Born as an only child in the Holy Orenian Empire, Karl grew up in a fairly "regular" heartlander household. That is, considering his father was a highlander. Karl never really got to know his father though, as throughout his early childhood, his father remained a reserved and inconspicuous man. This is, in hindsight, probably a result of his highlander past, and a pressure to not stand out amongst his heartlander neighbours. Hiding his identity became a big burden on Karl's father, even hiding his highlander background from his in-laws. Karl's mother was a caring and sophisticated heartlander woman, and has always been the most important person in Karl's life. Thus, Karl's childhood and upbringing resulted in him being a firm heartlander, which enabled his passion for the religion, the literature and the broader arts. Karl's father died/left in Karl's early teens, however Karl does not know or want to know the circumstances around his father's death/disappearence, and has never pressured his mother for answers either.
When arriving onto Almaris Karl and his mother were amongst the descendants that first settled in Providence, where they've both resided ever since. Starting to come of age around the raids of 1796, Karl found work in the construction of the changes to the city's defensive structures, and got to know several low-ranked ISA-men who ultimately makes up Karl's current social circle. Facing pressure from said circle, and "radicalized" as a result of the raids, Karl is now seriously contemplating enlisting in the army, providing he doesn't find some alternative source of providing for his own basic needs, not willing to be a mommy's boy forever.
(I figured there's recently been a migration, so I'm a bit confused as to whether he is born during/before/after the migration, but I think I got it right. Also the lore references I went for were 1. the migration and 2. the raids, if that wasn't clear)
