RJ had notes on many things in the books that aren't what they appear to be because the characters aren't perfect actors and aren't always reliable sources of information. I'm not just talking about retcon-type things, either; a lot of them are things that, as far as I know, were never really subjects of debate, nor in many cases was there any reason for debate. For example, Galina understated Therava's strength out of contempt, not that Therava is all that far above her. No reason to debate about that because nothing really contradicts Galina's thoughts about her.