Farterinos / Farterinia
The many sewers and waterways that make up Kanda's massive sanitation structure are gigantic, complex works of architecture and civil engineering that inevitably require at least some sort of maintenance on a regular basis. While the "Average" city sewer is more than large enough to have a cart going either direction through it with a stream of water between, many forget that they are made this way FOR the introduction of Carts and crews of individuals who seek to clean out and repair any wear from the daily abuse of tons of sewage rolling through.
Kandia Sewers, being disgusting and disease ridden places just like any other, have overtime gathered the attention of a very special type of handyman; The Farterinos!
Career
Qualifications
A Farterinos is normally a healthy, well built and attentive slave, although recent years have brought more and more peasants of other cultures coming into the Kanda Core and taking up the job of sanitation specialists.
Having no sense of smell, a propensity to keep your lips tightly pursed, a strong pair of arms and a good core to man the shovels and a mild understanding of mortar helps immensely, but truly is not needed to "Get" the position.
Career Progression
The career of the Farterinia begins with and in failure!
Perhaps the individual in question is a failed soldier who washed out or was discharged dishonorably from his unit, never allowed to own land again.
Perhaps the new Farterinos is a freshly widowed mother in a Non-Core territory that must now do her best to maintain the family home for her children and the only option is to push herself into the sewers and gather sludge to sell as fertilizer... or to send her slaves into the sewers instead, using them as a last moneymaking resort before all falls in on itself.
Maybe the unfortunate soul is a foreigner, come to Kanda to start a new life only to find that they know little of the language and culture and haven't the appropriate money to start their life fresh... so they go to working in the dark and damp on the promise of shinies that might bring them ahead in life. The Farterinos, no matter what, comes from failure! They come from loss and loneliness and the inability to care for themselves and they are thereafter driven to the worst possible job that one COULD get... Mucking around in shit. The idea of apprentices or teachers in this line of work is a joke and most Farterinos are only told by their fellows the tools of the trade and potential hints and words of advice for different stretches of various sewers around the Empire. There will be no Farterinos taking a young man under their wing and teaching him all they know! They won't be someone you pay handsomely to teach your child the ways of the trade.
The highest form of education one might get as a Farterinos would be something along the lines of...
"If you're going into the west tunnel entrance, watch out for BOB! Bob's the tentacle beast that likes to stay a few feet past the door on the left. He'll get ya if you're not careful. It'll be a memorable day."
Or
"Kanda Sentran's Sewers are said to be home to a secret trove of gold that hasn't been found in a thousand years. They say you can still find it if you go into the deepest, least maintained sections of the old town."
OR!
"Your donkey's looking a bit sick. You should feed it vinegar and Uls to make it poop out whatever's ailing it. You won't be able to journey into the depths tomorrow if it's looking so down... and what's with the cracked axle on your cart? you need to take care of that, buddy." Eventually a Farterinos MIGHT fill his Goodie bag to the brim and buy a "Tent Parcel" and retire from the position to become a more well respected peasant farmer. Whilst certainly not possessing much, suffering heavy taxation and only having the land till they die, this is still more than enough to start a family in the hopes that their son might one day serve in the military and lease a Gume that they might be able to die on.
Perhaps the new Farterinos is a freshly widowed mother in a Non-Core territory that must now do her best to maintain the family home for her children and the only option is to push herself into the sewers and gather sludge to sell as fertilizer... or to send her slaves into the sewers instead, using them as a last moneymaking resort before all falls in on itself.
Maybe the unfortunate soul is a foreigner, come to Kanda to start a new life only to find that they know little of the language and culture and haven't the appropriate money to start their life fresh... so they go to working in the dark and damp on the promise of shinies that might bring them ahead in life. The Farterinos, no matter what, comes from failure! They come from loss and loneliness and the inability to care for themselves and they are thereafter driven to the worst possible job that one COULD get... Mucking around in shit. The idea of apprentices or teachers in this line of work is a joke and most Farterinos are only told by their fellows the tools of the trade and potential hints and words of advice for different stretches of various sewers around the Empire. There will be no Farterinos taking a young man under their wing and teaching him all they know! They won't be someone you pay handsomely to teach your child the ways of the trade.
