Carolus

> My Lady, I will serve you until I am forcibly removed from your arms.
>
> -Carolus shortly after his ascension.

Carolus's appearance in Year 415 as a leader of the OVA.

## General Information

Carolus was a Lunar Paladin of The Lady, who has dedicated his life to serving her in whatever she may require. Carolus, along with Emperor VARHLIN, formed the Overworld Alliance (OVA) in the year 415. Carolus remains an important part of Eventide history, as the OVA and the people in control of it steer Eventide towards a united future.

### Who was Carolus?

Carolus was a Lunar Paladin, part of the sect known as "Her Right Hand". He was a key part of the OVA.

### In the OVA

Emperor VARHLIN and Carolus met in Neu Rom, and formed the OVA. As an important note, Carolus did not yet hold a position of leadership in Ghulfrost, but introduced the idea to the Emperor using his status as a Lunar Paladin.

## History

Below is the summary of Carolus's history up to current day.

### Early Years - Ascension

Carolus was born at an unknown time over 500 years ago, during a Chaos War. Being born in Ghulfrost, it would not be long before he would become a follower of The Lady Lunar, indoctrinated into the church at age 12. 6 years later, Carolus ascended in the eyes of The Lady and the church, allowing him to become a Lunar Paladin. As was natural for the time, his task would be to fight in the ongoing Chaos War.

### Ascension - Year 0

He and his fellow paladins fought until Year 0, when the Chaos War would finally end. After which, most of the remaining Lunar Paladins retired from service. While many had died before this point, Carolus and several members of "Her Right Hand" (The Sect of Lunar Paladins Carolus belonged to) would live on into his later life.

### Year 0 - Year 382

After the Chaos War, Carolus would spend much of his time wandering about Ghulfrost, constantly on patrol. When allowed free time, he would find himself meditating or praying to The Lady. Carolus noted that she was less and less present in Ghulfrost in the years following the Chaos War, but noted that it was likely she was busy in other places. In Year 382, The Lady appeared to him in a dream, giving him the location of a temple in the south. Carolus was to serve there until further notice. It is debatable if this was The Lady Lunar or if it was The Shadow trying to manipulate Carolus away from Ghulfrost. Carolus shared the information with the other four remaining Lunar Paladins. Three of them went with Carolus to the south. They found the temple, and served there for two full years.

### The Temple

When the four of them reached The Temple, the priestesses there were unsurprised by their arrival. The leader among them gave the four a full tour of the Temple, then showed them to their patrol routes. When Carolus was stationed in Ghulfrost, he was able to talk to the people there. It was quite a populous nation, and he always had someone who would follow him for a short time as he made his rounds. The Shrine, however, was different. The Shrine maidens would avoid the four if possible, and would only speak to them when there was something required of them. One exception was Thalia, who would often come down the temple steps and speak to the Lunar Paladins. Carolus enjoyed that time, and Thalia and Carolus would be made into great friends over the two years spent guarding the Shrine.

### The Sacking of The Shrine

Year 384 was a year that Carolus would never truly forget. November 12th, 5 PM. Thalia was talking with Carolus as usual when the sounds of armored footsteps rang out through the surrounding forest. at 5:15 PM, an intruder was killed while attempting to access the inner Shrine Vault. The man was later identified to be a member of the Order of the Assassins. 6 PM, Thalia retreats to the upper chambers of the Shrine. The footsteps are confirmed to be a full sect of Templars. They are close enough to see by now. 6:30 PM, the Templars reach the Shrine. The four tell the templar in the front of their line to halt, that this area is restricted by The Lady Lunar and "Her Right Hand".

The Templars ignored their warning, and persisted. 6:35 PM, the fight begins. The four, including Carolus, begin attacking the Templars. More Assassins join as well. The fight at the Shrine lasted until 8:15 PM. A fully robed figure catches Carolus's eye. Despite their skill and blessing combined, the Paladins are cut down one by one. Carolus stood alone against the tide of Templars and Assassins, but they do not seem to notice him anymore. The Robed Figure approached Carolus slowly, but accelerating rapidly.

