Carolus XII Vasa

Constans Charles Hannes Zor-Mako-Vasa (regnal name: Charles XII / Carolus XII) was the King of the Sarovians from his reign beginning in 232 when he was coronated to 236 AS when he was shot and killed in the Battle of Kiev's Drift. Carolus XII was known to be an exceptionally talented military commander, leading numerous successful campaigns against enemy forces, often outnumbered three to one. Charles is also known to be the main patron of the Sarovian cultural age, leading many Sarovian scholars to pinpoint him as the start of the Sarovian identity as it is today. Many people refer to him as the "Soldier King", which has been adopted as a universal epithet for him.

Early Life
Charles was brought into the House of Vasa around 228 or 229 AS, when he was the eldest son of his father, Constantine V Vasa. Charles was noted as a poor administrator and governor, and despised politics to an extreme degree. His father on the other hand enjoyed the debates of his Parliament and forces his son to attend, something Charles resented. Charles frequently was disciplined and insulted by the parliamentary elite and his father, and it was highly expected that he would be disinherited in favour of his younger son, Frederick Vasa. Charles instead was a lover of the Army, whom he declared would be his "one true love", which would greatly upset his future Queen and wife. He was commissioned as an officer of the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Guard, which he quickly rose the ranks and would come the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment.

In the Saro-Aurean War, Charles was the mastermind of the victories at Modena and Sorrel against rebel groups aligned with the Aureans, and he and his father planned the attack on Aurea at Modena and Autumnwood, which the Aureans were skirmished with but retreated. On the eve of the infamous Battle of Poltava, Charles advised not to attack which was overruled by his father, and led to the disasterous defeat. Charles and his brother, along with Lieutenant-Colonel Sevirax, tried to desperately hold the line as the battle turned against them, with Frederick leading a rearguard action as Colonel Low and Charles tried to gather their men and retreat in an orderly fashion. Frederick would be captured, and it would mean that Charles would remain the heir to the Sarovian throne.

Constantine V and Charles would retreat to the woods in Upper Preuze in exile, to rebuild and regroup the battered remains of his army. There, Constantine V would leave Graal for good, giving the throne to Charles.

Sovereign
Charles Zor-Mako-Vasa would be crowned King of the Sarovians in April 2017 after the resignation and disappearance of his father. Within twenty four hours, the King would march his army south and seize Graal City during the Aurean Collapse, and established it as his capital. Just prior to his coronation, he would establish the Imperial Crown of New Sarovia, which at the time was just the felt and gold of the band. The expensive gemstones were on loan from creditors in Graal City. He would establish the Order of the New Sarovian Empire, the first order of chivalry in the world of its kind. His coronation was simple; in the witness of the ministers and officers of state in the church in the old capital of Sarovia, Sarvium, next to Angel Clan. He took up the regnal name of Carolus; the twelfth king named Carolus in the Zor-Mako dynasty, as he considered the name Constantine bad luck after the defeat of his father. He granted the first modern Sarovian duchy to the same Sevirax that helped him escape at Poltava, and named the duchy after him during his coronation. His coronation oath was simple and small; he pledged to strive for peace and protect Sarovians, claiming that he shall not start any unjust wars.

The Great War
War would inevitably come however. A small mercenary band known as the Order of Obsidian attacked Sarovian forces while on campaign in Narva. Despite being outnumbered two to one, Carolus decisively defeated the group and forced them into the country on the same day. These mercenaries were on their way to be hired by the Astorian Empire, a nation led by the House of Rhodes, in their ongoing war against the Kingdom of Valeria. On June 23rd, 2017, the Kingdom of Valeria and the Astorian Empire declared that a state of war existed between them and began clashing at Sorrel. Valeria had claimed almost all of the Graal map except for Sarovian land, and Astoria was challenging this status quo. The High King of Valeria, Achilles, had offered Carolus a secret plea: to ally with the Valerian kingdom and crush the Zor-Mako’s rival dynasty and Sorrel. Carolus had accepted and agreed to fight the next day, with the plan of tiring Astoria out. Carolus issued an ultimatum to Kaiser Peter von Rhodes, to lay down arms and retreat from Sorrel, which was promptly rejected.

As the Imperial Army began to mobilise, another army began to mobilise unknowest to Carolus. The State, which watched the war with interest, had pledged to intervene and aid Astoria should Sarovia, her new rival, join Valeria. The Sarovian force attacked at 5PM the next day, the battle still raging from the day previous. Sarovian troops led by Field Marshal Duke Sevirax joined the fray when the State began to flood into the battle. Valeria and Sarovia fought until an official of the State, Nylius, also an Aurean citizen, released the nuke which wiped out the 1st Infantry Division. In response, the Imperial Army retaliated by masskicking one State and one Astorian tag attached with a verbal warning: use masskicks again and we will retaliate.

With the Graal administration warping, eventually the State and Astoria fled into the Sorrel caves to claim victory despite Sarovian and Valerian troops still holding the field.

The next day, the State/Astorian alliance brought a new member into the fold: the Kingdom of Hakkan. This nation was small and weak, but was the first to fight Sarovia after the Battle of Sorrel. Hakkan troops fell for Field Marshal Sevirax’s trap; by hiding Sarovians in his guild house, Hakkan alongside some Astorian troops stormed Poltava for a chance to take it. Sarovians quickly formed up and counter attacked; leaving Emperor Germain of Hakkan alone and calling for backup from the petty kingdom of Arslan, another Astorian ally. A fierce battle erupted. Sarovians fortunately outnumbered the alliance and forced them to leave. Emperor Germain refused to accept defeat, until his larger allies, the State and Astoria, ejected Hakkan from their alliance while King Richmon surrendered in Poltava, and was allowed to leave. Small skirmishes erupt every day, multiple times a day in Sorrel and Poltava while both sides began planning their war-winning offensive. Neither side knew what was in store for them.

