Why don't you have a sacred lace?
Did your father not give you one?
I don't have a father. I don't have anyone.
Kneel down!
Kneel down to King Spurius!
A sacred time begins for you today,
sons of Velia.
Until yesterday you were children,
when you return from the forest, you will be men.
Unknown spirits live among the trees.
They drink human blood.
They are led by the Lady of the Wolves.
For six months you will live in the shadows.
You will be cold. You will be hungry. You will be scared.
You will curse the day you were born.
Death will await he who seeks to return before time.
Mars is with us!
King Ertas of Gabi is coming.
Why are you wasting water? You washed yesterday.
I don't want to smell like you.
Hurry, will you?
-You told me I stink. -And now I'm telling you to hurry.
You can wash tonight.
You have to stop always doing what I tell you, brother.
That's not true!
-Eat that shit there. -Eat it yourself.
Trust your brother, horse shit is good.
Ertas!
And who are you?
Don't tell me you're King Numitor's grandsons.
A year has passed since I last saw you, but it seems like ten.
You are men now.
You even have a beard.
We have been expecting you since yesterday.
Many kings are already here: Capys from Anxur, Spurius from Velia...
Now he'll tell you them all.
Welcome, Lausus!
What do you have there?
It is a gift for you.
It looks like a fox.
It comes from a distant land, beyond the sea.
Merchants brought it from Cuma, they call it Mau.
Numitor is with our mother, waiting for you.
-It tastes of dirt. -It's from the lake.
The wells are all empty.
Don't worry, everything will be all right.
Our cattle are dying. Our people are thirsty.
The Thirty Kings gather to ask for signs from the Gods.
It is right to be afraid.
Greetings to the king.
Your good health, Ertas.
I bring you the greetings of my people.
They have not forgotten the good things that you gifted to us.
You've always been close to me.
And so it will always be.
Greetings to the king of Gabi.
Reassure my brother, he fears that the Gods have abandoned us.
Numitor has always respected the sacred laws, the Gods know this.
Tomorrow the Gods will speak and all the fear of today will be dissolved.
The vestals are praying, the rain will soon return.
Are you there? Ilia! Are you there?
Enitos!
I had to wait till my brother was asleep.
Whenever I come here I'm afraid I won't find you.
I'm afraid you'll have forgotten me.
That will never happen.
I promised I'd wait for you.
16 years is a long time.
Over time, promises die.
Not my love.
I think of you every day.
Ilia... Ilia, come on, we're going up!
I have to go.
Ilia...
Three-fold Goddess, fruitful mother,
you've always been, are and always will be,
and so may your fire burn for ever.
Protect our people, make it rain on our lands,
watch over our King and keep the Thirty Peoples united...
Mother Vesta, three-fold Goddess, fruitful mother,
you've always been, are and will always be,
and so may your fire burn for ever.
Protect our people, make it rain on our lands,
and watch over our King.
When the land is barren and the sky burns,
when the king cannot bring rain,
it is right to heed the Gods.
To my right the North.
To the left, Meridian.
Jupiter Father!
Lord of lightning and rain!
If King Numitor is the cause of our ills,
send your winged messengers far away from him.
Numitor, son of Proca, king of Alba
and first of the Thirty Kings:
the Gods have spoken with clear signs.
The flock flew
towards Meridian.
Father Jupiter will bless us with the rain
only when you have left our land.
Where are the others?
Maybe we should go back to Velia.
If you go back before time they will kill you.
We have been walking for two days,
we will reach the end of the forest this way.
The forest has no end.
How do you know?
The forest is as big as the sky.
Does the sky end?
No. And so does the forest.
-You believe the forest has no end? -What does it matter?
This is where you have to stay for six months.
Did you get lost in the forest?
We need more wood to build the shelters.
Go and collect it.
Who are you to tell us what to do?
Can't you see?
I am your king.
We have to set up camp and organise the defences,
everyone has their tasks.
If you don't like it
you are free to leave.
No one survives in the forest alone.
So go and get the wood.
If you don't want to obey, you have to fight.
Defend yourself.
Come on!
Don't kill me... Please...
Now kneel.
Does anyone else want to challenge the king?
You?
Go and get the wood.
Move!
