I do not own Warhammer 40,000 nor any of its characters. Those rights belong to Games Workshop. Inspired by Zahariel's Roboutian Heresy and Aurelius Rex's Dornian Heresy.
Index Astartes - The White Scars: The Bearers Of The Storm's Fury
The sons of the great and renowned warlord Jaghatai Khan are treated as little more than mindless barbarians, akin to the turncloak Space Wolves. Yet below a facade of savagery, the White Scars possess a unique view on the galaxy they protect. Philosophy and reason guides their blades and bullets, rather than blind fanaticism or bloodlust. Now commanded by Horus Lupercal, the White Scars yet again stand at the vanguard of the Imperium's forces. As foes encroach Chogoris, and the returning Dark Angels grow ever stronger, now, more than ever, must the V Legion remain faithful.
" If you can see us, we are dangerous indeed. But that is nothing to the peril you face if you cannot see us, and all you can hear is our laughter."
-Jubal Khan, first Master Of The Hunt, at the Second Battle Of Beta-Garmon.
Origins
The V Legion was one of the first legions to be deployed in the Unification Wars, acting as scouts and vanguards for the Emperor's armies. Enemies of the fledgling Imperium feared the superhuman beings, clad in heraldless armour and silent in battle. They were hunters and stalkers, relentlessly pursuing their foes, no matter the odds. For the majority of the Unification Wars, the V Legion possessed merely a few hundred Astartes, being assigned alongside the I and IV Legions to weaken their opponents before the main assault. The Star Hunters, as they became to be known, often clashed with their fellow soldiers, as their free spirit and nomadic nature led them to frequently ignore orders except those given directly by the Master Of Mankind. Despite the fact they earnt little recognition, the Star Hunters took pride in their service, and few felt slighted by the lack of recognition.
As the Great Crusade began, the Star Hunters were the first of the Imperium's soldiers to depart the Sol System. Their purpose remained the same; they were to scouts, raiders and explorers. Whilst they were treated with little respect by other Astartes and the armies of the Imperium, the Star Hunters dutifully fulfilled their role, discovering foes, weakening them, and aiding their comrades in any way possible. The Star Hunters were the ones to reach the world of Cthonia, the homeworld of the primarch Horus Lupercal. Alongside the primarch Horus, the Star Hunters formed a close bond with he and his legion, earning their respect, and forming a bond that would save both legions numerous times. During the Great Crusade, the Star Hunters began to adopt a creed of honour. The legionnaires would bring no shame to themselves in the form of failure, and they dictated their method of life and their method of death. This led to the Star Hunters bearing many casualties due to their unbending code of honour. At the point of shattering, fifty years after the beginning of the Great Crusade, the V Legion arrived to the primitive world of Chogoris. On the rolling steppes of that world, a great hawk was found.
A Hawk Of War
The fifth of the Emperor's sons landed on the fertile Chogoris. It was a world of open plains, rugged mountains and sparkling seas. The planet had only just reached the technological stage of gunpowder and the first firearms. An empire, led by a man known as the Palatine, dominated the majority of Chogoris, with disciplined armies and a well organised system of governance.
But a part of Chogoris remained free. The Empty Quarter, as it was known, was a region of steppes and grassland, worthless to the great empire of the Palatine. The land was divided between various nomadic tribes of horsemen, who engaged in brutal warfare between eachother. It was here that the young primarch landed.
The primarch was discovered by the small tribe known as the Talaskars, ruled by a man named Ong Khan. The spiritual Chogorians of that tribe viewed the primarch as a blessing from the gods, for in the boy's eyes the Khan saw a fire and a potential of a great warrior and leader. This very belief earned him the disgust of the other khans, who viewed Ong Khan as naïve for the belief that Chogoris could be at peace in ways other than conquest. Quickly, Ong Khan brought the child into his household, raising him as his heir. Ong Khan gave the boy a name, one that would strike fear into the hearts of millions: Jaghatai. Under the wing of Ong Khan, Jaghatai lived a life of peace and contentedness. The primarch learnt such teachings as honour, bravery, loyalty and wisdom. Within a few years, Jaghatai had become the greatest warrior of the steppes, and all saw him as a worthy successor of Ong Khan.
