Pueros

The Lycian Prince

(1st version)

Dedicated to Zelamir, talemaster!!

Summary & Note

Disclaimer added by Céladon Puerulus

Chapter 1 - Waiting

(January 290 A.D.)

The Emperor sat in his state tent surrounded by his senior army officers and household advisors, awaiting the now overdue arrival of the Lycian delegation. Diocletian had reluctantly agreed to meet them on advice from his senior general and Nonianus. The general knew that the Lycians were ready to sue for peace and did not want any of his men unnecessarily wasted in prolonging the campaign. Nonianus believed that the long-term interests of the Empire justified allowing the Lycians some mercy.

Lycia, located in what is now south westTurkey but then populated by ethnic Greeks, had been a client kingdom of Rome for a couple of centuries, prospering under the Empire's protection. The present King had ruled wisely for many years, maintaining excellent relations with the various Emperors. However, he had become senile in old age and had taken irrational exception to some new Imperial taxes. He stupidly refused to pay any more, expelled the small and surprised Roman garrison and declared his country's independence.

Diocletian had just completed a successful campaign to put down a Parthian-inspired rebellion in Syria and decided to attend to the Lycian impertinence himself on his way home to Rome. He landed unopposed with a couple of legions on the Lycian coast and quickly progressed inland. The small Lycian army, which had not experienced a war for over a hundred years, was no match for the hardened Roman legions and had been quickly routed. The countryside was ravaged and soon the Lycian capital was besieged. Diocletian knew that the end would not be long delayed for the city was not prepared to withstand a prolonged siege after so many years of peace. His instinct was to let the siege take its course, raise the city and enslave the population as evidence to other client kingdoms of the consequence of defying Rome's omnipotence. However, he had bowed to advice to listen the Lycians' entreaties first.

The Emperor was now thinking that this advice had been unsound for the Lycians were compounding their rebellion and testing his patience further by being discourteously late. Nonianus hoped that something would happen soon or he could be the one who bore the brunt of the Emperor's displeasure. Fortunately, something did happen in the form of a distraction. Armillatus, the latest of the Emperor's boys, entered the tent. He was 12, had a shock of straight black hair, deep brown eyes, sumptuous lips and a lithe lightly tanned and nicely proportioned body. He had been sent for fresh wine and had returned with a large jug. Diocletian gestured that he should fill his cup, insisting that it be filled to the brim and then be held for him. The boy obeyed, standing immediately to his Imperial master's right, holding the cup pressed to his chest with both hands for steadiness and waiting to offer it whenever signalled. However, the Emperor had decided to amuse himself with the boy whilst he waited for the Lycians. He surreptitiously reached out his right hand until it delved underneath the rear of the boy's tunic and then under the rear flap of his loincloth, placing his hand gently on the cloth covering the boy's smooth buttocks. Armillatus jumped slightly with surprise, spilling a little wine. However, he knew better than to move away or say anything. He knew he must try to allow the Emperor to fondle him without revealing what was happening. Nevertheless some present realised what the Emperor was doing and either looked on entranced or found something else to do.

The hand gently massaged the boy's buttocks before the fingers ran up and down his bum crack. Armillatus swallowed hard in his efforts to maintain some form of equilibrium but he could feel himself becoming aroused. The Emperor had not bedded him for over ten days and the boy had since been forced to remain chaste. He therefore desperately needed relief. A bead of sweat slowly worked its way down his forehead. The hand had now moved underneath him and was rubbing up and down on the cloth-encased form of his genitals, encouraging his penis to enlarge. The rubbing continued remorselessly. The boy swayed, spilling a little more wine, and he had to close his eyes because he felt himself becoming dizzy, but still the rubbing continued. His uncut penis, a little larger than normal for a boy his age because of the recent attentions it had been afforded in the service of his new Imperial master, was now really bulging its cloth encasement and he recognised that he was close. He whispered just one word "Lord" and his Lord whispered back "You have until the Lycians arrive to resist or it's two strokes of the cane later. Double if you spill more wine". Armillatus knew that the Emperor was playing with him in all senses of the phrase. The rubbing continued and the head of the boy's penis began to emerge from the downside of his loincloth, still hidden from general view by his tunic. Several more beads of sweat ran down his forehead as he felt his penis pounding and becoming fully engorged, but the rubbing continued. Then his body shuddered uncontrollably, forcing the cup to fall from his grasp and encouraging everyone to look at him. What they saw was the cup on the floor and the boy's hands feverishly gripping either side of his tunic. His body seemingly vibrated and he flushed bright red from head to toe, releasing a quiet moan from his lips. A stream of white liquid emerged from under his tunic to splash onto the ground.

Almost simultaneously, a centurion entered the tent to announce the arrival of the Lycian delegation. He was about to elaborate further when he was swiftly silenced by the Emperor's command to "Just bring them in". With an amused frown, Diocletian looked down at the small pool of white boy seed next to a larger one of spilt wine and then aside at Armillatus, standing motionless in post-orgasmic shock and shame. "Four strokes later before bed" he whispered, and the boy visibly shivered.

Diocletian looked up and shivered himself in shock as he thought he saw a young blonde god standing before him. Confused, the Emperor asked "Who are you? Where's the Lycian delegation?"

The boy replied confidently "Sire, I am Anthonius, Prince of Lycia, and I am that delegation".

Chapter 2 - Delegation

The boy proceeded by confirming that he was Anthonius, second son of the Lycian King. He apologised for being late but explained, without malice, that he had been held up at the Roman picket lines because no-one at first believed that he represented the expected delegation. He went on to explain that, with his father very ill and his elder adult brother absent, he had been asked, as acting head of the royal family, to talk to the great Emperor on behalf of his people. The Emperor was aware of the much older half-brother, Lysus. He had exiled himself to Rome years before, apparently in disgust at being displaced from his elderly widower father's affections by a new son born to a second young wife. The man was unpleasant in many ways but had become a regular court hanger-on. Diocletian had indulged his ingratiating presence, and had actually given him a court position, because his sexual preferences and inventions were even more perverse and sadistic than his own. He had made him responsible for organising the entertainments at the many Imperial banquets.

