Full Name: Janus Asariel Starson
Species: Plane-touched (asimaar)
Allegiance: Lothanasi
Religion: Universalist
Social Status: 6 (salary M135,000/yr.)
Age: 37 as of 7/01/1999
Eyes: Blue (glow blue-white when emotional or using his powers)
Hair: Blond-white (short, professional cut)
Height: 193 cm (6'4")
Physical Notes: Trim and fit, with well-defined muscles; tall face with hard, chiseled features; pale skin
Behavioral Notes: Blunt, straightforward, and often caustic; deeply serious
Supernatural Abilities: Lothanasi powers (equivalent to master mage)- He is better at placing his own wards than taking apart wards created by another; asimaar spell-like abilities (minor healing abilities, independent of Lothanasi Light-Healing).
Armament: Elemacil (back scabbard), Woodson M23 Sundowner (hip holster), combat knives (2), and sometimes a semiauto shotgun or select-fire assault rifle (carrying strap); holy symbol; reagents
Personality and Appearance
Janus is an asimaar, a person of mixed human and celestial descent. He is tall and fit, with blond-white hair cut in a short, professional style, a tall face with hard, chiseled features, and piercing blue eyes that glow blue-white when he becomes emotional (a telltale of his asimaar nature). He dresses in a black suit and tie, and wears gold cuff-links with a starburst pattern on them (a symbol of his lineage as a descendant of Merai Starchild). A gold tie-tack in the shape of the twin cross is often the only overt sign of his affiliation with the Order when he is "dressed down". His combat fatigues has the twin cross of the Lothanasi was embroidered in gold on the front pocket and on the sides of the sleeves. He also carries several holy weapons in concealed holsters any time he goes out in public, and other weapons that are hard conceal when in battle mode.
Most of his clothing are suits and uniforms.1
Most obvious is of the weapons he carries is the Holy Sword of Metamor, Elemacil. Passed down through the generations, Elemacil is an ancient mithril weapon of the Lothansi that was specifically crafted for slaying daedra, once wielded by Karenna hin'Elric and Merai hin'Dana. Janus’s powers as a cleric are formidable, and woe betide the man who angers him.
Janus is, in many ways, a modern-day Karenna hin'Elric: a blunt, straightforward, and often caustic man who still manages to keep an air of mystery about himself. When dealing with cops, he prefers to be soft-spoken but direct, telling them in plain speech that they have stepped into a Lightbringer affair and that they should let the matter go. If the police officer refuses to listen to this approach, Janus may use harsher methods.
Janus is devoted to the idea of protecting the city; he feels that it is less protected if he is not on duty. (Merai digs him on that one. And so does Candace, in a much subtler way.) He has not taken any vacation, even a single sick day off, in at least 5 years (He hasn't gotten sick beyond the capabilities of Light Healing). He also admits to Merai that he wouldn't know what to do with himself if he was away from work as long as a week.
The man doesn't indulge in alcohol, drugs, television, women… anything that would dull his senses or distract him from his duty. Books in his quarters are primarily about military tactics/history, leadership, biographies on great warriors, etc. He has an accountant so he doesn't have to worry about money, and he is fairly well off (despite the idea that many of the Lothanasi have that Janus lives at the barracks out of frugality). Janus's vision of his future in the Lothanasi only end two ways, being disabled in the line of duty (and medically discharged) or killed in the line of duty. "Retirement was not even in his vocabulary."2
Background
Janus, as he is known to friends and enemies alike, is the most prominent field agent for the Lightbringer Order in Metamor City. His job is to step in and tell the local law enforcement agencies when a case has crossed over into Lothanasi jurisdiction and should therefore be left to the "experts". Needless to say, this isn't very popular with many cops, who feel like Janus sticks his head in anywhere he can possibly justify it. (On the Street, he is sometimes referred to mockingly as "Anus Whoreson", but so far no one has lived to report saying this to his face.)
History
Janus is part of family long connected to the Lothanasi. His father (Asariel Starson), his mother (Lisbet Engelmann Starson), and his uncle (Gerhard Engelmann) were all members of the Lightbringers at some time. When Janus turned 18 he joined the Lothanasi Academy and has lived in the barracks ever since.
Janus grew up with his mother, with whom he had a strained relationship. His parents were divorced before he was 12, with custody going to his mother. When he was 12, Janus's father broke Janus's nose during a one-on-one training session (Asariel was a field commander at the time, the same rank Janus is now). His father would not use Light Healing on the young Janus, insisting that the boy work past the pain and heal himself. Lisbet, his mother, stormed into the room, healed her son, and after a short verbal fight took the boy out and went to court to adjust the visitation agreement to restrict Asariel to only supervised visits.
Watching the scene from the older and outside perspective3 under the guidance of the spirit of Karenna hin'Elric, Janus realized that both his parents had valid points regarding his upbringing, but that his father was "out of balance". Janus understood that as a leader he has to train and lead by inspiration and encouragement (which is what he personally was doing with his own agents), and not the terror that his father was using on a 12 year old boy.
