Original subtitles

You're the third emperor of Rome whom I've served.

First it was Caligula, then Claudius, and now you, Nero.

You sent General Lucius Cassinius Bataeus to defend Armenia against the

might of Parthia.

I'm the one who invaded Armenia in the first place.

I don't god damn believe it.

I don't fucking believe it!

What's going on?

I should be the one to repel the Pertinians.

Not that cocksure Piteus.

And you ordered me to safeguard what? Syria?

From who?

For Athenians are besieging our legions in Armenia.

And there's a heavy winter coming.

You'd better hope and pray that the power of Rome rests solely not in the

hands of your appointed generals, but in the hearts of those anonymous soldiers

who make up your legions.

Proceed, Marcus.

What is the latest?

A new message from the Parthians.

They demand we surrender.

They give us three days.

They guarantee we will not be killed if... Burn it.

Surrender is not an option.

General... I said no!

Damn it!

The Parthians control the pass.

The Synthians have cut off our supply route. Here. If we don't get help, we'll

die of starvation.

Do you also think that this is all my fault for making camp in a place that

can easily be besieged?

That this is all the result of my incompetence?

This is no time to look back. We're in no position to sustain a prolonged

siege.

Our own men remain loyal, but the mercenaries are deserted.

Goddamn mercenaries.

Any word from Cthulhu?

I sent three of my best men as emissaries.

They all chose separate routes, but the mountains are thick with enemies

familiar with our plans. They all failed.

There is one final option.

Take the only route the enemy will not expect us to take.

A handful of well-prepared men could scale the ravine.

Once in the forest, it's a... seven-day forced march to Syria and Karbalos.

Scouts. Are you telling me, Marcus, that a few of our men, exhausted and starving

to death, will be able to scale a cliff, walk and run through the forest, battle

the enemy, and reach Syria in just a few days?

Precisely.

I can see that I'm not the only one who has lost his head.

It's the only route.

they will not be crawling with the enemy meanwhile we can make them believe we're

contemplating the terms of the surrender that bastard i

never imagined that my greatest political foe would one day be my only

hope for survival and what if after all this he refuses

to come to our aid it's a risk we have to take

The route is impossible.

Have you already considered whom to entrust with his lunacy?

He's a soldier raised in the mountains of North Hispania.

Excellent climber and fighter.

Highly revered by the auxiliary cohorts.

Auxiliary cohorts. He might deserve it. He's a soldier loyal to Rome.

There are others, younger, stronger, but none with this capacity to endure.

What's his name?

They call him Noreno.

Do you think he will do it?

If it's an order, he'll obey it to the end.

Yes, an order.

Duty.

Soldier's lot is nothing but to obey orders. To fight and sacrifice.

One's life without thinking.

What is hard is to make decisions.

They must leave tonight.

We are all already dead, Marcus.

Your plan is impossible.

I can already see Corbulo as he hears the news of my defeat. The outcome of my

strategic blunder.

His smile.

We are going to need great assistance from the gods.

If we are basing our hopes.

on a mountain man.

But if the gods are willing, so be it.

Sir, Loreno the soldier is here.

Loreno.

You called for me, sir.

You've been selected to deliver a message to General Cabullo.

The others failed because they chose the wrong route.

You'll go by one the enemy does not expect.

Through the ravine?

Sir, what you ask of me is impossible.

Impossible or not, that's our only chance to survive.

I am aware of your qualities.

I didn't select you for your obvious skills.

You were chosen because of your rare capacity to endure.

If anyone can succeed...

It's you.

We have provisions for only two more days.

If the enemy doesn't kill us, then the lack of food or the cold will.

The entire Roman legion destroyed, disgraced. You must succeed.

When do I leave?

Now. When you leave the camp, run straight for the ravine. Scale its

walls. Once in the forest, head southwest.

until you hit Saria and Garbello's scouts.

Help me return to Rome.

Help me see my son.

I will do my best.

When you reach Garbello, give him this.

That parchment bears Spade as his seal.

Gods protect you.

Go out from here and run as if Hades himself were pursuing you.

Slut!

Farouk!

Another idiotic Roman who believes he can cross these terraces to seek help.

What do I do with him, Saka?

