After returning to the Deo from the Underworld with his four closest friends (Erikal, Cleo, Meritus, and Alana), Giels is in shock, wanting to return to his normal life and suppress what he'd seen. Hopefully, he could patch things up with the shaman council and become the Deoan Tribe's next Lead Storyteller.
Problems start when Meritus tells Giels that he can't wait to share what they saw with "everyone." Not only would this suggest that his friends won't make it easy for him to move on, but going into the Wind Cave (the entrance to the Underworld) is one of the biggest taboos, probably resulting in the worst possible punishment by the council—the dissolution of one's soul.
Punishments being rare in the egalitarian Deo, others may not take such a consequence seriously, have forgotten about it, or may not have known. Giels, whose father is the council's leader, knows the tribe's rules too well and that the shamans can be fearsome if needed.
Fearing for his friends and himself, Giels chases them down at a large gathering with their wider social group. Taking cues from Giels, the four adventuring friends switch gears and lie by telling everyone that their adventure was a vision quest and hadn't literally happened.
After all, what living mortal could go to the Underworld?
The council decides to give Giels a chance at being the Lead Storyteller despite being absent for his first test. At a significant event where he shows his abilities by reciting lore to a massive group, Giels has a flashback of the Underworld. He decides to lipsync a recording of himself on his recorder. The ruse works, but Giels faints.
Because of Giels's supposed impressive vocal projection (actually, it was the recorder), the council decides to give Giels another chance, despite the fainting and other odd behaviors.
After an argument with Erikal, whom Giels blames for all of his problems resulting from Erikal driving him into the Underworld, Erikal suggests Giels come by his home to see how going to the Underworld is possible.
The next day Giels goes to Erikal's, bringing Alana with him, who he'd run into on the way. Cleo, Giels's love interest, is at Erikal's already, supposedly because Giels is coming over.
Erikal shows the group how, with a secret language of lines and dots that he discovered on his computer, he could design the vehicle that allowed them to go to the Underworld. Erikal studied the shape's meaning by writing it out with chalk on his floor.
But using chalk is a sacred act only allowed by the shaman council.
Giels is still panicking about their highly illegal move of going to the Underworld and grows upset by Erikal's irresponsibility. Discovering that Cleo had known about this additional rule-breaking without telling Giels was too much. Giels storms out.
Alana tracks him down, confused by Giels's behavior. He reveals his crush on his lifelong friend Cleo, and, as a result, Alana gives Giels an unexpected kiss to provide him with some "perspective."
Meanwhile, Giels learns that his four adventuring friends, plus a wider group of unmarried young men and women, set up a camp near Erikal's home, which they named Illyia.
Giels, still hoping to move on, is disturbed by the cult-like place. He goes there to find out what's motivating these people and finds Cleo's friend Fairfox, a master at using computers. She explains that most computers are very limited in what they can help design. Erikal's is an exception by allowing seemingly endless design possibilities, opening an exciting world of opportunity to everyone at Illyia. Also, The claim that Erikal's vehicle, an invention on his computer that led to a profound "vision quest" to the Underworld, inspires the people at Illyia. It makes them believe the spiritual realm calls them to some yet unknown purpose.
The flashbacks of the Underworld won't leave Giels and are disrupting his studies to become the Lead Storyteller. In a can't-beat-em-join-em move, Giels takes residence at Illyia and studies there.
Giels's growing sense of madness doesn't leave until one day when he discovers that the message he heard in his head while in the Underworld is now on his recorder—same voice, same words. He takes this as a sign that Illyia and his friends are on to something with their crazy beliefs.
Giels again does a recital, which the council will use to determine if he can become the next honored Lead Storyteller.
At the event, the council gives an unexpected announcement that Erikal will become a shaman when a space opens up for one. This is unusual because there was no current opening, and people typically train from childhood to have the opportunity, which Erikal hadn't.
Giels is a little jealous, but his anger pours out when he learns from his father that the council rejected Giels's bid to be the Lead Storyteller.
Erikal is supposed to start working with the shamans the next day.
Seeing no options for his future, Giels convinces his close friends to return to the Underworld so that Giels can know if he is being called personally. After all, the messages received in episode 1 are directed to him.
Erikal decides he'll miss his meeting with the shamans. Giels and friends escape that night just as the shamans come to intercept them. Meritus, always the troublemaker, brings a few additional friends who believe they are going on a vision quest: Fairfox, Cleo's computer-savvy close friend; Samsen, a son of one of the shamans who's been training to be a shaman himself; Berian, a light-skinned, heavy-set guy from the north who indulges in the narcotic Drink; Serina, a gauche young lady who speaks her mind; and Zara, a skinny, girl who doesn't talk much.
They stop at the mouth of the Wind Cave and meet a Talis Tribe priestess there who puts them under a powerful spell—a vision quest of sorts. After entering the Underworld, the new adventurers believe that the Underworld is part of the spell's effects.
Being introspective, Giels realizes that he always wanted to be a shaman and not a Storyteller and is hoping the Underworld reveals some important destiny for him.
Once in the Underworld, they find the large ship they saw flying around during their last visit. They go inside just as the giant monster, The Guardian, attacks. The new adventurer Samsen flees. The rest escape inside the ship, but somehow, Alana goes missing.
The ship scares away The Guardian and flies the group deep into the dark Underworld. A godlike voice enters, welcoming them, and says Alana may be alive. They come to a dark platform with what looks like humans (or souls?) walking around. The voice says his name is Sansar and that his people need help from the Deoan youths.
Samsen returns in Erikal's vehicle to the Deo and tells the shamans what happened. The shamans believe that Samsen was only experiencing the effects of the Talis's spell and that now someone would need to go and save the stranded group at the entrance to the Wind Cave.
The goddess (introduced at the end of episode 1) decides to go to the mortal world—something gods didn't normally do—to discover how the gods' enemies lured the youths to the Underworld.