EPISODE 1 – THE PROPHECY
 
The approaching cry of soldiers and the furious barking of dogs.  Fabio and Niobe flee into the woods surrounding Antioch.  Niobe is holding a two-year-old child named Ali close in her arms.  The child is her son and he’s crying desperately.  The men clad in black who are hot on their heels are the Praetorians, the Emperor’s selected guardsmen.  They’re just a few steps away...  Fabio decides to face them in order to offer his wife Niobe the chance to hide the child in a cave.  As the woman runs off, all we hear is what we believe to be their leader, but whose face we cannot see:  “The Emperor is far away... in Rome...  and he will believe whatever I tell him”. 

Niobe places a medallion with the symbol of the sun around the child’s neck and kisses him for one last time.  Then she leaves the cave and returns to Fabio.  Her expression turns into one of anguish when she hears a tormented cry coming from the forest...

The image of what is going on in Antioch is reflected on a dark surface.  Canidia, the high priestess of Anubis (the god of death), observes that tragic scene and is exultant.  Evil has entered inside the Emperor’s soul...  and now it will spread throughout the whole Empire like the plague.

In Rome, before a crowd of dignitaries gathered in front of the Pantheon, the Emperor lifts his grandson Marcus towards the sky and invokes upon him the blessing of the gods...  but on the precise moment in which the Praetorian’s sword pierces through the heart of Ali’s father in Antioch, the sky above the Eternal City suddenly clouds over and the voice of a high priest can be heard above the crowds as it admonishes them: 

“Evil has made its way inside the Imperial family, due to the Emperor himself...  like a gloomy shadow it will spread all over the Empire, until the death of little Marcus.”

The prophecy of Heliodorus leaves them all dumbfounded and upset.  There is only one way to save the child, the high priest wearing the golden mask then whispers to Domitia:  and that is for the victim of the evil committed today to forgive his oppressors.  For this reason the two children must meet... before they come of age, in Antioch, where the horror began.

In the meantime in Antioch, the Praetorians burst into the cave where Ali is hidden.  They are about to kill him as well when from the darkness emerges a stately white she-lion.  She hurls herself upon the soldiers and, with a blow of her paw, she tears away their buckle bearing the emblem of the special corps they belong to:  an eagle with its wings spread wide as it clutches a long snake.  The Praetorians flee:  that infernal beast will finish off their task.  The she-lion approaches the child menacingly, but her snout is illuminated by a golden ray...  The animal’s grimace turns into something that humans would call a smile.  Ali cries in despair.  And instead of devouring him, the she-lion proceeds to lick him and then lies down next to the child...

Canidia’s wrath explodes inside the cave of Anubis:  why has the magical spring gone dark?  What is going on?  She can no longer see what is happening in Antioch.  Is the child dead?  He must be dead!  Their future depends on it...

****

Twelve years later, in the streets of the distant Antioch, we come upon Ali. He has the light-colored eyes of the Celts set in the dark features of the Syrians.  Both an orphan and a vagabond, he has a roguish expression that wins people over and a melancholic streak that touches the hearts of women.  In order to earn a few coins, he has conjured up a fraud against a rich and greedy merchant.  He has him attacked by Mami.  Then Ali promises to kill that cruel beast if he distributes bread to the vagabonds in the city.  The merchant refuses at first, but when the animal’s jaws are just a few inches away from his face he accepts the proposal.  Ali flings himself against Mami, feigning a battle in which he is finally victorious.  But the merchant, once he gains safety, breaks his promise and summons the legionnaires of Caius. Ali, thanks to Mami’s help, manages to overcome the soldiers and distributes the loaves of bread to the poor. 

The clashing of swords and the screams of excitement.  In the gymnasium of the Praetorians, we meet their leader Catilius for the first time.  He is involved in a sword fight and attacks his opponents with ferocious and violent blows.  Soon he comes off better than his adversary who ends up on the ground, exhausted.  The sword Catilius holds in his hand is just a few inches from his chest.  A flash of cruelty goes through the Praetorian’s expression:  his instinct is to kill...  But one of his servants calls out to him and interrupts him.  We now discover that it was only a fake battle, that they were training.  Catilius drops his sword and removes his armor.  The Emperor has to speak to him and is waiting in the audience hall...

….where Antoninus, Hadrian’s wisest and most trusted advisor, is reporting to him.  There are a growing number of complaints coming from Antioch.  Caius, the governor of the province, is a cruel thief who starves his people while he grows richer and richer.  He is not worthy to represent the Empire.  Catilius, on his way inside, stops and eavesdrops on their conversation.  His mouth snarls into a grimace of vexation upon hearing the words of Antoninus.

He steps in:  those men from Antioch are not only liars, but they are also very dangerous to the Empire.  They are a part of a sect which is against Rome’s power and they want to disrupt the equilibrium that the founders of the Eternal City have worked so hard to create.  They are the followers of Mithras, the god who preaches:  hear ye, hear ye, equality to the people!  Should the Emperor will so, he will go to Antioch himself in order to investigate into the situation.  And he will bring Marcus along...  it’s about time for the boy to see the world around him.

In the meanwhile the little boy Marcus, who is twelve now, is carrying out some scientific experiments.  He is a frail, spoiled, although very intelligent, well-educated and sensitive child.  A sort of little lord.  He complains to his grandfather about the court’s non-collaboration with his experiments and the Emperor, upon seeing him, realizes that the words of Catilius make sense:  the boy must leave Rome and the palace if he truly wants to become a man.

“Fine”, rules Hadrian, “Marcus will go to Antioch along with Catilius.”

He is then forced to retire because he suddenly feels ill.  He is brought to his rooms and we discover that his physician is...  Canidia, the high priestess of Anubis! The woman pours two dark drops of liquid into the Emperor’s chalice and they dissolve inside the water without leaving any trace behind.   

The Emperor recovers from his disposition, but he is still very tired and physically dejected.  He summons his daughter to his bedside.   

As she can see, his health is getting worse and worse.  And Marcus is still only just a little boy...

Time is running out.  Domitia must get married.  A regent is needed to wisely lead the immense empire until her son comes of age.   

Domitia does not want to have anything to do with it.  She will only marry because she’s in love; otherwise she wishes to spend the rest of her life alone.  But this time Hadrian is very determined.  Upon returning from her journey to Antioch, the Princess must make up her mind...

Later we see Canidia and Catilius together.  We discover their plan.  Canidia is slowly poisoning the Emperor one day at a time.  She is weakening him, taking away his ability to oppose himself against what he feels is his destiny.  Domitia will be forced to remarry again. Canidia has done her part, now Catilius must do his.  The journey to Antioch is a perfect solution.  Especially because Marcus must not come back from the orient alive...

A flash crosses Canidia’s expression:  it is important for the boy to be dead.  Is Catilius sure of that?  The head of the Praetorians nods his head.  They all died last night...

Marcus leaves for Antioch. But the head of the Praetorians hadn’t foreseen everything:  Hadrian entrusts him with the Imperial ring.  Marcus shall be his successor.  Catilius, and Catilius alone, sees it.  He is overcome by panic and by rage for an instant.  But he then regains his composure:  fundamentally nothing has changed.  He looks at the ring that Marcus now wears around his neck and a flash crosses his gaze...

But Catilius is not aware that he is only a pawn in Canidia’s game.  That is what Canidia says to her most terrible creature – Gutta, a zombie who “sleeps” inside a glass case in the cave of Anubis...  The imperial throne is not the only thing at stake – but the future of the world itself.  Should Marcus die, Anubis (namely Evil) will triumph...

...if Ali saves Marcus, then Mithras (namely Good) will triumph. This is what Heliodorus says inside the Circle of the Sun.  But first he must find the Chosen and the warriors of good. 

EPISODE 2 – THE AMBUSH 

The imperial ship is sailing towards Antioch. Catilius, using a traveling falcon, informs Caius of their arrival.  He must be prepared...  But there’s another problem with respect to their plans:  the Emperor has named Marcus his successor.  The young prince now possesses the ring which is the seal of descent.  But Catilius will take care of that.

During the sailing trip, Catilius does not lose the chance to remain alongside Domitia…

Marcus sees them and is piqued.  He speaks to his mother about it:  why does she allow such a boorish and violent man to approach her?  She has always spoken about his father as a scientist.  That’s who Marcus got his passion and his talent from.  How can Domitia now only dream about getting married to that kind of savage?  Marcus is full of contempt and Domitia silences him:  it’s not any business for a child!  Marcus walks away, nursing his resentment.  He is no longer a child and he will prove this to her...

But he uses the wrong way to prove it to her.  During the course of one of his complicated experiments, Marcus is on the verge of drowning.  Catilius takes advantage of the situation in order to hurry his plan along.  But luck is not on the side of the Praetorian leader: Marcus is saved and the ring returns in his possession.

But Catilius takes the credit for saving him, while again Marcus comes across as a spoiled child who is not prepared to face the world. 

Domitia thanks Catilius for having saved her son and Marcus, seeing them so close, decides to never trust his mother again.
 
In the meantime, in Antioch, Ali decides that the time has come to head for Rome in order to find the men who killed his father.  But he needs money to carry out his plan.  He goes into town to sell stones to Mirina, a friend of his who uses them during her magical rites.   

But facing yet another injustice, Ali simply cannot close his eyes and pretend nothing is going on.  A group of Caius’s legionnaires are leading some poor people off to prison, whose only crime is asking for a fair life.  The vagabond of Antioch makes use of his capability of talking to animals and so, thanks to the help of three friendly little monkeys, he frees his friends.  We notice Mirina is amongst them.  But the girl, who is a little swindler, despite the fact that Ali helped her out, cannot help but take advantage of him.  She and steals the golden buckle that Mami had taken from the Praetorians.   

Ali chases after her in despair.  That golden buckle is the only evidence that can lead him to who killed his parents!  But Mirina doesn’t even listen to him and takes shelter in the palace of Caius...

...where she listens to how Caius and Catilius plan to kill Marcus:  the little prince will be assassinated in an ambush of marksmen during the passage of the Imperial cortege, immediately following his arrival in Antioch.

Heliodorus goes looking for Drudo, Tosca, Pilade, Milone and Cabria. One’s first impression is that they seem slightly more than vagabonds.  Drudo is forced to work as a slave, Tosca is a cook, the twins work as acrobats in a circus and Pilade… Pilade is a drunkard.  But under their modest appearance lie brave souls and unexpected capacities.  They are the warriors of the Sun.

Once they gather, Heliodorus leads them to the Circle of the Sun where Mirina tells them what she overheard in Caius’s palace.  Marcus is in serious danger. 

There is no time to lose.  The forces of Evil have been aroused, the time for fighting has come:  they must save the child.

But the warriors are hesitant.  The prophecy says that in order to succeed they must find the other child, the Chosen.  Heliodorus urges them not to be disheartened and to have faith in their destiny. 

Ali desperately looks for Mirina in order to get his buckle back.  So, unawares, he finds himself in the middle of an attempt to the life of little Marcus.  And he unintentionally saves his life.     

Heliodorus is the only one to know that Ali is truly the Chosen, the child they have been looking for all these years.   

During the hubbub following the ambush, Mirina manages to deliver a plea to Domitia; while Dora frees Ali from the blame (raised by Catilius) for having planned the conspiracy against the prince. 

Ali is in low spirits, both confused and angry, for Marcus’s scornful ways.

But Ali is befuddled as he looks towards the little prince’s chariot.  The emblem of the men who killed his parents is impressed upon it:  an eagle with its wings spread out as it clutches at a long serpent.   

EPISODE 3 – THE CRADLE

Mirina, in accordance with Heliodorus, convinces Ali to reach her in a secret place.  She assures him that he will get some answers regarding his parents’ death in the place she will be leading him.  Ali is impatient now that he knows who the emblem belongs to.  He wants to get his revenge immediately, to go to the palace and somehow discover the truth.

“How do you plan on doing that? You would be just a ragamuffin against an army of Praetorians.”

Ali nurses his resentment.  Mirina is right and this sense of helplessness makes him more furious yet. 

It’s late at night when the two youngsters and  Mami reach the Circle of the Sun...  They are now all gathered:  there’s Drudo, Pilade, Tosca, Mirina and Cabria. Ali considers such a group of heterogeneous “fanatics” more as a madhouse rather than as a group of warriors.  And he especially cannot understand what he has to do with them...

Until a woman comes, with her head covered by a cloak:  it’s Domitia, the imperial Princess!  When Drudo sees her, his proud warrior expression suddenly turns into a sweet and enchanted one...

In the meanwhile Marcus follows the magpie Circe into the meanders of the governor’s palace and overhears a secret conversation between Caius and Catilius. After hearing their plans against Rome, the little prince tiptoes away and is certain that he has not been seen.  But he’s wrong.  The two men took notice of his presence, but they were not in the least ruffled by being spied upon.  Marcus will never go back home, sneers the wicked Catilius. He already saved his life once and it will never happen again.

But first Caius must get his hands on the ring...

Domitia cannot believe her ears when she hears about the terrible plans Catilius is plotting against Rome.  Her surprise turns into fear when she is told that the head of the Praetorians had planned the ambush in which her son was about to lose his life.   

“I will report him!  He will be arrested!”

But Heliodorus urges her to think it over.  They are in Antioch, thousands of miles away from Rome.

The legionnaires, the Praetorians, Caius and his men – they are all at the service of Catilius.

No, they cannot openly oppose themselves at the moment.  Domitia must first return to Rome and then speak to her father.  Up until then, Catilius must not suspect having been discovered, otherwise his plans will be suddenly speeded up.  The Princess must especially refrain from speaking to Marcus about the matter.  He is still a child and might give himself away if he discovers the danger he’s in.  This would mean the end of him.

Domitia is frightened but Heliodorus comforts her.  She should trust them; they are there to help her.  They are ready to defend her with their lives.

Those words are just a distant echo for Ali.  He is confused and angry:  the woman everyone treats with deference is not only a Roman, but she’s also the mother of the little boy with the emblem!  He’s waited years for this day to come.  The time has finally come to discover the whole truth.  After Mithras’s followers have informed her of Catilius’s plans and all the danger Marcus is in, Ali takes a stand before her, backed up by Mami: she knows who killed his parents and she must tell him!  Domitia backs away, frightened by his fury:  she has no idea of what he is talking about...  Ali gets angrier, calls her a liar and looks at her with eyes that are brimming with hatred.  The Warriors of the Sun rise as one, ready to protect Domitia, but they are stopped by Heliodorus’s thundering voice:  “No! That is what our enemies want you to do! Blood for blood!”.  But when Heliodorus points to Ali and is about to explain everything...

“We’ve found you, you traitors!”

Caius’s legionnaires burst into the Circle of the Sun with their swords and spears pointed at them.  A furious battle ensues.  Drudo, who could have fled the scene, gets in front of Domitia in order to protect her.  This strikes her and she would like to help him, but Heliodorus leads her away along with Ali.  They can’t do anything to help their friends and they must save themselves.  From a distance they helplessly witness the arrest of Drudo, Pilade, Tosca, Milone, Cabria and Mirina. Heliodorus is forced to hold Ali back with all his might when the boy sees Mami in shackles and locked up in a cage.

They will all be led to the circus, where they will be put to death the following day in honor of the Princess and the little prince.

Domitia returns to her palace, greatly upset.  Marcus wants to tell her what he discovered about Catilius, but she pushes him away.  She is tired and has no time for his moaning...  Marcus is very disappointed:  he won’t tell her anything; he’ll wait until they’re back in Rome and then speak to his grandfather about the matter.

“Hung...  hung” Circe repeats impertinently while the two men take to their heels.

Heliodorus is downtrodden.  He wasn’t expecting that kind of blind fury from Ali.  Evil has done a good job:  there seems to be no place in the young lad’s soul for anything other than revenge.  The high priest tries to calm down his rage as they walk alone down the streets of Antioch:  Domitia wasn’t the one to have his parents killed, nor was it her son’s fault...  the truth is much more complicated than that.

But Ali does not listen to him.  All he can think about is Mami, who’s been captured and will soon be set to death in the circus.  The Romans have taken his real parents away from him, and now they will kill her as well.  No, if Heliodorus believes he might forgive them in any way, he’s dead wrong.

But later, as they’re returning to the oasis, Ali oddly loses his way.  He no longer recognizes anything of his whereabouts.  It’s as if he is in the throes of some strange kind of magic.  He finds himself in a clearing.  The thick and thriving vegetation has seized what seem to be the ruins of an aristocratic house.  “Does this place remind you of anything?”. It’s the voice of Heliodorus, who is holding a torch in his hand as he leads him through this strange, fascinating yet fearful place.  They enter what used to be a house.  They walk around the rooms in which, hidden beneath some flowers and climbing plants, a few pieces of furniture still stand: an overturned table, broken glasses that seem to have been smashed during a fight.  During a flashback comes the story of what happened on the terrible night of the ambush.  Heliodorus recounts of a happy family gathered around the table, of black men who burst into the house... the screams of the faithful servants, how one of them sacrificed her life to allow her masters to flee...  And then the reckless escape into the woods, the barking of dogs...  Ali experiences the pain once again; he recalls something and, although he has a confused vision of what happened that night, his eyes brim over with tears...  he walks around what used to be his childhood home.  There’s something shiny on the ground.  It’s a hairpin...  it must have belonged to his mother.  Then there’s toys, a sword, fragments of a happy life that was suddenly interrupted.  Heliodorus leads him into a colorful room.  The walls, partially covered by creeping plants, still display happy paintings, animals that chase after each other, the sunshine...  In the middle of the room stands a cradle:  it belonged to Ali.  It’s inlaid. 

“Your mother made it.  Your entire destiny is depicted on it.  Do you see that palace?”, Heliodorus points to one of the shapes that now seem to be confused, eroded by time and weather.“It’s Hadrian’s royal palace.  That’s where you should seek the truth if you want to take revenge for your parents.  But first you must pass seven trials...  and the seven trials are depicted here...” he says, pointing to the seven figures in low-relief that decorate the crib.  Ali looks at them carefully, guesses at their shapes which he has never seen before.  They seem like a statue, a lighthouse, a palace...

Ali leans his hand on the cradle, in a flashback we see his mother as she rocks it... she’s singing a lullaby:  “There’s a treasure in his heart... there’s a hidden treasure...”

Ali comes to his senses, as if it was only a dream.  He’s shocked and somewhat frightened.   

“Some things cannot be chosen...”, Heliodorus says as he tries to soothe him.  “Your future is predestined...  that’s all I can say for now”. 

And he disappears.      

EPISODE 4 – THE ESCAPE

“To death!…  Blood!”.

That’s what the citizens of Antioch scream out as they gather on the crowded circus steps...

“To death!…  Blood!” our heroes hear as they are chained up in the gloomy dungeons of the arena.  All around other prisoners are crying in despair.  The warriors of good try to comfort them; they gather around in a circle and sing...   

The distant echoes of those songs reach Drudo; he is kept prisoner apart from the others, amongst the true gladiators.  It also reaches the imperial stage where Domitia is tense and anguished for the fate of those men who are also sacrificing their lives for her sake.  She doesn’t even notice that Marcus has slipped away in order to secretly follow Catilius…

…but Canidia sees him, as she watches from her spring.  She happily anticipates the child’s death and that of the Warriors of Good whom she believed she had defeated many years back, but who have returned once again.  But there’s no hope for them this time around...

The circus audiences think the same thing when they watch those five unlikely vagabonds entering the arena.  It goes unsaid that they are only sacrificial victims and the audiences look forward to witnessing their death before moving on to more interesting exhibitions.  In fact, soon things seem to be going the wrong way for them.   

Our heroes are bewildered and uncoordinated.  The chariots ride around them as they tie them up with a rope that gets tighter and tighter...  The crowds are somewhat bored by that useless show:  what chances do a fat lady, a dwarf, two children and a little gypsy girl have against Caius’s legionnaires?

But Drudo, who is in the dungeons awaiting his battle against the real gladiators, manages to free himself of the shackles.  He makes his way into the arena and begins to lead them.

He is wearing the characteristic helmet of the Thracians, a round shield and a small yet precise sword called a sica.  When he makes his entrance into the arena, as handsome and proud as a Greek god, a roar of admiration rises from the crowds.

Hearing Drudo’s orders, the others unexpectedly become a team.  They are talented, coordinated and comically rid themselves of the chariots’ grasp.  They manage to win the contest.

Caius and Catilius fret and fume while Domitia is overjoyed.

But Catilius notices Marcus, who has slipped away from the imperial stage to spy on him and he nods to one of the Praetorians...  the man, as dark as a crow, approaches the little prince without being seen...

In the meantime, in the arena dungeons, Ali is trying to find Mami so as to free her and escape.  But raising his eyes to the arena he sees...  giant tigers that emerge from the dust and surround our heroes. 

Simultaneously, a hand reaches out and grabs Marcus from behind.  His mouth and his eyes are covered and he is dragged through an underground passage to a hidden balcony from which he is dangled into the air...  “I’ll take this”, sneers the Praetorian after tearing the ring away from around his neck.  He then drops the little prince down into the arena.  But Circe, the magpie that always follows Marcus, tears the ring away from the Praetorian’s hand and flies off with it.

A roar rises from the crowd:  the prince is in the middle of the arena, surrounded by ravenous tigers!  Domitia lunges towards her son to save him, but Catilius holds her back:  she cannot risk her life as well.  His men will take care of him...

While the Praetorians pretend to rush to Marcus’s help, a tiger has already opened up its jaws over the young prince.   

Everything seems hopeless.  If it weren’t for Drudo who, heedless of danger, lunges himself against the tiger.  A furious battle ensues, while the other beasts are about to tear our heroes to pieces.  Domitia anxiously watches the battle.  That Thracian seems to be their guardian angel.

But it proves to be a biased struggle.

Here comes a young lad, riding into the arena on a beautiful white she-lion.

It’s Ali.

He asks the tigers to stop in a language only known he knows.  But they do not seem to agree.  They have a job to do, they reply, and should they refuse to eat the prisoners they would end up growing old in some gloomy zoo for cowardly tigers.  As louder cries of surprise rise from the public, Ali manages to convince the beasts:  should they save those poor souls’ lives, he will proceed to free them that night itself.  Upon hearing the promise, the tigers stop in their heels.  Marcus widens his eyes up in surprise when the tiger who was about to devour him suddenly crouches down like a harmless little kitten.

And likewise the crowds make a great fuss.

Canidia is furious in Rome:  again that young boy!  Something about him frightens her.  Had Catilius not reassured her that the Chosen died one night twelve years ago, she would be fearing the worst...

It would be best to get rid of him, in any case.

Domitia goes down into the arena and alongside Marcus she grants her pardon to the heroes who saved her son’s life.  She lifts her gaze towards Drudo and smiles at him.  It’s just the matter of a moment, but a moment that the two of them will never forget.

Caius and Catilius must make the best of it while Circe lands on Marcus’s shoulder and gives the imperial ring back to him.

But during that night’s celebrations, two suspicious characters approach Dora and Marcus.  The little prince expects the Praetorians to protect him, whereas they allow the two men to drag them away into the circus. 

They want to feed them to the hyenas.  They try to wrestle the ring away from Marcus.  But rather than give it to them, he flings it into the hyena cage.  The two men (they are the same slightly stupid legionnaires who Ali defeated in the first episode and who then tried to take the ring away from Marcus) leave it be.  That will end up in the stomach of the ferocious beasts, as well.

Two long pale hands glide over the water of a spring.  They belong to Canidia, who is watching the scene from the cave of Anubis.  But, right when Marcus is about to be devoured by the hyenas, something darkens the water in the spring and makes it impossible to see a thing...

“Stop, you filthy beasts!”, says Ali who, having come to the circus to keep his promise with the tigers, finds himself facing that young boy once again.  The little prince.  But he cannot help but save him since that is what his sincere and brave heart leads him to do.  And then there’s Dora and he has never seen a girl as beautiful as her before.  Once he frees them, he tries to leave them alone in the Antioch night.  But they’re no good at doing anything on their own.  So, despite himself, he decides to accompany them to Heliodorus.

When they arrive, they see that everyone has gathered together.  The situation is a dramatic one.  Marcus has risked his life three times...  and three times (but he doesn’t say so) did Ali save him.  Heliodorus performed some counter-magic on Marcus, so that Canidia might not recognize him as the future emperor.  Nonetheless, Antioch is no longer a safe place.  No place is safe.  All the legions are on Catilius’s side and so they must not trust a living soul.

Their only hope for salvation is reaching the Emperor in Rome.  He is the only person they can trust.  Heliodorus cannot accompany them...  he will dispatch his most suitable man for this difficult mission:  Ninurta.

But Ali is not interested in Heliodorus’s arguments.  He will reach Rome by himself, he has no need for those lunatics, nor does he intend to act as wet-nurse for that obnoxious little boy.  But Heliodorus takes him aside. 

“Yesterday you forgot this”, he says as he hands him a roll of parchment.  It is the tracing of the inscriptions engraved on the cradle.  He must follow them as if they were a map and to do so he needs Ninurta’s help.  But Ali is stubborn, too used to taking care of himself than to trust anybody else.  So Heliodorus slips his hand into his tunic and removes his medallion from around his neck.  The Antioch vagabond looks at it in shock:  it is identical to the one his mother left him before disappearing forever.   

“Who are you and what do you want from me?”

Heliodorus does not reply.  But if Ali could only catch a glimpse behind that motionless mask, he would see a tear running down his wrinkled face.

Catilius places the medallion with the bull, the symbol of Mithras, inside Marcus’s room...  the followers of the Sun god were the ones to have her son kidnapped and killed.  Domitia is devastated; she no longer knows what to believe...

While they convince Domitia that her child was kidnapped by the followers of Mithras, the friends of those men she saved, the Warriors of the Sun anxiously await on the Antioch wharf. 

They are expecting the man dispatched by Heliodorus to lead them during their journey.  His identity will be disclosed by the emblem of the sun that he wears around his neck.  A silhouette finally appears out of the dawn mist, a lean and slightly curved figure...

“My name is Ninurta.  Heliodorus sends me”.

He’s an old man! How could Heliodorus not have found anybody better than that old hunched man for such a difficult task?  Ninurta smiles and gets on board.

EPISODE 5 –  SAILING TOWARDS ELEUSIS

Before returning to Rome, Catilius flies into a temper with Caius: how could his men not have taken the ring, the symbol of imperial power?  The people do not love him, they will never accept him as their emperor if he asserts his authority over them by force...  and the same goes for the Senate.  That ring was of fundamental importance! Now he’s forced to go back to his previous plans:  push Domitia into marrying him and then killing Hadrian.  In the meantime his men will look for Marcus:  they’ll find him if he’s still alive.  And so they will complete what Caius’s legionnaires were not able to do.

If the head of the Praetorians could only imagine how close Marcus truly is in that instant, the young boy would have no way out.  He’s also at the wharf, in hiding.  He’s watching his mother as she boards the ship.  Domitia is pale and worn-out.  A handmaid is at her side and supports her.  Marcus is impatient.  He would like to speak to her, even for an instant, let her know that he’s alive...  But Ninurta holds him back.  Look, look at the ship, look at the wharf:  Catilius’s men are everywhere.  They can’t wait for Marcus to make a wrong move.  Then that would truly be the end of everything.

Marcus bows his head.  The old man is right.  While Domitia boards the galley that will be taking her back to Rome, a teardrop goes down the little prince’s cheek and he immediately dries it up:  he is all alone now, he cannot allow himself to cry.   

Domitia, looking out at the stern, watches Antioch as it gets farther away in the distance.  Her son is alive, he must be alive!  How could Heliodorus and his men lie to her in such a cruel way?  How could Catilius be right?  Everything seems to be so confused to her now:  the words uttered by the high priest, those of the Praetorian leader, the battle in the circus and the nocturnal flight down the city streets.  Who’s right? Who can she trust?  There is only one certainty.  If Marcus is still alive, who better than the Praetorians can find him?  That is what Catilius says and Domitia nods.  Certainly, he continues allusively, if the Princess were a bit nicer to him everything would be easier...

Canidia, who wasn’t able to see Marcus’s death, suspects but isn’t sure that he is still alive.  But she knows that the forces of Good are acting.  Heliodorus must have something to do with the counter-magic that keeps her from clearly seeing inside the spring when that little tattered boy appears, who has joined the Warriors of Good.  This forebodes nothing positive...

She should do her best, the battle is growing harsher.  If the Chosen is still alive, her plans might go up in smoke.  He is her most threatening enemy...  she must do something.

Her knotted hands slide over one of the glass cases full of blue liquid that line the wall of the Anubis cave.

There’s that terrifying creature, that zombie with a ferocious appearance:  Gutta.

He is the only one who can stop the Chosen.  He and... another glass case lights up.  There is a woman...  we discover that she is Niobe, Ali’s mother.  Canidia makes her open up her eyes, but they are transparent and devoid of will.   

She will need her help.  Should her suspicions prove to be true, that little boy might be their most threatening opponent.  And she, Niobe, is his only weak spot. 

Meanwhile, on the ship sailing towards Eleusis, Marcus is being “prepared” for the journey.  He is undressed of his aristocratic attire, they do away with his long blonde ringlets.  His face is covered with some sort of dark powder, which makes him seem like a dirty and tattered black boy.  He’s unrecognizable...  the only thing that gives away his role is the ring that he hides under his tunic.  Heliodorus and his magic have kept him away from Canidia’s overseeing powers, now that disguise will keep him away from the eyes of all the others... 

During their sea voyage, things aren’t as simple as our heroes would have expected.  For one, no one knows how to sail a ship.  They risk being shipwrecked a few times. 

Ninurta seems useless.  He does nothing, he doesn’t give any directions.  All he does is sit in a corner and sketch very complicated drawings using sand and then he erases them.  What was Heliodorus thinking when he sent this man to help them out? 

Marcus is disappointed, bored and he just cannot get used to that kind of life.  Dora just can’t seem to do anything right.  She’s clumsy and doesn’t even know how to fry an egg.  Mirina takes advantage of the situation and doesn’t lose a chance to make her seem incapable and ridiculous.   

Ali is off to a side, superior and indifferent.  All he wants to do is reach Rome.

Ninurta watches him slyly.

The turbulent navigation comes to a halt when a ship bearing a menacing emblem appears on the horizon.  They are the terrible Cicilian pirates, the terror of all the wayfarers of the Mediterranean Sea.  The battle is in vain.  Our heroes are captured.  Led by their leader Akisar, they are put in shackles and led to a secret hiding-place set in the nearby island of Cyprus.  The pirates intend to sell as slaves those of them whom they cannot get a ransom for. 