Carolus ran from the Shrine, spotting Thalia carrying a small bundle in her arms, running from the temple as well. He turns around, letting out the war cry of a Lunar Paladin. Carolus became the primary target of those chasing Thalia, and she escaped into the forest. Carolus fought for 5 minutes straight, sustaining his energy off of the magic of the Lady. Carolus saw the Lady standing on a treetop above the fight, and tried to pray, but she did not answer. Instead, she looked on at Carolus with a mournful expression. Carolus knew what this meant, as the Lady turned slowly away from his direction. Shortly after this happened, Carolus was struck down, and unable to move. He had managed to survive the strike which should have killed him, kept alive only by the Blessings he had previously been given.

The Robed Man approached him again, hovering over his corpse for a moment. A darkened purple light shone from his hands, and Carolus felt his vision slip away, and felt death take him.

#### Side Note: Sacking of The Shrine

This part of the lore is coated in a layer of mystery, as there are two different opinions of what really happened on this November 12th of 384. This version of history is a mixture of both.

### Mental Torture

The Robed Man, who can now be identified as a form The Shadow uses to interact with people, placed Carolus into the Shadow itself. While in this state, The Shadow was able to torture him for what he percieved as thousands of years. Not even a week after his own capture, though percieved as a 30 year gap, Thalia would join him in the Shadow. Another 50 percieved years would pass, and Symond would join as well.

The pain there was eternal, and extreme, but there were times when the Shadow would focus on other voices more than others. During these times, the three could talk, and even became friends over time. While this was going on, Symond did not tell a single lie to Carolus, freely admitting that he was a tyrant to the both of them. Carolus took this as the Shadow playing tricks on them however, and percieved Symond as a perfectly honest king.

Some 900 years of torture later, Symond unexpectedly disappeared. Yet another 100 years would pass, and Carolus and Thalia would see a light pierce the shadow, setting the thousands of souls free. Many were sucked towards a place of fire, ash, and death. On the other side, a familiar face was waiting for Carolus, the face of The Lady. Carolus desperately tried to take Thalia with him, but she told him to let go. Thalia disappeared into the afterlife shortly after, seemingly intercepted before reaching the Nether.

Carolus drifted away from the Nether opening, and woke up in the fresh fallen snow of Ghulfrost.

### Year 412 - 415

This time period covers most of what happened in Season 1 and onward from the perspective of Carolus.

#### Introduction to the New Era

Once Carolus had woken up, he immediately went to the Temple of the Sword of Eden, where the Avatar of The Shadow was defeated. When he arrived, Carolus found the nation of Kathar in a circle, nearby was the corpse of Nik, and in the center of the circle, King Kantje was talking to a corrupted Symond. Carolus approaches the victorious nation, and gets his bearings on where he was in the modern world. Shortly after, Carolus finds a home within the nation of Ghulfrost, along with a young florist named Miyuki.

#### Improper Rituals

Far away from Carolus's home in Ghulfrost, King Kantje waged war against the Holy Roman Empire (HRE). Carolus was alerted, and made the decision to assist Kathar in this conflict, believing that the Holy Roman Empire had been misguided from Koda's vision. What the King did not expect, and by extension neither did Kathar, was that Emperor Silvar had hidden in an underground laboratory underneath the town of Tulum. Using the Staff of Eden, King Kantje would eventually find Emperor Silvar, but at that point, it was too late to stop his plan. Emperor Silvar had had enough time to summon Dakarda, as his final plan to enslave Dakarda as a weapon against Kathar and all enemies of the HRE. Instead of allowing himself to be enslaved however, Dakarda killed him instantaneously. King Kantje then destroyed the crystals responsible for maintaing Dakarda's magic, weakening Dakarda greatly. The Shadow saw its opportunity and struck. It was successful, and was able to take the body of Dakarda. The Avatar of The Shadow returned, this time in the body of a god. This worried Carolus immensely, as The Shadow returning, let alone in the body of a god, was an extremely large threat. He prayed to the Lady for several hours per day, hoping that he would not have to face The Shadow again.

