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NERO
By Pueros Chapter XII Bloodletting (Plebeian quarter, Rome, in November of the 5th year of the reign of the Emperor Claudius [AD 46]) Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem. (Remember to keep a clear head in difficult times.) - Horace The unarmed Gaius somehow managed to display firmness of voice as he produced his moneybag from within his toga virilis to offer to the two evil-looking scar-faced men in front of him, equipped with knives and slowly approaching the youth and the trembling 4 year-old Hylas. A similar looking adult duo, with obvious wicked intent, was also now advancing from behind. Its all I have on me, Gaius announced, but youre welcome to it. Therell be no need to use your weapons against us to obtain what you apparently want.
What makes you think that money alone will satisfy us, one of the men in front answered, whilst exhibiting a cruel sneer, as we might like slicing young pretty throats just for fun, especially when one belongs to a rich equestrian who thinks himself superior to us workers? Gaius did not believe it appropriate to take affront at the misapprehension, or ask whether the robber had actually performed an honest days labour in his life. He also did not consider this the right moment to query how the thief knew to what precise class the youth pertained. Instead, the astute 16 year-old had other worries, for he had perceptively realized from the bloodlust evident on his would-be assailants faces that they did not intend to let either Hylas or himself leave the alleyway alive. (The villa of Caius Silius, Rome, same time) Cito fit quod dii volunt. (What the gods want happens soon.) - Petronius Nighttime was rapidly descending but that was not going to prevent what was about to happen because the surrounding garden scene was illuminated by many oil lamps, located in tall metal stands. I was dangling from the punishment frame, naked body quaking in horror at the shame of being so humiliatingly disported before the now fully assembled slave household and at what was now to occur. I noticed Apollinus standing white-faced in the midst of the large assemblage, although some others were clearly not quite so unhappy at my degrading and appalling predicament. Some of the less compassionate young and old males and females displayed broad grins and uttered subdued titters. My dread at my circumstance was reinforced by noticing a lit brazier nearby, wooden-handled irons already turning red hot in the coals. My fear was further compounded by the arrival of the major domo, stripped to the waist in readiness to perform his task. It was evident what this was to be from the presence of a multi-stranded whip in his hand, the same one that had horribly chastised a miscreant youth at this very spot a few months earlier, just before the young slave was nullified. After taking up position besides the punishment frame and turning towards the assemblage, the major domo announced the purpose of the imminent event. This mischievous slave, he declared, has been spreading evil untruthful gossip about our great master and will now suffer for that wickedness. He will be whipped all over, without regard to the damage caused." He will also have his remaining genitalia cut off, the major domo continued, and be branded with Caius Silius' mark on his forehead and buttocks. He will then be despatched to labour for the rest of his pitiful life in our masters silver mine in Apulia. The major domo had not expected to make such an announcement, anticipating that the punishment of such a valuable slave would not incur any permanent damage or change of service. However, even he had not realized the extent of Caius Silius desire for revenge against not only Gaius but also me. Nevertheless, the comprehensive penance that he had been asked to inflict actually delighted him more. Meanwhile, the major domos dreadful words alone caused me to faint. (Plebeian quarter, Rome, same time) Fortuna est caeca. (Fortune is blind.) - Cicero Persius and Quintilianus had disappointed their personal slaves by requiring their servants to return to duty. The boys sensibly appreciated that they would need the adults with them whilst they ventured outside their domus to the usual restaurant they used when they had decided not to eat in. The area at night was simply too dangerous to roam without protection, and both men carried knives for the purpose. (Port of Ostia, same time) Villa pulcherrima. Cingitur viridissimis agris, imminet litori, cuius in sinu fit cum maxime portus. Huius sinistrum brachium firmissimo opere munitum est, dextrum elaboratur. In ore portus insula adsurgit, quae inlatum vento mare obiacens frangat tutumque ab utroque latere decursum navibus praestet. Adsurgit autem arte visenda: ingentia saxa latissima navis provehit contra. Haec alia super alia deiecta ipso pondere manent ac sensim quodam velut aggere construuntur. Eminet iam et apparet saxeum dorsum impactosque fluctus in immensum elidit et tollit. Vastus illic fragor canumque circa mare. Saxis deinde pilae adicientur, quae procedente tempore enatam insulam imitentur. Habebit hic portus et iam habet nomen auctoris eritque vel maxime salutaris. (The house is really beautiful. It is surrounded by