A brief peace between two wars

The starting point of E-Day[1][2][3]
  1. Before E-Day

    The Pendulum Wars

    Human war leaves Marcus and Dom carrying the loss of Carlos Santiago.

  2. Six weeks later

    An armistice memorial

    Kalona begins to return to peace before the Locust emerge.

  3. Emergence Day

    The invasion begins

    Bravo forms as four soldiers run toward the first attack.

  4. Fourteen years later

    Gears of War

    E-Day precedes the original game's story by fourteen years.

The city is part of the story

The damaged historic architecture of Kalona's Golden Quarter
Kalona's Golden Quarter: the city's architecture becomes a battleground during the invasion.[4]

Explore Kalona for its districts and civilian setting, Emergence Day for the opening timeline, and the COG for the soldiers' organization. The Pendulum Wars explain the grief carried into the new conflict.[1][2]

Sources for this overview
  1. Rebuilding Brotherhood
  2. Reinventing a Mad World
  3. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition story primer
  4. E-Day Multiplayer Deep Dive