I will not abandon my father to his exile. I will leave with him.
You will stay here,
you were born together and you will reign together.
You will be the kings of the league of the 30 cities.
Will we ever see you again?
These belonged to you father.
Now you will wear them.
You are the right and the left. You must never be apart.
Promise.
We promise.
Yemos, you promise as well.
I promise.
Do not be afraid.
The echo of your deeds will reach us,
and that will make our exile less hard.
Now you have to be strong.
You have the most painful task.
Go ahead,
don't show anyone your pain.
The Gods play with the lives of the kings,
they exalt them and bring them down.
You will take my place,
the kingdom must last.
You will be great kings.
They have no courage.
I know you love the king,
but this has nothing to do with love.
It is the will of the Gods, and you are their instrument.
Let's do this together.
When I was a child Numitor brought me up here.
I asked him if he was happy to be the king of kings.
He didn't answer me,
but he made me climb on to that rock.
Why?
Give me your hand.
Close your eyes.
And listen to your blood.
It runs faster,
can you hear it?
Yes.
This is the life of a king, Numitor told me.
You might never have to jump, but you always have to be ready to do so.
Waiting,
waiting is the most difficult thing.
We're not going to find any water,
the stream is dry.
Where are we going, Taurus?
Be careful.
-He doesn't know where he's going. -Shut up and walk.
Rumia did this.
Be quiet.
Why,
didn't she?
Does this look like the work of man to you?
Do not be afraid.
We will go back to the camp and nothing will happen to us.
Ilia,
what's happening to you?
Why do they want to see me alone?
The vestals command, but do not explain.
Welcome, Enitos.
I'm not the king yet.
I am not allowed to enter the temple.
If you want there to be a king,
if you want to save your life, be quiet.
Don't disobey the command and follow me.
Kneel down.
You will not speak to anyone
of what you hear in this sacred temple.
I do not understand...
Vesta, the fruitful goddess,
showed one of her handmaids a real image.
The city is crying.
Women and men are crying.
-The kings are crying. -Ilia.
What did you see? Talk to me.
Sky like blood.
Flowers,
weapons,
and your body burning.
Blood flows from the wounds,
the sun goes out,
the snake devours the eagle.
You are dead, Enitos.
Brother killed brother
and his hands are stained with blood.
That is impossible, my brother loves me.
Why would he kill me?
The Goddess has spoken. Now get up.
Why did you tell me these things?
-What do you want me to do? -We don't want anything.
We bring the voice of the Goddess to the mortals.
Mother Vesta,
three-fold Goddess,
fruitful mother,
you have always been, are and will be,
and so may your fire burn for ever.
Mother Vesta,
three-fold Goddess,
fruitful mother.
What are you doing?
Keep sleeping.
These will be tiring days.
The League is made up of thirty peoples, Amulius.
With their lands and their subjects.
You can't put all this in the hands of two children.
They are my brother's heirs: it is established by the law.
To save the law,
you will kill the League.
I'm tired. If you have something to say, say it clearly.
I will not participate in the acclamation of Enitos and Yemos.
And I'm not the only one.
Capys,
Sicanus, Mezentius, and the kings of the strongest cities of the League,
are with me.
This is a threat.
No.
It is only a wish.
If something happens to the boys,
the kingdom would be entitled to you by law.
I promised Numitor
I'd protect the boys as though they were my own sons.
On that day I will pray with them at their father's grave,
and then...
what the Gods desire will be.
Forgive me...
if I spoke too much.
Where is it?
Where's my lace?
Has anyone seen my lace?
There it is.
What are you doing?! Did you want to steal it?
-You wanted to steal it! -No, I picked it up from the ground.
You two!
What's your name?
I don't know you.
Wiros.
And what kind of name is Wiros?
It's my name.
The fire keeps the beasts away.
Don't let it go out.
Cnaeus,
will the fire keep her away as well?
The Lady of the Wolves.
Rumia.
-Are you afraid of Rumia? -No!
You only have to be afraid of me.
Keep the fire burning!
Who's there?
It's my turn to keep guard.
It's not raining on our lands.
The will of the Gods has not yet been accomplished.
You are alone, your father is dead,
Numitor is far away, as is your mother.
