

As Anthonius was being degradingly led away from the Imperial palace in Rome towards his sad destiny, Armillatus was setting out from his new home to hunt rabbits with his latest friend, a pretty tanned lad with dark brown hair and matching eyes, one year older than himself. Armillatus' new kind adoptive parents doted on him, especially the mother who sometimes unintentionally embarrassed the lad in front of his peers. She was forever making sure that he was clean and neatly dressed, and that his own lovely brown hair was combed properly, a state difficult to maintain in an energetic 14 years old. On this occasion, she fussed over his welfare, demanding reassurances from his friend that he would make sure that they did not get up to mischief or into danger, causing Armillatus to blush.

Armillatus' new home was a small simple farmstead in a remote part of Hispania, bought by his adoptive father from a retiring relation after he had sold his ship to concentrate on hiding and bringing up his new sweet young son. Armillatus came from noble Roman stock, albeit recently impoverished, and had been accustomed to better accommodation. However, he had never been happier. Armillatus did not miss his widower father, who had been so selfish and uncaring that he had nominated the lad to be an Imperial boy companion. The man had known full well what the role entailed but looked forward to the largesse that would be returned for his son's service as one of the Emperor's catamites. He would thereby be bailed out of the financial difficulties that he had fallen into because of his spendthrift lifestyle, which included much drinking, gambling and womanising. He had taken large loans out on the security of his son's undoubted lucrative future reward for being a favourite Imperial bumboy. However, Armillatus' fall from grace and disappearance had ruined his father's plans and he had himself fled Rome and the moneylenders to spend the rest of his life as an itinerant labourer. His son would have welcomed the outcome if he had known.

Armillatus helped his new parents and their small group of well looked after slaves on the farm when not attending school in the local village, where the common language was Latin. His help was not really needed but his parents appreciated his willingness to assist and eagerness to learn about agriculture and husbandry. However, they also insisted that the boy enjoyed at least one day free to himself every week. This was just such a day.

Armillatus' only problem since his arrival had been encountering the school bully who had recognised the newcomer's nervousness and natural timidity when he had first arrived. Armillatus had allowed himself to be cowed and, as a result, received a lot of teasing torment during the early days before he gave thought to what Anthonius, whom he missed and worried about constantly, would have done in response. It was shortly after he had managed to overcome his deep-rooted fears to learn to swim, under his adoptive father's supervision, that he decided to stand up for himself and punched the bully in the nose. Armillatus received a thrashing in return from the older bigger ugly brute, although he confessed only to a fall when the teacher and his parents questioned him about his bruises.

Armillatus was about to receive a second going-over after another confrontation with the bully when a third boy intervened. Faced with two adversaries, and with his own group of sycophants suddenly quiet and seemingly unwilling to come to his aid, the bully backed off, never to trouble Armillatus again for he was thereafter always in his protector's company.

15 years old Junius, son of a shopkeeper and well known within the school for his audacity and fighting ability, had admired the newcomer's own bravery in finally defending himself, as well as some other features relating to the 14 years old. He had therefore decided to help put the younger boy's bullying to an end. Armillatus was deeply grateful and soon the two had become inseparable platonic friends, sitting next to each other in class and spending most of their spare time together. It was Junius who was accompanying Armillatus on the rabbit hunting expedition, although both had a strange premonition that something more profound would be undertaken.

Armillatus and Junius had secured eight rabbits, more than enough to satisfy the cooking pots of their families for now, when they sat in the shade of a tree on top of a lonely hill to enjoy the packed luncheon prepared for them by the former's new mother. It was a hot summer's day, the blue sky virtually cloudless. The scenery all around was magnificent. Junius looked down at his friend's lithe legs, fully revealed below a short sleeveless summer tunic, and could no longer resist temptation.

