PROLOGUE

The date was September 12 of the year 2018 in the Imperial Calendar. The world was under the control of the tyrannical Lelouch vi Britannia, the "Demon Emperor." After killing 98th Emperor Charles of the Holy Britannian Empire and claiming the throne of Britannia for himself, Lelouch began a full out war against the United Federation of Nations. He was opposed by the former Second Prince and Prime Minister of Britannia, Schneizel el Britannia, who had taken over command of the UFN's supranational military force, the Black Knights. During the war, Schneizel destroyed the Britannian capital of Pendragon using the new weapon, the floating fortress Damocles, capable of firing devastating FLEIJA missiles that each possess the power to eradicate an entire city. Realizing that at a high enough altitude the Damocles would be able to hit every major city on the planet, Lelouch launched a campaign to claim the Damocles and use its power to assume control of the entire world. Despite Schneizel's efforts, Lelouch emerged victorious and declared himself world leader, abolishing all other governments and maintaining power through the threat of Damocles.

For two months the world belonged to Lelouch vi Britannia. Then, as he oversaw the execution of the UFN leaders, Lelouch was assassinated by Zero, the masked leader of the Black Knights, who was believed to be dead. Lelouch's death led to an era of peace and prosperity across the world. Following the assassination, the world's governments were restored with new leaders, and new nations arose as well. In 2020 a.t.b., 100th Empress Nunnally vi Britannia, who succeeded her older brother as ruler of Britannia, reached an agreement to turn all power of Britannia's military forces over to the UFN, in return for representation on the UFN Supreme Council. In addition, Empress Nunnally was given permission to have a small band of knights that answered directly to her, and so she formed the Knights of Nunnally, led by Bradford Keighley, Nunnally's original knight.

However, the peace was short-lived. In 2023 a.t.b., the European Union capital of Paris was suddenly attacked without reason or provocation. With no evidence to determine the identity of the attacker, nations began to doubt each other, and distrust only grew when another attack took place, this time on the Middle Eastern Federation's major city of Jerusalem. The world began to fall into the abyss of conflict once more. World peace, it seemed, was not meant to last.