Anthonius, helped by expert preparatory tutoring, belied his tender years by exhibiting remarkable self-assurance and maturity as he started to press his people's case for clemency from the Emperor, speaking eloquently in Latin that contained just a hint of Greek accent. He described their great sorrow that his father's sickness of mind had caused upset with Rome and their wish to make amends, concluding his graceful opening statement by kneeling before Diocletian and humbly begging to be allowed to negotiate an honourable peace. The Emperor, who had by this time become utterly infatuated by the boy, noticed that his mouth was very dry and that his prick, which had become half-hard under his toga through playing with Armillatus, had now become rigid. He quietly ordered Armillatus to refill a fresh cup with wine and, as the youngster sheepishly did so, also gently asked Anthonius to regain his feet. Diocletian consumed two full glasses of wine to help him recover at least some of his composure before commanding that a chair for the Prince be brought up close to him.

As Anthonius sat in the proffered chair, he placed his hands on the seams of his tunic in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent it rising up his thighs. At the same time, he noticed the pretty but flushed and apparently distressed boy standing next to Dioclteian. Anthonius then noticed the cup on the floor and realised that the boy, presumably a cup bearer, had been clumsy and would be expecting chastisement. He also thought that he recognised the little patch of white fluid close to the cup but, before he could ponder the matter further, his attention was drawn to the Emperor. Diocletian was gaping back at him towards his loins, mouth open and seemingly transfixed by what he was seeing.

The Emperor was silent for quite a time after Anthonius had sat down for he had just managed to avoid replicating Armillatus' earlier embarrassing ejaculation. The Prince's tunic had ridden up his thighs when sitting and this had clearly revealed, from Diocletian's own seated viewpoint, the youngster's lower loins, covered by just a skimpy white loincloth. The unwanted climax had almost come when the Emperor appreciated what the slight bulge in the front of the undergarment represented and perceived a slight growth in its shape. This was real. It had been caused by the abrupt displacement of the Prince's puzzlement and embarrassment at his advisor's insistence that, for this occasion, he wore clothing that he had thought he had outgrown a year ago. They had been replaced by sudden recognition of the reason and an associated guilty thrill.

Anthonius was not sexually naïve despite his tender years and knew what Diocletian's gawking meant, especially when accompanied, as now, with heavier breathing and a licking of lips. Lycian society had inherited much of the sexual liberalism of more ancient Greek cultures, particularly in its attitudes to homosexuality and pederasty, although strangely not to public nudity. Pederasty in particular was encouraged within the upper classes in the shape of formal man-boy pedagogue-pupil relationships. Anthonius was being educated, as was customary for a Prince, with a retinue of similarly-aged boys from the noblest of families. His natural pleasantness, consideration and modesty had enabled him to befriend all, and he had managed to explore a boy's normal sexual curiosity from the age of 10 with a few of the closest. This had eventually led to mutual kissing, fondling and masturbation, enabling him to appreciate the joys of sex and recognise the signs of sexual desire. However, such happy times became more infrequent as the more handsome of his friends had entered into their pedagogic relationships with men suitors. Anthonius was disbarred from following because of his royal status, reinforced by his father's dedication of him at an early age to the cult of Ganymede in thanks to the gods for the gift of so magnificent a son so late in life. Only the most beautiful of boys could be so dedicated and they were expected to remain virginal until adulthood in honour of Ganymede and the gods. Nevertheless, the boy had gossiped regularly with his friends about the progress of their love affairs, learning much about the associated pleasures and pains, not least that the former seemed to outweigh the latter. His curiosity eventually became frustration. He knew from the looks he was given by men that he was physically admired by many. This had been confirmed when friends revealed that he had acquired the nickname 'Little Ganymede' in some circles because of his great beauty and sad inaccessibility. He also knew that he experienced exciting tingling feelings throughout his body when ogled. He would sometimes naughtily reward his distant admirers for this by lifting his tunic to scratch a non-existant itch or bend over to retie an already tied sandal, inevitably intensifying his own sweet sensations and producing a stiffening of his prick. As his sexual awareness and needs increased, Anthonius had had to use his own right hand more and more to gain relief, invariably whilst daydreaming about being made love to by a handsome hero. Girls never entered his thoughts.

After briefly enjoying the tingling coursing through his body as Diocletian continued to gawk, Anthonius made use of the Emperor's preoccupation by quietly relating the opening peace proposals he had been told to make, fully expecting to have to haggle subsequently before hopefully reaching a settlement. Diocletian began to listen silently, eyes now constantly looking the boy over slowly from face to feet and vice-versa, having realised that there was only one war trophy he wanted from this campaign, and it was sat next to him.

When Anthonius had finished, Diocletian astounded everyone by immediately accepting the boy's proposals. After recovering from the shock of this, Anthonius began to offer his thanks but was stopped by the Emperor who now added that there would be one condition. He required a guarantee against the Lycians' again rising in revolt. When the boy asked what guarantee was wanted, Diocletian responded "You".

Anthonius sailed for Ostia a week later after tearful farewells from his family and friends. The royal advisors had been amazed by his success, even if it was accompanied by personal sacrifice. The sick king would remain in situ but with his power devolved to an advisory council, led by a Roman representative supported by a strengthened Roman garrison. The new taxes and war reparations would be paid. An independent Lycian army would not be reformed. However, that was all that would have to be paid for peace apart from the exile of the royal Prince to Rome and the advisors cynically considered that a small price to pay for the saving of the country. Anthonius' mother and friends thought otherwise but were unable to dissuade him from dishonouring the agreement he had made. The boy even refused to be accompanied by some friends who had kindly offered to go with him to Rome. He knew that the lecherous Emperor had lustful designs on him but was determined to preserve his purity, especially as Diocletian was far from his ideal of a handsome heroic lover. He was innocently confident in his royal status and the ability it afforded him to fight off any unwanted attentions, whereas his attractive young friends had no such protection. Unfortunately, he was also totally unaware that the ethical conduct he had known within the Lycian court was not replicated in Rome.

