Yep.  That's Soul---Lore---Sage.  (Loresage?)  The leader of the Next Order, although, as you'll see, it was called the Command back then....albeit in 19th century India.  Let's just say Vigilant comes by his unusual abilities...naturally.

This was during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rebellion_of_1857">Sepoy Munity</a> in India. Another factor of Vigilant's hesitation to join the Sepoy rebellion is that there was some friction between the Parsis and the Hindu and Sikh population....the Parsis, having no caste system, often were picked by the British to work with.  So the other peoples of India, during a rebellion like that, would have regarded a Parsi with a little more suspicion.

However, Parsis are traditionally not allowed to marry non-Parsis, including other citizens of India.  Having a child by an Englishman would be a true scandal---which is one reason Vigilant's mother never revealed who the father was.

Considering his track record with his mother's side of the family, you can understand his feeling cursed--that he'd cause harm, no matter how much control he's acquired--to those he would fight along.