green fields and faces the seashore, where a natural bay is being converted with all speed into a harbour. The left arm has already been reinforced by a solid mole and the right is in process of construction. At the entrance to the harbour, an island is rising out of the water to act as a breakwater when the wind blows inland, and so give a safe passage to ships entering from either side. Its construction is well worth seeing. Huge stones are brought by large barges and thrown out one on top of another facing the harbour. Their weight keeps them in position and the pile gradually rises in a sort of rampart. A hump of rocks can already be seen sticking up, which breaks the waves beating against it and tosses them high into the air with a resounding crash, so that the sea all round is white with foam. Later on piers will be built on the stone foundation, and as time goes on it will look like a natural island.) - Pliny the Younger (Epistles, 6.31) The Empires busiest sea trade route lies across the eastern Mare Internum, or Internal Sea, between the great Aegyptian metropolis of Alexandria and the ports that serve the Imperial capital. As Romes size, power and territorial possessions grew, it became increasingly obvious that local grain was insufficient to feed its burgeoning population. Rich and productive though the Campanian farms are, their output is insufficient to nourish the citys rapidly increasing number of inhabitants. However, the Province of Aegyptia can seemingly provide an endless supply of high quality wheat and so, year after year, many ships make their way from there, carrying the precious cargoes upon which the very life of the known supposedly civilized world itself depends. During the early Empire, Puteoli had been Romes main port because Ostia did not have a good natural anchorage. However, because of improvements initiated by Claudius, continued by successors, the latter city soon became the Imperial capitals principal harbour. The developments included the digging of a new channel and cutting of a large new basin with breakwaters extending out to sea, plus the establishment of a harbour-mouth lighthouse, assisted by the sinking of a huge ship at the location. Good roads and inland waterways connect all of Romes harbours to the capital, with Ostia having the benefit of access to the Imperial centre via the River Tiber, on the estuary of which the port is located. The greatest city in the world was actually originally deliberately situated at the Tibers first upriver crossing point, far enough inland along the navigable but winding and fast-running waterway to be safe from pirates. The metropolis seven hilltops, surrounding the valley where the Forum was to be located, provided added protection from attack in the early years. At Ostia, goods are usually stored in vast dockside warehouses before being moved up the River Tiber by barges, pulled by many oxen on a tow path running along the waterways southern bank. The welcome to Italia for the black youth and his fellow Africans was to be little different than for the non-human cargoes.
Like myself at that very moment, the black youth was nude, his original loincloth not having survived the long journey from his distant African homeland via Alexandria. However, given that many of his fellow captives had failed to live through the terrible one-way trip, the 16 year-old was grateful for his continued existence, at least for now, as he disembarked not from a grain ship but one that specialized in slaves. The best sailing season is considered to be from the end of May until mid September, although the two months either side are also considered reasonable. During this period, the Mare Internum, sometimes also termed Mare Nostrum or Our Sea, is full of sails, with huge numbers of vessels traversing the sea in many directions, although the majority are progressing to or from Romes ports. The most common type of merchant ship is the corbita, a rather clumsy, slow, round-hulled, single-masted sailing vessel with curved prow and stern. However, they are seaworthy and capable of making very long voyages. The largest of their kind are the grain carriers, which, if used for carrying passengers instead of wheat, can accommodate up to 600 people, more if the cargo comprises slaves. In the winter, shipping comes to an almost complete standstill, this period being called the mare clausum, or closed sea. At this time, the force of the frequent gales in the Mare Internum is considered to be too great, a hazard compounded by regular bad visibility, which hampers navigation. Shipwreck, or jettison of cargo, are thought to be almost inevitable if voyages are undertaken between mid November and mid March. The black youth and his fellow disheveled and mainly naked survivors of the recent voyage had been unlucky in that very bad weather had arrived early, extending the normal fifteen to twenty day journey from Alexandria to one approaching two months. However, they had not been as unfortunate as the young human cargo that had been jettisoned overboard on the way. The youth and his fellow survivors were escorted in chains to a huge building that specialized in the temporary housing of humans destined for the slave markets of the Imperial capital. There, the young blacks