Yet this happiness would not last much longer. In one of the many intertribal wars, a rival tribe known as the Kurayeds attacked the Talaskars, and Ong Khan was slain. Enraged by the death of his father, Jaghatai, now the Khan of the Talaskars, amassed troops of his tribe and attacked the Kurayeds. In return what they stole from the new Khan, Jaghatai paid it back in the blood of thousands. The Talaskars entirely extinguished the Kurayeds. Every man, woman and child was butchered, and their homes were razed to the ground. Jaghatai Khan even decapitated the khan of the Kurayeds, and mounted his head on his tent. In the aftermath of that massacre, Jaghatai Khan learnt ruthlessness. But across the Empty Quarter, massacres such as these were not uncommon, and the Khan vowed to end such actions permanently. He vowed to unite Chogoris.
At the head of his tribe, Jaghatai Khan swiftly annexed many tribes, fighting hundreds of battles against them to secure their allegiance. The tribesmen were forcefully absorbed into the Talaskars, and the men of each tribe was forced into the ever growing army of the Khan. But despite his harshness towards them, his followers and warriors became fiercely loyal to him. He was unbiased, a truly just ruler and general, who led by example and promoted based on merit and skill.
A decade after uniting the tribes, Jaghatai Khan and his bodyguard were travelling to their winter settlements when an enormous avalanche caught them off guard, killing all but the primarch, who remained the only survivor due to his superhuman physiology. Stranded in the wilderness of Chogoris, the Khan was discovered by one of the Palatine's hunting parties, who often raided the Empty Quarter to secure slaves. That hunting party returned to the Palatine, but it now consisted of one mutilated man. That man held in his hands the head of the Palatine's son, along with a note written by Jaghatai Khan stating that the tribesmen of Chogoris were his playthings no longer. Infuriated, the Palatine gathered the entirety of his army and journeyed into the Empty Quarter to confront the Talaskar.
The heavily-armoured and disciplined army of the Palatine came across the mobile and lightly-armoured forces of Jaghatai Khan on an open plain. Yet the Palatine had, in his blind rage, underestimated the Talaskar. Whilst his army's tactics and training made them a powerful foe, they had neither the mobility nor the ability to counter the Talaskar cavalry. That day, the Palatine's forces died in darkness, as the sheer amount of arrows fired by the Talaskar blotted out Chogoris' sun. Jaghatai Khan led a one man charge into the ranks of the enemy, laughing as he killed with such speed that he was not even touched. The primarch cried out for the Palatine to face him and, filled with fear, the Palatine and his honour guard turned and fled, returning to the capital as the remainder of his army was crushed. In the aftermath of the battle, Jaghatai Khan was proclaimed Khagan by the tribal elders, the Great Khan of all Chogoris.
Now at war with the Palatine and his realm, Jaghatai Khan led his horde across the surface of Chogoris, and every city he came across was offered two options: surrender or be destroyed. The majority surrendered, but the few who did not were extinguished, and their cities were razed to the ground. Those that fought with honour were granted funerals, whilst those that fled or fought dishonourably were treated without mercy. Eventually, Jaghatai Khan and his army came to the Palatine's palace, and the Khan offered the Palatine's honour guard the choice between giving him their lord's head, or dying in his defence. Within a day, the Palatine's head lay at Jaghatai Khan's feet. Jaghatai thanked the honour guard for their service, before killing each of them ruthlessly. His reasoning: they had sworn their lives in defence of the Palatine, and they had broken that oath. The Khan had no need for oathbreakers in his service. Upon entering the Palatine's palace, the Khan discovered the corpses of the honour guard that died in the Palatine's defence, whilst a few remained dying of their wounds. Jaghatai Khan, in a display of honour, buried those who died defending their liege, whilst nursing those who were wounded back to health as a reward for their loyalty, even if it was to a foe. In the twenty years since arriving on Chogoris, Jaghatai Khan had become the greatest conqueror Chogoris had ever seen, and ever would see. All of Chogoris was his. And the Khan gave it away.
Jaghatai Khan had no interest in ruling his new empire, but recognised it as his duty. Because of that, Jaghatai appointed the best-suited and most loyal of his followers to govern the various cities and tribes, whilst the Khan and his generals ruled them. The Chogorians were free to live the life they chose, so long as it did not bring harm to others. If they did, they were brought before a tribunal of the Khan and his generals to be judged. Otherwise, Jaghatai Khan remained distant from his empire.