Diocletian sailed on a different ship, ostensibly because he wished to visit Tarentum on the return journey, but actually because he could not trust himself to keep his hands off Anthonius within the tight confines of the ship. He had reluctantly decided that all the protocols had to be observed and the relevant gods respected before he engaged in molesting and debauching the boy. He could just about control his impulses and impatience and bide his time for there was always Armillatus and the others to play with in the interim.

Chapter 3 - Rome

(February 290 A.D.)

Anthonius had never seen anything like it and was at first guiltily excited by the whole scene, especially when he noticed many of the guests, inhibitions loosened by the wine, beginning to kiss and obscenely fondle the youngsters sharing their couches. His interest came to a peak when a particularly pretty Imperial boy companion stood up, removed his tunic and danced delightfully for the Emperor in just a skimpy black loincloth with a small Imperial eagle embroided in gold on the front flap. His movements often caused both flaps to rise to reveal the tight sparse undercloth that just concealed his private parts whilst still clearly revealing their seductive outline. Anthonius felt the pleasant tingling, that he had again been experiencing his loins, intensify as he watched.

Anthonius was also aware that he was being frequently glanced at by many in the hall, not least by the boys in the Emperor's entourage. However, he noticed that three pairs of eyes paid him particular attention, those of Diocletian himself, those of the young man now couched next to the Emperor and those of a dissolute fat man in his forties couched further away. He found out, by enquiring of a servant, that the boys were Imperial boy companions and that the young man was Casperius, their major domo. Having already recognised Diocletian's sexual preferences, Anthonius did not have to enquire about their role in the Emperor's life. He also did not have to enquire about the older man. Although he had no recollection of him, Anthonius recognised the strong likeness to his father of his facial features. The boy, remarkably perceptively for someone so young, thought he recognised the feelings behind the men's stares. He believed that Diocletian's was one of naked lust and Casperius' one of avid curiosity, although he detected a strong hint of cruelty in his eyes. Certainly, the other man's was not of brotherly love but quite the opposite.

Anthonius did not stay to the end of the banquet. His earlier initial interest and excitement were completely defused, along with his appetite, with the presentation of one particular entertainment. Two square bondage frames were carried in and fixed near the centre of the dais. Two attractive twins, one boy and one girl about 15 years of age, were also brought in and chained, spreadeagled, to the two frames facing each other. Anthonius discovered later that they too were campaign trophies, children of a slain rebel Syrian lord. A huge African followed them onto the dais and, to wild cheers, stripped to reveal an enormous but real phallus. He then ripped the clothing off the girl and, to louder cheering, began to viciously rape the obviously virginal child. The girl screamed in agony but the rape proceeded mercilessly. When the African had finished, the girl was copiously leaking blood from her defiled vagina. The African then turned his attention to the now whimpering boy. Anthonius left the hall, with the poor boy's yells ringing in his ears, to spend the night in the luxurious guest chamber allocated to him. However, he did not appreciate the opulence of his surroundings that night because of his nightmares in which the two Syrian children and three pairs of eyes were prominent.

Chapter 4 - Induction

Casperius, wishing to act quickly before Anthonius changed his mind, then speedily introduced the new addition to the Imperial household to Niachiarus, who had been standing, unseen by the boy, in the shadows of the chamber. The major domo told Anthonius that the nullified Nubian eunuch, dressed in a tunic not dissimilar to that of the Imperial boy companions, would be his personal slave. He added that it would be wise to follow the eunuch's advice closely as it would help him considerably in learning the requirements of his new role. Casperius then politely dismissed Anthonius by stating that Niachiarus would now escort him to his new quarters, and the dumbfounded and deeply dismayed boy acquiescently followed him along a couple of wide corridors to a pleasant suite of rooms that was to be his new home. There he was swiftly introduced to some of the humiliating realities of his new life.

Niachiarus told him, albeit with great diplomacy, that none of his personal effects, including clothing, could be transferred from his previous quarters because the boy companions were allowed only what the Emperor gave. The boy's belongings would be packed and returned to his homeland. He also had to discard his current attire, although in actuality he was allowed to retain temporarily two items. They were the golden throat chain and medal attesting to his Lycian royal status and a silver medallion indicating his dedication to Ganymede. Niachiarus now added meekly that the removal of his present clothing would also be an appropriate opportunity for him to check Anthonius' bodily health. The boy appreciated his slave's discretion, nodded in recognition of what he meant and slowly began to take his clothes off. He did so with great reluctance because, unlike other aspects of Lycian society that orientated towards Greece, attitudes to nudity stemmed from Persia where only the worst criminals were seen unwillingly naked before others. Anthonius could not remember a time that he had been seen nude by anyone apart from his intimate friends amidst sex play, although he supposed that he had been when still in toddler's nursery, but then that was different. However, now was equally different, for he was humiliatingly stripping to allow his naked body to be intimately inspected by a slave. Anthonius felt deep shame but suddenly realised that his cock might suggest otherwise. As he finally and reluctantly removed his last covering, the traditional loincloth, he realised he was sporting a hard-on.

Niachiarus was in his thirties, tall and it was obvious that he had once been handsome. However, some of his muscles were becoming flabby and his body was gaining fat in all areas. He was expert at his work which he conducted with outward dutiful politeness.

Anthonius stood naked before his slave, shyly attempting to hide his swelling genitalia under his hands. Niachiarus was prepared for the boy's acute embarrassment as he had witnessed it many times before. He simply asked if the Prince (Anthonius would remain a Lycian Prince until initiated as a Roman Imperial boy companion) could oblige him by laying face-up on a padded high table located in the suite's bath chamber. Niachiarus observed the immaculate form of Anthonius' lustrous bare rear as the boy obeyed, keeping his hands in their strategic position. The eunuch approached and began to examine the boy slowly and very carefully from head to toe. He started with the boy's hair, looked into his ears, nose and mouth, felt his limbs, and their fingers and toes, and then his chest and belly. He lingered particularly at Anthonius' nipples, delicately massaging them to erection, and at the boy's navel, which he gently probed.