While Sarovia garrisoned Poltava, a massive Astorian and State army began encircling the city. With them was the small kingdom of Radnus, a new ally. King Carolus called for High King Achilles’ aid to help fight, which Achilles rejected, leaving Sarovia to her fate. Soon, Astoria stormed across the bridge and the State landed in Poltava Bay, pushing their way up to the church. While the battle raged, King Carolus had convinced Christian to join his alliance, and the battle raged on. This battle lasted for thirty two hours straight, many individuals fighting with no sleep whatsoever. Eventually, the State and Astoria retreated to catch their breath and rest. The next day, an equally large assault attacked the heights of Snowtown, which was held off for twenty two hours straight. Sleep deprivation kicked in for all sides as Sarovians and Astorians alike spoke to each other to keep themselves awake and sang songs over guild chat. This assault forced Astoria and the State to retreat once more.

For the next week, a few more skirmishes would erupt over Poltava and Sorrel again, but nothing major or long. On the 14th of July, the State would stop fighting in the Great War and stop aiding the call of Astoria. On the 31st, the State officially withdrew from the war and disbanded. Astoria stopped all of their offensives on the 16th of July, days after realizing the State would not assist any longer. Their Kaiser, Peter, fled Astoria on the 22nd of July. The Great War was over. But Valeria had not forgotten Sarovia.

During this time, Carolus married Cincinnis of Aurea, and had three sons: John, Mathiveas and Martinus in that respective order. The marriage was unhappy but effective: the Queen would govern while the King campaigned.

The Great Northern War
On the 23rd of July, the Kingdom of Valeria had allied itself with a nation called Axium, led by King Octane. Smaller splinter groups of former Astroians and Statees would join the vast anti-Sarovian coalition. Valeria was enraged that Sarovia received all the glory of the past war and sought to knock it down a peg. The Kingdom of Axium invaded Kiev on the 24th of July unannounced. When Sarovia responded to the battle, Astorian rebels and Valerians under General Paynius also joined the fight by attacking Poltava and Narva. Carolus abandoned the latter two territories and focused on Kiev. After four hours of fighting, Carolus launched the 4th Hussars Division to take Sorrel and Autumnwood from Valeria, to minimise the amount of enemies in Poltava at the time and overwhelm them. Carolus won a crushing victory at Kiev against Axium, and then retreated to Preuze town to plan a new strategy. On the 27th of July, King Carolus XII sent a massive force to attack the city of Poltava. He left behind two Divisions of the Brazilian Corps at Delta to defend against a possible counter attack. Carolus stalled time, refusing to immediately fight, and instructed all his personnel to sleep and wake early. At 9 the following morning, over 20 Sarovians attacked York and quickly overwhelmed the Coalition forces. Carolus also seized Narva and Sorrel unopposed, before returning to focus on Poltava. The battle was won after eight hours of fighting.

Days later, on the 1st of August, the Aurean Empire returned. Well aware of his father’s fate, Carolus XII declared war on the 5th of August and sent infiltrators to disrupt the Aurean mobilisation. Aurea would not formally fight Sarovia, but many Aureans willingly jumped into battle against Sarovia with the Coalition. On the 11th of August, over 40 Sarovians crushed an Aurean, Valerian and Astorian rebel force at Poltava. Emperor Kevlar issued the Emergency Edict of 2017 and the Second Aurean Empire formally disbanded a few days later. Astorian rebels formally surrendered the next few weeks as well, leaving only Axium and Valeria to fight. Upon formal defeat of Astoria, King Carolus raided and looted their camps. A miracle occurred: his brother Frederick was found unharmed and still in captivity, as the Aureans had sold him to Astoria in order to gain an alliance. Frederick was granted an army commission in the II Corps, and began to re-learn how Sarovian life worked.

On the 23rd of August, Axium and Valeria attacked Kiev after mass-reporting Carolus XII to the administration. The King was banned for good, and the entire 1st Imperial Army Corps was deleted by the administration. Carolus would inform his brother he was permabanned, and he would be abdicating and not touching Graal again. Field Marshal Marty of II Corps, alongside the rest of the Brazilian heroes, rushed to Kiev to stem the tide of the battle. Prince John, upon hearing the death of his father Carolus, publicly renounced the throne in order for his uncle, Frederick, to assume command: as it should have been had he not been in captivity. Frederick did so reluctantly and began issuing battle orders. The Valerians and Axium soldiers proclaimed that Sarovia was dead, so in response, King Frederick ordered the Sarovian soldiers to wear scary masks to prove that the dead could be of equal challenge. In the midst of battle, he declared: ''“Our enemies have demanded our surrender. No! It is better for us to defend ourselves as brave men to our last breath, and gain undying glory by our bravery, than to surrender ourselves to the enemy in order to live a little longer.”'' For a full twenty hours the battle raged, and Axium began to break away. Early in the morning, Axium retreated, and two hours later, Valeria’s field commander likewise surrendered. Upon hearing of the defeat, General Paynius flew into a rage; disbanding Valeria the next week. Axium likewise disbanded after the abdication of King Octane, a day after the battle.

Honours
Throughout his life, Carolus XII has received many different honours, decorations and titles.


 * Crowns
 * Imperial Crown
 * Honours
 * Sovereign of the Order of the New Sarovian Empire
 * Star of Carolus
 * Star of Valour (later renamed to Star of Constantine)
 * Imperial Vasa Star
 * Decorations
 * Sarovian Cross
 * Order of the Sarovian Crown
 * Order of the Lion
 * Order of the King
 * Victory Cross