Half a year later, the Master Of Mankind arrived at the head of an army and, recognising one of his primarchs, offered Jaghatai Khan the opportunity to conquer the galaxy. Whilst the Khan was inclined to accept, he recognised the Emperor as something he despised: a tyrant. Yet he also recognised that refusal would lead to his death, and the deaths of his friends and people. In front of his followers, the Khan knelt to the Emperor, and pledged his blade to his cause. With his loyalty secured, the Emperor gave Jaghatai Khan command of his legion, the Star Hunters.
The Great Crusade
Despite being united with their primarch, the V Legion remained scattered across the galaxy, serving as auxiliaries for other legions. One of Jaghatai Khan's first acts was to summon the entire legion to Chogoris. After the legion had been united on Chogoris, the Khan aimed to integrate them into the culture of Chogoris. After ten years after being discovered, the integration had been completed and, in an event known as the Blooding, the Star Hunters marked themselves with a ritual Talaskar scar and granted themselves a Chogorian name. For this, Jaghatai Khan gave them a new name: the White Scars, based on the Low Gothic translation for the Talaskars. Many of Jaghatai Khan's generals and friends joined the ranks of the White Scars as senior members of the legion, such as Qin Xa, Hasik, and Targutai Yesugei. The culture of Chogoris blended well with the culture of the Star Hunters, as a tenet of Jaghatai Khan was the pursuit of nobility and culture. The V Legion took up such practices as calligraphy, hunting, tale telling, and honour duels. Yet the unique combination of savage warfare and philosophical beliefs, along with a tendency to challenge orders and the Imperial Truth, led to rivalries and quarrels between many of his brothers, such as Lorgar Aurelian of Colchis, Roboute Guilliman of Macragge, Rogal Dorn of Inwit, and Fulgrim of Chemos.
During the Great Crusade, the White Scars fought in many bloody and brutal battles, and Jaghatai Khan's tactics and strategies led to the V Legion becoming the unparalleled masters of hit-and-run warfare and devastating charges. Against the Orks in the Kolarne Circle, many legionnaires died in combat, but the legion continued fighting out of loyalty to their primarch. The Khan, as he did on Chogoris, earnt that loyalty through morality, honour and bravery. The primarch was always on the forefront of the battle, leading by example. Five years of warfare in the Kolarne Circle, despite heavy casualties, allowed the Khan to secure victory whilst allowing the Terran and Chogorian aspects of his legion to bond. On Hoadh, the White Scars faced off against the malevolent xenos known as the Nephilim. On Ullanor, the White Scars fought alongside the Ultramarines and Iron Hands, and Jaghatai's skill with a blade impressed Ferrus Manus. The relationship between Ferrus Manus and Jaghatai Khan was cordial, but Jaghatai Khan became wary of his brother after Ferrus Manus' elevation to Warmaster. Whilst the feats of the White Scars would have earnt them a place in legends, the historians of the Imperium cared little for the White Scars. They were seen as mindless savages, little more than barbarians. But in the ranks of the V Legion, slaughter was joyless unlike for the Space Wolves, and battle was too unless it was against a foe that pushed the warriors of the White Scars to their very limits, teaching them in the arts of war. Jaghatai Khan cared little for the way the people of the Imperium viewed his legion; their role was as warriors who upheld a code of morality, and so long as they did just that, the Khan was content.
The Heresy
For many years, the White Scars were battling the Greenskins in the Chondax System, a war deliberately prolonged by the Alpha Legion. The Alpha Legion deliberately sabotaged the White Scars and their communications so the V Legion would be engaged in a longer war and would be unable to receive news of the Dropsite Massacre on Isstvan V. Jaghatai Khan and his legion's first reports of Ferrus Manus' betrayal came from the Lord Of Iron, Perturabo. Perturabo informed Jaghatai Khan that Ferrus Manus and eight of their brothers had turned traitor and aimed to topple the Imperium. Word then came from the Space Wolves that Magnus the Red had betrayed the Emperor, and Leman Russ had been ordered to kill Magnus and his legion. Numerous conflicting reports came from various other legions and their primarchs, confusing the Khan. In an attempt to unveil the truth, the White Scars abandoned the Chondax System and planned to head to Prospero, the apparent site of a battle between the VI and XV Legions. Yet just as the White Scars prepared to jump to Prospero, they were ambushed by the Alpha Legion. The Alpha Legionnaires destroyed several of the White Scars' warships, but the Khan's mind was adapted to warfare, and the entire Alpha Legion fleet was destroyed. Now unhindered, the White Scars arrived at the ruined wasteland once known as Prospero.
