The Janitor Character in The Web | World Anvil

The Janitor

I handle the trash...

The Janitor is always there in the background, sweeping or performing any number of other simple tasks. No one asks their name, and that assumes they register The Janitor's existence in the first place. Most people can't even recall their gender. The Janitor was a joint effort involving many organizations of The Web.   Siegfried contributed to training, The Magicians of Carthage gave The Janitor psionic abilities. Potential candidates we're pulled directly from The Oxford Cabal, and The Alexandrian University filled the subjects mind with a vast range of knowledge. Then The Discordance got involved.     The Janitor was an attempt to infiltrate The Commonwealth of Alternative Religion , spy on their operations, and assassinate undesirables on a whim. The discordians, being similar to a cult, themselves, took exception to this. They didn't do much. They simply approached The Janitor and wished them a happy birthday, handing them a wrapped box with a gift inside. The Janitor went rogue the next day.      

The Rise of The Workforce

  The Janitor is the head of an organization called The Workforce, a watchdog group who maintains the status quo of The Web. The discordians are effectively responsible for the organization, though it's likely they never intended its creation. When The Janitor defected, they notified each organization, including The Commonwealth, that not only were they no longer working for them, they were watching them.     What The Janitor and their organization are looking for is up for debate. anytime the scales are tipped in the favor of one or another, The Workforce steps in. Any time an organization acts outside of the rules established by the Web and its allies, The Workforce steps in.   The discordians delight in this fact. They love The Workforce, and the discordians are the one organization that seems to get away with far more than others. Many believe The Janitor was a member of The Discordance to begin with.

Why?

Why The Janitor went rogue is a complicated problem. All parties involved know The Discordance was involved. They didn't exactly keep quiet about it. The discordians argue that it was the paranoia surrounding The Janitors creation that led to their defection   The Janitor was trained to handle anything. They were trained to withstand the worst forms of torture imaginable. They were trained to hate the enemy, and how to hide it from them. They were trained to handle anything, except an act of kindness. The simple act of giving a gift that was neither asked for, nor expected, humanized the enemy.   This led to a rapid change in how The Janitor felt about The Commonwealth and The Web. The Janitor never wanted vengeance, only to ensure the balance is maintained. The Janitor chose to enforce the rules due to the fact that they were made in violation of them.
Children

A Well Kept Secret

  The Janitor is not well known in The Web. Both The Web and The Commonwealth seek to keep them a secret. The Janitor could be anyone. Their psychic abilities can mess with the mind, replacing The Janitors actual appearance with another, if you can see The Janitor at all.   The Janitor will kill anyone who seeks to break the rules, whether they know about it or not. What's worse is The Workforce is filled with others like The Janitor. The Handyman, The Receptionist, and The Gardener are all examples of this pervasive watchdog organization.   The work in plain sight. Most go about their work without realizing someone is watching them while casually sweeping up trash and dirt out of sight. They don't notice the human hand poking out of the dirt in the garden, or The Gardener covering it with dirt.

Comments

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Jul 30, 2020 23:08

Sounds like a great way to kill murder hobos.   So, the janitor was hand-picked by the members of the web, right? Would there be records of the candidates somewhere, locked away in some secret filing cabinet in the basement? I guess what I'm asking is, is it possible to learn the Janitor's true identity? Then, how much harder would it be to learn who the other 'custodians' are?   Did you make the workforce more as a plot device, or a player faction?

Jul 30, 2020 23:18 by R. Dylon Elder

So yes and no. If your high enough in a major organization that was involved, you probably know who the janitor is, but do you really? These are powerful psychic abilities. The Janitor can't rewrite memories without prep and time but could potentially rewrite small details in memories on the fly. Gender, hair color, facial structure. If you asked the higher ups and they were willing to reveal it, they would each describe a radically different person...   ^gonna just not this down for future me so I can add this to the article.^   The Janitor is more the plot device. The Workforce is a playable faction. I imagine more of an assasin rogue archetype with more opportunities for a disguise skill.

Aug 2, 2020 05:22 by Jaime Buckley

Hooooooo, I love this.   So much information with nothing actually given. Great writing.   Now you have m so interested in the rest of The Workforce.   ...more plz.

JAIME BUCKLEY
Storyteller, Cartoonist,..pretty awesome friend =)
Subscribe to Life of Fiction to see the live results of all this worldbuilding.
Aug 3, 2020 15:57 by R. Dylon Elder

I'm definitely considering expanding on them more. They have an article but its not up to par. XD   Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I really wanted it to be a mysterious character and may write a story involving them soon!

Aug 3, 2020 17:25 by Jaime Buckley

That would be a fantastic idea.   You definitely have my attention!

JAIME BUCKLEY
Storyteller, Cartoonist,..pretty awesome friend =)
Subscribe to Life of Fiction to see the live results of all this worldbuilding.
Aug 3, 2020 10:41 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

I love the sound of the Workforce. And I especially love that it was an act of kindness that caused The Janitor to go rogue. That's such a great touch.

Emy x   Etrea | Vazdimet
Aug 3, 2020 15:55 by R. Dylon Elder

Thanks so much. I'm glad it was well received!

Sep 3, 2020 04:48 by Morgan Biscup

I love this!   I love that you picked "The Janitor" too. Janitors learn everything from the people who treat them as invisible.   And now this one effectively is invisible.

Lead Author of Vazdimet.
Necromancy is a Wholesome Science.
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