Janus mentions to the spirit of Karenna that he had always admired her, through the accounts of Karenna kept by the Lothanasi. When he meets her spirit he tells her "… you kept the Order alive in our darkest hour. You were faithful to your purpose at a time when everything around you was uncertain. I always admired you for that." Her response was to say, "I didn't make history; history came down on me like an avalanche, and I did my best not to be crushed by it."
Janus's father died of pancreatic cancer (date unknown, after 1974 CR). Janus states "I remember when my father grew sick. Pancreatic cancer. He'd always been strong, brave, capable. In three months he just faded, withered. From Field Commander to invalid… and then gone."4 His mother is still living.
Janus's Home
Janus has lived in the barracks of the Metamor City Lothanasi Headquarters ever since he enrolled into the Lothanasi Academy at the age of 18. He now has the Field Commander's quarters. The living room has workout equipment. The bedroom is also sparsely furnished. There is a desk (with computer terminal) and a stand for Elemacil by a bedside table, and a dresser for his clothing. There is a no place to accommodate guests, so when Candice brings him a meal on Winter Solstice 2000, she has to sit on the bed.
When trying to escape from his rooms5, he tries to climb down the outside of the building. He did not keep mountaineering gear in his bedroom, but to try and compensate he uses a a set of hand claws he had picked up in Yamato a few years before. (Janus had picked them up to try out, then had decided not to supply them to his agents since they didn't work out as well as he had hoped).
Organization Membership
Janus became a Field Commander of the Metamor City Lothanasi HQ in 1994 or 1995 CR.
Relationship with Candace Wright
The events of Yule 2000 represent a turning point with Janus's relationship with the Lothanasi Director of Operations (Ops), Candace Wright. Before this point, Janus enjoyed working with Candace but was clueless where matters of romance are concerned.
Things start when Candace brings Janus dinner on the Long Night, knowing that Janus is probably going a bit stir-crazy from being barred from working. Bringing him dinner is not something new for Candace; she has fed him on numerous occasions before a mission when Janus was working so hard he would forget to eat. This dinner goes well and Candace invites Janus to contact her if he wants company during the Long Night and/or the next day. The dummy gentleman turns her down, saying that he doesn't want to intrude on her and her family. She replied, "It's not intruding if you're invited," and quickly walked away6..
The next "night", while Janus watches during a vision of Solstice Present7, he sees her skating in the daytime with her niece and nephew while wearing a red riding coat with black trim. Janus realizes that she never looked so beautiful, with the cares of their work set aside for the moment. A little later he watches Candace admit to her brother that she loves Janus (this observation causes considerable conflict within Janus, who was already knocked over by the way the dinner the night before went… and that was before the spirit visitations and visits started).
"I must be an idiot," Candace sighed." Who falls in love with a monk, honestly?"
[When responding to the inevitable question "Why" she replies…]
"The public only sees Janus with his game face on. That attitude is part of his armor. Inside HQ he loosens up a little, shows us the man behind the badge."
"And what do you see in the man behind the badge?" [asks Glenn]
Janus found himself leaning in close to hear her answer.
Candace looked up, her eyes glistening brightly. For an instant, Janus could swear that she was looking right at him, somehow aware of his presence, if only on a sub-conscious level.
"I see courage," she said. "Loyalty. honesty. Honor. And also pain, this deep terrifying loneliness. It's why he's such a workaholic, you know? I mean yes, part of it's because our job is protecting people from things that want to eat your face, which is sort of a strong motivator…"
Glenn laughs at that.
[Candace continues.]"But part of it's because the job gives him purpose; forward momentum. He keeps doing the job because then he doesn't have to worry about who he is when he's not doing the job."…
…
"Seems like he'd be a hard man to build a family with." Glenn said quietly.
"Maybe," Candace admitted. "But I think he'd be good at it, if he let himself try. He acts like a dad to the younger agents; kind of a strict and grumpy dad, but there's no doubt he loves them. And he's very protective of children, which is part of the reason he gets so… um… worked up about the Santa thing."
Glenn snorted. "Now I'm wondering what Solstice Night would look like at the Starson house- a bunch of blond moppets gathered around the chimney, armed with satchel charges and automatic weapons."
Candace giggled. "Don't be ridiculous. Mom would make sure that they all understood that satchel charges are an outside toy." Janus laughed with them both at that. As absurd as it was the idea was curiously charming.
"I guess he suits you," Glenn sighed. "Maybe that's the secret: not finding someone perfect, but finding someone who's compatibly deranged."
two passages from A Lightbringer Carol (Stave III)
His next vision/visitation is much more disturbing. It starts more positive, after he pushes back his own terror and that of Elemacil, showing that he trained his people well and that the city would be protected after his death.
However seeing the next vision of Candace undoes him. He sees her visit marker in the ashyard and bid him a bittersweet goodbye, where she finally confesses her love to him but has to move on (and may not have any children of her own flesh because of how long she waited for Janus). The marker reads "JANUS ASARIEL STARSON: IN HIS DUTY HE NEVER WAVERED." This breaks him and rebuilds him with the realization and need to change.
