Born in a village of Anatolia over 3000 years before the celebrated birth of Jesus Christ, Ivar Anni-Padda is the son of Vandal, a fierce warrior. After his mother dies while giving birth to Vandal's youngest son, Aram, the boy Ivar flees the village in grief. While away, he learns he can sense folds in time or "time arcs" and then comes across a group of aliens and a woman named Jahk'rt, who is a "bio-manipulator" and a time traveler from the far future. Ivar returns to the village to warn them of the strange threats but finds it has already been raided and destroyed by other enemies, though Vandal and his two other sons escaped. Jahk'rt, sensing Ivar is special, then captures the boy and studies him for over a century, during which it is realized he stops aging during his adulthood and is nearly invulnerable to death. This last trait allows him to travel through time arcs safely without a vehicle, though he cannot control his destination. While Ivar is gone, his two younger brothers Gilad and Aram learn they are also enhanced and have immortality.