High King Karl III

High King Karl Olafssen Kingmaker

Considered one of the weakest High Kings in all of Aedrinaran history, Karl III was the last surviving son of King Olaf III Kingmaker and won the kingsmooth after the death of his father in 580. Karl's reign was defined by numerous rebellions and instability within the realm, including the loss of his father's Asrinheim territories during the Fury Rebellion.
Karl held his father's titles as High King and Jarl of the Southern Hold from his moot until his death in battle in 599. His children and house would not hold a noble rank again, with the house of Kingmaker falling into extinction by 798, 3e. Karl is still held in high regard within his home of Odinsthrone, especially amongst members of House Iceaxe who were amongst the only houses to support him for his entire reign. Outside of the Aedrinaran capital, however, he is poorly remembered or even regarded at all unless considering the sagas of his predecessor, Olaf III, or successor, Haarold V.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Early Life

Karl was born in Odinsthrone to High King Olaf III and his fourth and final wife, Aerfi Alvasdottir, a commoner from Harehall. He was the youngest child of the marriage and the youngest of Olaf's 8 children and one of only 2 children to outlive the Kingmaker. His mother would be 40 at the time of his birth and his father 121 years old. Olaf III had founded and ruled the Seventh Kingdom of Aedrinar for 31 years by the time of his birth. His mother, Aerfi, continued to be a performing bard and singer around the realm.
At the time of his birth, Karl was only 1 of 4 of Olaf's children to still be alive, but had countless half-nephews and nieces as well as an older sibling, and was not taken seriously as a candidate for succeeding his father as head of the house. He would spend his early years being raised by courtiers when his parents were away, or by his half sibling Olaf the Younger. Olaf the Younger was the steward of Furunheim and his father's favoured child and heir. The prince would help raise Karl, teaching the ways of the Aedrinaran until his death in 566 when Karl was 13.
The young Olafssen returned to his home at Odinsthrone, undertaking only some further education but became a favoured entertaniner and party guest amongst the Odinsthrone houses, becoming popular and well liked for the first time in his life. When his father returned full time to Odinsthrone in 570, he was impressed at how the young Karl has become so well-liked amongst the southern houses. Olaf spent the next three years teaching the boy about the realm and his dreams for the kingdom upon his death, grooming him to suceed him as Jarl of Odinsthrone.

Steward of Odinsthrone and Jameleskan Rebellion

Going from a minor member of Olaf's dynasty to the most likely to inherit his most prized city, Karl would marry a minor member of House Fairhair named Anjya in 577, 3e. Karl hosted the wedding publically at the Temple of the Hunters in the Harehall district of Odinsthrone, with most of the city coming to celebrate their marriage. Karl continued to support his father in administrating the city whilst boosting his own prestige and popularity amongst the commoners and noblity alike.
In 579, Olaf III would intervene in the Jameleskan Rebellion of his former protegee, Henry Rassendorf, now Duke of Jameleska, in his fight against the Snow Lord. Karl would go to war, but learnt his wife was pregnant on the eve they set for the Jotun Kingdom. Karl earned several key glories and kills in the war, and helped to carry his father back to Odinsthrone following his injury in battle. He returned in time for the birth of his twin sons, naming them Karl and Olaf alfter himself and his father. They would grow up to be called Olaf Karlssen and Karl the Younger.
His father would travel to Furunheim in 580, leaving him in charge of the city for two years whilst Olaf III tackled the Fury Uprising. He continued to run the southern hold and his city well, earning favour and appreciation from all stratum of society across the hold.

Early Reign and Fury Uprising

Olaf III would die to a mysterious assailant in 582, 3e. Conspiracy theories around his death were prevelant, with some suggesting Karl had contracted the Red Daggers. In the aftermath of Olaf's death, Olaf's vast holdings would end up being divided. The Jarldom of Furunheim went to Karl's half-nephew, Olaf the Younger's son Olaf of Ferenvire, Karl would ultaimely earn the Jardom of the Southern Hold and would win the Kingsmoot, defeating his fellow house members in the process.
Many in the southern hold regarded his election victory as a triumph and a positive sign. He had run his hold well and was popular amongst the nobility and commoners, and his role in the Jameleskan Rebellions had earned him a warrior's honour. Outside of the south, many held Karl in poor regard. They saw him as weak compared to his father, and their animosity to the Kingmaker was now targetted at his heir.
Karl's first year would be spent trying to put down the Fury Uprising. His house had already lost key battles including the Uprising at Krakenpost and the Ambush on the Fury Road. Karl's relatives, Ingrid Elfsbane and Jorgen Kingmaker would die during the ambush, prompting Karl to muster his armies and land on the island. Many houses outside of the south refused the call, with only the Thairgirs of Sudureyja being the exception. After sending some of his allies to treat with the northern lords, House Winter-Shield sent a token fleet of 3 longships and berserkers to assist.
Karl's leadership on the battlefield left much to be desired. He was constantly out maneouvered and outplayed by Tiristar Furyborn and his captain Zedithir who had been veterans of the Marcian Wars, with decades more experience than Karl. The North looked to send more armies to help turn the tide, until a member of their house was found shipwrecked with a damaged document implicating Karl in a conspiracy to usurp the northern houses. The Wintershields withdrew their support and returned to Winterharbour, beginning to organize a rebellion of their own and openly assisted the Furyborn in their uprising.
More members of Karl's family would die in 584 as two key battles decimated the Aedrinaran leadership. At the battle of Mirthwood and the following liberation of Marthiel, the house of Elfsbane were defeated. Zedithir would lead Karl on a goose chase of a decoy army around the Fury Tarn, allowing Tiristar Furyborn to take Ferenvire in the Second Battle of Ferenvire, which saw Olaf of Ferenvire, Olaf the Younger's son and heir and member of Karl's house, killed in one-on-one battle with the Elder. Karl's army were then trapped by Furyborn reinforcements, and a despeate retreat saw 2/3 of his army cut down. Karl would recognize Furunheim as independent upon his return to the island a month later, stating the Furyborn had shown "a warrior's honour" and they had right of Claimance to the territory since they had killed the Jarl of Furunheim. In Karl's eyes, he saw this honouring a superior enemy, but to many in the realm he looked weak and cowardly for losing his father's prized possession.