Upon arrival at Prospero, the White Scars were horrified to see the planet burning. Jaghatai Khan and the Keshig led by Qin Xa landed on the surface of the planet, finding corpses of Space Wolves, Sisters Of Silence, Custodians and Thousand Sons. The various bodies only perplexed the primarch even further. As the Keshig arrived in Tizca, they encountered Magnus the Red guarded by a few of the remaining . Jaghatai Khan was overjoyed to discover his still living brother, but remained wary. The Cyclop's true allegiances were still unknown. The Khan conversed with Magnus, who revealed that the Space Wolves and Leman Russ had, without reason, attacked the Thousand Sons, and Leman Russ had shattered Magnus into various shards, one of which lay before Jaghatai Khan. At that moment, a delegation of Dark Angels arrived in Tizca, headed by their primarch and Jaghatai's friend, Lion El'Jonson. The Lion revealed to the Khan the truth: Ferrus Manus had indeed betrayed the Emperor, and Leman Russ had indeed attacked Prospero. The Lion expressed his disgust at Russ' actions, and assured the Khan that Russ would be reprimanded once the war was over, but urged the Khan to join the traitors. The Emperor was a tyrant, the Khan knew that, and together, the Lion and the Khan would be unrivalled. Jaghatai at first expressed doubt, but the Khan knew well that the traitors had fallen to the Chaos Gods, and there was no reasoning to sell the soul of his entire legion to such malicious deities. The Khan refused and both primarchs knew what they must do. Jaghatai and the Lion drew their blades and duelled, whilst the Keshig fought Deathwing. In the skies above Prospero, the Dark Angels opened fire on the White Scars, and the two fleets engaged in vicious combat. Hasik-Noyan Khan was well aware that, whilst the Khan was a master of the blade, the Lion was too, and the White Scars couldn't risk losing their primarch. Hasik-Noyan Khan, with the aid of Targutai Yesugei, succeeded in locking a teleportation beam on the Khan, the Keshig, the shard of Magnus and the Thousand Sons, teleporting the loyalists onto the Swordstorm. The Dark Angels, choosing to avoid further casualties, withdrew from Prospero soon after. Now in possession of the truth and one of Magnus' many shards, Jaghatai Khan instructed his legion to send one message to the loyalist legions: the White Scars would fight for Terra. This allegiance surprised many. It was known that the Khan and the Emperor had a strained relationship, and it was well known that the Khan viewed the Emperor as a despot. For these reasons, many amongst the traitors such as Corvus Corax and Leman Russ were surprised at the Khan's choice.
Jaghatai Khan and his legion, whilst skilled and powerful, were stranded between the defences of Terra and the approaching traitors, and alone, the White Scars could not hope to escape the traitors. The Khan decided to pledge his forces to reuniting Magnus, for a being as powerful as Magnus the Red was an unrivalled threat on the battlefield and could cripple the traitor Astartes at every turn. The White Scars began an odyssey across the galaxy and, for many years, they battled the traitors and xenos whilst fleeing the Imperial Fists and Dark Angels. Commanded by Sigismund, the Imperial Fists relentlessly pursued the White Scars throughout the galaxy, though they would fail in preventing the White Scars from reclaiming shards of Magnus. As Magnus the Red began to be pieced together, the Crimson King was able to direct the White Scars to the locations of his shards. Whenever the V Legion discovered a shard of Magnus, it was defended by contingents of the Thousand Sons, who had been teleported there in Magnus' last spell as Russ broke his back. Those Thousand Sons joined forces with the White Scars, strengthening their ranks and giving them to numbers to counter the forces of Sigismund. Yet the Flesh Change within the Thousand Sons caused dissent amongst the White Scars. Whenever a legionnaire fell to callings of the Flesh Change, Jaghatai Khan found it was his duty and his alone to cull them, giving them the peace of death. Magnus, in his arrogance, attempted to prevent the Khan from executing those fallen to the Flesh Change, pleading with him that, once he had been reformed, he would be able to cure the Flesh Change. Reluctantly, Jaghatai Khan allowed those fallen to live, but locked them in the bowels of the Swordstorm, to be used as a weapon at a later date should Magnus fail.
