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For the first time in history,
the Gold Faction!
Hyah!
Two thousand sesterces for my daughter Aura's freedom.
By the Gods.
An Emperor of Rome must die standing to become divine.
How many dead?
About 200. Fighting still continues in the Suburra.
My father's funeral?
Safe to go ahead tomorrow.
Senators.
I thought the intention of these games
was to calm the citizens, not inflame them.
The problem is this new Gold Faction.
Things were stable when we were just the four of us.
What do you expect when a new faction
is owned by a plebeian and a damned Syrian.
It gives the lower orders ideas.
So, what do you counsel?
Simple, end the Gold Faction.
Interesting.
Let's put that aside for one moment.
I have a greater concern about which I would welcome your input.
This is since the time of the kings
only three Romans, Julius Caesar,
Caesar Augustus and Claudius have been
deified, declared Gods.
My father, the Great Emperor Vespasian, should, too, be deified,
and join them as a God.
That's a bold request.
The priests and augers tell us that he has earned his rightful place
among the Immortals.
Just as your four factions have earned you
the exclusive right to run at Circus Maximus.
I bow to the priests.
And we'll move in the Senate
to deify the Emperor Vespasian.
As will I.
How does it look?
- Gold! - A flag!
Down with those!
By order of Emperor Titus Caesar Vespasianus,
permission to run in Circus Maximus
is hereby withdrawn from the Gold Faction.
Let's go.
Fonsoa, wait!
- Calm down. - Calm down?
I quit the Blue.
I told Marsus and Antonia to go fuck themselves.
Better they fuck themselves than you fuck her.
No, no, don't make jokes.
I am the one being fucked by you.
Atargatis, why did I listen to this Roman fool?
Scorpus is the best driver in Rome, best ever,
highest paid in history.
And I threw it all away for this "golden shitshow"?
Scorpus, settle yourself.
Your greatness goes unquestioned.
I can fix this.
I believe these are my chariots.
Gavros?
Ah, White!
Take them out immediately.
Wait. No, no!
Elia! Peace! Peace!
You're nothing more than common thieves!
- I paid for those. - So did I.
Well, I didn't actually pay for them.
But I was thinking about it.
I'm done.
No more Gold Faction for Scorpus.
I'm out.
Out!
By the grace and power of the Gods,
we crown Titus Flavius Vespasianus,
Leader and Emperor of Rome.
Who are those women?
The Vestal Virgins,
guardians of Rome's eternal flame,
untouched, unmarried, loved only by the city itself.
They have great powers.
A mere look from one of them can save a condemned man.
A touch can set a slave free.
That one, I was her witness.
She's the daughter of my mistress Antonia.
She was only seven
when the Vestals took her.
She cried, begging her parents not to give her away.
How could a mother do that?
Father, I don't wish to offend you. But are you mad?
A tax on urine?
It's not a tax on urine,
it is a tax on the sale of urine.
Urine bleaches white,
the clothes that we wear. Do you understand?
Money, smell it.
Smell it.
Do you find that smell offensive?
- It has no smell. - Precisely.
Money, it pays for our legions.
It helps us supply our citizens with baths for their health,
so that they don't rise up and slit our throats.
Money.
An emperor, even a prospective one,
knows that money does not stink.
It can build your legacy.
Brother. Brother.
Romans,
I, Titus Flavius Vespasian,
stand before you, an emperor,
general,
and a grieving son.
My father gave you the Flavian Amphitheater
to hold the greatest games on Earth.
My legacy,
I shall reconstruct the Aqueduct Virgo now in ruin.
Water will flow for the benefit of every Roman.
And once more, I will give you the greatest public baths
ever seen by man.
Move everything in.
Yes, my queen.
Yes, bring that one and this one, women.
Yes, this one first, go on, go ahead, go ahead.
- May I have a word, my love? - Can it wait?
Tell me, who is going to build these baths and remake Rome for you?
We'll talk about that later.
You promised you would free my people after you became Emperor,
but I see now you had no intention of doing so.
You sought such a promise, I never gave it.
Not in so many words.
My words were precise.
I told you I would do it
if it was in the interest of Rome.
A vision has told me otherwise.
