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For starters, Davor is no simple peasant, as much as he fraternized with the very people he was supposed to have been lording over. The eldest son of an influential noble family back in the small but prosperous country of Katchia, he held much promise, at first. Keeping strongly to the old saying "children should be seen, not heard," even back then Davor was solemn and silent—and actually, he didn't even have the decency to make himself seen, often neglecting his studies and responsibilities to play out in the forest instead. It was there that he learned many of the skills and hobbies he would continue to enjoy as an adult, such as hunting and fishing and... well, not the scholarly pursuits his parents expected of him.

Davor was at least good at taking care of his younger siblings, but the ever-present friction between him and his father Kiril caused a rift that would only grow as the family did. The second son, Dalibor, proved to be just as impetuous and unfit for politics, and the two supported each other once they became grimly aware of just what miserable disappointments they were. The daughter Tihana made things bearable with her affection and optimism, but the loss of her twin dealt a painful blow to the quickly fragmenting family. It seemed the youngest, enthusiastic and ambitious Damir, would become the favored son as Davor and Dalibor teetered on the edge of being all but disowned.

In a desperate bid to find some way to prove himself, Dalibor decided to join Katchia's military, a growing necessity as border disputes became more serious. Naturally, Davor followed, wanting to look after his younger brother as well as he could. They expected to parade about in uniform, see some action but not too much, and come back redeemed as great defenders of their glorious country. Instead, their military careers were marked by disaster—one look at Davor would prove that. No one could say he wasn't eager, at least.

But things only got worse for the brothers as war was officially declared by Okraina, the territorial skirmishes spilling over into an invasion backed by Belastranan might. For years it raged, but really, Davor had stopped paying attention to the passage of time after Dalibor was killed. There was nothing he could do but keep fighting—until he was badly wounded and left to die, as well. He probably would have, had he not been found and taken in by the Order of the Kirghiz Light. Part religion, part rebellion, Davor became an agent of the Light as well as he could in his condition. He was indebted to Kirghiz, and more importantly, unable to face his family after Dalibor's death. He took the bizarre practices in stride, comforted to find another way to belong.

After all the fighting, bringing the countries together again sounded appealing, anyway. Kirghiz continued to organize counter-attacks even after the official Katchian military began to retreat and fight a desperate defense, but the Light's forces were feeble, Katchian morale was low, and practicing even the more mainstream, watered-down form of Kirghiz became dangerous as Okrainan and Belastranan rule took over. The devout retreated to their insular, secret circles, vowing to return someday stronger than ever, and Davor decided to finally return home.

There wasn't much home to return to, as it turned out. His father had been killed in a siege of the district, his sister had fled with her husband to who knows where, and his youngest brother had seemingly disappeared. His mother was certainly glad to see him, but the bad news they both had to share dampened the reunion just a bit. They tried to adjust as well as they could, but eventually, Davor lost his mother to illness (or good ol' heartbreak, he's sure), and he was left alone. He was free to live the life he'd always longed for, cavorting about outdoors and among the people, however many were left, but it brought him no joy.

Just as it seemed Davor was resigned to live the rest of his days in solitude, a letter arrived from his sister, Tihana, desperate to find out what had happened to her family back home, and eager to share details of her new life in Sunderland. Once again, Davor had to be the bearer of bad news, made even more difficult by the fact that, while they got along well enough, they'd never been the closest. Their correspondence was slow and each letter was painful, but it was something. Both siblings were just happy to have someone left.

When Tihana invited Davor to live with her in Sunderland, he only hesitated a little. But there was nothing left for him in Katchia, and he immediately made the journey overseas with what money he had left. It was yet another bittersweet reunion, but his sister was as radiant as ever, his brother-in-law, Vuk, still the charming devil he remembered (though, perhaps, changed in a way he could not quite place), and—what was this? Davor was an uncle? They had a pet deer?

It should have been a wonderful new start, but he could not adjust. He felt like a trespasser in his sister's life, carrying too many dark memories of their old home and old family. The lighter memories were becoming harder to remember, to share and laugh over. Vuk began avoiding him. Their daughter eventually did stop being afraid of him, yes, and they could even get each other to smile, but he decided it would be best to leave despite Tihana's pleading. He assured his sister that they would keep up correspondence, he would stay in the country, and, if he ever needed help of any kind, yes, yes, he knew they were there for him... and with that, they parted amicably enough. There are still a lot of unspoken things between them, but that's probably for the best for now.