Damn proud Romans.

When are you ever going to stop?

Their pride is what makes them great.

Don't go far.

Look over there.

Yeah, it's the famous ravine.

Go!

Yeah.

cling to the rock to cling to life, without looking down and without looking

back. Come on, Noreno.

You're almost at the top.

Climb mountains.

Scale cliffs.

Race across the plains.

My people taught me to fight against nature.

And Rome taught me to fight against man.

And in both of these, there is only one path.

To do your duty.

Can I succeed in this?

I am merely an insignificant soldier.

One among many.

But it all depends on me now.

Two of the Romans are dead.

The others scale the cliff face.

That route is impossible.

Nothing is impossible if you have the will to survive.

They're just deserters.

They sacrificed themselves so that he could succeed.

He's making his way to Corbulo.

The Persians pay us to kill Romans, not to let them escape.

Medeus, you and Saulia make your way to the river.

You'll have to cross it eventually.

I'll send word to the Persians.

If for now.

So, Claudius, tell me.

How far have you traveled to arrive at the frontier?

Hibernia.

Hibernia?

That's the edge of the world.

What's a Celt doing at the Roman auxilary?

I heard the pay was good. Okay.

Like most children on the coast of Hibernia, I was captured and taken to

Britannia as a slave.

I was a gamekeeper's ward, but they couldn't hold me.

He says, did you ever want to return home?

I was away from home too long.

I wanted to see the world.

So I made my way to Gaul and joined the auxiliary.

They've been the only family I've ever known.

And for that, I'm thankful.

He says you should have gone to Hispania. It's his land. Very beautiful

there.

I was raised by my grandfather in Hispania, and when he joined the

auxiliary, he was stationed in Britannia.

So I followed him and fought alongside him.

However, when he died, I decided I would return to Hispania.

I carried his body to the top of the mountain, and there I laid him down so

the vultures could carry his soul to the afterlife.

However, when I returned to the auxiliary, I met Marcus.

He recognized my ability and...

Well, he gave me a purpose.

From a win.

A win?

Oh, I think he means for Rome, see?

Ah, for Rome.

For Rome? For Rome. For Rome!

Thank you.

What the hell?

I left behind the first major obstacle of my path.

The great mountain of Arminia. Now I must march south.

Without contemplation. Without fear.

Every step brings me closer to my destination.

Run. I think in nothing else.

My grandfather told me that a man who is capable of enduring suffering will be

invincible. Pain is nothing more than a sensation that can be controlled.

No enemy is greater than oneself.

A strange sensation runs through my body.

Freedom. The vastness of nature. The eagle that flies.

Free.

The ruler of the world.

Time no longer passes like it once did.

I no longer suffer pain with the same intensity.

Hunger doesn't hurt me like it did before.

Life seems more worthwhile.

On this path of desperation and death, I seem to be alive for the first time.

Let her go!

Get out.

Do you live here alone?

Where is your family?

Loreno. Doria.

I would have liked to have known her a little more, but my duty is to follow my

path.

I wouldn't do it!

Look, let me go.

I don't have anything to give you.

I know that you're a deserter, but believe me when I say...

I will not tell anyone where you are.

I will not betray you.

Do you think I'm actually afraid you'll tell someone where I am?

I'm not that important that they'll need to send soldiers after me.

I'm not interested in what made you desert.

But let me go.

You'll have helped save an isolated legion that has no chance of survival. I

don't care about you or your damn legion.

Now let's see what you've got in the back.

A message with a Roman general seal on it.

I should be able to get something nice for this.

Take what you like, but you leave me that.

Try to remember that you were a legionnaire too.

Rome and all her glory can burn in hell for all I care.

Thank you Thank

you

As I gaze at her, I ask myself what it would be like to love a woman.

How it would be to live a simple life, to have a family.

I'll never know these things.

Crossing the snowy mountains is not the easiest road, but the shortest.

The last step before the Sham Desert is Gilliband Falls, just behind these

hills.

you can run for a long time

you can run for a long

time i can run for a

long time

A soldier's life is lived outdoors in every damn imaginable weather.

I'm sure that's something you can't imagine thereof.

But when you're a Roman soldier, you get used to your

hardships.