But once they arrive in Cyprus, Akisar begins to observe Marcus with a peculiar kind of curiosity.  In fact, he has caught a glimpse of the ring he is wearing around his neck.  Once his ship managed to snatch a senator and thus the pirate recognizes the symbol of imperial descent.  If this is the case, if that boy is truly the little prince everyone is looking for, maybe he might just make a fortune out of it.   

But they must be patient.  That is what Akisar says to his fellow pirates, who want to sell Marcus to Catilius right away.  It would be best to reach Rome and then sell him off to the highest bidder.  But they certainly cannot cross the Mediterranean on board a pirate ship.  The Roman legionnaires would find them immediately and then there would be no talk of a reward – they would be hung on the spot.  They have to be shrewd and figure out an alternative plan.

So Akisar begins to reserve some special treatment for Marcus in order to become his friend.  He convinces the young boy that he wants to abandon his life as a pirate and offers to help him escape along with his friends, in exchange for future remuneration.  He would join them in their flight, unawares to his pirate friends.   

Marcus informs the others and, although they do not trust him completely, they decide to follow Akisar’s plan.  During the night he comes to free them and, getting his hands on an old sea vessel, they set sail in the direction of Eleusis.

He says he will accompany them to Rome, but first he has to find them a new ship because the one they’re on will not endure the voyage.   

While Akisar frees their wrists, Ali realizes that Ninurta has already freed himself on his own.  How did he manage?  Why hasn’t he escaped?  When he asks him, Ninurta shrugs his shoulders:  there is time for freedom and time for captivity.  As he sees it, they are now all afloat at high sea, so what use would it be to fret and fume?

Ali is shocked.

EPISODE 6 – CITY OF THE OBLIVION

In the meanwhile in Rome, in the presence of his daughter Domitia and Antoninus, the Emperor listens to the report made by Catilius: Marcus has been kidnapped and perhaps killed by the followers of Mithras.  He shows them all the emblem with the symbol of the sun which was found in Marcus’s room.  The Emperor should have listened to him.  He has been too open-handed, too magnanimous and now what Catilius has always feared has come true.  But the time has come to change their politics:  enough with tolerance, it is necessary to use strong manners and to do so they need a strong leader...

Hadrian listens and then asks to be left alone.  He begins to cry for the disappearance of his favorite grandson and for his health conditions that keep him from facing the menacing and uncertain situation that has arisen.  The wicked Canidia, overjoyed, spies on him and prepares another poisoned potion for him. 

It is very difficult for Akisar to put up with our heroes during navigation.  He is the only one who really knows how to sail a ship (if that kind of nutshell may be considered a ship!) and so he is of course the captain.  But the others are of little help and he has to turn them into sailors.

Tosca ends up in the kitchen, the twins are assigned to the masts, Pilade...  Pilade should be in charge of the sea maps and make sure that they are going along the right route.  But he’s lying, he doesn’t know how to interpret the stars, he mixes them up and in fact they come close to facing disaster quite a few times.  Marcus and Ali act as ship boys.  For one reason or another, they both hate this role and hate each other.  The same holds true for Mirina and Dora, who are working as dishwashers in the kitchen.  Mirina is talented, she always manages to back away whereas Dora is forced to do work that she considers absurd.  But Mirina’s shrewdness turns against her.  In fact Ali, noticing that Dora is having a hard time, does not lose the chance to help her out.   

And the little gypsy from Antioch just cannot take it.

So much so that one day she plays one of her tricks on her.

So, seemingly out of the blue, she begins a rumor that she saw an enormous spider in her cabin:  they must be infested.  But luckily she is aware of a sure-fire remedy that her grandmother the chief-gypsy taught her:  one must cover one’s face with flour and then sleep with an apple in one’s mouth.  The Greek girl, who has a terrible fear of insects, overhears her and follows her advice in fright.  Obviously that is all Mirina was waiting for, so she organizes a kind of tour.

When Dora awakens, her hair plastered with flour and her cheeks as bloated as a squirrel’s, she sees everybody else on her doorstep as they laugh like crazy.  Mirina laughs more than the rest. 

And Dora swears...

Akisar realizes that he’s got an edge on Ali.  He is an outsider in the group and he clearly cannot stand Marcus.  The pirate feels he is very much like him...  But Ali is distrustful; he senses that the man is hiding something.  Akisar is so kind to Marcus as to seem mendacious.  The little prince is immediately full of admiration for him.  He loves to listen as he tells stories about his voyages, about his adventures in faraway and mysterious lands.  Marcus, who has never had a father and has always been treated like a little lord, admires the pirate’s strength and his freedom.  He is fascinated by the man. 

One day, while our heroes are swimming in order to relax for a while, they are attacked by a school of terrible poisonous jellyfish.  At the sight of the approaching animals, they all manage to get back on ship.  No one notices that Marcus, involved in one of his experiments and therefore distracted, is missing.

He is alone, at high sea, with jellyfish swimming just a few inches away from him.  Luckily Akisar, who was keeping an eye on him, risks his own life by jumping into the water and saves him.  It is obviously not a disinterested act, but the little prince is unaware of it.  Quite the contrary, since the pirate hurt himself during the exploit and thanks to Dora who is an expert of medicinal herbs, Marcus nurses him back to health.  The coarse pirate is quite disconcerted by the sincere gratitude of the young boy, who does not leave his side until he has finally recovered and then joyfully hugs him. 
 
In the meantime, in Rome, Hadrian’s health is getting worse and worse after being constantly poisoned by Canidia.  He loses his strength and is quite feeble.  Catilius takes advantage of the situation.  He presents himself before the Emperor and declares his intentions of marrying Domitia.  He is fully aware of the Empire’s necessities; all the legions trust him, he would be the most suitable man to ascend to power while awaiting Marcus’s return.  And should Marcus never return...

Hadrian summons Domitia: enough is enough.  Considering the situation at hand, she must get married.  The Empire is on the edge of its ruin and he is too old to lead it any longer.  Catilius has asked for her hand in marriage and Hadrian would happily agree.  But Domitia will have nothing of it...  she would rather starve herself to death. 

A white dove flies over Rome.  We observe the city through its eyes.  It is very different from what it was at the beginning of this story.  It seems gloomier and sadder.  It is as if the Emperor’s disease has contaminated the Eternal City.  The dove reaches the court:  it is carrying a message for Domitia.

Heliodorus sent it to her...

The high priest urges her not to despair since her son is still alive and will return. 

But she must be patient...  and she must conjure up a plan in order to postpone her marriage to Catilius, which would only cause the ultimate downfall of the Empire...

In order to protect the safety of the Romans, Catilius increases police inspections and freedom is mostly abolished.  All the followers of Mithras must be arrested.  Only Romans citizens are authorized to travel, to move from one province to the other.

Thus Catilius tries to keep our heroes from returning to Rome.

But in the meantime they have arrived in Eleusis. While Akisar goes looking for a ship to continue their journey, Ninurta disappears.  And the rest of our heroes disperse as they await.

Eleusis is a magical and mysterious city.

Its roads, which are swarming with merchants and artists during the day, suddenly change their aspect at night.  Silhouettes hidden under long cloaks slide along the walls like shadows.  Following hidden passages, they descend along impassable paths and then arrive at the caves used for initiations and sacrifices.  Some look for the place where souls are hidden, some want to speak to the dead, and some sacrifice animals in the name of cruel and bloodthirsty gods. 

Eleusis is the centre of all esoteric and obscure cults, of magic and illusions, and it doesn’t fail to practice its enchantment even on our heroes.

The Warriors of the Sun get lost along the narrow city roads, each one following his own path, each one following his own dream or nightmare... or personal illusion or secret.   

Milone and Cabria follow their tormenting desire, which is that of being able to fly.  In the quarter of the fakirs they discover an old shaman who teaches them how to perform levitation experiments. 

Tosca is enthralled by the aroma that rises from the Jewish taverns, where divinely delicious dishes are prepared.  Pilade, who lies as usual, declares that he is perfectly acquainted with the city.  But he immediately gets lost and is flabbergasted by the wonders of an enormous theatre where the tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides are performed.  Mirina, following the sound of a distant flute, is attracted to the quarter where the nomadic communities gather and where she finds the spirit of her origins, recognizing music that she used to hear as a child and that exercises upon her thin legs an unrestrainable instinct to dance. 

Dora, who conceals a great passion for medicine under the guise of a snobbish young lady, is captured by the array of medicinal herbs and preparations that crowd the stands in the spice-selling market. 

For his part Ali, in Mami’s company, gets lost in the quarter of the wizards who promise journeys into the after-world and conversations with the dead.  Perhaps he dreams of seeing his dead father and hearing his mother’s voice.  Marcus wants to witness some magical cult, as well, and so despite the vagabond from Antioch’s protests he follows the wizard along with Circe...

But another shadow gently glides through the magical night in Eleusis.  It belongs to Ninurta. Carefully escaping everyone’s attention, he slips into a cave.  Some other high priests are waiting for him inside, illuminated by the feeble light of torches.  They bow their heads at his arrival.  The oldest of the lot speaks up:  Heliodorus told them that he would be arriving and that the moment they have all been waiting for has finally come.  All those high priests represent the coalition of Good and they are ready to help our heroes in their journey.  But they must be very careful, since Evil has also been alerted and danger is lurking everywhere.

The most important thing is to lead the two children to Rome safe and sound...  

Ali and Marcus have entered inside the cave of a taxidermist.  Upon setting his eyes on Mami, the man’s eyes begin to shine.  Such a fine example might be worth thousands of sesterces...  Using his mysterious charm upon the two lads, he convinces them to drink a potion which he promises will allow them to speak with the dead.  But Ali and Marcus fall into a deep sleep after drinking just one sip of that dark liquid...

Ninurta returns to the harbor, but Drudo is the only one there.  What happened to the others?  He has to dispatch the Thracian to fetch them:  have they perhaps forgotten their duties? 

Drudo manages to find the others.  Afterwards, thanks to Circe’s directions, he also manages to find Ali and Marcus.  Just in time because the taxidermist was about to raise his knife upon Mami...

When they are all finally on the wharf, ready to leave thanks to a passage Akisar has found for them to Rome, some terrible news reaches them:  it is impossible to leave since all the harbors have been blocked.  No ship may go out to sea before Catilius’s men check all the passengers’ traveling permits.  Permits that obviously have to be countersigned by the head of the Praetorians in person. 

While the ship that had offered them a passage is going out to high sea, our grounded heroes are overcome with discouragement:  how on earth will they get to the Eternal City?

Domitia asks to speak to her father.  There is a strange light in her eyes when she tells Hadrian that she is willing to be married, but only on one condition...

EPISODE 7 -   THE TOURNAMENT OF THE SEVEN WONDERS

“If not for love... it will be for valor”.  This is what Domitia says to Hadrian. All right, she will be married.  And she will do it for the good of the Empire.  And for this reason she will search for the bravest, wisest, strongest and most courageous man.  The Empire has many populations; there are countless princes who live in the most distant provinces.  She wants to be sure that the future emperor is the best of the lot.  And in order to find him, a grand and unique trial is necessary.  A Tournament is needed.

She will marry the man who wins the greatest gladiator tournament in history:  the Tournament of the Seven Wonders.

It will be a series of contests.  They will not only be based on ability, but also on intelligence, willpower and generosity.  The tournaments will take place on the premises of the Seven Wonders of the World and the grand finale will be held in Rome, in the Coliseum arena.   

Hadrian looks at her in awe.  He likes the idea: it falls within his way of thinking, which is both democratic and fair.

All right, he accepts.  May the Tournament begin.

He appoints Antoninus, his most trusted and wise councilor and Senate representative, to supervise the tournament so that everything takes place according to the rules of justice and fairness.   

Domitia folds a piece of parchment paper and ties it to the leg of the dove which was delivered to her from Antioch...  it takes wing and flies off into the red Roman skies.  It flies into the distance, towards the east.

The news of the Tournament spreads all over Rome, the peninsula and the Provinces of the Empire.  We hear the excerpts of the proclamation being read in a rapid sequence of scenes.  And immediately, from Rome to the furthest territories, dignitaries of the Empire begin their search for Champions and for teams of gladiators to enroll in the greatest competition in history and with the most coveted reward in history:  the hand of the Princess in marriage, power over the whole Empire. 

Through a series of cuts we see the other teams as they prepare for the tournament.  Some are exotic, some terrible, while others are rather odd. 
 
There’s the Gauls, whose champion comes from Lutetium and is named Alfix. His gladiators are very talented with the gladius and are known for their bravery in battle.

The champion of the Germans comes from Mainz and is named Hakon.  He envies the good manners of the Romans and he tries to imitate them.  But he is a barbarian at heart and often cuts a sorry figure.  His team is made up of hairy, gigantic men, clad only in animal skins.  Their weapon is the bludgeon, with the addition of the two-bladed axe during the harshest battles.  And they have a very talented Viking to lead the acquatic competitions.

The Iberians are no less talented.  Their champion is Brenno and he comes from Toletum. The Iberians are somewhat considered the farmers of the whole Empire, but Brenno is proud of that.  He goes to sleep as soon as the sun sets and wakes up at dawn.  Even for that which regards his weapons, he is definitely old-fashioned:  he and his men are in fact very good at using bows and arrows.   

Along with these main teams, there are others that are less dangerous in the long-run but very skilful during some of the competitions.  That’s the case for the Amazons, the Greeks, the Etruscans... and many, many others.   

The dove dispatched by Domitia has arrived in Eleusis. Ninurta reads the message and his eyes light up with hope once again.  He summons our heroes.  The time has come to look for a ship.  In fact, now they can leave.  A gladiator Tournament has been proclaimed.  The regulations for enlisting are simple. 

All free men in the Empire can participate, provided they have sufficient means to engage and maintain a team of gladiators for the entire duration of the competitions.    

Ninurta looks at our heroes one by one, as if weighing their strength, honesty and determination.  Then he smiles paternally:  it’s the only way they have at their disposal to reach Rome.   

Because there, in the immense Coliseum, the two finalist teams will dispute a grand award.   

“What is that?” asks Marcus.

Ninurta looks at him sadly:  his mother’s hand in marriage.

Drudo is incredulous.  He may end up marrying Domitia!

But our heroes are frightened.  They do not feel capable of participating in the tournament.  They are not gladiators, nor are they athletes.  How could they simply avoid getting killed by the strongest men in the world, let alone win?

And then there’s the matter of money.  The proclamation says that in order to participate it is necessary to have enough sesterces to keep the whole team.  They barely have enough to get something to eat for supper! 

Ninurta smiles and says that he will help them.  But this does nothing to comfort them at all.

In the meanwhile, in the dungeons of Hadrian’s palace, Canidia and Catilius are speaking about their plans.  Catilius is furious about the Tournament.  But Canidia reassures him:  after all he’s got the strongest team, no one in the entire Empire is as well-trained as his Praetorians.  Maybe it’s best this way:  Domitia will be forced to marry him and no one can complain about it. 

Once alone, Canidia walks up to one of the glass cases.  She presses her long hand, as white as that of a corpse, against the glass.  The case lights up and begins to shimmer..  Gutta’s eyes suddenly burst wide open:  his time has come.  Something in their plans is not going as it was supposed to, although she hasn’t really grasped the true reason why.  That young boy’s comings and goings, the Syrian with the blue eyes...  every time he comes into the scene, she “feels” that the efforts of Evil are to no avail.  And this can only mean one thing...

That is why Gutta must go:  he, the son of Evil, must keep the Chosen from fulfilling his destiny of Good. 

Following these words, the liquid inside the glass case is illuminated by a flash as red as fire, the glass is broken to smithereens and Gutta emerges with a frightening wail.

Our heroes set up camp on the wharf.  They will be leaving the following morning.  Akisar, taking advantage of his connections, has come up with a passage up to Olympia (where the first trial of the tournament will be taking place).  When Mirina asks him for the identity of their benefactors, Akisar does not reply.  But deep inside he thinks that no one sound of mind would have ever accepted on board such a strange group of people.

Ali is angry and disappointed.  No one had mentioned gladiator tournaments to him.  There’s nothing in the world he loathes more...  He witnessed too much suffering in the Antioch circus, too much bloodshed.  This was not part of the agreement...

In the middle of the night, while the others are asleep, he runs away with Mami.

Ali wanders through the night in Eleusis. He is furious; he hates his companions and even Heliodorus who had lied to him.  Without realizing it, he ends up in the wizards quarter.  But during his journey he turns around various times since he feels he is being trailed.  His hunch is confirmed in the worst way possible.  In fact, Marcus is hot on his heels.  But, since he is not an expert, he gets into big trouble by bothering two neighborhood petty thieves.  Ali is initially forced to get him out of trouble and then to let Marcus tag along with him.   

Canidia, in the Anubis cave, is overjoyed:  Ali is finally far away from his friends...  She slides her hands over the spring water, and then whispers a name:  “Ali…”

“Ali…”, repeats a woman in the streets of Eleusis, “dear child, come to me”.  The vagabond turns around in shock, that voice belongs to his mother!

He follows it and disappears inside the front door of a gloomy palace.  The door instantly closes behind him.

Marcus has remained outside and calls out loud to Ali, but the latter seems to be in the throes of hypnosis.  The little prince realizes that something terrible is going on.  Mustering up all his courage to face the streets of Eleusis all by himself, he runs off in search of Ninurta.

But once he arrives at the ship, Ninurta is nowhere to be found.  He finds Heliodorus awaiting him in his place, splendid in his sun mask.

“Let’s hurry”, that’s all he says to the young boy, who looks at him in astonishment.

In the meanwhile Ali has entered a strange and mysterious garden along with Mami.  Amidst the oddest plants and surreal lights, his most unremitting dreams and desires take shape.  So Mami gets to see her beloved pups, while Ali wanders in search of his mother’s ghost, whom he wishes to embrace once again.  The figures appear, seem quite real, but when they reach out to touch them they fade away and others loom up instead.   

Ali and Mami seem to be paralyzed until a figure appears behind them and its presence dissolves the fictitious images and frees them from the spell.  It’s Heliodorus. Ali looks at him in wonder. He hasn’t seen him since their departure from Antioch.  How did he manage to reach Eleusis despite Catilius’s surveillance? Heliodorus smiles serenely:  that is not the question he was expecting from Ali. What is the use of knowing the reason why something happened when it has already happened?  Ali should instead ask himself what kind of place they’re in and what they can do to escape that sort of temptation forever.  Ali looks at him and bows his head:  he’s right.  Heliodorus goes on:  that’s the enchanted garden of oblivion, where the dearest but also the wrongest dreams materialize, along with the most deceitful desires.  An evil force is against their journey.  In order to overcome it, everyone’s support is necessary:  Ali and Marcus must do their part.  Their destinies are linked together and they both must give their contribution in order to save the Empire.

Heliodorus leads them out of the garden.  Once they reach the others, he takes Ali to the side.

He reveals to Ali that the time has come to fulfill his destiny.  Ali must follow the others.  But during the journey he must commit himself to overcoming trials reserved to him alone and not only participate in the tournament.  Through these trials he will be able to gather the truth about the destiny of his parents.  In reply to Ali’s urgent questions, Heliodorus simply replies that he has already seen his destiny:  it is depicted on the cradle that his mother made for him...  in any case, he must trust Ninurta:  the old man will be his guide.

In the training gymnasium, Catilius is choosing the men who will make up his team.  In addition to himself, the champion with a gladius (a long and heavy sword); there is a retiarius, armed with a trident and a metal net; a hoplomachus, equipped with a spiked bludgeon and a spear; and a mirmillus, who uses a small curved sword.   

Catilius is satisfied.  Those men come from the best gladiatorial schools in Rome.  Since he liberated them in order to enroll them in the Praetorian corps, they are completely and absolutely loyal to him.  He sharpens his gladius while a servant shines his footwear and prepares his armor. 

But something flung at great speed makes his sword fall out of his hands.  It brushes past his face and sinks into the wall behind him.  It’s a sort of ninja throwing star.   

Catilius is taken aback, while silence sets over the gymnasium.  He touches his cheek:  a drop of blood lingers on his very pale hand. 

“Who was it? Who dared!?”

“I did”.

Gutta emerges from behind a pillar.  He is tall, as pale as marble and frightening.  He stretches his hand out and the throwing star drops off the wall on its own and flies back to its master.  Gutta slips it back into his armor, on his shoulder, and smiles sarcastically at Catilius.

“Get him!”.

At Catilius’s orders, the Praetorians attack Gutta.  But he brushes away those warriors considered invincible, one-by-one, as if they were twigs.  Catilius is flabbergasted.  What does he want?  Who has sent him here?

“He’s a present of mine”.  Canidia is the one who’s speaking.  She explains that Gutta will follow them in the tournament; he will help them to win and in many other things, as well.  Catilius is nervous:  he’s already got a team, he doesn’t need anyone else.  But Canidia smiles sarcastically.  She points to the mirmillus lying on the ground:  is he sure about that?  And in any case, the decision is not up for discussion:  Gutta will be leaving with Catilius, otherwise he can forget about getting any help from her.

Catilius unwillingly accepts the proposal.  He looks at Gutta again, who is staring at Catilius with a fixed expression in his eyes:  that warrior has something in his gaze that makes a shiver go down Catilius’s spine. 

Ali and Marcus are finally at the wharf, ready to leave.  But for now there’s no trace of the mysterious benefactors much vaunted by Akisar. Our heroes begin to despair when a rickety ship appears on the horizon.  “There they are!”, shouts Akisar as he waves his arms in the ship’s direction.  Our men look around, stupefied and slightly frightened.  Those are the Phoenicians, skilful navigators but also treacherous merchants who would sell their own mothers for a bit of gold!

But Akisar cuts short:  they are the only ones who accepted to sail the men up to Olympia, the first stage of the tournament.  They are lucky because the Phoenicians are heading there to sell souvenirs and gadgets.  All they’re asking for in exchange is a bit of collaboration with the “simple” tasks on board.

So while Tosca ends up peeling potatoes in a smelly kitchen all day long, the others tend to the oars and act as hands on ship.  They were hoping to have some time to train during the journey, but instead...  Ninurta smiles as he watches Milone and Cabria jump from one mast to the other; Pilade as he strains his muscles on the oars; and Marcus and Ali as they help to clean the deck:  that seems to be the best workout possible.    

At the same time, the ominous Black ship belonging to Catilius’s team weighs anchor from Rome.  The great dark sails outline a menacing silhouette on the horizon, which grows smaller and smaller...

EPISODE 8 – THE STATUE OF ZEUS

From all the roads of the Empire, by sea or by land, the ships and the caravans converge onto Olympia.  They carry the teams chosen for the opening competition of the Tournament.  In fact, the first of the Seven Wonders of the World is in Olympia:  the chryselephantine statue of Zeus, planned by Pheidias.   

Along the Danube and across Macedonia, from the shores of Africa to Asia Minor and from the Mediterranean ports come the teams that will be participating in the tournament.  It’s a feast for sore eyes to see all those colors, it’s a joy for all ears to listen to all those different languages...  they all join the Greeks who, led by Prince Athos, dispute the first trial at home.  They are dressed in light togas, have elegant manners, but are excellent in the competitions that not by chance were first conducted in Olympia itself.   

With all that sparkling gold and those shiny swords, no one notices the arrival of our heroes.  Rather, no one would have noticed until one of the Phoenicians, after having forced them to unload the merchandise, begins to shout:  “Statues of Zeus, statues of Zeus for thirty sesterces!”.  Upon hearing:  “Come right up... one and all!” every single gaze of those magnificent warriors is fixed upon them and Dora wishes she could just disappear.   

Overcoming the first moment’s embarrassment, the problem of economical support is the most compelling one for our men.  How can they earn themselves a living, a place to sleep, some weapons?   Without taking into consideration that the next trial will be a naumachia and they don’t even have a ship!  Ninurta shrugs her shoulders:  the most important thing to do now is to win this round and go on to the next one.  Then somebody will surely take care of them...

As they arrive in Olympia, the teams are applauded by a cheerful crowd.  They make their way inside the great stadium which will witness their rehearsals.  There’s a Champion in the lead of each team, the strongest and most feared member, the man who will gain the Princess’s hand in marriage should they win.

Domitia herself inaugurates the Tournament.  Her suitors parade in front of her.   

In the lead there’s Catilius but also Drudo, to the Princess’s great happiness and surprise!

The Praetorian leader cannot believe his eyes:  those men are criminals; all those who belong to the followers of Mithras have been banished from the Empire!  But Antoninus, the supreme judge of the tournament, in reply to his complaints says that everything is in order.

Hadrian, thanks to Domitia’s intercession, has granted them his pardon in Antioch and so they are now untouchable.  Catilius nurses his resentment, but he cannot go against the Princess’s will.  Then he is soothed by the thought that he has already seen them at battle:  they are simply circus attractions and not warriors!

Hidden among the rest, Marcus listens to his mother’s speech.  He suddenly feels nostalgic and longs to embrace her.  He is about to go towards her, but Ninurta stops him just in time.  Hasn’t he seen those men who are standing around her nonchalantly?  They are Praetorians in disguise and all they are waiting for is a bad move on Marcus’s part in order to arrest him.  They have to be very careful since should Catilius discover that the Prince is still alive it would mean the end of them...

Marcus bows his head and has a hard time holding back the tears.  The sight of his mother who seems at peace and even rather happy simply torments him:  she has already forgotten all about him!

Domitia, unawares of her son’s presence, is sitting next to Antoninus as he reads out the Tournament’s regulations.

It is a great competition based on points, explains the Senate representative.  In each of the Seven Wonders visited by the tournament’s caravan, the judges decide which category of competition the teams will be faced with.  This category will then be divided into different specialties, so that the Champion of every team can choose how to line up his men.  For example, if the category is athletics (as in the case of Olympia) then this category will be divided up into different sub-categories.  In this specific case they are:  marathon, pankration, archery and poetry recitation.  Ten points are awarded to the winner of each specialty and so on until the last contender who gains zero points.  A place-list is drawn up at the end of each section of competitions.  By adding the points of the seven rounds, two finalist teams will be decided.  They will face each other in Rome, for the grand finale which will be held in the Coliseum.

Following the registration procedures, the Champions of the different teams introduce themselves.  Some make friends with the others, while some swear eternal hatred.  Only one of them stands aside from the rest.   

It’s Cynric, the Prince of the Britons.  Standing still in front of the stage, he stares at the spot where the Princess was sitting beforehand.   

People are dispersing all around, but Cynric continues to stand still.  He has never seen such a beautiful and aristocratic woman before.  He has no thirst for power and did not even want to participate in the Tournament since he was reluctant to leave his beloved Britannia.  But now he has a reason to win:  love. 

In Rome, Hadrian is anxiously awaiting news about the competition.  Canidia says that he is too nervous and that he must calm down.  And she pours him a few drops of her potion.  Hadrian suddenly falls into a deep, much too deep sleep...

The competition is about to begin in Olympia.  The teams line up and the men are chosen to participate in the different contests.   

The procedures are similar to those of the Olympic Games, the ones that have always been dedicated to Zeus.

There’s the marathon

Pankration

Discus throwing

Archery

Poetry recitation.

The race which inaugurates the games is the marathon.

Dora, who supervises the registration procedures, is astonished:  why is Milone participating alone?  But the two young twins are laughing...  She looks at them:  can she be sure which one of them is Milone?  Dora isn’t sure whether she has grasped the situation or not, but she has learned that it’s best to let Milone and Cabria be.   

As the athletes are busy with warming up for the race at the starting blocks, no one notices the dark shadow that slips a few drops of black liquid into the water flasks that will be given to the marathon men during the race.  It’s Gutta and his sole presence creates a menacing atmosphere around the competition...

The race begins.  Milone runs very quickly as his opponents have a good laugh...  he’ll never make it to the middle of the race at that pace.   

The Watussi, lined up by Lothar, seems to be the most dangerous opponent with his infinitely long legs.  Even Athos, who is participating in person, proceeds at a calm pace.  But no one sees him going into the woods at about mid-competition...

But Milone doesn’t seem to care.  He’s first and he hasn’t lost pace. Even the retiarius from the Black team runs calmly along.  So much so that when they reach the water provisions, he is the only one who doesn’t drink...

In the meantime, even Pilade’s competition has begun.  It is not an athletic meet, but a competition in poetry recitation.  Pilade looks over his opponents.  They are handsome, well-groomed and concentrated.  One of them recognizes him.  They had studied together at the Academy...  what has he been up to?  He works as leading actor for the Epidaurus theatre...  Which theatre company is Pilade working for?  Pilade is uneasy, he feels worse than all the rest, he feels inadequate.  So he goes inside his tent and with trembling hands he gets a flask full of distilled honey out from the false bottom of his trunk.  Pilade hesitates for a moment, looks at the amber-colored liquid and breathes in the fragrance of the alcohol.  He knows he shouldn’t be doing it, that it’s wrong.

But he just cannot stop himself so he closes his eyes, brings the flask to his lips and drinks, drinks, drinks...

Unobserved, Ninurta watches him and shakes his head.

The biggest of them are gathered for the discus throwing competition.  Hakon has lined up his powerful Viking, Alfix his gigantic Gaul from Normandy, and Brenno is registering a giant from the Asturias in the competition.  The Arab participates on behalf of the Numidians:  he’s rather thin, but very precise in his throws. 

Tosca is the only woman among the rest.  They make fun of her; they say she’ll never make it.  But she very calmly does not reply.  She is tasting a dish prepared by the Ethiopian cook...  she cannot make out the ingredients.  It seems good but it has a rather odd consistency, something like prawns... but they’re not prawns...  “Those aren’t prawns!  They’re grasshoppers...  It’s a dish made with grasshoppers”.  Tosca grimaces in disgust, picks up the plate and flings it away as she spits out that disgusting food.   

The competition judges cannot believe their own eyes:  no one has ever launched a discus that far!  It has even gone farther than the last row on the field...

So, without realizing why, Tosca finds herself on the podium with a laurel crown on her head (she puts it aside, nothing should go to waste and in any case it’s perfect for seasoning some roast meat). 

On the racetrack, when the athletes have come to mid-race, they are overcome by such extreme prostration that cannot be blamed on normal marathon exhaustion.  Cabria substitutes Milone.

Just in time because all their opponents, who haven’t noticed a thing, are forced to stop because of terrible cramps.  Even the Watussi is forced to give up.  Gutta watches the scene in satisfaction:  his mother’s potion has done the trick.  But then he realizes that not all of them have retired.  The member of the White team is still going strong.

Even the retiarius, who is the only one who hasn’t had a drink and proceeds unflinchingly in his race, is surprised:  that young boy is immune to magic!  But so is Athos, who reappears just a few steps from the finish line.  He is acquainted with the place and has taken a short-cut.

