You knew each other from before?
Theodoric?
Yes, our paths have crossed.
You hate each other.
Strange as it may seem, we were once married to the same woman.
She died years ago. He blames me.
So this fight was for Rome... and to settle a grudge of your own.
I strive for efficiency.
You Romans play with kings and nations as a child plays with toys.
I go back to Rome soon.
Come with me.
Learn how the world is ruled.
See if Rome really does play with nations as though they were toys.
There's no one like you in Rome and no one like me here.
Today was just the beginning.
We could do great things together, you and I.
If we don't kill each other first.
What do you say, Attila? Will you come?
Aetius, we congratulate you on a great victory.
The glory is yours, Caesar.
I present Attila,
whose courage and skill contributed greatly to our conquest.
Attila, we welcome you as an ally and a friend.
Let me introduce you to some of our leading statesmen.
Gentlemen, this is Attila.
He's quite striking, in a primitive way.
His clothes are made of animal skins.
He'll have them off soon enough.
Was it wise to bring him here?
One day he'll be king of the Huns' most powerful tribe.
Then we should kill him.
Then we'd be at war with the Huns, just what we're trying to avoid.
- Won't his elder brother be king? - Attila will be king.
Therefore, we'll seduce him with wealth and treat him as a friend.
And at the end of all your scheming,
- if he turns against us... - He will not.
It will be on your head, Aetius.
Grachia, congratulations on your latest victory.
Kind of Your Grace to take note. And this must be Attila.
Grachia is the current champion of the Circus Maximus.
- Finest charioteer in the empire. - Come and watch me race.
I'll make sure you have the finest seat.
A chariot driver at a royal banquet?
It's shameful how this city fawns over athletes.
Some of them have more money than I do.
It suits you nicely.
I wear it tonight only.
- I have another present. - It's not necessary.
I insist.
What is this place?
A bath.
Go on, step in.
You've never seen one?
Aetius has only shown you fortresses and aqueducts,
but I think the bath is Rome's greatest achievement.
It's hot.
Yes.
That's the point.
How's it done?
A furnace, a few pipes.
It doesn't matter.
It's very soothing once you get used to the heat.
I had a feeling you might like it.
I'm not as stupid as people think...
as you probably think.
It's just that brains don't do a woman much good in Rome.
Mummy's an exception.
She had real power.
But she's made sure that I never will.
She favors my brother and has done since the day he was born.
He's a hopeless ninny, but he's a man.
So that's that.
I say, if a woman can only have power through a man,
then let it be with the most powerful man she can find.
- Rua grows old. - What do you want me to do?
He likes to drink ale in the mid morning.
Put this in the bowl next to his bed.
He will die peacefully, and you will live well.
I was afraid you weren't coming.
I have other things to tend to besides you.
I need mushrooms for my potions.
Besides, Bleda hardly touches you any more, anyway.
Galen, wait.
He's planning to have Rua murdered.
Be quiet!
You could be killed for saying that, and I for hearing.
Bleda bribed a guard to poison him. I heard them.
You have to do something.
- What can I do? - Warn Rua.
- He wouldn't listen to me. - Then use your powers.
It may be best for us if Rua dies.
And Bleda becomes king?
- Where is Attila? - Rome.
- How long has he been there? - Weeks.
Why does he tarry?
I don't know.
If there's one thing that will bring him back,
it's news of Rua's death.
Attila must return.
You love him.
A woman who does not is blind.
But he would never love a toadstool.
- Why do you help me? - You're in my visions.
I must be true to them,
and my visions tell me Attila is in danger.
He must return. Therefore,
let today's king die that tomorrow's may live.
When you said Rome would seduce him, I didn't know you meant my daughter.
- I had nothing to do with it. - It cannot continue.
A marriage would formalize the alliance.
Married to a barbarian? She'd be a laughing stock.
I doubt it. But at least there'd be a Rome to do the laughing.
Spare me your speech about sacrifices for the empire.
- Like it or not, we must make them. - She's not yours to barter with.
An alliance with the Huns will secure our borders,
and buy us time to make ourselves great again.
If he'll have her, they will marry.
Over my dead body.
Well, if you insist.