Anthonius knew what was due next but he was loath to move his hands, especially as his embarrassing hard-on had intensified because of the attentions being paid to his body. However, Niachiarus was excellent at diffusing boys' tensions. He said "Now young master, I know that you don't want me to look and, if you insist, I won't. However, I will then be whipped for not performing my duties properly and I don't think you want that to happen. Anyway, there's nothing behind your hands that I haven't seen before. I suppose it's grown a bit because of what I've been doing. Come let me see!" Anthonius reluctantly placed his hands at his sides and closed his eyes in shame. He soon felt the eunuch's sensitive touch as a hand weighed his balls and a finger ran carefully up and down his now throbbing cock. Then the hands went away causing Anthonius to open his eyes. He saw that Niachiarus now held a long piece of string with regularly demarcated markings, obviously a measuring device. With it, the eunuch proceeded to measure virtually every dimension of the front of the Prince's body, recording the results on a clay tablet whilst successfully discouraging the boy's inclination to return his hands towards his loins. Anthonius closed his eyes again but reopened them when he suddenly felt his cock being pumped. Niachiarus settled the astounded boy by saying "Do not be alarmed, young master, its maximum length needs to be measured". The eunuch expertly stopped the pumping just before Anthonius reached the point of no return and completed his measurement, also adding the circumference of the boy's scrotum to his list.

The eunuch now asked Anthonius if he would turn over so that he may complete his task. The boy complied and soon the back of his body was experiencing Niachiarus' minute attentions. Much time was spent with the youngster's buttocks. They were tenderly rubbed and massaged, and the boy could not prevent himself uttering a moan when his bum cheeks were gingerly prised apart and he felt a fingertip on his virgin sphincter. Both knew that the moan was not one of pain. Shortly afterwards, Anthonius heard Niachiarus requesting him to turn back over. As he did so, the boy noticed the size of his own cock. He had never seen it so big.

Niachiarus again prevented the Prince from shielding his rampant member from view and instead shocked the boy by grasping it in his hand, saying "Please forgive, young master, but this is almost the final examination I am required to make." The eunuch then started to masturbate Anthonius, who quickly grasped the sides of the table to try to stabilise his now quivering body. However, he could not prevent his loins from instinctively rising from the table towards the hand giving him pleasure. His previous embarrassment was forgotten as he writhed in ecstasy and soon felt unprecedented amounts of semen spurting out of his cock. Niachiarus pumped the boy dry, collecting his seed in a bowl, which he then meticulously checked by sight, smell and taste, whilst the boy grasped his genitals with both hands in post-orgasmic abashment and trauma. Later, Niachiarus' final measurement was of the recovered boy's now flaccid cock. However, Anthonius' humiliations were still not over for the eunuch then apologetically asked him some deeply personal questions about his sex life, what he liked and what he practised, telling the boy that it would be best for both of them if he did not lie. Anthonius, who was incapable of lying, thought his humiliation could become no worse as he replied with the truth, but he was quickly proved wrong. The eunuch was most content at having secured Anthonius' sexual secrets, which to him confirmed the boy as ideally suited for whoredom.

Niachiarus now attached some wooden poles fitted with stirrups to the bench and guided the puzzled boy's legs through the stirrups so that his knees bent over them. He then produced a narrow leather tube to one end of which he applied some grease whilst fitting the other into a leather water carrier. "Please forgive again, young master, but I now need to clean here" he said as he carefully inserted the tube's greased end into the startled boy's exposed hole and lifted the water carrier up to fix it to one of the poles. Anthonius instantly felt the cool water flow into him as the first of the two enemas to which he was to be subjected began. Later, after oversighting Anthonius' final toilet, Niachiarus bathed the shamed boy thoroughly and then fitted him into a chastity belt. This comprised a hard leather pouch individually fitted to cover a boy's genitals with no discomfort as long as he did not become aroused. It was secured in place by leather thongs linking at the front and, via the bum crack, at the back to a waist belt strapped at the rear. It was impossible for the wearer to unstrap the contraption without help.

Niachiarus then explained to Anthonius that he would henceforward be responsible for the health, cleanliness and purity of the Prince's body and for preparing him for his role as an Imperial boy companion. As such, the eunuch would carefully oversight the boy's daily diet and exercise, would personally bathe and massage him and would provide him with all necessary tuition. He also explained that it was important that the boy resisted the temptations of pleasuring himself for he needed to remain chaste in order to serve the Emperor in the manner required. Anthonius learnt what that meant over the next few weeks as Niachiarus proficiently oversaw his preparation and introduced him to the realities of his new position in what was effectively the Emperor's boy harem.

Anthonius learnt that Diocletian's marriage was for reasons of state and public appearance only. The Emperor had never disguised his preference for boys, always maintaining a group of about twenty catamites aged between 8 and 15 and grandly calling them boy companions. All had to be beautiful and unblemished, virgins originally and of noble birth. They were usually offered by noble families who had fallen on hard times, for the Emperor was known to reward the boys well for loyalty when they became too old for further service, many being given lucrative state sinecures. The boys would also be able to help their families more immediately by passing on the frequent bribes they were known to receive, because of their regular access to the Emperor, from courtiers wanting to press petitions on some invariably minor matter. Diocletian indulged such activities and would occasionally hear particular petitions to keep the boys in credit.

All the boys possessed their own comfortable living quarters in this secluded but well guarded part of the Imperial palace, which centred around a pleasure chamber and adjacent bedchamber. Here the boys would be required to appease the Emperor's sexual desires. The whole arrangement was managed by Casperius, who had himself once been one of Diocletian's boy favourites. He had become expert and seemingly indispensable in ensuring that the Emperor's needs were fully satisfied. He was consequently very influential within the Imperial court, had enriched himself considerably because of this and was very jealous of his position.