found themselves in large barred cells with no amenities, other than holes in the floor, leading directly to smelly drains below, for toilets, and some river water, flowing along a side channel. The running river water was for drinking and washing. However, the former activity was dangerous, given that the Tiber was Romes main sewer, and the latter difficult when hands were chained behind backs. The youth and his fellow newcomers found themselves alongside other prospective slaves whose skin colours were of many different hues. There were the pale compatriots of Axenius and myself, respectively from Germania and Britannia, as well as tanned Greeks and people from Asia and north Africa. However, there was little association between the various groups. The prime cause of this was not language or cultural differences but shared misery, which made few communicative or sociable. In any case, most only spent the night in the warehouse, as in the morning they would be loaded into shallow ox-driven barges for the upriver voyage to their new destinies. The November night would be chilly and so the young black human cargo, like those of other skins, was forced again to snuggle together for warmth. However, as previously, their chain bondage prevented any other intimacy. The youth had been ashamed to exhibit a constant, exceptionally large, erection, caused by unsatisfied hormones searing through his 16 year-old body, still splendid despite its urgent need for a wash. This had been particularly galling to him during the dockside transfer from the ship that had brought him from Aegyptia. Many port workers had obviously admired the phallic display, resulting in many lewd comments. The youth had been unable to understand precisely what was being remarked, as he presently knew virtually no Latin, but had enough insight to appreciate the demeaning gist. Unfortunately, this had only induced his out-of-control penis to engorge and throb even more noticeably, as well as drool precum, a long string of which, dangling from his impressive cockhead, accompanied the 16 year-old during most of the switch to the warehouse. The youth, of course, still did not know that such an embarrassing problem would, for him, soon be a thing of the past. (Imperial palace, Rome, same time) Mus uni non fidit antro. (A mouse does not rely on just one hole.) - Plautus It is interesting to note that the name of the hill on which the home of the Emperors is located, the Palatine, seems to be lending itself to being the common term for any potentates luxurious residence, a palace. In the original on this evening, the Emperor Claudius, sober at this time of day for a change, was writing some more of his autobiography whilst his infant son, Britannicus, was playing a board game in an adjacent room with his best friend, Titus Flavius Vespasianus. The diversion in which the boys indulged was called calculi, literally stones, which is played on a square board with rows and columns, sometimes chequered and usually with black and white pebbles, although the prospective heir to the Principate was allocated more precious glass counters. Calculi have been used since ancient times to count, or calculate, but here they are utilized to try to form five-in-a-row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, before the opponent does. Turns apiece are taken, with black going first. The game is drawn if the board becomes full. Meanwhile, not far away, Messalina was engaged in less innocent activities. The Empress was spending time with a man she had just persuaded her husband to promote to Praetorian Prefect. In return, the officer was giving the young woman her reward, using not his short stabbing sword for the purpose but a rather large fleshy implement instead to insert into the 23 year-old females insides, and pleasurably not fatally. Eyes observed all of these Imperial family pastimes from secret spy-holes nearby.
(The villa of Caius Silius, Rome, a little later) Potius sero quam nunquam. (Better late than never.) - Livy (History, iv. ii. 11) My punishment was delayed by the not unusual late arrival of Caius Silius and his smiling daughters to watch the spectacle. You may begin, my sneering master advised the major domo, who had taken up position at my rear, ready to inflict the first blow from his whip. Up to that point, apart from my minds anguish, my worst pain had been from the harsh rope eating into my wrists, as I awaited my awful fate whilst suspended from the punishment frame, scene of many previous horrors. However, the grief that now embraced my form, as the first multiple strike from the major domos many stranded whip lashed my back overwhelmed everything else. I fainted again but the sanctuary of unconsciousness did not last for long. As earlier, my mind was brought back to reality by the cool contents of one of the many full leather pails of water situated nearby for the purpose. It seemed that any lapses into insensibility during my torment had already been anticipated and the easy remedy prepared. I screamed loudly and now began both to beg for mercy and to cry profusely, cowardice overcoming pride. I did not know it at the time but my tears were replicated on Apollinus face. Caius Silius, of course, had no intention of giving the young brat