But you are fortunate there are two of you.
I know how much two brothers can love each other.
What about the hate?
Do you believe that two brothers can hate each other?
I was the strongest warrior in Alba,
the most respected, the most devoted to the Gods,
I gave my daughter to the goddess Vesta.
But Numitor was the eldest, born before me.
This is why he was acclaimed king.
I hugged him, wished him luck and glory, but in the meantime...
Yes, I hated him.
Did you ever wish for his death?
Do you know what a king is?
The king is a leader.
A stronger and wiser man than everyone else.
A king is much more than this:
in his hands he has divine power,
he holds the life and death of his people.
Only the Gods can decide on the life and the death of a king.
And I am just a man.
The rain will come back.
Our city is sacred,
the Gods will not abandon us.
Get out.
Get out. I don't want to talk.
It is I who has to talk to you.
Send them away.
Do you need two,
to keep your mind off what Spurius told you?
It is not Spurius' voice that torments me.
It's my own blood, which wants and does not want.
You know the right thing to do.
Numitor is in exile,
but the sky is still on fire.
The Gods, like men, expect a real king.
Only he who knows life better than the others can be a king.
Those boys are nothing,
and you have already done once what was theirs to do.
You picked up the burning mask
and blinded your brother.
Take the power
that is yours by right.
Are you there?
Ilia.
I have decided,
I will leave tomorrow at dawn
without saying goodbye to anyone.
But don't cry.
I'll come back for you when the time of your priesthood is finished.
No, Enitos,
you must never come back.
I can't live without the hope of seeing you again.
If you come back here,
your fate will be waiting for you.
You cannot escape forever from the will of the Gods.
So...
I will never see you again?
I will look for you when I am free.
I only ask you to remember me,
and not to die.
I will not forget you.
Please, stay away from your brother.
Give me your hand.
Where are you going?
-I asked you where are you going? -There will be only one king.
I don't understand.
You will be the only king.
Enitos, turn around
and look me in the eye!
I have to go,
trust me.
I can't trust someone I don't understand.
We promised our mothers we would not be apart. For any reason.
Our mother doesn't know what the Gods have arranged.
And you do?
I have to go.
We are not two.
We are the right and the left. The two halves of the same man.
Forgive me.
Trust me. You will be King on your own.
If you go away, Alba will have no king.
What are you doing?
No, no!
I'm not afraid of what awaits us.
I'm not afraid.
You are right.
I mustn't be either.
We will go together to our father's tomb,
before the coronation
and we will pray to him for strength.
-Give me my lace back! -What are you talking about?
My lace.
-You filthy dog, you stole it! -Enough, you two!
Enough, you two!
Let's go to Cnaeus.
-I didn't do anything! -We'll see.
What is going on?
-They were fighting. -Wiros stole my lace.
You're crazy, I didn't steal anything.
Let them go.
-I didn't steal any lace! -Yes, you did!
Do you have evidence, Picus, for this accusation?
He must be wearing it. He didn't have one so he stole mine.
Search him.
Do as he says.
Check in his bed.
-Impossible, he must have hidden it. -I didn't take anything.
I had it with me, we were watching the fire and I dozed off a moment.
Be quiet!
Look at me, Wiros.
Did you do what Picus accuses you of?
I didn't steal anything.
If you did,
you are a thief
and thieves must die.
If you didn't...
Picus will have to die,
who accused you
for no reason.
No! Tell him!!
Tell him you stole my lace.
I didn't steal anything.
Please! Tell the truth.
Search again!
Well?
Nothing. There is nothing here.
Hold him still.
The fire, Picus.
You only had to look after the fire.
You will spend five days in a cage.
No!
Anyone who feeds him...
will have to deal with me!
Why... why?
I was wrongfully accused. Why?
Do you believe my brother and I will be good kings?
Whether or not a king was good can be stated only after his death.
The Gods called you to a difficult task,
and only to the Gods you will have to answer.
We should run.
Run!
Kill them!
Enitos!
Get him!
What did you do?
How could you lose him?
He was fast, I apologise, my lord.
Let's save the kingdom.
If he's not dead, find him...
and kill him.
Alba will be saved.
Subtitles: Issaverdens - Rome