As Junius placed his right hand on Armillatus' bare left thigh, the Nubian procession was arriving in the port of Ostia. Anthonius' delicate white skin had not taken too well to exposure under the unrelenting overhead sun and was painfully reddening after the slow three-hour walk. However, the sunburn had been the least of his concerns as both the Nubian and Lycian parades had been watched throughout by interested boisterous crowds, thinner but still in place as the road from Rome to Ostia became rural. Anthonius seemed to have been singled out for particular abuse from the hecklers, as they perceived one sparsely clad pretty white boy in the Nubian ranks, presumably destined for enslavement, probably of a sexual kind, in a faraway land inhabited exclusively by a black race. Anthonius' departure from the Empire's capital was in stark contrast to his arrival and the experience was intensely humiliating as the opprobrious scorn constantly rained down on him.

The two processions headed for two large adjacent oared doubled-sailed galleys on Ostia's quayside. Anthonius recognised one of them as Lycian and his heart sank with the thought of his homeland, now about to come under his cruel and vengeful half-brother's rule. The ship for which Anthonius was destined was Roman but crewed by Nubians. The vessel had been lent to Ebana by the Governor of Egypt to transverse the Mare Internum as the King's own boat, which had brought him up the Nile, was suitable only for rivers. Ebana was delighted when Diocletian told him that he could keep it as another gift for it was capable of taking him all the way home, and would further demonstrate to his people his wisdom in paying fealty to and visiting Rome.

The dismantling of the parades and loading of the galleys took a while and the soreness of Anthonius' skin increased as he waited to step off the soil of Italia for the last time. As the boy eventually did so, he said a few quiet prayers to his gods, concentrating first on the welfare of others before turning to his own peril. Anthonius was unhitched from the slavegirl and led up the gangplank onto the wooden deck by a young handsome Nubian slave, about 16 years old. The 14 years old was taken below decks to the dark windowless holds, illuminated dangerously by a few oil lamps, where he was incarcerated, hands still chained behind him, in one of the small cages prepared for the young white human cargo.

At the same time, foreplay over, Junius, kneeling behind Armillatus, was about to penetrate his new friend for the first time. The 15 years old had wanted to do so ever since he had seen the beautiful form of the 14 years old but had been reluctant to try his luck at seducing the newcomer in case the attempt was rebutted and their friendship foundered as a consequence. However, his lustful urges had overwhelmed him in the idyllic surroundings of the hilltop and he had, as if in a trance, been unable to prevent his hand moving towards the deliciously inviting flesh of Armillatus' thigh. Junius was therefore delighted that his action had not been met by reproach but by reciprocation and the two boys were soon naked and in each other's arms, hard cocks pressing against their respective writhing bodies.

Junius' genitals, crowned by dark hair, were impressive for a 15 years old but Armillatus quickly overcame the pain of anal invasion to enjoy the sensation of being simultaneously buggered and masturbated by his friend. It was the first time that he had had a cock inside him since Anthonius had made love to him on a galley in Ostia three months previously. The thought produced a pang of sorrow, quickly subsumed by pleasurable passion as the two young lovers came close to simultaneous orgasm. The memory might not have been so fleeting if Armillatus knew that Anthonius was now on another ship in the Roman port, but in much more sinister circumstances than before.

Having made love for the first but by no means the last time, the unashamedly still-nude Armillatus and Junius finished off their half-eaten food before gathering their clothing and their hunting trophies and running to a river at the bottom of the hill. They happily skinny-dipped for a while before desire returned and mutual simultaneous fellatio took place on the riverbank. Afterwards, passions temporarily spent and post-sex melancholy arrived, the two embracing boys, talked about their pasts, about which Armillatus had to be evasive, if only for his friend's own protection, and hopes for the future.

Junius disclosed that the last thing that he wanted to do was to follow his father as a shopkeeper, declaring that he was determined instead to become a soldier for the excitement and adventure. He did not appreciate that many members of the military actually saw little action in their lifetimes, being engaged more on uneventful garrison duties throughout the huge Empire. Nevertheless, he was to be lucky in his aims because troubles would brew and, after achieving adulthood, he joined a legion that would be at the centre of much action.

As a soldier, Junius would be rewarded for his achievements and outstanding bravery by being promoted to centurion. However, he had been delighted to see his lifelong friend, Armillatus, in whom he had planted the idea of a military career after making love under a tree on the exquisite Hispanian riverbank, far exceed him. The boy's natural timidity was being gradually replaced by intelligent perceptive boldness, inspired by the example of Anthonius' unselfish courage and stimulated further by that of Junius' devoted fearlessness.