from Britannia any compassion at all, especially as the awful lesson being demonstrated would encourage the other slaves to keep their mouths firmly shut when it came to private events within their masters house. What was happening to me would illustrate nicely to the others the type of terrible bloodletting the man would dispel to anyone spreading rumours, true or false, about his affairs. Six vivid red stripes formed across my bare back as a consequence of the major domos first strike. However, he took his time to inflict the next similar damage, wanting me to appreciate fully the excruciation induced by the initial hit. When the second blow finally arrived, my shrieking was audible in the streets of Rome beyond the walled garden of Caius Silius urban villa. However, such noises were not uncommon in the capital of the known supposed civilized world, with chastisement of slaves a regular occurrence. No one would therefore be too bothered at hearing such screams. This time a bucket of water was not needed to keep me conscious, despite the fact that the second strike had been worse than the first. The initial bloodletting also started, with sanguine droplets now beginning to form where the stripes on my back intersected. Meanwhile, the major domo changed his aim, with my lovely buttocks his next target. The free man waited for my suspended agonized body to stop swinging, the movement a result of the previous hit, before besmirching my bottom with stripes far worse than Sribonia, Tullia or their young male friends had ever created. As he did so, the smirk on Caius Silius face broadened, the original self-satisfied look presumably part caused by acceptance that my youthful lover and his infant slave should by now be well dead. Fortunately for me, the smile was wiped off my masters face by the arrival of an unexpected guest. I suggest that you stop this dreadful show immediately, Gaius commanded with stern authority, preventing the major domo from causing further bloodletting by delivering a second swipe to my sore bottom. (Plebeian quarter, Rome, a little earlier) Dum spiro, spero. (While I breathe, I hope.) - Cicero (Ad Atticum) Gaius felt panic begin to rise within his splendid form, as well as Hylas tugging on his toga virilis. The youth wanted to keep his eyes carefully focused on the evil quartet approaching from both the front and behind. However, the continued irritating pulling caused him to glance down at his infant servant. He was to be very glad that he did so because the 4 year-old was holding a knife, obviously something that he had secreted around his very young person to aid his masters protection, in imitation of adult slaves occupying similar posts. Gaius, who had been kept ignorant of Hylas weaponry, knew that it was neither the time nor place to question the knifes miraculous appearance. He instead just gratefully grabbed the blade, as it represented a chance, albeit slim, to live through the perilous ambush. The four would-be murderers noticed the youths sudden arming and slowed their advance. They had been told that the 16 year-old would have no weaponry and had therefore been anticipating an easy kill. The unexpected appearance of the blade had changed matters for the worse. They should, of course, still be able to despatch their young victims to underworld but they now worried what the cost might be. Gaius noticed the mens hesitation and decided that his best tactic was to try to make their sudden apprehension worse. You might kill us both, the youth suggested with clear determination, but I swear by the gods that Ill take at least one of you with us to meet Pluton. The 16 year-old then shouted at the top of his voice Help, murderers! over and over, a chorus in which he was soon joined by Hylas. The four would-be assailants were now stationary, perplexed at what to do. Their final decision was hastened by the appearance of another male quartet at the far end of the alley, at the back of the duo of men in front of Gaius and Hylas. The youth had also spotted the new arrivals and again yelled, but with renewed vigour, Help, murderers! The pair of adults accompanying two boys then quickly produced their own knives and began to run forwards. They told their 12 year-old charges to remain put for their own safety but neither did so, not wanting to miss the excitement. Lets scarper! one of the would-be murderers shouted and, within moments, the four evil-looking scar-faced men had disappeared into the shadows, foiled in their intended fatal bloodletting. Are we glad to see you, Gaius declared with intense relief when the two adult slaves of Persius and Quintilianus arrived at the scene of intended murder, quickly followed by the pair of excited 12 year-olds themselves. However, the youth was then perceptive enough not to give thanks for or celebrate his salvation too much. Instead, he gave some brief thought to the perilous incident that had just taken place and issued a polite instruction. Persius and Quintilianus and their caring proficient slaves then departed compliantly on their urgent errand, whilst Gaius and Hylas backtracked to the urban villa of Caius Silius. (The villa of Caius Silius, Rome, next morning) We cannot control the evil tongues of others, but a good life enables us to