But Cabria fears no rivals.  In just one jump, he gains fifty feet and cuts through the finish line first.   

He has won.

Lothar, who has witnessed the race, senses that the general indisposition must be due to the Black team:  in all his clumsiness, the retiarius proceeds along calmly while the others stop.  He whispers to his beloved panthers that he wants to keep an eye on Catilius’s team.  He feels that they’re made of the same stuff... 

It’s Pilade’s turn to get on the stage.  He’s drunk.  He begins to recite the piece that he had prepared but he slurs the words, stutters and then is forced to stop because his mind goes blank.  The other actors begin to laugh and Pilade gets off the stage in humiliation.  So Ninurta steps in.  He reads a very beautiful poem and the audience is stunned.  Pilade is dumbstruck.  He wrote that poem himself...  And the end of the contest the judges are sorry, but they cannot reward that odd old man since he was not registered.  But Pilade rewards him with a promise:  he will no longer drink.

Ali doesn’t know what to do.  He doesn’t really care about athletic competitions.  In this case, he finds them rather silly.  Why should anyone run so much if he wasn’t escaping Caius’s legionnaires?  And why should anyone hurl a pole if he doesn’t have to get anyone?  While browsing through Olympia, he finds himself in front of a statue of Zeus, to whom the games are dedicated.  Ali recognizes it...  he saw it on his cradle!  “This is where your journey begins”, says Ninurta as he watches him slyly.  But Ali doesn’t know what to do...

Ninurta tells Ali that he should find the first piece of evidence inside himself...  The only one who can help him is his mother.

Ali is infuriated.  His mother is dead and he can’t recall anything about her.  Except...

“Except?”, urges Ninurta.  “The lullaby she used to sing to me when I was a baby to make me go to sleep!”  Ali begins to sing it and the words come back to mind like a distant echo.  We can hear Niobe’s voice:  “There’s a treasure in his heart...  there’s a hidden treasure...”.

But Ali doesn’t understand, statues don’t have a heart...  and moreover the statue of Zeus is already a treasure in itself so why would someone want to put something inside it? 

“Because he was an escaping fugitive”, replies Marcus presumptuously behind his back.  “Haven’t you ever heard of Pheidias?”

Pheidias is the sculptor of the statue and he died in prison.  In fact, the Athenians accused him of having stolen part of the gold from one of his other works, the chryselephantine statue of Athena, in the Parthenon.  But the gold has never been recovered...  they say that Pheidias hid it before being arrested.  Should the words of the lullaby have some sense, perhaps the gold is hidden inside the statue of Zeus.

But how to get inside?

Ali tries to find an opening, but nothing is to be found.

Marcus concentrates his attention...  if Ninurta said that he must help his mother...  that’s what they must make reference to. 

Ali is furious.  He knows nothing of his mother!  Why does he continue to torment him?  All he knows is that lullaby... and her name:  Niobe.

Marcus opens his eyes up wide:  it’s so easy!  He points to the statue: above Zeus’s back legs there’s the depiction of the young Theban children kidnapped by Sphinx and, below the Sphinx, Apollo and Artemis are shooting arrows on Niobe’s son...  Niobe!  Just like his own mother!  Ali approaches the statues of the young boy, he’s exactly the same height as he is...  he leans upon it, as if it were a mould... and it opens up. 

Ali enters the place where no one else has ever been, inside the heart of the statue.   

He doesn’t notice a dark shadow as it slips inside immediately behind him.  It’s Gutta, the terrible zombie, who has been following Ali with the light footsteps of ghosts. 
 
After having walked down a very narrow passageway, Ali reaches a kind of cell.  There’s a strongbox standing in the middle of the cell.   

Ali picks it up and is about to leave.  But Gutta has slipped an iron rod inside the cell’s lock, blocking the way out.  While the young boy knocks on the locked grating with all his might, he hears a sneering sound in the distance.  It’s the zombie who’s laughing at the thought of the destiny that’s awaiting his opponent.  In fact, before leaving the statue, the wicked son of Anubis has triggered the mechanism planned by Pheidias...  and the ceiling of the cell begins to descend upon Ali.  The young boy thinks he’s living a nightmare; but it is not a dream, it’s reality.  Pheidias had conjured up this system to protect the golden treasure.  Gutta, by freeing the windlass, has set it in motion.  And so the ceiling of the room is descending lower and lower upon Ali, who risks being crushed...

EPISODE 9 – THE TRAP

As the ceiling inside Zeus’s statue is coming down lower and lower...

 …the competition is proceeding.

The most spectacular, dangerous and violent trial is about to begin:  the pankration.

Pankration is a wrestling discipline and the first words that come to mind when witnessing the fight are:  savage and irresponsible madmen.  Not only for the breathlessness and visible pain of the contenders, but especially for the use of strange techniques and absolutely original moves.

Pankration provides for the totality of the clash.  The only things that are forbidden are biting and scratching – punishable with a flogging.  Contrary to boxing, punches are served to the whole body with bare hands. 

There are two types of permitted kicks and both of them can be served below the belt.  The first kind to stop (used especially on the knees) and the other to attack.  In the latter category, in addition to kicks similar to the low kicks used in muay Thai, there are the famous kicks to the stomach (touastrizein).  Blows with the knees, elbows and head butts are reserved for the hand-to-hand fights.
 
The wrestling calls for three levels:  the standing one (orthepale), the kneeling one (kuliois) and that on the ground (kato). Techniques for breaking fingers, simultaneous strangulations and powerful holds are not forbidden... 

The match is dedicated to Hercules, the patron of pankration, who defeated the lion of Nemea with a powerful hold to the neck. 

For this reason, before beginning the battle and in order to win the favors of the demigod, his trial is repeated by killing a magnificent lion.   

But Gutta gets in his two cents’ worth.  Just shortly before the beginning of the contest, he frees the beast that was about to be sacrificed so that they are forced to find another one as soon as possible.   

He points to Mami, who is waiting for Ali crouched outside the statue of Zeus.  She would be perfect.  What other animal could be purer than an albino lion, sneers Gutta.

Mami lies motionless as she sees those armed men approaching.  They belong to the tournament organization and she trusts them.  When the small arrow strikes, her eyes burst open in an expression of painful wonder.  She tries to get up, but her eyesight goes blurry and her powerful paws buckle after just a few steps.  She slumps down to the ground.

Catilius, who participated in the pankration competition, asks for permission to kill the lion.  That white she-lion that’s lying in a daze resembles the animal that had wounded him seriously a long time ago.  He still bears the scar...

So Mami finds herself in the centre of the arena, with Catilius’s cold and cruel eyes staring at her.  She is befuddled by the drug and cannot focus on her opponent, so it’s a question of child’s play for Catilius... 

In the meantime Ali, with the ceiling just a few inches from his face, screams out for help with all the voice he can muster.  But the only ones who hear him are the mice living inside the statue.  Ali asks them to help him out; maybe they can gnaw at the rod used by Gutta… But it’s too hard and they have to give up.  The young boy is about to despair when he gets an idea.  He calls one of the mice and whispers something into its ear...

…and it runs off.  It goes unnoticed by Gutta who, lying alongside the statue, is already anticipating his victory.  It goes unnoticed by Catilius, who is about to come off better than Mami.  So the little mouse approaches the she-lion’s ear and we hear it as it whispers the word “Ali…”.  Mami gets up with a start.  Knowing that her little boy is in danger gives the lion the strength to react to Catilius.  With an unexpected leap she manages to free herself from the grip of the Praetorian leader and, amidst the surprised and frightened screams of the public, she hurls him down to the ground and makes him roll around in the dust.  Then she runs away, towards Ali. 

Catilius is humiliated and furious.  He avoids Domitia’s gaze, but she silently laughs to herself. 

In the meanwhile Mami reaches the statue of Zeus.  She follows Ali’s shouts inside...

The archery competition has finally begun.  As the others stretch out their bows and choose their arrows, Mirina simply relaxes in the shade of a tree.  She knows she’s the best and doesn’t bother to warm up.  But she doesn’t notice that someone is watching her.

It’s Dora.  Taking advantage of the little gypsy’s moment of distraction, as the bows are stretched and the contestants are about to fling their arrows, she throws some terrible laughing powder on Mirina.   

“Since you’re so fond of laughing at me...” the Greek girl whispers to herself.

In fact Mirina bursts out into loud and unrestrainable laughter that makes her go wrong and miss the target, while the bowman belonging to Brenno’s team wins the competition. 

Mirina simply doesn’t understand why she can’t stop laughing.  She even goes on laughing before the judges, who feel they are being made fun of and roughly drive her out.   She continues laughing in front of the other team members...

Dora laughs as well, but she knows the reason why.

The pankration event begins in the arena.   

Drudo and Catilius do not meet, but everyone knows that they are the strongest yet so different from one another.

Drudo is up first.  When his opponent (the enormous Viking lined up by Hakon) enters, the crowd takes his defeat for granted.  The Viking is twice as tall as Drudo.  He plays dirty, trying to strike him in the eyes and beat him in the stomach.  He clashes against Drudo head-on, like a battering-ram.  The fight seems to be headed for the worse...

Catilius enters the field in the other arena.  His opponent is a great Iberian farmer who is rough but with a kind air about him. 

Catilius is not used to fighting bare-handed so at the beginning he mostly tries to dodge the blows.  Then, when the judges are distracted for a moment, he slips his hands into something he had hidden in his belt:  it is a terrible finger guard full of pointed spikes.   

He serves his opponent a strong blow in the face and he slumps down to the ground in a pool of blood.  Catilius has won.  He raises his arms up in triumph as the crowds cheer him. 

Lothar is providing a show in another arena with his terrible panthers.  In the matter of an instant he puts his opponent from the Greek team out of the running, without even soiling his hands.   

Catilius, who witnesses the competition, watches on in admiration and envy...

In the meanwhile, the battle between Drudo and his opponent continues.  Drudo is on the ground, as his opponent leans an elbow on his throat and subsequently cuts his breathing.  But Drudo manages to come out of the hold by unexpectedly sticking his feet into the Viking’s stomach and kicking him off.  The Viking, still stupefied by that move, rushes towards him.  But the Thracian, using the same kind of strength, pivots his arm against the Viking and knocks him down to the ground.  Then he pins him down using his knee, as he twists his arms backwards.  Drudo uses his wit to prevail over the barbarian and disheveled strength of his opponent.  The Viking lies on the ground, defeated.  Drudo might treat the loser with ferocity, but he chooses not to and even helps him up at the end of the event.  He shakes his hand.  The Viking smiles back at him in amazement.   

Once again, Domitia can’t help but notice the Thracian’s kindness... 

The situation is getting desperate for Ali, inside the meanders of the statue of Zeus...  He is now lying on the ground and the ceiling is about to crush him.  But luckily Mami arrives just in time and with a leap she is inside the statue.  “I’m here!” shouts Ali in despair.  But although Mami does her best, she just can’t seem to open the door that has been barred by Gutta.  Then, led on by the advice the mice give her, she holds onto the windlass with her teeth.  But Ali cannot make his way out...  He is about to lose all hope when a coin rolls away from the treasure and slips into a split in the pavement.  The dull thud it makes sounds in the distance...  This means that there’s a passageway under the treasure.  Ali pries up one of the boards:  underneath lies a kind of slide.  As Ali slips outside, the exhausted Mami lets go of the windlass rope...  Just in time.   

So Ali plunges out of the statue.  But a second thud follows his own:  it’s a part of the huge treasure.  The Antioch vagabond looks at it:  how many coins are there?  Hundreds, perhaps thousands of gold coins...

Canidia, who watches the scene from the spring, decides to step in...

A little old lady approaches the young boy:  he must be a prince since he has all that money.  He could reach Rome at a moment’s notice with all of that... or go back to Antioch and live forever in luxury along with all his vagabond friends...  The images that appear before Ali’s eyes are so real and so convincing...

The competitions have ended in the meanwhile and our heroes have won.  But, in order to go ahead, they need at least another thousand gold coins...

They are sad and dejected.  After all that strain, they are forced to come to a halt since there’s no one around to give them financial support.  All their hope and dreams...  Now they will go back to being slaves.

Ali arrives in that instant.  He is very tempted to keep all that gold.  But the gazes of Tosca, Milone, Cabria and all the others make him melt.  He hands the gold over to Ninurta.  They’ve found a way to proceed with the tournament. 

But he hasn’t come up with any evidence for the next trial...  And even in this case, if it weren’t for Mami he would never have been able to bring out the gold. 

Ninurta smiles:  the trial was not in getting the gold, but in depriving oneself of it. 

Ali knows nothing of it, but he has defeated the first of the seven deadly sins that undermine the heart of every man:  Greed.

Our men are amazed at the stroke of luck that has befallen them in the time of need and proudly head for the wharf:  the Phoenician ship is on sale.

It is certainly not as beautiful as Lothar’s, nor is it as fast as Catilius’s.  But it’s a real ship and for our heroes it’s a dream come true.

Domitia rewards the winners and gives them information about the next competition.  It will be a naumachia and it will take place in the second Wonder of the World:  the Lighthouse of Alexandria. When the time comes to reward Drudo, there is a very intense exchange of glances between the barbarian and the Princess.  The same does not hold true for Catilius.  For the first time he notices the current between the Thracian and Domitia.

From Rome, even Canidia notices the fil-rouge between the two.  The high priestess of evil shakes her head.  She goes to the Emperor and this time she pours many, many more drops into his glass...

On the eve of their departure, the tent belonging to our heroes is deserted.  Busy with their singing and dancing, they have left the treasure unguarded.  Or at least that’s what Akisar believes.  Those one-thousand gold sesterces represent a passport to freedom for the pirate.  He will no longer need to go to Rome; he won’t have to share his booty with his pirate friends.  With all that gold he will finally have the life he has always dreamed of.  He furtively approaches the tent and glimpses at the sesterces shining in the dark.  Akisar stretches out his hand and is about to grab the strongbox when...

A powerful roar makes him jump up in fright.  It’s Mami.  She has caught sight of him; her snarling snout and sharp bared teeth do not seem very convincing.  The pirate furiously beats a retreat. Something comforts him though:  that animal will certainly not spy on him!  But Akisar cannot imagine that Mami surely can spy on him.  Ali will be informed of what happened.  The young boy will not speak to anyone about the matter since in the streets of Antioch he learned to live and let live.  But should Akisar try the same trick one more time, he should be prepared for the worst...

But Ali is busy with something else for the time.  Under the star-studded sky of that victorious night, Drudo is telling him about his life.  He was once a Thracian prince, then the Romans killed all his family and reduced his people to slavery.  Drudo was also imprisoned and forced to fight as a gladiator.  He was very strong, the best.  But rather than killing someone, he preferred surrendering or granting him freedom.  So he was punished by being locked up inside a salt mine.

His kingdom is gone and so is his future.   He will fight in the Tournament and do his best to win and free Domitia. But should this happen, he will never force the Princess to marry him.  He is only a Thracian, and one without a kingdom at that, so why should an imperial Princess ever fall in love with him? 
 
He is not aware of the fact that in that same instant Domitia is thinking about him...

At the same time, a letter is being dispatched from Rome:  the Princess must immediately return home.  The Emperor’s health has become more serious and his life is at stake.

EPISODE 10 – THE LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA

It’s just about dusk when the ships carrying the teams arrive at the great port in Alexandria. The luminous tower on the Lighthouse Island is dark and its dull eye watches over the multicolored tournament caravan as it docks.  The warriors are worn out by the journey and they already look forward to a night of peace and enjoyment in town.  Some want to have a hearty meal, others want to dance, while all the others want to do is go to sleep.    

Ali is deep in thought.  While the others are busy with disembarking, he’s just standing in a corner.  The drawing that is depicted on his “map” (traced from his cradle) is an exact replica of that wonderful tower which looms before him.  But there is no lullaby now to help him; there aren’t any instructions about what to look for in the second Wonder.  He asks Ninurta for help, but he is concentrated on an absolutely silly task which apparently he is the only one capable of doing:  mending a hole in his tunic.  Ali insists:  he needs some some directions.  But Ninurta dismisses him:  can’t he see that he’s busy?  And in any case, he couldn’t tell him a thing even if he wanted to.  The information was hidden in the statue of Zeus.  Everything is linked, just like the stitches in his toga.  If you drop one, all you get is a hole this big, so that’s why one must always be on guard...  And he goes back to concentrating on his work.

Ali gets nervous.  “I was too concentrated on finding the treasure and I didn’t have a look around at the rest!”, he replies more to himself than to Ninurta (who doesn’t seem to be listening to him).  

Then, while the ship is mooring, something comes rolling between his legs.  It’s a gold coin that has slipped away from Pilade, who is counting the money before putting it away in the strongbox.  A flame is depicted upon it.  Ali raises his gaze towards the lighthouse:  right in that instant the light is turned on and emits flashes of fire upon the faces of the warriors gathered in the port.   

“The fire!  I have to get the fire!”, the little slave from Antioch screams out in joy.

But what is he supposed to do with it?

Another ship has docked in another port in the meanwhile.  It belongs to Domitia, who has finally arrived in Rome.  She rushes off to court in an anguished state.  If the senators asked her to return as soon as possible, the situation must be a truly serious one.

And it is:  Hadrian can no longer get up out of bed.  Domitia tries to smile at him and reassure him.  But once alone, she bursts out into tears:  her son is far away, her father is so seriously ill...

A pale hand is laid down upon her trembling shoulder.  It belongs to Canidia and she smiles at her.  She mustn’t worry, she’ll do everything she can to save Hadrian.  She realizes what she’s going through, all alone in such a sad time.  But Domitia can count upon her help:  should she need some comfort, some advice...  Canidia speaks sweetly, but there’s something in her smile, something in that slanting glance that sends shivers down Domitia’s spine. 

The Princess decides to speak to the members of the Senate:  how can such degeneration have occurred in just a few days?  Perhaps her father should be visited by other physicians.  But the senators shake their heads in embarrassment:  while the Princess was away, Hadrian gave irrevocable instructions to be treated by Canidia alone.   

Domitia’s suspicions grow after hearing the senators’ declarations.  Upon returning to Hadrian’s room, and taking advantage of a moment in which her father is sleeping, she rummages through his medicine.  She hides some of them under her dress...  

“There is no time! There is no time...” Pilade, who had gone inside the judges’ tent to gather information on the second contest, must now catch his breath before speaking.  He reached the ship after running like a madman and now he is purple in the face.  He tells our heroes that the judges have decided to hold the naumachia at dusk and that it will be illuminated only by the light of the enormous lighthouse.  They only have half an hour at their disposal to set up a strategy.

While our team gets ready to slip into the water, Ali prepares to climb up the very high tower.  But Ninurta warns him:  the sacred fire is protected by a thousand monsters.  They are terrible monsters.  They even came off better than the most courageous of men...  Ali shouldn’t go alone.  But Ali just shrugs his shoulders.  He isn’t afraid of anything.  He grew up alone in the alleys of Antioch and he is acquainted with the most terrible of monsters:  hunger, loneliness, nightfall without a place to sleep.  And he was never afraid.  Those “guardians” will certainly not stop him.  The vagabond from Antioch, in all his arrogance, is sure he doesn’t need anyone’s help...

The time has come to go into the field, or rather...  into the water.  Our heroes are frightened.  Their vessel is very small and Tosca even suffers from seasickness.  But Akisar is self-assured:  he is a pirate and battles at sea are his strong point. 

As Antoninus says, the rules are simple:  all the ships must contemporarily descend into the port, where the battle is only simulated.  The opposing ship is conquered by the one that manages to flank it and have at least one of its members board the ship and climb to the top of the highest mast.  The defeated ships must abandon the contest.  The winner is the last one to remain in the water.

Our team lines up:  Akisar is at the helm, Pilade and Tosca are at the berth, Drudo makes way for Milone and Cabria who will be climbing the masts.

But in a hidden corner of the port, the black ship belonging to Catilius is making some strange maneuvers.  Distant from indiscreet glances, a large crate is being loaded on board by Gutta…

The competition begins.   

Through film cuts we see how Catilius defeats the other ships.  He attacks them at the bow, while from behind the retiarius hooks onto them with his harpoon.  Gutta climbs on board, beats his rivals and then makes his way up the mast...

Brenno’s ship is in great trouble right from the beginning of the race.  Its men are not sailors and just cannot make their way amidst all those other vessels.  Cynric defeats them, but he feels kind of guilty for having boarded their ship in such a bad-mannered way; he hesitates a moment too long before going getting back into the fighting frame-of-mind.  Lothar takes advantage and, thanks to the Phoenician’s ability, he attacks them by surprise. 

But the Phoenician can do nothing to avoid the conquering fury of Catilius.

The Numidian boat is very fast and its crew is made up of excellent sailors, but Catilius unleashes a powerful and unfair attack...  The Numidians are in fact engaged with another ship and they feel self-confident since the Roman vessel is still in the distance.  But Gutta, with an inhuman leap, jumps on board even when the enemy ship is very far away.  So Lothar, without realizing it, comes face to face with the terrible zombie who climbs to the top of the ship in a moment’s notice.

But our team’s strategy is that of precision.  They have the smallest boat and Akisar has it darting between the others.  They are very fast and no one takes any notice of them, except when it is too late.

The same happens to the Germanics.  They laugh at our team’s boat:  what on earth are they doing with that little nutshell?  But Akisar is not insulted.  With a skilled maneuver he sets his boat right under the bow of their enemy ship.  Then it’s up to Tosca and Pilade, who use a particular method to block the enemy ships and allow the others to get on board:  Tosca grabs Pilade by his feet and then flings him onto the other boat.  He grabs onto it and thus forms a kind of human bridge.  But Hakon, the powerful leader of the Germanics, gets in the way of the twins and the boat.  What do they think they’re doing? If they just try to get on board, he will...  But he doesn’t have the time to end his warning, his gets all tongue-tied and his eyes are languid.  He has set his eyes on Tosca and falls immediately and madly in love with her.  He stands still, grumbling inanities, staring at the source of his sudden love.  Tosca takes no notice; she pushes him aside and helps the twins board the boat.

Defeated.

In every way.

Soon the only ships left in the competition are the ones belonging to Catilius and Drudo.

As the naumachia continues in the port, Ali makes his way inside the deserted tower.  He climbs up the narrow stairway that leads to the top, where the fire is preserved.  Ninurta has exaggerated, as usual.  There aren’t any monsters or evil creatures around.  It’s only a tower and all he has to do is take a bit of fire.

Ali has arrived on the last floor.  He sees a burning fire in the middle of the room, which illuminates the port...

But Canidia puts in her two cents’ worth.  She wants Catilius to win and put a stop to that young boy.  So she glides her hands over the spring…  … and a swarm of moths as black as the darkest night enter the lighthouse.  They fly around in a circle, forming a kind of wall around the fire.  They obscure it and take away its oxygen.  Suddenly darkness descends inside the tower...

Darkness has also descended onto the port.

Our heroes are frightened.  Without any light, they simply cannot maneuver their boat.  Whereas Catilius rubs his hands together.  He opens up the crate that he had loaded on board...

Thanks to darkness he can now use the terrible weapon Canidia has furnished him with.  It comes from China and some call it gunpowder. 

Catilius has the mysterious powder loaded into a kind of tube.  Then he points it towards our heroes.  They ignore the danger they are facing and stand motionless, an easy target for that terrifying weapon. 

Lothar, whose boat is close to that of the Praetorian, notices what’s going on.  But instead of stopping the competition, he smiles maliciously...

Marcus,  who stayed behind on the dock with Ninurta, climbs up the stairs of the tower without saying a word to anyone.  He has grasped the seriousness of the situation and knows that the only chance they have of saving themselves is to light the fire up again.

Inside the tower, Ali is doing his best to walk ahead despite the terrifying darkness.  But he glimpses at something that sends shivers down his spine.  An immense number of monstrous creatures surround him, some as tall and thin as weeds, and others as short and stocky as ogres.  Ali has never seen anything of the kind.  Those demons move in unison, they are behind him with each movement, closer and closer...

EPISODE 11 – MONSTERS

In the dark and gloomy port, so silent that it gives the creeps, Catilius’s cannon is pointed towards the little boat belonging to the White team.  Our heroes, immersed in total darkness, stand still as they ignore the danger they’re in...

Even Ali is enveloped in darkness and he is simply petrified.  Thousands of monsters seem to emerge from that sudden darkness.  He thought fear had no bearing upon him, but that was haughty of him to believe so.  He tries to move, but his footsteps are followed by those terrible creatures that surround him.  He freezes to the spot:  he’s trapped.

But somebody comes running behind him...

It’s Marcus.  “Stop!  Go away!  Go away!  It’s dangerous!”, shouts Ali.

But Marcus pays no heed to him.  He jumps upon the last steps and reaches Ali’s side.  He raises his gaze and has a look at those horrible monsters.  There’s more of them now, they seem...  to be double!  Ali has a hunch.  He picks a rock up off the ground and throws it against one of those creatures and... crash!  It smashes to pieces.

They’re mirrors, only mirrors!  The thing Ali was so afraid of was only the distorted image of himself...

But there’s no time to lose, the fire must be reignited! Ali runs to the centre of the lighthouse...  it’s impossible, there’s no wood.  Marcus shrugs his shoulders, mustn’t worry about that, all they have to do is find a flame...  even a tiny one.  So Ali musters up his courage:  he can light a fire with just about anything.  He rubs two stones together and manages to produce a little tongue of flame.  Marcus puts it to the dull brazier and suddenly a huge fire blazes out.  Ali is taken aback as the blinding glare of the flames, reflected in a thousand mirrors, shines upon the port where...  our men’s ship has been stricken and is now tossing in the waters.  Akisar has never seen anything of the kind and no one, since it’s dark, can say where that ball of fire came from.

The fact is that their mast has been torn down and they can no longer compete without a mast.  And they certainly have no chance of winning.

“Yes, we do”, says Pilade.

The rules state that a ship is disqualified when it loses two men in water.  If they cannot beat Catilius, maybe they can try to get him disqualified...

But how?

As Catilius is already heading straight for them, Akisar gets the situation under control.  They are without sails, but they’ve got strong arms.  Drudo and Tosca run towards the oars.  Nobody more than pirates are aware of the weak spots of other ships.  Catilius’s ship is a big one, but it’s low and the stern is without barriers.  All they have to do is get under it...  Possibly at full speed.  So the warriors turn into skilful rowers and, with a daring maneuver, they strike the stern of Catilius’s ship.  Two Praetorians lose their balance – they were expecting to moor and certainly weren’t expecting such a blow!  So they fall down into the water.

Akisar already lifts his arms in victory, when two little voices block him.  It’s the twins... they’ve fallen overboard into the water, as well.

When Pilade was speaking, they were distracted as usual.  They didn’t understand a thing and at the moment of attacking they jumped to board the other ship... and so they fell into the water.

Both the teams have been disqualified.  No points for this stage of the games.

When the excitement dies down, Ali questions Marcus.  He’s still got a doubt:  how can fire burn eternally in the tower when there’s no trace of wood?

Marcus swells up with pride:  doesn’t he know that there is a gas capable of burning more than a thousand logs?  It comes from the ground.  Unfortunately it can only be found in very few places; imagine how wonderful it would be to have some in one’s own home.  Maybe use it for cooking...

Ali looks at him skeptically; the little prince has truly gone to extremes on this one!

Ninurta watches them as they speak and smiles:  this time Ali has learned that he cannot do everything alone; he has overcome the deadly sin called Pride.

The next morning, our team’s ship casts off its moorings in the direction of Halicarnassus.  As they leave the wharf, Pilade summons them to the stern:  they should have a look there, towards the dock.  A cascade of flowers composes the name:  TOSCA.

Growing smaller and smaller in the distance, a little man is waving his hand:  it’s Hakon.

Tosca grimaces in disgust.  She has never been very fond of romantic simpering – she wants no part of them.  The others are laughing in entertainment at that giant who is as over-sentimental as a little boy. 

Everyone is busy getting the boat back in ship-shape, after it has been harshly run down by the naumachia.   There is joyful confusion all ‘round.  Even Dora and Mirina are collaborating.

There is a sense of unity for the first time.

But once they are at high-sea, two ships flank one another.  They get so close as to allow a man to step from one ship to the other.  It’s Catilius boarding Lothar’s vessel.

They have to speak...

In the meanwhile, in Rome, Domitia is losing no time. She takes the vials she had slipped from Hadrian’s room to a physician friend of hers.  She wants him to check them, to discover if there’s something wrong.
 
But when she takes them out of her bag, she simply cannot believe her eyes:  they’re empty!

How could that have happened?  She had checked them:  that was the medicine Canidia gave her father and the vials were full of colorful potions...

She is more and more convinced that there is something strange and dangerous about that woman.

When Domitia returns to court, she is faced with an awful surprise.  Canidia has moved her room next to those of Domitia and Hadrian.  The Emperor can no longer get out of bed and Canidia wants to be ready for any event.  So, she adds with a vaguely threatening air, she can also be close to Domitia since she is now in such need of a woman’s help...  Domitia shivers:  more than a smile, the grimace on Canidia’s face seems that of a jackal. 

EPISODE 12 – THE HALICARNASSUS MAUSOLEUM

… “Mother...  Mother...”

 Marcus is wandering in the night, frightened.  Some footsteps are getting closer and closer...  Marcus turns around, he begins to run...  but falls down to the ground...  a soldier’s foot approaches his face...  “Mother... help!”  A sword is raised above him...

Marcus awakens.  The thought of that frightful dream still lingers on in his mind.  He runs out of his cabin, onto the bridge.  It’s dawn and the boat is sailing towards Halicarnassus.  Marcus is frightened and so, instinctively, he curls up on the bow next to the sleeping Akisar. The little prince feels safe next to that big man and so he falls asleep in turn.  Akisar wakes up and looks at Marcus in astonishment.  Then he takes a bit of his blanket and covers the little prince with it...

“Mother...  help!…”

The same images torment Domitia’s sleepless nights.  She wakes up with a start, soaked in sweat.  It was only a dream.  Or rather, it was a terrible nightmare.  She slips into her robe and leaves the room.  She walks down the long corridors of the palace until she reaches her son’s room.  His bed is empty. 

Domitia kneels down. She bursts out crying in despair.

She only notices Canidia’s presence when she comes right up to her.  “You should avoid coming here...  it’s not good for you”.  Canidia smiles at her with that wicked smile that sends shivers down Domitia’s spine.  Her son is far away...  and she must think about the future of the Empire.  She is still young...  Canidia draws up to her and brushes against her flat abdomen:  she will have other children and they will rule over the world.

