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[[Image:CiaphasCain.JPG|right|thumb|[[Commissar]] Ciaphas Cain, as he appears on the cover of [[For the Emperor (Novel)|For the Emperor]]]]
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{{otheruses|USE=Imperial Commissar|OTHERUSE=Novel Series|OTHERPAGE=Ciaphas Cain (Novel Series)}}
  
'''Ciaphas Cain''' ((Kai-a-fas Kane)) was an [[Imperial]] [[Commissar]]. He was in active service in the last century of [[M41]], and was over 200 years old when he was recalled into service during the [[13th Black Crusade]] of [[Abaddon the Despoiler]], and it is certain that he survived more than a quarter of a century into [[M42]]. Propaganda made him out to be the hero of the [[Imperium]] circa late [[M41]] although in truth he was mainly focused on surviving. (However he differed from many other Imperial Commissars in that he would not readily sacrifice soldiers unless it ensured his own survival.) Cain tried his utmost to avoid engaging in actual combat, but would have to anyway to maintain his status as a Hero of the Imperium, which ironically, would involve him in more dangerous situations than any he would usually see as a Commissar. He was responsible for many successful campaigns throughout his career and retired to become a professor at a [[Schola Progenium]].
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{{QuoteBox
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|quote = '''''Some of my fellow [[inquisitor]]s may be shocked to discover that one of the [[Imperium]]'s most venerated heroes was, by his own admission, a scoundrel and a self-seeking rogue; a fact of which, due to our sporadic personal association, I have long been aware. Indeed, I would go so far as to contend that it was this very combination of character flaws which made him one of the most effective servants the Imperium has ever had, despite his strenuous efforts to the contrary.  For, in his century or more of active service to the [[Commissariat]], and occasional less visible activities at my behest, he faced and bested almost every enemy of humanity: [[necrons]], [[tau]], [[tyranids]] and [[orks]], [[eldar]], both [[Craftworld Eldar|free of taint]] and [[Dark Eldar|corrupted]] by the [[ruinous powers]], and the [[daemonic]] agents of those powers themselves. Reluctantly, it must be admitted, but in many cases repeatedly, and always with success; a record few, if any, more noble men can equal."'''''<br>
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''[[Amberley Vail]], [[Ordo Xenos]], in her introduction to the [[Cain Archive]].{{Fn|1b}}
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|}}
  
In [[M42]] his [[Cain Archive|Memoirs]] were published among the ranks of the [[Inquisition]]. They are sequestered by order of the Holy Ordos, and are kept and organized as the [[Cain Archive]] by [[Ordo Xenos]] [[Inquisitor]] [[Amberley Vail]]  
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[[Image:Ciaphas Cain1.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Ciaphas Cain{{Fn|12}}]]
with whom Cain had many encounters over his career, and shared a close working and personal relationship. It is worth noting, as Inquisitor Vail does in footnotes throughout his memoirs, that Cain was a skilled liar and dissembler, and therefore anything to which he refers that is not independently documented could well be a fabrication to maintain his reputation.
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'''Ciaphas Cain''' ((Kai-a-fass{{Fn|13}} Kane)) was an [[Imperial]] [[Commissar]]. He was in active service in the last century of [[M41]], and was over 200 years old when he was recalled into service during the [[13th Black Crusade]] of [[Abaddon the Despoiler]], and it is certain that he survived more than a quarter of a century into [[M42]]. Propaganda made him out to be the hero of the [[Imperium]] circa late [[M41]] although in truth he was mainly focused on surviving. (However he differed from many other Imperial Commissars in that he would not readily sacrifice soldiers unless it ensured his own survival.) Cain tried his utmost to avoid engaging in actual combat, but would have to anyway to maintain his status as a Hero of the Imperium, which ironically, would involve him in more dangerous situations than any he would usually see as a Commissar. He was responsible for many successful campaigns throughout his career and retired to become a professor at a [[Schola Progenium]].{{Cite this}}
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In [[M42]] the [[Cain Archive]] was published among the ranks of the [[Inquisition]]. They are sequestered by order of the Holy Ordos, and are kept and organized as the [[Cain Archive]] by [[Ordo Xenos]] [[Inquisitor]] [[Amberley Vail]] with whom Cain had many encounters over his career, and shared a close working and personal relationship. It is worth noting, as Inquisitor Vail does in footnotes throughout his memoirs, that Cain was a skilled liar and dissembler, and therefore anything to which he refers that is not independently documented could well be a fabrication to maintain his reputation.{{Cite this}}
  
 
===Origins & Early Life===
 
===Origins & Early Life===
Cain makes numerous mentions to his home world, apparently a [[Hive World]], though he never mentions a name or any feature which could lead to it being identified. At one point in the archives, Amberley Vail speculates that Cain may not in fact know the name of his own homeworld. However, he shows a definite affinity for underground passages and has a natural sense of direction when underground. He claims that his parents were killed while serving in the [[Imperial Guard]], which is why he was sent to be trained as a Commissar. However, it has not been stated in which regiment they served. His record at the Schola Progenium where he was educated and trained shows that his marks were at the low end of average in everything save sports and combat training. He also had a clear disciplinary record, however this probably means he didn't get caught.
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Cain makes numerous mentions to his home world, apparently a [[Hive World]], though he never mentions a name or any feature which could lead to it being identified. At one point in the archives, Amberley Vail speculates that Cain may not in fact know the name of his own homeworld. However, he shows a definite affinity for underground passages and has a natural sense of direction when underground. He claims that his parents were killed while serving in the [[Imperial Guard]], which is why he was sent to be trained as a Commissar. However, it has not been stated in which regiment they served. His record at the Schola Progenium where he was educated and trained shows that his marks were at the low end of average in everything save sports and combat training. He also had a clear disciplinary record, however this probably means he didn't get caught.{{Cite this}}
  