And what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

Look over there.

Who the hell are you?

Let me go.

Please, I beg of you.

I'm a Roman soldier.

I'm on a mission of mercy. My men have no food and no water.

Nobody cares.

Least of all me.

I just want to sell you.

Skinny.

How the hell did you get all the way out here with just this?

Shit!

That man belongs to me!

Yeah? Well, these bars say otherwise!

You're getting old and slow, Medea.

Turn around.

Go back to your woman, Sullyus.

Oh, wait.

You can't.

I killed her.

This world is mine.

Anyone who comes across this patch belongs to me.

She wandered too far.

And now...

She paid the price!

This bounty is mine. And I am claiming my reward!

all right

Take my hand!

Take it!

Steady, soldier.

Stay calm.

You are safe.

Rest.

No, I cannot rest.

Where am I?

How long have I been here? No one is following you.

Stay still.

You are safe here.

You are safe.

There was nothing to animate the drooping spirits of the army, but the

example of their general, who endured even more than the common soldiers did.

That was written about me, about my conquests of Armenia, whose future

Guteas now holds in the palm of his grubby little hand.

When our long, arduous march

took us through hot, desolate, and rugged countryside with food and water

scarce, and the Armenians likely to launch an

obstinate defense.

You know what I did?

I executed Vendenis, one of the nobles I'd captured, and I cut off

his fucking head.

And then I took his head and I put it in the ballista and I

sent it catapulting into the enemy's fortifications.

And they took it as a portent. They hastened to surrender.

That's a true story.

Would you have had the wiles to act as I have?

Only a true soldier has such an imagination.

Ah.

You're awake.

How long was I out?

Almost a day. A day?

I really must... Go.

Yes.

I heard a few mumblings.

A name.

Duria?

Tell me, from what do you run?

Bandits? Other Romans, perhaps?

Did you desert your legion?

I'm no deserter. I, too, was a soldier of Rome.

But that was a long time ago.

I have a mission to complete.

We each have a mission to complete.

Where are you headed, soldier?

To the Euphrates frontier.

I carry a message for General Kabulo.

The lives of an entire legion depend on my success.

I see I'm in the presence of an uncommon man.

Did you come across the mountains from Pater's encampment?

Yes.

And where did you serve, Ron?

In another life.

A distant life.

I served under General Vespasian in Judea. Vespasian? Mm-hmm.

But he was the only leader capable of putting down the Jewish revolt against

Nero.

And his practice of rewarding and releasing his oldest and most loyal of

soldiers... Well, it's known by all.

It's legendary, sir.

I would have very much liked to have served under such a great general.

Now, I serve a great king.

I do not understand.

Come, drink and eat.

You need to regain your strength.

I know this country well.

Your destination is not far.

The most direct route is across a span of desert that lies between here and the

Euphrates River.

I recommend staying out of the sun, if you can, and stick to the dry river

gullies.

Perhaps not the most direct route across the desert, but they will protect you.

Sir, without knowing it, you've not only saved my life, but the lives of an

entire legion.

I am forever in your debt. Do not thank me. I would do this for any man.

Roman, Persian, Scythian.

I'm glad I'm the only one to hear you say this.

It could be your death sentence for betrayal against Rome.

In the name of Rome, I killed many men.

Now in my wildest nightmares, I recall how sometimes I even enjoyed it.

But I was the one who died.

Enemies?

No.

Men.

In truth, all of them equal.

All of them children of God.

Equal?

And how may I ask, did you return to life after being dead?

By listening to the words of a crucified man.

You should not speak this way to anyone, least of all a Roman soldier.

Are you not aware that Nero has sentenced all Christians to death?

I no longer fear anything.

Not death.

At least of all Nero.

Without fear, we are free.

Would you still be free in a prison cell?

Condemned to the gallows?

Or in the Colosseum facing wild beasts?

More free than ever.

And you?

Do you not want to be free?

Well, as strange as it may sound, sir, these

last few days, I think I've felt freedom for the first time.

Although I was pursued by my enemies and quickly chased down, and they were ready

to kill me,

I've never felt so alive.

I've really reveled in these last few days away from the army.

Then it may be that one day you will know real freedom, like me, without

killing.