Domitia rises up in a perturbed state.  She holds her belly as if Canidia’s icy hand has opened up a wound in it.   

Her son is alive.  Alive! – she shouts as she runs off – and he will return...

Ali opens up his eyes.  It’s morning and they have reached the port of Halicarnassus.  The Mausoleum stands out on the hill.  It’s the third Wonder of the Ancient World.  Ali checks the map traced from his cradle.  That’s the place where his trial will take place.  The others are waking up, as well, and come to the deck in a sleepy state.  The twins go through some exercises as Tosca prepares breakfast.  It takes Dora the usual two hours to get ready, while Mirina watches her as she fumes with anger...  Everything is as usual.  Except for Marcus who’s standing in a corner, seemingly sadder and smaller than usual. 

This stage of the tournament is the quadriga, a four-horse chariot race. 

When our heroes reach the track, they stand in amazement and admiration.  It’s immense, with steps that line the four curves and the dignitaries’ stage standing on the straight stretch. 

It seems like a modern-day Grand Prix Formula 1 circuit. 

Each team drives a chariot.  Just like in Grand Prix races, the chariots go through a trial run in order to assign positions at the starting posts.

Then the real race will take place.  It’s two times around the track and the one who gets there first obtains maximum points and so on up to the last one.  Whoever leaves the track is disqualified and earns no points.

“Oh!”, adds the judge, “I nearly forgot – all is fair.”

As the others make arrangements for the race, Ali notices that Marcus is all by himself in a corner of the track.  He approaches him.  He softly tells Marcus that he heard him crying out for his mother during the night...  he still dreams of his own mother sometimes.  But he doesn’t know what she looks like, so it’s hard for him to focus on her.  He doesn’t know if she’s blonde or dark, like he is.  Ali isn’t even sure that she loved him...

“My mother doesn’t love me.  She has already forgotten all about me.  I never want to see her again”.  Marcus utters those words in a whisper.  But Ali has heard them and slaps the boy’s face, much to the little prince’s amazement.  His mother is alive and she is waiting for him.  They are all there to help him go back to her once again.  He should never say that again.  At least not to Ali’s face.

And he marches off.

Marcus watches him walk off and then bows his head in shame.

The different teams pick their charioteers.  Catilius will be competing for the Blacks.

Our team lines Drudo up.  Lothar names the Arab, while Cynric competes on his own since he is so skilled with horses.  The same holds true for Brenno, but no one would bet on his team of horses.  His steeds seem to be more fit for the plough than for a race...

Ali returns to the ship and gets ready to face the third trial.  He wants to ask Ninurta for some advice and hopes that the man might help him.  But without any apparent reason and despite Ali’s questions, the old man begins to talk about Marcus. 

Ghosts from the past sometimes are stronger than real human beings – says Ninurta gravely.  It is not easy to be separated from those you love, especially if you’re accustomed to always being together.   

Ali nods his head.  His words are beautiful and interesting, but now he is in need of concrete facts, he wants some help for the trial he must face in the Mausoleum.  Ninurta smiles as he walks away:  he has already given it to him!

Then he turns around.  He almost forgot to tell him:  you can only gain access into the Mausoleum at night.

As they wait for the race to start, the contestants look each other over.  The most feared ones are the Numidians with their desert horses – beautiful and fast thoroughbreds.  But Dora, who is a skilled horsewoman, reassures our team:  they are fast, but extremely delicate.  They are not fit to pull a quadriga.  Whereas they should fear the stocky horses belonging to the Iberian team.  They are farm horses, used to working and pulling without effort.  The horses belonging to our team are not exactly thoroughbreds, but Drudo says that each horse can become a champion if treated in the correct way.  No whippings, no bits:  one should speak to the horses.

Ali has reached the foot of the imposing Mausoleum, but he is downtrodden since this time he truly doesn’t know what he’s looking for.  He consults his map and then has a look at the tomb.  That’s where the hint for the next trial is hidden, but he hasn’t brought anything away from Alexandria...

He is lying down on the ground, staring up at the sky, when someone lies down next to him.

It’s Marcus.   He tells him that he shouldn’t be there all alone since the place is haunted by ghosts.
  
Ali looks at him and realizes that the little prince is trying to excuse himself.  So he lets him go on.  Marcus begins to tell a story.

The place was commissioned by Artemisia, the bride of Mausolus, to contain the body of her loved-one after his death.  They were an undivided couple.  So much so that Artmisia died the same day in which the mausoleum was completed and was also buried there forever.  But since then no one has ever entered inside their magnificent tomb.

In fact, they say that their bodies are cursed and that their souls are trapped inside.  Apparently the gods have punished them by forcing them to wander through the mausoleum, since they were siblings and married each other despite this...  No one has ever approached the mausoleum since they were buried there.

But Ali shrugs his shoulders.  He isn’t afraid of ghosts!

His only problem is that this time he will be entering the mausoleum without having any inkling of what he is supposed to be looking for.   

He stretches out as he rises:  thanks for the help, but now he must take care of it alone.  He’ll be back when the sun has set.

Marcus watches as he disappears behind the hill, with his lanky and self-assured gait.  He looks at Ali’s feet and then looks at his own...  and removes his footwear.  He feels the grass under his bare feet.  At first he hesitates, but then he becomes more resolute.  And he finally begins to run...  happily. 

The qualification run begins.  It’s a timed lap that will decide the positions gained for the real race.  The contestants in this pre-race look each other over as they try to find their opponents’ weak spots.   

But someone has gone beyond...  Gutta in fact, as Catilius awaits his turn to compete in the race, resorts to all methods in order to make his opponents go slower.   

The most dangerous one is the Arab lined up by Lothar; but the wicked zombie approaches his chariot only to exchange a knowing look with the charioteer.   

But he gets busy with the Iberians.  Their chariot speeds ahead resolutely.  But in mid-race something makes the horses become restive.  They rear up and slow down nearly to a halt.  Brenno is surprised since he considers his horses the most trustworthy of the lot.   

But we can see Gutta on one of the sides of the circuit as he picks up a snake and puts it into a basket...

Even Cynric, who is very fast, loses a wheel in mid-race and ends up last in the final placing.  No one noticed that Lothar’s charioteer got a bit too close to the chariot before the race...

All these odd occurrences surprise our team and they guess that Catilius and his men must have something to do with it.   For this reason, Mami is stationed as guardian of the horses until the moment of departure...

It’s the Black team’s turn to go round the circuit.

Catilius ferociously whips his horses and they pull and pull and pull...  So much so that once they go through the finish line, they simply slump to the ground in exhaustion.

Lothar’s quadriga runs ahead without any obstacles and, lo and behold, it employs the exact same amount of time as that of Catilius.

Whereas Drudo drives on without a whip.  He spurs his horses ahead by speaking to them.  And they listen to him.  Their timing is better than that recorded by the Praetorian leader.

The judges assign the posts for the real race, which will take place the following day.  The White team has gained the pole position.

Followed by: 

Catilius comes in first, along with Lothar

Brenno’s Iberians

Cynric’s Britons.

It’s the eve of the race.  Our team is getting ready for bed.  Considering what happened during the trial run, it’s important for someone to stand guard of the horses in order to avoid any of Catilius’s dirty tricks.  Unfortunately Mami cannot, since she has to accompany Ali to the mausoleum.  Pilade volunteers, but Akisar does not agree considering his record with alcohol.  Akisar doesn’t consider him to be very trustworthy.  Pilade is irked and his team-mates are on his side:  they trust him and if Pilade still agrees, then the task is his. 

Domitia gets out of bed in the middle of the night.  She has been awakened by a noise coming from the next room.  She leans out into the long corridor, illuminated only by the light of the torches.  A silhouette is gliding along the walls with its face covered by a hood.  It’s Canidia.

Domitia quickly covers her shoulders with a cloak and follows her...

Ali is awake, as well.  The time has come to face his trial.  He enters inside the Mausoleum.  Everything around him is set in silence...

In the meanwhile, in Rome, Domitia continues to follow Canidia.  The two women walk across the city.  The Eternal City is very different at sunset.  Thieves, jugglers and prostitutes.  Domitia covers herself with her cloak and tries not to lose sight of Canidia who is walking briskly in front of her.  Slowly the city turns into the suburbs; the roads get narrower, they emerge from the city walls and make their way in the dark countryside...  arriving in front of a black granite wall hidden by ferns and climbing plants.  Canidia raises her arms and the wall, as if by magic, opens up.  A red light illuminates the witch’s face for an instant and then she disappears inside.  Domitia is in shock.  She is about to approach the wall, but everything has returned to its former state:  inaccessible.   

But the Princess is now aware that Canidia’s secret is hidden inside...  and that the only way to save her son and her father is to go inside herself.

And to save the Empire...
 
Back at camp, some dark men approach our team’s tent.  They grab Pilade from behind and cover his mouth with a handkerchief.  He slumps down to the ground.  As everyone is asleep, the men destroy their chariot, set their horses free and they disappear into the night...

A white smile shines in the night.  It belongs to a face that is as dark as tar:  he is a Watussi, a member of Lothar’s team.

EPISODE 13 - GHOSTS

Walking down the long and gloomy corridors that alternate with deserted parlors, Ali reaches the sarcophagus of the two spouses in the Mausoleum...   they lie alongside one another.  The mummified bodies do not frighten him.

But those are not the ghosts Ninurta was referring to.

Canidia, who has reached the magical spring, now observes the scene... she glides her hand upon the water and summons Anubis...  Suddenly a wonderful scene opens up in front of Ali.
 
Beautiful nymphs sing and dance to the rhythm of flutes and jingles.  Handmaids pour honey into cups and hand them to the nymphs.  Their gowns billow in the scented breeze.  Ali is amazed.  But that’s not all.  Because, all of a sudden, amidst those fascinating creatures appears one who is more beautiful than the rest:  Dora.   

The Greek girl smiles and stretches her arm out to him:  hasn’t he noticed that she has always been in love with him?  Why doesn’t he abandon his silly plans and run away with her?  Dora entices him as she stretches her arms out to him...
 
“Come, come to me”, she says as she leads him to...  the sarcophagus of Mausolus and Artemisia, which is waiting to close its lid upon him! 

Ali is about to surrender to her charm when the tomb bursts open to that melodious voice and is ready to welcome him inside...

“Come...  come to me...”  Dora smiles sweetly at Ali, who stares at her in a daze.  She stretches her tapered porcelain arms out to him.    The vagabond from Antioch is enticed by her scent and by her enveloping eyes.  He walks in a trance towards her.  But he doesn’t notice that each step he takes brings him closer and closer towards the sarcophagus, which is expecting him with its lid open wide like a large mouth open upon death...

Canidia, at the magical spring, is overjoyed as she watches the scene...

But then something unexpected happens...  a ray of sunshine filters through the ancient stones of the Mausoleum and strikes Ali’s eyes.  Ninurta’s words come back to the young boy’s mind:  “The ghosts of the past sometimes are stronger than real human beings.  It is not easy to be separated from those you love, especially if you’re accustomed to always being together”.

If it’s true that every trial that Ali overcomes teaches him something, the previous trial certainly taught him one thing:  that union is strength.  So the young boy realizes that Mausolus and Artemisia’s hands are separated.  Straining himself to abandon those fascinating ghosts, he joins the two spouses’ hands together.  And all the ghosts suddenly disappear...

Canidia cries out in aggravation:  that boy has done it again!

Now there are only two ghosts left in the Mausoleum:  those of Artemisia and Mausolus.  They are finally at peace and can narrate their story.  They were not brother and sister.  It was Creodont, their cruel and lying court councilor, who killed Artemisia and buried her along with Mausolus in order to take over the kingdom.  By separating their hands, he conjured up a terrible spell that did not allow them to rest in peace.  By spreading the rumor of their blood relation he frightened off anyone who would have wanted to approach the tomb, where he hid the treasures of their kingdom - including a very fast quadriga.

And by so saying, Artemisia points to the roof of the Mausoleum.  It’s true, there’s a beautiful chariot.  Now that she and Mausolus are united once again, Artemisia wishes to show her gratitude.  The quadriga comes down to the ground:  it now belongs to Ali.

And by so saying the ghosts return to their bodies.  They are now close to each other and finally at peace.

Ali emerges from the Mausoleum.  He climbs onto the magical quadriga and plunges headlong down the hill, towards the camp...

…where our heroes find a terrible surprise when they awaken:  their chariot has been destroyed!  How on earth can they participate in the race?

Pilade is humiliated:  he should have guarded it more closely.  He just cannot understand what happened.  He is stunned and confused.  Akisar shrugs his shoulders:  he told them that they shouldn’t have entrusted such a delicate task to a drunkard.  Pilade is red with anger.  He swears that he didn’t even touch a drop...  and a fight is about to follow when, in the distance, they hear the sound of hooves and the neighing of horses riding in a gallop.   

It’s Ali, who rides up as quick as lightning on his magical chariot.

He would like to race this time ‘round, if they all agree...

Catilius cannot believe his eyes when Ali reaches the circuit, ready for the race.  How could this have happened?  His men destroyed their quadriga and set their horses free...

Gutta has an angry gesture:  once again he has to take care of it himself.

He hides behind a rock and summons his mother for help...

...and she hears him, in the cave of Anubis in Rome.  She draws up to a glass case.  She brushes her hand against the glass and it lights up.  There are four black horses within.  Canidia leans her hands on the case and the horses’ eyes light up and then they disappear...

…and appear once again next to Gutta.  The zombie ties them to the chariot and then they head off towards the track.  He tells Catilius, who watches on in amazement, that this time he will be running the race.   

And so the race begins.  It’s terrible.  Gutta’s horses seem to be possessed by the devil; they are gloomy shadows with fiery eyes that devour the track.  But the quadriga belonging to our team is very fast and soon they are racing head-to-head....  It’s a constant pursuit, first one and then the other.

In the meanwhile, the race is rather uncoordinated in the area behind the front. 

Lothar’s horses are the first to be terrified when Ali’s quadriga overcomes them.  They become restive, rear up their legs and they flail out in the air.  The charioteer loses control and the chariot bangs against that of the Iberian team.  Their quadriga loses a wheel, but it continues to run for a while in equilibrium.  But then it must surrender and withdraw from the race.

Cynric keeps his pace, but soon he is also forced to surrender before the Black team as they push him off to the side.  So the Briton prince decides to withdraw in order to avoid hurting his horses. 

So the only ones left during the second lap are the Blacks and the Whites.  It is a magical race.

Good against Evil...  white horses against black ones.  It is a competition with no holds barred.  Tongues of fire flash out of the nostrils of Gutta’s horses, which try to strike our heroes.  But they seem to be protected by a magical shield and do not seem to feel the flames.  The audience is astonished and incredulous.  Then some pointed rostra emerge from the chariot wheels belonging to the Black team.  Gutta attacks Ali and frightful sparks leap up from the chariot wheels as they screech against each other.  Then the rostra penetrates into the wood and makes one of the wheels of the White chariot fly off.

But the snow-white horses run faster than they do, so fast that their hooves seem to hover above the ground.  And so, suspended just a few inches from the ground and led by a magical force, the chariot continues to race without a wheel. 

And it wins.

Domitia, outside the Anubis cave, is awoken by a dreadful scream.  It is Canidia. She has witnessed the scene and she is furious...

She heads towards the cave opening, livid with rage. The wall opens up before her.  Domitia hears her coming and hides.  But as she runs, her bracelet slips off her arm and gets tangled in the branches. 

All the gladiators are upon Ali. When they ask him where that chariot came from, Ali just shrugs his shoulders:  it was given to him by a friend.  Then something slips out of his pockets:  it’s a wedding ring.  Artemisia must have put it there.
 
Ali looks at Dora, so kind and detached and he smiles:  in this trial he has learned to overcome the mortal sin of Lust. 

Canidia emerges from the cave of Anubis.  She notices Domitia’s bracelet right in front of the cave entrance.  She has a look around, but there’s no one there.

But she has recognized the jewel and her eyes squint into slits:  the Princess is becoming dangerous...

EPISODE 14 –TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS

The tournament caravan is headed for Ephesus, in Asia Minor, since that is where the following Wonder of the Ancient World lies:  it is the great temple dedicated to Artemis and built by Chersiphron. 

While the chariots approach the city, Dora is apart from the rest.  No one sees her for the entire morning.

Then, when they are in the vicinity of Ephesus, she reappears.  She’s very beautiful.  Her hair is styled like it used to be and she’s wearing her best dress.  Ali is troubled and everyone else is surprised:  why has she dressed up so?  What happened to the vagabond’s tunic they had given her?  Dora shrugs her shoulders:  why make such a fuss?  All she wanted to do was dress up for a while.  It’s normal for any woman.  Or, at least, it’s normal for upper-class women (she says as she hints at Mirina). 

But Marcus reveals the mystery.  Dora was born in Ephesus.  Probably she doesn’t want to show her old friends how badly she is doing at the moment.

Mirina observes her and her little green eyes mist over with jealousy.  She is jealous of her beauty, her elegance and especially (but she would never admit this, not even to herself) for the way Ali is staring at her...

Domitia is nervously looking for her bracelet...  she had it the previous evening.  Where did it end up?
 
“Have you lost something, Princess?”. Canidia watches Domitia with cruelly penetrating eyes.  Domitia tries to keep her composure:  no, she hasn’t lost a thing...  Canidia smiles.  That’s odd because she found this – she says as she shows her the bracelet.  It’s an exact replica of the one the Emperor gave his daughter for her birthday… Canidia found it in the middle of the woods, in a secret place where she goes to pick medicinal herbs.  It’s an inaccessible and dangerous cave and those who are not familiar with the place risk getting lost and never to return.  She says this with a threatening tone of voice, which gives the creeps.    

But since Domitia affirms that it doesn’t belong to her, continues the old woman, there’s nothing to worry about.  Someone else must have made his way inside those dangerous woods...

In the meanwhile in Halicarnassus, after having reached the sacred woods that stand next to the Temple of Artemis, the teams gather around the judges in order to gain instructions for the trial they are about to face.

The judges explain that this time the competition is a venationes, namely a series of animal hunts in honor of the goddess Artemis to whom the temple is dedicated and who is also the patron of hunters.   

The first competition is the tauromachia, namely a competition with a bull.  The second one is based on equilibrium and speed:  in fact, one must catch a flock of herons only with the use of nets.

And then there’s the most important trial:  deer-hunting with bow and arrow.  It’s a true shooting party where all the bowmen chase after only one deer:  the competition is won by the bowman who strikes the deer first with his arrow.

The different teams chose their best candidates for each trial.

The White team lines up:  Drudo against the bull; the twins against the herons; Mirina, who is a talented archer, in the toughest trial – the deer hunt.

The Blacks line up, in succession:  Catilius, the retiarius and Gutta.

The most dangerous opponents in this stage of the games are the Greeks, who play at home and who are very talented archers.  But Lothar should not be underestimated.  In fact, he decided to participate personally in the archery contest, assisted by his three panthers.  And then there’s Cynric, the unmatched prince of hunting parties...

Whereas Brenno, although very gifted with the bow, decides to dedicate himself to the tauromachia (a national game in Spain).

But Mirina, who has the burden of the most important trial on her shoulders, seems to be absent-minded.  She is following Dora, who has gone to town and moves around completely at ease.  She is acquainted with all the dignitaries and knows how to behave. She is elegant and refined.

The Greek girl happily returns to the camp:  she has been invited to the welcoming party which will take place in honor of the tournament.  But she absolutely needs an escort.

Marcus is too young, Drudo is too old...  Ali, instead, is perfect.  Of course he will have to shake off all that dust and tame the forest he has on his head.  But she is sure the results will be satisfactory in the end.

The Antioch vagabond has never been to a party, but Dora uses all her charm to convince him and Ali soon accepts her offer.

Overjoyed for the victory, Dora gives Mirina a mocking look:  she can go, too...  but she has to have a fitting gown...

Mirina flares up in rage and jealousy.

While Dora helps him get ready for the party, Ali checks out his map:  clearly the next clue is inside the Temple of Artemis.  But before facing his trial, he wants to find out more about the place this will take place in.  He has to grasp its every secret, become acquainted with its remotest legends...

That’s what he says to Dora with a serious tone of voice, as he asks for her help.  He has agreed to escort her to the party, so she must give him a hand.

Obviously that has nothing to do with the fact that the girl is all dolled up and that Ali would do anything just to be at her side...  grumbles Mirina to herself as she stands in a corner, livid with jealousy.

And perhaps Dora accepts without too much of a fight because she wants to be a nuisance to Mirina...

“This is not the real temple”, says Dora.  “The original one was destroyed by Herostratus because of Artemis’s carelessness...”.

According to legend, the goddess didn’t protect her temple since she was too busy supervising the birth of Alexander the Great.  In the meanwhile Herostratus, in order to give his name everlasting fame, set the temple on fire.

            Ali plays with the ring Artemisia gave him.  He simply cannot find the link...

Mirina, who doesn’t lose sight of them for an instant and who doesn’t hesitate to put in her two cents’ worth, prompts him:  he’s just a little boy; you can tell that he knows nothing about love and marriage.  The ring the ghost gave him is a “wedding band”.  Can’t he see the diamonds?  She sells lots of them, obviously fake, to all the stupid engaged couples in Antioch...

Things are getting clearer for Ali:  if the temple is fake... he has to find the only real thing...
 
“The only real thing left in the temple following the fire is the central cell dedicated to the goddess”, concludes Dora, who couldn’t care less about helping Ali but she doesn’t want to be inferior to Mirina. 

But that’s enough for now.  Ali wants to watch the bull competition and help out the animals in danger.  And then they must rush off to the party.

“How about you”, asks Mirina wickedly.  “Aren’t you coming?”

Mirina nurses her resentment, but keeps her composure:  she’ll be there shortly.  Just as soon as she has a chance to change her clothes.

She watches them walk away.  Ali is unrecognizable.  His hair is gathered and he’s wearing a new tunic.  Mirina never noticed how truly handsome he is...

So the contest begins.  The first stage is carried out during the night.

The first one is the tauromachia.  The crowd is gathered in what seems like a plaza de toro. It’s up to Drudo to begin.  But Gutta approaches the bull that will be used during the contest and slips a tiny dagger right between its shoulder blades.  The bull, which was rather calm beforehand, suddenly goes wild.   

Drudo is inside the arena and he’s moving about warily as he waits for the animal.  It soon emerges from a tunnel.  It’s black, enormous and with bloodshot eyes.  It furiously lunges upon the Thracian.  Drudo was not expecting such a violent attack.  The bull snorts, foams at the mouth, blind with fury and pain.  At the beginning all the Thracian does is try to avoid the bull.  He hangs onto its horns and then, with a leap, he jumps over the bull and appears behind it.  The animal is confused and traces back its footsteps.  Then it attacks once again.  And things seem to be headed for the worst.  The bull’s moans are frightening...

“He says he’s got something stuck between his shoulders!”.

It’s Ali who, while he watches the contest from the steps, listens to the bull’s wails of pain and simply cannot avoid stepping in.  “You’ve got to help him!”

So Drudo tries to approach the bull and notices the long pin stuck behind its neck.  He leaps upon the animal and removes it.  Finally freed from the pain, the bull seems to have calmed down. 

It kneels down in front of Drudo and bows its head.

And so, without harming the animal but rather freeing it from pain, Drudo wins the contest.  Dora takes Ali by the arm and drags him away:  they’re going to be late for the party.

In the meanwhile, on a rocky crag hanging in space in a corner of the sacred woods, the hunting contest with nets begins.  The judges set a flock of herons free.  The winner is the one who catches the most.  They are only allowed to cast the net once...

The teams take up their positions.  Milone and Cabria get the highest one, which is the best but also the most dangerous position.   

Just one bad move would make them fall down from the overhanging rock.  The retiarius from Catilius’s team sets up position below, in the most concealed place.  Lothar’s Watussi lines up right alongside the retiarius.  There, far away from indiscreet glances and covered by the Watussi, the retiarius may substitute the regulatory net with the one he usually uses in combat.  It’s made of metal and the corners are fitted with stings that are similar to daggers and make it very dangerous indeed...

In the meantime, in town, Ali and Dora make their entrance at the party.  They are the most beautiful and admired couple.  Dora holds onto her escort’s arm and smiles proudly.  But Ali is uncomfortable.  His new tunic is itching his skin and the footwear is too tight for his feet...

For the Iberian team, Brenno now emerges onto the plaza de toro. And suddenly the tauromachia turns into a bullfight.  First come the picadores, then comes the real toreador who is acclaimed by the festive crowds.  Brenno circles around the bull and tires it out.  When the animal begins to trudge along, Brenno forces it into a corner.  It would be extremely easy to kill it.  But bullfighting rules provide that should the bull be a worthy opponent, its life should be spared.  So, much to the audience’s surprise, Brenno bows down in gratitude and leaves the arena.  Rather than surrender the bullfighting rules of honor, he would rather give up the points to that match.   

The heron hunt has begun.  The judges set free an enormous flock of birds.  The contenders are all ready to launch their nets, but the retiarius is the quickest and his net is much stronger than the others that are cut to pieces by the pointed spikes that the retiarius’s net has in every corner.  So he and Lothar manage to capture nearly all the birds.  Milone and Cabria might catch the ones that escaped, but they have flown up higher.  They seem hypnotized by their graceful flight, forget to hunt them and then try to imitate them...  They nearly fall off the crag.  Luckily the Briton from Cynric’s team grabs them by the arm just as they are about to fall down into the gorge. 

The time has come for the hoplomachus belonging to Catilius’s team to descend onto the plaza de toro.  He has never battled with animals and, although he doesn’t want to admit it, he is shaking with fear.  According to the rules, he should only be wearing a tunic; but underneath it he is wearing the thick steel mesh that he usually wears during battles.  Thus he will be protected from the animal’s mighty horns.

Believing he’s safer, he enters the arena self-assuredly.  He hasn’t noticed that, to revenge himself of the joke previously played to Drudo’s bull, Marcus has attached a red piece of cloth behind his back.  In fact Brenno, who in the meantime has become a friend of his, confided that the color red makes bulls fly into a rage.  Ignoring the danger he’s in, the hoplomachus goes as far as to act wittily in front of the bull and instigates it at the same time.  When the animal sees the red cloth, it gets angrier and then heads for him.  The bull throws him up into the air.  The hoplomachus slumps down to the ground with a dull thud.  The bull scratches the ground with its forelegs and is about to attack the man once again.  The steel vest he is wearing makes him awkward and limits his movements.   

Terrified, the hoplomachus is forced to take refuge behind the fence.  He has lost the match. 

So it’s a draw between the Blacks and the Whites.  They’ve won one competition each.

Even the Greeks, the Britons, the Iberians and the Numidians are still in the tournament.

The games are interrupted in the middle of the night and the teams agree to meet the next morning for the final competition.  They are restless because the most difficult trial will be taking place tomorrow – the archery one.  But luckily they have Mirina on their team, who is infallible with her arrows...

But whatever happened to Mirina – where has she gone?

Our heroes are already inside their tents while Dora’s party is still in full swing.  There’s music, dance, delicious and plentiful food:  no one wishes to leave before the break of dawn.  Dora and Ali are the most handsome couple and she is fully aware of it.  She is surrounded by people who praise her.  But suddenly silence lingers over the room.  A beautiful lady has made her entrance and rumours have it that she’s an oriental Princess...

EPISODE 15: DECEIT

But who is that mysterious Princess who has made her entrance into the ball?  Everyone in the crowded ballroom asks himself the same question.  Only Dora and Ali know the answer:  it’s Mirina!  With her hair gathered up and wearing a light silk gypsy-style tunic, Mirina has left Ali breathless:  he never realized how beautiful the little gypsy was.  An expression of hatred is exchanged between the two girls, as Ali abandons Dora and draws up to his companion of escapades in enchantment...

A hooded woman slips out of the imperial palace, in Rome, as silent as the dark night that surrounds her.  Another woman is following her at a distance:  it’s Domitia.

But Canidia has caught sight of her and there is an odd twinkle in her eyes...

The ball is in full swing at Ephesus.  But Dora is no longer at the center of attention.  Mirina has now taken her place...

Ali is having a good time with her – despite her elegant gown, she is as funny and pleasant as usual.  They play at causing confusion by eating with their hands and dancing barefoot.  Dora is blinded by rage and is about to leave.  When she notices something shiny on the ground.

It’s Ali’s medallion, the one his mother put around his neck before she disappeared.  Dora picks it up with an odd expression in her eyes...

“Someone has stolen your medallion!”, Dora shouts a while later as she points at Ali’s neck.  The young boy is devastated.  He can never find his mother without that medallion!  Everyone engages in a hunt to find the thief, rummaging through handbags and emptying out pockets. 

Until the medallion is finally produced:  it was inside Mirina’s handbag. 

Ali is shocked - Mirina has cheated him once again!  He believed he could trust her, he thought they were friends.  But she will never change.

The young gypsy would like to defend herself, but all the proof is against her.  And Ali’s eyes as they stare at her in disappointment make her voice die down in her throat...  she runs away in tears.

Ali leaves as well.  The party has bored him and it was a mistake to go in the first place.  He has lost precious time – the sun is about to rise and he has to face his trial.

So Dora is left alone.  Obviously she was the one who hid the medallion in the gypsy girl’s handbag.  But now, instead of being overjoyed for her success, she suddenly feels sad...  as Mirina makes her way inside the dark forest in tears.

Both angry and disappointed for what happened, Ali enters inside the Temple of Artemis.  He just takes one step and a shower of arrows rains down upon him.  They are the guardians of the Goddess, whose task is to protect the altar.  Ali is taken by surprise, but he soon regains his composure.  Through the ability he has learned from the chameleons, he stands against a pillar and seems to disappear.  The handmaids of Artemis look around in fright:  it must be some kind of magic!  And they run away.  Ali smiles as he heads for the goddess’s cell:  living with animals, he says to Mami, has truly proven to be useful...

Domitia continues to walk in the woods obstinately.  Despite the thick blackberry bushes and the night which is turning to dawn, the Princess tries not to lose sight of Canidia who is walking just a few steps in front of her.  Domitia is not aware that the cruel priestess is leading her into an ambush.  Instead of going to the cave of Anubis, she is leading her deeper and deeper into the woods.  Suddenly Domitia loses sight of her.  She has disappeared.  The frightful silence of the forest surrounds the Princess, only interrupted by the wild cries of unknown animals...

Dora finds great turmoil in the camp upon her return.  Mirina has disappeared and they can never win the deer-hunting competition without her. It will take place in a few minutes’ time, when the sun will have completely risen from the mountains.  Dora bows her head in guilt...

