You know I read sometimes on this forum that Comissar Cain books are not reliable source and so on. So topic title question arises.

What's wrong with it? We haven't some kind of verified canon, and I can point an official book saying that all Marines are united under one man command, Imperator should eat souls to live but is able to saying and commanding, and Imperial governments are tolerant to Eldar adventurers who runs to Imperium leaving their dull Craftworlds. I belive first edition is not valid now though.

But can somebody point what's wrong with Cain books? Can't say I'm using them as primary source, but I can't point anything definitly controversal there.

For one, (IIRC) they are told in the first person from an unreliable viewpoint.

My guesses:

- Some people just want 40k to be all grimdark all the time. Even when that leads to grimderp. They want the humor of early 40k to be carved out and forgotten.

- Others think that their idea of canon is the correct one, despite GW never releasing any official policy on what is and isn't canon. Anything that contradicts their idea of canon is Heresy and so they fight it by the only means they can: Screaming about it.

- Some people forget that the Imperium doesn't do standardisation. They assume that just because something is done one way somewhere then it must be done the same way everywhere else.

40k isn't a setting I can take too seriously, not with the Blood Ravens going around stealing from everyone, or the first named Inquisitor being Inquisitor Obi-wan Sherlock Clousseau. So I like Cain.

For one, (IIRC) they are told in the first person from an unreliable viewpoint.

Well, from two unreliable viewpoints, to be precise, so I'd better not take their evaluations or thoughts about something happens there by faith, of course. But problem is with events (that are counted as proved in book's world) and realities (that should be known to people who read Kain's Archive).

All grimderp all the time makes a great backdrop for a wargame. For an RPG, I prefer something just a little bit more humanized. That's why Cain is actually one of my main go-to sources.

The main issue is contradictions* between how the Schola Progenium is organised in Caine's "school day flashbacks" and other sources like the Sisters of Battle Codices/Novels. The scholam is much more 'organised child brainwashing and brutality' and less 'public boarding school', and it's assumed that anyone like cain would probably not have survived the experience.

I just figure that's how it was done in that region. After all, prior to damocles and tyran, the eastern fringe can't have been the most lively of military environments. And I certainly don't mind a bit of humour in the novels; after all, being able to smile at grim unpleasantness is practically a mandatory requirement for remaining even vaguely sane in astra militarum service, even more than a contemportary military.

Also; cease mocking Obi-Wan Sherlock Clousseau. The man's a legend.

* Because the rest of 40k is all consistant, all the time**

**Honest

I just figure that's how it was done in that region.

Regional differences are a good way to justify most departures that you might want to make from generally-accepted canon.

The scholam is much more 'organised child brainwashing and brutality' and less 'public boarding school', and it's assumed that anyone like cain would probably not have survived the experience.

Well, as I recall Scolas are not using telepathic mind-wiping and mind-reading, and Cain is described as somebody who is very good in decieving (so he just was bad pupil in Scola).

But can somebody point what's wrong with Cain books? Can't say I'm using them as primary source, but I can't point anything definitly controversal there.

I've written a somewhat longer post detailing the problematic points that spring to mind here:

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/181640-are-a-sororitas-celibate-are-space-marines-celibate/?p=1687540

Keep in mind, however, that this absolutely does not mean that readers of the Cain novels are somehow in the "wrong" -- it just means that their interpretation of the setting may not line up with that of other players/readers, and some other official material. 40k "canon" works on the basis of individual cherrypicking, so it's up to you.

Just note that some contradictions cannot be reconciled, that these contradictions can change some important details in the larger setting, and that in a roleplaying game, it would be prudent to have all players and the GM operate on a compatible common ground when it comes to the world they are populating.

Others think that their idea of canon is the correct one, despite GW never releasing any official policy on what is and isn't canon.

Actually, when Marc Gascoigne was still head editor at Black Library, he wrote an open letter to address this. The BL forums are unfortunately not online anymore, but its contents have been discussed widely on the web, including by novelist Aaron Dembski-Bowden. And as the letter stated:

"Here's our standard line: Yes it's all official, but remember that we're reporting back from a time where stories aren't always true, or at least 100% accurate. if it has the 40K logo on it, it exists in the 40K universe. Or it was a legend that may well have happened. Or a rumour that may or may not have any truth behind it.

