Tamerlane's Boys 8

By Pueros

Chapter 8 – Trees

(Forests of Rus, Khanate of the Golden Horde, October 1390)

On leaving the environs of Azof, Tamerlane first cleverly advanced his well led and drilled army towards the north-east to divide the opposing disparate enemy forces and encourage them to retreat in opposite directions towards their various home bases. His strategy worked, with the bulk of the Mongols returning towards the east to defend the capital at Sarai Berke, as well as the Khanate’s other main cities such as Astrakhan. This now allowed the conqueror to concentrate on slowly but surely successfully pursuing towards the west the particular raiders responsible for attacking Georgia the previous year. These enemy warriors did not live in cities but were semi-nomadic. They chose to reside in semi-permanent encampments, amongst the millions of densely packed trees in the vast forests of southern Rus, from where they could keep a close watch on the local principalities to ensure continued payments of annual tribute. By this date, only a small amount, if any, of this yearly ransom actually reached the supposed leader, the Khan. The latter was powerless to prevent his nominal subjects from subtracting the majority, if not all, of the largesse as, what would now be termed, commission and expenses.

Tamerlane had acquired much booty during the campaign, from both the retreating enemy and the native population. However, the spoils acquired from the local peoples were restricted for three reasons. First, they were already impoverished because of the Mongol’s voracious demands. Second, although naturally deeply apprehensive because of the conqueror’s reputation, they were not resistant, rather the opposite, mixing terrified defensive obsequiousness with pleasure at the sight of their previous hated overlords’ hurried and terrified withdrawal. Third, and probably most significantly as far as the conqueror’s attitude was concerned, Vissarion had successfully pleaded for his fellow Christians, encouraging his master to issue unprecedented commands relating to the treatment of the local populace and the extent of plunder. As a consequence, the army restrained its usual instincts, helped by the sight of a few undisciplined soldiers dying horribly for being disobedient and succumbing to the temptations of raping and pillaging.

Nevertheless, Tamerlane’s generosity did not extend to leaving local communities untouched. Provisions were still required for the welfare of his forces and so they were compulsorily acquired, ensuring that the native population would suffer a harsh, albeit not famished, winter. Buildings like churches would also be deprived of riches but not denuded. Vissarion’s influence made sure that sufficient religious paraphernalia was retained to allow the Christian faith still to be practised properly. At the time, the local peoples considered such hardships a small price to pay for otherwise being left unscathed, especially as they hoped that the conqueror’s probable ultimate departure from their lands would see the re-establishment of local princely rule without Mongol hegemony.

Tamerlane eventually halted his campaign at the onset again of the awful winter experienced in Rus. He and most of the army settled down on the banks of the upper reaches of the River Don, near to where the vast forests began. The conqueror proposed to sweep the woodlands clean of their Mongol inhabitants and riches with the eventual coming of spring. In the interim, he was actually looking forward to the dark, freezing, snowbound months ahead, hoping to enjoy them as much as he had the previous year because of the sublime company of his divine boys. He was not to be disappointed.

Meanwhile, in a Mongol encampment far to the north-west, Nicolai did not reciprocate Tamelane’s expectations of the time ahead. The 10 years old did not want to face another winter away from his family in Moscow. After his cruel whipping for trying to escape, the lad had become very morose and unsociable. However, the subsequent failed attempts by several other boy hostages to lift the youngest of their number out of his deep melancholy were not entirely altruistic, as most still lusted after him. However, their efforts at spiritual healing and physical seduction were to prove unsuccessful.

(Forests of Rus, Khanate of the Golden Horde, March 1391)

Tamerlane knew that the most dangerous part of his campaign had now arrived with the appearance of spring and the melting of the winter snows. Waging war in dense forests, which to the enemy were home, was not his forte nor particularly desirable. However, as usual, he was assisted by defectors from the opposition who, in return for their own lives and some rewards, were prepared to betray their own kind. From these, the conqueror was appraised of likely Mongol locations and tactics and prepared a plan of attack, centring round speed and surprise.

Tamerlane, after previous frights, did not want to endanger Vissarion or Arman during the particularly dangerous times ahead. Both were now 14 years old and in the full bloom of beauteous energetic boyhood. He therefore somehow managed to resist their desperate entreaties and commanded that they remain behind in the army’s large and well-defended main camp whilst the bulk of his forces conducted the coup-de-grace against the Mongols. However, after reluctantly accepting temporary defeat on the issue, the young Georgian and Armenian did manage to extract agreement from the conqueror that their bodyguards could take part in the fighting.

The soldiers, despite their intense gratitude and liking towards Vissarion and Arman, had become frustrated at the lack of combat opportunities in recent years and this had not gone unnoticed by their young charges. Tamerlane granted the delighted men permission to refrain for a while from guarding the boys, who consequently had to promise to remain within the confines of the camp until the conqueror returned.

In the last days before the campaign was launched, Vissarion and Arman still tried all their sweet seductive tricks to try to persuade Tamerlane to allow them to accompany him but to no avail. The conqueror was adamant in his stance for once and good-naturedly withstood the boys’ gorgeous begging visages, heart rendering pleading and well-acted sulks. It was with mutual heavy hearts that the two 14 years olds therefore eventually said their farewells to their adoring master. Nevertheless, the young Georgian and Armenian now put on brave faces, recognising the man’s deep concern for their welfare and not wanting to separate on anything other than genuinely affectionate terms, their attitude prompted by a mix of devotion and concern.