 
===Service History===
 
===Service History===
Throughout his service in the [[Commissariat]], Cain seems to have served predominantly with regiments raised from the [[Ice Worlds|Ice World]] of [[Valhalla]]. He picked up a number of their habits and slang terms, although he never became enamoured to the cold they enjoyed, or their habit of taking showers in ice water. His loyal aide [[Ferik Jurgen]] was a Valhallan guardsman who happened to be a [[blank]], and served Cain faithfully for many years.  Also with him was [[General]] [[Jenit_Sulla|Jenit Sulla]].
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[[Image:CiaphasCain.JPG|right|thumb|[[Commissar]] Ciaphas Cain{{Fn|1a}}]]
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Cain's active service career can be roughly divided into four phases:
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*His first posting after graduating from the [[Schola Progenium]], was to the [[Valhallan 12th Field Artillery]], where his plans for a "lifetime of rear-echelon obscurity" were quickly dashed by a series of events that gave him a reputation as a hero, including his actions on [[Slawkenberg]], and during the [[Siege of Perlia]];{{Cite this}}
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*The second phase was his appointment to the [[sector]] brigade's headquarters as a sort of independent, "roving" commissar, reporting directly to senior Guard officers such as [[General]] [[Lokris]]; during this time he saw action on [[Inheritus Prime]], [[Archipelaga]], [[Veridia]], and assisted the [[Reclaimers]] [[Space Marine Chapter]] with cleansing the [[space hulk]] ''[[Spawn of Damnation]]''.{{Cite this}}
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*The third phase was his long tenure (10–15 years) with the [[Valhallan 597th]], during which time he forged a close working relationship with its officers, and became immensely popular with its soldiery; this phase of his career took him to [[Gravalax]], [[Simia Orichalcae]], [[Periremunda]], [[Adumbria]], and [[Nusquam Fundumentibus]], among other places.{{Cite this}}
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*Cain was eventually appointed as [[Lord General]] [[Zyvan]]'s liaison to the [[Commissariat]], a position similar to his earlier appointment to brigade headquarters, though not quite as hazardous.{{Cite this}}
  
He began his service with the Valhallan 12th Field Artillery in 919.M41, apparently as a Commissar attached to the command battery, but soon took up duties over the entire regiment. His first taste of battle was on Desolatia, where the regiment had been defending against [[Orks]], but soon they were faced with a Tyranid splinter fleet, which they held out against until an Imperial fleet arrived to pick up the Imperial forces on the planet.
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Throughout his service, Cain seems to have served predominantly with regiments raised from the [[Ice Worlds|Ice World]] of [[Valhalla]]. He picked up a number of their habits and slang terms, although he never became enamoured to the cold they enjoyed, or their habit of taking showers in ice water. His loyal aide [[Ferik Jurgen]] was a Valhallan guardsman who happened to be a [[blank]], and served Cain faithfully for many years.  Also with him was [[General]] [[Jenit Sulla]].{{Cite this}}
  
His, and his regiment's, next destination was the planet of Keffia, where he spent a restful few years of the 920's, with the only major battle he participated in was assisting the local enforcers (calling themselves Custodes, though the title is unrelated to the Adeptus organisation of the same name) in unveiling a genestealer infestation in the sector and assisting in the defence of the enforcers' headquarters.
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He began his service with the Valhallan 12th Field Artillery in 919.M41, apparently as a Commissar attached to the command battery, but soon took up duties over the entire regiment. His first taste of battle was on Desolatia, where the regiment had been defending against [[Orks]], but soon they were faced with a Tyranid splinter fleet, which they held out against until an Imperial fleet arrived to pick up the Imperial forces on the planet.{{Fn|7}}
  
From here, he went to Perlia, where he was first earmarked for greater things. After a space battle, he and his adjutant Jurgen were left isolated on the ground of Perlia, presumed dead after their escape pod crashed behind ork lines. From here, he raised an army and, in what became known as the [[First Siege of Perlia|March of the Liberator]], successfully fought his way through the orks to the front line, killing the warlord personally. The Imperial forces took the opportunity to attack the remaining ork forces, who were in disarray.
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His, and his regiment's, next destination was the planet of Keffia, where he spent a restful few years of the 920's, with the only major battle he participated in was assisting the local enforcers (calling themselves Custodes, though the title is unrelated to the Adeptus organisation of the same name) in unveiling a genestealer infestation in the sector and assisting in the defence of the enforcers' headquarters.{{Fn|10}}
  