Under the overall control of Casperius, each boy was allocated a nullified Nubian slave not only to serve them but also to ensure that their bodies were kept at a peak of physical perfection and sexual readiness. The Nubians expertly kept their young charges instructed in the latest manners and rituals of the Imperial court and their anticipated duties, both sexual and otherwise. The boys were taught the arts of lovemaking using a series of ingenious anal and oral dildos. The former were insufficiently large to ruin a virgin but sufficient to train a boy in how to manoeuvre his body to ensure the greatest pleasure for his sodomiser. The latter, some of which could spurt a semen-like liquid produced from herbs, enabled fellatio skills to be perfected. The boys were also taught erotic dancing and the playing of musical instruments, for the Emperor liked his boys to provide such entertainments. The Nubians oversaw strict dietary and exercise regimes, with all food and drink spiced with aphrodisiacs. Enemas, massages and body perfuming were invariably included in final ablutions before boys were ready to assume duties. Discreet body shaving also occurred when necessary but, once this requirement became regular and obvious, it was also obvious that a boy's days in the harem were coming to an end. Diocletian did not like the thought of even one hair on his boys' torsos.

When on duty inside the harem, the boys wore, at least at first, the simple skimpy black cloth loincloths with a gold Imperial eagle on the front flap. They were allowed elsewhere in the palace only with the major domo's permission and under his strict supervision or that of their Nubians. They then wore their light sleeveless short black tunics with Imperial eagle on the chest. The tunic just hid their loincloths only if they stayed still. Movement often provided teasing views of their barely covered loins.

The boys were told from the beginning that the pleasures to be derived from their bodies were now exclusively the Emperor's. The boys were not allowed to play with themselves and, to help keep the boys celibate whilst off-duty, the Nubians usually required them to wear their chastity belts. Such preparation was designed to keep the boys in a state of sexual eagerness, which was often demonstrated by their frequently full and constant erections when relieved of the restrictions of clothing. Relief was usually granted only when Diocletian allowed boys to have sex with each other as erotic foreplay before he bedded another choice of boy or boys, although Casperius did occasionally milk boys. This occurred when the boys had been neglected by the Emperor and were unlikely to be wanted by him soon, mainly because he was away in the provinces or on campaign. Diocletian generally treated his boys reasonably well, usually allowing them to be punished only for genuine misdemeanours, most commonly, despite the precautions, accidental ejaculations. However, occasionally, principally through boredom, the Emperor set them sadistic challenges and beat them if they failed.

Entry to the harem was carefully restricted and contact with anyone else outside the harem was strictly forbidden. The boys knew that the consequences of breaking this cardinal rule could be calamitous for those concerned, for there was a precedent about which they were constantly reminded. One silly early member of the harem had seemingly flirted with one of the Praetorians, although no real evidence of physical contact had ever emerged. The boy was not well liked by the others and news of his indiscretions eventually passed to the Emperor, who exploded in anger. He had both of the miscreants tortured until they confessed to an illicit liaison. Later, with the Emperor and the other boy companions observing from a veranda, the boy was forced to watch as his supposed lover was dragged out naked before the whole of the Praetorian Guard in a palace courtyard and chained spread-eagled to a punishment post. The man's penis and scrotum were tightly bound with leather thongs, separating them and making them stand out from his body. His commander then stepped forward, drew a knife, grabbed the genitals and with one slice severed them from the writhing man's body. He then stuffed them into the victim's mouth to silence his screams whilst he bled to death. The boy himself was now stripped, bent over and chained to a small wooden horse so that his backside was fully exposed. The commander then sodomised him, followed over some twenty hours by 80 ordinary soldiers selected by lot. The Emperor had deemed the mass rape appropriate as the boy seemed to like Praetorians so much. The Emperor and his entourage viewed some of the early violations of the screaming lad but left after a while to enjoy dinner. They returned the next day to see the boy, who had been treated to partial recovery after his ordeal, rechained to the same bloodied punishment post from which his dead alleged lover's body had just been removed. Two huge Praetorians with evil looking metal pointed whips then approached and began to flog the boy slowly but mercilessly. Their orders were to continue to do so until he died. This precedent subsequently proved useful in keeping the minds of boy companions concentrated on serving the Emperor loyally, and completely deterring any other potential admirers from revealing themselves.

Chapter 5 - Initiation

(March 290 A.D.)

The day of the Emperor's birthday banquet had arrived and Anthonius was ready to play his part in the celebrations. The great care afforded his preparation had ensured that he looked and felt at his best, absolutely gorgeous and overflowing with youthful vitality. He was wearing clothing identical to that of the Imperial boy companions but white to denote his virginity. He stood before the side door of the palace's main banquet hall from which the various entertainment acts entered, Niachiarus at his side soothing him with quiet platitudes to calm nerves. The banquet had been proceeding for a couple of hours and the birthday present Diocletian was most looking forward to was about to replace the boy dancing troupe on the entertainment dais to commence his initiation ceremony. Anthonius knew that the degradations he had suffered at the hands of the eunuch were nothing to those he was about to suffer, but he was determined to face them well and with as much dignity as they allowed. In particular, he remembered the boy companion who had danced so enchantingly at the triumphal banquet and he had resolved to out-perform him. However, he could not explain why the prospect of what was now to happen so excited him. He was disgusted with himself, but this did not cause his cock to become any less rigid, and he flushed when he realised that his excitement would be clearly visible to all as he performed. Then the doors opened and the boy dancers, all about 11, very pretty and dressed in identical tiny purple thongs, ran out. Niachiarus patted Anthonius gently on the bum and said "Don't be afraid, you'll be fine. In you go!" and the boy entered with trepidation.

Anthonius immediately recognised that the eyes of virtually all of the hundreds within the hall were on him as he crossed towards the front of the dais, immediately before Diocletian who was already beginning to lick his lips. However, the boy's fortitude brought his training to the fore and he approached gracefully before kneeling in homage. Casperius then stood and formally addressed the Emperor. "Lord, before you is Anthonius, Prince of Lycia, who wishes to implore your majesty to allow him the honour of becoming one of your Imperial boy companions, foregoing all his privileges and rights in order to do so. As a symbol of his desire to serve, he herewith impregnates himself with your sacred seed." One of the boy companions stepped forward with a tiny urn. On reaching Anthonius, he removed the stopper and handed the opened urn to the still kneeling boy. The Prince put the urn to his lips and the unique smell of semen invaded his nose but he overcame his repulsion and swallowed the urn's contents without hesitation. Niachiarus, looking from afar, was proud. He now knew that Anthonius would perform the ceremonials excellently, as every new boy tart should.

