Past | Childhood

Beowulf had very unsual origins. His mother was the head priestess in small, secluded warrior village that worshipped a lesser known deity. Her devotion was so great that she ended upbearing two sons to this god, Ludovic and Beowulf. Despite their divine parentage, their mother took great lengths to ensure they were treated the same as any other child within the village and recieved no special treatment "unless earned." She was a loving and caring parent, but did not want her sons to become arrogant or feel superior for their birth, rather, she wanted them to do their best to do great things on their own.

The two brothers took this to heart and very different ways, Ludovic taking the message "do all you can to be loved" and Beowulf "do what you can to help others". Ludovic soon outshone Beowulf in everything, making himself the gold child of the village, beloved and admired by all, casting a very dark shadow that Beowulf often found himself in. He wouldn't have minded too much, if Ludovic wouldn't also do all he could to take all accomplishments away from Beowulf as well. While they both had a great love for each other, Ludovic had a mean streak he reserved only for his brother. If he felt threatened by Beowulf's success or insecure over something he had that he didn't, Ludovic would always find some way to ruin it. This included sabotage, betrayal, and even physically altering his face. Still, despite it all, Beowulf always took it on the chin and would end up forgiving him, learning early that it was just easier to let Ludovic have his way and that everyone else would stay blind to his petty ways.

Past | Ludovic's Death

As they grew into adulthood they remained close. Despite Ludovic going out of his way to seduce and wed Beowulf's long time (one-sided) love, Beowulf forgave him and grew to love Ludovic's wife as a sister and best friend instead. He was a devoted uncle to their children when they were born as well, but struggled when it came to forming his own relationships. Still, the brothers would spend most of their time together, occasionally getting into petty arguments that sometimes turned physical, but would quickly be resolved and they would carry on as if it were nothing. However, one day that was not the case. While out in the wilderness they got into a heated argument, very heated, where all Beowulf's surpressed emotions came pouring out as an unfiltered rage. Ludovic did nothing to calm him, instead egging him on more, which lead to a brutal fight and weapons being drawn. However, this fight was not like the others, as it ended with Beowulf accidentally impaling Ludovic on his sword. He did all he could to save him, but they were too far away from their village to get help. Instead Ludovic died in his arms, his last words forgiving Beowulf and making him promise to save himslef by covering up his death.

Past | Exile

Beowulf couldn't keep his brother's promise, and immediately returned to the village covered in his blood to confess what he had done. In his shock and guilt he did nothing to explain the situation well or defend himself, taking (and feeling) full responsibility for his death. In his village, punishment is decided by the one who was wronged, and if they have died, their family. Usually murder would result in death, but his mother chose exile, not wanting to lose both her sons that way. Ludovic's wife was not happy with this result, having fully disowned her once best friend and cursing his name, but conceded to his mother's wishes. Before being sent to the wilderness to never return, Beowulf's mother cut off his hair and scarrified his hands. This was to act as a mark of shame, a message that his crimes have been seen, and a reminder of what he has done and that he can never close his eyes to it. To make it allthe more painful, he felt the rejection by his father as well, when he lost his protector status and became fallen instead.

Present | The Smirkus

After wandering the continent for a decade, lost and without purpose, living off the land or doing odd jobs, he finally wound up finding full time employment with a rundown circus. It wasn't much, but it was a place he could finally settle. He was tired of wandering, he was tired of the isolation, he needed something. Unluckily for him, it was this. He finds his work kind of embarassing, unsure why anyone wants to even watch his act. He works as a strongman, showing off various feats of strength, including wrestling a bear. When nobleman Godfrey Archibald Hollingsworth III purchased the circus and rebranded, it only got worse for him, as his attempts at reinvigorating the failing busisness only lead to everything becoming more extravagant. Still, Beowulf powers through, as even a small sense of belonging is better than being alone again. Although he MAY begin to rethink that, as the various errands his new boss makes him run with his colleagues has been putting him in a lot of strange situations...

• Has scarification on both of his hands, on the back and palms. He doesn't hide them, but doesn't like discussing them.
• The darkness around his eyes isn't makeup, that's his natural pigmentation that occured after he fell. However, the additional dark streaks while he's in his performance outfit is makeup.
• His halo is made up of floating debris, appearing as if it broke. It appears differently to people depending what angle they look at him from, it's always behind him, it's not fixed to one point. It's not corporeal either, you can't touch it.
• He can play drums, although he doesn't show off this talent very often.
• Along with being a strongman, Beowulf's act also includes wrestling a bear, Skull Crusher. It's all faked, Skull Crusher is a coward and a baby and is just playing with him, and Beowulf feels embarrassed every time he has to do it.