Ali has reached the Goddess’s cell, under the surface of the main altar.  It is a kind of secret room.

There’s a beautiful bow in the middle; it’s the hunting-bow that belonged to Artemis.  That must be what he should get his hands on...

But Canidia witnesses everything from the spring.  She steps in...  she outlines agile and athletic shapes on the water.  They’re the silhouettes of animals...  that, by magic, appear in front of Ali.  They tell him the story of Artemis and what she used to do:  she was the goddess of hunting and the assassin of animals.  They especially show Mami the death of her whelps by hand of some hunters.

Ali covers his ears so as not to hear the cries of those poor little puppies.  He shuts his eyes so as not to see...  by the same magic, a pack of starving wolves appears in the forest in Rome.  They growl ferociously as they surround Domitia.  Their gaping jaws approach the Princess, who steps backwards all the way to a rocky wall:  she’s trapped. 

“Help!  Somebody help me!”, shouts Domitia in terror.  But her voice disperses inside the forest while the wolves ferociously growl as they walk towards her...

“Enough!  Enough!”

Ali cannot take it any longer.  The moans of his animal friends are too loud.  Their horror stories make him tremble with rage...  He approaches the bow that stands at the center of those circles made of agonizing ghosts. 

“Destroy the bow...  destroy it!”, he is urged on by those voices...  which in reality is the voice of Canidia, multiplied by magic...

Ali’s hands now squeeze the bow and his eyes are brimming with wrath...

Just a few feet from the temple, on the outskirts of the woods, the archery competition is about to begin.  The competitors are preparing their weapons and refining strategies.  But our team is worried.  Mirina still hasn’t shown up...

Dora decides to do something about it...

“Destroy it...  destroy it!”

Canidia’s voice, amplified by the cries of a thousand animals, has entered into Ali’s heart.  The vagabond from Antioch is holding the bow on his knee and he is ready to snap it in half.

“Stop!”

It’s Dora’s voice now.  Anger is a poor councilor.  Replying to violence with violence simply poisons the heart.

And she is aware of that since she has hurt a person who didn’t deserve it in a moment of anger.  She hid Ali’s medallion inside Mirina’s handbag and now the girl has disappeared.  The only one who can find her is Ali, since he knows her so well.

She looks at Ali with tenderness and sincerity.  But Ali is confused.  He looks at Mami who is crying over the death of her puppies.  I have to do it for her; I have to take revenge for her!  Dora can leave; he has no time for her requests.  But the she-lion is the one to convince him.  Hunting is not a terrible thing, says the she-lion.  She hunts herself for nourishment.  They must not fight against Artemis, but against cruel men who kill without any pity.  And to do that they must proceed with the tournament; they have to reach Rome.  Mami looks at him with eyes that have watched over him and loved him for so long and so he hasn’t got the strength to say no.  He slings the bow across his shoulder and follows Dora outside the temple.   

Ali has conquered the deadly sin of Wrath and once it leaves his heart, the images disappear inside a kind of vortex...  that rises from the opening in the roof and in a moment’s notice reaches Canidia’s spring.  It surrounds it like a swarm of maleficent bees that hinder its spell...  and, as if by magic, the wolves that were about to devour Domitia suddenly disappear.  The Princess is devastated; she cannot believe what has happened.  But it’s finally daytime; she lifts her gaze towards the sun and begins to head for home.

“I knew you were here…”

Mirina looks down and sees Ali with a smile on his face.  “All I had to do was look for the highest tree!”  Dora looks at it in turn and her lips whisper:  “I’m sorry”. 

The contest is about to begin and Ninurta is about to tell the judges that they cannot take part in it.

“Wait!”, shouts Mirina as she comes running into the scene.

The cage of a beautiful deer springs open.  It looks around for a moment in bewilderment; then it makes its way into the forest.  It’s finally free.

The deer is not aware that all those horsemen are awaiting the sound of a horn to hunt it down.

And the horn sounds out.

The horsemen set off in a gallop, hot on the heels of the poor animal.  But the Greek contestant suddenly falls off his horse.  He’s had too much to drink at the ball the previous evening and just can’t seem to stand on his feet today.

The Britons get lost:  instead of chasing after the deer, Cynric’s horses notice a fox.  And, as they are used to doing, they chase after it instead.

Even the Iberians stray from the competition.  Their stocky horses are not used to jumping and so Brenno’s horse ends up crashing against the first hedge.

Lothar, Mirina and Gutta remain.

Lothar’s panthers make for the deer and are ready to restrain it until their master arrives.  The poor animal feels them hot on its heels.  It runs as fast as it can, but the panthers are just a step away...
 
But they haven’t taken Mami into consideration.  Ali thinks that it’s not fair to use three such ferocious beasts against one poor deer, so he asks Mami to defend it.  When the beasts are about to assault the defenseless animal, the she-lion gets in the middle and despite the fact that it’s a two-against-one match she soon gets the upper hand.

As he searches for his beloved panthers, Lothar reaches a clearing.  He was certainly not expecting to find them on the ground – trampled upon and mangy.  They are the only objects of his affection and so he withdraws from the race to nurse them back to health.

Now Gutta and Mirina are in the middle of the woods.  She has wrapped her tunic around her waist and is very beautiful with her hair flowing in the wind...

Their horses ride side-by-side, crossing each other, jumping up to avoid the bushes in a wild and exhilarating race.  Gutta looks at Mirina and he is distracted for a moment, bewitched by her charm...

Mirina takes advantage of the situation and spurs her horse on to a gallop.  Then she spots the deer as it stands on the clearing.  Her arrow only brushes against the animal, but it mysteriously slumps down to the ground.

Canidia, observing the dark spring, hasn’t lost one moment of the contest between her son and the young gypsy girl.  And a flash of jealousy mixed with hatred crosses her expression as she watches the way in which Gutta looks at Mirina...

Mirina has won, but Ali is sad:  an animal has died and it’s also his fault.  But Mirina smiles, claps her hands and the deer rises up again.  Dora gave it a potion, a kind of sleeping draught which she dipped her arrow into.  The deer was simply asleep...

Ali smiles and looks at the two girls: have they perhaps become friends?  But he hasn’t the chance to finish the sentence when the reply is offered by the screams coming from Mirina and Dora:  they will never become friends.

Domitia returns to the palace.  Her gown has been torn apart by the wolves.  It’s as if Canidia has seen a ghost.  How on earth has she survived those animals?  She looks at her clothes:  what happened (she asks with a falsely anxious voice); has she had an accident?  Domitia stares at her and they both know what truly happened.  But they cannot give themselves away. 

Nothing serious; she was out in the garden and she slipped, replies the Princess calmly...

EPISODE 16: THE FLOWERS OF EVIL

Domitia’s delicate hands pull aside the heavy drapes in the Emperor’s room and a thin ray of light illuminates Hadrian’s features.  The disease is proceeding at an impressing rate, whittling away at the proud features of a man who was once the king of the world.  Domitia watches her father and a sharp stabbing pain clutches at her heart.  The Emperor no longer leaves his bed and he seems to have forgotten all about Rome and the Empire.

There is only one thing that captures his attention and that’s the reason why they are all gathered around him:  he wants some news about the tournament of the Seven Wonders.   

Everything is proceeding smoothly and the population is festively attending each and every contest, refer the imperial messengers.  For the moment two teams are in the first position:  the team led by Catilius and that led by an unknown Thracian, the so-called Drudo, who is leading the White team.   

That bit of news makes Domitia break out into a smile, after such a long time.  But the smile does not escape Canidia’s attention...

The messengers continue to say that the caravan has nearly reached Babylon, where a spectacular but very dangerous trial will apparently be held...

…this time, in fact, all the members of every team will participate in one competition.

Antoninus explains this to the teams gathered in front of the Isthar gate. Before them stretches the kilometer-long Processional Way, flanked by sixty couples of magnificent stone lions that stretch their enormous gaping jaws over the passers-by. 

The judges go on to say that it will be a true gladiator competition, in which each participant will be able to fight with the weapon of his choice.  Whoever is pushed into the dust by his opponent must abandon the contest.  Until only two warriors remain in front of the entrance to the wonderful gardens...

A certain degree of anxiety spreads amongst our heroes on the eve of the great battle.  This time they will have to fight against one and all, and some of them simply don’t feel prepared for it.

Mirina, who was slightly injured during the previous contest, will not be participating.  And so the twins, Tosca and Pilade, will participate along with Drudo; and so will Akisar.

But the pirate is nervous.  He has no intention of putting his own life at stake in that stupid tournament.  All he wants to do is go back home with a bit of money in his saddlebag.  But he certainly cannot give up since that would give him away and his plan would go to rack and ruin.  He needs a good reason...

Ali wanders around the city.  The crowded roads and the bright colors remind him of his home.  All of a sudden he stops and from a tavern comes a familiar voice.  “Come on, punch me!”  It belongs to Akisar.  He is asking a half-drunk loafer to punch him in the face.  Right in the eye; and not so hard to cause too much damage, but enough to blacken it...

Ali doesn’t understand initially.  Then when he sees Akisar ripping his own clothes he begins to understand the reason for that entire show... 

In the meantime, at court, Canidia is pouring a few drops more of her “medicine” into Hadrian’s chalice.  His condition worsens immediately.  Domitia rushes to his bedside in a state of anxiety.  Her father is unconscious and as he sleeps he whispers her name and that of Marcus.  The Princess cries bitterly:  she wants to keep a vigil at her father’s bedside.  

Canidia wickedly agrees.

Domitia is not aware of the fact that the priestess has obtained what she wanted....
 
“There were ten of them...  no, much more than that... twenty!”. Our heroes have gathered just before the contest and Akisar tells them what happened during the night.  He has been the victim of a full-flung ambush.  It’s a miracle that he’s still alive.  He limps considerably and his hand is laid on his ribs...  He cannot participate today, sentences Drudo.

Akisar pretends to protest against his decision:  he doesn’t want to leave them alone.  It takes very little to convince him.  It seems that the discussion is over when a little voice can be heard:  “I can replace him...”.  It’s Marcus.  The others look at him in disbelief for his proposal.  He replies with a resentful tone:  what’s so strange about that?  He took lessons at court and he was even rather good at it!  He even went so far as to invent a new weapon that’s thinner and more elegant.  It’s called a foil and...  But Drudo interrupts him:  Marcus cannot go down into the arena and that’s beyond dispute.  His life is too important to be put at stake during a trial.  He will be competing along with Tosca, Pilade, Milone and Cabria.  They’ll make it, even with one man less on their team.

Ali doesn’t say a thing. He just shrugs his shoulders.  The tournament is none of his business.  All he has to think of is his initiation, in order to reach Rome well-prepared.

But when he sees how Marcus looks after the pirate, who he considers somewhat of a hero, he feels disgusted.  Once Akisar is left alone, Ali approaches him.  They are all free to do whatever they want to do, he says, but that little boy trusts him and it’s not fair to take advantage of that. 
 
Then he walks away, leaving the pirate alone with his guilt feelings.

“Wait! I’m coming, too!”.  Mirina runs towards Ali and Mami, waving at them to wait up for her.  She wants to go along with them to the Hanging Gardens.

The only thing that Ali has taken along from the last Wonder, continues the little gypsy girl, is the bow of Artemis.  But he is completely hopeless at archery, so he might be needing her help.  Ali accepts her proposal and together they cross the threshold to that mysterious park.

Dora, who is now invariably in love with that tattered young boy, notices them disappearing into the thick woods and a pang of jealousy clutches at her chest.  She is about to follow them, but immediately withdraws in terror.  Hundreds of long eels are swimming in an enormous tub that stands right after the entrance.  They aren’t poisonous snakes, but Dora is terrified anyway.  A sense of loathing mixed with fear paralyzes her muscles.  She can’t go on, it’s simply beyond her.

Before retiring for the night, Canidia gives her instructions to Domitia.  Soon the Emperor will need a second dose of medicine.  The Princess should give it to him.  The priestess scrutinizes Domitia’s gaze:  she doesn’t trust her, but she has no choice if she wants to go to the Anubis cave and check on how the tournament is proceeding.

Nonetheless satisfied with the fact that the Princess is in Hadrian’s room and therefore cannot follow her, Canidia leaves the palace and walks away briskly.

Domitia looks out the window and sees her disappear amidst the dark alleys.  But her father is moaning in his sickbed, so Domitia simply cannot abandon him.

In the meantime, in Babylon, the teams are lining up on the Processional Way.

Drudo has a sword, the twins have a net, Tosca and Pilade are one on top of the other and they will fight with a bludgeon.

The Black team has Catilius with his gladius, the retiarius armed with his net and a trident, the hoplomachus with his spiked bludgeon and Gutta with his terrible rotary blades.

For the first time we see all the teams lined up in fighting trim.

There are the Germans, armed with shields and axes and led by Hakon (Tosca’s suitor).  Then there’s the Gauls led by Alfix, armed with heavy swords.  Followed by the Amazons, beautiful and cruel women.  Then come the Britons, who fight on horseback; and finally the Iberians with their bows and arrows...

The competition is about to begin and the atmosphere is very tense.  Some are trying out their weapons, some are praying distant gods and some are simply laughing to relieve the stress.  But they all cannot help but look in the distance, towards the Gardens, from which only the winner will emerge...  and where Ali, Mami and Mirina are proceeding through the pleasant vegetation in a dreamlike state.  Walking through the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is like experiencing a fairy-tale world:  wonderful flowers, plants that have never been seen before, colorful ripe fruit that dangles from the walls.  Mirina tells the story of that garden, which is slightly true and slightly made up...

She says that the gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar II as a tribute to his wife Amyitis who was born in the luxuriant Media.  In fact the queen was very sad and felt homesick; so her husband had some fertile soil brought to the city walls.  Then he created a canal system that transported water to the spot and dispatched his dignitaries all over the world to collect flowers, fruit and animals from every corner of the earth.

The word “garden” in Babylonian is very similar to the word “paradise”. 

Indeed the word paradise is fit to represent the wonders that surround Ali and Mirina.  There are exotic animals, waterfalls, flowers with intoxicating smells, butterflies and succulent fruit. The two youngsters are ecstatic.  Everything seems to have been created just to satisfy their every whim.

In the meanwhile, inside the imperial palace in Rome, things seem to be going downhill.

Hadrian is restless and very ill.  Domitia is about to give him the second dose of medicine, but the chalice inadvertently falls to the ground and crashes to pieces. Canidia is not in her room, so Hadrian will have to do without tonight.

But instead of getting worse, the Emperor calms down unexpectedly and then falls asleep.

Domitia looks at her father sleeping serenely and realizes that there must be a link between his illness and the “medicine” that Canidia uses to treat him.  But she cannot say so since Hadrian trusts that woman blindly.  On the other hand, since the disappearance of Domitia’s son, he and his senators believe that she has lost a bit of her self-control.  If the Princess wants anyone to believe her, she must collect some proof...

Mirina, Ali and Mami blissfully walk along in the gardens.  They are fascinated by everything... even too much so.  They have just reached a field of flowers they have never seen before:  enormous poppies of a pale pink color.  The two youngsters breathe in the smell and lose the concept of time and space.  Everything seems perfectly wonderful.  Mami, who being an animal is immune to the magic of the flowers, looks at them in awe:  they are simply standing in that pink sea that is swaying in the wind and they want for nothing.   

They forget about everything else:  about their team-mates who are waiting for them, about the tournament, about Rome...

Canidia watches Mirina and Ali, who are falling asleep.  And suddenly the image of Gutta’s gaze towards the gypsy girl and his sudden surrender before the young girl during the hunting contest swarms into her mind.

So, seething with jealousy, she decides to strike her and to stop that passion which would make her son too human and would subsequently take him away from her.

She joins her hands over the water, as if to form the wings of a butterfly...  and the insect lands on Mirina’s shoulder.  The girl looks at it in fascination. But Ali notices that the seemingly harmless insect has a skull drawn on its wings.  “Ouch!”, shouts Mirina.  The butterfly has stung her.  Fear flashes through the gypsy girl’s eyes when her shoulder begins to go numb, followed by her arm...  then all the way down to her hand.

Her body is being paralyzed.

But she cannot do a thing since her eyes, under the influence of those pink poppies, are closing and so are Ali’s...

Mami shakes them and tries to arouse them. But it’s all in vain.  The lion looks at them for one last time and then makes its way into the woods that surround that terrible field...

In the meanwhile, along the Processional Way, the sound of drumbeat followed by the muffled sound of a horn mark the beginning of the battle. 

It’s an impressive scene.  There are dozens of warriors, different in the color of their skin, their size, weapons and sex.  They are now ready to face each other with no holds barred.  Even the bravest of them has a shiver of fear running up his spine at the sight of all those swords, spears and spiked bludgeons ready to serve blows.

When it’s up to our heroes to parade in front of the judges for the weapons inspection, they count them out:  Drudo with his gladius, Tosca and Pilade with their bludgeon, Milone and Cabiria with their net...  and Marcus with his foil.

Marcus?!  Our team looks at the young boy, dressed up in an odd armor, and they are taken aback.  What is he doing there?  Didn’t they tell him to stay behind at the camp?  But it’s now too late since the judges have jotted him down. Driving him away would arouse suspicion and that’s something they cannot afford to do.

Marcus looks at that procession before him.  It seems like an infinite amount of men and weapons.  And this time he will be descending into the arena as well, he thinks with pride.  But pride and fear blend as one in his young heart...

EPISODE 17 –  THE GREAT BATTLE

“You mustn’t sleep... you mustn’t sleep!”, Ali whispers to Mirina.  But his eyes are clouding over, as well.  The flowers around them are just an indistinct pink blur that seems to whirl around above their heads...  And in the meanwhile the girl’s body grows stiffer and stiffer. 

Canidia, inside the cave of Anubis, laughs in satisfaction:  that will teach that young girl to go against her!

Marcus walks down the Processional Way along with his team-mates.

The scene is frightening. The disgusting faces of warriors stare at him and seem to challenge him alone.  But the young boy just walks straight ahead and whispers to himself:  “You are the future emperor...  you are the future emperor”, while trying to banish his fear. 

And so the competition begins.

Marcus comes face to face with a hairy, gigantic German. The barbarian, who uses a spiked bludgeon, gives him a threatening look.  Drudo, who is facing an Amazon, is on the alert and ready to step in at any time.  But to everyone’s surprise the young prince proves to be talented.  He handles his foil with elegance, dodging the blind powerful blows of his opponent and responding with precise quick blows of his own.    

Our heroes realize that he can take care of himself.

So each one of them concentrates on his own opponent.  But they are still always ready to help those who are most in need.

Drudo, who is engaged with the Amazon, is defending himself.  He clearly does not want to strike her since she is a woman.  But she is very ferocious and is about to come off better than the Thracian, who doesn’t oppose her blows.  So Tosca steps in, who beats her by spinning Pilade around.

The twins jump from one lion to another and come off better than a gigantic Gaul who, hindered in his movements by his heavy armor, ends up with his back pinned to the ground and just lies there like a sad cockroach.

Lothar is very quick with his nunciago.  He stops before nothing, striking his opponents directly in the face.  He goes on to break noses and split lips open.  He and Catilius agree:  in case of necessity, their men will unite against the enemies.

But Lothar’s men are not trained for hand-to-hand combat.  The little Phoenician ends up on the ground thanks to the blows served to him by the German’s bludgeon.  The same goes for the Arab with the Iberian.

But things are looking up for the Black team. Catilius proves his great talent with the sword.  Even the Gauls, who are very skilled with the gladius, cannot meet the match with him.  He beats down just a few blows and even Alfix ends up on the ground.  Catilius is upon him, but he must refrain from killing him although his instinct spurs him to do so... but it’s forbidden in this competition...

Gutta stands above the rest for the speed and precision of his blows.

His rotary blades dart amidst the lions, bounce back from the rocks and push his opponents down on the ground.  They hit the dust without realizing what happened.  And so all the Iberians are eliminated.   

Then there’s poor Hakon, who is in love with Tosca.  When he comes face-to-face with her he loses his composure and can’t budge, let alone serve her a blow.  Tosca doesn’t hesitate and brings him to his knees with a blow straight to the stomach...

The teams scatter along the way until only the Whites, the Blacks and Lothar remain...

But Canidia, from her gloomy den, casts another one of her spells.  She moves her pale hands on the water and... the stone lions of the Processional Way suddenly come to life.  They leap down from their stone pedestals and enter the fray.  But no one seems to take notice.  Only our heroes are terrified as the lions stretch their enormous gaping jaws above them...

Drudo does his best to protect his friends and stands between them.

But the battle seems hopeless.  Their blows cut across the beasts as if they were made up of air.

“They’re immortal!”, cries Drudo.

“No… it’s only a nightmare!”, sneers Gutta as he watches our heroes flailing against nothingness.  It’s a vision, only a terrible vision created by Canidia!

But as they are busy defending themselves against those infernal beats, the Whites are completely at the mercy of the Blacks who soon close them inside their trap.

But Ninurta, who is watching the contest along with Dora, is aware of the deceit.  Canidia must be behind that terrible spell, which prevents our heroes from fighting against their real opponents.  He is about to draw away from the squabble when Mami rushes in.  The lion clings to his tunic with her teeth and tries to drag him off.  Dora looks at it, nearly in fear, but Ninurta has grasped the situation:  Ali is in danger and Mami is pleading for help.  But he cannot leave, he must put a stop to Canidia’s magic spell otherwise the contest will end tragically for the Whites...

Mami gets more nervous; they must hurry.  Ninurta looks around:  what should he do?  They are all involved inside the arena.  Everyone except for...

Dora shakes her head:  the thought shouldn’t cross his mind since the Gardens are infested with snakes and she simply cannot face up to them!

The elderly man smiles.  He takes a stone out of his knapsack and hands it to her.  She can go anywhere with it, he says as glances at the Garden entrance...  where Ali is growing groggier and groggier, as Mirina’s body is about to turn to stone.

“Good... sleep... sleep...  sleep for all eternity!”, says Canidia as she joyfully watches the scene from the spring.   

But it’s too soon to exult in one’s victory.  In fact Dora manages to enter inside the Gardens, thanks to the magical stone Ninurta has given her.  She comes face-to-face with a snake, but she is no longer afraid of them.

“Mirina! Ali! Where are you?”, shouts the young girl.

Ali hears her voice like a distant echo.  But everything is so beautiful all around him and it would be a shame to reply.  But them a white dove lands on his shoulder and pecks him on the cheek to rouse him.  Ali looks at Mirina in a moment of consciousness and sees her body growing stiffer and stiffer...

“Here we are!”, he manages to shout as he frees himself from the spell of that magnificent place.

Dora joins them.  Ali has successfully overcome the sin of Sloth, but he must save Mirina.  She has been stung by the Butterfly of Death.  Luckily Dora is an expert of medicinal herbs and the Gardens are full of the most exotic plants.  In the matter of an instant she manages to conjure up a potion as anecdote to the butterfly’s poison.  They pour a few drops on Mirina’s lips and the girl awakens from her reverie.   

She rises, as if reawakening from a long sleep or perhaps from a nightmare.  But it is not that simple to leave the place.  The Gardens are built like a kind of labyrinth...

In the meantime, along the Processional Way, the retiarius is about to attack Marcus.  Akisar, who is watching the contest, jumps up in surprise.   

But Drudo gets in between the trident and the boy.  He is wounded.  He falls to the ground, covered in blood, as the gladiator is ready for a new attack.  The situation seems hopeless.

And even in the Gardens our heroes begin to doubt whether they will be able to get out or not.  Walk as they might, they always come face-to-face with a very high wall of foliage that seems to appear and disappear before their very eyes to hinder their way out.  Ali loses his patience:  he believed that Artemis’s bow should have served to win this trial; whereas after all the trouble they went through to get it, it now proves to be completely useless.  On the other hand, what’s the use of a bow in a place of peace?

“Wait!”, says Mirina as she tears the bow from Ali’s hands.  Dora and Ali watch in surprise as she stretches the bow, prepares the arrow and... shoots it against the wall of foliage.   And, as if by magic, it becomes smaller, the branches melt away and curl up until they finally disappear.   

“It is not difficult to shoot at the target”, says the gypsy girl in pride as they make their way towards the exit, “the hard part is finding the right target”.

Along the Processional Way, our team is at the end of its rope.  With Drudo lying wounded on the ground, all the others have no way out.  As they try to defend themselves from the imaginary lions, Catilius’s Black team makes fun of them; they serve them blows from behind, making the audience and the other gladiators laugh in fun.   

They are already looking forward to their victory when Akisar, despite himself, can hold back no longer.  Those are his team-mates, by George!  And Marcus has replaced him in the arena!  He can’t let them die like that...

So he enters the fray.  Just in time to save Drudo from the retiarius’s trident.  But it is an unequal struggle and they are about to succumb when...

A ray of sunshine emerges from behind a boulder.

It grows stronger and stronger; it rises high towards the sky...  until it finally enters Canidia’s cave and strikes her in the eyes.  The priestess retreats from the spring, furious for the pain and the hatred within...

...and her magic is interrupted.  The lions suddenly climb back onto their pedestals and return to their state of stone.

As Ali and Mirina also descend into the arena, Ninurta emerges from behind the boulder where he was in hiding and where the golden light came from.  He had promised not to interfere with the contests, not to use his powers.  But this time Canidia had truly gone too far.

Now the real tournament can be resumed.

Gutta, who once again comes face-to-face against the gypsy girl from Antioch, is troubled by that young girl who fights against him fearlessly.  He manages to send her flying to the ground, but simply cannot beat down upon her, as if something completely new holds his arm back.

Despite his wound, Drudo manages to defeat Lothar.  He grabs onto his staff in mid-air, pulls Lothar towards him and sends the Numidian prince flying into the dust.

Akisar fights against the retiarius while Ali and Marcus together fight against Catilius…

They are very skilled.  Ali fights with his bare hands and jumps around from one place to the other in order to distract his opponent.  Marcus fights with his foil.  But Catilius has a powerful body and an impenetrable shield.  With just one ferocious blow of his sword, he makes the little prince lose his grip on the foil and it falls to the ground.  Catilius is about to take advantage of the situation when Ali attacks him from behind.  The Praetorian is taken by surprise, off-guard, and falls down to the ground.  So Marcus has the chance to fetch his weapon, he leaps upon Catilius and aims the foil at his throat.  For an instant the Praetorian leader seems to recognize the eyes of that young boy who is upon him and who can even kill him if he desires...
 
But it’s only the matter of an instant.

The sound of a horn marks the end of the competition and the victory of the White team.

Dora approaches Ninurta. It is also thanks to him that they have successfully won the contest.  But what does that stone he gave her contain?  It must be magic since by keeping it over her heart she has overcome her fear of snakes...  Ninurta smiles in exhaustion at the counter-magic he has created.  He picks some rocks up from the ground and hands them to Dora:  would she like to have some more of those magical stones?

As our heroes celebrate the first competition they have all participated in, suddenly Gutta disappears.  Not in the sense that he has gone off in hiding, but in the true sense of the words “to disappear into thin air”.  That’s how Mirina would describe what she saw, from her hiding-place behind a tree, to her friends.  But she doesn’t, although she herself doesn’t know why...

“What’s the matter, my dear son?  Have you perhaps fallen in love with that girl?”  Gutta looks at Canidia.  Just as he disappeared, so the zombie reappears in the Anubis cave.  Canidia is furious.  He is a divine creature and gods cannot feel emotions such as love.  It is not allowed.  Gutta has only one task:  to stop the Chosen.  Should Mirina be of any obstacle to him, Canidia will take care of it and make sure she is no longer...

EPISODE 18 –THE SECRETS OF THE PYRAMID

Just like a long snake that’s close to exhaustion, the tournament’s caravan sluggishly wanders through the desert.  Pilade trudges along – he is on the verge of exhaustion.  They’ve been treading sand for the past two days!  And all they can see are dunes, dunes, dunes and...

“That”, exclaims Ninurta in satisfaction.  Before them, on the Giza Plateau, rises the Great Pyramid of Cheops in all its glory – the sixth Wonder of the Ancient World.  It seems inaccessible from outside:  more of a spaceship from outer space than the work of human beings.  They all observe it in wonder, but Marcus is the most excited of the lot.  There are many theories and legends in the scientific world regarding the Pyramid and the reason for its construction is still a mystery.  Contrary to other pyramids, it does not contain the remains of any pharaoh.  For a science buff such as Marcus, coming face-to-face with it is a dream come true.

So much so that the little prince doesn’t even wait for our heroes to set up their tents – he is already at the foot of the monument, busy with some complicated measurements and impossible calculations.

Lost in the wonders of that magical place, no one takes notice of the black granite statue, shiny and enormous, that stands out on the horizon.  It is the statue of Anubis... 

It is the same statue as the one inside Canidia’s cave. The priestess of evil is kneeling in front of the sacred spring.  There is no hope for the White team this time over.  The desert surrounding the Pyramid is the reign of the God of Death and he is the one who lays down the rules.  “O god of darkness, raise your eyes upon me, your humble slave”, prays Canidia, “and make me worthy of my task:  to bring evil to the entire world!” The eyes of the statue light up, red, sharp and ferocious...  and in the same instant in Giza the statue with the head of a jackal seems to open its fiery eyes upon our team; he stares at them as they ignore the danger that looms above.

In the meanwhile Antoninus is illustrating the regulations of the competition.  The sixth trial of the tournament consists of bringing back to Giza the magical stones which are said to come from space.  They can be found in the middle of the desert, at about sixteen perches from the Pyramid (approximately 50 kilometers).

It’s a sort of relay race.  Every team is made up of four players: two of them all the way up to the stones, two of them from the stones to Giza.  They will be accompanied in the desert and left at a distance of about eight perches from one another.  The winner is the one who reaches the magical stones first, fills his knapsack (which will be used as the baton) up with them and returns to Giza with the coveted reward...

As the different teams decide who to line up in the relay race and in which order, Ali begins to look for some evidence to use in his personal trial.

But this time things don’t seem to fit.  The map traced from the crib has no sign of the Pyramid.  A kind of trapezoid tower is drawn in its place... 

Ali begins to walk around the Pyramid as he searches for some kind of solution to the mystery and, by force of circumstances, he comes face-to-face with Marcus.

The young prince looks at him with presumptuousness:  what’s wrong?  Is he lost? 

Ali is on tenterhooks, he would like to ask for help, but his friend’s expression makes his blood rise.  No, of course not.  He’s got a map...

On the contrary – Ali retorts -  Marcus seems to be in a bit of difficulty.  The young prince shrugs his shoulders and continues with his measurements.