disregard them. - Cato the Elder There, commented the smiling Apollinus, after he had applied yet another layer of effective herbal ointment to the various, now purple and brown, whip marks decorating my bare back and buttocks, thats done. However, try to stay resting on your front, as I dont want it rubbing off. Im happy to say that the damage hadnt yet reached the stage when it would have been irreversible but youll need much more salve over many days for all the marks to go away. My fellow 14 year-olds suggestion not to turn over was actually unnecessary, as the pain such repositioning would have induced made such an ambition unlikely to say the least. Thank you again, I said to my friend in return for further careful treatment of wounds inflicted at the behest of the master and mistresses of Caius Silius household. You shouldnt thank me, Apollinus remarked, as you should be thanking your young lover for his timely arrival. Dont worry, Ill do that in my usual way when Im better, I replied with a chortle despite my discomfort. However, my giggle was soon replaced with a low squeal when my fellow 14 year-old gave my sore right buttock a light tap. Dont be impertinent with your nurse, Apollinus stated with apparent amusement, although I thought that his attempt at joking, and literally cheeky, admonition only partly disguised some jealousy. I therefore responded And I wont forget what I owe you too and how youll want my debt repaid. I was rewarded with a gentle kiss on that side of my face not resting on the bed in my tiny basement cell. Apollinus then changed the subject. I dont know what Gaius, and later, Palaemon said to our master in private, he observed, but whatever it was certainly worked in saving you from a fate worse than death. Care to let me know? I was encouraged to reveal the background to my salvation by gentle stroking of my long silky blonde hair. Gaius had taken Caius Silius aside in the garden and whispered certain blatant threats to him. As a consequence, I was lowered and removed from the punishment frame and carefully carried to my own minuscule quarters for Apollinus to commence his by now skillful remedial work. Meanwhile, my youthful lover entered the villa with my master to continue their secret conversation, where they were later joined by Palaemon, summoned by Persius and Quintilianus at the 16 year-olds request. Gaius subsequently came to my tiny cell and, after Apollinus had diplomatically departed to allow us to talk in private, my youthful lover told me of the agreement that had been reached, for which he had needed his teachers help to secure. Few would take seriously the accusations of a 16 year-old against the handsomest man in Rome, one of the richest and most influential of the citys patricians, but allegations made by the great educator and orator, Palaemon, would be different. At Gaius instruction, Persius and Quintilianus had rushed to acquaint Palaemon about the alleyway incident and the youths suspicions as to the background and what might be taking place in Caius Silius villa, if not simultaneously then soon. Meanwhile, my youthful lover and Hylas hurriedly made their way back to my masters urban villa, where they was later joined by the teacher, accompanied by Axenius. However, this did not represent the first occasion when I would meet the beautiful young Germanian, because neither he nor his master called upon me in person. They simply returned home, undoubtedly for a night of mutual pleasure, when their mission had been successfully accomplished, leaving visiting rights to the other 16 year-old. Gaius accused Caius Silius of commissioning the youths murder, an allegation he suggested was proven by the sight of what had been happening to me. The 16 year-old told my master bluntly that my terrible ordeal would not have been initiated if the man had believed that my young equestrian friend had not yet been eliminated. Caius Silius, undoubtedly shaken by the thwarting of his plans and Gaius perceptive imputation, had stuttered a feeble denial, which only added to his young accusers sense of belief in his assertions. When Palaemon arrived to contribute to the debate, he supported his pupil firmly, having heard the evidence. An agreement relating to my future wellbeing and that of my youthful lover was then quickly extracted from my alarmed master. However, this did not extend to my release from the mans service. Caius Silius did not confess to anything. However, in return for further repression of damaging rumour, this time about not only his daughters death but also Gaius narrow escape from the same fate, he agreed not to resume my punishment. It was then Palaemon who coerced Caius Silius, making it clear what the implications would be if either my youthful lover or myself were ever again placed in jeopardy. My master obviously fully understood the danger posed to his position by the famous teachers threat to accuse him of scandalous misdemeanours, in relation to which he would not want publicly to challenge such an able orator. However, he completely refused to discharge me from his service. He presumably believed that my retention was the only way that he could ensure that his latest, more formidable, blackmailer kept his word to remain silent for as long as nothing