Armillatus had daydreamed on that day in his new friend's arms about becoming a great general, little knowing that his dream would come true.

Chapter 56
Voyage

Anthonius did not enjoy the voyage towards the destiny that Diocletian had in mind for him, the inhospitable accommodation being the least of his worries. The galley sailed on the early evening tide but, before it left the quayside, the former Prince was removed from his uncomfortable and demeaning cage by the young Nubian who had brought him on board and had seemingly been charged with looking after the young Lycian. The black youth smeared some colourless oil, an early but efficient suncream, onto the young white body before leading it on deck. Anthonius noticed that most of the deck crew had paused from their tasks to watch as he was led to the ship's prow.

Anthonius was unchained and led up some narrow steps to the very top of the boat's spectacularly curvaceous bow sculpture. His left hand was rechained to a metal ring embedded in the left side of the splendid carving, which was at its thinnest at this point. There was a short narrow ledge running around the external edge. The 16 years old used hand signals to instruct his shocked younger charge to advance face-outward onto the tiny precarious wooden precipice, located many paces above the waters of the harbour, to present his right hand for chaining to another ring situated at the other side of the forward structure.

Anthonius reluctantly, carefully and slowly complied, almost slipping on two occasions. However, his right hand was eventually chained in place, quickly followed by his feet to other lower rings. The boy now found himself wrapped around the bow top, facing forwards in a spreadeagled position, back firmly resting against warm varnish. The public display of captives in this manner, as ships left port, was a common custom of the period and Ebana had ordered that the lad be subjected to the degrading ritual in thanks for Diocletian's largesse. Many quayside observers, especially children, thought that the sight was very amusing and much raucous comment and laughter emanated from the wharf, subsiding only once the ship had slowly moved away, just behind the Lycian vessel, towards the open sea. Despite his humiliation, the human display's hard cock pressed firmly against his loincloth's undercloth throughout his ordeal.

The sun was still hot but Anthonius soon became cool, developing goosepimples, as his barely covered body was hit by a strong sea breeze when the galley emerged from the harbour entrance. He was to experience the chill for several hours until dusk, when he was finally released and returned below decks. Lights remained visible from shore communities as the ship kept close to the coastline, another usual practice for the time, and the loud noise of many large oars hitting water continued relentlessly.

Anthonius was to find that the domestic arrangements for the young white human cargo was rather shameful, as he and the slavegirls had to perform their daily toilets and ablutions in front of each other using buckets. The food, provided with water twice a day, was similarly unpleasant, although they were grateful to be released temporarily from their bondage to consume the tasteless porridge. However, the boy's intense misery, as he lay in his tiny prison, stemmed mainly from a brief audience with Ebana on the voyage's first morning.

The 14 years old white boy, neatly groomed for the occasion, was led before Ebana and his interpreter, in the King's comfortable deck cabin, by the 16 years old black youth. Anthonius noticed, as he emerged on deck that the Nubian galley was still shadowing the Lycian ship. He thought that they would probably continue to do so for mutual protection against pirates until they separated near Greece, when the former vessel would head south via Creta to Egypt whilst the latter continued East. However, this assumption was soon to be proved incorrect.

Anthonius had to bow before royalty but did not, for now, have to prostrate himself until his status changed in the Priapic temple. The smirking Ebana, via his interpreter, informed the boy that the young Nubian was to be responsible for his welfare during the journey to their homeland. The King strongly advised him to obey and take instruction from the youth to make his on-board existence less discomforting and to prepare himself adequately for his future. The youth would try to teach him the Nubian language and about the ritualistic life that awaited him in his new abode. The lad was told that failure to absorb such information adequately would result in far more agony and anguish than he could currently anticipate.

Ebana informed Anthounius that the youth was well qualified for his role before ordering the 16 years old to show the 14 years old why this was so. The former moved to face the latter and, seemingly unconcerned, proceeded to pull down his own loincloth, hidden under his tunic, before lifting up his outer garment. Anthonius was shocked to see that the youth had no genitals, a small crop of pubic hair covering the area where they should have hung, making his loins resemble those of a girl. "You see," advised the King, through the interpreter, "he too was nullified in the temple of Priapus as you will be. Your groin will soon look like this!" Anthonius swayed as he almost fainted. The eunuch just redressed.