He puts too much faith in his influence over Attila.
Even if this marriage occurred
the Huns might think it a great joke to attack us anyway.
- It must not occur. - The girl is obsessed.
It may require drastic measures.
Then take them.
And Aetius has outlived his usefulness.
I understand.
I never believed in destiny before, but I do now.
It was destiny that brought us together.
Do you believe in destiny, Attila?
- Perhaps. - Good.
So many people are so boringly virtuous.
"The will of God" this and "the will of God" that.
Actually, I only know one other person
who really takes destiny seriously.
Flavius Aetius.
Strange, isn't it?
I despise him but adore you.
- What's his destiny? - To save Rome, he says.
And what's yours?
A soothsayer in my village says I'll find a sword.
And when you find it?
I'll rule the world.
How sad for Aetius.
Aetius can take care of himself.
If you'll excuse me.
- What do you think of her? - She's pleasing.
That's all?
What else is there to say of a woman?
You've never loved, then.
Once. Perhaps.
The slave girl, the red-haired one.
A man in your position can have as many women as you wish.
Those that you love...
and those that are merely...
useful.
And if your destiny is to conquer the world,
you could do worse than ally yourself with Rome.
What if Rome is part of the world I'm meant to conquer?
Well, there are many ways to conquer.
You captured Honoria without striking a blow,
and she may be the key to your next conquest.
To conquest, however achieved.
Father, this message was brought to the villa.
Rua is dead.
- I must leave at once. - It's a bad season for travel.
Bleda will be plotting against me.
Get a fresh start in the morning. I'll send an escort.
Send a messenger to announce your return,
but take a different route to make assassination difficult.
Challenge him quickly, and have a reason besides ambition.
- A pretext. - Exactly.
For example, you might accuse him of murdering Rua.
- The fact is, he probably did. - I have no proof.
It's no matter. It's good politics.
It'll put him on the defensive.
Attila...
if things go badly, you know you may always seek shelter here.
I will live or die among the Huns.
Then rest. You have a long journey ahead of you.
Have you been eavesdropping?
No, learning.
You'll miss him, won't you?
Yes, I'll miss him.
Rome produces few such men these days.
This Bleda, will he really try to kill him?
Of course.
I'll say a prayer for him before I go to sleep.
Yes.
Say one for Rome as well.
Oh, I beg pardon, master.
I thought you were leaving.
Take him!
Take him! Your king commands it!
You are not yet king.
Bring me my crown! Quickly!
You see how he wants to steal the crown, as he stole Rua's life?
You lie.
Rua should have died as he lived.
A warrior, not in his sleep.
No man can choose the manner of his own death.
- No, not if he's murdered. - Rua died without issue,
and I am the elder son of his brother.
Therefore, I am the rightful king.
To what purpose? To be paid for fighting in the service of Rome
or some other nation?
We will live as Huns have always lived.
What else should we do?
We should rule the world!
You'd have us attack Rome?
No.
He has been bought off.
Besides, he has a whore in Rome who calls herself a princess.
If we attack Rome, we leave our flanks open.
We will return to find our villages burned
and our women gone.
You've said what we should not do,
but you've not said what we should do.
Attack north... Pannonia and beyond.
- Attack our own people?! - Not of our tribe.
But Huns nonetheless,
and we've been at peace for many years.
And war will come again, as it always has.
You all know the ancient prophecy. A conqueror will rise among us.
The one who finds the war god's sword.
Have you found this sword?
No.
Then your words are empty.
I will give a different sign.
I say you murdered Rua,
and are not fit to take his place.
And I say you lie.
Then we'll meet tomorrow when the sun awakens.
Let the strongest prevail.
And that will be the sign.
He will tip his arrows with poison.
If I die of poison, the tribe will kill him. He knows that.
This poison leaves no sign.
How would Bleda get such a poison?
You?
Galen...
What evil have you worked for him?
Did he poison Rua?
Bleda swore he'd kill me if I didn't help.
Besides, I knew it would bring you back from Rome.
- I would have come back anyway! - My visions...
- Your visions! - I was right to do what I did.
This time tomorrow you'll be king.
- Give me some of your poison! - I have none.
There are no more mushrooms. I've been looking for weeks.