On Slawkenberg, he and two gunners<sup>1a</sup> were nearly possessed by a [[Slaaneshi]] priestess [[Emeli Duboir]]<sup>1b</sup> whilst accompanying forward artillery observers<sup>1a</sup>, but managed to destroy the enemy position with artillery after being broken free from her spell by [[Jurgen]]<sup>1c</sup>.
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From here, he went to Perlia, where he was first earmarked for greater things. After a space battle, he and his adjutant Jurgen were left isolated on the ground of Perlia, presumed dead after their escape pod crashed behind ork lines. From here, he raised an army and, in what became known as the [[First Siege of Perlia|March of the Liberator]], successfully fought his way through the orks to the front line, killing the warlord personally. The Imperial forces took the opportunity to attack the remaining ork forces, who were in disarray.{{Fn|4}}
  
From here, he was assigned to Commissariat command for a few years, which was at first a simple desk job, but his reputation meant that he was sent on risky missions, such as a trip to Interitus Prime, a [[Necron]] Tomb world, Viridia and Viridia Secundus, the cleansing of a space hulk, fought against the [[Eldar]], and participated in the cleansing of Sanguia. He survived these purely by being able to keep his head down, and commonly being the only survivor. Before long, he requested transfer back to a regiment. Of these experiences Cain notes that his encounter with the [[Necrons]] was the most horrific, and left the most lasting impression on him.
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On Slawkenberg, he and two gunners were nearly possessed by a [[Slaaneshi]] priestess [[Emeli Duboir]] whilst accompanying forward artillery observers, but managed to destroy the enemy position with artillery after being broken free from her spell by [[Jurgen]].{{Fn|9}}
  
Currently the majority of extracts available from the [[Cain Archive]] tell of his time serving with the [[Valhallan 597th Ice Warriors|597th Valhallan Regiment]]. While serving with them Cain appears to have been very close to the troopers, particularly with the senior officers with which he had a personal friendship.
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From here, he was assigned to Commissariat command for a few years, which was at first a simple desk job, but his reputation meant that he was sent on risky missions, such as a trip to Interitus Prime, a [[Necron]] Tomb world, Viridia and Viridia Secundus, the cleansing of a space hulk, fought against the [[Eldar]], and participated in the cleansing of Sanguia. He survived these purely by being able to keep his head down, and commonly being the only survivor. Before long, he requested transfer back to a regiment. Of these experiences Cain notes that his encounter with the [[Necrons]] was the most horrific, and left the most lasting impression on him.{{Fn|8}}
  
Cain was present with the 597th Valhallan Regiment for their first action during the [[Gravalax Incident]] of 931.M41, where he was awarded the Order of Merit of Gravalax, Second class, for his part in preventing the [[Tau]] annexation of the planet. (Cain was to joke in later years that if he had allowed the Tau to kill Governor Grice, the grateful populace would have given him the first class decoration.) In truth, the planet had been infested by a [[Genestealer Cult]] who had been trying to spark off a meaningless war over a backwater planet between the Tau and the Imperium in order to distract them from the approach of the [[Tyranids]]. It was during this affair that Cain first encountered Inquisitor Amberley Vail, and also discovered that his aide Jurgen was in fact a [[Null]]: a trait which saved Cain's life as he duelled the [[Genestealer Patriarch]].
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Currently the majority of extracts available from the [[Cain Archive]] tell of his time serving with the [[Valhallan 597th Ice Warriors|597th Valhallan Regiment]]. While serving with them Cain appears to have been very close to the troopers, particularly with the senior officers with which he had a personal friendship.{{Cite this}}
  
The next year, he served on Simia Oricalcae, defending a refinery against ork predations and an awakening Necron threat beneath the ice. Shortly after this, he was sent to [[Periremunda]] after a civil uprising occurred. It was discovered that Genestealers were behind it, and the infection was cleansed.
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Cain was present with the 597th Valhallan Regiment for their first action during the [[Gravalax Incident]] of 931.M41, where he was awarded the Order of Merit of Gravalax, Second class, for his part in preventing the [[Tau]] annexation of the planet. (Cain was to joke in later years that if he had allowed the Tau to kill Governor Grice, the grateful populace would have given him the first class decoration.) In truth, the planet had been infested by a [[Genestealer Cult]] who had been trying to spark off a meaningless war over a backwater planet between the Tau and the Imperium in order to distract them from the approach of the [[Tyranids]]. It was during this affair that Cain first encountered Inquisitor Amberley Vail, and also discovered that his aide Jurgen was in fact a [[Null]]: a trait which saved Cain's life as he duelled the [[Genestealer Patriarch]].{{Fn|1}}
  
After fighting [[Hrud]] on Skekwi and Orks on Kastafore, Cain arrived at Adumbria in 937, where he assisted in uncovering a Chaos ritual and defending against landing Chaos forces. His actions defeated a Daemon Prince and the transformation of the planet into a daemon world. He later attended his court-marshal, initiated by Commissar Tomas Beije, for leaving the front line to attack the Daemon Prince's summoning, but Cain was cleared of all wrongdoing, and Beije was charged and later acquitted.
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The next year, he served on Simia Oricalcae, defending a refinery against ork predations and an awakening Necron threat beneath the ice. Shortly after this, he was sent to [[Periremunda]] after a civil uprising occurred. It was discovered that Genestealers were behind it, and the infection was cleansed.{{Fn|2}}
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After fighting [[Hrud]] on Skekwi and Orks on Kastafore, Cain arrived at Adumbria in 937, where he assisted in uncovering a Chaos ritual and defending against landing Chaos forces. His actions defeated a Daemon Prince and prevented the transformation of the planet into a daemon world. He later attended his court-marshal, initiated by Commissar Tomas Beije, for leaving the front line to attack the Daemon Prince's summoning, but Cain was cleared of all wrongdoing, and Beije was charged and later acquitted.{{Fn|3}}
  