Our team, which is working out for the race, views the two young boys as frantic ants that go round and round the immense building in an endless dance.
 
“I will be staying with my father tonight as well.  He was very ill yesterday and I do not wish to leave him”, says Domitia as she stands up to Canidia’s scrutinizing gaze.  “I’ll look after administering his medicine”.  The Princess uses her most neutral tone of voice with Canidia.  She wishes to convince Canidia that she should fear naught and that she will not follow her.  And she especially wants to keep the priestess from administering another dose of her medicine to Hadrian.

Initially Canidia is suspicious, but she cannot risk the Blacks losing this competition as well.  She must go to the temple.  She accepts her proposal.

And in fact, in the middle of the night, Domitia sees her leaving with her black cloak wrapped around her.  Domitia throws away the medicine that she was supposed to give Hadrian.  She waits for the Emperor to quietly fall asleep and then, unnoticed, she follows Canidia.

The sun sets upon the desert and Ali and Marcus are exhausted.  For a while they nonchalantly lean their shoulders on the scorching rock, but then they crumble.  A whole day spent around the Pyramid and not one of them has obtained what he was looking for.  Marcus has looked all over the place, but there’s no sign of the secret entrance.  The Pyramid is inaccessible.

“What about you?”, the young prince asks Ali, “have you discovered the trial you have to face this time?”

Ali shakes his head.  The Pyramid is the sixth Wonder of the World, isn’t it?

Marcus nods:  of course.

“So why is there a tower depicted on my map?”  In so saying he shows the young prince his map.

Marcus stares at it in surprise.  Then he lifts his head towards the Pyramid, then again to the map, then to the Pyramid...

“But this is...  the Zed!”

Ali knows nothing of architecture and he is not helped by the flow of words coming from Marcus’s mouth.  But what he does grasp is stupefying.

According to the young prince’s theory, the tower that is drawn on Ali’s map stands right before their very eyes.  But they can’t see it because it’s not on the outside, but inside the Pyramid!

Marcus has already read something about the Zed in a very ancient scroll preserved in the imperial library, but it only spoke of a legend.  The story goes that many years ago, before the birth of the Empire, before the birth of civilization, before anything else, there was a tower capable of creating “energy”.  It was called Zed.  Its power was so enormous that its own builder, Khor, locked it up in a safe place.  No one has ever found it until right now.  The drawing on Ali’s map perfectly coincides with that observed by Marcus on the scroll:  there is no doubt that his tower is the mythical Zed.  And considering that Ali’s map has always precisely indicated each one of the Seven Wonders, it ensues that the unfindable Zed lies inside the Pyramid.

“Do you know what Pyramid means?, Ali asks the young prince, aroused by a kind of scientific frenzy.  “It comes from a Greek word that can be translated into fire (pyr) in the middle.  Odd for a stone tomb, isn’t it?”

Ali looks at him in confusion..

“According to you”, continues Marcus, “what kind of fire were the Greeks referring to?”

This time Marcus doesn’t even expect Ali’s impossible answer and just continues on his own.  He says that the perfect number for mathematicians is "pi".  It can be found in nature and is used in architecture to build pleasant shapes.

But the vagabond from Antioch is coming down with a headache:  slightly annoyed, he asks Marcus to come to a conclusion.

“Pi is the fire of life.  Plato called it the key of cosmic physics.  And do you know what number we obtain when we divide the perimeter of the base of the pyramid by half of its height?  3.14, namely pi.  A thousand years before the pi was even discovered!  The Pyramid, and the Zed that it contains, is the key for understanding the entire universe.  The important part is managing to get inside”.

In saying so Marcus picks up a stick and begins to write abstruse figures on the sand.

“A height of 145 meters, multiplied by a million-million... should give the distance from the Sun… The four sides of the pyramid are lined up with the four cardinal points, with a displacement of only 3 grade minutes...  Its weight is 5,273-thousand tons multiplied by one-billion and equal to the weight of the Earth...”

Numbers as small as cockroaches follow each other on the sand, disappear and then reappear again in something that Ali just considers a senseless dance.  

“After having done the calculations, rounding it off to the third digit, considering the Zed’s proportions and the lateral bend...”, he raises his gaze towards the Pyramid, “the entrance should be right there”.

In so saying he points to a spot.  It’s roughly in the middle of the northern wing of the immense tomb.  That’s why no one has ever discovered it:  they didn’t know where to look.   

Ignoring the incredible discovery made by Ali and Marcus, the team champions choose the athletes to line up for the race.  Milone will be participating for the Whites; he will be passing the relay to Cabria, who in turn will pass it to Mirina and finally to Drudo. The retiarius will be starting for the Blacks, since he is their most agile participant.  Then the race will continue with the hoplomachus, Gutta and finally with Catilius.

In the meantime in Rome, at a sign of Canidia’s hand, the boulder that conceals the entrance to the cave of Anubis opens up as if by magic.  The priestess goes inside swiftly.  But she hasn’t taken notice of Domitia who is right behind her and manages to slip inside before the entrance closes up once again...

The judges accompany the participants with their camels to the spots where the baton must be passed on.  There are approximately thirty perches in all, therefore an athlete every eight perches.   

Before their departure, Ninurta offers his final advice to our team.  The true difficulty does not lie in the distance to run, but in the desert itself.  They must not believe in whatever they see, since sand creates horrible monsters hidden beneath wonderful semblances.  They must not allow themselves to be tempted, they must never abandon the track otherwise they will be wandering around that barren land for all eternity...

“I said, don’t look down!”

Marcus is hanging from a rope and he’s trying to climb up the pyramid.  They have finally reached the point in which, according to his calculations, the entrance to the tower must be hidden.  But there is no trace of it from the outside.  Marcus does not lose hope.  He knocks upon the great slabs and leans his ear upon them to listen to the echo.  “It is empty here”, he says while, helped by Ali, he gives a stronger knock.  And, as if by magic, the slab slips aside like a feather and reveals a long entrance shaft.

The two young boys look at the darkness before them and their hearts beat with joy and fear:  they are the first ones to set foot in that magical place.  Neither of them knows what lies in store inside.

The relay race is about to begin.  An infinite stretch of sand lies in front of the athletes.  Those eight perches each, with the sun burning their eyes, the mirages, the cold and dark nights that will descend during the race, seem to set out a trial that is impossible to finish. 

They all do their best to make light of it and to ignore the perils they are about to face.  But their eyes linger over that inhospitable stretch of stand that often rises up with the wind and their hearts are filled with fear.

The most distressed are the athletes from the northern populations.  Just like the Germans, who have never seen so much sand in their lives and especially have never suffered all that heat; and even the Gauls led by Alfix, whose armor now seems to be absurd. 

The Numidians are the only ones who seem to be at ease.  They scornfully watch the other participants as they take of their clothes and drink ice-cold water that only serves to increase their thirst. They just stay wrapped up in their cloaks and calmly drink their hot tea.

The judges order the participants to take up their positions on the starting line.  Tosca gives Milone his water reserve, hugs him and wishes him good luck.  But no one notices that Gutta, in a moment of their distraction, makes a hole in that leather flask...

The powerful blare of a horn marks the beginning of the race.

Milone runs quickly and soon leaves the others many meters behind.   

But he doesn’t notice that the water from his flask is leaving a trail in the sand that instantly dries up in the sun...

There is only immense darkness illuminated by small torches and their sole company is the muffled echo of their footsteps on the stones.  Ali and Marcus carefully proceed inside the Pyramid.  The shafts are getting narrower and narrower and proceed in directions that appear to be senseless.  It seems as if its architect had a good time playing with and challenging the laws of nature.  The two young boys first proceed vertically, then there’s a sudden right bend that makes them plummet down head-first for a few meters, and finally they are forced to climb upwards once again.  Marcus is tired, but he won’t give up.  The excitement of this discovery makes him endure anything.   

But Ali is starting to despair:  how can a tower be preserved in there?  Marcus must have made a big blunder.  Perhaps it’s best to go back and look somewhere else.   

Then, after overcoming a sharp bend, they suddenly find themselves facing a gigantic granite door.  They raise their heads:  the entrance is a kind of parallelepiped that tapers off towards the roof.

“We have reached it”, says Marcus in a whisper as he looks at the Zed.

Even in Rome someone is crawling through dark and frightful shafts.  It’s Domitia, who is doing her best to overcome the terror that the Anubis cave is provoking.  Canidia has disappeared and there is nothing to illuminate all that darkness. 

Milone looks behind his shoulders:  he’s ahead in the race and the others are very, very far behind.  So he stops for a second to have a drink.  But there isn’t any more water!  He looks all around in despair:  there is only sand, sand, sand as far as the eye can see.  The situation is hopeless.

With a trembling hand, Ali opens the door to the tower of energy.  And suddenly the darkness in the Pyramid is illuminated by a blinding and unnatural light.  They enter.

No human eye has ever seen such a sight before.  They are in a kind of granite cell.  The white light that warms them makes them suddenly feel weightless, full of a kind of vital energy that one believes only the gods possess.   

“This is the room of kings”, whispers Marcus in shock, “all the secrets of the world are contained here”. 

EPISODE 19 – MIRAGES

Ali and Marcus cannot believe their very eyes.

They feel immortal as they are emerged in that warm and brilliant light.  Marcus is the first one to emerge from his stupor.  He runs to the middle of the room where a stele is set on a kind of altar.  The two young boys approach it and a ray of blinding sunlight bursts out of it.

The stele is covered with hieroglyphics that Marcus, thanks to his linguistic knowledge, manages to decipher with ease. It narrates the story of the tower of energy.  Khor was the one to have it built.  It stands exactly at the centre of the earth and one of its corners is turned towards the magnetic north, so the tower links the energy of the skies with that of the earth.  The room in which they stand is the place of conjunction between the Universe and the World.  There is no past and no present inside this room, since diseases do not exist and matter cannot be decomposed. 

          Ali listens to Marcus, as if hypnotized by the surrounding light and by his friend’s incredible words.

          “The Zed”, the young prince continues to “read”, “is the symbol representing continuity between Life and Death.  The warmth they feel, the joy they experience as they stand in the tower, is Energy at its purest state.  A kind of Energy that does not exist in any other place on earth and that may allow them to live in eternity”.   
         
          Marcus looks at Ali in awe:  “This tower makes one immortal!”

          “So why did they lock the Zed inside the Pyramid?” asks Ali.

Marcus shakes his head.  The stele is damaged, encrusted with thousands of years of dust and it takes time to decipher it...

            From the Anubis cave, Canidia has witnessed the whole scene.  And so Ali managed to enter inside the Zed.

            “Oh, Anubis”, exults the priestess as she raises her arms towards the mute statue of the god, “the boy is not aware that living forever means dying.  Only the beings without a soul live in eternity.  And you are their lord and master.  Ali’s soul will soon also belong to you...” she says as she glides her hands over the spring.

And suddenly a marvelous scent lingers through the Zed.  As Marcus continues with his task of deciphering the drawings, Ali goes to a small cell situated alongside the king’s room.  He cannot believe his eyes when, suspended in that magical whiteness, he sees a beautiful table that has been all decked out.  Delicious food and the smell of spices and fruit.  Ali fills his lungs with those smells that remind him of his childhood, his mother’s house that was full of oriental essences...

Inside the Anubis cave, Canidia glides her hand along one of the cases that line the wall in satisfaction...  

The case lights up, emitting bluish flashes upon the priestess’s pale features.  “The time has come for you to wake up...  your son is in the kingdom of Anubis.  You must reach him and make sure that he stays there forever!”

As soon as those words are pronounced, a female figure opens her eyes behind the glass:  it’s Niobe, Ali’s mother. 

Marcus scrapes the dust away from the stele and does his best to decipher the other drawings.  There’s the Zed and some men come out of it.  Their eyes are red.  One of them is stricken by an arrow, but he just goes on walking to the next drawing and kills one of Khor’s guards.  There are other men behind him, with blazing eyes.  Then the immense army of Khor arrives and a very harsh struggle takes place between thousands of soldiers and the zombies.  It’s a massacre that ends with the victory of Khor.  The Zed, and the evil power it contains, is closed forever inside the Pyramid.   

A grimace of anguish crosses Marcus’s expression:  “The Zed gives immortality...  but the immortality of demons!”

“Ali!”, he shouts as he runs inside the other room.

Milone wanders desperately through the desert.  His mouth is parched with thirst and his eyes are misted over.  When he is about to succumb to the torture, he notices a white dove flying in the sky – the same one that brings the messages of Heliodorus to Rome.  It seems to point a road out to him.  He follows it.  There is a small, wonderful oasis behind a dune.  Milone plunges into the fresh water, drinks it up in great gulps and then resumes his race.  But he has lost some time and many have passed him by.   

He has to run, run as fast as he can...

Ali looks ahead in disbelief.  The woman who is smiling at him is his mother in person!

“Eat, my child...   taste this cake...  it was your favorite when you were a child...”, says Niobe as she hands him some bread that is darker than night.  Ali is in a trance.  He stretches his arms out towards her, towards her face, towards that voice that he has dreamt of so many times.  Marcus, who watches from the cell containing the stele, realizes that something terrible is going on:  who is Ali talking to?  There’s no one in the room...

Cabria watches all the contenders belonging to the other teams as they run by.  They pass the baton on to each other and continue with the race.  There is no sign of Milone.  What on earth could have happened to him?  Finally his twin appears on the horizon.  They are last, so now everything depends on him.  Cabria begins to run as fast as the wind.

She reaches the others in a flash...  when the eyes of the statue of Anubis light up and a sudden sand storm leaves them all in darkness. 

But the Arab belonging to the team from Numidia knows what to do.  They have to tie themselves to one another, he explains, in order to avoid getting lost in the sand.  In this way they shall all proceed together while awaiting the end of the storm.  But the glance he exchanges with the hoplomachus belonging to the Black team is not very promising.  And in fact, when the time comes to tie the rope, he leaves the group and ties up all the rest so tightly that they cannot free themselves...

The contestants blindly make their way through the sandstorm, with their burning eyes and parched throats.  The Arab, who is the only one capable of making his way through the desert, manages to emerge from it before the rest and leads the hoplomachus out as well.  The others hear their laughter as they walk away:  fools, how could they ever believe that they would join them?
 
“Eat... eat”, Niobe’s eyes are staring at Ali’s...

“Eat... eat, young boy...  eat and you will be forever mine!”

Canidia is observing the scene from her spring.  She is certain that there is no way out for the Chosen this time around.

“Stop!”, Marcus gets between Ali and Niobe.  “It’s poison!”.  And he throws the piece of cake down.  Ali suddenly comes to.  Niobe disappears and all of a sudden all that wonderful food simply rots and becomes a sort of decaying slime.  The Zed is demonstrating its true aspect:  from a place of life it turns into a place of death.

Ali rouses himself awake.  “We have to get out of here... right now”, he shouts as he heads for the exit.  But Marcus can’t just leave like this, first he wants the stele.  It contains all the Astronomy and Physics secrets of the Pyramid!

He picks it up and the light of the Zed suddenly turns into shadows.  Ali looks around.  He notices little cascades of sand pouring out from the spaces between the stones.  They get bigger and bigger, turning into streams...  The Zed is crumbling...

Meanwhile the storm has subsided and the Viking belonging to Akhon’s team has managed to loosen the rope.  But there’s no time to be overjoyed.  In fact the Iberian points to the sand:  they look around and realize that they’ve already been surrounded!  Enormous scorpions are coming out of the sand and they surround our heroes by the hundreds as they wag their tails dripping with poison.  There’s no way out.

The others are about to succumb to discouragement when Alfix has an idea.  It’s true, they’re surrounded by scorpions and they will all die if they stay there.  A useless sacrifice that would satisfy Catilius and that criminal named Lothar.  No, he will not allow it.  He is the biggest and the strongest – he’ll manage.

And in so saying he throws himself into the host of terrible scorpions that, feeling they are being attacked head-on, attack him in turn in the matter of a moment.  “Hurry, run”, he shouts to Cabria.  He has to run and win for his sake. 

Ali and Marcus are running through the small shafts in the Pyramid.  A river of sand is trampling over everything behind them.  It’s as if the Pyramid is trying to trap them inside forever...

Cabria quickly reaches the stone plain along with the black Praetorian and the Arab.  He passes the baton to Mirina as the hoplomachus hands his to Gutta and the Arab passes his on to the Phoenician. 
 
Mirina runs quickly, but Gutta is endowed with superhuman strength and in a matter of a few steps he is upon her.

Canidia was very explicit:  he must have no pity for her.  This time he must catch her and kill her.

In fact he catches her and is about to choke the girl.  But Mirina’s frightened eyes that stare at him make Gutta waver for a moment.  She knows that he isn’t as cruel as he wants to seem, that he’s still got a good streak in his soul...  The zombie is impressed by her words and for an instant his eyes seem to lose their dullness and come back to life.   

It is only the matter of an instant, but enough for Mirina to throw a fistful of sand into his face.  It blinds him.  Mirina grasps the opportunity and runs away.   

Ali already sees the light at the far end of the shaft and they are about to finally emerge from the Pyramid.  But a trap door unexpectedly opens up below his feet.  The lad would have fallen through it had Marcus not grabbed him by the arm. 

“Come on, pull yourself up!”, shouts the young prince as he holds Ali with one hand and the stele with the other.  But he can’t do it with one arm alone.  Ali is so much heavier than he is...  he has to give up something.  Marcus looks at Ali and then looks at that wonderful concentration of knowledge...  To hell with astronomical principles, Ali is the only friend he’s ever had!  He throws the stele down into the well.

Ali is safe and he has overcome another one of the sins that afflict mankind:  Gluttony.

“No!”, shouts Canidia.  “Ali did it again!”

In the meanwhile Mirina hands the baton over to Drudo. Gutta has arrived as well and so Catilius takes off, followed by Lothar.

Everyone is waiting for them at the finish line.

Domitia is still groping blindly in the dark.  The Princess can’t see a thing, yet she doesn’t give up.  Then she hears something before her.  Something is approaching her; a kind of rustling that gets louder and louder.  It’s bats, enormous bats that attack her.  Domitia screams out in terror...

The echo of that scream reaches Canidia, who turns around with a start...

“Go away... go away!”, shouts Domitia. But the bats have become more numerous and keep her from moving ahead.  The Princess is forced to give up and has to go back to where she came from.

Canidia, who has heard her screams, abandons the spring …
 
“Run!  Run!”

Our heroes, but even some members of the other teams, cheer Drudo on as he takes the lead.  But Lothar’s panthers spring out of the desert and lunge at him.  It’s a ferocious battle and Catilius takes advantage of the situation to get closer to the finish line.

But Drudo doesn’t surrender.  He frees himself from the beast’s jaws and with a proud sprint he overcomes his opponents and wins the race.

“Who is there? Who dared come inside?”, Canidia rushes towards the entrance.  But Domitia has managed to escape in the nick of time...

Night has fallen and our heroes are celebrating their victory.  The desert is twinkling with bonfires and the air is full of music and silvery laughs.   

Only Ali and Marcus are off to the side.  They are watching the Pyramid:  the Zed has been destroyed forever.  And its secrets along with it, all its immense knowledge.  But Marcus is not too depressed about it.  He managed to read a part of what was written on the stele:  earth, according to the stele, was not created by the gods, but rather it was produced by an enormous explosion called the Big Bang.  The young prince has an open mind, but this theory is really absurd!  If all the scientific secrets resemble this one, they certainly haven’t missed out on a thing.

“I am feeling much better”, the Emperor has awakened and smiles at his daughter.

Domitia, who has just returned, hugs him happily and gives him a smile that is even broader.  But the smile fades away when she sees Canidia’s face, who has just returned to the palace.

Canidia’s face is terribly upset. 

She is glad that Hadrian is feeling better, says the priestess as she stares at Domitia with burning eyes.  Her medicine has proven to be effective.  Or perhaps it’s the fact that his daughter spent the whole night at his bedside worked the miracle...  Because that’s true, isn’t it?  Domitia stayed in the palace all night long...

The Princess nods her head, but Canidia’s gaze travels to the medicine table.  Domitia hasn’t realized that there’s a shred of glass from the vial she broke the previous evening on the floor.  The priestess does and her eyes turn into deep pits full of hatred.

EPISODE 20 –COLOSSUS OF RHODES

They’re nearly at the end of their journey.  It’s time to come to the conclusion of the long adventure, to bid farewell to those who lost and wish good luck to those who are still in the race.

The judges show the Tournament classifications to the teams that are gathered before them.  The atmosphere is tense. The hearts of the valiant warriors seem to stop while awaiting the verdict, as all their eyes turn to the large board that is about to be unveiled.

Only four teams can still hope for the finals, according to the judges.  Not the Iberian team, since despite the fact that they have totalized many points it has been discovered that Brenno (their champion) is already married and so the team has been disqualified.  Not the Gaul team since Alfix has been debilitated by the scorpions and cannot go on. 

So the four teams that will be participating in this sort of semi-final are:  the Britons, the Numidians, the Whites and the Blacks.

A roar rises from the crowd as the four champions climb onto the stage:  everything depends on this trial.  It will decide the two teams that will be headed for Rome, the two champions who can aspire to the hand of Domitia...  whose heart, upon hearing the news, is confused in a myriad of contrasting sensations.  The Princess is overjoyed on one side since Drudo is still one of the contenders for her hand in marriage.  But on the other side she is frightened:  what if the Thracian doesn’t win?  She would be forced to marry a man whom she doesn’t even know or, worse yet, a man whom she hates – namely Catilius!

But Canidia pays hardly any attention to the things that do not come as news to her.  Her mind is concentrated on the Emperor.  He is clearly feeling better and that means one thing alone:  the Princess hasn’t given him his medicine.

She must do something.  She cannot afford Hadrian getting better, nor can she risk Domitia following her once again in the Anubis cave.  She must banish Domitia from court.   

So, without its being called for, she offers her advice:  just as Domitia witnessed the first competition in the Tournament, it would be best for her to also witness the last.  Now that the Emperor is feeling better, her presence at the palace is not so necessary...

Everything that the priestess whispers seem to be suggested by her kindness and common sense, but Domitia knows that it’s only another move in the secret battle that is ensuing between herself and the priestess.  Canidia has the upper hand this time around.  Domitia will be forced to leave the palace in the hands of the sorceress and leave for Rhodes...  where the tournament caravan has arrived in the meantime.  Our heroes stand in wonder at the Colossus, the seventh Wonder of the World:  thirty-two meters of granite projected skywards.  The trial, explains Antoninus, is a contest of equilibrium and dexterity:  the winner will be the one who lights up the crown of the god Helios using the torch that was passed on during the relay race.  To do so the teams have to be roped together and climb up the smooth and impervious walls of the Colossus, trying to hold on despite all the difficulties caused by a vertical climb and avoiding blows served to them by their opponents.  Since, Antoninus adds, even in this case there are no blows barred.

While our team decides on how to line up for the climb, Ali is off at the side as usual.  But Ninurta summons him.  With an oddly serious voice he announces that this time he will be forced to participate in the tournament.  In fact, the only thing at stake isn’t just the possibility of reaching Rome.  The future of the whole team is at stake. 

“Do you know what Helios means in Greek?”, asks the old man.

Ali shakes his head.  It means Sun, continues Ninurta.  Observe the Colossus:  contrary to what everyone thinks, it does not represent Apollo.  The Colossus is the largest and most powerful representation of Mithras.  In fact, it was Mithras who protected the island of Rhodes from the siege of Democritus.  But as Ali is fully aware, the cult of Mithras is forbidden by law and therefore, in order to avoid being arrested, the citizens of Rhodes pretended that the Colossus was dedicated to Apollo.  But the followers of Mithras know that within the Colossus is condensed the power of the God and that the fire that burns on its torch is the symbol of his strength and that the flame itself irradiates Good.  But unfortunately the followers of the Anubis sect are also aware of this and want to take advantage of the race in order to quench the eternal fire.

Ali has to avoid it.

He will be the last one tied to the rope, namely the first one to reach the peak and defend it from the assaults of Evil.

A great feast in honor of the newly-arrived Domitia is organized on the eve of the competition.   

All the contestants still participating in the tournament take part in the feast.  There’s Catilius, who doesn’t lose the opportunity to remind the Princess that soon they might be husband and wife.  But there’s also Drudo, who watches Domitia from a distance.  But despite his shyness, their glances can’t help but meet and follow each other.  So much so that the hall crowded with people seems to be getting smaller and smaller in order to allow the two lovers to brush against each other.

Cynric, who is madly in love with Domitia, believes the Princess is in love as well.  But not with him.  Domitia’s heart belongs to Drudo.  Appalled by this, he leaves before the end of the feast.

Ali is gloomy.  A part of him is happy for having reached this goal and, like and even more than the others, he is anxious to reach Rome.  But part of him is troubled.  What he initially believed to be a group of eccentric people has now become his family, the only family he ever had.  When they reach Rome they will all be finally free and he’ll be left alone once again.

And there’s something else, something he doesn’t even want to admit to himself.  He looks at Domitia, so sweet and motherly and then he looks at Marcus.

Not only will the boy become Emperor when he reaches Rome, but he will be reunited with his mother.

Whereas he...

Canidia watches the scene from the spring and a flash of cruelty crosses her gaze.

The following morning, at dawn, the Whites gather in the shadows of the Colossus.  The atmosphere is magical.  The sun rising from the sea illuminates the faces of the warriors and makes them seem even more handsome.  Our heroes gather around in a circle and, with their gazes towards the torch of the god, they begin to pray.

“Mithras, god of equality and justice, protect us and allow us to defend the Fire of Good that illuminates men and the world”.

Then a voice coming from behind interrupts their prayer:  “Mithras needs you”.

It’s Heliodorus, who stares at them from behind his silent mask.

“Do not allow your fears and your hidden desires to keep you from committing Good”.

Ali doesn’t know why, but he feels those words are addressed especially to him.
 
The teams line up their formations.  Drudo is the first climber for the White team since he is the strongest and will prepare the climb for the others.  Then come Milone, Cabria and finally Ali.

The Black team will be starting off with Catilius, who is afraid of heights and chooses to lay down the road for the others, then comes the retiarius, the hoplomachus and finally Gutta.  The Watussi will be leading the Numidians.  Then comes the Arab, the Phoenician and finally Lothar.  The last one on the Briton rope is Cynric.

Marcus didn’t sleep a wink during the night.  He has been far away from his mother for so long, and seeing her during the feast has stirred up his homesickness.  The grudge he was nursing against her has slackened off.  He is aware that he cannot speak to her for fear of being discovered, but he would at least like to see her up close and hear her voice.

The Princess will witness the competition from her ship, anchored in the middle of the dock.

Marcus, taking advantage of everyone’s distraction over the competition, boards a little boat:  he wants to flank Domitia’s ship in order to catch a glimpse of her.

The race begins at Domitia’s signal.  It’s impressive to see how small the warriors are compared to the Colussus they are about to climb.  They look like ants struggling in an impossible feat.

Drudo climbs quickly, finding grips in the folds of the great statue’s calf and pulling himself up just about to its knees.  But Catilius plays dirty.  He stuck a kind of magic glue that Gutta gave him right under his hands and so he overcomes Drudo in an instant.  When he is about to drive in the nails that will allow Cabria and Milone to climb up, Drudo proves to be quicker and immediately takes the lead.

The twins are extremely nimble and seem to fly as they climb up.  But the retiarius, assisted by the Arab, plays dirty as well and tries to stop them with his iron net.  Milone is trapped.  He squirms about and risks plummeting into emptiness.  His foot loosens a rock that falls down and shows him what his terrible fate would be if he fell from that height.  Milone is in a panic but Cabria, who risks losing his grip and plummeting down in turn, manages to free him as he hangs down head-first.  The hoplomachus, in the meanwhile, wastes no time in using his spiked club and attacking the Britons, who therefore lag behind...

Marcus in the meanwhile has reached Domitia’s ship.  He is very well acquainted with the imperial galley and so he finds a slot and slips inside.  If he can’t speak to his mother, at least he wants to hear her voice...

The time has come to climb up for Gutta, Ali, Lothar and Cynric. The competition is thrilling.  They’ve reached the head of the Colossus and the curved parts are the most difficult ones to climb.  Cynric is used to clambering up the cliffs in his country and climbs up quickly.  Ali is very skilled since he has learned from the monkeys and he doesn’t need any of the nails that Gutta removes from before him.  He hangs onto the Colossus’s mouth, sets his foot on its upper lip and climbs towards the nose.  But the zombie, with a powerful kick, makes him lose his grip.  A piece of stone plummets to the ground, rousing a stupefied roar from the crowd.  Dora covers her eyes since she believes that Ali has plunged to the ground.  But he appears once again:  he managed to hang onto one of the ears and now continues with his climb.  Gutta follows him like a spider.

“It is all in vain!  You are going to die!  You are going to be swatted like a fly!”, shouts the zombie.  But Ali grits his teeth and moves on.

Domitia anxiously watches the competition as she sits on her litter.  Marcus watches her from a distance, as if in a trance.  She is speaking to her handmaids and the subject is Drudo...  When he hears the Thracian’s name, Marcus crawls closer and doesn’t want to lose a word of what she’s saying.

Ali has nearly reached the top, followed by Gutta. It wouldn’t take much to get there first and keep the zombie from quenching the sacred fire.  But suddenly Ali looks out towards the dock.  He sees the Princess’s beautiful ship, its golden friezes and silk masts...

“Do you see it? She’s the queen of the world... and Marcus will be the king”.  Gutta pronounces those words, but they were suggested to him by...  Canidia, in the Anubis cave, who continues...  “If you win this race, Marcus will become Emperor...  and you will be nothing”.  And upon hearing those words whispered by Gutta, Ali stops in his tracks.  “He will be embracing his mother once again, while you...”  The image of Marcus hugging Domitia goes through Ali’s mind.  The vagabond from Antioch feels envy growing inside and he stops dead in his tracks.  Whereas Gutta has reached the top.

“Princess...  you are so young...”  The handmaids are all standing around Domitia.  “You will start your life afresh when you get married”.  Marcus listens and he is more and more disheartened.  “The Thracian prince is such a handsome and strong man...”  Domitia shyly nods her head and so the handmaid goes on:  “You will have other children...”  Upon hearing those words, Marcus’s heart freezes over.

“I hate you...”, whispers the young prince to himself as he quickly gets off Domitia’s ship and begins to row his boat towards the dock.  “I never want to see you again...”

Taking advantage of Ali’s distraction, Gutta has arrived at the base of the torch where the fire of Good is burning.  There’s only a few meters to go before he will quench the flame.