Then you've not only killed Rua, you've killed me.
No. If the poison enters you, I'll draw it out.
How? Will you be riding next to me on a horse of your own?
Attila, find the sword.
If you have the sword, nothing can touch you.
Nobody has found it in a hundred years.
How am I supposed to find it before sunrise?
I'm through with you, woman.
Never speak to me again.
Hyah! Hyah! Come on!
Powers of earth and sky, be true to the visions you have shown me.
Give Galen's strength to Attila and Attila's pain to Galen.
Hyah!
Hah!
Ha. Ha.
Give Galen's strength to Attila and Attila's pain to Galen.
- Hyah! Hyah! - Hah!
Attila! Attila! Attila!
Aetius, what are the Huns up to?
Attila is attacking to the north of Pannonia, sire.
Didn't you say there were just... just more Huns to the north?
Then he's fighting his own people.
Well done, Aetius.
All to your greater glory, Majesty.
You may fool an inexperienced youth,
but you know that Attila isn't just attacking the Huns.
- He's uniting them. - At least he's not fighting us.
But if he ever does, the danger is twice as great.
He will not attack Rome.
He'll attack the Germans, the Eastern Empire, but not Rome.
How can you be sure?
In Rome, he saw things he'd never dreamed of.
I saw doubt grow in his eyes.
He came certain he could defeat us. He left uncertain.
- And there's one other factor. - What's that?
Attacking Rome would mean attacking me,
and that, he will never do.
- And if something happens to you? - We'll have to see that it doesn't.
Wine, anyone?
We miss you, Galen.
I wonder if she still has her visions.
She had a vision about this place.
- Near my old village. - She's the reason I claimed it.
That's why I buried her here.
Will you go away again?
It depends what my scouts say.
You'll attack Constantinople?
Not the city itself. Not at first anyway.
But the provinces are rich.
Can't you postpone it?
N'Kara, I have only just begun to build my empire.
I have to think of the future.
I am thinking of the future.
A king must teach his prince how to govern.
Prince?
The midwives confirmed it this morning.
- I hope it will be a boy. - Oh, it will! I know it will!
Why doesn't he come?
If he doesn't come soon, you will die.
A baby cannot be hurried, even for a king.
He will come when he comes.
Just see that he comes safely!
Oh, you gods.
Make it a boy.
Make him strong.
A boy, Your Majesty.
Yes.
The son of a king.
And N'Kara?
N'Kara.
You have your prince.
Teach him well.
No.
No!
Was this part of your vision?!
Was this part of your vision, and you didn't tell me?!
I curse you, Galen!
And I curse you, gods!
Kneel!
Kneel before your new king.
Submit to him!
The messenger said the campaign was successful.
Yes. The city fell quickly.
The new siege engines worked even better than I'd hoped.
I'm glad.
- You're well? - Yes.
- You were obeyed in my absence? - Yes.
- And my other wives? - Also well, my lord.
Good.
Where's my son?
You have many sons, my lord. Of which do you speak?
The eldest.
You have a dozen wives,
twice that many children.
And yet, all of us taken together
don't pleasure you as much as he does.
- He's my first-born. - And child of the red-haired woman.
I hold court this afternoon.
In the meantime, I wish to rest.
Attila...
I missed you.
It's good to be back.
Attila...
King of the Huns,
lord of all lands from the frozen ocean to the Black Sea,
from the River Rhine to the mountains of the East.
Our Great King graciously gives you leave to rise.
I am King Canute of the Finns.
We welcome you as a friend and as a loyal subject.
I bring tribute. Furs, gold and silver, spices and perfumes.
In the name of my people, I accept the tribute.
I am King Meloch of the Parthians.
I beg you to settle a dispute between myself
and King Omar of Scythia.
- Concerning what? - The boundary between our nations.
- Where is Omar? - He arrives tomorrow.
Justice requires that I hear both parties at once.
Yes, but if you only...
Yes... Great King. Tomorrow.
Attila. Attila.
Attila.
He's all I hear about. I thought we were finished with him.
No such luck, Majesty. He's still here and stronger than ever.
As long as he doesn't trouble us.