 
===Ghosts of Perlia===
 
===Ghosts of Perlia===
Cain's actions on Perlia would come back to haunt him on two occasions during the eighty years between the first and [[Second Siege of Perlia|second]] sieges of that planet. The first occurred during the campaign on Periremunda, when Cain discovered that the Ordo Xenos and the Adeptus Mechanicus had been working on a secret project surrounding an artifact known as the "Shadowlight". This unusual artifact, which predated the existence of Mankind itself, activated the powers of latent psykers and boosted the powers of active ones. The Shadowlight had been contained in a secret Mechanicus shrine located within the dam in the Valley of Daemons on Perlia's eastern continent until it had been taken by a rogue tech-priest named Metheius, in the employ of Inquisitor Killian of the Ordo Hereticus. When Cain arrived in the dam - shortly before destroying it, flooding the valley and drowning scores of Orks - he had found that the tech-priests of the shrine had been killed with surgical precision, and found out later that this had been the work of Killian and Metheius.
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Cain's actions on Perlia would come back to haunt him on two occasions during the eighty years between the first and [[Second Siege of Perlia|second]] sieges of that planet. The first occurred during the campaign on Periremunda, when Cain discovered that the Ordo Xenos and the Adeptus Mechanicus had been working on a secret project surrounding an artifact known as the "[[Shadowlight]]". This unusual artifact, which predated the existence of Mankind itself, activated the powers of latent psykers and boosted the powers of active ones. The Shadowlight had been contained in a secret Mechanicus shrine located within the dam in the Valley of Daemons on Perlia's eastern continent until it had been taken by a rogue tech-priest named [[Metheius]], in the employ of [[Inquisitor]] [[Ernst Stavros Killian]] of the [[Ordo Hereticus]]. When Cain arrived in the dam - shortly before destroying it, flooding the valley and drowning scores of Orks - he had found that the tech-priests of the shrine had been killed with surgical precision, and found out later that this had been the work of Killian and Metheius, with the unwitting assistance of a squad of [[Adepta Sororitas]] Battle-Sisters.{{Fn|5}}
  
Killian had allied with a number of Chaos cults on Periremunda and intended to use the Shadowlight to boost their psychic powers, turning them into servants of the Emperor without their realizing. After Killian's death, the Shadowlight was returned to Perlia in the shrine set in the rebuilt dam in the Valley of Daemons, where it would remain for another sixty years.
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Killian had allied with a number of Chaos cults on Periremunda and intended to use the Shadowlight to boost their psychic powers, turning them into servants of the Emperor without their realizing. After Killian's death, the Shadowlight was returned to Perlia in the shrine set in the rebuilt dam in the Valley of Daemons, where it would remain for another sixty years.{{Fn|5}}
  
The other occasion was the Second Siege itself, in 999.M41. Cain had by that time retired and made Perlia his home, teaching at a Schola Progenium on the western continent, in a mountainous village near the planetary capital of Havensdown. Meeting with the rogue trader Orelius, whom he had met at Gravalax, Cain discovered that there was a Chaos force headed in the direction of Perlia, having overrun two neighboring systems. It was Cain's suspicion (and Vail's as well, as she had sent Orelius to meet with Cain) that the Chaos horde and their leader, Warmaster [[Varan the Undefeatable]], had their sights set on the Shadowlight. Called once again to defend Perlia, Cain coordinated with the commanders of the Planetary and System Defense Forces, appearing in pictcasts calling for civilians to join the militia, and leading attacks against Chaos insurgents, culminating in a final showdown with Varan himself. Though Cain succeeded in killing Varan and effectively ending the Second Siege, the Shadowlight was taken by a [[necron]] scouting party, persumably to destroy it. From the Necrons' actions Cain and Amberly Vail theorize that the Shadowlight may have been built by the Ancients in order to combat the necrons, who have a documented fear of the warp and psychic powers.
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The other occasion was the Second Siege itself, in 999.M41. Cain had by that time retired and made Perlia his home, teaching at a Schola Progenium on the western continent, in a mountainous village near the planetary capital of Havensdown. Meeting with the rogue trader Orelius, whom he had met at Gravalax, Cain discovered that there was a Chaos force headed in the direction of Perlia, having overrun two neighboring systems. It was Cain's suspicion (and Vail's as well, as she had sent Orelius to meet with Cain) that the Chaos horde and their leader, Warmaster [[Varan the Undefeatable]], had their sights set on the Shadowlight. Called once again to defend Perlia, Cain coordinated with the commanders of the Planetary and System Defense Forces, appearing in pictcasts calling for civilians to join the militia, and leading attacks against Chaos insurgents, culminating in a final showdown with Varan himself. Though Cain succeeded in killing Varan and effectively ending the Second Siege, the Shadowlight was taken by a [[necron]] scouting party, persumably to destroy it. From the Necrons' actions Cain and Amberly Vail theorize that the Shadowlight may have been built by the Ancients in order to combat the necrons, who have a documented fear of the warp and psychic powers.{{Fn|6}}
  