Let's put it another way: anything with a 40K logo on it is as official as any Codex... and at least as crammed full of rumours, distorted legends and half-truths. "

In addition to that, we also have various game designers and novel authors commenting on this issue on their blogs. I've collected a couple quotes here , in case you're curious. Here, I can even offer links to the sources themselves.

The gist of it is that (as Gav Thorpe points out in the quote in my link) 40k is essentially what you make of it. We all have our own 40k, and in some of them the Cain novels have a place, in others they do not. What matters is to be aware of this fact, and to understand that the Cain novels may not fit in with 100% of other people's interpretations of the setting. This includes the writers of other official material. Which in turn explains the contradictions between the novels and the codices. Here, you as the individual reader simply have to decide whether to stick with the codex representation, or how Sandy Mitchell wanted to do it.

On a sidenote, at least in GW's own books, the Imperium does do standardisation sometimes. For example, I've heard it said that every Space Marine is male.

Well, point is, as I could recall about "Cain's Last Stand" - their Scola is something untypical builded on untypcal planet. I'm just trying to catch what's the problem - I saw kind of objection here and there such as "Cain series is not a good example" and like that.

But question about Julien is good. To be honest I thought she is retired Sister of Battle , but not retired Adeptus Sororitas , that's allow her to drink, playing cards and love man. But I read it translated some time ago, so I could miss some nuances. And Perlia is under war readiness, so she training Sororitas Novitaes with urban warfare. Because, well, she can (and she is former Celtestian). With, as I recall, old equipment.

And about Cain... well, as I recall Vale even tells somewhere something about "let's imagine system turns another way and Cain got into Administratum or Navy". She believes it will be worse, though, because she believes Cain IS a good Commissar, despite all difficulties.

Untypical is fine - it's just that you can only bend a template so far until it breaks, and some things in the setting just don't tolerate much alteration without resulting in obvious discrepancies, either because they are very well described already, or because the existing sources have severely limited the amount of possible deviations. In case of the Scholae, it is both.

So I think perception of the topic basically comes down to whether a reader has "grown up" on GW's description of the subject, or whether they come in fresh and know the novels better than the codices. Both fans will end up holding valid interpretations of the setting .. but they won't be compatible when it comes to these details.

But question about Julien is good. To be honest I thought she is retired Sister of Battle , but not retired Adeptus Sororitas , that's allow her to drink, playing cards and love man.

That still contradicts everything the Adepta Sororitas stand for in the original material, though - there is no distinction between the Sisters Militant and the organisation they are a part of. They work by the very same set of rules. See the quotes at the end of my longer post I linked earlier.

The representation in the Cain novels simply creates a very different atmosphere - which is the very reason for why they're so popular with some people. By itself, this should not be a problem. As Aaron Dembski-Bowden points out on his blog, "everyone sees the setting in their own way". But one should be aware of the potential problems that could arise when merging this interpretation with others.

Any change you make on the conduct of one of the many organisations and factions in the setting runs a risk of changing their theme. Which is precisely why I (as a hardcore Sororitas fan) had such a strong reaction against the Cain novels at first. By now I just wish people would properly differentiate between their sources, as they essentially depict different worlds.

You could say there are Games Workshop's Sisters and Commissars, and there are Sandy Mitchell's. And many, many more from other novel authors and whatever headcanon we as gamers may come up with. So we need to be careful not to mix them up and create unnecessary confusion. The rest is merely a question of taste and preferences.

And about Cain... well, as I recall Vale even tells somewhere something about "let's imagine system turns another way and Cain got into Administratum or Navy". She believes it will be worse, though, because she believes Cain IS a good Commissar, despite all difficulties.

That may be, but it doesn't really change that, in other interpretations of the setting (chiefly the one propagated in GW's own books), he would have never become a Commissar in the first place, regardless of how well he'd perform later. The protagonist doesn't want to be a Commissar. The Schola doesn't want people like him to become Commissars. So how does it still happen? It just seems extremely far-fetched.

I honestly think this is because the author just had a very different idea of what the Schola Progenium is, either because he was unaware of GW's writings on the subject or because he simply didn't care and needed a justification for how someone like Cain could slip into this role. The Schola presented in that book seems to train military personnel only, so perhaps the author actually thought there was no other path for Cain to take?

The way i see it is the Cain books have more humour in it than most 40k novels. Never seen anything particularly wrong with it...