A vision?
Yes, my father spoke to me from the Elysian Fields,
told me to build these baths for the glory of Rome.
As such, it pleases me to use your people to that end.
You lied to me.
As you said. Later.
The rioting has been quelled.
But there is now fear that the granaries will be empty again,
that the grain was delayed intentionally.
And rumors that a Flavian was behind the food shortages.
A... A Flavian?
That's impossible that it was Father, and certainly not me,
and that leaves...
You're holding something back.
You have two faults.
What, only two?
Two that matter.
You love your mistress more than you should,
and you trust your brother more than you ought.
The first fault, um...
that is my affair.
As for my brother, well, I love him, true, but I am no fool.
You think him behind the grain delays, behind the riots?
There are rumors.
Find out if there's substance to them.
We have a problem.
- Next, come on. - Two hundred on Red.
We got 20 at least.
Saranta Leuko.
- Sorenkto! - Saranta?
Saranta Leuko?
Forty on white.
Move! Shout your bets. I said move!
Move.
Shout out your bets!
I said move.
Give me 50.
One hundred on blue.
Fifty on blue.
Your Highness.
It was the other owners that convinced my brother
to get rid of the Gold Faction.
I thought as much. Can you get us reinstated?
Perhaps.
There is something I need you to do first.
Your predecessor, my doer of dark deeds.
- A certain Lucius. - I've had the misfortune of meeting him.
He was not as deep in the shadows as we might have hoped.
I need you to obscure his tracks.
They blame you for the grain shortages and the food riots.
Not yet, but suspicion is a short step from blame.
I'll take care of it. It'll be my pleasure.
And do what you can to get our Gold Faction reinstated again.
That sounded rather like a command.
You're my client, not my partner.
You serve my interests in the hope I deign to serve yours.
Forgive me. I'll do what you ask.
Who was that man with Domitian?
His name is Tenax.
He's from the Suburra. And a criminal.
I need to know more about him.
Come for me! Come for me!
Is there anyone else, Lucius?
No. I told you everything. I swear.
Come on,
isn't going to break.
Give it to him harder.
Something that is of great concern.
Brother, I expect you to be busy with the Queen of Jews
this time of night.
Careful now. The ice you walk on is not so thick.
There's a man, said to have led the recent food riots, Lucius.
- Do you know of him? - No.
Well, some say he's of your employ.
Some say Titus beds monkeys and dogs.
Does that make it true?
I do not know him, My Emperor.
Then you will not care that this Lucius is dead.
Beaten first,
perhaps for information.
Perhaps for pleasure.
Men seen with Lucius are dead also.
The Harbor Master at Ostia,
all were involved in grain delivery.
As if they were covering their tracks.
Brother, look me in the eye.
Did you delay the grain delivery to embarrass me?
You think I would embarrass Father?
That I'd have the mob call for Flavian blood, simply to embarrass you?
- Did you? - No.
My brother is to be confined to his chambers.
- He will not leave without my permission. - But brother...
And he shall remain, until I've found the truth of the matter.
Leave me.
Do you believe him?
I can't yet decide.
The riot would have been a risk for him also.
There are still the fleet captains, but they are at sea.
Once they make landfall, bring them before me.
- Are you all right? - Barely.
I just came close to death.
Do you think Berenice is advising him?
Of course. She knows my ire towards her and her people.
Killers of how many, five thousand sons of Rome?
Why not have Tenax attend to her?
And incite a lover's vengeance in my brother?
Not all the Judeans are comfortable
with the idea of their queen spreading her legs for your brother.
And how would you know that?
I have ears at the construction site.
There are rumors of meetings in secret,
where the possibility of a Spartacan revolt is being discussed...
One of their elders,
the architect, Azariah, has been heard to call her Titus's whore.
Well done.
See,
I am more than an ass and a mouth.
We'll drive a wedge between them,
my brother
and his whore.
Out!
I need to speak with my daughter,
please.
Mother.
- I cannot stay long. - I know, I know.
What do you know about their daughter? The priestess?
I have never heard about a daughter.
They have a son.
They often speak about him.
Julius. Why?
And Drusilla?
Have you noticed any routines in her outings?
