Episode One: Into the Forge

Culled from all corners of Valaheim, land of the gods and final refuge of humanity, the firstborn children of every living family in the world are gathered by the collectors and sent to the Armasseum, a ring of mountains where the young adults will spend a year preparing for Koragnier, the battle between gods and demons.

Yet even before reaching its gates, the Firstborn witness a single man's desperate attempt to reclaim his child, a boy named Mikkel.

Having killed Grigor, the head instructor of the 101st gate of the Armasseum, and threatened to destroy the bridge to the mountain, the man is swiftly dealt with by an Ascendant known as Ilia Strong, a veteran of Koragnier, who springs to action and cuts off the assailant's hand as a bundle of explosives fills its grasp.

With the threat removed, Ilia sends the man back home and Grigor is resurrected by the revivalist instructor, Rexmar, though Grigor is displeased with the Ascendant's act of mercy. Who can say that the assailant won't return again?

With the incident concluded, the Firstborn are admitted into the Armasseum, though one of the revivalists among them, a girl named Nikia Desmoras, had stayed behind to observe Grigor's resurrection.

Accompanied part of the way to the mess hall by the Ascendant, Nikia arrives late to the meeting and is noticed by the loutish Ingrid Nielsdottir, who is quick to befriend her.

However, Ingrid's uncouth manner earns a swift death from the collector presiding over the meeting, followed by a second after Nikia revives her whilst neglecting to remove the killing projectile, a crossbow bolt to the forehead.

Afterwards, the Firstborn are sent to the armory to equip themselves for the first of many trials ahead, where they will face Ilia on the vast battlefield in the centre of the Armasseum, but not before Lathen makes a late appearance and the collector responsible for overseeing the Firstborn suffers for it.

In his spite, the man approaches the elementalist, Kieran Van Vaughn, to torment Ingrid, Lathen and Nikia in exchange for money, but the boy contemptuously refuses the offer, thus also attracting the collector's ire.

Then turning to a group of three random boys, who do take up the offer, the collector sends them after their fellow Firstborn, though it does not end well for either of them.

Caught in a fight with Lathen, one is brutally killed then revived by Rexmar and shortly afterwards, another fails to escape attention after poisoning Nikia, having been noticed by Grigor and publicly identified by Ingrid.

As both boys are forced to stand before the Firstborn and endure the shame of their actions, the third hunter becomes the hunted as Kieran approaches from behind, intimidating him with a few words and a small display of elemental power.

His petty attempt at revenge thwarted, the collector responsible for the disturbances can do nothing, but stew in anger as the Firstborn proceed unhindered to their first trial. Standing tall on the battlefield like a goddess of war, Ilia Strong awaits to test their mettle.