There isn't, until you try to use it as a reference during a discussion with fans of GW's interpretation.

I'd say the Cain novels are to 40k what Inglorious Basterds is to WW2. You can get a cool story out of it, you can even easily play an RPG in that setting, but it won't be quite the same when compared to the more serious stories that, by virtue of seeming more serious, will also come across as more realistic.

I mean, Sandy Mitchell himself has stated that Cain was inspired by Flashman and Blackadder. That pretty much says it all.

Problem (my problem at least) is we haven't some GW info about Imperium non-war life. I can imagine a political system working as described in Cain series (with a fair suspicion about described events), well, my work for living is to study this kind of systems. But political system that is described in Codexes and other GW materials just not working, because, well, there is no political system, we're seing war machine only.

Truth to be said, I've learned my way about Warhammer by rulebooks and codexes, not with books, that's I counted as some kind of inner-setting fiction, so I learned well they are far from something... well... solid, editions differ. I cited first Rogue Trader rulebook - we're not counting THIS as a canon, are we? Some places says Imperial Credo is monolitic (AS Codexes, by the way). Another describes vast thousands of beliefes, and priests who try to compile them all to something at least not-so-contradictorial.

But political system that is described in Codexes and other GW materials just not working, because, well, there is no political system, we're seing war machine only.

Well... I recommend that you read a lot about the nobility, the Senatorum Imperialis and the Administratum, you're going to have your political system fast enough.

Problem (my problem at least) is we haven't some GW info about Imperium non-war life.

We do -- the SoB codices go a bit into it by virtue of the Adeptus Ministorum tending to the spiritual wellbeing of the civilian populace. I'd recommend the 2nd Edition codex in particular, as the 3E and 6E books sadly are "a bit" short on fluff. Then there's the general descriptions about government and society in the TT rulebooks (including Necromunda for hive world societies, and the character excerpts from Inquisitor ).

Admittedly, there is also a lot of material that was only ever printed in less accessible sources such as old issues of White Dwarf or posted as an article on GW's website, but I'd argue you could say the same thing about information limited to individual novels.

But what non-war life and political system are you referring to, exactly, that it would be relevant to discussing Cain? Because the Schola Progenium is most definitely well-described in GW material.

I cited first Rogue Trader rulebook - we're not counting THIS as a canon, are we?

In the words of Aaron Dembski-Bowden, "There is no canon".

Interestingly, a lot of background from 1st edition (Rogue Trader) is actually still in effect. The design notes for the 3E Codex Witch Hunters specifically pointed out that the writers were adopting 1E information on the Ecclesiarchy and the Sisterhood as-is, even using that black and white picture where a Sororitas is shooting a Rainbow Warriors Space Marine as an example of what they were going for.

But yes, details can change in-between editions - but this, too, is no different from novels. What is different is that you can almost expect one novel author's interpretation of the setting to be different from another's. With GW's books, you can at least assume that conflicting information will only be inserted from one edition to the other, rather than all the time. Considering that they've been working on the setting for almost three decades now, it is surprisingly consistent.

Again: this does not mean that GW's books are "the truth" or "the only way" to view the setting (especially as, like you said, they too change some things from time to time). An argument could be made that they are the closest thing to a standard we have available, however, and any conflicting material is a deviation by virtue of it coming after GW's take on the subject.

And once you introduce one deviation into the worldview, there is a certain chance that it will affect other details in a sort of domino effect. An Adepta Sororitas made up of warriors like the one described in Mitchell's books would look very different than the one other people are used to from the codices.

Some places says Imperial Credo is monolitic (AS Codexes, by the way). Another describes vast thousands of beliefes, and priests who try to compile them all to something at least not-so-contradictorial.

The text you are referring to says that the Adeptus Ministorum as an organisation is monolithic. This has a different meaning:

"The three types are: the monolithic organization, the plural organization, and the multicultural organization. In the monolithic organization, the amount of structural integration (the presence of persons from different cultural groups in a single organization) is minimal. This type of organization may have minority members within the workforce, but not in positions of leadership and power."

-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_(business)

... put into context with the setting, it could mean that the Ecclesiarchy as an organisation is making sure that only clerics following mainstream orthodoxy will have a chance to rise to the top, whereas priests who are leaning too closely to a local variant of the faith will very likely see their duties remaining limited to their homeworld. Which might explain why there was no significant shift in religious doctrine throughout almost ten millennia, in spite of the clergy also absorbing and catering to a variety of local beliefs, such as the "sun god" or whatever the Emperor may be called on a given world.