The now positively leering Ebana continued by announcing that Anthonius could also exercise himself daily. First he could give the slaves operating the oars some assistance and later he could provide the King with some evening dance entertainment whilst the monarch enjoyed dinner on deck, although the latter could wait until the discolouring sunburn had healed. Ebana did not add that he was prepared to be patient until the boy's physical perfection was restored as he subsequently wanted to enjoy its wonderful unblemished form in bed, another daily exercise that would be expected of the lad. Meanwhile the King's overnight entertainment would be provided by a different virgin slavegirl each day whom the lecherous monarch would delight in deflowering.

Ebana concluded the audience by causing even more consternation within Anthonius by advising that the voyage would take much longer than could normally be expected because they would be calling in at two places on the way. They would be visiting Alexandria, capital of Egypt, after first, at the kind invitation of Lysus, attending the new King's coronation in Lycia. Ebana neglected to mention to the boy that his half-brother had sought and obtained permission from him to parade the former Prince naked in chains through the capital so that the population could see what he had become. The plan was that this should deflect any ideas some of the citizens might have had that there was a better candidate for the throne. Nevertheless, the alarmed 14 years old was perceptive enough to realise that his half-brother would ensure that his return to his homeland was very unpleasant.

The deeply dismayed Anthonius was now led by his youthful nullified eunuch back below but not to the hold. This time the boy was taken to the oars deck, which they entered at the rear. Although Anthonius had been on a galley once before, when he had journeyed from his homeland to Rome, he had not been allowed to see the living hell that comprised this particular part of the ship, despite his curiosity. Two things struck him before even reaching the appalling scene. The first was the awful smell, emanating primarily from the unwashed sweaty bodies of the adult slaves who operated the oars often in great humidity, not least at this time of year. The second was the slow drumming that indicated the rhythm to which the men had to row.

When Anthonius emerged at the doorless entrance to the gloomy deck, he experienced a strange mix of disgust and interest. The drummer was located at the far side, with the chief overseer standing next to him, and, between them and the young white newcomer, the inner ends of about thirty large heavy wooden oars could be seen running down each side, poking downwards to the sea through portholes. Most oars had three sitting black naked slaves chained to it, although there were some vacant places. Only half of the oars were in motion to aid routine progress of the galley, although all could be quickly brought into play if full speed was required. Other Nubian overseers with whips walked up and down the central aisle ready to lay their implements across the backs of any slacking rowers.

Anthonius was to discover that half of the slaves usually took hourly turns to row whilst the others rested. They were rarely unchained from the oars, toileting in buckets whilst still attached. A small cup of water was provided during alternate rest periods and food supplied twice a day. Washing was permitted only when anchored. Turnover of slaves was high with those ailing or expiring thrown overboard. The Nubians' reserves of slaves had been used up on the journey to Rome, hence the vacant places, which would become greater in volume as the return voyage proceeded, slowing progress. However, this was not the main reason for Anthonius' enlistment to the cause, as a 14 years old would make little difference to the ship's propulsion. Ebana genuinely thought that the exercise and humiliation would be good for the boy, at least from his sadistic perspective.

The drummer hesitated briefly when he observed Anthonius appear at the far entrance, although all of the overseers had been told to expect his arrival every morning. The short pause in the rhythm caused everyone else to look round to see what had caught the drummer's eye. The restart of the drumbeat, accompanied by the cracks of several whips, rapidly brought matters back to normal.

The chief overseer walked down the aisle to accept the temporary addition to his manpower from the escorting youthful eunuch. As the Nubian did so, taking hold of the chained white boy's right arm, he took the opportunity to appraise the lad's delicious body, covered by just his tiny loincloth. The man then removed the garment's detachable rear flap and gave it to the eunuch, not wanting it to be damaged by the movements his new young charge would have to make to row properly. The chief overseer licked his lips when he saw the delicious curvature of Anthonius' smooth bottom come into view, considering that the scene would look even nicer with his now erect huge black cock thrust between the sublime bumcheeks. The man sighed when he appreciated that he could only dream of such a scenario for any attempt to make his vision come true would, if discovered, see himself chained to one of the oars at the very least.

