Original subtitles

This is Hattusa,

the capital of the Hittite Empire in the 14th century BCE.

This is the story of a girl who rides the sultry winds

across the vast stretches of Anatolia.

The wind blows strong, kicking up the dry sand.

The wind blows hot,

and I live under these skies,

on the banks of the red river.

RED RIVER

I CAN'T GO BACK, I WON'T GO BACK

I Can't Go Back, I Won't Go Back.

Unlock these doors!

Your queen has visitors!

Who's calling at such a late hour?

Prince Kail!

I wish to see Her Majesty regarding an urgent matter.

C-Certainly! Right away!

Well, if it isn't Prince Kail.

Have you no respect for your queen's evening repose?

You weren't asleep! You were trying to—

I apologize for my rudeness.

However, it appears one of my servants has mistakenly came to this palace.

A servant?

If you were to ask, I'd hardly know about that.

You liar.

He was the boy who saved me from getting killed by you!

Oh? You would slander your queen in such a manner?

Keeping this cretin as your consort will only stain your honor, Prince Kail.

Give Tito back to us!

Perhaps you were dreaming, child. Leave my sight.

Get back here!

Your Majesty, I request to search these premises.

I wish to make sure my servant has not stolen into your palace.

Your request is denied.

Now, take your leave, Prince Kail.

But I insist.

Have you forgotten? I am the queen.

I am the Tawananna of all that you see.

No one commands me but the emperor.

Take your leave.

"Tawananna"?

Hey, what's a "Tawananna"?

It's the title given to the preeminent woman of the empire.

It means if we wish to act, we need my father. Let's go.

I had a chamberlain tell my father that I wish to speak with him.

He may not agree at this late hour,

but we'll convince him to accompany us to the queen's palace.

There's no time. Just drag him out of bed.

Your Highness?

What is the cause of this disturbance?

You have yet to meet this man, Yuri.

This is Ilbani, the steward of this palace...

and my foster brother.

Your Highness, we have everything to return Lady Yuri, correct?

Let us disregard the servant and send her back at once.

What?

I'm not going home while Tito's missing.

Tito is most likely slain.

Give up on him. Prepare to make your return.

What makes you say that?

I believe the queen employs a Kashuga named Zuwa.

He is a chieftain of the barbarians in the north.

He is notorious for favoring fineries and collecting the skins of those he kills.

He is rumored to be especially partial to the smooth skin of juveniles,

so I cannot imagine he would spare Tito.

That means there's literally no time!

Yuri!

Let go of me!

I can't just give up on him!

Settle down!

Are you now at peace?

I haven't given up on Tito.

All lives are meant to be held sacred, no matter the status of the person.

Forgetting that would make me no better than the queen.

Prince.

We'll do everything we can to regain custody of Tito.

Do you understand, Il?

I take back what I said.

Is my father unavailable? I'll press the chamberlains again—

I beg your pardon, Your Highness.

What is it?

We've discovered the body of a child outside the east wall.

We warn you not to look at the rest.

The child is entirely skinned from the neck down.

Tito.

Tito.

The first time I smiled in this new reality was when I met you.

Lady Yuri.

I'm grateful to you for saving me from execution.

I was so happy when you did that for me.

Lady Yuri.

Be well.

I should be thanking you.

Tito.

There are no words I can say to apologize to you.

It's my fault.

I was the one who killed you.

You won't eat?

You haven't had a bite since morning.

I don't want any.

It's all my fault.

Please tell me. What am I supposed to do?

P-Prince?

Don't cry.

I cannot properly explain why,

but I don't wish to see you in tears.

Pardon the interruption.

Your Highness, we must hurry.

For what reason?

Remember, we must prepare to send Lady Yuri back to her home.

The next dawn is the last time the morning star rises during the wet season.

We'd need to wait an entire year for another chance.

We're sending Yuri back?

I get to go home tomorrow?

I'm fully prepared for the ritual.

We can start at any time.

Yeah. I'm ready, too.

I finally get to see my family again.

So why am I not happy?

You're finally going to return home, Lady Yuri.

I will miss you.

Tito said he wanted me to stay here with him.

But even if I did stay here...

I'm never going to forget Tito,

but there's nothing I can do for him now.

I'm going! I'm going home!

I'm going back to my family!

Your Highness, do you really intend to send Lady Yuri away?

Why ask again?

I was afraid you'd forgotten why you've refused all marriage proposals to date.

I haven't forgotten.

Yuri becoming my concubine was sheer happenstance.

But...

Never mind. We will send Yuri back.

Even if she were to stay, you needn't worry about a thing.

In fact, I love Himuro!

I can't stand you!

That's the last morning star of the year: Ishtar.

The dry season starts tomorrow, so the springs will not fill until next year.

Prince Kail!

We've stationed our best guards at all seven springs.

Good.

Yuri, you will enter the spring and return whence you came.

I hope the queen doesn't butt in again.

I expect her to make an attempt.

But I'm just as powerful a sorcerer as her.

I can counter all her tricks, so have no fear.