It's also possible that this could refer to gender and ethnicity - in other words that a female or black/asian/hispanic Ecclesiarch is unlikely or even impossible. This would be a very contemporary interpretation, however, based only on current real world controversies. That being said, it would fit to the various artworks showing us nothing but white male cardinals!

Or, of course, "monolithic" could also just mean massive, from monolith. Perhaps this is what the author was going for and we are just reading too much into it.

"Here's our standard line: Yes it's all official, but remember that we're reporting back from a time where stories aren't always true, or at least 100% accurate. if it has the 40K logo on it, it exists in the 40K universe. Or it was a legend that may well have happened. Or a rumour that may or may not have any truth behind it.

Let's put it another way: anything with a 40K logo on it is as official as any Codex... and at least as crammed full of rumours, distorted legends and half-truths.

Translation: Having a canon policy can increase sales but we don't want to go through the effort of actually having one. So we will just pretend we have one.

On a sidenote, at least in GW's own books, the Imperium does do standardisation sometimes. For example, I've heard it said that every Space Marine is male.

Only because they don't have much choice in that matter.

For another case where the Imperium tries to standardise things, look to the Imperial Guard. The Imperium tries to standardise them on lasguns. Look how many lasgun variants exist that we know about . Some regiments don't get lasguns, they get las-locks, or SP weapons.

For an example of the Imperium not caring, look to the genders of guardmen. The Imperium tells a world how many to provide, and the world provides that many of its best soldiers. Some planets will refuse to let women into the military, so that planet will only provide men for the Guard. If a planet only trains female soldiers, it only provides females for the guard. In both cases the thing that makes the biggest difference between genders is that the soldiers who received training are better soldiers than untrained civilians.

Translation: Having a canon policy can increase sales but we don't want to go through the effort of actually having one. So we will just pretend we have one.

I admit that is how I picked it up as well.

For what it's worth, I can sort-of understand the various writers greatly enjoying the increased level of artistic freedom. It's easier to realise your own ideas this way. At least that is how ADB explained it. In the end, it boils down to personal preference, and how much you value a consistent setting over being able to work within a narrow set of confines. Warhammer 40,000 as a game relies a lot on its players "making the setting their own", what with nudging people towards creating their own Space Marine Chapters and their own Guard regiments. The rest of the franchise simply follows suit, I guess?

Nowadays, I'm actually somewhat relieved that this is how it works, because there are some recent changes GW has introduced I am not very hyped about adopting, so I may just decide to "lock down" my interpretation of the setting to anything from 2nd to 5th Edition.

Only because they don't have much choice in that matter.

It was half-meant as a joke; there are a lot of better ideas if you'd really want to debate it. For example, codex background specifically states that all Scholae Progenium are gender-segregated. The White Dwarf Liber Sororitas also specifically pointed out that there is very little difference between the various orders of the Sisterhood, because they are all working from the same set of rules, can trace back their origins to a single place (San Leor), and all share a singular leader at the top (the Abbess Sororitas). All boltguns and bolt pistols are chambered for calibre .75 ammunition. The shotgun is the standard issue weapon for all Arbites across the Imperium... the list goes on.

There is a lot of variety between individual Imperial worlds, but to say that standardisation does not exist at all is simply not an interpretation compatible with the setting as presented by Games Workshop.

For another case where the Imperium tries to standardise things, look to the Imperial Guard. The Imperium tries to standardise them on lasguns. Look how many lasgun variants exist that we know about. Some regiments don't get lasguns, they get las-locks, or SP weapons.

"Only because they don't have much of a choice in that matter."

"The only universal piece of equipment common throughout the entirety of the Imperial Guard is the lasgun. This weapon is cheap and easy to manufacture, extremely reliable and simple to maintain. The lasgun is therefore ideally suited to arm the massed armies of the Imperial Guard."

-- 5E C:IG

A regiment that is not issued lasguns is quite simply an accident. And as for the different marks and patterns ... not even the US manage to equip all of their infantry with the exact same gun , yet I wouldn't say they don't practice standardisation. Ironically enough, the Imperial Guard is probably in a better situation than the US military here, in that at least all the lasguns and laspistols seem to be able to take the same chargepack, whereas the US don't even manage to shoot the same bullet, let alone use the same magazines.