"A man can change his ways, if he chooses," Janus insisted. His voice shook a little under that pitiless, faceless being, but he pressed on. "Already, I can assure you that I am not the man I was three nights ago. I was out of balance, like my father before me. I see it now! Does that account for nothing?"
Again the long, pale hand appeared from beneath the robes, and pointed at the inscription on the white marble. But Janus saw a faint trembling in its fingers.
"NO!" Janus sobbed, and he didn't care one damn about his composure anymore. "Don't tell me that this can't be changed! My father's ghost moved heaven and earth to give me this change! Don't — don't tell me it was for nothing! Give me a word, a sign, anything! Show me I can wipe away this stone!"
- A Lightbringer Carol l (Stave IV)
When the next day starts for Janus, it is actually just the first day of Yule, the morning after the Long Night.8 He rummages through his closet for something that isn't a suit or uniform, and goes out to meet Candace at the skating rink.
And he does manage to try…
… "I should warn you, I… was never very good at this. Not much practice."
Candace's eyes twinkled. Yes, she caught the layers of meaning in that confession. "I know."
"I'll make mistakes," he warned her. "There's a chance we'll both get hurt. I don't want to hurt you, but —"
She held a finger to his lips, and he fell silent.
"It's okay," she said. "Sometimes you've gotta fall down a few times before you get things right."
She opened her hand to him in invitation.
Janus took it.
- A Lightbringer Carol (Stave V)
Known Allies/Associates
- Abbey Preston- Janus hires Abbey for a number of different cases where the telepath's ability to see and contact spirits will resolve the situation.
- Asariel Starson- Janus's father *deceased
- Candace Wright- Lightbringer communications/operations specialist. Janus and her have started a romantic relationship (finally).
- Gerhard Engelmann- retired Lightbringer and Janus' maternal uncle.
- Detective Kathryn Kitaen of the MCPD- it's a strained relationship at best, due to the Lothanasi's innate ability to step on everyone's toes because… it's Janus and he's a Lothanasi.
- Kelsey Stanton- one of Janus's proteges.
- Lisbet Starson- Janus's mother.
- Merai Starchild- Janus's greatx grandmother. She refers to herself as Janus's Great Grandmother, even though the lineage is much more distant than that. ("needs about 60 more greats…")
Known Enemies9
- Callie Linder- Janus is most upset with the runner for stealing a set of artifacts that were in the Lightbringers' care.10
- Isri Fallon- Janus has run in with the succubus landlady of the Serenity Arms a few times.
- John the incubus- Janus cannot devote himself to banishing John, but if the incubus were to do something to give the Lothanasi agent any excuse…
- St. Nicholas, a Sidhe Lord who annually acts as The Gift Bringer on the night of the Winter Solstice (which reinforces the belief of children that gives him power). Also known as the Holly King. Janus sees St. Nicholas as an incredible threat to the safety of Metamor. On the night of the Winter Solstice St. Nicholas can get into any location, despite any wards that have been placed, and other creatures follow behind the Sidhe Lord. Before the Long Night of 1998 CR, Janus manages to behead and kill the Sidhe Lord… and the press got pictures of Janus bringing in St. Nick's head to HQ. On the Winter Solstice of 1999 CR, The Gift Bringer (who was brought back to life by children's belief in him… he is the embodiment of the concept of the Winter Solstice and gift giving), goes to Lothanasi HQ and puts Candace into a trap so that Janus will leave him alone for the night and leaves a lump of coal by Janus's office door. On Winter Solstice 2000 CR, Janus is relieved of duty for the Long Night by Lothanasi High Command, by the recommendation of Merai Starchild. This personal war with the Holly King has become a PR nightmare to the Lothanasi (due to reporters getting pictures of the year before and St. Nick getting past the Metamor City Lothanasi HQ wards).
"The Lothanasi can survive being seen as fanatics. We can not survive being seen as incompetent. If a sidhe lord breaks into our stronghold a second time, the public will start to question why they're trusting us to protect them. If that happens, we're finished."
- Merai, to Janus A Lightbringer's Carol (Stave I)
Story Appearances
The Sentinel, Troubled Minds, Whispers in the Wood, A Lightbringer's Christmas Tale, the Cuckoo, Broken Angel (Live Audio Drama at Balticon 43 - 2009), A Lightbringer Carol
Sources
MK2K Original Bible entry- Janus, The Sentinel, Troubled Minds, Whispers in the Wood, A Lightbringer's Christmas Tale, the Cuckoo, Broken Angel (Live Audio Drama at Balticon 43 - 2009), MetamorCity.com Character Guide- Lothanasi, MK2K Original Bible entry- Lothanasi, Elemacil, A Lightbringer Carol
Author's Notes
text
Voice Actor
Janus Starson is voiced by Indiana Jim
At the 2009 Balticon performance of Broken Angel, Janus Starson was voiced by Chris Lester (RavenB/Etherius)