untoward happened to Gaius or me. Nevertheless, my subsequent service, which was now to include daily visits by Gaius, was much pleasanter than previous. I was assigned non-personal duties within the inner household, which kept me well away from not only Caius Silius but also his two sadistic daughters, much to their undisguised disgust and the relief of my bottom. My only regret, in achieving a degree of protection from my master and young mistresses, was that some other poor boy was bound to be assigned to replace me, his balls undoubtedly soon to be forfeit in that cause. (Main slave market, Rome, two days later) Often, when he was looking on at auctions, he would say How many things there are which I do not need! - Diogenes The black youth and his fellow young Africans had eventually been brought to the same low platform in Romes main slave market on which I had been sold five months earlier. They had all thought that the humiliation suffered, as they were marched in chains and mainly naked through the crowded streets of Rome from the banks of the River Tiber to this present location, could not be any greater. However, they had been quickly disillusioned when, after much-needed pre-sale washing and grooming in the human auction-houses cellars, they had been intimately publicly inspected by prospective purchasers. Hardly an iota of their generally very pleasant male and female forms had not been carefully prodded and probed. The black youths embarrassment at such close physical scrutiny had been compounded by maintenance of a very fulsome erection, which impressed many would be buyers. Unfortunately for the 16 year-old, his eventual new owner had been more interested in the boys other bodily features, especially his face. The brothel-keeper, who had owned Axenius for only a matter of minutes, recognized a hint of femininity in the handsome male form, something that he was particularly looking for. He therefore outbid others for possession of the youth, knowing precisely how he wanted the unsuspecting 16 year-old converted for his needs. He appreciated the process was dangerous, with only a minority surviving the change. However, black slaves came much more cheaply than white ones and so he was willing to take the risk, as he knew that there would be much custom for the final product. The black youth, still naked and in his demeaning chains, subsequently found himself in the same private roofless room with wooden walls where both Hylas and I had been castrated. As I was later to discover, the 16 year-old was not stupid. He might not have fully appreciated what was happening around or to him in this cavernous building in this strange huge metropolis, of which there was no equivalent in his distant homeland, but he recognized that something unpleasant was now about to occur. The bloodstained table with leather ties at each corner, along with the various evil-looking implements displayed around the small premises, provided him with the necessary clues. The emasculating craftsman therefore had to summon assistance to help his own two burly adult slaves to secure his latest victim to the castration table. After the difficult assignment had finally been achieved, partly aided by several blows to the black youths endangered groin, the establishment owner asked the brothel owner what he wanted done. Balls as usual? the castrator enquired. It was then that the black youth, subdued both by bondage and a gag, heard his new name for the first time, although he did not realize it at the time. No not for Nigerina, the brothel-keeper answered. However, before the man could continue, he was interrupted by the castrator, who commented Thats a female name! I know, advised the customer, and therefore most suitable for a male without any genitals whatsoever. I want his groin shaved completely! (Western Britannia, same time) I know indeed what evil I intend to do, But stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury, Fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils. - Euripides (Medea) To the early Romans, Britannia was a mysterious and initially frightening land, lying beyond both Oceanus, the great river described by Homer as encircling the entire inhabited world, and civilization itself. It was not even to be proven to be an island for well over another thirty years, when the then governor, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, sent an exploratory naval expedition around the north coast of Caledonia. Although Julius Caesar described the inhabitants of Cantium in the south-east as most civilized, the Romans generally looked upon the inhabitants, the Britanni, as savages who tattooed their bodies, painted their bottoms blue and sacrificed children to barbaric gods. However, I know, from personal experience, that, although body decoration was popular amongst the warriors of some tribes, such fashions were not universal and, to my knowledge, tales about the immolation of youngsters only formed part of scary myths. The latter occasionally formed the nightly bedtime stories related in my earlier childhood around roundhouse fires. My late father was particularly adept at delivering tales of this kind, after which, when an infant, I would invariably insist that I slept between mother and him for