(Forests of Rus, Khanate of the Golden Horde, May 1391)

Tamerlane’s army infested the forests like a great whirlwind, encouraging the enemy into rapid retreat towards the north-west, where the native Muscovite population had risen in support of the conqueror’s aims. The Mongols knew that they were becoming trapped and that surrender was not an option. Their various leaders therefore conveyed a hurried meeting to debate how survival could be secured. It was a scar-faced man in his early forties with long drooping moustache who came up with what was considered to be the best idea.

Meanwhile, Vissarion and Arman had kept their word to their master and had not left their camp, heavily guarded around the barricaded perimeter. However, such compliance had been at the price of being thoroughly bored. The boys lived in Tamerlane’s resplendent tent and spent much time keeping the interior clean and tidy in readiness for the conqueror’s return. They played chess, which the young Armenian invariably won, and other games together, including those of a sexual nature. The 14 years olds also exercised their splendid horses within the confines of the camp enclosure but the days still seemed long and disappointing, despite enjoying each other’s company, friendship and bodies. It was as if their lives now demanded constant action and excitement, an aspiration soon to be realised.

A number of Mongol defectors were allowed to come and go from the camp. However, they were insufficient in number to cause any worry to the substantial garrison left behind by Tamerlane to guard the various looted treasures, the most precious of which were, in the eyes of the conqueror, as everyone knew, his special boys. However, despite their rather unique status, Vissarion and Arman did not display any airs or graces. They were always very polite and charming to all they met. The young Georgian eunuch even befriended the man who had gelded him, having taken an interest in the welfare of the wounded soldiers the occasional part-time castrator but frequently full-time surgeon treated. The 14 years old and his Armenian friend regularly took time to visit the patients later to try to cheer them with both words and damp cloths in their post-surgical distress. They often found that telling the warriors that they would advise their master of the courage observed was often the most comforting treatment.

Such pleasant and compassionate attitudes made Vissarion and Arman very popular amongst the army, where no-one had forgotten the boys’ roles in also saving their bodyguards several times from their master’s anger. Their physical perfection and obvious joyous lively and brave spirits further reinforced the esteem in which the young Georgian and Armenian were held. The fact that Tamerlane was invariably happy, and therefore more affable and less prone to sudden dangerous tantrums, when the 14 years olds were with him was a deeply appreciated bonus to all.

Many tales were told of men, who had somehow displeased Tamerlane and who could consequently expect instant decapitation in the past, escaping with mere reprimands. This had originally generally been as a result of the entreaties of Vissarion and Arman. However, apparently increasingly, the simple presence of the boys seemed to induce calm in their master, causing him to react more mildly and mercifully. Much speculation had arisen as to whether this development was actually due to a fundamental change in the conqueror’s mindset. Some suggested instead that the man now simply did not want to display his natural vengeful barbaric tendencies in front of his young catamites, knowing anyway that their charms would likely deflect him from his intent.

It was the middle of a warm spring night and Vissarion and Arman were lying naked together on top of Tamerlane’s bed, having earlier, as usual, made delectable love. The conqueror’s tent was unguarded, no soldiers having being assigned especially to the protection of the young catamites in the absence of their bodyguards. The boys were, after all, located in the middle of a huge fortified camp occupied by many experienced soldiers who, apparently sensibly, were concentrating on external defence. However, in the event, this was to prove unfortunate for the 14 years olds.

The first that Vissarion and Arman knew about their audacious abduction was the firm placement of rough hands across their mouths to prevent them from crying out whilst other hands turned their delicious nude forms facedown to bind tightly their wrists behind them and their ankles together. The boys began to struggle, belatedly because of their initial drowsiness and surprise. However, application now of effective gags to their mouths and sharp knives to their throats, along with orders to be still or die, quickly ended their resistance. The 14 years old soon found themselves being carried by two men apiece into the darkness outside.

It was a cloudy moonless night and the only illumination was provided by campfires, none close. Everywhere was quiet, apart from the sounds of the nearby forest, which included the frequent howling of wolves. Four horses were waiting, across the backs of two of which Vissarion and Arman were laid facedown so that their already bound hands and feet could now be tied together under the animals’ bellies. The boys both immediately remembered that they had been in the possession of Mongols in this way previously, although then they had been clothed, at least at first.

The four Mongol kidnappers rapidly mounted their steeds and encouraged them to charge towards the northernmost barricade. The men, who had purported to be defectors but were actually deliberate infiltrators obliged to carry out this intrepid deed at the suggestion of a scar-faced man in his early forties with long drooping moustache. Vissarion and Arman would instantly recognise the progenitor of their abduction when they saw him again. It was a reunion that was not to be too long delayed as their captors’ horses skilfully and successfully leapt across the camp’s external barrier, taking the night-guard completely by surprise, and headed for the seemingly endless nearby expanse of trees.

(To be continued in chapter 9 – ‘Scars’)