One time, she went out at sundown with some paltry goods.
Good. Watch her and let me know.
Hmm?
Jula!
Go now. Go.
The charioteer, Scorpus, Consul.
Ah, Scorpus!
To what do I owe the honor of this visit?
I've decided that our partnership is too valuable to end.
Scorpus is willing, for the right price,
yes, to return triumphantly to the Blue Faction.
That's very generous of you, Scorpus.
But what of Xenon? We've hired him in your stead.
Xenon is, uh... You know, he's a good driver, I admit,
but he is no Scorpus.
He's more loyal than Scorpus.
Perhaps I owe you an apology.
For?
- Uh, for... - Fucking his wife?
In a word, yes.
May I speak for the two of us, my love?
Of course, we speak as one.
Always.
We're paying Xenon three times what we paid you.
We wouldn't hire you back even if you showed up
with your mouth full of pearls and an Indian ruby
the size of a hen's egg falling out of your ass.
Go fuck yourselves.
Fucking Romans.
I'd happily fuck my husband.
Anyone, as long as it's not you.
Right this way.
You continue to amaze me.
Thank you.
Ugh.
I warned your father to forbid you from marrying that man.
Caltonia.
I'm so ashamed.
Does your family know?
Since my mother's death, my uncles have abandoned us.
Father's turned to wine,
and our estates are gone.
All I had were those shares in the Blue Faction.
I've spoken to my advocates.
Those shares were stolen by your husband.
You will leave this place,
live under my roof,
and together, we will enter the courts and get back what is yours.
You would do that for me?
I love you, child.
We will get them back.
And I will buy them from you at an exorbitant price.
And then you and I, we will celebrate our...
Our partnership.
Morning, Lentullus.
I need two chariots by the week's end.
- No, that's impossible. - Nothing's impossible.
- What about these? - Oh.
Well, a year ago,
I experimented with the lightest of woods,
and shaved the struts, made them as thin as my finger.
They were fast, so fast,
but too light to get past the weight restrictions.
Can they be ready by the end of the week?
Yes, but you'll never get them past inspection.
Let that be my problem.
Oh, and the, uh, golden paint,
give it less shine. More tasteful.
Thank you all for coming.
We do this all together, just like you Romans.
Yes? Much more efficient.
Yes, well, it's no secret that we'd all be fortunate
to have you driving for us.
And it's no secret that you're expensive.
That goes without saying.
Yes, well, having lost Xenon, clearly, I'm interested.
- What do you need? - Simple.
If Scorpus is to hold his head high in the Circus,
he must be paid more than Xenon.
A million eight? No, too rich for my blood.
I'm out.
Good luck to you all.
Come, boys.
And I'm out, too.
No, no, wait. No.
You can't leave me with one bidder.
- I can win for you. - I don't want to win.
- Of course you do. - I can't afford to win.
I profit by being smart.
I cut my costs down and let my competitors
thank me with gold for helping them win.
Good luck.
So, here we are.
A million eight.
No, a million nine, because Xenon is being paid a million eight.
Hmm. I don't see anyone else bidding here.
It will add to your dignitas...
... to pay me more than Marsus is paying Xenon.
Yes. Well, I have sufficient dignitas.
Thank you, Scorpus.
Six hundred thousand.
Such an opening offer hurts my feelings.
Not an opening offer.
It's my final one.
I am Scorpus.
Yes, and I'm paying.
Look, if it will soothe your feelings, we can always, uh,
tell the world it was a million nine.
Good boy.
Scorpus?
Not now.
But you wanted to celebrate.
Hmm, make sure that he gets some attention.
He just signed with the Whites.
Oh, dear.
I remember it being bigger.
And firmer.
We all get older, I suppose. No way around it.
Who let you in?
I met with the Aedile Ludi.
Good news. He'll soon be reinstating our Gold Faction.
New rigs ordered, the lightest the Circus has ever seen.
You'll be flying like the wind, my friend.
Soon is not now.
I have just signed for the Whites.
You ungrateful little bastard.
I pulled you from the clutches of your mother's pimp.
For that, I thank you.
You, whose first three wins were all from my fixes.