comfort against potential nightmares, a position in which I was usually joined by my younger sister. I believe that my parents did not mind such an intrusion into their bed, probably enjoying a private joke at our expense, as well as gaining innocent pleasure from having their youngest offspring so intimately close to them. Britannia was first brought to the real attention of the Roman people by the campaigns of Julius Caesar about a century before the opening of my autobiography. The later invasion initiated by Claudius carried in its wake the luxuries of Roman civilization and was to have a profound effect on the future development of the island. Native artisans and vendors, attracted by the regular salaries of the conquering soldiers, gathered outside the defences of almost every fort, building shantytowns which often developed into self-sustaining communities, even cities.
Aulus Plautius conducted the Roman invasion of southern Britannia on behalf of the emperor Claudius. It was this generals forces who pursued Caratacus and the remnants of the Catuvellauni warriors into the lands of the as yet unconquered distant mountain tribe known as the Silures. However, for one Roman soldier, the military expedition did not go according to plan. Didius was the son of a poor peasant, displaced from his pitifully small farm in the Umbrian countryside by a neighbouring rich landowner to whom he owed money. The young man had therefore joined the legions to assist his own welfare and that of his extended family. Whenever he could, Didius sent a substantial portion of his earnings back to his impoverished family in Italia. It was a circumstance that encouraged him to pillage as much as he could whilst participating in his first campaign, the subjugation of my homeland. However, the young mans aim to acquire riches was thwarted by the Britanni, who were either as poor as him or expert at hiding their precious possessions from their Roman conquerors. The increasingly angry 20 year-old therefore began to take the current frustration of his ambition for both wealth and a normal sex life out on the populace, particularly girls and young women. By the time that Didius and his vanguard century had reached the wooded outlands of the Silures, he had raped many females and now he had cornered a very pretty girl, aged about 14, whom he had spotted hiding amongst the trees adjacent to the latest settlement to be sacked. Unfortunately for the young soldier, he made the mistake of believing that her parents had successfully fled the scene completely. Didius, now with practised ease, quickly ripped the clothing from the girls delectable body, which was shivering both from terror and the autumnal chill. She screamed entreaties at the young would-be rapist in clear appreciation of what the Roman proposed to do. However, the legionnaire neither understood the language nor cared about what was being said, although he had an idea of what the pleading entailed. He was instead again full of both fury, at finding little worthwhile to plunder, and sexual need, the latter stimulated by a few days forced abstinence and the beautiful sight of the now naked female. The girls lovely body displayed the pleasant mounds of nicely forming breasts and early signs of pubic hair. Didius appreciated that she would be a virgin because of her age and the conservative customs of her people in respect of sex and marriage. He also knew that her purity would not last for much longer. Didius pushed the now hysterical and screaming nude girl to the leaf-strewn ground amongst the trees, pulled down his lower garments to reveal his eager and very large throbbing penis and then knelt in readiness to mount his latest rape victim. He lent over the shrieking young female and shut her up by placing his strong left hand over her mouth before presenting his engorged cockhead to her virginal vagina. The 20 year-old then began his despoilment of the 14 year-old, rampant Italia invading virgin Britannia. The girls defences against the young man were ineffective because of his strength and vigour and his penis ploughed virgin pastures mercilessly. As Didius did so, his right hand eagerly fondled the young females deliciously smooth half-grown breasts, crowned by neat rosy nipples, and he soon felt his loins beginning to boil. The legionnaire issued his own loud yelp, but one of ecstatic victory not of abject struggle, as he impregnated his latest victim with spurt after spurt of good Roman seed. However, the young soldiers orgasmic exclamation was to prove unfortunate for his welfare, as a hefty block of wood subsequently struck his head. There had already been much bloodletting in the Silurian settlement that day, with many other young virgins, both female and male, being raped, leaving sanguine vaginas and rectums behind. A number of resistant villagers, especially parents of imminent child victims, had also been rewarded with fatal sword thrusts for their efforts to protect offspring or property. The girl just ravished by Didius was also bloody, with her ravaged vagina oozing both red and white fluids. However, the greatest amount of sanguine liquid was visible on her face and bare chest and it was not her own. It had instead flowed from the young rapist, as a result of the