Renard gradually understood why Colliver had been hostile toward James. James had simply gotten caught up in the feud because of his uncle, Brad.
More than twenty years ago, the Demon Disaster erupted. Smoke billowed across Southern Wilderness County, and corpses littered the land. With the Ambrisset Mountains at its center, the Barren Land and even the entire Kingdom of Arthur struggled to survive the demons' rampage.
As the commander of the Black Rider Army, Colliver naturally had to defend the safety of the City of Abundance. Inevitably, he had to fight the demons.
The Demon Disaster lasted a full four years. Four years wasn't a particularly long time, nor was it short, but it was enough to change many things.
Colliver's father, the former Tax Officer of the City of Abundance, died at the hands of demons. His sixteen-year-old son, Laurien, died the same way while trying to protect his grandfather.
Losing his father and son in middle age was such a devastating blow that Colliver nearly went mad. If not for Lady Donna's devoted care, he would probably have become a vagrant on some street corner, or a pile of bones in the wilderness.
After that, Colliver spent his days drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He even got kicked out of the Black Rider Army for neglecting his duties while drunk. With no job, he had no choice but to enter the world of mercenaries.
He had to live, after all—at least for Lady Donna's sake.
Normally, pain faded with time, and after a while, Colliver might have been able to pull himself together again.
But fate had other plans. His romantic rival, Brad, had somehow lucked into giving his daughter to the lord of the City of Abundance as a mistress. Brad, in turn, had become the