The highest form of education one might get as a Farterinos would be something along the lines of...
"If you're going into the west tunnel entrance, watch out for BOB! Bob's the tentacle beast that likes to stay a few feet past the door on the left. He'll get ya if you're not careful. It'll be a memorable day."
Or
"Kanda Sentran's Sewers are said to be home to a secret trove of gold that hasn't been found in a thousand years. They say you can still find it if you go into the deepest, least maintained sections of the old town."
OR!
"Your donkey's looking a bit sick. You should feed it vinegar and Uls to make it poop out whatever's ailing it. You won't be able to journey into the depths tomorrow if it's looking so down... and what's with the cracked axle on your cart? you need to take care of that, buddy." Eventually a Farterinos MIGHT fill his Goodie bag to the brim and buy a "Tent Parcel" and retire from the position to become a more well respected peasant farmer. Whilst certainly not possessing much, suffering heavy taxation and only having the land till they die, this is still more than enough to start a family in the hopes that their son might one day serve in the military and lease a Gume that they might be able to die on.
Payment & Reimbursement
Farterinia are masters of having to make their own way and demand their own prices. Depending on the size of the load they are selling, how long the fertilizer has fermented, how hard it was to get, where the waste comes from and how often it will be delivered, a Farterinia might be paid handsomely or merely sell enough waste to get by, relying mostly on selling trinkets and baubles they find in the sewers to interested metal traders. Moreover, Farterinia receive no standard wages and it is regarded that their profession is a public service they are REQUIRED to do because they have failed to become more responsible and functional members of society.
Other Benefits
While pay is difficult and the job itself has horrific conditions and no security to it... The benefits of Farterinia can be great!
People often lose all sorts of things to the sewer, after all!
It is not unrealistic to find gold and silver rings, interesting pieces of glass, baubles, trinkets, hootimers and whatchamacallits in any sewer and the Farterinia have made a LIFESTYLE out of selecting out the most valuable of these things before they ever take the choice waste from the sewers in the first place.
All Farterinia are said to have a "Goodie Bag" that they carry around and put anything of true value into, though they are very protective of these bags, often hiding them underneath their shirts or inside the hem of their pants to avoid having it cut away from them by thieves and the superstitious. EVERY Farterinos that does the job and keeps that bag maintains an "In but never out" protocol for it. They may put valuables in but the bag may never have anything removed from it! This ensures that most Farterinia are at least somewhat good at handling money, as every valuable they retrieve must be considered against their own hungry bellies and residential positions.
When this bag is "Full" the Farterinos might even have enough to buy a few acres of land (A "Tent Parcel") from the local Kensaria and start a new life as a humble farmer, able to leave their former profession behind.
All Farterinia are said to have a "Goodie Bag" that they carry around and put anything of true value into, though they are very protective of these bags, often hiding them underneath their shirts or inside the hem of their pants to avoid having it cut away from them by thieves and the superstitious. EVERY Farterinos that does the job and keeps that bag maintains an "In but never out" protocol for it. They may put valuables in but the bag may never have anything removed from it! This ensures that most Farterinia are at least somewhat good at handling money, as every valuable they retrieve must be considered against their own hungry bellies and residential positions.
When this bag is "Full" the Farterinos might even have enough to buy a few acres of land (A "Tent Parcel") from the local Kensaria and start a new life as a humble farmer, able to leave their former profession behind.
Perception
Purpose
The purpose of the Farterinos is to keep the sewers clean and well maintained!
Every day, normally at dawn, a Farterinos will travel into their local stretch of sewer with their cart, donkey, shovel and building tools and probably spend something along the lines of two or three hours each trip (usually for two or three trips a day) to retrieve refuse, detritus, feces and other organic matter. All the while they will be using what scant building supplies they have (MOSTLY Mortar for filling gaps!) and fill in holes, mind cracks and cover broken faces.
The Farterinos also has the responsibility of chasing out squatters and loiterers within the tunnels, though this is by far a secondary position.
After their return the AVERAGE Farterinos will normally stockpile their waste in a pit or pile wherever they may be living and will cover and break it down so that they might sell it as fertilizer later.