After five years of piecing together Magnus' shards, the two legions located the last one: the Kalium Gate. The scouts of the White Scars found that the Kalium Gate, as an important warp gate and strategic asset, was defended by the Alpha Legion led by Armillus Dynat. As the V and XV legions approached, they found that the Gate was reinforced by veterans of the I Legion led by the Lion, who had recently returned from the war in Imperium Secundus. Jaghatai Khan plotted to use the Alpha Legion's arrogance against it, and the White Scars led an assault on the left side of the Gate. The Alpha Legionnaires and White Scars clashed, and were reinforced by the Dark Angels and Thousand Sons respectively. The White Scars began a steady retreat, putting up a guise that they were losing and sustaining casualties. Armillus Dynat, seeing his foe retreat, ordered the entire Alpha Legion force to hunt down the White Scars, leaving his flanks open. Whilst the Alpha Legion focused their forces on one side of the Gate, the other side was suddenly attacked by the majority of the White Scars commanded by Jaghatai Khan. The few Dark Angels left defending that portion of the Gate were decimated, despite being veterans of the Thramas Crusade. The trap had been sprung and whilst the Alpha Legion led a disorderly retreat to support the other side of the Gate, Qin Xa and Jubal Khan encircled the Alpha Legion, and Qin Xa slew Armillus Dynat. As the White Scars approached on all sides, Lion El'Jonson defended the shard of Magnus himself, awaiting his brother's inevitable arrival. Jaghatai Khan appeared alone, and offered the Lion one last chance at surrender. The Lion refused, stating his redemption was impossible. Scimitar in hand, the Khan fought the Lion again. As on Prospero, they were evenly matched but, with his superior strength, the Lion broke a hole in the Khan's defence and slashed him across the thigh. Taking advantage of the Lion's exposed position, the Khan repeatedly shot the Lion with his archaeotech pistol. The Lion's disorientation and wounding allowed the Khan to launch a flurry of blows against his brother, before kicking him out of a nearby airlock and into the vast void of space. With the last shard of Magnus in his hands, Jaghatai Khan reformed his brother, and once more the Warhawk stood besides the Cyclops.
With the traitors rapidly encroaching Terra and with Pluto and Uranus taken, the White Scars received calls of aid from Perturabo and his Iron Warriors. Together, Magnus and the Khan formulated an attack plan that would lead them through the Imperial Fists and to Terra, allowing them catch the traitors off guard. The White Scars duly followed through with this plan, and the Imperial Fists were unable to stop the sudden onslaught of Astartes clad in ivory and crimson. As the loyalists pushed closer and closer to Beta-Garmon, they noticed that the defences were getting stronger and more sophisticated. With the aid of the Thousand Sons' foresight, they discovered that Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists, had set up his headquarters on the planet. The Khan saw this as an opportunity to knock out one of the most competent primarchs on the side of the Warmaster, whilst crippling a powerful legion. Magnus agreed, and the White Scars and Thousand Sons assaulted Beta-Garmon, beginning the Second Battle Of Beta-Garmon.
In the annals of the Imperium's history, there are few battles that can rival the size and brutality of the Second Battle Of Beta-Garmon. The combined forces of the White Scars, masters of the blade, and the Thousand Sons, masters of the psyche, made them an unstoppable force. But the strategies of the Imperial Fists and their unique alliance with the Daemonkin made them an immovable object. Their fortresses were perfect, impervious to any assault by the weapons of Mankind. The White Scars suffered heavy casualties attempting to breach the defences of Beta-Garmon, whilst the Imperial Fists suffered few casualties. Even Magnus the Red attempted to probe the fortress for any flaws, and the Crimson King struggled. Yet the primarch discovered a small flaw, one so insignificant that many would not even consider it a flaw. The White Scars and Thousand Sons prepared for the final attack. Whilst the defences of Beta-Garmon were unable to be pierced by any weapon of the Imperium, the psychic attacks of the Thousand Sons were weapons of another realm. Together with the sorcerers of his legion, Magnus performed a ritual, launching a bolt of warp lightning, unparalleled in size, at the flaw in the defences. The explosion killed hundreds of Imperial Fists and tore a hole in the fortress, allowing