##### Side Note: Improper Rituals

When Dakarda transitions into Nikarda, it should be explained that this means they are two seperate entities. Dakarda was the body, but Shadow Nik, or the Avatar of The Shadow, was the one in control. Thus, Nikarda.

#### Where Even Gods Do Sleep

Nikarda would be defeated, but with great effort by The Lady. Carolus had been praying for long enough that The Lady had been empowered ever so slightly enough that she was able to take down Nikarda. She would have anyway, of course, but it still helped. King Kantje, wielding the Staff of Eden, struck down a restrained Nikarda in the forgotten island city of Old Kathar. In doing so, King Kantje also killed Dakarda, releasing magical shockwaves across Eventide. Because of this, The Lady began to feel dizzy and weak, and left King Kantje standing alone at the dock. Shortly after this transpired, The Lady would go to the Garden of Eden, pulling Carolus there seconds after she arrived.0

> Carolus, you are from now on, my guardian. You are not to leave my side. Come with me to the regeneration node, that our strength may be replenished.
>
> -The Lady granting Carolus a new rank.

#### Balance of Power

Carolus and The Lady sit, uninterrupted in the regeneration node within the Garden of Eden. During this time, incomprehensibly large doses of Eden Magic were given to the Lady, and Carolus recieved the same amount, effectively reforming his mind. The newly crowned King Saturn would rebalance the power consumption in the Garden of Eden, recontaining EM-09, commonly referred to as the Ice. However, a side effect of doing so would be that the regeneration node was now no longer being given a large amount of power. This woke Carolus up immediately, but The Lady was still slumbering for another hour afterwards. Carolus was once again out of his bearings, but now, with a reshaped mind. He caught up with history relatively quickly, and was ready to assist Eventide against Snow. After this event, Plaries would abduct the Lady from the regeneration node before she was fully concious, sparking the wrath of Eventide against him.

#### The Magic Massacre

Carolus would eventually find himself at World Congress, along with most of Eventide. They were discussing the abduction of The Lady when a Warden of Time approached them. The Warden of Time accidentally let slip that Eventide was supposed to end in 415, the current year. The Warden of Time talked briefly, engaging in casual conversation before leaving the world stunned with the implications of what had been revealed. Carolus at that point, had an idea. The idea of a united world, standing against the most powerful forces of chaos. The idea of strength in unity, the idea of a secure, and safe overworld. However, before he could think of this for long enough, he had to deal with a fight on his hands. The world had arrived at the Dark Castle of Plaries, and was ready to engage. There is a reason, of course, that the battle is called The Magic Massacre, as the Overworld forces were all but slaughtered in this push to victory. They had no trump card, no battle plan, and very little communication. This was the proof Carolus needed, the proof that Carolus would use to form the Overworld Alliance.

#### Begging the Enemy

After the first defeat, Carolus knew that something had to change before they tried again. They only had a limited time, and Carolus knew he could never unite the world in the time he had. So instead, he thought up the idea of contacting Snow, an old enemy, for help with Plaries. Carolus reasoned with Snow for several hours, but Snow did not budge.

> If you want to stay alive, If you want a world to rule, a world for your master to take, then you may as well help us.
>
> -Carolus tries to convince Snow to help Eventide deal with Plaries.

##### Side Note: Begging the Enemy

Snow would only assist Eventide when Queen Lizard tried to sacrifice herself to Plaries, as he knew that the sacrifice would not be honored.

#### Storming The Castle

The World would once again make an attempt on Plaries's life, along with trying to save The Lady. Carolus was slightly unnerved with the carelessness of Snow, but decided that if he were to focus on anything, it would be ensuring that he was battle-ready, and certain of Plaries's demise. If necessary, Carolus was prepared to die. They were successful, Plaries was captured and taken by Melissa after The Lady was freed from her chamber under the Castle. Carolus relished the victory, but the formation of the OVA would soon take center stage.

