Enemy of All Mankind - Pilot

ACT I At 16, JULIUS CAESAR's privileged life has already been decided on; High Priest of Jupiter with his wife CORNELIA by his side. Though diligent, Julius is unfulfilled. Auxiliary troops gather to fend off the looming threat of a rogue Roman general, Sulla, en route to Rome. Julius expresses his concerns to the senate, embarrassing his father, GAIUS, a general past his glory days and planning a coup. Suffering nightly beatings from Gaius, Julius' mother, AURELIA, contemplates life away from Rome. ACT II Cornelia is with child. Julius speaks with his father-in-law, CINNA, about stepping down as High Priest, but Cinna insists their life will be safer. At the Circus Maximus, the Caesars are joined by Cinna and Gaius' brother, MARIUS, for a day of gladiatorial bloodsport. Gaius is at odds with his brother, who is co-consul of Rome with Cinna. The revelry is interrupted by the early arrival of General SULLA, a warlord who force-marched his troops for weeks: Rome is under attack! ACT III Sulla's troops lay siege to Rome. Marius takes command. Aurelia helps a secretly poisoned Gaius home. Julius bolsters Rome's defenses by freeing the gladiators and bringing them to the city gates. Cinna escorts Cornelia towards the docks, hoping to escape the city by ship. Aurelia finishes Gaius, stabbing him to death. Rome's defenses fail, and when Sulla offers terms, the gladiators turn against Rome. The gates are opened; Julius flees while Sulla's troops pour into the city. ACT IV Rome turns on itself; every man and son of noble birth is targeted in a bloody retribution. Julius makes his way home amidst the carnage. At the overrun port, Cinna and Cornelia push to the front of the column, only to be killed when the Praetorian Guard kill Cinna in front of Cornelia. She escapes. Julius returns home to find his father dead. Aurelia says it was Roman soldiers and that they will come for Julius next. She advises him to take refuge in the distant city of Bithynia, far from Rome. ACT V Wearing his father's armor, Julius slips through the streets, avoiding the gates by passing through the crypts beneath Rome, where he is accosted by swarms of rats and the specter of his dead father. Julius finds Marius cowering. At the Caesar villa, Cornelia returns, finding Gaius murdered and Aurelia strangely calm amidst the calamity. Outside the city, Julius joins ranks with Sulla's troops. When the army breaks camp, Julius marches away from the newly conquered Rome and Cornelia.