Jaghatai Khan to lead a jetbike charge into Dorn's fortress. The White Scars massacred the Imperial Fists as they pushed further and further into the Imperial Fists' defences. Jaghatai Khan, supported by the Keshig and Chief Stormseer Targutai Yesugei, attacked Dorn's palace. The Keshig fought brutally against Rogal Dorn's Huscarls, and the two honour guard stalemated out of sheer strength and skill in battle, allowing Jaghatai Khan to came face-to-face with Rogal Dorn, now empowered by the Ruinous Powers as Dorn rejected becoming their puppet. The Khan had no opportunity to reason with Dorn, as Dorn lunged at the Khan, chainsword revving. Jaghatai Khan's scimitar clashed against Dorn's chainsword repeatedly, and the two duelled throughout the palace and out onto its walls. Many times, warriors attempted to aid their primarch, only to be cut down and a mere inconvenience to the duel. But one warrior was Targutai Yesugei. Yesugei attempted to intervene, using his psyker powers to weaken Dorn and empower the Khan. However, Dorn bisected Yesugei with his chainsword, leaving the White Scar to bleed out. With his last act, Yesugei funnelled his powers into the Khan, increasing his abilities before dying. Jaghatai Khan's closest friend and teacher had fallen at the hands of Dorn, and the Khan became filled with rage. Now strengthened, the Khan moved with such speed that Rogal Dorn was unable to see his opponent move. Within seconds, Dorn was bleeding from hundreds of stabs, cuts and slashes, before the Khan carved off Dorn's auramite clad hand. Dorn was dying, and the Khan secured that fate, burying his blade in Dorn's chest and kicking his former brother off the walls of his palace.
Beta-Garmon, the pathway to Terra, had been retaken by the loyalists, Rogal Dorn had died, and the Imperial Fists had been shattered. The White Scars attempted to find the corpse of Rogal Dorn, confirming the primarch's death, but Dorn's body was nowhere to be found. It was later discovered that Dorn had, in his last moments, chosen to surrender his soul to the Ruinous Powers in exchange for his survival. But the battle had fail to achieve one of its goals: by the time the White Scars had won, the Siege Of Terra had already ended, and the Emperor had already been interred on the Golden Throne.
Ten Millennia Of Strife
With the Ferrusian Heresy over, the Khan and Magnus returned to Terra, meeting with the other surviving primarchs and learning of Fulgrim's death. Whilst the Warhawk and the Phoenician had a hostile relationship, the Khan respect Fulgrim's skill and efficiency, and felt regret at the fact that the Khan would never have the opportunity to mend his relationship with his now slain brother.
Jaghatai Khan led his legion as the vanguard of the Great Scouring, hunting down traitors and daemons at every turn, and bringing worlds back into the Imperium's fold. During the Codex Crisis, Jaghatai Khan was one of four primarchs to support the implementation of the Codex, opposing his close friends Horus Lupercal and Magnus the Red. Civil war between those supporting Roboute Guilliman and those supporting Horus Lupercal seemed inevitable, but the Khan and Garviel Loken of the Luna Wolves attempted one last ditch attempt at diplomacy. They succeeded, and Horus Lupercal backed down, allowing the Codex to be implemented in the remaining Astartes legions. The V Legion was not exempt from this. The White Scars were forced apart into a number of successor chapters, including the Destroyers and Marauders. The White Scars themselves became a chapter, now led by Jubal Khan. Qin Xa was offered the position, but turned it down in order to remain as Master Of The Keshig, which became the White Scars' feared First Company.
Upon returning to his homeworld of Chogoris, Jaghatai Khan discovered that it had been subject to a number of Dark Eldar raids, and the xenos had taken thousands of Chogorians as slaves and gladiators. Infuriated, the Khan hunted the Dark Eldar into the Yasan Sector, killing every last one that was within his reach. The White Scars followed in his footsteps, brutally massacring the Dark Eldar. In the Battle Of Corusil V, Jaghatai Khan fought against a Dark Eldar lord, crushing his forces before pursuing the Dark Eldar lord into the Webway, disappearing from Realspace, a very plane of reality. Since then, ten millennia past, there has been no news from Jaghatai Khan, but the White Scars still maintain hope that their primarch lives on. For their role in his disappearance, the White Scars bear an eternal hatred of the Dark Eldar, and the White Scars and their successor chapters are renowned as hunters of the xenos.