Yes, yes, yes, yes. You did a lot, but so did I.
You're right.
My temper overtook me.
Perhaps we should go our separate ways.
Get some sleep.
You'll need it when you drive against my Spaniards.
They remind me of you,
you know, when you were in your prime.
Especially that Andria.
Yeah, I see a day when your body
is rotting in the spina of the Circus,
and he's making all of Rome forget you ever existed.
Good luck with the Whites.
And then we are bringing in 50 Brigantine midgets.
and pit them against an equal number of bull-hounds.
I mean, is there any finer way to honor Titus Flavius' ascent?
Dwarfs versus dogs,
is that the best you can do?
No. I mean, have you... Have you seen the dogs?
Come, come. What else do you have?
Oh.
Ludus Beastius has received an interesting number of red-assed monkeys,
and they're all males, and we could build an encasement,
a forest in the wild, fence not too high.
Because the females should not escape...
I mean, the females should not escape.
I thought you said they were all males.
I'm not talking about monkey females.
I'm talking about human females.
Yes, because they would like to fuck everything that moves.
I don't think that's to my brother's taste.
Well, just hear me out.
There is a grande finale.
An absolute wonder of nature.
The Gigantic Ghost Lion.
White from head to tail,
paler than the clouds over Vesuvius.
This fierce beast will arise from Hades, and devour them all.
You're a sick man, Passus.
Hmm. Well...
But a white lion. Interesting.
I wish to see it myself.
I have to escape my own cage first.
Meet me at the Ludus Beastius at midnight.
Go.
Go now.
Door.
I need to urinate.
Domitian.
I hope you didn't over promise. Where is it?
Right over here.
How beautiful you are.
So very beautiful, so very deadly.
I know exactly how I'll use you.
You'll be my brother...
Titus Flavius, Emperor of Rome,
Conqueror of Jerusalem.
I want this beast to be a symbol of our glorious Titus Flavianus.
- Of course. - A beast with an unquenchable thirst for blood.
Have your builders reconstruct a replica of Jerusalem,
fit for the Circus.
We shall celebrate the sacking of that city!
Allow me to ask.
Who will the white lion attack?
Do you have to be so dim?
- No. - Who do you think lives in Jerusalem?
- Gauls? - Uh-uh.
Judeans.
A cat, even one as fierce as this,
are terrified by the sight and sounds of the crowd.
Without training, it will freeze.
Would you like to spoil Domitian's vision?
Would you like to excite his anger?
No.
Manilius,
my Greek boy has seen you betting at the Circus.
You think removing your military garb
is sufficient to hide what you do?
Your betting, your debts,
your skimming from the Praetorian payroll
to pay those debts has put you at risk.
Mortal risk, but never fear,
I have need of your service,
for which there will be a substantial reward.
There's a plot amongst Judeans
to kill their queen, my brother's consort.
One of the architects, Azariah, appears to be the leader of this plot.
I need you to arrest some rebellious Judeans.
- Out! Out! - What is the meaning of this?
- All of you, out! - Get out of here!
Why are you doing this?
What do you want?
Why are we arrested?
I was told for sedition and plotting to kill your Queen.
What? Lies, both of them.
It doesn't matter to me.
Tomorrow you will die. All of you.
Killed by a lion.
This particular lion will likely not attack
unless somebody charges the beast.
That's where you come in.
And why should I throw my life away
for your convenience?
If you do, I'll ask Passus, the Master of Games,
to spare your women and children.
By the Gods.
I hate being held a prisoner here.
Hail Emperor Titus.
I so wish I could see
the venom the Roman people have for the Judeans, up close.
Come.
She's not our queen!
Shame!
Already a chink in Titus's armor.
Come back.
My brother never ceases to amaze me.
How can he allow Berenice to sit next to him?
How could he have not seen this coming?
- For the glory of Rome... - Come.
... and to honor the conquest of Jerusalem!
What is this?
You said this pageant was to celebrate your accession to the throne.
As the city burns,
behold the barbaric Judeans,
led by Berenice, their Judean Queen.
And now, the barbaric Judeans
will face the unparalleled might of Rome.
It is the very powerful Titus Flavianus.
Now!