The escorting black eunuch remained at the entrance to watch as his young white charge was attached by the chief overseer to an outside spot on one of the rear resting oars, next to two pitiable slaves in their early twenties. Neither would see their middle twenties. Despite their desperate wretchedness, the uncovered cocks of both rose quickly to full erection at the sight of the well-groomed pretty white boy now sat next to them. Anthonius was not too revolted to see them immediately masturbate each other whilst ogling him for he felt intensely sad at their plight. The resultant semen flew in several spurts onto the backs of rowers in front who, as they were working, either did not notice or care.

The threesome rested for about half an hour until their turn to operate the oar arrived. Anthonius found it difficult at first but his two companions helped by signalling how he should proceed and a rhythm in line with the drumbeat was soon established. The boy was quickly saturated in sweat as tried to make his best contribution to the exceedingly heavy and onerous task, not wanting to be carried by the others. However, after two thirds of an hour, the lad was completely exhausted and could only go through the motions whilst his comrades performed the real work.

Unlike the other rowers, Anthonius was not chastised with the whip for under- performance, as the overseers had received clear instructions that the boy's body was not to be harmed because it had to be kept perfect for the King's entertainment. Although he tried his best, the lad was never to be physically capable of operating the oar for a full hour at a time, even though his sessions were limited to three per day, and he felt deep guilt at letting his team of three down. The former Prince therefore decided to make up for this in the only way that he could think of and regularly, during rest periods, furtively gave his rapturous team mates pleasure with his hand and mouth, despite the disgustingly dirty nature of their genitals.

Anthonius was released from the oar daily after five or so hours and handed over to the returned youthful eunuch. The boy would be required to toilet and wash in the hold before spending hours with the eunuch, and sometimes with the King's interpreter, trying to become acquainted with their language. The lad, a quick learner, was to know the basics and, with horror, had started to ascertain the detailed rites of the Priapic religion by the time the galley reached Lycia.

It took the Nubian and Lycian galleys six days to traverse the western coast of Italia before reaching the port of Messana in Sicilia, where fresh provisions were loaded, before their voyages continued. Anthonius felt a pang of regret when peeking Sura's homeland through the oar porthole, as he deeply missed his friend. Having been told of the young white eunuch's recapture on his own return from the boy brothel to the Imperial palace, he prayed again to his gods that his friend's eventual safety would be secured.

Meanwhile, Ebana had ruined the virginity of half of his twelve new white slavegirls, as Anthonius had recognised when they were brought back to their cages, inner legs bloodstained, after spending the night with the King. Ebana was looking forward to exchanging soon, as a receptacle for his mammoth cock, the girls' vaginas for Anthonius' anus. The proper occasion arose when the vessels lowered anchor seven days later at the ancient Achaean port of Pylos to take on board more fresh provisions.

Lysus accepted an invitation to join Ebana for dinner, which began at dusk on the aft deck of the Nubian galley on a warm balmy evening. The two Kings were seated next to each other at the end of a large table, with senior members of their entourages sat down the sides. Prodicus, now a royal page, stood near to his new royal master. The eyes of many of the crew surveyed proceedings from afar, a number from the rigging above. A number of flaming torches placed in tall metal stands illuminated the scene as Nubian slaves served the guests their wine and the first of many food courses.

Other slaves played music and Anthonius began his erotic stripdance on the higher stern platform, providing everyone with an excellent view as he gradually removed his loincloth flaps and finally the undercloth to dance nude, full smooth erection humiliatingly flopping around during his well-rehearsed and well-executed routine. The grins on the faces of the two Kings were by far the broadest amongst the spectators. Ebana was thinking of the pleasures of the night ahead whilst Lysus was primarily content with thoughts of more future delights that would befall his half-brother.