In the First Black Crusade, the aged but ferocious Jubal Khan took the mantle of one of the Imperium's commanders against the forces of Chaos. As the World Eaters and Death Guard fought the Black Legion, the White Scars fought the Imperial Fists, their perpetual rivals. On the world of Cadia, Jubal Khan launched a suicidal charge against the Imperial Fists and Black Legionnaires, and the White Scars carved a bloody path through their ranks. But the White Scars dropped one by one until Jubal Khan was the sole survivor. Jubal Khan then came across Sigismund, now known as the Worldclaimer, and bearing the Daemon sword known as the Black Blade. The two legendary warriors engaged in one of the most famous duels in the Imperium's history, power glaive bearing down on Black Blade. Jubal Khan's agility surpassed Sigismund's, but the Imperial Fist's endurance surpassed the White Scar's. Half a day had passed before Sigismund plunged his sword into the White Scar's heart. But with his last breaths, Jubal Khan lived up to his epithet of "The Death That Comes With Laughter". The White Scar thrust his glaive into Sigismund's chest, before laughing maniacally. He had lived a long and fulfilling life, and his final duel had granted him joy and an honourable death. It is said that, to this day, Sigismund Worldclaimer is still haunted by that mad laughter.
In the 41st Millenium, the White Scars are led by Kor'sarro Khan, a renowned duellist who ascended to the position after the death of former Chapter Master Jubal Khan at the hands of the Red Corsairs. Kor'sarro Khan has pledged support of his chapter to Horus Lupercal, and follows the primarch's orders. In the Indomitus Crusade, Kor'sarro Khan proved himself as an invaluable warrior when he won a duel against the Black Legionnaire Raldoron, though the former Blood Angel survived the encounter. But news comes from Chogoris that the forces of Rogal Dorn and Sigismund Worldclaimer prepare to destroy first the chapter's homeworld, then its legacy, before destroying the White Scars themselves. At the same time, the Dark Angels push closer to Barbarus, and various successor chapters of the V and XIV Legions have formed a tense alliance to repel any renegade offensives.
Homeworld
Chogoris is unlike any other world in the Imperium: it is truly at peace. Save for the few Astartes fortresses that dot the landscape, Chogoris has retained its natural beauty. Lush fields, vast rolling steppes, towering mountains and shimmering oceans decorate the planet, giving it an intense regal aura unlike any other world.
Organisation
The White Scars and a number of their kin are some of the more informal of the Astartes Chapters. Respect is based on age and ability, rather than rank. White Scars will engage in activities that they view as honourable, noble and beneficial for the spirit of the chapter. Whilst they are at peace, White Scars will hunt, meditate and engage in deep philosophical debate with eachother. The Ecclesiarchy has, many times, attempted to quell these practices, but has failed each and every time.
For all chapters descended from the V Legion, the First Company is known as the Keshig. They are an elite unit consisting of entirely Terminators, led by a Master Of The Keshig. Many of the current members of the Keshig are veterans of various wars against the Dark Eldar and Chaos and, as such, they are some of the most skilled and ferocious warriors in the Imperium Of Man.
Additionally, the White Scars and their successors are the only Astartes to view Dreadnoughts as abhorrent machines of nought but pain. Since the warriors of the V Legion view honour and death as a central tenet, the concept of restricting a dying warrior within a machine of war disgusts them. A dying warrior should either be healed or granted the mercy of death, but should not be restricted and confined to a constant state of pain and suffering. As such, very few chapters descended from the White Scars contain Dreadnoughts.
Known Members
Ferrusian Heresy
• Primarch Jaghatai Khan
• Master Of The Keshig Qin Xa
• Master Of The Hunt Jubal Khan
• Chief Stormseer Targutai Yesugei
• Hasik Noyan-Khan
Post-Heresy
• Kor'sarro Khan, Chapter Master of the White Scars
• Saghari, Chief Stormseer
• Jaghorin, Voice Of The Storm
• Ariqai Khan, Master Of The Hunt
• Khoros Khan, Chapter Master of the Iron Talons
A/N: Finally, my second favourite and the most underrated canon legion is finished. I hope you enjoyed it and apologies it took so long. As always, criticism and reviews are welcome. And for that one guy who asked who the loyalists and traitors are.
Loyalists: Fulgrim, Perturabo, Jaghatai Khan, Konrad Curze, Angron, Roboute Guilliman, Mortarion, Magnus and Horus Lupercal
Traitors: Lion El'Jonson, Leman Russ, Rogal Dorn, Sanguinius, Ferrus Manus, Lorgar Aurelian, Vulkan, Corvus Corax and Alpharius Omegon
Up Next: Slaanesh's depraved followers, the Space Wolves
Torgaddon out.