Post Uprising Rebellions

In the aftermath of the Fury Uprising, the northern lords broke out in full scale rebellion against the crown, declaring their independence under rulership of the Wintershields. The north had long been resistant to the Seventh Kingdom, feeling blackmailed to joining it by Olaf III, and angered by Karl's apparant plotting they had decided to openly rebel. Karl attempted to re-tame the northern hold but was beaten back in battle at every attempt. A client house of his family the Charstones, the descendents of one of his half-sisters, were wiped out defending the kingdom. The Wintershields sent an army into Odinsthrone, capturing the city and Karl's family. The High King surrendered and accepted their independence in 587 after 4 years of fighting.
Simutaneously, the Stormbarers began their first open revolt against the kingdom in 585. Their attacks on the eastern isles angered ice elf and human houses alike, and Karl could do little to protect his subjects and allies. When the Wintershields retreated back to the north after their victory in 587, Karl was finally able to take the fight to the Stormbarers and bypassed their army to attack Isbrygge itself. When the Stormbarer Jarl, Gerdur, heard of this. She surrendered without a fight, folding the east back into the realm.
The third major revolt was in the eastern isles as the opressed Vaniri houses of the islands Olaf had conquered were disapointed by Karl's lacklusture response to the
A smaller set of rebellions began in Einmanfjell and the Northern Islands which Karl had to personally deal with. His chroncilers state the king was growing stressed and tired, his long hair turning white as the snow as more and more of the noble houses rebelled against him.

Broken Spear Rebellion and Second Stormbarer Uprising

The most gruelling rebellion against Karl began in 591 when the noble houses of Drekenheim broke into revolt, declaring independence. They would be joined by House Thairgir of Fargenvur, the Jarls of Northern Sudurejya. Karl's armies were reliant on the southern hold and his father's former family, House Dragontooth. The broken spear rebellions rallied around the house of Grimsbane of Oskunstrond, who were angered by Olaf III's burning of Oskunstrond and demanded their independence back.
The Rebellions were waged far from the towns and cities, which Karl managed to keep mostly under his domain, and instead in the volcanic mountains, caverns, mesas, and forests of the island. Around 30% of the island would die in the conflict, and Northern Sudurejya faced constant raiding and battling. The Thairgirs did manage to sail a fleet through the River Bitter into Odinsthrone and attack the city, as Kriegerholm's sea gates had not been repaired since Olaf III sacked the city 90 years prior.
In 594, a second Stormbarer rebellion broke out, and Karl left his son, Olaf Karlssen, to handle the Drekenheim front whilst he tended to the Stormbarers. His armies were split and worn down, even his staunchest allies were close to turning their backs on him. A few houses had remained neutral during the fight, such as House Horfhand and House Lightbringer of Lastlight, but they refused to send any support beyond token raiders to help Karl.
Karl lost a key battle of Yeti Glacier to the Stormbarers, but managed to rally enough of his surviving soldiers to flank the Stormbarer army and again march on Isbrygge, the house surrendering before he reached their town again. His commanders wanted him to burn the town to the ground, but Karl refused, saying his attention needed to be on stopping the Broken Spear Rebellion in the south. His son, Olaf, would die in a Grimsbane ambush at Balder's Mesa in 595.
In 596, House Lightbringer finally joined the fight. Haarold Lightbringer easily flanked Fargenvur, destroying its keeps and most of its homes and businesses, leaving the once proud port town a husk with only its temple intact. Fiskvatn was sacked a week later, and the house surrendered, being folded into Haarold's realm as a single Jarldom of Sudurejya. Haarold then landed troops in Drekenheim with the intent of ending the rebellion. He won two key victories at the Stonetrel and Raven's Shore. Karl, grateful for the Jarl's assistance, left him in charge of the campaign so he could return to Odinsthrone.
Karl's wife would die a month after his return, and the king supposidly kept himself locked up in his keep. His allies remarked how he had fallen into a deep paranoia and bouts of sadness and weeping. Management of the jarldom was left to his son, Karl the Younger, who had to put down another rebellion that arose in Halgafjar. The Broken Spear Rebellion was left in Jarl Haarold's hands, who had managed to secure a peace treaty that recognized the Grimsbanes as Jarls of Drekenheim and folded them back into the realm.
For reasons unknown, Karl was angered by Haarold's treaty, accusing him of treason and demanding he yield his titles to the crown. Haarold refused, and was considered in open rebellion as well. The Grimsbanes joined with Haarold, seeing him as a powerful warrior who had earned their loyalty by defeating them.