That being said, this too depends on exactly which book we are looking at, for I know that some licensed products contradict the codex on this detail.

There isn't, until you try to use it as a reference during a discussion with fans of GW's interpretation.

I'd say the Cain novels are to 40k what Inglorious Basterds is to WW2. You can get a cool story out of it, you can even easily play an RPG in that setting, but it won't be quite the same when compared to the more serious stories that, by virtue of seeming more serious, will also come across as more realistic.

I mean, Sandy Mitchell himself has stated that Cain was inspired by Flashman and Blackadder. That pretty much says it all.

Blackadder was who I always think of Cain as

A regiment that is not issued lasguns is quite simply an accident. And as for the different marks and patterns ... not even the US manage to equip all of their infantry with the exact same gun , yet I wouldn't say they don't practice standardisation. Ironically enough, the Imperial Guard is probably in a better situation than the US military here, in that at least all the lasguns and laspistols seem to be able to take the same chargepack, whereas the US don't even manage to shoot the same bullet, let alone use the same magazines.

In guns of Tanith, the troopers are issued chare packs that aren't compatible with their tanith lasgun.

In guns of Tanith, the troopers are issued chare packs that aren't compatible with their tanith lasgun.

I guess that would be an example for the last sentence in my previous post, then.

" As well as providing troops, a planet's Lord may be called upon to provide heavy equipment in the form of locally built tanks, artillery, troop carriers, etc. As with lighter armaments, these tend to a standardised basic form across the Imperium, with only minor variations in design and build quality. Indeed, planetary Lords are obliged to provide heavy weapons of a basically standard type for the Imperial Guard, as well as stocks of spares, fuel processors, and logistic support as appropriate. Although a planet's defence forces will almost certainly include locally designed vehicles, often of the most wild or specialised kind, these are almost never recruited into the Imperial Guard because of the difficulty of maintenance and impracticality of keeping them running."

-- 2E Codex Imperial Guard

^ why you are seeing Chimaeras and Leman Russes in just about every single armour and mechanised regiment of the Guard.

In GW's version of the setting, Imperial Guard regiments, once raised, are never going to see their homeworld again (the big exception being the Cadian Shock Troops that rotate into and out of their planet's quasi-PDF). It would therefore be criminally negligent to issue them with gear that is dependent on spare parts, ammunition and materiel that can only be obtained in the region surrounding their place of origin. Situations such as the incident you are referring to would be the norm rather than an exception, crippling the fighting capabilities of every single Guard regiment within a month after being tithed.

Again, there are official products deviating from these examples of codex background, but you as the individual reader/gamer/fan will simply have to choose which source you want to follow here.

This is actually a perfect example of what I was referring to earlier! The "domino effect" of how a minor change can have repercussions that ripple throughout an entire faction. After all, by introducing separate and mutually incompatible charge pack patterns, you also institute a need for fixed supply routes that need to extend from a regiment's home region all the way to wherever it is currently fighting. Given the intricacies of journeys through the Warp, you'd probably have to end up modifying how space travel works, too, just to make this work.

Still an option, of course, if you really want to push this idea. But a lot of unnecessary effort ... and I think a lot of authors don't seem to bother thinking stuff like this to the end, dismissing the "hidden consequences" of such changes to the setting because they are of no importance to the story at hand.

But that's not how you end up creating a "working world".

This is actually a perfect example of what I was referring to earlier! The "domino effect" of how a minor change can have repercussions that ripple throughout an entire faction. After all, by introducing separate and mutually incompatible charge pack patterns, you also institute a need for fixed supply routes that need to extend from a regiment's home region all the way to wherever it is currently fighting.

Good thing charge packs can be recharged in the field, greatly diminishing the need to get replacements to the frontlines.

....Which is why the Lasgun remains just about the best weapon in the galaxy for a massed attrition-based army.

Actually, in the latest Stormtrooper codex, the stormtrooper and commissar cadets do get subjected to chemical brainwashing. The..."Correction Throne" or something like that.

Also; whatever he intended with the books, the guy who writes as Sandy Mitchell (I think his surname is Stewart) is a long-term 40k gamer and does know the setting fairly well since 1st/2nd edition - this is why he likes slipping things like Ambulls in, as nods to stuff that's not in the game anymore. Whatever he might decide to do, I would be hesitant to assume he doesn't know about things.

