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TheGears of Warseries has been a staple for Xbox fans since 2006. It has taken the shooter genre to new heights when it comes to graphics, multiplayer, third-person gameplay, and even storylines. The grim, sci-fi-adjacent title follows a wide array of characters through an interesting idea of an alien invasion.
Emergence Day was the start of the Locust War (and the Gears of War series), but what exactly happened at E-Day? Why did the world of Sera seem so ill-prepared? Whether you’re new to Gears or you just need a refresher on the history of the long-standing series, here’s a little deep-dive into this specific period of time.
Some spoilers for the plots of the Gears of War games follow.
Background
Sera And Imulsion
Sera is the planetwhere the entirety of the Gears of War series takes place. It is incredibly similar to Earth in climates and day/year length, as well as having various larger continents surrounded by expansive seas.
The main difference between the Earth and Sera is where fuel is concerned. Instead of oil and coal, the people of Sera rely on afuel source called Imulsion. It’s a fluid, oily substance that glows like magma from wherever it spews from the ground.
It’s an incredibly powerful substance, able to fuel large machines and war engines with relatively small amounts, but incredibly volatile, exploding if dropped, shot, or lit on fire.
The Pendulum Wars
It is the power that Imulsion gives to the people of Sera that ignites a seemingly endless series of conflicts, usually referred to asThe Pendulum Wars. It’s called like this due to the constant push and pull of the armies where land gained is concerned. This conflict wasa bloody stalemate for decades.
After labeling the places where Imulsion can be found in large quantities as “high-priority”, two governments are formed.The COG, or Coalition of Ordered Governments(of which the soldiers are referred to as Gears), andthe UIR, the Union of Independent Republics.
The Pendulum Wars go on for around 80 years or so, and while they effectively tear the world apart with constant conflict,they also propel a series of important militaristic inventionsthat will help the people of Sera once a new threat arises.
The Pendulum Wars is the setting of many of the Gears of War novels.
The Pendulum Wars finally end afterThe Hammer Of Dawn, a series of satellites that can shoot large explosive lasers down from orbit, is used for the first time. The end of the war is marked as theUIR no longer feels they can compete against the COG’s new weaponry.
E-Day Proper
Barelysix weeks afterthe end of The Pendulum Wars, earthquakes rattle Sera across the globe.Huge holes open upin the earth, swallowing people and buildings, and altering the landscape of plenty of large cities.
From these holesemerge the Locust:alien-looking creatures that are typically larger than humans with pale, thick, hairless skin. Though they are notaliens from a far-off planet, instead they have been living below ground on Sera, waiting for the day to bring war to the humans of the surface.
The humans of Sera struggle to mount a resistance to an enemy they had no idea existed, but also could show up at any location, often undermining any fortresses or defensive measures they put up.The resulting massacre killed over aquarter of the human populationof Sera in less than a dayand started an all-new war for survival.
Emergence Day, or E-Day as it is commonly referred to, is a marker in Sera’s timeline from then on. With the years being referred to as B.E. (Before Emergence), and A.E. (After Emergence).
The Locust War
With the UIR decimated, theCog becomes the main militaristic forceon Sera during what is then referred to asThe Locust War. It is this war that also pushes the people of Sera to invent even more weapons to fight this new threat, a threat that is biologically stronger than humans on average.
These include the chainsaw bayonet, various Lancer Assault Rifle variations, the King Raven, and some impromptu weapons as well. It is during the Locust War that most of the Gears of War games take place.
The Locust are still a superior fighting force though, with huge monsters like Corpsers and Berserkers, weaponry like Torque Bows and Boom Shots, and ruthless leaders like Raam and Skorge leading the assault.
It isthe devastation and deaththat the Locust cause in such a short amount of time that pushes the COG tothe brink of defeatearly on. Which, in turn, causes them to open up military prisons in search of anyone with training enough to help fight.Cue Marcus Fenix.