But he troubles the rest of the world, and they trouble us.
Pleas for help from Scythia, Alericum, Moesia,
and from Theodosius himself.
"From Theodosius, Emperor of the East,
"to his beloved nephew, Valentinian.
"I beseech you, send aid, we are overrun by the Huns. "
Overrun.
He exaggerates. The walls of Constantinople are 20 feet thick.
But dozens of smaller cities have fallen.
The provinces are stripped bare.
Attila demands 3,000lbs of gold to remove his troops.
A Roman emperor, subject to extortion like a common shopkeeper.
And if Constantinople falls,
there will be nothing left for Attila to conquer but us.
Aetius, you said if he threatened the West it would be on your head.
Do you begin to feel the weight?
Well, Aetius?
Once before, when Attila threatened, I took a journey to meet him.
- I propose to take another. - To the Eastern Empire?
Yes.
I'll assess the situation and deal with it personally.
Yes.
Good idea. Go immediately.
- A word, Majesty, about your sister. - What about her?
It is rumored that she's plotting against you.
What? With whom?
- With Eugenius, sire. - Eugenius?
- Not Eugenius her chamberlain? - The same, sire.
Honoria is conspiring against me...
with a butler?!
You are a goddess.
We'll avoid killing him if possible.
He's a dolt, but he is my brother.
I've never known such passion.
Perhaps the fall festival would be the best time to strike.
No, Latorius doesn't think so. He says it's too soon.
You spoke of our plans to Latorius?
We need an officer of the guard on our side.
My beautiful, stupid Eugenius.
We must keep everything secret until we are ready to...
You should be leaving soon, Father. The tide goes out at sunset.
- News? - Yes. Honoria's coming with me.
She's been exiled to the East.
She might have been executed.
She'll probably wish she had been. She's been given to Pulcheria.
- I almost feel sorry for her. - So do I, almost.
If you see Attila, remember me to him.
Placidia was right. I should have had him killed here.
He was a guest in our home.
Yes, well, I have to see how dangerous he's become.
Take care while I'm away.
I will.
- Did you meet with the ambassador? - Briefly.
The longer I put him off, the more gold he's willing to pay.
And yet, is that a gain worthy of a great king?
I have long ears, sire, the better to serve you,
and they've heard talk among your generals.
Their loyalty is absolute, yet they wonder.
We've conquered a hundred nations,
pressed the Eastern Empire to Constantinople,
- yet do not move against the West. - The time is not right.
- When will it be right, sire? - When I say it is.
What other reason is given, Orestes?
Some say, sire, that you fear Aetius.
Forgive me, sire. A foolish rumor.
Who spreads this rumor?
- You, Great King. - I?
Yes, by your refusal to move against the West.
You have courage, Orestes.
I would not serve you if I did not dare to speak the truth.
I am ruler, not only of the Huns, but of the hundred nations.
- Whose kings obey your commands. - I need more than their obedience.
- I need their belief. - In what, sire?
That's what I wait for.
The thing that will make them not merely serve, but believe.
- A sign, like the war god's sword? - A sign or a reason.
What Aetius used to call a pretext.
And when it comes, I will know,
and then I will move against the Western Empire.
Yes, sire.
CONSTANTINOPLE CAPITAL OF THE EASTERN EMPIRE
Aetius, welcome to the East.
Thank you, Majesty.
I have kept your arrival secret, as you requested.
It suits my purpose. Thank you.
And Honoria, I have not seen you since you were six years old.
It pains me that you grew up to be a traitor.
Fortunately, my sister Pulcheria has agreed to take you in.
Take me in to what?
Into a life dedicated to celibacy and to the works of God.
- You must be joking. - We shall see if I am joking.
- The devil's got in you. - I'm not joining any ridiculous...
But we'll get him out.
I can see we have a lot of work ahead of us.
I had hoped you would bring troops, Aetius.
Ever since Attila crushed our army,
we huddle, trembling, behind our walls.
We have no troops to spare, Majesty.
- And money? - Alas, we're short there, too.
Then why did you bother to come?
To devise a plan, sire.
But it will take time.
We don't have time.
The nobles sell their very furniture to meet Attila's demands,
while refugees flood the city.
