The Lycian Prince 54

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.

(To be continued in Chapter 54 – ‘Armillatus’)