PERSONALITY TRAITS :
POSITIVE TRAITS :
- positive trait | positive trait | positive trait | positive trait | positive trait
NEUTRAL TRAITS :
- neutral trait | neutral trait | neutral trait | neutral trait | neutral trait
NEGATIVE TRAITS :
- negative trait | negative trait | negative trait | negative trait | negative trait
BIOGRAPHY :
Sakinu Kane is the only child of the cultural anthropologist Mr Thomas Hartley and a Paiwan chief's daughter, Xuwu Hanako. While it took Tommy two years to persuade Hanako's Father to allow her to marry him, they were rather quickly given leave to start their new family away from the Xuwu clan - as per Paiwan tradition, since Hanako wasn't the firstborn. The newlyweds chose Tommy's home, the quaint city of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada.
A couple of years later, Sakinu was born in the backseat of his dad's beat up Volkswagen. His mother insisted on a traditional name, and insisted even harder on calling him by his first name - which worked for only a couple of months. Little Kane grew up in a rather academically focused family, in which his mother was the strange one out with her tales of supernatural gods, spirits, ancestors, shamans and priests. Kane thoroughly enjoyed his Mother's many stories, the division between the six worlds and the adventures all these protagonists went on. The traditional snacks such as qavai and cinavu are a fond memory too - and probably the best part of his Mother's little rituals and ceremonies.
Kane's high school experience was what one might expect from a studious teenager like himself - great grades, extracurriculars and a steep learning curve when it came to the interactions with his peers. He learned that not everyone was made out to be his friend, either because they disliked him for his more nerdy tendencies, or the simple discrepancy between the level of their intellects - but there were some he could call his close friends. And, obviously, there were some romantic relationships as well. Kane explored people he found interesting, that made him wonder, that kept the gears of his mind running - though young love, especially in high school, wasn't meant to last. A particularly nasty breakup with his then girlfriend, Olivia, made Kane turn away from the concept of love for a while. Too complex. Too hard to grasp, not adhering to laws of logic - it just didn't seem like something he should be actively pursuing.
Besides, disaster had struck and Kane just couldn't bring himself to think of anything other than the fact that his Mother was diagnosed with Huntington's disease. A degenerative, slowly progressing disease that always resulted in death. His Mother's diagnosis was the reason he chose to attend university in his hometown. Even though the disease wouldn't take his Mother any time soon, Kane felt comfortable being in the same city as his Mother, especially now that his Father didn't seem to be able to deal with the news. Thomas retreated inward, acting as if his beloved Hanako had already gone. As the years progressed, and Hanako's symptoms worsened, his dad seemed to distance himself from the situation entirely.
Kane resented his father for it.
Nevertheless, the man went on to graduate university with flying colors. At this point, just after receiving his Bachelor's degree, his Mother insisted on them traveling to Taiwan. She wanted to see her clan one more time before it was too late and such an endeavor would be made impossible by her illness. A simp for his Mother, Kane agreed and the pair went on to travel to the Paiwan regions. Kane met his relatives at the foot of Mt Dawu and learnt much more about this half of him. It fascinated him (much like it had his Father all those many years ago), and gave him a sense of belonging even though he couldn't rationalize why these people and their ways appealed to him so much. Being a man of science, Kane had always dismissed his Mother's tales as bedtime stories, but even he experienced some things that were inexplicable while he was there. Before leaving, his own grandmother tattooed the motifs of the family on his arms and chest. It was quite a big thing, with a large ceremony and numerous rituals performed. His grandmother prayed and prattled something about good fortune, protection and more mumbo jumbo about his wandering soul - all the while he was worried out of his mind about hygiene and the impossibly big risk of infection.
Lucky bastard that he is, he didn't get an infection. Or hepatitis. Back home in Canada, his tattoos healed as he enrolled for his Master's degree. He gravitated toward particle accelerators, projects to decode the genome, and molecular biology. Delving deeper into these matters also brought home the lesson that his Mother really was going to get a lot worse before passing, and that it was a hereditary disease. Kane postponed on getting himself tested for quite some time, telling himself that knowing a diagnosis wouldn't change a thing. Either he had it, or he didn't - and knowing or not knowing wouldn't make a difference for his own prognosis if he did carry the gene.
Kane went on to work in laboratories as he tended to his deteriorating Mother - slowly starting to hate his Father for being so absent in taking care of his wife. By the time his Mother required assistance in all areas of her life, Thomas decided that it was best for everyone involved that Hanako was to be admitted to a home where they could help 24/7. He'd found a place in Crescent City, USA, specialized in palliatively treating patients with Huntington's. Enraged, but unable to persuade his Father to not do this, Kane finally opted to make the move with his Mother.
He quit his job, packed a couple of suitcases and got on a flight. Soon after he got an apartment and a tenure with a quirky professor, all the while he could visit and care for his mom.
The job turned out to be one out of his wildest dreams - at first glance marrying his love for science with the wondrous world of legend and lore his Mother had introduced him to. But a couple of months into the job, professor Kline had given him a couple of assignments that would shake him to the core. Legend and lore weren't just stories, they were real, and the creatures in it truly among them.
Most fascinating of them all the woman that just happened; Fiona. It seems like she's awakened things inside him he didn't even know were there. Strange dreams and visions that felt like memories rather than figments of his imagination. Kane is not complaining though - he'd much rather focus on whatever it is that she's triggered than the letter in the top drawer of his desk, stating that he too has Huntington's disease.