And perhaps someday you will explain to me this truth of yours that makes all

men equal and free.

But for now I must go.

I am very grateful for your help.

Saul.

My name is Saul.

I'm Noreno.

I packed some provisions for you.

You said that in life, we all have a mission to complete.

Have you completed yours?

No. Wait.

Here.

Take this.

God go with you, soldier.

You're a good man, Sol.

I will not forget you.

Meeting Sol has opened my eyes.

Although I have lost some time, it has given me the strength to face the final

stretch across the Sham desert.

Comrades, I will deliver this message.

um

Sorry, Commander.

I've not been able to fulfill my mission.

I dreamed that you,

you precious fool of a general,

Buteus is close to surrender.

His men are starving.

His mercenaries are deserting.

The enemies of Rome have surrounded him and have cut off his supply of

lines.

Emperor, had I led the legion to reclaim Armenia for Rome, I would have been

victorious by now.

Why hasn't he sent for me for help?

Too proud?

Too vain?

Too stupid?

Yet I hear nothing.

I hear nothing.

Do you, Emperor?

Nothing.

No galloping hooves.

No, there's no insistent footsteps.

No one has come.

No one, no one to help, not a single damn messenger.

He ordered me here to, not to marshal my forces unless Matthias himself

says word that I must come to his aid.

Three legions are at risk of annihilation because of your poor

judgment.

And you've condemned your most able general to wait.

Well, I'm waiting.

Not good enough.

Show me Roman

Here!

You've done well.

Better than anyone could have imagined.

comes a time between hunter and prey when they both know it must end.

You're better than this.

Sand?

I'm not done with you. I had my fun. Get up! You're gonna tell me who taught you

how to run.

The fight I'm looking for!

We each have a mission to complete.

Do you not want to be free?

Your mission is over.

I'll give you the sweet release of death.

Now tell me, what is your name?

I like to know the names of things I'm going to kill.

Your life is meaningless to me.

Now you end this macabre chase, or I swear it'll be your last.

Permission to speak, General.

Well, what do we have today?

Is it urgent?

Some of the patrolmen found a legionnaire in the Euphrates.

He claims to be one of Patius's men.

Hmm.

Patius.

Well, he must be a deserter.

It doesn't seem to be the case.

He says he's a messenger.

Patius dares to send me a messenger?

Where the fuck is he?

Outside, waiting.

He was armed only with this.

He insists that he alone will hand you the message.

Make him come in.

What's your name, soldier?

Legionnaire Quintus Labrys Souris.

Second cohort, 4th Scythian Legion, sir.

I carry a message, sir.

From General Paytas to General Cabullo.

So you're bringing me a message from Pytheas?

Yes, sir.

I'm sorry, but you've come here for nothing.

Valerius, see to it that this man eats well and reward his efforts.

No, no, please, sir, you must help us.

I'm not allowed to come, soldier.

That useless fucking Pateus.

This situation is all his fault.

Settling in such a mountainous area.

So goddamn easy to attack.

But, sir, won't you do it for the soldiers' sake?

They have no fault in the poor decisions of their general. Who do you think you

are, talking to me like that?

We speak instantly.

Yes, sir.

You're right.

The general's bad decisions are not the men's fault.

That's what war is like.

I'm not going to help the Tess.

Will I?

No.

I'm sorry, soldier.

Why won't he help us?

Thousands of my men will die.

What is it, Amariah? What have I done now?

I gather you've heard my reply to the messenger, didn't you?

I've told you that business is Rome.

It's not my concern.

Yes, you have.

Especially as I am your mistress, not your wife.

Especially as I'm not Roman born.

Amariah.

Although I was not born here, but this is my country.

Your country, which is a client of the state of Rome.

They should unite us, not divide us.

Well, all right, it's true. I've refused General Piteus' plea for help.

And I've sent his messenger back and it's way empty-handed.

My orders from Emperor Nero are clear.

I'm to remain here in the banks of Euphrates to safeguard the Syria on

behalf of Rome.

I do not understand you, Neas. For weeks, you prowled the halls of this

palace at night, sleepless, agitated, awaiting General Peters to swallow his

pride and ask for your help.

Now, beg for your help.