 
===After the Black Crusade===
 
===After the Black Crusade===
Cain spent the years afterwards teaching at the Schola and writing his memoirs - both his public memoir ''To Serve The Emperor: A Commissar's Life'', and the Cain Archive that Inquisitor Vail distributed among her colleagues. Cain presumably died sometime in the first or second century of M42, and remains the only person in the known galaxy to remain on the active duty roster even after being buried with full military honors. This is as a result of a confusion in the Departmento Munitorum during the First Siege of Perlia, in which Cain was listed as killed in action until some point after he rejoined his regiment at the campaign's end.
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Cain spent the years afterwards teaching at the Schola and writing his memoirs - both his public memoir ''To Serve The Emperor: A Commissar's Life'', and the Cain Archive that Inquisitor Vail distributed among her colleagues.{{Fn|1}}
  
It may be interesting to note that there is a small sect in Tallarn regiments, who consider Cain as a physical conduit of the Emperor's divine will. There is even a book dedicated to Cain, called the "Book of Cain".
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Although his length of service and his achievements entitled him to the rank of [[Lord Commissar]], Cain stubbornly rejected the few attempts by his students and colleagues to address him as such, and so remained listed as a [[Commissar]] until the end of his life.{{Cite This}}
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Cain presumably died sometime in the first or second century of M42.  Because of the number of times in his career when he was declared dead or missing in action, only to resurface later, the [[Departmento Munitorum]] adopted a standing regulation to list Cain as alive and active at all times, regardless of evidence to the contrary.  As a result, he is the only person in the known galaxy to remain on the active duty roster even after being buried with full military honors.{{Cite this}}
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After his actions on [[Adumbria]], a small sect on [[Tallarn]] arose which worshipped Cain as a [[Living Saint|Prophet]], a physical conduit of the [[Emperor]]'s divine will. Vail noted that it was perhaps fortunate that Cain, so far as she was aware, never learned of this sect's existence.{{Cite this}}
  
 
==Personality and Skills==
 
==Personality and Skills==
 
[[Image:Ciphas Cain (bemalt).jpg|thumb|right|'''Ciaphas Cain''' (Black Library limited edition miniature)]]
 
[[Image:Ciphas Cain (bemalt).jpg|thumb|right|'''Ciaphas Cain''' (Black Library limited edition miniature)]]
Although Cain performed acts in his long commissarial service that were nothing short of heroic, they were always - by his own admission - done reluctantly. He chose the posting with the Valhallan 12th Field Artillery specifically to avoid front-line combat, as artillery regiments generally remained at the rear of any army. After the events on Desolatia, however, Cain often made the observation that his commanders were bent on sending him into deadly situations simply on the basis of his reputation. The first thing on his mind was always his own safety, and how he would be able to escape the situation he was in.
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Although Cain performed acts in his long commissarial service that were nothing short of heroic, they were always - by his own admission - done reluctantly. He chose the posting with the Valhallan 12th Field Artillery specifically to avoid front-line combat, as artillery regiments generally remained at the rear of any army. After the events on Desolatia, however, Cain often made the observation that his commanders were bent on sending him into deadly situations simply on the basis of his reputation. The first thing on his mind was always his own safety, and how he would be able to escape the situation he was in.{{Cite this}}
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Despite his unwillingness to engage in combat, Cain was by no means unprepared for it, as one of the things he focused on while at the Schola Progenium (in addition to sports) was combat training. He was described as an exceptional swordsman - a skill which "undoubtedly came from the sort of combat experience no amount of practice could emulate", in the words of Inquisitor Vail, though he still practiced his technique anyway. In his memoirs he describes his chainsword skill a habitual and instinctive one. He was also skilled enough with a laspistol to actually hit his target well beyond the weapon's operational range, even against Necron Warriors.{{Cite this}}
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== Background Information ==
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In his introductory note to the omnibus [[Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium]], [[Sandy Mitchell]] said that both of Cain's names were "rather self-indulgent Biblical joke[s]."{{Fn|13}}:
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*In the Old Testament, [[Wikipedia:Cain|Cain]] was one of the two sons of Adam and Eve, who became history's first murderer after killing his brother, Abel.
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*In the New Testament, [[Wikipedia:Caiaphas|Caiaphas]] (note the transposition of "a" and "i") is the High Priest of Israel and head of the Sanhedrin, who condemns Jesus Christ for blasphemy and hands him over for execution by the Romans.
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Mitchell also said that the question he is asked most frequently by fans (followed closely by how to correctly pronounce Cain's first name) is what Cain's "true" character is - i.e., whether he really is a self-seeking rogue, or a better man than he gives himself credit for.  Mitchell's answer is, he's not sure himself, and likely neither is Cain.{{Fn|13}}
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Cain is often regarded by fans as the antithesis of [[Dan Abnett]]'s hero, [[Colonel-Commissar]] [[Ibram Gaunt]].  At the 2012 [[Black Library Weekender]], a panel of authors were asked to predict the winner in a series of hypothetical matches between various Black Library characters.  When asked to match Cain versus Gaunt, the most popular answer, chosen by audience approval, was [[Graham McNeill]]'s: ''"Neither one - a real commissar would show up and kick both their arses."''
  
