Darius Varus was a strong child and a powerful boy, so his father got him involved in training as early as he could. During his training, he learned multiple styles and fighting techniques from local pit fighters and local gladiators who all did side-stints in the circus for extra coin. His main teacher was a dwarven Monk named Durgann Bloodhammer, who taught him the ways of the Unrelenting Avalanche and honed his body into a powerful force of offense and defense.

But it wasn’t all fighting all the time. Darius was also taught how to heal broken bodies and volunteered his help to the local Hospitallers to hone his craft. Of course, there was no shortage of accidents, falls, equipment failures, and misjudged acrobatics while in the circus, so he had the chance to utilize his medical skills quite often.

In his adult life, he is an extremely friendly person, very protective of his sister, and those he calls friends. He always goes the extra mile to help, even if it means taking on burdens that are not really his to bare. Darius is usually the instigator for revelries and nights of raucous post-performance drinking parties and always tries to be the peacemaker among disputes. Many times, he has turned a dour mood into levity with his wit and positivity, which has often changed the course of a show for the better following a failed act or mishap. He’s a mountain of a man, and a mountain of happiness!

Darius is played by Rob Trimarco.

Alhara is a child of the circus. Her earliest memories were swinging from a training trapeze with her father, Marcel, standing by to make sure she was safe and her brother, Darius, cheering her on. She even recalls one particularly bad tumble when the rope she was swinging on broke and Alhara went flying twenty feet before hitting the ground and rolling to a stop. As her father and brother rushed over to check on her, Alhara lept to her feet and shouted, “AGAIN!”

On her 6th birthday, she announced to her family that her birthday wish was to “be a girl.” Her father helped her pick out a new name; she choose the elven name, Alhara, meaning light on her feet. Some of the other girls in the circus gave her gifts of clothes, shoes, and ribbons for her hair.

Growing up in the circus was great for Alhara; she got to meet interesting people with a wide variety of talents and she wanted to try them all. Being naturally athletic, she excelled at feats of strength and agility. Over time she would try and duplicate the tricks of other performers, trying to learn them all so that she could be the best. Alhara believes there’s nothing she cannot accomplish if she puts her mind to it.

As a half-elf, she knows that since her father is human, her mother must be elven or half-elven. However, asking Marcel about it is heartbreaking as he always gets that far away look and says he doesn’t want to talk about her. Unsure how her mother died, Alhara decided to choose Gozran 27th, 10 days after her own birthday, to grieve annually for her mother’s passing.

She enjoys risky activities that challenge her abilities; the more danger the more adrenaline! Her circus career started working as a clown doing physical comedy, then doing side-shows to show off her acrobatic talents. Now she has a shot at the big time in the main tent, and she’s not going to let her family down!

Alhara is played by Vanessa Hoskins.

Ateran didn’t grow up in the circus. No, they weren’t even part of the previous company that fled Mistress Dusklight’s Celestial Menagerie. However, it’s been long enough since they joined the Circus of Wayward Wonders for this new company to learn Ateran shares only shrewd words and sharp glances. It was months ago that Ateran was at a coastal hamlet selling minor alchemical poultices and quick repairs, whatever you might need. Tall and dark-haired, the mysterious tone they used was terse if not polite.

They’d traveled the ocean for some time, heralding from some town or country Ateran would not say. Though the affectation of Ateran’s voice betrays a distance — as does the oddity of their attitude and curious magic — there is little they say of where it was they learned of such things. Even the oily midnight plumage of their raven Csillagos is foreign with a curious intelligence behind its eyes. The rest of the circus says they’ve heard Ateran whispering dark promises to the raven in the night as they worked over frothing flasks, glowing vials, and a bubbling cauldron. Whatever they’re planning it at least serves to keep the circus in alchemist’s fire for its pyrotechnics and sturdy clothing, no matter what rip may come of a performance.

But as avoidant as Ateran may be, come dinner time ‘round the fire or at taverns as the circus passes through towns, they’re always watching and listening, clearly vigilant in their work for the new company. Those violet eyes are bright in the darkness. One thing is certain: their focus has you and you won’t escape it.

Ateran is played by Rob Pontious.

As a baby, Hap was abandoned by her parents and left as an orphan at Mistress Dusklight’s Celestial Menagerie. She was discovered by Professor Zarlian Kyosophus, the juggler and fire-eater, who reared her as his own daughter. When she was old enough, Hap earned her keep in the circus by feeding the circus animals and cleaning their cages, and her favorites were always the birds.

As Hap neared the date that was approximated to be her 10th birthday, The Professor began to notice that her brown eyes were beginning to turn a bright and fiery orange. Fearing the worst, he sought medical attention for the girl who called him “dad,” and when no answers were found among the curative arts, he sought the help of a more arcane nature at the Arcanamirium in Absalom. It was there he learned that while Hap’s biological parents were likely of human descent, her blood also bore the taint of an Efreeti.

Fortunately, Zarlian was a well-traveled and worldly man; he earned his title, The Professor, by always being able to know a little something about almost anything. He helped Hap learn to draw out the raw elemental power of her blood and taught her how to use it for entertainment rather than destruction. And when the cruelty of the Celestial Menagerie grew too much to bear any longer, The Professor and Hap departed with a slew of other performers to start a new circus — a kinder circus.

Hap has always had a deep love of animals and of people, and she adored being a part of the circus because it brought laughter, wonder, and joy. She always dreamed of being allowed to have her own act and has been practicing her craft for just such an occasion, but Mistress Dusklight never decided to give her a chance. Zarlian promised that in the newly formed Circus of Wayward Wonders, Hap, now at the age of 15, would finally have a shot in front of the audience.

Hap is played by Loren Sieg.

Riley is Hap’s best boy!