#### The Formation of The OVA

And take center stage it most certainly did, as he continued to think about his Alliance, he only became more certain that it was the path forward. And so, Carolus met with Emperor VARHLIN, and they discussed terms regarding the Alliance. After presenting the idea to his people, Emperor VARHLIN returned to Carolus with an answer, and it was just the answer he was hoping for. The HRE would join the OVA on one condition, that the name be changed from original "Holy Ghulfrostian Empire" to the now common name, Overworld Alliance. The two would then approach King Saturn, who would talk to his people, and join the OVA. Similar to the HRE, Kathar had one condition for joining the OVA. No nation was to be forced to join the OVA unless their continued existence as a non-member threatened Eventide, or a puppet was in control of their state. Chief Viktor, and the rest of Wayfar would join secretly, as they were meant to be a special forces unit for the OVA.

#### Puppets Back Home

The OVA was almost immediately called in to replace a head of state, as Co-Chief Terra was accused by Carolus of being a puppet for Snow. Carolus gathered King Saturn and Chief Viktor, and told them to hide in Ghulfrost City Hall. He then lured Co-Chief's Pac and Terra into the center of the building, then sprung the trap. Pac and Terra were seperated, and Terra was given to Chief Viktor to be imprisoned in the Nether. As far as Carolus was aware at the time, Chief Viktor had imprisoned her as asked. Co-Chief Terra was instead immediately killed and eaten by Chief Viktor upon entering The Nether.

##### Side Note: Puppets Back Home

Queen Lizard would be coerced to join the OVA later, but Rular's condition was that the OVA would not force any Rularian to fight Snow.

### Year 415 - Current Events

Everything listed here is from the past several events.

#### Inmate in Hell, or a Hero in Prison?

Several months after the puppet removal, Snow was captured at the Library of Herodotos, and brought to Chief Viktor's Prison in The Nether. He stayed there for two months, which were the most peaceful two months since Nikarda's defeat.

#### Legacy of Carolus

> There is history with you...
>
> -The Lady Lunar, talking to Ulric.

When The Lady said this, Carolus immediately took an interest with Ulric. Carolus would venture to Rular not long after, inviting Ulric on a tour of Ghulfrost, and while journeying, they talked about the Lady. Ulric mentioned that what The Lady meant by her previous comment was that he was similar to a man named Gabriel, but Ulric did not know anybody by the name of Gabriel. Carolus took Ulric to Gabriel's grave, and told him about the man he had been compared to. Ulric would return home that day, and built a shrine to The Lady under his house in Repeterra. The Lady would appear to Carolus and Ulric at the shrine, where Carolus then expressed his will to teach Ulric to become a Lunar Paladin, that the old ways may return, and that Carolus would have a successor. And so, Carolus and Ulric began training, with Carolus as a mentor to Ulric.

##### Side Note: Legacy of Carolus

Ulric finished his training and became a Lunar Paladin. He is the only Lunar Paladin alive, with all others before Carolus either killed or retiring from service to allow natural aging to take them.

#### The God of Mischief

Before any of the above can come to fruition, Snow escaped the prison he was placed into, and was able to release Hermes from the vault in Old Kathar. As this happened, it was revealed that Chief Viktor had been helping Snow for some time prior to this. Carolus took this betrayal harder than most, as Carolus had been researching ways to free Vik from his fleshcrafted form. In general, Carolus had been great friends with Viktor for a long time prior, as he revealed that Vik was once a prince of Ancient Ghulfrost. Hermes and his servants engage the OVA in The Escape from Monteriggioni, forcing Carolus and the rest of the OVA out of the Overworld. This would cut off Carolus' connection to The Lady, meaning the steady stream of Eden Magic he typically received had halted. In addition, Carolus did not recieve a reply while praying in the Nether.

## Dependent on the Goddess

Due to his experiences while in The Shadow, his mind was permanently scarred with its presence. This was less of an actual force in his head, and more of a different version of himself. The thing in his head was a separate entity, and Carolus believed that when Symond was admitting his wrongdoings that it was instead a reflection of that in Symond's mind. If Carolus loses the favor of The Lady, he will quickly find himself unable to focus, and have darker tendencies. After a little over a day without recieving magic from The Lady, the darker personality will become the majority of his mentalscape. At this stage, Carolus will only barely be able to resist violence for the sake of violence. Within a week, Carolus will be gone, or at least the man people knew would be. The thing in his head will now be all that remains. For this reason, he was dependent on The Lady, and will continue to serve her until his death. This was unlikely, because Carolus serves The Lady unconditionally, and he has gorged upon an immense amount of Eden Magic while in the Garden of Eden.