Heliodorus looks at Ali, who seems frozen to the spot; he gets on his knees and begs him.

“Please...  be strong...  be strong...”, prays the high priest.

But Gutta’s voice reaches the young boy’s ears with greater intensity:

“He shall be Emperor...  you shall be nothing”.

EPISODE 21 – THE EARTHQUAKE  

“Nothing...  once you arrive in Rome, you shall be nothing...”  Gutta’s words echo out in the ears of Ali who, frozen to the spot just a few feet from the top of the Colossus, watches as the others climb past him.  Lothar has passed him by and is about to reach the top...
 
“Go on!  Do not stop!”, cry his companions from below.  If he doesn’t resume his climb, Gutta will surely manage to turn out the flame and the benevolence of Mithras will abandon the world.  “Go on, Ali...  Go on!”, shouts Mirina...  “Stop...  stop!”, shouts Canidia…

“Now enough of this!” It’s Cynric who stops when he reaches Ali, instead of continuing.  He realizes that something strange is going on.  Ali is staring out into emptiness, as if in a trance.  So Cynric shakes him by the shoulder, but the boy doesn’t react.  So he opens up his hand and gives him a violent slap in the face.  “They are all counting on you!  Go on!”

Ali pulls himself out of it, as if awakening from a nightmare.  With his heart freed from envy, he thanks Cynric for having helped him even though his victory was at stake.  He overcomes Lothar and reaches the top of the Colossus in the matter of a moment.  Just as Gutta is about to turn out the fire.

“You will not do it!”, Ali shouts at the zombie as he jumps upon him from behind.  A furious battle between the two of them ensues.  Gutta is immensely stronger, but Ali is more agile.  He manages to duck his opponent’s punches and jumps from one side to the other as he frees himself from Gutta’s mortal grips.  He chases Ali, as the public witnesses the fight taking place thirty-five meters above and holds its breath.  Just one bad move and they will fall down below.
 
“This is the end!”, shouts the zombie as he grabs Ali and tries to strangle him.

But in that precise moment the eyes of the god are illuminated by a wonderful white light.  The light grows stronger and stronger and...  all of a sudden the statue begins to move:  it’s an earthquake!

The crowd gathered beneath the Colossus screams and disperses as the statue sways frightfully.

Enormous waves loom in the port and the rough sea tosses Domitia’s ship about like an empty shell.  Then it tips over.

Marcus loses control of his little boat and falls into the water.  He isn’t a good swimmer and so the waves drag him down deeper and deeper.  “Help!”, cries the young boy in despair.
 
His cries reach Domitia, who has also fallen overboard.

“Marcus!”

The Princess recognizes her son’s voice.
 
“Marcus, where are you?”, she screams in despair.  She tries to swim from one side to the other, but she just cannot make out where that beloved voice is coming from amidst all that chaos.

The voice grows weaker and weaker and then it finally disappears since Marcus relentlessly sinks below the swell...   

The Colossus is creaking frightfully and Gutta is forced to let go of Ali.  The young boy begins to breathe once again.  A kind of muffled roar rises from the foundation as it crumbles.  Ali manages to dive away just a moment before the statue crumbles into the port.

It’s utter chaos.

Rocks rain down all over, tall waves rise skywards while the perpetual flame of the crown turns into a fire that burns the remaining boats.

But Ali does not worry about saving his own life.  He sees Marcus being dragged down by the waves and tries to swim towards him.  To do so he asks his friends the dolphins to help him...  But they have to hurry, otherwise the little prince will disappear forever beneath the waves...

Their fatal destiny seems to oppose mother and son even in the face of death.  Domitia is hanging onto a remnant of the ship, but the perpetual fire is spreading around her.  She risks being burnt alive.

The situation seems to be hopeless when Drudo emerges from the waves, holding Domitia around the waist.  They have to dive down in order to avoid the circle of fire that envelops them.  But Domitia can’t do it, she can’t breathe underwater, she wants to surface again, but the fire is all over the place.  So Drudo places his lips over the Princess’s and, in a long and passionate kiss, he passes some of his own air to her.

They certainly haven’t noticed that Marcus catches sight of them just a short distance away, as he sinks down towards the bottom...

When they hit the surface, the fire is in the distance.  A boat is waiting for the Princess and her bodyguards help her on board.

Domitia watches as Drudo swims towards the shore.  The memory of that underwater kiss has been engraved in her heart for all eternity.

Ali dives down into the dark waters of the port, riding on the dolphin’s back.  Marcus is sinking deeper and deeper.  The dolphin splashes its dorsal fin and reaches the young prince.  Ali takes him by the hands, makes him hang onto the animal and they swim back to the surface.

The earthquake is over.  The water is full of floating wreckage, but it’s otherwise calm.  

And so this contest has come to its end, as well.  With a port devastated by the earthquake as the setting, the judges decree that the Whites and the Blacks shall be going to Rome; therefore the contenders for the Princess’s hand in marriage are Catilius and Drudo.

The Thracian looks at the Princess:  now he has an extra reason to win in Rome.  He knows that  Domitia loves him.

But he doesn’t notice the way Marcus is now staring at him.  His past affection now seems to be substituted by something darker and more wary...

On the eve of their departure, Marcus thanks Ali for having saved his life.  But the vagabond from Antioch wants to be sincere.  He confesses the envy he had felt, an envy so strong as to nearly erase all their efforts.  They hug each other for the first time.  Whatever happens, they will never leave each other again.

Drudo gives Cynric, the Briton prince, a hearty handshake:  he did something truly noble today – he gave up his victory in order to help Ali.  “I did not do it for you.  I did it for Domitia”, replies Cynric gravely.  “Promise to make her happy”.  Domitia loves him, so he must beat Catilius and marry her, continues the Prince.  Drudo nods his head and shakes the Prince’s hand once again.  But then he can hold back no longer and hugs him:  he won’t let him down.

“I kept my word:  I did my best to help your team win during the whole Tournament.”  Lothar joins Catilius on his ship.  The Praetorian leader is ready to set sail.  He and Drudo are the only contenders for Domitia’s hand in marriage.  “But you have to keep your word, as well:  grant citizenship to my people”.

But all Catilius does is laugh.  It doesn’t even cross his mind!  How on earth could Lothar believe that he would have granted citizenship of the Empire to those barbarian nomads?

Lothar is furious.  He cannot do anything about it now, but vengeance is all the more terrible when it takes time to carry it out. 

Ali simply cannot understand:  the fire of Good was quenched during the earthquake.  Why hasn’t the world fallen into the throes of Evil!  Ninurta looks at him and smiles.  Who says it has been put out?
 
Simply because we don’t see something doesn’t mean it no longer exists.

Perhaps Ali isn’t aware that he has overcome the seven deadly sins that afflict the hearts of every man:  Greed in the Statue of Zeus, Pride in the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Lust in the Halicarnassus Mausoleum, Wrath in the Temple of Artemis, Sloth in the Gardens of Babylon, Gluttony in the Pyramid of Giza and finally Envy in Rhodes.  Ali is troubled, but Ninurta looks him straight in the eye and reassures him.

He doesn’t have to go very far to find the fire of Good, he says as he places his hand on the boy’s chest.  It’s burning right there, in his heart.  Now Ali is truly ready to leave for Rome.

EPISODE 22 - THE STORM

Viewing the procession of ships that are sailing from Rhodes to Rome is a sight for sore eyes.   Domitia’s galley is in the lead, closely followed by the black sails belong to Catilius’s ship.  Then comes the ship carrying the judges led by Antoninus.  Akisar is thrilled as he zigzags his little sailboat between the waves, competing with a school of dolphins in a race of speed and dexterity.  There’s an exhilarated and serene atmosphere.

Among all of them, the one who paradoxically seems less happy to return to Rome is Marcus himself.  He gives Drudo the cold shoulder and watches his every move with suspicion.

The pirate is sailing the ship with our team on board in a masterly manner.  It continues to skid between the waves and overcomes the ship belonging to Catilius.

But, as it follows the dolphins, it sails too far away from the established route and then disappears from Domitia’s sight...

Canidia watches the scene in fury from her spring of Evil.  Everything she has done to stop the Chosen has been in vain.

All of a sudden, the eyes of the statue with the jackal’s head light up and become fiery red.   

“You have failed once again!”

Canidia lifts her head towards the statue in terror.  The God Anubis has spoken.  The priestess gets down on her knees before him.  He is perfectly right, things haven’t gone as planned until now, but there’s still time and...

“Enough!”

The statue thunders.  This is her last chance:  he will strengthen the powers he has granted her with.  He will give her powers that no other human being has ever experienced.  But the priestess knows what this means.

Should Canidia fail once again...  she would be subjected to terrible punishment.  She would lose everything:  her powers, her position.  Her life.  Canidia bows her head:  she will no longer fail.  This time she won’t fail.

“So be it”, sentences the statue as everything around plummets into a vortex of flames.  The god’s eyes turn into blazing coals, a red flash escapes from the irises of Anubis and strikes the kneeling woman.  Canidia lets out a scream as she ricochets the flash from her body onto the spring...  and a terrible bolt of lightning obscures the sky over the ship belonging to our heroes.  All of a sudden a furious storm bursts out.  The ship is tossed from one very high wave to the next, dragged along by unnatural winds...  Marcus, Mirina and Dora are tied to the masts in order to keep them from falling into the waves.  Akisar tries to steer the ship, but he has never seen anything of the kind in all his years of experience as a pirate.  Keeping to the course is an impossible feat, their only hope is trying to survive the storm unscathed.

“Perhaps they need us...”, guesses Domitia, as she stares into the horizon that is without our team’s vessel.  Maybe they should stop and see whether something has happened to the Whites...  But Antoninus shakes his head:  unfortunately the Tournament rules are very strict.  Should the Whites not reach Rome within the day set for the competition, they will be disqualified and Catilius will be pronounced the winner.

It’s dawn when Ali opens his eyes.  The waves have pushed him up onto a beach.  But all around him, suspended in an unnatural blanket of fog, there are the remains of other boats that have been shipwrecked on that beach, which the sea has transformed into gloomy skeletons.

Ali gets up and calls out to the others.  He sighs in relief every time a voice answers his call.  Luckily they’re all alive.  The storm has now subsided, but no one has the faintest idea of where they have been dragged by the waves.  Akisar looks out to sea, tests the wind and carefully observes the procession of flotsam and jetsam.

What lies before them isn’t the Mediterranean:  it’s the edge of the world!  He’s heard about it many times, but believed it to be a story made up by drunken sailors.  Instead here they are, facing that infinite stretch of water.  Had they taken another step, they would have fallen into emptiness...

“Actually, it is not so..”, Marcus interrupts him pedantically.  To tell the truth, that isn’t the edge of the world...  since the world, being round, has no edges at all!  Akisar looks at him with presumptuousness; Tosca feels his forehead since she thinks the storm has given him a fever.

Ninurta looks out at that unnatural fog and for the first time a worried look crosses his expression.

“His worry will soon disappear”, sneers Canidia as she watches Ninurta from her sacred spring, “along with every other emotion of living men:  fear, joy, pain... and especially the will to reach Rome!”

She glides her hand along the sacred spring with satisfaction.

“May the fog of death descend upon your hearts and obscure the light of the Sun forever”.

Her new powers will take all passions away from our heroes, leaving them helpless on that beach on the edge of the world.

“Everyone, except for the two young boys...  their hearts must stay alive.  For Anubis”.

In the meanwhile, the other ships participating in the Tournament have reached Rome.  A cheering crowd is waiting for the arrival of the warriors.  Catilius is overjoyed by his new power and raises his hands towards the people as if he were already the Emperor.  Ranks soon form around him:  those of the Praetorians, of violent and dishonest men.  Caius is amongst them, ready to offer his services.  There are some swindlers who have just become rich thanks to the void in the city’s government.  Domitia watches that new fat, vulgar and violent aristocracy with disgust.  She quickly walks away since she wants to hurry towards the palace and her father.

But the Palatine Hill is deserted.  She frantically searches for scraps of information from the few servants who have stayed behind as custodians.  They tell her that Hadrian’s conditions grew more severe during her absence and that Canidia has him taken to Tivoli, escorted only by her most trustworthy servants.  The Princess rushes off with a foreboding feeling that clutches at her heart...

Catilius and his team take up residence in the ludus Magnus, one of the most beautiful buildings built around the Coliseum for hosting and training the gladiators.  They are domineering and act as if they were the owners of Rome. The head of the Praetorians finds Canidia awaiting him.  Catilius is self-assured:  there is no longer anything to worry about.  The warriors of Good are very, very far away.  There are only six days and six nights to go to the great competition, at the expiry of which Domitia will be forced to marry him.  Canidia listens to him with a sneer on her face that may seem one of satisfaction.  But, on the contrary, it is a sneer of contempt...

“That fool has not understood a thing...”, the priestess later confides to Gutta.  “He thinks he has the Empire in his hands”.  He has no idea of how grand their plans are.  Catilius hasn’t the faintest idea of how, as they speak, the destiny of Evil is taking one giant step forward.  The foolish Praetorian is still talking about an Empire and about succession to the throne!  He has no idea that the Empire, as he knows it, will no longer exist in a few days’ time.  Eternal darkness will descend upon Rome and Anubis will rule over the world...

Catilius thinks he’s indispensable and, smiles Canidia wickedly, he truly is in a way that differs from what he imagines. 

He must marry Domitia, so that the circle of Evil will be complete.  Evil will then have completed its path...

Constant fog covers the land and the sea.  Akisar tries to chart the sky that appears and disappears behind heavy clouds, but then a strange kind of apathy takes hold of his heart.  He is now resting in a corner of the beach, staring out into the sea.  Even all the others seem to have fallen into an unnatural “emotional state of apathy”:  they speak very little, don’t laugh or cry, no one speaks of their journey and of the haste to reach Rome.

Ninurta is most impressive.  His usually proud and curious features are now closed in an expression of abandon and boredom.  He is all alone and not even Ali is capable of rousing him.

Right, because the cruel spell that has been cast over the hearts of our heroes has not befallen upon him or Marcus.  The two young boys initially try to rouse the others and wonder about the reason for their annihilation.  Then, when they realize it’s all in vain, they change their strategy.  They wander along the beach, hoping to find someone who can help them go back home.

During one of these reconnaissance outings they come upon the entrance to an enormous cave.  A freezing wind comes from within the cave’s gloominess and, as they listen carefully, it seems that the air is filled with human moaning.

Marcus and Ali watch in consternation.  Then a voice from behind makes them jump up with a start: 

“How did you get here?”

It’s a beautiful girl, who is watching them with eyes that are as transparent as water.  But despite the sweetness of her voice and the elegance of her gestures, there’s something in that girl that rouses Mami’s caution.  Whereas Ali and Marcus are enthralled by her.  They tell her about their misadventure, the terrible storm that has stranded them there, the state of apathy their companions are in and the impossibility of leaving.  Perhaps she might help them:  in which corner of the earth do they stand and how can they get back home?

They are in the land of the Cimmerians, replies the girl, close to the columns of Hercules.  What they can see beyond is the doorway to Hades, the kingdom of the dead.

Their expressions turn into masks of terror.  But the girl comforts them.  They mustn’t be afraid.  The dead are not evil.  Everyone has dead loved-ones whom they wish to see once again, don’t they? Ali and Marcus bow their heads:  of course, of course they do...

Then they must wait for nightfall and offer some food and wine in sacrifice.  Then they must pray the gods to allow them to enter into the kingdom of shadows.

Upon saying this the girl disappears, just as she had appeared, into the fog.

“I will go”, is all that Ali says.  Marcus looks at him:  he is acquainted with that expression.  Once his mind is set, nothing can change it.

Hidden in the fog, the girl listens to their words and a well-known sneer twists her face.

Domitia has arrived in Tivoli.  The sitting-rooms are locked and the drapes have been drawn.  The Princess wanders around the place that reeks of death in search of her father.  Her heart is gripped more and more by anxiety.  Canidia did not bring any friendly faces from the palace; there is not one servant whom Domitia is acquainted with.  She looks all over the royal apartments, then in the sitting-rooms, all over the place.  Nothing and no one who helps her out.

She finally finds him pale and tired.  Canidia had him confined to the room that stands in the middle of the artificial lake called Canapo.

“Father!”, Domitia exclaims as she tries to hold back the tears.  But Hadrian doesn’t even have the strength to reply.  The Princess is about to embrace him when someone’s voice stops her.  It’s Canidia.   

“The Emperor is very, very ill”, she says with a voice that sends shivers down Domitia’s spine, “and he must not strain himself”.  That is the reason for her removing him from court.  Domitia can stay at his side, but only for a few minutes a day.  The Emperor’s heart couldn’t stand more than that.  To make matters worse, Catilius arrives as well.  He triumphantly announces that they have no news of the White team.  Domitia feels she is being suffocated inside a vice-like trap.

In the middle of the night, the Princess dons her long cloak and is about to leave the palace.  She wants to go to the cave of Anubis.  She knows that if there is a way to stop Canidia, that is by discovering what she does inside the cave.  But when she tries to leave the Royal Palace of Tivoli, she is stopped by one of Catilius’s Praetorians.  He’s sorry, but no one can leave the palace at night.  Canidia, who has furtively arrived behind them, hisses:  “I gave the order...  we must all stand side-by-side in these difficult times”.  Domitia does not reply, everything seems utterly hopeless...

A dark and starless night has befallen upon the land of the Cimmerians.  Everyone is asleep.

Everyone, except for Marcus and Ali.  The time has come for them to enter into the kingdom of the dead.

They want to meet their fathers.  But Marcus entreats Ali that they mustn’t be distracted once they go inside.  There are many legends regarding the kingdom of Hades and they are all terrible.

They say that the lost souls crowd around the living who manage to go inside.  They say that terrible demons act as custodians of their secrets.  One mustn’t ask too many questions:  the dead cannot speak about the past, nor reveal anything about the future otherwise the demons will get their revenge.  And it’s very important to leave before the sun rises, otherwise their souls will be trapped inside for all eternity.

Ali listens to Marcus as he speaks and nods his head.  But he already has his heart set on meeting his father...  Alone in that eternal and starless night, the two young boys disappear into the cave.

But Mami, who doesn’t lose sight of them, senses danger.  She hurls herself upon Drudo in fury.  She wakes him up and drags him into the direction of the entrance to Hades.  Drudo doesn’t understand, but Mami gives him no alternatives:  he has to go inside along with her.  The Thracian just manages to see the silhouettes of the two boys as they disappear into the darkness of that frightful cave.   

Canidia, from the spring of Anubis, watches the scene with joy.  Her new powers have opened the way to infinite possibilities.  But it’s important to know how to use them.  The Chosen is making his way inside the kingdom of the dead where Anubis is the only lord and master...  Inside, Ali’s head and his heart will be in his power.  In so saying, she raises her arms towards the statue of the god with the jackal head, invokes his help and... disappears. 

EPISODE 23 – THE KINGDOM OF THE DEAD

Gloomy darkness full of moans and sobs envelops Hades.  Ali and Marcus advance tentatively:  although they are brave, their hearts cringe at that immense obscurity.

They look around in search of their fathers.  Then a shadow approaches them:  “The souls you are searching for are not here... they are down there, beyond the river, in the land of those who have lost their lives by the hand of others...”

The shadow, which is a hooded man wearing a long tattered tunic that covers his body, offers to accompany them since the place is very dangerous...  Ali and Marcus accepts his proposal.

They climb onto the boat of the mysterious ferryman.

They are now far away, in the middle of the muddy river, and cannot hear that friendly voice that calls out to them:  “Ali… Marcus!”, cries Drudo. With his heart still covered by a blanket of apathy, he doesn’t really know what he’s doing here, but his instinct tells him that he has to find the two young boys.  

No one answers.  All he hears is the echo of his own voice and something that whispers as it approaches...  Voices, moans...

“Who had the misfortune of coming inside here?”

A powerful shadow approaches Drudo.  The Thracian stops in his footsteps in fear.  But then he musters up all his courage.  He tells his story, or at least what he manages to remember:  the trip, the storm...  The shadow listens carefully.

Domitia does not take her eyes away from the window.  The Royal Palace of Tivoli grows gloomier every day.  It seems to her that there is someone in every corner and behind every door, ready to spy on her.  She has only one friend left in Rome and he’s the one she’s waiting for:  Antoninus.

She finally sees him coming.

“We must do something”, she says as she approaches him.  “My father is dying and it is Canidia’s fault!”  Antoninus places a finger on his lips:  softly, speak softly...

In his absence the situation of the State has collapsed.  Domitia jumps up when she learns that Hadrian, before falling into that state of absolute torpor, delegated all his political decisions to Canidia.  The Senators have been deprived of all their powers.  Those who opposed this decision have been imprisoned or have disappeared.  

There is no way to reinstate order, if not by unleashing a civil war that they certainly cannot afford and that they have always been trying to avoid.  Their only hope is that the warriors of Good reach Rome in time for the final contest.  And that they win.

“Here we are”.  The mysterious ferryman stops the boat on the opposite shore of the black and muddy river.  Ali and Marcus hop off the boat and their feet sink into the mud.  “The ground here is always wet...”, explains their guide.  “It’s the tears of the forever restless souls”. 

The boys huddle close to Mami in fear.  The land of those who died a violent death is the gloomiest place in Hades since the restless souls wander in search of justice.  Some darker shadows slowly emerge from the thick fog, along with the sound of moans.

Marcus is frightened and wants to go back.  Then a voice scares him:
 
“Marcus…”

The boy stops as a shadow makes its way towards him, among the rest.  “I am your father...”

Marcus has never seen his father, but something inside his heart tells him that that being with the faded silhouette and the pale face is telling the truth.

“Father...”, whispers the little prince as a tear falls down his cheek.

They hug each other.  Marcus would like to ask him many things, but his father precedes him.  As Marcus is aware, he cannot speak to him about the past and cannot predict the future.  The only thing he is allowed to do is show his son the road to happiness.  Many things can be seen from the kingdom of the dead.  The living, their actions, their choices.  Sometimes it’s nice, whereas others it’s a kind of punishment since the souls are forced to witness the mistakes of their loved-ones without being able to intervene.  His father knows that Marcus is angry with Domitia and that he is jealous of Drudo.

He’s wrong...  Domitia has suffered a great deal.  Marcus cannot remember because he was just a little boy, but after his death she spent her entire nights crying in despair.  She finally has the chance to be happy once again.  And she deserves it.  Marcus bows his head, deeply impressed.

Ali looks around:  he doesn’t even know his father’s name.  How can he find him?  Then a hand brushes against his shoulder...
 
“Ali…”

The word comes from a man in his thirties with blue eyes and a proud expression.  Ali doesn’t know him, but he has a strange feeling...

“How do you know my name?”

The man smiles at him:  he knows many things about Ali.  He knows that he was born in Antioch and that he lived in a very beautiful house at the outskirts of the desert.

His mother is a woman of indescribable beauty, with a noble and courageous heart.  She and his father had fallen madly in love.  They were happy and wanted everyone to be happy in the same way, they wanted the world to be a better place in which to live.  But then something horrible happened.  Some black men entered into their home...  The woman was captured and the child was abandoned inside a cave, hoping that at least his life would be spared.

“And I...  I died.”

Ali looks at him:  so that man is his father!

“Who was it?  Who killed you??”, shouts Ali furiously.

“It was…”

But at the sound of those words, at the beginning of that reply, a deafening roar rises from the bottom of the cave and thousands of dark shadows crowd around our heroes.  They are the demons, the terrible demons who keep the secrets of the dead. 

“I told you not to ask any questions!”, shouts Marcus.

But it’s too late.  The shadows envelop our heroes.  Their shrill cries fill the air and make hearts tremble...

They throng upon Ali and Marcus and restrain them...

“We were innocent, my son...”, cries Ali’s father as he goes away.  “Remember that we were innocent!”

And he disappears into the dark sea of the other shadows.

“And then we reached this place... but I cannot remember why we left and where we were going...”

Drudo has finished his story on the other side of the river.  The shadow is listening to him and its faintly flickering profile seems so much like what humans would define as “crying”.

The shadow had embarked on a journey, as well, a long time ago.  A very long journey in which it wandered all around the Mediterranean, discovering monsters and wonderful creatures, beautiful sorceresses and cruel women.  It spent ten years away from home.

The shadow is acquainted with Drudo’s emotions, that strange spell that makes you travel all the time and keeps you at a distance from others.  But he has to react, along with his companions.  He has to search into the depths of his heart, despite the magic of that terrible land, there still must be some little flicker of passion.  The shadow heard him calling out two names:  who are they?  Why is it so important for him to find them?  Drudo is surprised and tries to remember...

Ali… Marcus… Ali… Marcus… Those letters in a row seem to slowly warm his heart over.

Ali… Marcus…Rome!

Suddenly the fog that had dampened his senses seems to disappear and everything is clear once more in his heart:  they have to reach Rome!  The shadow’s faint flickering now seems like a smile.  Good, he’s made it.  It takes a lot to remain faithful to one’s dreams.  But he must leave now, the sun is about to rise and if Drudo and his friends don’t leave the kingdom of Hades in time, they will be trapped inside forever.  

The shadow is about to leave, but Drudo stops it.

The shadow has saved their lives:  he must at least know its name...

“Ulysses...  my name is Ulysses”.  Then he disappears.

“Father... father!”, shouts Ali as he tries to make his way between the tormented souls.  He and Marcus would like to talk to their loved-ones some more, discover the whole truth about their deaths.  But the shadows of the demons stop them and take their breath away...

“Ali! Marcus!”

Drudo shouts at the top of his lungs, but no one answers.  He reaches the river...

“Help!”

The boys are screaming and the whole situation seems hopeless.  The sun is about to rise behind the rocks...

“Go away, cruel demons.  Leave the two boys alone!”

It’s the ferryman, who has opened up a path as he brandishes his oar and manages to free Ali and Marcus.  He makes them get on board and ferries them to the other side, where Drudo is waiting. 

“You have saved our lives”, says Ali to the ferryman before getting off the rowboat.  “Thank you...”

“Wait”, says the ferryman as he takes Ali to the side.  “Your father did not have the chance to finish his story.  Your mother’s name is Niobe...  she is still alive, but is being kept prisoner by the man who had your father murdered”.

“Who? Who was it?”, asks Ali anxiously.

The ferryman stares into his eyes and then says:

“Hadrian.  The Emperor Hadrian had your father killed”.  Then he disappears.

The sun is now behind the rocks and Ali runs towards Drudo and Marcus.

But the young boy is no longer the same.  Now he knows.  And the only fire that burns in his heart is rage and a desire for revenge.

Without hesitating further, Drudo prepares the boat.  They have to leave that enchanted place immediately.  He loads the others on board; Ali and Marcus help him with hoisting the sails.   

As the Land of Fog disappears into the distance and the sun finally shines in the sky and the hearts of our heroes, they begin to arouse from their torpor one by one.

As if recovering from a nightmare, they gain back their passions.

“What happened?”, they wonder disconcertedly.  Ninurta, the first one to come to his senses, replies:  “We lost the most important thing we have:  the will for justice”.

But they are safe, thanks to Drudo.  The Thracian bows his head:  it’s no merit of his.  There was a strong and brave ferryman who showed him the way back to life...

As he stares at the ship belonging to the Whites as it quickly sails along the waves, the mysterious ferryman lowers his hood and unveils a twisted smile:  it’s Canidia!

Go on, go on, sneers the priestess of Evil.  Reach Rome as fast as you can.  The shadow of Evil has made its way inside the heart of the Chosen and Evil will complete its course thanks to him...

EPISODE 24 – ROME

To the eyes of our heroes who sail back into Rome on the Tiber River, the city seems to contain the whole world, seems to host everything and the opposite of everything.

The hills that succeed one another along the river bends host the upper-class quarters, the luxurious villas belonging to senators and knights, the palaces belonging to the Emperors.

Marcus is seated at the stern, just like a real sailor.  The pale boy who disembarked in Antioch is now a healthy and robust young man.  The months spent at sea have given him a tanned face, twitching muscles and plenty of energy.  He points to the seven hills one by one...

But his heart sinks when they pass in front of Palatine Hill and he sees the court locked and abandoned.  He realizes that the city seems gloomier and asleep.

Marcus asks Akisar to stop for a moment.  He asks some information from a boy who is on a ship anchored in the river.  Many things have changed over the past few months, he replies without suspecting who he’s speaking to.  The Emperor is now living far away from the city, in Tivoli.  Marcus asks about his health and the young man shakes his head:  only a miracle could save him.  He lies unconscious and cannot even recognize his own daughter.  Hadrian has never recovered since the day his favorite grandson Marcus disappeared... 

Marcus sheds bitter tears.  Ninurta tries to console him:  the time has not come to reveal himself.  The army of Evil is in the lead and should the Whites make a false move, they risk losing the battle.  They must first win the Tournament and then the people will crown him Emperor.  Then, and only then, can he run to his grandfather...  and perhaps the miracle will occur.

Our heroes land in the small hidden port on the Tiberina island.

“Just in time!”, Antoninus is overjoyed after they confirm their registration.  “Just a few more hours and Catilius would have been proclaimed the winner”.

The crowds cheer them in welcome and treat them as heroes.  The warriors of Good weren’t expecting such popularity.  More or less, they are all swelling with pride and vanity...

All except for Ali, who stands in a corner with a sullen and hostile expression.

The news reaches Tivoli that the Whites have finally reached Rome.  But Canidia doesn’t seem at all surprised.  And she doesn’t even seem to be angry.  Domitia is overjoyed:  so there is some hope left...

But when Catilius sees them arrive, he has an outflow of bile.  They will not be staying in the ludus since they choose to remain on board their ship.  But if they think that they’re safe, they’re in for a surprise.  The head of the Praetorians orders his men to supervise the ship, whoever leaves it will be followed in order to keep them from making plans or looking for allies that might compromise the victory of the Blacks.  Gutta will be participating, as well:  he won’t lose sight of them.  Should they have a secret or try one of their surprise moves, he’ll discover it.

It’s sunset and our team is watching in awe as the sun sets over the Eternal City.

It’s as if Marcus is seeing his city for the first time.  Before this adventure began, he was so spoiled and haughty that he never noticed the beauty and the splendor that surrounded him.  He never bothered with the difficult living conditions of his subjects, of the poverty and injustice to which they were subjected to.  Now, as the sun tinges the roofs, the terraces and the houses in pink, he promises himself and his friends that should he one day govern that immense and beautiful city, he will keep his eyes wide open and try to understand everything, listen to everyone in order to be fair and just.