Casperius now continued "Lord, will you permit the Prince to dance in your honour whilst you consider his plea?" Diocletian nodded and the major domo signalled Anthonius to begin. The boy regained his feet and waited for the music to start. When it did, he untied the cord of his tunic and quickly, but with practised refinement, pulled the garment over his head, cast it to the floor and began his routine. Many of those who saw his performance later agreed that they had seen no better, a boy of unparalleled beauty, clad in just a small highly revealing white loincloth and dancing with unblemished elegance, skill and eroticism, the latter enhanced by the obvious bulge in his garment's undercloth. Certainly, the lustful expression on the Emperor revealed to all that he had thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle. When Anthonius finished with a perfectly executed back summersault, most spectators were genuinely unhappy that the entertainment had finished and some unprecedented applause began to ring out as he resumed his kneeling posture before Diocletian. This was quickly stopped by Casperius who stood to re-address the Emperor. "Lord, is it your wish that Prince Anthonius be allowed the honour of serving you?" Diocletian tried not to nod too eagerly.

Anthonius now stood, bowed nicely and left the hall, with most watchers engrossed in thought about what now awaited his sublime form. On his way across the dais, Anthonius passed his half-brother, happily sneering back at him, and a smiling Niachiarus met the Prince at the doors to escort him back to the boy's own suite. There he subjected his charge to speedy fresh ablutions before leading him to the Emperor's private pleasure chamber at the heart of the boy companion complex. This was basically a small version of the banquet hall but decorated by obscene wall paintings depicting the debauchment of young boys by well-endowed men. He guided Anthonius to stand at the centre of the chamber's entertainment dais to await Diocletian's arrival which, as he anticipated, was not long delayed. The Emperor had never before been so impatient to taste the pleasures of a particular boy's body.

Diocletian was accompanied by Casperius and the full entourage of boy companions. They all reclined on the couches surrounding the dais, except for four boys who sat cross-legged on the floor to play their musical instruments. All the boys removed their tunics as they assumed their positions, passing them to their eunuchs who, as always, would be acting as servants during the entertainments. The Emperor took time to view the magnificent sight kneeling before him. The dazzling golden hair, sparkling sky-blue eyes and sensuous rosy lips. The immaculately smooth and unblemished skin encasing a body of perfect symmetry. A visage to die for! Diocletian also saw that the boy was breathing rapidly, his gorgeous tummy expanding and contracting rapidly, presumably with nervous anticipation, a state from which he would now relieve him. The Emperor gestured to the boy musicians that they were to begin and they did so with a slow introductory melody to enable Anthonius to stand and ready himself. He now awaited with apprehension and shame the sudden quickening of the music's tempo, for this would signal the time for the act that would precede the commencement of his dance. When it arrived, he had to overcome strong emotions to ignore its meaning and, instead, pulled on the almost imperceptible bow that tied the waist cord of his loincloth together, and allowed his last covering to fall to the floor. He heard a loud gasp from Diocletian, and quiet giggling from some of the watching boys, as he discretely kicked the discarded garment to one side and started his nude dance. Diocletian was transfixed by the glorious sight of the boy's naked loins, revealed to him for the first time, and dominated by the exquisite ripe form of his smooth hairless ball sac hanging nicely under a pleasingly fully erect penis. When the boy's dance caused him to turn and wiggle the sleek flawless mounds of his bare bum, the Emperor went bright red in the face.

Anthonius again performed faultlessly, his rigid cock, released from the confines of clothing, humiliatingly flopping around freely as he progressed through the various dancing manoeuvres, until disaster struck. He could feel it slowly and inexorably rise within him but was powerless to stop it. All of the watchers could not help but be enchanted by the dancing boy, his beauty, skill and unmistakable sexual excitement, which now had an explosive conclusion. It occurred after another jumping movement had caused Anthonius' penis to rebound yet again off his belly. His body immediately convulsed but somehow the boy regained his composure and continued to dance whilst he sprayed his own semen over himself and the floor. He heard chuckling at his plight and noticed that everyone was smirking at him. His dance finished soon afterwards and he was back on his knees before Diocletian, but now naked and with the proof of his orgasm smeared all over his stomach, loins and front thighs, as well as the dais. No-one was ever to find out that Niachiarus had deliberately so orchestrated the boy's physical preparation and his nude dance routine that he thought such an accident inevitable. The eunuch would be very pleased about his trick for all of two weeks.

There was silence for what seemed to the boy like eternity before Casperius, in a mocking tone, said to the Emperor "Lord, do you want him cleaned before the rituals proceed further?" Diocletian responded negatively as he was now desperate to have the boy, his own cock pressing uncomfortably hard against his underwear, and the major domo gestured to two nearby boy companions. They collected the naked kneeling boy, flushed from his recent energetic activity and acute shame. Taking one arm each, the boys led him to the adjacent bedchamber and stood him at the foot of the Emperor's huge bed, which over the years had been the scene of their own and many others' deflowerment and later continued debauchment. Anthonius was to be the next young boy to lose his purity and innocence humiliatingly and painfully at the lecherous man's hands and, more pertinently, prick. They left him momentarily alone, shivering slightly in fear, but returned quickly, escorting the Emperor, who smiled at the waiting boy. Anthonius gained no comfort from the smile. He knew that it was not meant to provide any reassurance but rather indicated Diocletian's satisfaction that his lustful plans were about to come to fruition. The boys helped the Emperor to disrobe and to sit on the bed. Anthonius felt himself become a little dizzy when Diocletian's engorged penis, which he would now be required to service, was revealed for the first time. Other than the huge African's at the triumphal banquet, the boy had never seen a man's erect prick before and wondered how he could possibly accommodate the monster. As Anthonius was to discover much later, the Emperor's size was actually nothing special but he would not have appreciated that at the time.

