This is a story completely the fruit of my imagination with very little historical fact sprinkled in. In no way am I an expert on Roman customs, their army, or Italian geography. If you find an error or just want to share some insight/knowledge that you have regarding the story, please email me. I also would love to hear any comments, criticisms or critiques. There should be plenty of sex, just give me a little time to get things started. Speaking of which, you should not be reading this if you are under 18 or the laws of your region do not permit your reading this story. If that is the case, I suggest you move. Finally, I retain my copy right to this story and prohibit its reproduction in any form. Just ask first, I probably don't mind if you really like it and want to link to it or something.
Ischia Chapter 1
In 313 AD Constantine, the newly-appointed emperor of Rome, officially adopted the Christian faith as the religion of the empire. As part of this agreement, the Church demanded that all homosexuals in the Roman army renounce their practice or leave the army. Constantine, not wanting to lose many of his best soldiers chose to compromise by sending any gay soldiers to remote outposts in order to garrison important forts, thereby guarding the frontiers of the empire, while also meeting the demands of the church officials.
One such outpost was the island of Ischia in the bay of Naples. Pirates seeking to raid the rich south of Italy had to pass closely by this island paradise before reaching land. The soldiers posted there would be able to warn residents on the peninsula so that they could adequately protect themselves. They would also be able to protect the island should the pirates choose to attack this strategic outpost.
Years before, when times had been more peaceful for Rome, the island of Ischia had been the playpen of emperors. Emperor Tiberius had built for himself a lavish palace there in the 1st century BC. Successive emperors added sumptuous baths and breathtaking gardens. Ischia itself is set in the beautiful Bay of Naples where the sun shines 250 days of the year. The weather is always warm and a cool sea breeze refreshes and renews anyone taking a peaceful walk along the expansive, smooth beaches.
This then was the new home for some 50 soldiers from the legions of Southern Italy. Two galleys carried the men to their new home on a bright, warm day one moon after the summer solstice. The galleys landed and the men went ashore carrying their armor and kit. They also unloaded a month's worth of food in the form of salted meats and fish, grains, fruits, and vegetables.
The highest ranking man amongst them was a general named Cassius. He organized the disembarkation and was tacitly appointed the leader of the garrison. At twenty-four, Cassius had been one of the youngest generals in Italy, before he was relocated to Ischia. His body was in peak physical condition. While many men of Cassius' high rank trained in cavalry warfare, Cassius maintained the rigorous regime of a sword and lance man that he had used since he was fourteen. This gave him an incredibly well-defined chest and strong, but agile arms. He brought with him his partner of four years: Iotus.
Iotus had been given the name of the smallest Greek letter by his parents because, when he was born, he was a tiny baby but he was also strong and he grew quickly to become a beautiful six-foot two specimen of a man. Iotus never really put on much muscle as he originally entered the army as an archer but was soon transferred to the messenger squad because of his ability to run fast over long distances. These two traits gave him a beautiful runner's body with a slender torso but powerful legs and an archer's arms and back, which were well-defined without being too muscular. Iotus had been Cassius' messenger when Cassius was just a lieutenant on the field. Neither one had realized he was gay until one night after a victorious battle when Cassius and Iotus returned from a bonfire to celebrate the victory and Cassius, knowing that the messenger's barracks were on the other side of the camp, invited Iotus to stay in his tent. That night, while sleeping in the same bed and both slightly inebriated, the two men made sensual love to each other for the first time in, what would become, a long and loving relationship.
Cassius was directing the men to place all their supplies into one of the warehouses surrounding the port. He decided to send Iotus to explore their new home and seek out an ideal area to billet the men. Even though the island played host to four different palaces, some were in disrepair and would not serve as well as others. As Iotus was preparing to head up the steep hill leading from the port, he noticed a man who had lived in his village before he entered the army. "Giovanni!" Iotus called out, "What are you doing here?"
Giovanni was a strong soldier in the peak of his physical condition. He was three years younger than Iotus' twenty-one years. The two had known each other years before but Iotus had mostly spent his time as a kid with Giovanni's older brother, Marcus, and their gang of friends. Giovanni joined the army not long after Iotus, but he was placed in the engineering corps. Giovanni had a great mind for engineering but he spent the first three years of his time in the engineering corps running errands for the engineers. He carried heavy supplies, ran up and down long stretches of road under construction, and worked hard putting up and breaking down scaffolding for bridges and aqueducts. All this had given him a well-defined body without over-emphasizing any particular part.