Open the gate!
For the sake of my God, or your Gods, do something!
These are my people.
Do it.
Do it!
End this!
End this now!
Do you think he's seen me?
Yes.
He has.
This time, you've gone too far.
Hear me out before you kill me.
Weave a justification for such effrontery?
Yes, are you too afraid to hear it?
You must speak quickly.
Speak well!
Or this sword will be struck right through your heart.
I merely killed two birds with a single stone for you.
Those who died in the arena were plotting to kill
your precious Queen and supplant her.
I saved her life.
And let the mob vent their hatred for the Judeans.
You see, I've heard nothing of such a plot.
That is your failing,
not mine.
I can provide witnesses,
- and proof. - See, witnesses, they can be bought.
And proof, it can be crafted.
Well, if you think that of me,
then use your sword.
If I needed to,
I would.
- Why do you provoke him so much? - I know.
I should've stayed away from that damn balcony.
But it was just too good of a show to miss.
I blame myself for allowing you to talk me
into joining you on the Imperial platform.
For what? To watch a hideous travesty of myself being torn apart?
- I didn't know that was planned. - You are Emperor.
You should have known.
The gold of the Emperor's coffers spent on games you did not approve,
under your very nose.
I've been told that those that were killed were plotting against you.
Told by whom?
Let me guess. Your viper brother?
He says that he has proof.
He says many things, but how many of them are true?
I can't let you leave.
If you have me dragged back, I will take my own life.
No, you...
I beg you.
Please stay.
Let me protect you.
Let me prove that to you.
On one condition.
Now you let me protect you.
They will never accept me as your consort.
The Romans hate foreign queens.
Then they will just have to learn to accept you.
Cleopatra?
Candace of Kush? Boudicca?
Were they accepted?
To be with a foreign queen only weakens you in their eyes.
To be strong,
you must do the opposite.
You must take a Roman wife
of a good and august family of wealth and power,
of long standing.
Put me in the shadows.
It is best for you.
And what do you think is best for you?
I am a conquered queen. My place is in the shadows.
You are not as heartless as you pretend.
Don't be so sure.
The children look up to you.
That's because they're children.
They look up to anyone
who will give them a few scraps of food and an occasional coin.
I did.
How many languages do you speak?
Not enough.
You use them to great effect.
Really?
You disarm people.
Get them to do what you want.
That's how you see it.
Good day.
- Which you owe to me. - To some degree.
And to that degree, you will pay me and my daughter more.
- Will I? - Mm-hmm.
Aura's salary up by half, and mine tripled.
You overreach.
Fine.
We'll leave your rat-infested insula
and find work at another betting tavern.
I'll increase Aura's by a quarter, and double yours.
Keep bringing in the revenue like you did
today for a month, and we'll talk again.
That's too long. One week.
- Two. - Agreed.
You'll do well in Rome.
I am not here for that.
It will take a lot more money to buy Jula's freedom.
And Kwame, a gladiator, probably impossible.
I will find a way.
Please.
Please wait.
I have an entreaty.
As does every other person in Rome.
I beg of you. My children have been taken from me.
My... My son is a gladiator at the Ludus Magnus,
and my daughter,
she's a slave
in the house of your parents.
I am told that you have it in your power
to free those condemned and those held as slaves.
No, not me.
But my matron.
Could you help me?
Would that my mother had had tears for her daughter,
as you do for yours.
I will speak to my matron.
Return on the Ides,
I will give you an answer by then. Now, go.
Quintus.
It's been a while.
Keep your hands where I can see 'em.
Or I'll sever your spine at the root.
Ursus?
The boy you left to burn.
It was me who suffered the consequences.
I thought you were dead.
Worse!
I was sold as a galley slave. Endless years in hell.
Luckily, I was drafted into the Roman Army,
and fought for them for years.
It was easy to find you.
After all the endless talk about going to Rome
and work in the famous Circus Maximus.
You know the punishment for a slave killing his master
is crucifixion.
But that's too quick for you.
I'm gonna drown you in your own piss!
I'm not gonna kill you.
I'm gonna squeeze all the money out of you.
I'm gonna take everything from you.
I'm not going to let you get away with this!
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