When Anthonius' performance was over, his youthful nullified eunuch took his shame-faced naked charge to his King's cabin and stood him before the bed present there. An eager Ebana quickly followed, interrupting his dinner to do so. His royal guest did not seem to mind the host's temporary abandonment of the meal, occupying himself with watching the white slavegirls now dancing whilst he also groped under Prodicus' tunic. Anthonius and Prodicus had exchanged frequent secret glances whilst the former was performing his demeaning act, and both recognised looks of mutual love tinged by intense regret at their circumstances.

The Nubian eunuch helped Ebana to undress before departing. Anthonius, who had been told that his dancing and later services would now be required every night for the rest of the voyage, could not help uttering a low gasp when the King's black cock was revealed for it was almost as big as the one he had suffered on his last night in Rome. Ebana lay on the bed and instructed the young white boy to follow. The King was soon exploring every nuance of the lad's beautiful form with his hands, mouth and tongue. Both penises became engorged, oozing precum.

Ebana sucked Anthonius' off to taste young white seed before deciding that he now wanted to taste a young white rectum, after which he would return to dinner. The duo would play again, and for the rest of the night, later. The apprehensive boy found that the King's preferred method of penetration meant that he had to kneel on all fours, legs wide apart, whilst the monstrous black phallus was presented to the pink sphincter, now very tight after a fortnight's lack of use. Despite the continuing music, all the dinner guests and most of the crew heard the shrill scream as the lad's anus was filled, the noise even being detectable on the oars deck below and on the quayside of Pylos. Lysus blushed vividly when he heard his half-brother's agonised yell and he began to soil his undergarment with his own sperm.

Chapter 57
Lycia

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

The Nubian's appetite for sex with his new young white plaything seemed insatiable and Anthonius accrued little sleep whilst in his bed. Fortunately, the youthful eunuch charged with his welfare recognised this and allowed the former Prince some time to sleep after emerging exhausted and agonised from the monarch's cabin just after dawn each morning. The boy would also be permitted some rest after the afternoon lessons in the Nubian language and Priapic ritual as he had to be fit to satisfy the man's voracious lusts again.

The two galleys voyaged from Pylos to Lycia via Cydonia in Creta, where Lysus reciprocated Ebana's hospitality by inviting the Nubian King to the Lycian vessel for dinner. It was a rare night off for Anthonius for 16 years old Prodicus provided the entertainment. Prodicus was required to stripdance from a skimpy loincloth in a similar manner to the 14 years old but, although he was erotically proficient, he was not as good as his friend, but then few were and the new royal page appreciated this fact as much as anyone.

Ebana usually preferred boys a little younger but was always willing to accept an offer to taste fresh young white flesh, especially if it was as pretty as this offering. Prodicus, despite his years in the brothel, was deeply ashamed at cavorting naked in front of the guests, servants and deck crew, with his face made up, nipples gilded, body oiled and shaved genitals fully excited. However, the real downside of the evening was being required to service the Nubian King for a couple of hours in Lysus' cabin. He too was to suffer for several days from distressed anal and oral orifices.

The journey from Pylos to Cydonia took 6 days and from the latter to the port of Patara in Lycia another 7 days, arriving mid-September. Anthonius' oar comrades wondered why the boy started to sob quietly when the coastline of Lycia came into view through the porthole, not knowing that the country was the lad's homeland.

Small fast boats had been on the lookout for the arrival of the new Lycian King's galley and so a large delegation of the nation's senior nobles and officials awaited Lysus on the port's quayside, having swiftly made the trip from the inland capital of Xanthus. They boarded their new ruler's ship in order of seniority in order to pay fealty and pledge loyalty, with the court chamberlain in particular also seeking to ascertain the monarch's immediate requirements.

Having paid their respects to their new leader and having established his initial dictates, most left to return to Xanthus, only the most fawning remaining. The general consensus amongst those departing, shared only amongst those they trusted, was how obnoxious Lysus was, in stark contrast to his father and half-brother, and that the new King would probably turn out to be a cruel avaricious despot. Many would have been tempted to launch a coup if it was not for the fact that the new ruler was Diocletian's nominee and there was the protective presence in Lycia of a strong Roman garrison. The commander of the latter, the real power in the land, had not bothered to greet the new monarch as the new arrival could go to him.

