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Ciaphas Cain |
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| Aliases | Cain, Commissar Cain, ~*~HERO OF THE IMPERIUM~*~ |
| Canon | Warhammer 40,000 |
| Timeline | After the events of The Traitor's Hand |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 100+ |
| Species | Human |
| Crimes committed | Murder, assault, cowardice, deception, destruction of personal and public property, manipulation of others |
| Journal | Bythechainsword |
| Player | Casey |
Ciaphas Cain (just "Cain" to you) is a badass normal dirty coward. He is adept at reading people and a fantastic liar undetected by all but the most trained Inquisitors, and his goal is to live to retirement (and beyond, hopefully). To accomplish this, he will perform any act of cowardice necessary, including putting other people between him and danger as necessary.
...Or that's how he views himself in his personal memoirs, anyway. For as much as he speaks of being willing to turn other people into meat shields and sacrifice anything to survive, he sure doesn't. There are times when saving people is simply convenient, but others are not so easily dismissed. For example, deciding not to sacrifice own troops to take out a particularly dangerous enemy barreling toward him is one case--no one would have held it against him as an Imperial Commissar, and yet he gambled his life anyway.
It's impossible to say which is the true Cain--the lucky hero or the self-serving coward, and even he doesn't seem to know (nor does the author of his canon). It should be noted that his judgment may be clouded by guilt drilled into him by the totalitarian society in which he was born and raised, and so he feels guilt for breaking the mold and lying about it.
You see, cowardice is a capital offense in the Imperial Guard, deserving of execution on the spot. No trial, no hearing, not even waiting until they get back to base so they can be dragged behind a tool shed.
And it's a commissar's job to do the executing.
Beyond his conflicted nature and the Commissar rank and uniform, he is a normal guy who likes the simple things in life, like food, drink, and good company. Genuinely caring for the people around him, he remembers long-dead soldiers when all else have forgotten them; he learns their names, their faces, their personality quirks, and on the rare occasion he forgets, he feels bad about it.
Please also see his novel series' TVTropes page. Also, page find down to "Ciaphas Cain" on this page for examples of sheer badassery.