As Chapter Scourge, Zachariah Kersh, known as "the Scourge" amongst his Battle-Brothers, had spent a lifetime at his Chapter Master Quesiah Ichabod's side, fighting experienced warriors of all creeds and species, defeating the best the enemy had to send against him. It had been his singular honour to slay them before they could slay his master. Until the day Kersh failed to stop the Alpha Legion's nearly-successful assassination attempt and crippling of Ichabod, and their theft of the Stigmartyr, the ancient and revered Chapter standard of the Excoriators dating back to the days of the Second Founding. This was a devastating blow to the Excoriators' morale, and the cause of many problems for the Chapter. These tragic events marked Kersh as a disgraced failure in the eyes of his Battle-Brot