Lysus did not mention to anyone that Anthonius was on the accompanying Nubian ship as he wanted to surprise everyone with his half-brother's sudden appearance, although the chamberlain suspected as he had been bemused by some of the new King's commands.

Lysus' triumphal procession to Xanthus was to take place the following day, so the new Lycian King and his Nubian counterpart slept on their respective galleys overnight. Anthonius was not required for dancing duty as Ebana accompanied Lysus to a dinner hosted by the worthies of Patara. However, the boy did not later escape the black monarch's bed.

Dawn brought a scurry of activity on the wharf as the Lycian vessel was unloaded and Lysus' parade, similar to the one in Rome, was assembled. Ebana and a few of his officials were to ride on their new white chargers with the Lycian King, on his black steed, at the front of the long cavalcade, a spot at the rear of which was reserved for Anthonius. The boy hoped that he could remain on board whilst the Nubian galley remained in Lycia, not wanting any of his people to see the degradation to which he had fallen. However, he also thought that this wish was unlikely to be granted as the occasion represented too good an opportunity for his half-brother to humiliate him further. His assumption was not only to be proved correct but also the whole experience was to be acutely tragic.

The youthful Nubian eunuch supervised Anthonius' early morning ablutions as usual but did not require his charge to redress afterwards in his loincloth. Instead, he first highlighted the boy's gorgeous sensuous eyes with dark blue mascara and his cheeks and lips with vivid rouge. Gold paint decorated the lad's nipples and his whole body was lightly oiled. A leather cockstrap was then attached to the now deeply apprehensive boy's genitals. A narrow strap ran round the base of the genitalia inside the gold cockring, making the smooth organs protrude even more from the groin. A smaller conjoined ring of leather wrapped round the base of the cock, ensuring that, even in a flaccid state, it would stick out horizontally. The purpose of the attachment was twofold. It highlighted the naked sexual organs which would also be continuously excited by the leather rubbing the skin as the wearer moved. The handling involved in fitting the ornamentation had already caused the penis to become embarrassingly hard, a state in which it was now to remain for many hours.

Anthonius' alarm intensified when the eunuch produced a black dildo, which he proceeded to insert into the boy's anus, inducing a flinch and yelp from the shamed lad. It was not so much the size that caused subsequent concern, as Anthonius had suffered far larger intrusions in his rectum, but the fact that it possessed a long tail, evidently part of one that used to belong to a horse. It seemed that the former Prince was to be displayed wearing very demeaning bodily adornments to add to his slavecollar, rings and brands. The boy was therefore not surprised when, after his hands had been rechained behind his back, another chain was attached to the collar, which he had worn since it was fitted in Diocletian's palace, and he was led by it into the sunshine on deck, although he was disturbed when the escorting eunuch collected a short whip on the way.

The deck crew's sight of Anthonius' sublime glistening naked body caused many to find a quiet place to masturbate whilst the memory of the glorious vision remained fresh after the boy had disembarked. The deeply abashed former Prince saw that Lysus' procession seemed ready to depart, just waiting for the final addition, with a large crowd gathered on the far side of the quay to watch the spectacle. The youthful eunuch led the 14 years old erect nude down the gangplank to step onto Lycian soil for the first time in 19 months, in very different circumstances from when he left. The deeply shamed boy, his predicament exacerbated by knowing his people's prudery towards nudity, whispered a prayer to his gods as he felt the stone wharf under his feet.

The young Nubian eunuch attached Anthonius' neck chain to another trailing from the procession's last wagon, the boy's positioning at the very rear of the parade, even behind the baggage, symbolising to all his base status. Lysus, sitting awkwardly on his black horse, thought the sight of his naked half- brother being led down the gangplank to be joined to the cavalcade highly amusing, being unable to prevent himself from chortling. Many of the children in the watching throng also chuckled and began to shout insults until they were stopped by the adults as recognition of who the nude was began to dawn and quiet shock started to prevail.

