Character Interview: Kaniev

Introducing Kaniev the Source-Fixer, one of the main characters in Source-Breaker:

1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name?
Kaniev Orvig's-son. (It's pronounced KAHN-yev)

2. How old are you?
Old enough to know better, too old to care :-D Seriously, though, I'm 40.

3. Tell us about your family. What do you like and not like about them?
I have a mother and a father and several brothers and sisters. The men in my family have been fishermen going back generations. I haven't seen my family since I left to begin my apprenticeship when I was 13, but I had a happy childhood in the fiords and have fond memories of them. The only thing I didn't like was the prospect of being a fisherman like my father and grandfather and great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather and so on. I thought it sounded boring. Right about now, though, the way things are going, a little boredom sounds pretty good.

4. Who was your first kiss, and what did you think of it?
Her name was... It's been so long, I don't remember. Pretty girl in my village. I was 12, she was a little older, maybe had already turned 13. It was the first of many kisses, and I've loved every single one of them.

5. What is your occupation?
I'm a Source-Fixer. Or, THE Source-Fixer, since I'm the only one. I repair magical Sources that aren't working right. Or try, anyway; lately, I haven't been having much luck. It's hard to believe I'm getting too old for this and my skills are starting to slip. My master was 60 when he found me and nearly 70 when he finally retired. But something's wrong, and I need to figure out what before I run out of money.

6. What are your best and worst qualities?
I'm very good at what I do. Or was, anyway. I'm pretty easygoing and even-tempered; I suspect some people think I'm annoyingly cheerful. I tell good stories. And I've kept myself in good shape, which comes in handy if I'm trying to get to a hard-to-reach Source, and the ladies certainly appreciate it.

On the other hand, I have a bad habit of flirting with every female who crosses my path - only the ones of age, of course. I'm not that shameless. But there have been a few women who thought I was after something more serious than a good time together, and I ended up disappointing them. I do feel bad about that.

7. What quality do you value most in a romantic partner?
I love all kinds of women. But I'm especially drawn to strong, smart, spirited women who can challenge me to keep up with them.

8. What is your favorite thing to do?
Ah. Well. Reading the answers to some of these questions, you can probably guess.

But also, I love my work. I love using magic and my unique talents to figure out what's wrong with malfunctioning Sources and put them back the way they should be. It's always interesting and challenging, and every Source and problem is different, a puzzle to figure out, and putting them right again is almost a work of art.

9. What is your greatest fear?
Losing my magical abilities. They're part of me; I wouldn't be who I am without them. Even when I was a young boy, before my master found me and took me on as his apprentice, working magic came as easily to me as breathing. Which got me in trouble more than once and is why my parents were so willing to let me go.

I also worry about failing to fix a Source I've been hired to fix, which has been happening a little too often lately, and someone getting hurt or killed or some sort of serious damage occurring as a result. Fortunately, that hasn't happened. Yet.

10. What is your most treasured possession?
My magical talents. My good old horse, Mai. My Source lodestone, handed down through generations of Source-Fixers; it's the only one in the world and I couldn't do my job without it. And my freedom. Other than my responsibility for keeping the Sources functioning properly, I have no obligations, no duties, no one I have to answer to.

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