The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (Lionheart Limited Edition)

The game is set in the Erebonian Empire and takes place after the Trails in the Sky series of games and during the same time period as the Crossbell duology. The story follows two warring groups – the aristocratic “Four Great Houses”, and the Reformists. The Nobles, on one hand, wish to maintain their power by keeping control over their own private armies. The Reformists, on the other hand, want to disband the Nobles’ armies and centralize all power under the Prime Minister. After a failed arbitration attempt by the Emperor, tensions continue to increase.

The game’s plot is centered around Rean Schwarzer and his fellow “Class VII” at Thors Military Academy, which is a newly formed class composed of both Erebonian nobility and commoners, being the only one at the entire academy that does not segregate based on social class.

The game follows Class VII throughout the school year from March to October, primarily focusing on their field studies that takes them to various cities and areas across Erebonia. The primary purpose of doing so is for the class to witness first hand the reality of the Empire, as the power struggle between the aristocratic Nobles and the working class Reformists led by Chancellor Giliath Osborne threatens to lead to civil war. At the same time the students increasingly come into conflict with a terrorist group later known as the Imperial Liberation Front, led by the masked but charismatic leader known only as “C”.

During their time at the academy, Class VII also are tasked with investigating the “Old Schoolhouse”, an unused mysterious building on campus that changes its internal layout monthly. At the bottom of the seventh and final floor, they discover an ancient mecha known as Valimar, the Ashen Knight.

The day after the Old Schoolhouse is fully explored, an Aion controlled by Crossbell, which has declared independence, destroys Garrelia Fortress, the military base on the Crossbell border, leading to national panic. During a speech announcing his intended response, implied to be an invasion of Crossbell, Osborne is assassinated by the terrorist “C”, who is revealed to be fellow Class VII student Crow Armbrust. Alongside the assassination, a coup by the Noble Alliance results in Thors being occupied by forces led by Crow piloting his own mecha, Ordine, the Azure Knight. Unable to fight it with normal means, Rean calls Valimar in order to fight Crow with it one on one, in which Rean is defeated, leading directly into Trails of Cold Steel II.

Source: TheGamesDB