Carolus III Zoar

"We shall endure here, for our time will yet come. The trait above all others that our people shall possess is HOPE, for for the LORD is with us! Stefan with us!" - Carolus III in Northern Graal after the Battle of York.

Carolus III was the son of Rex Septentrionis Carolus II and a noblewoman by the name of Maria of Kiev. Gaining the throne incredibly early on in his life, the young king was inadequately prepared for the conflict ahead of him. According to Historia Sarovianorum, the first purported history of the Sarovian peoples, Carolus III was one of the great warrior kings of the Sarovian people and descendent of King Tristam. As such, not much is known about the monarchs it portrays especially in regards to their early lives, and some information is criticised by modern Graal historians.

Early Life
Not much is known about Carolus’ early life, but that he was the only son of Carolus II and that he was born during a thunderstorm. Upon the death of his father, he was surrounded by a regency council orchestrated by his mother the Queen Mother Maria. From early on he was trained in a martial education by some of the finest soldiers in the Kingdom, and some of the finest clergymen across Graal, teaching him the importance of finding Stefanic artifacts all across the land.

Reign
Five months later he had married a noblewoman by the name of Christinia Fax, which scholars believe dates back to the Fairfax family, one still loyal to Sarovia today. Within two months they had three children - Gustavus Zoar (who went missing before assuming the throne,) Carolus IV and Adolf Zoar. Three months later, war was inevitable as the Kingdom of Imperia (which was now known as the State) did cross the River Nafets and lay siege to the city of York. There, the King led his army in battle and undertook a sortie - marching all night out the backdoor to meet the Statees on an advantageous hill. According to the Historia Sarovianorum as the two sides clashed, the Statees were routed. However, the Liber Stefanicus reads that magic was used by the Stefanic and Stephanist forces to warp their respective sides far away, with Carolus III in the hills of northern Graal and the Statees at the River Nafets, which then did lay siege to the castle there, and then eventually to Sar, which was razed and lost forever.

In northern Graal, Carolus began to march his army south but lost many supporters due to the harsh lifestyle up north. When the capital was taken, he turned around and set up a small settlement, and two months later, was killed while on a hunt by a rebel Stefanist soldier. The throne then passed to his middle son, Carolus IV.