Despite his unwillingness to engage in combat, Cain was by no means unprepared for it, as one of the things he focused on while at the Schola Progenium (in addition to sports) was combat training. He was described as an exceptional swordsman - a skill which "undoubtedly came from the sort of combat experience no amount of practice could emulate", in the words of Inquisitor Vail, though he still practiced his technique anyway. In his memoirs he describes his chainsword skill a habitual and instinctive one. He was also skilled enough with a laspistol to actually hit his target well beyond the weapon's operational range, even against Necron Warriors.
 
  
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{{cite}}
 
==Sources==
 
==Sources==
*[[For The Emperor (Novel)|For The Emperor]] by [[Sandy Mitchell]]
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*{{Endn|1}}: [[For The Emperor (Novel)]] by [[Sandy Mitchell]],{{Cite this}}
*[[Caves of Ice (Novel)|Caves Of Ice]] by Sandy Mitchell
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**{{Endn|1a}}: Cover Illustration
*[[The Traitor's Hand (Novel)|The Traitor's Hand]] by Sandy Mitchell
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**{{Endn|1b}}: Editorial Note before Chapter One
*[[Death or Glory (Novel) | Death Or Glory]] by Sandy Mitchell
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*{{Endn|2}}: [[Caves of Ice (Novel)]] by '''Sandy Mitchell''',{{Cite this}}
*[[Duty Calls (Novel)|Duty Calls]] by Sandy Mitchell
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*{{Endn|3}}: [[The Traitor's Hand (Novel)]] by '''Sandy Mitchell''',{{Cite this}}
*[[Cain's Last Stand (Novel)|Cain's Last Stand]] by Sandy Mitchell
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*{{Endn|4}}: [[Death or Glory (Novel)]] by '''Sandy Mitchell''',{{Cite this}}
*<sup>1</sup>[[The Beguiling]]: [[Ciaphas Cain (Novel Series)|Ciaphas Cain Hero of the Imperium]] by [[Sandy Mitchell]]
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*{{Endn|5}}: [[Duty Calls (Novel)]] by '''Sandy Mitchell''',{{Cite this}}
**<sup>a</sup> p. 484
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*{{Endn|6}}: [[Cain's Last Stand (Novel)]] by '''Sandy Mitchell''',{{Cite this}}
**<sup>b</sup> p. 494-495
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*{{Endn|7}}: ''[[Fight or Flight (Short Story)]]'' by '''Sandy Mitchell'''
**<sup>c</sup> p. 494-496
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*{{Endn|8}}: ''[[Echoes of the Tomb (Short Story)]]'' by '''Sandy Mitchell'''
 +
*{{Endn|9}}: ''[[The Beguiling (Short Story)]]'' by '''Sandy Mitchell'''
 +
*{{Endn|10}}: ''[[Sector 13 (Short Story)]]'' by '''Sandy Mitchell'''
 +
*{{Endn|11}}: ''[[Traitor's Gambit (Short Story)]]'' by '''Sandy Mitchell'''
 +
*{{Endn|12}}: [[Ciaphas Cain: Defender of the Imperium (Omnibus)]] by '''Sandy Mitchell''': Cover Illustration
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*{{Endn|13}}: [[Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium (Omnibus)]] by '''Sandy Mitchell''': Author's Note
  
 
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Revision as of 07:56, 24 July 2018

Targetdrone.gif This article is about the Imperial Commissar; for the Novel Series, see Ciaphas Cain (Novel Series).

Some of my fellow inquisitors may be shocked to discover that one of the Imperium's most venerated heroes was, by his own admission, a scoundrel and a self-seeking rogue; a fact of which, due to our sporadic personal association, I have long been aware. Indeed, I would go so far as to contend that it was this very combination of character flaws which made him one of the most effective servants the Imperium has ever had, despite his strenuous efforts to the contrary. For, in his century or more of active service to the Commissariat, and occasional less visible activities at my behest, he faced and bested almost every enemy of humanity: necrons, tau, tyranids and orks, eldar, both free of taint and corrupted by the ruinous powers, and the daemonic agents of those powers themselves. Reluctantly, it must be admitted, but in many cases repeatedly, and always with success; a record few, if any, more noble men can equal."
Amberley Vail, Ordo Xenos, in her introduction to the Cain Archive.[1b]

Ciaphas Cain[12]

Ciaphas Cain ((Kai-a-fass[13] Kane)) was an Imperial Commissar. He was in active service in the last century of M41, and was over 200 years old when he was recalled into service during the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler, and it is certain that he survived more than a quarter of a century into M42. Propaganda made him out to be the hero of the Imperium circa late M41 although in truth he was mainly focused on surviving. (However he differed from many other Imperial Commissars in that he would not readily sacrifice soldiers unless it ensured his own survival.) Cain tried his utmost to avoid engaging in actual combat, but would have to anyway to maintain his status as a Hero of the Imperium, which ironically, would involve him in more dangerous situations than any he would usually see as a Commissar. He was responsible for many successful campaigns throughout his career and retired to become a professor at a Schola Progenium.[Needs Citation]

In M42 the Cain Archive was published among the ranks of the Inquisition. They are sequestered by order of the Holy Ordos, and are kept and organized as the Cain Archive by Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Amberley Vail with whom Cain had many encounters over his career, and shared a close working and personal relationship. It is worth noting, as Inquisitor Vail does in footnotes throughout his memoirs, that Cain was a skilled liar and dissembler, and therefore anything to which he refers that is not independently documented could well be a fabrication to maintain his reputation.[Needs Citation]