blow that had rendered him unconscious. The successful hit had been achieved by the girls mother, who had fled her village at first sight of the Romans, believing that her 14 year-old daughter was amongst her other children close behind. However, the younger female had stumbled and had decided incorrectly that, with a sprained ankle, she would be safer attempting to hide rather than continue to flee. The mother, recently widowed when her husband had been killed in battle by the Romans, had carefully returned to try to find her missing child and had been alerted to the girls whereabouts by Didius ecstatic bellow. She now pulled the unconscious young Roman, who had collapsed on top of his latest rape victim, off her deflowered daughter. As any loving mother would be at appreciating what had just occurred, the woman was distraught at seeing her tearstained daughters defiled form but not so much so that instant revenge did not enter her mind. Having helped her crying child to her feet and to redress in at least enough of her ripped garments to assure decency, the furious vengeful female adult looked at the still unconscious Didius. The young soldier had placed his unsheathed short stabbing sword on the ground to one side before having his evil way. His unsheathed penis was also visible. The mother saw the metallic weapon, as well as the fleshy one, still oozing residual cum, which had ruined her daughter. She suddenly realized that death would be too good for the rapist and now recognized what much better retribution would be. She therefore picked up the sword, bloody from earlier fighting, and knelt at Didius side. The woodland setting they were in remained quiet despite the proximity of the Romans in the nearby village and so the mother recognized that she had time to extract due revenge for the defilement of her daughter. She therefore picked up the tip of Didius softening but still substantial cock in her unoccupied hand before introducing the sharp blade of the young legionnaires weapon to the penile base. Didius suddenly began to stir and was stimulated into opening his eyes by terrible excruciation in his groin. As he focused, his first appalling vision was of his own severed cock displayed immediately in front of his face in a womans bloodstained hand. The young soldier then began to shriek in horror and agony, as he clutched his dismembered genitals. Meanwhile, the woman, who had performed the penectomy, and her daughter made good their escape, leaving a severed penis on their young male victims chest. (Main slave market, Rome, same time) My soul is wrought to sing of forms transformed To bodies new and strange! - Ovid (Metamorphoses) Yet more bloodletting took place on the castrators ancient well-used sanguine table, as the craftsman carefully and slowly began his highly dangerous work. The black youths eyes were wide open in horror at what was being perpetrated on him, as a knife began to incise into the tightly tied lower base of his scrotum. However, the 16 year-olds screams were stifled by his effective gag, present as much to protect his lips and tongue as to subdue noise. The castrator held Nigerinas still-erect cock upright in one hand as he proceeded to slice the ball sac with dedicated care and precision. The penis not unexpectedly erupted during the agonizing process but the craftsman successfully aimed the copious white seminal product away from himself to fall instead on the producers own belly and chest, and up as far as his face. Meanwhile, the black youth was seemingly lost in a strange delirium of intense ecstasy from overdue orgasm, which caused his whole body to vibrate energetically, and acute excruciation from his progressing nullification. The black youths last bodily shuddering, resulting from genital orgasm, caused the castrator to pause temporarily, waiting to continue his work after his victims form had become more quiescent. However, the stoppage was only momentary and the perilous operation was soon resumed. The danger from such acts of nullification arose primarily from resultant shock, blood loss, infection or a combination of these factors. However, the physical resilience of the 16 year-old, which had seen him endure the awful journey from his distant homeland, would also enable him to survive this latest dreadful ordeal. Nevertheless, there would be many times in the future when Nigerina wished that he did not possess such ingrained bodily fortitude and could have died instead on the castators table. The initial two occasions came quickly. The first was when his severed genitalia were shown to him, dangling by the penile tip from the craftsmans fingers. The second was when his appalling wound was cauterized by a red-hot iron. Fortunately, the latter action made the new nullified 16 year-old eunuch faint. After a weeks nursing in the castators neighbouring recovery room, Nigerina found himself being taken in a covered wagon to his new home, the male brothel known as the House of Cybele. Here, the black youth was actually later unhappy to be awarded much-needed fresh clothing, because he had been observant enough to notice that the garb was normally only worn by Roman females. (To be continued in chapter XIII Festivals)
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