Then, when he finally does so... There's no glory in arriving too

late.

To a young soldier of Tway, he should be admired.

I mean, look at the distance that he traveled all alone.

Through no man's land, wilderness, a muck with cutthroats and Britannian

assassins. Poor guy went over mountains, through forests, across desert land.

It's astonishing that he managed to make it at all.

He was desperate.

No. As a soldier in service to Rome, he fulfilled his duty.

I have been always impressed by the willpower certain men exhibit when faced

with an impossible mission. Well, which is why history will be remembered such

as generals as great men.

Generals? I'm talking about simple soldiers, like that messenger who you

dismissed without a second thought.

He did his duty.

You have told me many times of how you, above all the other generals,

particularly Peters, appreciated the value of good soldiers.

And without them and their stalwart strength, even the most best military

commanders would have no chance of victory.

Are you saying I risk being forgotten because I didn't come to the aid of a

general who's no better than a cur?

No, my darling. Your place in history is more than guaranteed.

than your celebrated single-handed military victories.

General Peters cannot fall further in esteem than he already has.

He's humiliated himself in front of his men, and most importantly, in the eyes

of the Roman emperor.

But if he dies on a lonely mountain in Romania... If

he dies, holed up in a barren cold, under vicious attack,

besieged... Possibly fighting for his life with his last breath.

Yeah, that's unlikely.

There's always the possibility you become a martyr, even a post-human hero.

Atheist? A hero?

Yes, a martyr's hero who gave his life for Rome.

Legions, my love, do not necessarily rise from the facts of an event.

but from the most romanticized version of a story.

The story that people most wanted to hear.

The hero they wanted to believe in.

Well,

what would you have me do?

Deny Pettus his immortality.

Match to his head. Do not grant him a martyr's death.

If Pettus returns to Rome, he'll continue his campaign to slander me. And

the fucker has the emperor's ear.

Slander the man who rescued him?

His savior?

The general who liberated him from the jaws of a certain death?

Even Peters is that stupid.

And of me?

What will be whispered about me by my back?

They will say, there goes great and honorable General Kowulo,

who's so moved by the courage of a single soldier, a messenger who

weathered an impossible journey to plea for help.

My advice to you, General.

is to praise this faithful servant of Rome.

Say nothing abates.

Instead, speak in humbling terms of unsung heroes.

Through this, the legends will love you.

No one will speak a bad word against you.

You have condemned your political right in a life sentence of public gratitude

of singing your praises through clenched teeth.

Are you sure you're not secretly Roman born or Maya?

You speak with the wisdom of one with intimate knowledge of this political

machinations of the capital.

Politics are the same everywhere.

As is the quest for power, internal and universal.

The only thing that ever changes.

It's the names of those who wield the specter of the sword.

Go.

Go.

Valerius!

Summon the tribunes.

I want to see them immediately.

The troops must be ready to march at dawn.

Congratulations, soldier.

Do you know what you're going to do now?

Well, I'm going to return to Armenia.

You're going to go back?

But your mission was a success.

Yes.

But when I was on my way here, I met a man.

And he said to me that in life, we all have a mission that needs to be

fulfilled.

I feel like I still haven't fulfilled mine.

And I like to think that maybe somewhere out there there's a woman waiting for

me.

And I can live a life in peace.

Well, may the gods help you in your new life, soldier.

Norena, a simple soldier of the Roman Auxiliary Legion, single-handedly saved

General Pato's army.

I don't know if my feat will serve to glorify Nero, but I have managed to feel

free and protected in this underworld.

I have travelled so far to arrive at my destination, but something tells me that

this is not the end, and that it is only the beginning.

a question what is the soul of a man

can

anybody help me please answer if you can

i need to ask the question what is the soul

of a man

Try my best,

my best to understand.

If I can't love the skin I'm in, then what is the soul of a

man?

I've been lost inside the ocean, battled through

the lands.

is the soul of

Try my best,

my best to understand.

If I can't love the skin I'm in, then what is the soul of a

man?

I've been lost inside the ocean, battled through the

lands. If I can't be the color I...

Then where is the soul of a man?

Where is the soul of a man?

Where is the soul?

please you have to understand i've climbed high

i've reached the top