An even earlier forerunner of the Round Table appears in "Perceforest", where Arthur's distant ancestor, the eponymous King Perceforest, establishes the elite Order of the Franc Palais ("Ordre du Franc Palais") to fight against the forces of darkness; the Order ends up destroyed by the evil Julius Caesar during his invasion of Britain. This happens even before the birth of Christ, but nevertheless also taking place in the author's contemporary High Middle Ages style setting just like the other Arthurian romances; as willed by the Sovereign God ("Dieu Souverain", here apparently the coming Christian god to whom the Roman and other pagan deities willingly submit and work for), the Franc Palais numbers the selected 300 British knights chosen for their valor and seated in the specially constructed building by the same name.