"I'm here for the same reason you are I guess," Giovanni replied.
"I guess you're right. Well I'm off to explore the island, you interested in coming? You could fill me in on everything that has happened since I left home." Before setting off, the two grabbed a few supplies from the food stocks in case they missed lunch. They began up a narrow path leading to the top of the island. After climbing for about an hour the pair had made it halfway up the island's largest mountain: Monte Vico. They found themselves on the opposite side of the mountain where Romans before them had dug out a natural hot spring and built a beautiful bath. The two were sweating from the long hike and hungry--as it had been hours since breakfast--so they decided to take a break in the shade of the bath house.
Iotus and Giovanni sat eating some prosciutto with sourdough bread and sharing their stories. In the six years since they had last seen each other, much had changed but the two quickly caught up and began getting very close. Giovanni had felt very alone once he found out he had to leave the engineering corps and he had been anxious about coming to Ischia. Now that he had found someone he knew, he began attaching onto this older man in a way that he knew had caused him trouble before. But this time Iotus was not going to reject Giovanni like so many other men had. Even though Iotus and Cassius were in a strong relationship, both liked to experience other sexual behaviors and sometimes bring them, or the men, back to share with each other. Iotus began to sense that his young friend was interested in him and it began to make him excited.
As it was summer and southern Italy was quite warm, Iotus was wearing a short, light tunic. His growing excitement was quickly apparent. Giovanni was normally very shy but he couldn't miss the message Iotus was sending him; it was no small letter. Maybe it was the adrenaline from the climb or maybe it had just been so long since Giovanni had felt the firm grasp of a man, but he couldn't hold himself back. Giovanni attacked the soft lips of a willing Iotus. They kissed forcefully as two, strong, army men would but there was also relief in that kiss. Both had been scared about what Ischia would hold. They had been exiled from their families, friends, and country, but this fear evaporated as Giovanni pressed his lips against Iotus' and slipped his hungry tongue into the mouth of his eager friend.
Iotus placed his hand on the leg of the slightly smaller Giovanni. He moved it up to Giovanni's tight butt and with a swift, powerful motion he lifted the man up off the bench they had been sitting on and laid him on the floor. Each man quickly stripped the tunic off the other and suddenly they were both naked. Iotus broke away from Giovanni breathing heavily and pushed himself up, locking his arms, and examined his fiery Eros. Giovanni lay underneath also panting with excitement and anticipation. His strong, cock stood seven inches straight out of a small patch of light brown pubic hair. A treasure trail lead up from this patch to the bottom of his navel, but his body had little other hair. The fast breathing accentuated his hard abs and caused his smooth pecs to move just enough to draw attention to their perfection. Before Iotus could continue his survey, Giovanni came out of the haze he had been in and he grabbed Iotus, pulling him down, and forcing their two cocks to rub against each other and the smooth stomach of each man. Giovanni ran his hands over Iotus' strong, well-defined back, shaped by years of archery. Iotus lifted his head again but bent back down again, this time to run his now wet lips over Giovanni's smooth chest. He traveled lower and swirled his tongue around the excited man's brown nipple. Iotus continued lower still until he reached Giovanni's penis. Not wanting to ruin the first contact, he slowly licked the underside, starting at the base and running to the tip. There he gently kissed the crown and then quickly thrust the entire shaft deep down his throat. Giovanni gasped and lifted his head in ecstasy. He was close to blowing right there because so much excitement had built up in him, but Iotus paused with Giovanni's throbbing cock deep in his throat, and let the man come down from the edge.
As soon as Giovanni relaxed back down Iotus began flexing his throat muscles and bobbing his head up and down Giovanni's cock to drive him wild. With his right hand, Iotus grasped his lover's nipple, still wet with his own saliva, and rolled it gently between his forefinger and his thumb. This proved too much for Giovanni, who hadn't had such wonderful sex before in his life, and the young man began blowing salty semen into Iotus' hungry throat. Iotus pulled off enough to let Giovanni's large load fill his mouth and tickle every one of his taste buds. Iotus knew well how to handle such large loads and he didn't leak a single drop. The milk of Giovanni's cock was some of the sweetest Iotus had ever tasted and he made every effort to savor it as long as he could before swallowing. With the lingering taste still in his mouth, Iotus stretched out over Giovanni again and kissed him firmly to allow the man to taste his own sweet juice.