With a last lingering and clearly contemptuous look at the waiting Anthonius, which caused him to flush again, the two boys left, leaving him alone with Diocletian, who spent a while examining his prize whilst stroking his cock. The Emperor was rewarded with the sight of the Anthonius' own cock slowly hardening again before, finally, he signalled the boy to lay beside him on the bed. Anthonius, again disgusted at his own body's reaction to his situation, and also again fighting impulses to disobey, with a particular desire to run away almost overwhelming, reluctantly obeyed the summons. Diocletian peered down at him, drool exiting his mouth. He then ran his hands though Anthonius' silky hair before lifting the boy's head towards his own to plant his first kiss on the inviting lips. The boy managed to disguise his disgust at the man's fat hairy body and its unpleasant sweaty aroma and, ignoring the vile drool, received the kiss receptively as he had been taught. The kiss was prolonged and accompanied by a slow exploration by the Imperial tongue of the boy's mouth. Diocletian's passion now overtook him. He moved his kisses and tongue to most other places on first the front and later the back of the boy's body, spending much time at his neck, nipples, navel and bum, including a tonguing of the virgin hole, before culminating his expedition with the young stiff genitalia. Anthonius had not been able to prevent himself from uttering moans of pleasure and becoming intensely rigid whilst all this was being inflicted on his prone nude body, and this intensified almost to climax when the Emperor hungrily licked and sucked the boy's sweet balls and penis. However, Diocletian, with regular practice, had learnt the signs of a boy's progression to orgasm and stopped, when he realised his bed companion was close, to examine his handiwork. Anthonius lay next him, hands firmly gripping the bed, eyes shut, beads of sweat on his brow and penis throbbing wildly. The Emperor laughed and lay back on the bed.

Anthonius now realised with alarm that it was his turn to do to Diocletian's body what had just been done to his own. He was not in any way looking forward to the gross task but knew that he had no choice. He opened his eyes and lifted himself into a kneeling position between the Emperor's now splayed legs, his gently vibrating penis embarrassingly pointing directly at the expectant man. He then leant over to caress the ugly face with his own kisses and tongue before progressing elsewhere to a cacophony of pleasurable moans from him. Anthonius was close to retching on many occasions during the foul journey, none closer than when having to tongue Diocletian's own putrid hole, but he somehow managed to prevent himself from doing so. However, the Emperor's balls and cock were now next. He gulped as his head went down on them, first licking the obnoxious hairy balls before concentrating on carefully absorbing each testicle in turn into his mouth to suck them gently. He then licked the full length and all sides of the swollen prick, gathering onto his tongue copious amounts of repulsive precum as he did so. He slid his tongue teasingly over Diocletian's slit before letting the rest of the penis head to enter his mouth. He sucked and sucked, carefully taking air whilst gradually allowing his mouth to go lower and lower until he felt the intrusion entering his throat but, at this point, the Emperor's hands pulled him off. "I'm ready" was all the man said but Anthonius knew what he meant and positioned himself as he had been taught, on his back with his legs held wide apart in the air by his own arms. Diocletian liked his boys in this position so that he could watch their faces as he excruciatingly deprived them of their virginity. He straddled Anthonius, his hard cock resting against the boy's bum crack. The Emperor then pointed it directly at Anthonius' exposed virgin sphincter, seemingly blinking at him in expectation as the boy's breathing became faster at the prospect of his imminent deflowerment.

Momentarily, Anthonius pondered how his life could have changed so much that this horrible man was now going to despoil him before again wondering how his body could admit such a monstrous implement. However, these considerations were forgotten when he felt the touch of the cock head pressing against the entrance to his hole. At first, the pink muscle resisted the intrusion but the pressure gradually became irresistible and it gave way. Anthonius screamed in agony and shame as his virginity was lost and the insatiable cock avidly invaded his innards. Casperius and the boys lounging next door laughed as they realised that Anthonius was now no longer a Prince but had become one of them.

Anthonius, amidst continuous and increasing cries of pain, frequently but hopelessly begged Diocletian to stop, but his deflowerment remorselessly proceeded. The Emperor would have been incapable halting even if he had wanted, so engrossed was he in the ecstasy of the long-awaited moment. He began by penetrating Anthonius by just a little before almost completely withdrawing, and then gradually increased the depth of his forward thrusts to intensifying shrieks until eventually his balls made contact with the boy's buttocks. Diocletian's thrusts at first became faster and faster as he ploughed Anthonius mercilessly with his full length before becoming more rhythmic. Then the usual transformation happened. The boy's cries became shallower and shallower until they disappeared along with the expression of agony and terror on his face. They were replaced by quiet moans and a look of developing enjoyment as the boy became more accustomed to the buggery, and as the associated pain was slowly displaced by the delicious sensation of contact being made with his prostrate gland. This was visibly exemplified by the gradual re-hardening of the boy's own cock, which had softened during his agony, back to full erection. The sight of this took Diocletian over the top. He did not want his sodomisation of the boy to stop but now could not prevent the feelings boiling in his loins reaching their inevitable climax, and he yelled ecstatically as he impregnated Anthonius with copious amounts of thick creamy sperm. As the boy felt the Emperor's sperm pumping deep into his insides, he reacted with his own orgasm, shooting seed over his own chest and face.

Diocletian lay exhausted back on the bed. Anthonius slowly let go of his legs and gingerly lay them down. He was aware of great pain between his legs, could feel the semen within him and saw that some had leaked, along with blood, onto his inner thighs. He also knew that his duties were far from over. Despite the acute discomfort, he raised himself from the bed to kneel again between the Emperor's legs. Diocletian had closed his eyes but Anthonius knew that this would not excuse him from his next unpleasant task so he ignored the pain in his backside and leant over to suck on the man's penis again. It took half an hour's delicate attention to fully clean the penis of semen and his own blood and juices and restore it to full erection. Anthonius appreciated that his preliminary enemas meant that there was nothing worse to remove. He had difficulty in taking the whole thing satisfactorily into his mouth and down his throat once it had been restored to its earlier rigidity but this was cured when Diocletian held the boy's head down firmly in place as he ejaculated again. Anthonius swallowed as much as he could, thankful for the technique he had been taught, but the need to breathe became overwhelming. Luckily, the Emperor, having been completely drained of seed, released him just in time. Anthonius gulped air hungrily as he moved his head away from the man's satiated loins, with trickles of unconsumed semen running from both sides of his mouth.

