--And he's different from any wizard I've ever read about. He's perhaps closest in nature to Merlin from T.H. White's Once & Future King, or perhaps Tom Baker's version of Dr. Who, but still a creature utterly apart. He was created based on a concept which I can't talk about here, since it will become important later on in the story.

Quinton doesn't represent anybody I've ever met or who could ever exist. Only pieces of people. He is inspiration and creativity and impulse and blind optimism all rolled into one person. There is little or nothing else there. He never gets sad and so never cries. He is wonderfully fun to be around since he always has some fantastic project or other on the burner, vital, (always vital), to whatever cause of importance which has most recently caught his mind.  He's often the comedy relief in a story which can get quite serious at times.

Quinton is weird to write for. His words come easily, but I have found it next to impossible to stop deeper, more human qualities from slipping in; qualities like compassion and fear and sympathy.

Most of the people who read Quinton seem to think he's quite wonderful, as do both Rubel and Heath. But a friend of mine once commented that she couldn't stand guys like Quinton. This seemed odd and out of keeping with general opinion, and when I asked her about it, she told me, "Quinton is the kind of guy so wrapped up in his own affairs that he'd probably not even notice if he happened to accidentally kill you." She nailed it on the head.

Varkias is perhaps the only one who understands this. Though I've written hundreds of lines of dialogue for Quinton and Varkias, I could never honestly say I understood why Varkias held such a grudge against him until now.  Though still. . , I can't help but feel fond of the wizard. I think if he were truly arrogant and self obsessed that he would indeed be unbearable to be around.  But while Quinton is perhaps unaware of the difficulties other people have in his company, he is also unaware of his own.  Quinton is entirely selfless in his pursuit of. . .  whatever it is he pursues.  And I think, in his own way, he can even be quite thoughtful. The nature of Quinton's thinking and existence will become more clear as the story progresses