Origins & Early Life

Cain makes numerous mentions to his home world, apparently a Hive World, though he never mentions a name or any feature which could lead to it being identified. At one point in the archives, Amberley Vail speculates that Cain may not in fact know the name of his own homeworld. However, he shows a definite affinity for underground passages and has a natural sense of direction when underground. He claims that his parents were killed while serving in the Imperial Guard, which is why he was sent to be trained as a Commissar. However, it has not been stated in which regiment they served. His record at the Schola Progenium where he was educated and trained shows that his marks were at the low end of average in everything save sports and combat training. He also had a clear disciplinary record, however this probably means he didn't get caught.[Needs Citation]

Service History

Commissar Ciaphas Cain[1a]

Cain's active service career can be roughly divided into four phases:

Throughout his service, Cain seems to have served predominantly with regiments raised from the Ice World of Valhalla. He picked up a number of their habits and slang terms, although he never became enamoured to the cold they enjoyed, or their habit of taking showers in ice water. His loyal aide Ferik Jurgen was a Valhallan guardsman who happened to be a blank, and served Cain faithfully for many years. Also with him was General Jenit Sulla.[Needs Citation]

He began his service with the Valhallan 12th Field Artillery in 919.M41, apparently as a Commissar attached to the command battery, but soon took up duties over the entire regiment. His first taste of battle was on Desolatia, where the regiment had been defending against Orks, but soon they were faced with a Tyranid splinter fleet, which they held out against until an Imperial fleet arrived to pick up the Imperial forces on the planet.[7]

His, and his regiment's, next destination was the planet of Keffia, where he spent a restful few years of the 920's, with the only major battle he participated in was assisting the local enforcers (calling themselves Custodes, though the title is unrelated to the Adeptus organisation of the same name) in unveiling a genestealer infestation in the sector and assisting in the defence of the enforcers' headquarters.[10]

From here, he went to Perlia, where he was first earmarked for greater things. After a space battle, he and his adjutant Jurgen were left isolated on the ground of Perlia, presumed dead after their escape pod crashed behind ork lines. From here, he raised an army and, in what became known as the March of the Liberator, successfully fought his way through the orks to the front line, killing the warlord personally. The Imperial forces took the opportunity to attack the remaining ork forces, who were in disarray.[4]

On Slawkenberg, he and two gunners were nearly possessed by a Slaaneshi priestess Emeli Duboir whilst accompanying forward artillery observers, but managed to destroy the enemy position with artillery after being broken free from her spell by Jurgen.[9]

From here, he was assigned to Commissariat command for a few years, which was at first a simple desk job, but his reputation meant that he was sent on risky missions, such as a trip to Interitus Prime, a Necron Tomb world, Viridia and Viridia Secundus, the cleansing of a space hulk, fought against the Eldar, and participated in the cleansing of Sanguia. He survived these purely by being able to keep his head down, and commonly being the only survivor. Before long, he requested transfer back to a regiment. Of these experiences Cain notes that his encounter with the Necrons was the most horrific, and left the most lasting impression on him.[8]

Currently the majority of extracts available from the Cain Archive tell of his time serving with the 597th Valhallan Regiment. While serving with them Cain appears to have been very close to the troopers, particularly with the senior officers with which he had a personal friendship.[Needs Citation]

Cain was present with the 597th Valhallan Regiment for their first action during the Gravalax Incident of 931.M41, where he was awarded the Order of Merit of Gravalax, Second class, for his part in preventing the Tau annexation of the planet. (Cain was to joke in later years that if he had allowed the Tau to kill Governor Grice, the grateful populace would have given him the first class decoration.) In truth, the planet had been infested by a Genestealer Cult who had been trying to spark off a meaningless war over a backwater planet between the Tau and the Imperium in order to distract them from the approach of the Tyranids. It was during this affair that Cain first encountered Inquisitor Amberley Vail, and also discovered that his aide Jurgen was in fact a Null: a trait which saved Cain's life as he duelled the Genestealer Patriarch.[1]

The next year, he served on Simia Oricalcae, defending a refinery against ork predations and an awakening Necron threat beneath the ice. Shortly after this, he was sent to Periremunda after a civil uprising occurred. It was discovered that Genestealers were behind it, and the infection was cleansed.[2]

After fighting Hrud on Skekwi and Orks on Kastafore, Cain arrived at Adumbria in 937, where he assisted in uncovering a Chaos ritual and defending against landing Chaos forces. His actions defeated a Daemon Prince and prevented the transformation of the planet into a daemon world. He later attended his court-marshal, initiated by Commissar Tomas Beije, for leaving the front line to attack the Daemon Prince's summoning, but Cain was cleared of all wrongdoing, and Beije was charged and later acquitted.[3]

