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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→Leading Up to the Siege
Rumors had reached Perlia by that point of increased activity around the Cadian Gate and the launch of Abaddon's newest Black Crusade. While others among the faculty dismissed these rumors, believing that Abaddon had met his end during the [[Gothic War]], Cain himself was not so certain.<sup>2</sup> His fears were confirmed by a visit from an old friend, the rogue trader Orelius, whom Cain had met during the battle for [[Gravalax]] nearly seventy years earlier. Orelius was in the employ of another long-time friend of Cain's, [[Ordo Xenos]] [[Inquisitor]] [[Amberley Vail]], and confirmed that there was a Chaos force heading diectly for Perlia.<sup>3</sup> The reason involved an incident dating back to the First Siege: In the dam in the Valley of Daemons, which Cain had destroyed to flood out the Ork invaders, was a hidden shrine of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]].<sup>4</sup> There, the Ordo Xenos and the Mechanicus had been studying an artifact they had unearthed, an artifact known as the "Shadowlight". This ancient artifact, predating Mankind itself, could awaken the powers of latent psykers and boost the powers of active ones.<sup>5</sup> When Cain had discovered the shrine, he had found its defenders slain by precision gunfire, which he later discovered was bolter fire from [[Sisters of Battle]] under the direction of the insane Inquisitor Killian.<sup>6</sup>
Inquisitor Vail believed that either Abaddon himself or one of his lackeys knew about the Shadowlight<sup>7</sup> - possibly from any survivors of Killian's allied Chaos cults on Periremunda, Cain theorized<sup>8</sup> - and had sent Orelius to Perlia in an attempt to retrieve the artifact.<sup>9</sup> The Chaos force in question, which by that time had smashed through two systems that were much more heavily defended than Perlia's, was led by [[Varan the Undefeatable]], one of Abaddon's Warmasters. Varan used charismatic oratory combined with mental dominance to sway whole populations to his cause, and now had his sights set on Perlia.<sup>10</sup> Orelius stressed that it was imperative that the Shadowlight not get into the hands of Abaddon, Varan or any other enemy of the Imperium, and Cain promised (albeit reluctantly) to find a way to either get it off-planet or defend it from Varan's legions.
Once the Chaos force arrived and began to attack, three members of the Schola's faculty were appointed by the planetary governor, Lio Trevellyan, to lead the planet's defense - Colonel Rorkins, a retired stormtrooper, as commander-in-chief; Commodore Hubert Visiter, commanding the naval forces; and Cain himself, in the traditional role of the commissar, advising the command staff and boosting morale.<sup>11</sup> Cain appeared on pictcasts all over Perlia calling for civilians to join the militia in the effort to defend their planet.