Deals with Farterinos are generally quite reminiscent of strange, back alley transactions, as few people care to be seen talking with Farterinia but their position as Sewer Cleaners and Fertilizer Producers are still invaluable to the empire.
Deals with Farterinos are generally quite reminiscent of strange, back alley transactions, as few people care to be seen talking with Farterinia but their position as Sewer Cleaners and Fertilizer Producers are still invaluable to the empire.
Social Status
If there is any job in Kanda that is considered for only the lower classes it would be the sewer cleaners and fertilizer makers that are The Farterinia!
Mostly coming from slave stock, the desperate poor and/or the lowest of the failed military recruits (And in recent years, migrating Daroba!) the Farterinia have a long history of being the closest thing to "Untouchables" that Kanda has. Even speaking with such a person is often ridiculed and having a regular, working relationship with such people is considered reason enough for people to stop talking about you and spread rumors of your deviance and lack of good hygiene.
Farterinia are often barred from various different establishments, must do their work underground during the DAY so that they may not be seen by the people in daylight hours and often must act with considerable deception and subterfuge if they want to maintain good connections and clients very long into their careers.
Unlike most, Farterinia generally come from a class of people that do not have entitlements to land so they tend to live on the outskirts of a community, squatting in a hovel or something of that nature on the edge of more official lands, usually hoping to go without notice and to cover up their presence by doing work for the local lord under the radar.
Farterinia are SO low on the chain that most lords and landholders have special slaves and staff who are considered "Low Enough" to speak to these people without social backlash. That way the Lord might still maintain good dealings and a steady supply of quality fertilizer without having to interact with its producer and whilst not having to interact with anyone high enough on the totem pole as a middle man that it might shine negatively on their estate.
History
Originally designed as a role of punishment whilst the Kandia Founders were around, The role of Farterinos evolved over the years to be available to any failures in society.
The Civiandia designed the sewers but they would certainly not be bothered to clean the things themselves and the danger of the job and demeaning nature of gathering human waste and garbage was one that nobody could mistake as a good. While it originally started as slaves and punishment, however, as time went by after the departure of The Founders the role of Farterinos would more and more be one relegated to the poorest classes, the rejected and those from outside of the empire with nothing better to offer than the power of their own body and labors who were not fit for military service!
To some it became a humble, noble profession dedicated to receiving a second chance.
To the vast majority of society, however, it was just muck grubbers trying to get rich off of the literal shit of those above them.
The Civiandia designed the sewers but they would certainly not be bothered to clean the things themselves and the danger of the job and demeaning nature of gathering human waste and garbage was one that nobody could mistake as a good. While it originally started as slaves and punishment, however, as time went by after the departure of The Founders the role of Farterinos would more and more be one relegated to the poorest classes, the rejected and those from outside of the empire with nothing better to offer than the power of their own body and labors who were not fit for military service!
To some it became a humble, noble profession dedicated to receiving a second chance.
To the vast majority of society, however, it was just muck grubbers trying to get rich off of the literal shit of those above them.
Operations
Tools
The Farterinos carries a small but necessary collection of tools to help them navigate the dark, dank, smelly sewers that they work in.
A Shovel and spade to dig up choice bits of waste and sewage is necessary just to do the most basic parts of the job.
A cart and a donkey to pull it is generally considered a requirement, as waste is heavy and cannot be carried easily in a bag.
A "Light Coin," normally stored in a small glass bottle is extremely common for Farterinia, able to light up the dark without catching fire to the many dangerous fumes and chemicals that tend to come into being in the sewers. Many Farterinia spend what they can to afford a "Sparkle Lens" so as to catch baubles and trinkets amongst the waste in an attempt to gain larger scores.
A Club and spear are often useful to chase away the vagrants and loiterers who try to hide from the law within the depths of the sanitation system.
A Shovel and spade to dig up choice bits of waste and sewage is necessary just to do the most basic parts of the job.
A cart and a donkey to pull it is generally considered a requirement, as waste is heavy and cannot be carried easily in a bag.
