"Bienvenue à tous! Ce soir, nous vous proposons des spectacles qui vous éblouiront, vous inspireront et vous donneront envie d'en redemander!"

["To one and all, welcome to our show! We have acts tonight that will dazzle, inspire, and make you howl for more!"]

Born to an impoverished family in central France in the 1850s, the boy who would one day become a beast lived a simple but tough life as a human child. Tragedy struck, and he was orphaned at a young age when the Scarlett Fever tore through the region, inflicting him and killing everyone else in his household. Following his family's Catholic faith, he devoted himself to the region's House of God, seeking sanctuary and mercy from the plague that had been cast upon his home. While sparred from death of the affliction, the clergy did not look favorably upon him: knowing he had no wealth to devote to their church or pockets, they weaved malicious lies that he was shunned into repenting for daily. Tales such that God had spared him, but he was cursed from the Fever, claiming that his own sins are what brought the Wrath of God upon his home and killing his family, even though he was but a child. Unable to find penance from this fabricated guilt, he was soon cast out of the Church by the clergy's greed. With no prospects of survival alone, he joined a traveling circus, becoming a stage hand and adopted member of the circus family. Touring across the continent for many years, he found a natural talent for performance, and upon the death of Ring Leader, took the mantle and center stage himself.

The cruelty of God manifested again before the turn of the 20th century, when he was attacked by a ravenous Wolf in the dead of night, during a tour through the French region of Gévaudan. Days of agonizing pain in his cabin ravaged his body, a fever and madness he had not been tormented with since his childhood. He prayed for the release of death, bargaining his soul as a vessel for God would he be released from this pain. Finally his fever finally subsided and once terminal wounds miraculously healed, but at the cost of the curse of lycanthropy. Unable to return to his former human form and finding his aging halted, he took the guise of the monster as a performance for his troupe to keep his secret. Only a few of his crew knew the curse's truth, but protected it for all his support and leadership of the circus family over the years.

While rare, his mind would become feral upon certain nights, bloodlust soaking his hands without restraint of both those of innocence and guilt alike. While his rampages were constrained, it was often propelled towards blasphemous members and clergy of the Catholic faith: whether this is from his own supressed traumatic past or influences of the curse are unknown. Believing this curse to be his penance for the death of his family and his bargain after the wolf attack, he did not take his own life in the fear of the Wrath of God, and instead let the beast loose unto those when the feral consumed his mind.

Finding that his rampages were bringing too much unwanted attending and possible harm to his adopted circus family, he expanded their tour outside of the central European region. With technology and travel allowing new ventures and opportunities, he brought their show worldwide, focusing on regions of familiar French root cultures, such as the now new southern United States. Whispers of this circus ring leader with the guise of a Beast drove attention to their shows, ranging from awe of these well-dressed wolf-man performances, to superstitious traditional locals who feared the tales woven by their great-great-great grandparents of the horrors of mid 1760s France. These rumors from the audiences eventually milled his title into that of "The Rougarou", which he then adopted as his official title: all those who knew of his original name had passed years ago, and he no longer even remembered himself as that man, but only as this form of a cursed pennant weapon of God.

Other observations:
- Due to the lack of a proper education and mental afflictions over the years, he has trouble with math and counting past the number 12. Fortunately he has had help with bookeepers over the years that can count beyond that.
- He brandishes an unnaturally fast healing process, and can recover from accidents or attacks within days of tending his own wounds.
- He has been attacked by superstitious hunters (often hired by corrupt clergy), brandishing weapons claimed to be made of blessed "quicksilver". While not a true weakness, he can confirm they hurt just as much as any other weapon.
- He actually has a "weakness" for gummy candies, and will have a small bowl of them after every performance. He humorously refers to the ritual as a way to "quell his curse" (though it is most likely a way to aid in soothing his throat and satisfying his sharp sweet tooth).
- Time has allowed him to gain a bit more control during his feral acts of rage, but he is unable to eradicate or pacify them when they arise, often with the moon. Whether these rampages are spurred by said moon phases, witnessing events that induce traumatic recessions and reactions, or the will of God Himself is yet to be seen.
- While he tries to maintain a good image of him and his show, he will subconsciously align himself with the superstitions stirred around him, which only antagonizes more fear into those who meet their end beneath his fangs and claws...whether they be blasphemous or innocent.
- Although the progress of torches/flashlights have improved, he will still carry and use an oil lantern at night. It likely belonged to the original circus ring leader, who took him in all those years ago, and cares for it alongside his other mementos. While sometimes damaged during feral rages, he keeps it functioning well, replacing and repairing parts as needed.
- Years have allowed him to hone his skill with the violin, and he will often open circus performances with a showcase of this prowess. Starting softly with somber sounds and accelerating into allegro acts with his troupe, he brings balance to the audience by quelling the superstitious anxious and rousing the excited envoyers.
- Posses a small velvet box embroidered with a golden stitched "R" contain a humble and well-worn wooden rosary. It is caressed and counted daily through his claws in recited prayer. Its origin is unknown, but was most likely seized subconsciously during one of his feral rampages through a heretical House of God. The cruel irony of the wolf motif formally soaked in blood is not lost on him.
- He continues to care and support his adopted circus family, from raising funds and being the first to aid in physical labors, to emotional comforting and tailoring the costumes of his troupe (and repairing his own after a gruesome feral night). This tailoring includes adjusting his own stage coat and top hat to fit his cursed form, taking care to showcase the exemplary brocade of both.
- In addition to his coat and hat, his suit is often paired with a cane during performances, the wooden hand-carved handle of a wolf head on top and a red scarf with gold accents tied around the collar. It is not necessary for him to aid in walking, but rather gesturing audience's eyes towards his troupes feats and posing with his eccentric showmanship style.
- Still a Showman at heart, his movements and gestures carry a performative grace where he walks. Discovering a romantic vocabulary over the years, they are presented with a confident fanged grin and an arousing deep gaze, accented by a low growl that reverberates each vowel of his natural dialect.

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