Diocletian recalled the two boy companions to help him rise. They wiped him with a warm perfumed cloth before assisting him to redress. Meanwhile, Anthonius had returned to a standing position at the foot of the bed, head bowed in degradation. He therefore did not observe the boys' disdainful sneers when they occasionally glanced at him until, having escorted the Emperor back into the pleasure chamber, they returned to collect him. Anthonius was soon back on the pleasure chamber dais but now, instead of kneeling in homage to Diocletian, he had to go further and kiss an Imperial eagle embossed into the dais as a symbol of his new status. His two escorts removed the boy's throat chain denoting his previous royal status and threw it symbolically onto the floor where his discarded white loincloth still lay. It was replaced with that of an Imperial boy companion. They then attached a golden cockring to his balls. It came in two semi-circular parts whose flanged ends snapped easily together but were much harder to separate to prevent removal. The ring was one of the reasons for Niachiarus' precise measurements of the boy's body. Its fitting was carefully designed not to diffuse sexual passion by restricting the blood supply to the genitals, but rather the opposite. It was proportioned to concentrate the blood within the organs so substantially enhancing sexual stimulus, and would have to be occasionally replaced with slightly larger versions as the wearer grew. The Emperor also liked its decorative effect, the fact that it encouraged a boy's prized assets to stand out more from his groin and the fact that he would constantly feel the attachment on his scrotum, so continually reminding him of his role and status. The boys finally redressed Anthonius in a black loincloth similar to their own but made no attempt to clean the embarrassing semen mixture from his face or body. Along with the blood visible on Anthonius' inner thighs, it would remain as testament for the time being to the boy's lost purity.

Everyone now returned to the banquet in the normal formal fashion, with Anthonius walking immediately behind Diocletian, feeling the soreness in both his backside and mouth as well as the new cockring on his balls. When the parade re-entered the hall, the boy separated from the rest to stand again at the front of the entertainment dais for what he thought would be the concluding indignity of his initiation ceremony. The Emperor had been away from the banquet, enjoying Anthonius, for several hours but the event, with its spectacular erotic acts, simply continued without him and, by now, most guests were drunk. They cheered Diocletian's return and cheered even more when they saw the state of Anthonius. He was redressed nicely as a boy companion but his face, chest, stomach and thighs were smeared with the clear signs of his recent debauchment. The cheering became rapturous when the boy removed his silver medallion, marking his dedication to Ganymede, and presented it to Diocletian in confirmation of his loss of virginity to the Emperor.

Anthonius had been led to expect the end of the initiation ceremony now and to be allowed to sit with the other boy companions, but a signal from Niachiarus to remain put disabused him of this. The boy's curiosity at this turn of events swiftly changed to worry when one of the bondage frames he had seen used on the Syrian twins was brought in and fixed to the dais. The same two boy companions who had escorted him to and from the Emperor's bedchamber now walked up and led him to the square structure. "Don't be alarmed, nothing bad will happen", one of them lied, "but we are ordered to bind you to this and you must allow us." Anthonius looked in alarm first at Diocletian, who exhibited no emotion, and then at Niachiarus who signalled compliance. Anthonius therefore reluctantly allowed the two boys to place shackles on his wrists and ankles and then chain him tightly in a 'Y' formation to the frame so that his body was painfully taut. The boys then relieved him of his detachable loincloth flaps, leaving just the deliberately tight-fitting thong-like undercloth to preserve his modesty.

Anthonius' distress at this unexpected turn of events then turned to panic when the side doors opened and two big men entered pulling a wheeled and lit brazier with what looked like two branding irons embedded in the coals. A wet patch appeared at the front of Anthonius' undercloth and urine seeped from the sides and down his legs as his bowel emptied. To resounding cheers from the spectators, of whom the main cheerleader was Anthonius' half-brother, the men hauled the brazier to within a few paces of the boy, now quietly but audibly pleading "No! Please no!" One of the men silenced Anthonius by placing a leather gag in his mouth. It would also serve to prevent the boy biting off his own tongue. The man then kneeled and pricked both of Anthonius' upper front thighs with a small needle, carefully ensuring that the alignment of both prick marks matched. With his markers in place, the man collected the first iron from the brazier. The boy saw that it had the outline of an Imperial eagle at the end, glowing red hot, and desperately tested his shackles, but he was held immovably in place. Anthonius saw cruel pleasure in the man's eyes as he slowly approached and deliberately presented the evil iron for the writhing boy to inspect closely. The man then knelt again and Anthonius could feel the iron's intense heat as it was held just above his thigh. The boy passed out when it was finally applied to his skin, only to be quickly reawakened by the application of cold water to his face. It was customary to keep the victims of branding conscious during their ordeal. The man returned the iron to the coals and collected the other, and Anthonius saw that it was exactly the same as the first.

Anthonius remembered little else until he awoke to find himself naked and alone on his own bed. He had been cleaned but the discomfort in his backside and mouth was now nothing compared to the searing agony of his new brand-marks. Some attempt to reduce the pain seemed to have been made because both had been smeared with some form of salve, but it would take days for it to recede completely. However, his feeling of utmost dejection at having them on his body would never subside and he did not understand why he had been so marked. He had not become a slave and none of the other boy companions had been branded. Niachiarus later told Anthonius that he thought it best not to tell him that the Emperor had ordered the branding, having decreed that it was to become regular practice for all future new boy companions. Anthonius was simply unlucky to be the first to be subjected to the latest Imperial whim.

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