Okay.

Nobody move!

The wind calmed the water?

Yuri!

Step into the spring.

God and master of time and space,

return this maiden to her former place!

That bracelet...

Zuwa?

Kashuga bandits!

Shield Prince Kail and the others!

Yuri, enter the spring.

Then I can recite the incantation.

Yuri!

That bracelet is the torc Tito got from his sisters.

And that thing on his head... Oh, god.

Lady Yuri.

Lady Yuri.

Tito.

Yuri! Hurry! Before dawn breaks!

How could you?

Yuri!

I can behead you with one hand tied behind my back.

You wench!

It's dawn!

Our work here is done. Let's go!

But why?

I have unfinished business here.

I...

I can't let Tito's killers walk free!

I won't go back home until I've avenged Tito.

Yuri.

You did well, Zuwa.

All we needed was for her to remain.

We can now take our time in capturing her.

This time, we'll make sure Kail doesn't get in our way.

I must avenge Tito.

But that said, I can't do anything without Prince Kail.

What? The Kashugas attacked Alinna?

Yes. We received news of it just now.

What's Alinna?

A stronghold city.

An important temple is located there.

But we crushed the Kashugas in battle last year.

They shouldn't have the forces to overrun Alinna.

And they don't.

That implies they have a powerful benefactor providing support.

But who?

I have an idea.

Don't speak, Yuri. We have no proof.

In any case, the king has ordered me to repel the attack.

I will leave Hattusa soon.

What am I supposed to do?

Naturally, you will wait here, Lady Yuri.

The battlefield is no place for a woman.

The queen must've planned this.

She's trying to draw Kail away from me.

Kikkuri, we prepare for war.

Yes, sir.

Hey, I get the feeling that you don't want me here. Why's that?

The prince previously vowed he wouldn't take a concubine.

I agreed with that decision.

If you intend to stay, then you should be informed.

Prince Kail is a luminary who will eventually accede to the highest post.

Accede?

You mean he'll be king? I thought he was third in line.

The Crown Prince, Arnuwanda, has a weak constitution.

He has sired no children and is not expected to.

The Second Prince, Telipinu, has a lowborn mother,

so he will be denied the throne.

However, Prince Kail was born to the former queen,

and he is healthy in mind and body.

He has all the qualities to ascend to the throne over anyone else.

Everyone except the current queen has tacitly accepted that to be true.

B-But what does him being king have to do with me?

If the prince becomes king, his royal consort becomes the Tawananna.

The Tawananna must possess the necessary caliber and character.

You can see how Queen Nakia proves that necessity.

The prince once told me in so many words:

"One day, I will rule as king."

Therefore, I will be strict about my eventual choice of bride.

She must display the aptitude, prudence,

presence of mind, and other qualities required of a leader.

In exchange, I will take no other woman.

I will love only my wife for as long as I live.

The prince has been searching for the most suitable woman ever since. Yet he...

Don't worry. Your prince didn't forget anything.

I'm only his concubine for show. There's nothing more to it.

So why do I feel so crushed knowing that?

Kail is being forced to leave Hattusa under the king's orders.

With Kail gone, that maiden is ours.

A word, Queen Nakia.

Prince Kail might be shrewd enough to take the maiden with him.

To a battlefield?

If so, then so be it.

You know what to do...

Urhi.

Kail Mursili.

I bestow full authority on you to act as my proxy.

Go forth and repel the Kashugas.

Yes, sire.

Our god, Teshub, in the highest, grant victory to the Hittites.

We march to battle.

I wonder how long he'll be away.

No, I can't keep bothering him and saddling him with my problems.

I must say goodbye to him, and tell him to take care.

Um, excuse me.

Prince Kail, well...

Yuri.

Are you prepared to face war?

Stay with me. I vow to protect you.

If you trust me, then come, Yuri.

Your Highness!

Prince Kail.

Kail, you deign to take a woman into battle with you?

Hear me, cohorts!

This maiden emerged from a spring when Ishtar was shining in the heavens.

You know Ishtar as our goddess of war.

Then know that Ishtar has bestowed this maiden upon us.

As long as this maiden is with us, the Hittites shall prevail!

Hear this, Yuri.

If you wish to avenge Tito, then do whatever is necessary to survive.

Right.

One more thing. Alinna is also Tito's birthplace.

Hello? Will someone answer? Hello?

Who calls during this crisis?

Would this be the house of Tito?

Yes. And?

What's this about our brother?

I am a messenger sent by Prince Kail.

It pains me to say that your dear brother has perished.

What? Tito's dead?

That can't be.

I am afraid the prince's concubine slew him over a trivial affair.

What? His concubine?

Tell us about this woman.

She is a doltish young jezebel, by the name of Yuri.

Yuri? That's who killed Tito?

She must pay.

TRANSLATION: GAD ONYENEHO

TIMING: KRZYSZTOF KUNC EDITING: SMR

QUALITY CONTROL: ALICIA ASHBY TRANSLATION CHECK: DAVID SAYLOR

ISHTAR INCARNATE