A "Light Coin," normally stored in a small glass bottle is extremely common for Farterinia, able to light up the dark without catching fire to the many dangerous fumes and chemicals that tend to come into being in the sewers. Many Farterinia spend what they can to afford a "Sparkle Lens" so as to catch baubles and trinkets amongst the waste in an attempt to gain larger scores.
A Club and spear are often useful to chase away the vagrants and loiterers who try to hide from the law within the depths of the sanitation system.
Materials
The Farterinia are a class of workers that do not require materials but rather make them. Using tools and human waste alone, the Farterinia are able to produce high quality fertilizer, pull out good salvage and otherwise serve their civic duties viably.
Workplace
The Farterinia's natural workplace is the sewers themselves.
They go in and dig in the muck and clear out waterways and access valves to clear things out. While not specifically taught, they are generally able to figure out how these city valves work, such that they require no redirection from the communities at large and the (Literal) underground culture that forms within the sewers is able to perpetuate itself such that nothing goes wrong as generations pass by. Even Kandia sewers are deep, dark, stinky and moldy places, often with strange creatures that live within the sluice zones and gathering points and thus noises of sloshing and squelching are always heard all around, even if the creatures that live within the depths are largely harmless.
They go in and dig in the muck and clear out waterways and access valves to clear things out. While not specifically taught, they are generally able to figure out how these city valves work, such that they require no redirection from the communities at large and the (Literal) underground culture that forms within the sewers is able to perpetuate itself such that nothing goes wrong as generations pass by. Even Kandia sewers are deep, dark, stinky and moldy places, often with strange creatures that live within the sluice zones and gathering points and thus noises of sloshing and squelching are always heard all around, even if the creatures that live within the depths are largely harmless.
Dangers & Hazards
The Sewers are dreadfully unclean, dark, slippery and even predatory places to be!
Most creatures that live within the darkness are relatively harmless but larger creatures feast upon those lesser animals and can pose serious threats to a working Farterinos.
Squatters might have settled down in a remote portion of the worker's designated sewer structure and they might not want to be driven out by a lone waste monger with a club and their ill tempered donkey.
People might consider a Farterinos not just filthy but malicious and a dark creature and can cause no small amount of trouble for the workers as they just try to live their lives under constant abuse from those better off than they. Worst of all, The Sewers are full of disease and many Farterinia that die whilst working in the sewers die from the diseases or infections that come with working in constant sewage, mucking about for what little valuables they can find.
Poor Ventilation, noxious fumes and lack of light and good nutrition means that the Farterinos are seldom in good health after working the job for more than a year and often have some sort of lung issue or throat issue.
Most creatures that live within the darkness are relatively harmless but larger creatures feast upon those lesser animals and can pose serious threats to a working Farterinos.
Squatters might have settled down in a remote portion of the worker's designated sewer structure and they might not want to be driven out by a lone waste monger with a club and their ill tempered donkey.
People might consider a Farterinos not just filthy but malicious and a dark creature and can cause no small amount of trouble for the workers as they just try to live their lives under constant abuse from those better off than they. Worst of all, The Sewers are full of disease and many Farterinia that die whilst working in the sewers die from the diseases or infections that come with working in constant sewage, mucking about for what little valuables they can find.
Poor Ventilation, noxious fumes and lack of light and good nutrition means that the Farterinos are seldom in good health after working the job for more than a year and often have some sort of lung issue or throat issue.
Alternative Names
Shit Diggers, Funk Flingers, Poo Peddlers, Waste Gatherers. There are no nice names for Farterinia.
Type
Sanitation
Demand
Farterinia are required in every community! They are the most basal of necessities.
Legality
Laws around Farterinia are rather strict; requiring them to work during the height of the day so that they are not seen by the average person, pushing heavy fines and penalties for the selling of waste in open, public areas, limiting the sort of business they can do and with whom.
To make things worse, the general reputation of Farterinia being disgusting, suspicious and disease spreading people means that they are not allowed in hospitals, eating establishments, relaxation venues or bathhouses, who all work hard to stay as clean as the technology allows.
To make things worse, the general reputation of Farterinia being disgusting, suspicious and disease spreading people means that they are not allowed in hospitals, eating establishments, relaxation venues or bathhouses, who all work hard to stay as clean as the technology allows.
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