Ghosts of Perlia

Cain's actions on Perlia would come back to haunt him on two occasions during the eighty years between the first and second sieges of that planet. The first occurred during the campaign on Periremunda, when Cain discovered that the Ordo Xenos and the Adeptus Mechanicus had been working on a secret project surrounding an artifact known as the "Shadowlight". This unusual artifact, which predated the existence of Mankind itself, activated the powers of latent psykers and boosted the powers of active ones. The Shadowlight had been contained in a secret Mechanicus shrine located within the dam in the Valley of Daemons on Perlia's eastern continent until it had been taken by a rogue tech-priest named Metheius, in the employ of Inquisitor Ernst Stavros Killian of the Ordo Hereticus. When Cain arrived in the dam - shortly before destroying it, flooding the valley and drowning scores of Orks - he had found that the tech-priests of the shrine had been killed with surgical precision, and found out later that this had been the work of Killian and Metheius, with the unwitting assistance of a squad of Adepta Sororitas Battle-Sisters.[5]

Killian had allied with a number of Chaos cults on Periremunda and intended to use the Shadowlight to boost their psychic powers, turning them into servants of the Emperor without their realizing. After Killian's death, the Shadowlight was returned to Perlia in the shrine set in the rebuilt dam in the Valley of Daemons, where it would remain for another sixty years.[5]

The other occasion was the Second Siege itself, in 999.M41. Cain had by that time retired and made Perlia his home, teaching at a Schola Progenium on the western continent, in a mountainous village near the planetary capital of Havensdown. Meeting with the rogue trader Orelius, whom he had met at Gravalax, Cain discovered that there was a Chaos force headed in the direction of Perlia, having overrun two neighboring systems. It was Cain's suspicion (and Vail's as well, as she had sent Orelius to meet with Cain) that the Chaos horde and their leader, Warmaster Varan the Undefeatable, had their sights set on the Shadowlight. Called once again to defend Perlia, Cain coordinated with the commanders of the Planetary and System Defense Forces, appearing in pictcasts calling for civilians to join the militia, and leading attacks against Chaos insurgents, culminating in a final showdown with Varan himself. Though Cain succeeded in killing Varan and effectively ending the Second Siege, the Shadowlight was taken by a necron scouting party, persumably to destroy it. From the Necrons' actions Cain and Amberly Vail theorize that the Shadowlight may have been built by the Ancients in order to combat the necrons, who have a documented fear of the warp and psychic powers.[6]

After the Black Crusade

Cain spent the years afterwards teaching at the Schola and writing his memoirs - both his public memoir To Serve The Emperor: A Commissar's Life, and the Cain Archive that Inquisitor Vail distributed among her colleagues.[1]

Although his length of service and his achievements entitled him to the rank of Lord Commissar, Cain stubbornly rejected the few attempts by his students and colleagues to address him as such, and so remained listed as a Commissar until the end of his life.[Needs Citation]

Cain presumably died sometime in the first or second century of M42. Because of the number of times in his career when he was declared dead or missing in action, only to resurface later, the Departmento Munitorum adopted a standing regulation to list Cain as alive and active at all times, regardless of evidence to the contrary. As a result, he is the only person in the known galaxy to remain on the active duty roster even after being buried with full military honors.[Needs Citation]

After his actions on Adumbria, a small sect on Tallarn arose which worshipped Cain as a Prophet, a physical conduit of the Emperor's divine will. Vail noted that it was perhaps fortunate that Cain, so far as she was aware, never learned of this sect's existence.[Needs Citation]

Personality and Skills

Ciaphas Cain (Black Library limited edition miniature)

Although Cain performed acts in his long commissarial service that were nothing short of heroic, they were always - by his own admission - done reluctantly. He chose the posting with the Valhallan 12th Field Artillery specifically to avoid front-line combat, as artillery regiments generally remained at the rear of any army. After the events on Desolatia, however, Cain often made the observation that his commanders were bent on sending him into deadly situations simply on the basis of his reputation. The first thing on his mind was always his own safety, and how he would be able to escape the situation he was in.[Needs Citation]

Despite his unwillingness to engage in combat, Cain was by no means unprepared for it, as one of the things he focused on while at the Schola Progenium (in addition to sports) was combat training. He was described as an exceptional swordsman - a skill which "undoubtedly came from the sort of combat experience no amount of practice could emulate", in the words of Inquisitor Vail, though he still practiced his technique anyway. In his memoirs he describes his chainsword skill a habitual and instinctive one. He was also skilled enough with a laspistol to actually hit his target well beyond the weapon's operational range, even against Necron Warriors.[Needs Citation]

Background Information

In his introductory note to the omnibus Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium, Sandy Mitchell said that both of Cain's names were "rather self-indulgent Biblical joke[s]."[13]:

  • In the Old Testament, Cain was one of the two sons of Adam and Eve, who became history's first murderer after killing his brother, Abel.
  • In the New Testament, Caiaphas (note the transposition of "a" and "i") is the High Priest of Israel and head of the Sanhedrin, who condemns Jesus Christ for blasphemy and hands him over for execution by the Romans.

Mitchell also said that the question he is asked most frequently by fans (followed closely by how to correctly pronounce Cain's first name) is what Cain's "true" character is - i.e., whether he really is a self-seeking rogue, or a better man than he gives himself credit for. Mitchell's answer is, he's not sure himself, and likely neither is Cain.[13]

Cain is often regarded by fans as the antithesis of Dan Abnett's hero, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt. At the 2012 Black Library Weekender, a panel of authors were asked to predict the winner in a series of hypothetical matches between various Black Library characters. When asked to match Cain versus Gaunt, the most popular answer, chosen by audience approval, was Graham McNeill's: "Neither one - a real commissar would show up and kick both their arses."


Sources

Related Publications