Equally, the one sororitas who's held up as out-of-character is very much out of character for a sister even in the book - she joins the card games when the other instructors expect her to disapprove, and even in-character Cain's jaw essentially hits the floor on discovering she's the one the administratum clerk's been sleeping and drinking with. She specifically does this behind everyone else's back - precisely because she knows she shouldn't be doing, regardless of Amberly's snide comments about there technically being no vow of chastity.

Holding her up as being at all what the adepta sororitas are, or even what the cain series thinks normal adepta sororitas are, is kind of misrepresentative. There are other adepta sororitas who appear in the series who are much closer to the 'proper' depiction of such (I forget which of the books - it's the one on the world made up of rocky plateaus).

Also, the idea of Adepta Sororitas being trained in local scholars actually makes more sense to me than the original idea of everyone going to Ophelia II or Terra. Space Travel is a huge deal in the Imperium - travel to terra is a life's task for pilgrims and the idea of thousands of novices being brought in on a yearly basis seems.....wierd.

Unlike the Astropathica (who can argue that there's the Black Ships in unknown number and with unknown but probably high levels of tech to move identified psykers around) the Adepta Sororitas/Ecclesiarchy have no substansive fleet of their own, and whilst the Adepta Sororitas' numbers aren't formally defined, there is an organisational tier below the 'Order' (the 'Preceptory') which is stated to be the size of a space marine chapter, which means at a minimum there are 12,000 of them (2 Convents x 3 Orders x 2 Preceptories x 1,000 battle sisters). In reality, there's going to be gakloads more than that, because that assumes only two preceptories per major order and doesn't cover minor orders or non-militant orders who recruit from the same 'pool'.

Plus, unlike the soul-binding of the astropath, there's nothing that happens to sororitas novitiates which can't be done elsewhere (like geneseed implantation or soul-binding).

The logistics of moving recruits around from right across the galaxy (rather than just the local sectors) to there to train and having them be battle-ready and get them back to a front line whilst still of an age to do some good seems unlikely; after all, If I remember the old fluff right (which is more or less what got re-used in Rogue Trader), a warp journey from one end of the Imperium to another is ~ 6 years). Having the Eastern Fringe train its own battle sisters locally works.

To be honest, the biggest problem with the Caine books is that they're retrospectives written about the Tyrannic Wars and 13th Black Crusade in M.42 - which, by definition, undermines the universe a bit because if Caine died after writing them, and Amberly is circulating them as a source of information/amusement amongst her peers, clearly there's an Imperium left and it can't be in too dire straits..

We do -- the SoB codices go a bit into it by virtue of the Adeptus Ministorum tending to the spiritual wellbeing of the civilian populace. I'd recommend the 2nd Edition codex in particular, as the 3E and 6E books sadly are "a bit" short on fluff. Then there's the general descriptions about government and society in the TT rulebooks (including Necromunda for hive world societies, and the character excerpts from Inquisitor ).

Yes, we have some kind of bits - some here and there, something looking cool in codices authors view. Cain novels (not his own heroics, but something around) shows how normal civilian governments works and how it's connected to military on examples.

But what non-war life and political system are you referring to, exactly, that it would be relevant to discussing Cain? Because the Schola Progenium is most definitely well-described in GW material.

To be honest Schola is the least intresting thing for me here. And I never liked "Cain Last Stand" after all.

To be honest again I didn't saw any real controversions with AS in "Traitor's Hand".

... and the Ecclesiarchy certainly is large, powerful and slow to change. Indivisible ... well, I suppose this is debatable, but then again there was only one major "civil war" within the Ministorum in almost 10,000 years.

To be honest, the biggest problem with the Caine books is that they're retrospectives written about the Tyrannic Wars and 13th Black Crusade in M.42 - which, by definition, undermines the universe a bit because if Caine died after writing them, and Amberly is circulating them as a source of information/amusement amongst her peers, clearly there's an Imperium left and it can't be in too dire straits..

I saw Perlia Schola as some kind of cold vault for too uncommon kind of Imperial functionary who are decided not to be disposed (because they ARE good). That's says us that Julien had big and intresting biography, maybe some "Inquisitor included"-type. Somewhere near the Shadowlight, I should to say.