Maxxie Magnificent, aka Maxxie The Magnificent, is a street performer. They've always been fond of magic. One day they got cancer. Maxxie was alone and couldn't pay the hospital bills. One day they see a book in their hospital room. No cover, no author. Nothing on the spine. Just a black, hardcover book with red pages. They read the book. Their eyes lit up red, they cleared. They felt better. Doctors do some tests, the cancer is gone, miraculously. They grab a cane they used all the way when they were a kid. Puts on their best suit and had to do magic shows to pay off the hospital bill. Although, it never makes too much money considering its magic shows. Twist is, they use real magic
Stripe is Maxxie's bunny. They tried casting a spell that would've made the "rabbit in the hat" trick more interesting. The spell backfired and turned Stripe into a bunny humanoid hybrid. Since he's technically not a human, he was never corrupted by Dark Magic and uses it frequently.
The Jester read the very same book Maxxie read. They also they can teleport. They have no other wish but to make Maxxie's life hard.