### Emergency Power

In the case that The Lady DOES stop feeding him magic, Carolus will search for other sources as soon as he can, which can mean anything strong enough to stabilize a mind. This includes figures like Deliria, Hermes, Melissa, Plaries, or a revived Dakarda. Carolus will find himself displeased with what he must do, but he will. The moment that the magic he was promised flows through him, he will serve them in the same capacity he serves The Lady.

## Items

 Protector of The Garden
 Flower of The Lady
 Elune
 Lunar Revenge
 Lunar Crusade
 Crown of Carolus
 Netherite Body Plating
 Shandriss

## Death

### How Carolus died

Carolus was killed by Viktor in Northwestern Ghulfrost. Viktor used Kingsmourne to tear Carolus's soul out of his body, killing him.

### Aftermath

Shortly after Carolus's death, Ulric visited his former residence and recovered the book containing his final words. He shared this with the other OVA leaders, Kantje, and Vapper.

#### Ulric's Mission

Just before he died, Carolus finished training Ulric and gave him to The Lady for ascension. In the book he left behind, he gave Ulric a mission to expand the order of Lunar Paladins.

#### The Next High King

Carolus left the name of his successor in the book, choosing King Saturn to be the next High King. If Saturn were to refuse, then Emperor VARHLIN would take his place instead. However, instead of following this last commandment, those that heard the book unanimously agreed to place Ulric Elbeck into the position of High King of the OVA.

### It Isn't Over

After Carolus died, his body began to stir once more. Carolus's corpse walked on two feet, slowly following Viktor out of Northwestern Ghulfrost. The movement was rough, suggesting that he had forgotten how to walk properly. Viktor went to the North East, allying with Kallethus and Aeturnus along the way. There, they claimed the Well of Power as their own. Carolus now holds Shadowmourne, a powerful mourneblade and continues to train with it.

## Paragon of EM-01

### Chosen as a Paragon

Viktor was originally chosen to be the Paragon of EM-01 by GENESIS, but while Viktor did hold that title for some time, he found himself incapable of encountering the Paragon Cycle. Other forms of magic became more attractive to Viktor, and he formed other plans within his mind. As a result of this, Viktor decided to repeat history, giving the powers of Death to Carolus instead. Carolus informed GENESIS of this change, and GENESIS promptly withdrew the magic of death from Viktor, giving it to Carolus soon after.

### Paragon Cycle

Shortly after being chosen as the Paragon of EM-01 by Viktor and GENESIS, Carolus underwent the Paragon Cycle. He was chained in an empty room of the Endless Halls near the containment cell of EM-01. While in this room, he suffered visions of death, and images of a bridge between life and death were burned into his mind. All of this culminated in an event in which Death spoke to Carolus. While the conversation is not entirely known, Carolus has been known to take quotes from the conversation and use them elsewhere. When the Paragon Cycle completed, Carolus was unrecognizable as human any longer. He had fully taken on the form of Death.

#### Timelessness

> All things submit to time, so to be Timeless is not simply to be eternal, but to be completely invincible.
>
> -Carolus speaking about Death and its nature.

Death as we understand it is unaffected by time. Whether it be in the past, present, or future, Death is expected to remain the same. Carolus has confirmed this, saying that he already knows what will happen at the "end" of his term as Death, since he in a way, always has been. Carolus has speculated that the figure of Death that struck him down during the Paragon Cycle is actually himself, who will come to that exact point in time to claim the last soul, which kicks off this set of events all over again.

### Duties

As a Paragon, Carolus was of course meant to assist the Overworld in their fight against the Elves, since that is why GENESIS put out the call for Paragons in the first place. However, in addition to that goal, he was also responsible for managing the machine of Death, ensuring that souls made their way from one life to the next. The most famous occasion occuring just after Vasha's death in the Garden of Eden. Several family members and close friends of Vasha reported having very similar dreams on the night of her death, suggesting that Carolus called them to speak with her before she passed on.