While the others nod their heads, only Ali remains in silence.  Perhaps he hasn’t listened to Marcus’s words.  Or perhaps he simply no longer believes in words...

With nightfall, the curfew sanctioned by Canidia descends upon Rome.

Ninurta exhorts our heroes:  he has something very important to take care of.  But during his absence no one, for absolutely no reason, must leave the ship.  Rome is full of traps and the only way they can hope to reach the final trial safe and sound is by staying together. 

In so saying he leaves the ship.  One of Catilius’s Praetorians is about to follow him but all of a sudden, since the old man thinks he is far away from prying eyes, a bright halo of light surrounds him.  Then darkness returns.  

The Praetorian is shocked when he realizes that the old man has disappeared. 

In the meanwhile, on the ship, the brave warriors cannot hold out any longer.

Rome is too beautiful, its streets and palaces are too enchanting.

One after the other, without saying a word, our heroes slip out of the ship and disappear into the night full of promises.

Pilade runs to the Theater of Marcellus, where a dear friend of his has a theater company and promised to give him an audition.

Milone and Cabria rush towards Circus Maximus, where the best acrobats in the Empire are practicing.

Drudo dispatches a dove off to Domitia in order to meet.  After their kiss in Rhodes, he wishes to ask for her hand in marriage.  He wants to be sure that the Princess wants to marry him because she’s in love with him and not because he will win the Tournament.

The only one who isn’t in a rush to leave is Dora.  Mirina is surprised:  she’s finally returned to Rome and all she wants to do is stay at home.  Dora shrugs her shoulders.  After all, although she wears lots of gold and beautiful gowns, she was and still is a slave for Rome.  All the time she spent traveling made her enjoy the sense of freedom and now...  Mirina takes her by the arm:  she can be free now if she truly wants to.  Freedom is a choice, not a condition.  They’ll be walking around Rome tonight and nobody should try to stop them...

None of the Whites realizes that behind them, just a few feet away, a dark shadow is following as it awaits to discover their secrets.

Ali isn’t taking part in any of their plans.  In any case, he was sullen all during the trip.  He does his best to avoid Marcus’s company.  He has to go to the Palace, find his mother and revenge his father – that’s all he’s interested in.  Marcus wants to help him, but now that they’ve reached Rome the vagabond from Antioch looks at him as if he were his enemy.  Isn’t he perhaps the grandson of Hadrian?
This is what Ali is thinking as, escorted by Mami, he stealthily leaves the ship.  Gutta, who is spying on our heroes’ comings and goings, is about to follow.  But Canidia stops him with satisfaction.  She’ll take care of it.  The young boy must be free to move about and fulfill his Destiny...

“Perfect”.

Domitia looks at herself in the mirror:  the slave outfit fits her perfectly.  Just as the Princess gown seems to have been made-to-measure for her humble slave.  Along with their clothes, they’ve also exchanged their positions.  The slave will be sleeping in Domitia’s bed, in order to allow the Princess to leave the palace unnoticed.

Just a moment after Domitia leaves her room, the white dove lands on her window with Drudo’s message...  Too late.

Antoninus is sitting alone in the deserted Senate.  He anxiously looks around and seems to be very tired.  Once this was the safest and most sacred place in Rome. Whereas all it is now is an empty hallroom, as decadent as the rest of the city.  He finally hears some approaching footsteps and a light.  It’s Heliodorus.

“Thank you for having waited for me”, says the high priest of the Sun.

Antoninus is astonished.  He never would have dreamed seeing him again.  The last time they met was twelve years ago in the Pantheon.  Unfortunately, everything that Heliodorus predicted then came true.  Had they only listened to him, they would not be in the present situation...  But the high priest stops him:  all is not forsaken.

So he tells him about the team of Good, about the Chosen, the trials that Ninurta had him win in order to come face-to-face with his destiny.

And about Marcus, who is alive.  Antoninus is incredulous and deeply moved.  But Heliodorus puts a damper on his joy:  the challenge has yet to be won.  They must hope that Ali’s heart is truly pure, because Marcus’s future depends on him, along with the future of Rome and of the world itself.

Marcus is resting in the meanwhile, unawares of all the plots and fights that are going on over him.  He and Akisar are the only ones left on the ship.  The pirate is nervous.  He waits for Marcus to fall asleep and delicately slips the imperial ring from around his neck.  Marcus opens his eyes for a moment, but he sees his friend’s face and goes back to sleep, peacefully.  Akisar sighs, checks that the young prince is sleeping deeply and then slips away from the ship.

He doesn’t notice that Gutta has caught sight of him and is following him in the warm Roman night.

Ali is walking around the city streets, with a determined pace.  The roads grow narrower and narrower as the palaces taper off into the countryside.  He’s leaving Rome.

He’s been told that the Emperor is ill in Tivoli and Marcus wants to reach him.

But once he reaches the palace, he is aware of how naive he’s been.  There’s a guard in every corner, at every door, at every window.  It is impossible for any human to enter.

His heart skips a beat when a voice calls out to him from the darkness.

He turns around.  A little old lady is watching him with a smile on her face.

“How do you know my name?”, Ali asks her in surprise.

The old lady points to the medallion Ali is wearing around his neck.  She has recognized her family’s emblem.  Ali certainly can’t remember her.  She was his father Fabio’s wet-nurse.  She has been waiting so long for somebody to revenge him. And finally Ali has come.

She knows how to get inside the Palace without being noticed.  She knows all the ins and outs.  Many years ago, in fact, Fabio used to spend all his summers in Tivoli...  But Ali doesn’t know anything about this either.  But she can lead him to a secret entrance if he wants her to...

Ali is uncertain:  why did Mami arch her back and grind her teeth in a sneer as soon as she saw him?  Why does that voice, that seemingly benevolent smile, make shivers go up and down his spine?

But his desire for revenge is greater than anything else, even greater than legitimate suspicion...

Akisar reaches a tavern of ill-repute from which comes the screeching voices of drunkards and the thick smoke of food.  His pirate “friends” are waiting for him there.  Good, they congratulate him as he goes inside, you’ve kept your promise.  In any case, if he hadn’t, they would have found him and wouldn’t have had any pity on him or on his new friends.  Akisar replies curtly:  he hasn’t brought the ring and he hasn’t brought the young boy.  They can threaten him, report him, but he won’t let them harm the young prince.  Upon hearing those words, his ex-companions give him astounded looks:  all right, if that’s what he wants, they’ll kill him and then go to the wharf and get Marcus.  In saying so they all crowd around Akisar.  It’s an unfair fight – ten men against one.

But a shadow emerges from the darkness.  It’s Gutta. With only a few blows he sends the pirates hurling to the ground in exhaustion.  Akisar, in bad shape but still alive, looks at him in surprise:  why did he save his life?  But Gutta breaks out into cruel laughter.  He certainly didn’t do it for his sake.  Congratulations, sneers the zombie, they managed to hide Marcus for all that time.  And right under their very eyes!

It’s all for the best and Gutta can now go and get him on the ship.  Those fools belonging to the White team should have reconsidered before trusting somebody like Akisar!  A pirate is always a pirate; he can’t help but be a traitor.

“I have not betrayed anyone!”, shouts Akisar and he lunges against Gutta.  But it’s useless.  The zombie punches him in the face and the pirate ends up on the ground, senseless...

Drudo nervously paces back and forth.  He looks left and right.  No one.  There is no sign of Domitia...  because the Princess, after having crossed the deserted city under curfew, has finally reached the Anubis cave.  There’s no one, no one has followed her.  She places her hand on a small rock, just as she had seen Canidia doing.  The boulder hiding the cave slides open as if by magic.  Domitia goes inside... 

“Follow the path...  The Emperor’s rooms are at the far end of the underground...  But be careful, a thousand traps have been prepared by that treacherous man who speaks of justice but is only capable of evil...  They are needed to protect the Emperor and no one has managed to pass them until now.”

The old woman has accompanied Ali in front of the entrance to a cave.  Ali looks at the darkness inside, just barely illuminated by the feeble light of a torch.

“But I have to look for my mother...”, he ventures.

“She will find you”, says the old woman just before vanishing.

The Princess continues to walk through the darkness of that frightful cave.  She knows the way and is holding a torch against the bats.  She has a strong will to fight the fear that makes her heart cringe. 

She reaches the room where she heard Canidia’s voice coming from.  She goes inside, with her heart beating wildly.

She just manages to hold back a blood-curdling scream:  there is a host of men, women and children all along the walls, floating in bluish liquid.

“This time you’ve gone too far, Princess...  I warned you but you’re... too curious”.

Canidia has walked up behind her and is now giving her an icy stare.

EPISODE 25 – THE DAY OF REVENGE

A dark shadow climbs up onto our heroes’ ship that is moored at the Tiberina island.  It slips below deck and reaches the sleeping area undisturbed.  Marcus is alone and resting peacefully when a hand slips over his mouth and keeps him from screaming.

“Be quiet, otherwise you’re dead”, threatens Gutta as he loads him onto his shoulders.

Marcus looks at him and a grip of terror clutches at his chest.

He was under their very eyes and they never discovered him...  Luckily the pirate betrayed him, sneers the zombie as he walks away with Marcus slung across his shoulders.  The young prince’s heart shrinks when he listens to Gutta’s words.  He looks down at his neck:  the ring is gone.

“Are you looking for this?”, asks Gutta as he swings the signet ring in front of his face.

Dora and Mirina, who are returning from their night about the town, witness the kidnapping without being seen.  There’s no one on board who can help them out.  All they can do is follow them and then warn the others...

“Yes... that’s Niobe”, states Canidia with satisfaction as she points to the glass case where Ali’s mother is floating.  “Do you remember her, Princess?  You were once friends...  But she was too curious, as well...”

And so Domitia has finally discovered her secret.  It’s true, she’s the priestess of Anubis and those are the bodies of the souls who are in her spell.  Soon the whole world will be like that, a stretch of slaves without a soul who will be ready to satisfy every desire of the great god.  And this will also be thanks to her, thanks to the Princess.

Domitia is terrified but isn’t discouraged.  She’s left her slave a message telling him where to find her.  If she doesn’t return, they’ll come looking for her and find Canidia’s secret hiding-place.  The priestess laughs mockingly:  she doesn’t want to hurt her.  Why should she?  She’ll marry Catilius and the circle of Evil will finally be complete upon Rome and upon its people.

“You cannot force me to... I would rather die”.

“Of course, I know you would be brave enough to sacrifice your life...  But what about the life of Marcus, your son?”

And in so saying she points to the spring:  there’s the image of Marcus... in shackles and supervised by Gutta.  Then a sound coming from behind attracts the zombie’s attention.  He gets up and discovers Dora and Mirina hiding behind a pillar.  What were they thinking of doing?  It’s all for the best.  They’ve trapped themselves, he says as the ties their wrists behind their backs.

Catilius arrives:  things couldn’t have gone better for them.  Domitia herself is in their hands.  Once she marries him and he’ll be proclaimed Emperor, Marcus will be served what he deserves.  Death.

Marcus, Dora and Mirina, tied together, try to encourage one another:  they’ll come looking for them.  But the whole situation seems truly hopeless...

Ali clutches at a torch as he walks down the dark halls that the old lady ensured him would lead to Hadrian’s room.   

Soon he realizes that the old woman was right:  this isn’t just any secret passage, but it’s something much more terrible, a real trap built for defending Hadrian’s life.

It’s an enormous underground cube, divided into many rooms of the same shape that slide over one another in a diabolical game made up of slots and carts.

The entrances and the exits are mixed up, so it’s impossible to maintain one’s sense of direction.

The vagabond from Antioch goes inside the first box and suddenly he’s upside-down...  There’s no gravity!  He is floating along with Mami.  But it’s necessary to reach the second door...  Ali unties the belt around his tunic, makes a kind of lasso and throws it towards the door.  So he hooks onto it and, as if sliding over water, he is dragged outside.  But...  

There’s another cube!  Everything is quiet; the exit is on the floor.

But suddenly the room is filled with water.  Ali grabs onto Mami and they dive down.  They must hurry because the water is reaching the ceiling and they might drown.

They dive again and again.  They finally manage to reach the opening and... there’s another cube.  Ali enters and his shape is reflected in thousands of copies.  And there also seems to be thousands of exits:  which is the right one? In the meanwhile the room is filled with pungent and suffocating smoke.  Mami, who’s at the bottom, is having a hard time breathing.  Ali does his best to avoid panic.  Mindful of his experience in the Lighthouse of Alexandria, he throws his medallion against the wall and the mirrors, by a frightful domino effect, begin to break and expose the only way out.  Ali and Mami head for it.

It’s the final cube.  Beyond the door, Ali can already see the way out.

Then he realizes that he walls of the final room are beginning to close in...

And that’s not all.  From the approaching walls and furniture appear hundreds of prickles and Ali is surrounded by a vice that is suffocating him...

Drudo reaches Domitia. He has been waiting for her all night long, then he feared something had happened to her, that her life was in danger and so he went so far as to come to the Palace...

But the Princess is as cold as ice.  She doesn’t even look at him as she hurls all her contempt into his face:  what does he want from her?  Doesn’t he realize that the only reason she ever demonstrated any kind of interest in him was solely for her own benefit?  Did he really think that an imperial Princess might fall in love with a gladiator?  Drudo leaves in despair.  As soon as the Thracian leaves the room, Domitia bursts out crying bitterly.  Canidia, who has witnessed the whole scene, approaches her:  good, she finally understands how to behave...

The prickles are just a short way from Ali’s heart when... suddenly the movement stops.

It’s Mami.  She is holding back the walls full of prickles with her powerful paws.

Ali looks into the eyes of his beloved and brave she-lion and it’s as if part of his heart was dying in that same instant.

“Go...  You are old enough to live on your own.  Goodbye, my son.”

This is what the white lion’s hoarse roars say; this is what her sweet and kind eyes say.  Ali is still for a moment...

“Go!” roars Mami.

Ali, with his eyes full of tears and his heart breaking because of the pain, clambers atop the prickles and reaches the trap’s exit.  He turns around for one last look at his sweet and pure Mami, but she is no longer there.

“You will pay for this, as well...  I will revenge Mami!”

With his eyes brimming with tears, the vagabond from Antioch walks along the dark alleys that lead to the Palace gardens and his heart is so full of resent and hate that he feels it is about to burst.

A light at the far end of the corridor proves that he has arrived at destination. But he is greatly surprised when, instead of the sober Emperor, he comes upon a surreal oasis that is similar to the one he once saw in Eleusis:  the gardens of oblivion.

A woman is seated in the middle, amidst babbling fountains and exotic flowers.

With a slow movement, the woman shows her face and Ali feels that nothing will ever have any sense anymore:  it’s Niobe.

Ali is immediately in her arms:  she’s real, her skin is warm and her scent is exactly as he remembers it...

Everything he’s been through, all the pain disappears and Ali is once again a two-year old boy happily playing in the Palace at Antioch.

But his joy is short-lived...  It is necessary to move on, to complete the mission.  His mother herself urges him on with passionate words.

Hadrian was the one who killed his father.  The cruel Emperor kept her prisoner for all these years...

“Lead me to him!”, whispers Ali.

In the meanwhile, on the White ship reigns disconcertedness and anxiety.  The warriors of Good have returned from their night out; but there’s no sign of Ali, Marcus, Mirina and Dora.  It seems as if even Ninurta has abandoned them.  Drudo, following his meeting with Domitia, is downtrodden.  But they must nonetheless move forward:  he didn’t accept participating in the Tournament for sentimental reasons, but since he wanted light to win over darkness.  There’s no time to look for the others; all they can hope for is that they are fine since the city is rousing from its sleep and the previously empty roads are now full of crowds who anxiously await for the two finalist teams to file by.  They must go...

In a dream-like state, and at the wink of an eye, Ali finds himself in the room of the bed-ridden Emperor.

There’s only one bed and next to it is seated a man who is treating Hadrian with ointments. 
 
His face is covered by a golden mask:  it’s Heliodorus.

Ali cannot believe his eyes.  He is astonished as the Emperor awakens from his painful sleep...

Then Ali looks the old man in the eye and suddenly he understands everything...  He tears the mask away from Heliodorus’s face and comes face-to-face with his old teacher.

The high priest of Mithras and Ninurta are one!  How did he get all the way there?  If it was so easy for Ninurta to gain access inside the palace, then why didn’t he take Ali along as well?

Ninurta smiles:  the important thing is not the destination, but how to get there.  Ali was supposed to accomplish his entire journey alone...

But his mother’s voice exhorts him to come back to reality: 

“Leave that old man alone.  Do your duty... revenge yourself...  revenge us!”

Ali looks at the Emperor and all of a sudden his father’s words come back to mind:  “We were innocent!  Innocent!”.

The thought of that terrible night, the dogs barking, the darkness, fear, blood...

“You killed my father!”, he shouts at the Emperor.  “Your men executed an innocent man in cold blood”!

Hadrian jumps up with a start...  who was his father? “Fabio… and my mother is Niobe!”, replies Ali with hot tears of rage.

Hadrian’s face contorts with a grimace of pain.  He repeats the word “executed” to himself and then goes stubbornly mute. 

That silence only goes to further inflame Ali’s heart.  Urged on by his anger, he approaches Hadrian’s bed and raises a knife over his old heart...

Ninurta doesn’t try to stop him.  He only tells him, in a calm voice, to look inside himself:  will Hadrian’s death soothe his pain?  How can everything he’s seen and everything he’s learned now give way to his thirst for revenge?

Ali is hesitant.  The dagger shakes in his outstretched hand.  His eyes go from his mother, to Heliodorus and then to Hadrian.

Thousands of voices alternate in his head: to kill, not to kill, to kill...

EPISODE 26 – THE DAY OF RECKONING

The team of the Sun descends along the Sacred Road while the crowds throw rose-petals at them and shout their best wishes at the gladiators.

Our team proceeds united and proud despite the fear they are experiencing.

Raising his gaze, Drudo sees the Blacks coming down on the opposite side.

A violent and armed crowd is gathered around them and their shouts are war-cries.

But all of this (the colorful flags, the flower-petals and the well-wishing songs) are nothing compared to what is expecting them inside the Coliseum.

Ten-thousand people have filled the infinite tiers of seats at the Arena.  Seen from below, they seem like a frightful mass of people, a monster with ten-thousand famished mouths that scream and wait.  Our team is gathered in a dungeon inside the Coliseum’s foundation and they are praying Mithras for protection.

But they are interrupted by cruel laughter.  Catilius has appeared behind their backs.

He shows them Marcus’s ring, Dora’s buckle and a lock of Mirina’s hair.  Our team looks at him in dismay. 

“They are hidden in a safe place.  Perhaps I might even decide to spare their lives, but you...”, he looks inside Drudo’s eyes, “must lose.  If you want to see them alive again, not one of your blows should reach the target”, says Catilius as he laughs.  Our friends look at each other; nothing is more valuable than the lives of their friends.

When the trumpets play they muster up all their courage and enter inside the arena, ready for their extreme sacrifice.

Even Gutta is getting ready for the fight.  Mirina watches him as he slips into his armor and gets his weapons ready.  Before leaving, the zombie takes her to the side.  Shortly Anubis will become the master of the world and all souls will be in his possession...  Including that of Mirina.  She’s still in time to save herself, to make up her mind and go to their side.  He would help her...  But Mirina gives him a hateful look:  she would rather die than join the league of Evil!  Gutta goes away and it’s too bad for her.

But once they are alone, Mirina shows her wrists to the others:  she’s free!  Gutta didn’t realize that as they were talking she managed to saw the rope with his rotary blades!

In a flash she unties the knots that imprison Marcus and Dora and together they hasten towards the Coliseum. 
 
“Speak up!  Tell me that you were not the one to have my father executed!”

Ali stares at Hadrian, with his knife clutched in his trembling hand.

The old Emperor looks at him, fearless and without any hatred.  What does it matter who gave the order to kill?  It’s his fault, any way you put it.  His fault because he believed that a man like Fabio was capable of betraying him; his fault because he trusted Catilius.  His fault because he allowed suspicion and doubt to enter into his heart.  Should it serve to put right to at least a part of his wrongdoings, Hadrian would be pleased to die under Ali’s knife...

Upon hearing those words, Ali’s mother spurs him on:  what is he waiting for?  That man deserves to die!

Ali’s dagger is just an inch away from the Emperor’s heart.  It would only be the matter of a moment, a little push and the life of the old man would fly away like a leaf in the wind...

But Ali, the vagabond from Antioch, who is acquainted with all the evil in the world, closes his eyes and lets the knife slip from his hands to the floor...

He cannot kill.

Heliodorus smiles, proud of his boy, while Ali’s mother seems like she is paralyzed to the spot.

Ali turns towards her and recognizes something in her gaze...  Or perhaps someone.

Suddenly an idea comes to his mind; so Ali asks her to sing him a lullaby, the one that they only know...

But she remains quiet, in bewilderment.

So Ali understands:  she isn’t his mother!  She’s Canidia!

The room goes dark.

Canidia’s face has turned into a mask of loathing, her furious eyes stare at Ali.

“You fool!   You have ruined everything!”, she shouts.  And she is about to lunge upon him, if it weren’t for a hefty figure that gets in their way: it’s Heliodorus.

“We’ve finally come face-to-face!”, cries the high priest.  “The time of reckoning has finally arrived, after all these years”.

And in so saying, a frightful battle ensues between the two of them.

But it isn’t a battle like any other, like one between two human beings.   

The bodies of the two high priests never touch for an instant, whereas between them flows a stream of terrifying energy:  black energy streams the hands of Canidia, white from the hands of Heliodorus.

The room shakes, bends and squeaks under the pressure of that superhuman conflict.   

But Heliodorus endures it all.  He has the greatest energy of all on his side – the energy of life.  And so finally, stricken by a white blinding light, Canidia crashes down to the ground.

Her screams blend with the gloomy howling of a jackal and her body turns into that of a horrible old woman, then it becomes decrepit and finally turns into ashes...

Catilius and Gutta corner our heroes in the arena.  Domitia and Antoninus are besides themselves as they witness that defeat.  Our heroes are motionless and don’t react to any of the blows imparted upon them by the Blacks.  It is pitiful to watch how the retiarius enjoys himself as he humiliates the twins, prodding them with his trident and forcing them to jump; and then stopping them with his net.  The same thing goes for Pilade, at the hands of the hoplomachus.  Catilius is strutting around; the people are all on his side since, without Drudo’s opposition, he seems to be the strongest one there.  His sword is about to descend upon Drudo’s chest, who is waiting – motionless...  When the sky suddenly turns black and a storm of lightning and thunder unfurls right over the Coliseum, terrifying the gathered crowds.  Gutta’s frightful scream pierces through the silence.

Canidia’s death has transformed the zombie into a man.  And now Gutta is lying on the ground in exhaustion.

When the room is illuminated once again, Hadrian can tell Ali the truth and ask his forgiveness for the mistake he committed thirteen years earlier.   

Catilius, whom he believed to be his trusted advisor, told him that they were conspiring against him in Syria.  Hadrian entrusted him with the investigation and Catilius returned with a false reply:  Ali’s parents had betrayed him and were participating in the plot of the secret sect of Mithras that was conspiring against him...

The blow was a great pain to his heart, so Hadrian gave instructions to bring all the traitors to Rome, in order to listen to their versions.

But, as Catilius reported, there had been an accident:  Ali’s father had reacted to the arrest and had been killed in the struggle.  There wasn’t any news about his mother.  Maybe she managed to escape, protected by the sect...

Ali listens to that story in pained silence, then hugs Hadrian in an absolutory embrace.  Everyone can make a mistake.  The only important thing is to interrupt the chain of Evil.

A tear slips down Hadrian’s pale face.

“I still do not understand why Catilius wished for Fabio’s death...  Your father was a generous man, he had no aspirations for the throne so he was not his opponent...”, whispers Hadrian in exhaustion.

“It is because he had discovered the truth”, replies Heliodorus.

Everything began many years earlier, with another death, another life sacrificed on the altar of Evil.  It was the life of Tullius Aurelius, the father of Marcus.

Hadrian jumps up at those words:  Tullius died in battle, killed by the blow of a Parthian sword!”  “This is what Catilius wanted you to believe, Your Highness”.

Hadrian is so surprised that he is unable to speak.  When the head of the Praetorians discovered that the future Emperor would have been Tullius, he was blinded by his envy and killed him.

Only one man knew the whole truth and so he deserved to die, as well.  And that was Tullio’s brother – Fabio.

Ali starts up:  were his father and Marcus’s father brothers?  Heliodorus nods his head in affirmation.

Hadrian is desperate:  how could he have allowed Catilius to kill the two men he most trusted, the men who were dearest to him?  No, Ali must kill him, he deserves to die!  But Ali smiles:  no, Catilius and only Catilius deserves to be punished.  

Then a sudden light attracts his attention.

A woman has appeared in the place occupied by Canidia, next to Heliodorus.  She is wearing the clothes of a slave, her feet are bare and she’s singing a song...  a lullaby.

Ali cannot believe his ears...  following the woman’s voice, he joins in her song.

She’s his mother!  His real mother! Canidia’s defeat has broken the spell that kept her imprisoned as Canidia’s slave.  Now she’s finally free.  Ali runs into her arms and their tears blend as one. 

Heliodorus approaches the mother and her son in silence and hugs them in turn.

“Father...”

Heliodorus, the old man who educated him with wisdom and strength, the old man who urged him to overcome his hatred and taught him how to forgive is his grandfather. 

Ali is the grandson of the Mithras’s high priest.

That’s why Canidia kept his mother prisoner, in order to keep Heliodorus from ruining her plans.

But Heliodorus knew that there was only one way to free his daughter and save the world from Evil:  wait for Ali to grow up and lead him to truth and Good.

Ali wants to stay this way forever, hugging his grandfather and his mother; but Heliodorus tells him to join his friends at the Coliseum because they now need him.

Despite the absence of Gutta, Catilius has nonetheless an easy task against our team.  Obliged by the terrible blackmail, all they are waiting for is death.  Domitia and Antoninus, from the steps, desperately witness their defeat and at the end of their last chance for saving the Empire.

When suddenly a roar arises from the public.

Mirina, Dora, Ali and...  Marcus have entered the arena!

No longer protected by Heliodorus’s magic, the young boy now proves his true self:  the future Emperor.  The crowds recognize and acclaim him. In all those months away from Rome he has truly become a man.

And now the real battle may truly begin.  Drudo gets back on his feet and is about to hit Catilius.  But Ali, who has reached the arena in a flash, gets in between them:  that man has ruined their families.  He and Marcus must defeat him.

And so the two young boys fight together.  Marcus with his foil and Ali with his sword.

Hadrian, who thanks to Heliodorus’s care is now on the stage next to Domitia, is full of pride as he watches how his grandson has grown during his voyage.

In the meantime the others beat the Black team with a few blows.

Victory arrives in a flash.

But they haven’t taken Gutta into consideration.  Despite he’s lost his terrible powers, Gutta does not give up the fight.  He suddenly rises up again and is about to strike Ali from behind.  Drudo lunges upon him in order to protect the boy.  It’s an equal and harsh fight.  But Drudo comes off better.  His sword is now pointing straight at the heart of that being who has done them all so much harm.

“Wait!”

It’s Mirina. She looks straight into Gutta’s eyes...  and asks for his life to be spared.  He certainly can no longer do any harm without Canidia’s terrible powers.

He is only a man.

To the crowds asking for Catilius’s death, Hadrian replies thumbs-up:  too many men have already lost their lives.  “We must interrupt this chain of Hatred”, he says as he looks at Ali.
 
Catilius will pay his dues in the Emperor’s terrible prisons.

All of Rome celebrates the winning team.  It’s a long night, full of lights.  Rome seems to be like a star-studded sky.

This time it’s over, it’s truly over.

The sect of Evil has been defeated for good and light has returned onto the faces of our heroes, upon Rome and the entire Empire...

A clear, fresh and scented dawn illuminates Rome the day after the games.  Ali gets up and, after having made sure that his mother and his grandfather are still at his side, he tiptoes out of the apartment inside Hadrian’s palace.

The vagabond of Antioch walks down the sumptuous hallways and thinks...

What will become of him?  What’s in store for him?

But for the first time in his difficult life, this question no longer frightens him.  He is no longer alone:  the orphan from Antioch now has a mother and a grandfather.  One step at a time he reaches the garden.  His friends are already awake and are standing in the garden, doing their usual morning exercises.

They can finally dedicate themselves to their true passions.  Milone and Cabria will remain in the Circus Maximus.  Mirina will stay at court for a while with Dora.  Then she’ll decide.

“And what about you?”, Ali asks Tosca, who hasn’t yet said a word and seems to be uncomfortable.  Pilade replies for her.  To tell the truth, they’ve got an announcement to make.  They’ve waited for a while in order not to disrupt the group’s equilibrium.  But then their passion exploded and could not be bridled.  Pilade looks at Tosca, who is blushing violently, and declares:  “Miss Tosca and I are engaged”.  Our heroes are taken aback.  First they look at the immense Tosca with her gigantic hands, and then they look at little Pilade with his chubby little fingers.  There’s a moment of embarrassed silence.  Then Ali hugs them both:  congratulations!  They truly were in need of a nice wedding! One after the other, our friends congratulate the odd couple.  There’s lots of hugging going on, and some tear shedding as well:  they can finally live a serene life, without having to fight.

“No one will ever fight again!”

Marcus’s voice suddenly seems more imperious and mature.

Dressed in a snow-white toga, the boy watches his friends with serious eyes.  Domitia and Drudo are smiling proudly behind him.  Circus games will continue, declares Marcus, but bloody combat will be forbidden in the entire Empire.

No one must ever die again for a stupid game.

Ali looks at Marcus and smiles.  He will truly be an excellent Emperor.  “If you wish, we can do it together...”

Dumbfounded silence descends upon our heroes.  But Marcus isn’t joking:  he wants to share his throne with Ali.

But it doesn’t even cross the young boy from Antioch’s mind.  All he wants to do is return to his beloved oasis in the middle of the desert.  Ali, Heliodorus and Niobe have decided to reinstate their old home and institute a kind of shelter for children on the streets.

A veil of sadness descends upon our heroes during the eve of Ali’s departure.  They ask him to come back soon for a visit.  But the boy shrugs his shoulders:  who can say what’s in store for them?  Then he laughs and adds:  perhaps they will be forced to fight again, who knows...

“Bring me some water, guard...”

With his head bowed and isolated in the darkest dungeon of the Empire, Gutta is waiting for the warder to pass him his food.  But when the cell door is opened, it knocks the poor man down to the ground in a swoon.

Upon Gutta’s eyes, which have turned as red as coals once again..