The rich give them work to prevent riots.
As you can see, I do my share.
You spoke of a plan. What do you mean exactly?
An empire built so quickly will have weaknesses.
How will you discover them?
I'll visit Attila's territory.
Rather vague. I have something more specific.
Assassination.
Forgive me, Aetius.
I wanted you to see his work first-hand.
This is Lygus,
adept at seeing without being seen,
skilful with weapons,
as you can see.
And best of all, he has no tongue.
So if he's caught, he can't give me away.
Attila has spies as we do.
He'll hear of your plan and foil it.
Perhaps, perhaps not.
- You like the girl? - A refugee?
Her family was slaughtered by the Huns. Shall I send her to you?
Yes, if I may request one alteration.
Please yourself. She is yours.
Your name?
Ilidico.
They tell me you have reason to hate the Huns.
My father was village chieftain.
I saw him die, my mother as well.
Bones left...
for the vultures.
- But you managed to escape. - To my sorrow.
Suppose I could arrange for you to take revenge?
- How? - By killing their king.
Attila himself? How is it possible?
My question first. If it were possible, would you do it?
- Yes, I would do it. - Even if it meant your own death?
I would enter hell rejoicing if I could send Attila there before me.
We will assemble in the courtyard in one hour.
Today we minister to the poor in St Catherine's parish.
You hate this place as much as I do. I can see it in your eyes.
What if I do? I'm trapped here just as you are.
You're wrong.
Do you have friends on the outside?
I've written a note. Have it delivered with this ring.
Take it and the ring to prove the letter comes from me.
Have your friend deliver these to the man I name
and you and I will be free forever.
- What man? - Attila, King of the Huns.
We conquer cities, we rule the world,
and yet, we can't even build a bath.
There's a more pressing matter.
The Eastern emperor has hired an assassin.
- I want a bath like in Rome. - Majesty...
Our spies bring this rumor every week.
This rumor has substance.
- There are so many foreigners. - Including you.
Or have you forgotten?
I trust I've proved my loyalty, sire.
So you have.
Many times.
Orestes, if it is my destiny to die, I will die.
- If not, no assassin can harm me. - Still, I ask you to be prudent.
And I ask you, why is this bath not finished?
The marble has to be brought a thousand leagues,
the pipes angled and the furnace...
Enough.
- You have three days. - Three days? But sire.
Yes, Great King, of course, three days.
- That's Attila? - Yes.
Try to keep the hatred out of your eyes when you meet him.
Your name is Lygus.
You were sent by Theodosius, Emperor of the East.
Is that not so?
Orestes!
You were supposed to call when he showed himself.
- There was no need. - I'll have him crucified.
He's a brave man and loyal to his master.
- Send him back safely. - Sire...
- How much was he to be paid? - 50lbs in gold.
Place the sum in a sack, hang it from his neck,
and let him return wearing it.
The emperor will be humiliated.
The blame lies with him for giving the order, not this man.
There may be other attempts, sire. Rome has spies throughout the city.
It's not my fate to be assassinated.
There are slaves, merchants, even mercenaries who sell information.
Today a peddler asked my servant your pretext for invading the West.
I'll find work near the bath, sell myself as a slave if I have to.
Sooner or later, he'll notice me.
He will not be what you expect.
The other woman's village was destroyed the same as yours.
She too began by hating him, but her hatred turned to love.
Then she was weak.
Is this the man you spoke of?
- Yes. - Take him.
Kneel before the King of the Huns.
Leave us.
About an hour ago, a plot to kill me failed. Were you part of it?
If I were, you'd be dead.
Yet you come disguised as a peasant. Why not openly, as a friend?
To see what I wish to see, not what you wish to show me.
And?
You've done well.
The lands I rule are as vast as both your empires put together.
There's more to empires than land. Where are the Forums?
The Colosseums? The great Circus?
Theatres? Aqueducts?
Give us time, Aetius.
It took Rome centuries to become what it is.
And what happens to us while you're learning?
- Do we sink into chaos and ruin? - Only if you resist us.
Civilized men are easy to conquer,
but civilization...
still belongs to the civilized, not the barbarians.
It belongs to whoever is strong enough to take it.