Most of the Lycian populace, who would line the roads between Patara and Xanthus in order to see their new King, did not find the sight of their former Prince being displayed in such a demeaning manner at all funny. Anthonius and his mother and father had been very popular and many were deeply saddened to see how the boy was being treated. However, everyone was too afraid and cowed to do anything to alleviate the lad's degradation and misery as the procession made its slow way out of the port towards the nation's capital.

The young black eunuch, holding the whip, walked behind Anthonius. He had been told to flog the boy if the dildo fell out of his rectum before reinserting the anal plug. This happened more than ten times during the journey of many hours, especially towards the end as weariness set in and anal retention became more difficult, causing the young white back and buttocks to display a number of vivid red lines by the time the high walls of Xanthus came into view. On the fourth occasion, as well as feeling the intense pain of the lash across his bottom, the lad also shuddered and saw an arc of white liquid emanate from his hard quivering horizontal cock onto the cobbled road. The whole shameful scene was observed by a number of villagers watching the parade as it passed through their community.

A deeply saddened and disgusted Prodicus, dressed in the tunic of a Lycian royal page and walking alongside his mounted new master, had seen Anthonius disembark from the Nubian galley and despaired that he could do nothing to help his friend. However, he gained some solace when he heard the muted cheering, coming from the crowds they passed at the roadside, change rapidly to silence when Anthonius was observed. He was especially pleased to hear a few brave souls boo at the new King instead.

It was late afternoon when the cavalcade passed through the main gate into Xanthus. Anthonius' penis, after his opprobrious orgasm, had regained its rigidity by the time of his return to his homeland's capital, partly as a result of the feel of the cockstrap rubbing his genitals and the dildo in his insides as he walked. A string of precum even dangled humiliatingly from the cockhead. Lysus received the same sort of unenthusiastic reception from the city's population as had been experienced elsewhere and, like elsewhere, it cooled distinctly when the disgrace of the former Lycian Prince was perceived. However, the new King did not care as he knew that Roman support made his throne safe. There would be plenty of sycophants to serve him and he would pay his subjects back for their lack of ardour for his return and apparent sympathy for his slut of a half-brother.

As had been arranged with the court chamberlain, the parade terminated in Xanthus' crowded main plaza before the steep steps of the temple of Jupiter, where the city elders and other worthies awaited the arrival. Lysus, Ebana and their mounted entourages climbed down from their horses, the former displaying a remarkable lack of skill as he did so, causing some stifled tittering to be heard. The two Kings and their officials and close servants walked up the steps to be formally greeted on top by the municipal representatives whilst the rest of the cavalcade made off for the royal palace, with the exception of Anthonius. The naked boy was unchained by the young black eunuch from the last wagon and led up the steps to be stood at the side of the top stair, facing the quiet throng that filled the square.

Several boring obsequious welcoming speeches occurred, which thankfully could only be heard by the front of the crowd. The rest were happy not to know the contents of the monologues as they were present only to see the man who would now rule them and about whom few ominously had anything good to say. It was eventually Lysus' turn to speak and he droned on for a while, seemingly determined to see how many different ways he could relate his pleasure at his return to Lycia. However, somnolent ears picked up when the new King started to talk about his half-brother. As he did so, the naked Anthonius was led to stand on a much lower step in front of the monarch, still facing the crowd.

"I regret to tell my people," Lysus announced "that your former Prince, Anthonius, disgraced himself in Rome. He betrayed the Emperor by displaying uncontrolled sluttish passions, constantly wanting to satisfy his obscene desires with anyone he could get his lusting hands on. In the end, the only way that he could satiate his perversity was by becoming a public whore, enjoyed by many men. He now makes his way to Nubia where attempts will be made at the renowned temple of Priapus to expel the great evil from his body. I have brought him before you now as I believe that we Lycians must express our solidarity with the great Diocletian and disgust at the corrupt depravity and treachery that the slut exhibited in Rome. First, I declare that Lycia disowns the harlot and so he can no longer be considered a native of this land. Second, the tart shall be taken immediately to the male public latrine at the other side of this plaza where palace servants will dispense one gold piece to any man or boy who chooses to show their abhorrence at the whore by relieving themselves over him!"

Chapter 58
Deliverances

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 59
Retributions

{for Tom}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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