Death

The rebellions had taken their toll on the king, and in 599 the 46 year old supposidly looked to be twice his age. His attempted war with Haarold Lightbringer was going poorly, despite the aide of House Dragontooth. Kriegerholm was peacefully occupied by Haarold, effectively blockading Odinsthrone's key trade routes. House Horfhand broke their neutrality and also declared for Haarold, leaving the king surrounded by enemeies.
In the final months of his life, the Wintershields began to press more claims beyond their northern borders and attacked the southern hold. Karl was powerless to defend against them as his farms and holdings were pillaged. The Wintershields beiseged Odinsthrone, starving the town further. The siege would be broken by the surprise arrival of Haarold Lightbringer. The Odinsthrone houses refused to open theri gates to him, and an internal revolt of the common people and lesser houses broke out within the capital. Karl's keep was mobbed and he supposidly 'torn apart' by the crowd.

Legacy

Karl's legacy is one of failure in the face of hardship. His father had kept the realm together out of fear and his reputation, and Karl did not have his father's temprament. In his early years he was remarked upon as a kind man with a high regard for honour, oaths, and family. It is likely the stress of the various revolts, wars, and rebellions he faced broke down his good-hearted nature and left him the husk he was by the time of his death.
Time has been kind to Karl in the south, despite his slaughter at the hands of the common people they have gone on to remember him in moderate tones, saying how his downfall was a result of problems beyond his control. His most loyal allies, House Iceaxe, still regard him fondly centuries later and their role in supporting the troubled king was forgiven by Haarold. A statue now exists of Karl III on Thornstrom Bridge in Odinsthrone.
The King's legacy would ultimately be a footnote in that of his father and his succssor, Haarold Lightbringer. Haarold would go onto tame the Stormbarers singlehandidly, with them not revolting under his reign as high king. Haarold also brought the north back into the kingdom and created a peaceful treaty in the eastern islse between the Ice Elves and Humans that kept the islands of Valkeyrie and Kastaland in the kingdom until it's fall in the 8th century. His role in bringing the realm together earned him the epithet The Great Uniter, and Karl is simply the opening passage to his own impressive saga.

Social

Family Ties

Karl was born to a large extended family descended from his long lived father. When he was born, the extended house of Olaf had 25 members. By the time of his death, only 14 remained. Karl would be survived by his son, Karl the Younger. He also had a nephew, neice, and grand-neice that survived him on his sister Lara's side as they were members of The Wyrmlings guild.

Family Realtions

Karl and his wife, Anjya Fairhair, were considered deeply in love. Anjya was left to rule Odinsthrone and the southern hold whilst Karl was in Furunheim, and would accompany him in putting down rebellions in the post-uprising period. When the Wintershields captured Odinsthrone and held her and her children hostage, Anyja's legs were broken falling from the battlements, which she used to explain why she could not put up a valiant fight.
Her leg injury and mental scars from the capture of her home city left Anjya out of future wars. Her health continued to deterioriate, and her eventual death is proposed as one of the reasons for Karl's breakdown.
Karl also doted on his children, who were raised as competent soldiers and honourable members of their house. Expected to follow in Karl's footsteps, the twins were known to be a powerful fighting duo. Karl the Younger would survive his twin, Olaf, and in local legend it is said he keeled over in pain, clutching his side when Olaf was killed by a spear to his abdomen. Karl did erect a memorial to Olaf and his father, but it was destroyed decades later when Kriegerholm invaded the city.

Species

Human

Honorary & Occupational Titles

High King of Aedrinar

Reign	582
	599
Predecessor	King Olaf III Kingmaker
Successor	High King Haarold V The Great Uniter

Jarl of the Southern Hold

Reign	582
	599
Predecessor	King Olaf III Kingmaker
Sucessor	Brangar Oakglaive

Date of Birth

553, 3e

Date of Death

4th Snowfall 599 3e

Pronouns

He/Him

Sex

Male

Gender

Man

Presentation

Masculine

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

White

Height

Between 5"8 and 5"10