Although these Astartes had all been stripped of their Power Armour, their features still revealed their identities.
An Astartes with several Service Studs embedded in his forehead and intricate runes tattooed even across his face was the first to step out of his cell.
"Erson, we know nothing about what's happening outside, much less why we're being treated differently. Those Iron Clanks executed the xenos so quickly we couldn't even follow their movements."
Though Erson's face was covered in runes, his expression was warm and resolute, like that of a pilgrim as he emerged from his cell.
"Sagelhan, I understand your concerns. But don't worry. I am already a sinner. From the moment our Gene-Father Lorgar betrayed the Imperium, my sins became impossible to cleanse."
The instant he mentioned Lorgar, the runes covering Erson's body glowed faintly, and a mild stinging sensation rippled through him.
As a Word Bearer, Erson could not accept his Gene-Father's betrayal of the Imperium. By the time he realized Lorgar had become a traitor, he already knew it was too late.
Erson had once been a Squad Leader in the Sixth Company. He personally killed several Battle-Brothers loyal to the Primarch, then seized a Frigate with a few brothers who rejected the Primarch's betrayal. They fled their Chapter and began wandering the Milky Way, fighting on one Imperial World after another.
They erased their Chapter insignia and fought for the Imperium throughout the Milky Way. Though no one knew who they were, they knew their own loyalty, and their Primarch had brought them shame.
And as Lorgar ascended to daemonhood...
Even they, wandering the worlds on the fringes of the Imperium, felt the effects.
To prevent their corrupted Primarch's influence from dragging them into damnation, Erson and several of his brothers carefully studied various psychic