Stuart Black, the youngest son of Morgan Black, is a British colonial official assigned to manage the colony of Brunswick. The colony is protected by mercenaries led by Black's nephew John Black, son of Phillip Black. The colony has a friendly relationship with neighboring Cherokee tribes until immediately prior to the Seven Years' War, when the Cherokee launch assaults on Brunswick and on several other colonies in the vicinity. Though they are eventually defeated by John and his mercenaries, the Cherokee are found to possess cannon, leading the Blacks to believe that the Cherokee are aligned with the British government. This assumption is proved correct to a point; they are allied with General Warwick, a British official and the leader of the Circle of Ossus, the Black family's enemy.