All of you are members of a traveling circus called the Circus of Wayward Wonders. You might be performers, roustabouts, or other assistants, but you consider the circus your home. This circus is very new; less than a year ago, several performers in Mistress Dusklight's Celestial Menagerie in Escadar tired of the heartless ringmaster's cruel ways, and quit to form their own circus.
Everyone who quit knew they would need to leave Escadar quickly to avoid Mistress Dusklight's wrath, and committed themselves to the life of wayward wanderers. The new circus's leaders, an elderly circus veteran known only as the Professor, and a bombastic showman named Myron "Thunder" Stendhal, led the Circus of Wayward Wonders out of Escadar, and across the Isle of Erran. After several months of practices and performances for homesteaders and farmers, the circus is ready to perform a large show in a sizeable town. Abberton isn't what many people would consider a destination for performers, but it's where the Circus of Wayward Wonders must start.
The people of Abberton are excited for the circus, as what what the performers hear things haven't been great as of late. Issues with the weather, wilting crops, misfortunes, it seems like things just aren't going their way, and the appearance of an up-and-coming circus is just what everyone needs to take their minds off things. Tonight is the circus's first performance in Abberton, and nearly every resident of the town - including Mayor Jae Abber - crowds the tent to experience the magic of the big top.
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The Circus of Wayward Wonders performs in an enormous tent capable of holding hundreds of people - and that's a good thing, as from backstage it looks like everyone, their mother, and their dog is crowding the seats. The prominent citizens such as the mayor have jostled for the best seats, peering at the three rings that fill the center of the tent, waiting excitedly for the show to begin.