Once a generation, when the emperor's heir comes of age, each realm must offer their most powerful gifted youth for a ritual known as The Emperor's Due. These selectees, born with incredible abilities, become training partners for the prince and are taught to one day help him rule the Empire. Quickly after the ritual is completed and their training begins, turmoil erupts in the Empire. Pirates command the sea and dragons rule the skies, while assassinations and betrayal threaten to break the emperor's hold over the individual realms. With no one to trust except each other, the selectees find themselves fighting for their lives while trying to keep the Empire from being engulfed in war.