Henri Popov was born in the settlement of Lagras, Lemoyne in 1872 as Henri Laveau . In early childhood, he suffered severe psychological and physical abuse at the hands of his parents that left him cognitively and socially stunted. Often left to his own devices, he would venture into the surrounding village and swamp on his own where a widowed neighbor would take notice of him. She was a deeply spiritual practitioner of voodoo and rootwork and along with generally trying to look out for Henri, she would teach him about her beliefs and traditions. These lessons deeply impacted and comforted Henri, shaping his world view for life.

In 1880, soon after Henri's 8th birthday, his father would be shot and killed near Saint Denis. The news would cause Henri's mothers health and mental acuity to deteriorate rapidly, leading her to commit suicide.

Henri sought help from his neighbor. She decided it would be best to send him along to a local children's aid society in the city. After months in miserable conditions, rejected by the other children and even his supposed caretakers, he would be chosen to live with a family homesteading all the way in California. With a change of his surname, a few items of clothing and talismans he had kept from his time with the widow, he was sent on a train to meet them. They were a family of Russian immigrants, wealthy and educated. There, he was treated like little more than a servant, made to sleep in separate housing from the family and denied a formal education. However, he was made to learn Russian and other cultural traditions to better serve the family, which although was forced upon him, he found enjoyable. During his down-time, he was also given the opportunity to learn and play piano, which he excelled at. He would begin to dream of returning back home to Lemoyne, nostalgic for his time with the widow, and leaning heavily on her teachings as a means to stay sane and cope with his reality.

By 17, he would have no attachments to his adoptive family, and was experiencing further estrangement from the rest of the community. He would make the impulsive decision to run away east into New Austin. He would train-hop all the way back to Saint Denis, stealing, scamming and robbing all along the way. He would kill for the first time on this journey, a botched robbery in which multiple people would be shot, all of which seemed to have nearly identical entry and exit wounds: straight through the kidneys. Wanted posters would refer to him with reference to it- "the kidney killer." He would adopt the name in a self-depricating manner and over time it would be shortened to just Kidney. This event would be the catalyst for the onset of his ongoing battle with psychosis and unreality.

Riding into Saint Denis a dirty and rambling mess would land him a month in jail for his disorderly behavior. The isolation would cause Henri to spiral into complete paranoia and develop strange thoughts and beliefs. Upon release, he refused to speak in English, fearing the law was aware of his true crimes and somehow tuned to his every move. If he did speak, he only did so in Russian.

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