White Scars
| White Scars | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Battle Cry | "For the Khan and the Emperor!" | |
| Number | V | |
| Founding | First Founding | |
| Successors of | N/A | |
| Successor Chapters | Destroyers, Iron Talons, Mantis Warriors, Marauders, Rampagers, Storm Lords | |
| Chapter Master | Jubal Khan | |
| Primarch | Jaghatai Khan | |
| Homeworld | Chogoris | |
| Strength | 1,000 | |
| Specialty | Fast attack units, bikes, and Librarians | |
| Allegiance | Imperium of Man | |
| Colours | White and red | |
"Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard."
- – Genghis Khan
"He carried the sulde for the sake of his kinsmen. He plunged into battle with the dogs. "I will massacre them all," he said, "and take back my horses."
- – Manas-e-Destani, the epic saga of Kyrgyzstan
"как Мамай прошел!"
- – "It's as if Mamai has passed here!", a Russian saying meaning a great catastrophe has taken place, referencing a ferocious Tatar warlord
The White Scars are a Chapter of Space Marines that are basically Mongols in Power Armor and on bikes, in contrast to the Space Vikings of the Space Wolves and Space Vampires of the Blood Angels. Their Primarch was known as Jaghatai Khan. Their requisite one-trick-pony is hit-and-run attacks, which they do on those sweet bikes of theirs. Although they are osentibly based on Mongols and Tatars, the fact that no one at GW knows anything about Central Asian cultures means that they are unfortunately mixed in with a lot of gay Japanese and Chinese shit, which is hilarious if you are aware of the relational dynamics between Mongols and the aforementioned. This occasionally reaches to the truly cringe-inducing when art depicts them in Kubuki makeup wielding katanas despite being based of fearsome Altaic tribesmen (especially considering that Japanese culture is considered something of a joke up on the steppe and Chinese people generally regard Mongol rule the same way overly nationalist Englishmen regard the Danelaw).
Also, their bikes (mounts?) don't give a fuck about difficult terrain (Bitch, I'm a bike!).
In the meta, they've probably benefited the most from the Horus Heresy, with Chris Wraight finally building them beyond the very basics of their fluff.
Organization
They are also known for their sweet mustaches and the Scars they make on their faces upon induction into the Chapter. They are also known for the Scars they make on the enemies of the Emprah's faces after induction into the Chapter. Which is introduced into the chapter after Jaghatai was reunited with the 5th Legion, (i.e. his legion) as he had recently united the fierce tribes of the Talksar tribesmen. Never mind that many Talksar did join the legion due to their loyalty to Jaghatai. Also, they only recruit from Jaghatai's adopted homeworld: Mundus Planus (known as Chogoris to the natives). Up until the Horus Heresy there was a mix of Terran and Chogorian legionaries(and quite likely many legionaries from other diverse planets across galaxy before reunion with Jaghatai.)
And of course the whole biker thing, making slower moving tanks and troops (like Devastators) rare, in their place they have a large amount of drop pods, Land Speeders and Rhinos. Plus bikes, lots and lots of bikes. Plus space bikes.
They have an incredibly deep, abiding rivalry with the Raven Guard because of their conflicting general tactical doctrines--and according to Deathwatch a failure to cooperate in an old war campaign destroyed any chances of fostering ties they might've had. While the Raven Guard prefers to lie in wait and plan out their attacks down to the letter to ensure the most efficient results are achieved when they finally start their attacks, the White Scars pretty much does the opposite and just rush in chainswords drawn and use their fast-attack specialty to overwhelm their opponents with sheer speed and force. Despite the animosity the two forces have fought alongside one another on multiple occasions, and it's worth noting it's more of a competitive rivalry in any case. Plus lately the Ravens rode shotgun on a Great Hunt, which made for a great bonding exercise.
Despite their savage image, they're actually one of the most cultured legions in the Imperium, with aspirants having to take up pursuits like poetry, painting and calligraphy, (often about their battles) and wearing silks in their downtime. As a result they don't like hanging around with the mad drunk Vikings who treat the whole barbarian thing like a badge of honour. The only cultural traits they share are hunting (though it's hinted at that the Scars are more into falconry), really enjoying their job, frequently admonishing recruits to laugh and smile when fighting. Unfortunately they don't hang out with anyone apart from their successors, so the rest of the Imperium has kept this misconception for millennia.
They used to get on well with the Luna Wolves - particularly the Terran portion of the Legion, many of whose members had aspired to join the other Legion only to find themselves seconded to the Scars (the Scars seem to have ranked just below the Space Wolves and World Eaters as the Legion aspirants most dreaded being assigned to). As a result of this, the Terran Khans tended to favour a mix of White Scars and Luna Wolves organisation and doctrine, to the point that they resented Jaghatai's leadership for being "flighty" compared to Horus' fully committed, crushing attacks. Their relationship with the sons of Horus brought the Warrior Lodges into the White Scars. This was fairly harmless at first, and might have helped bring the Terran and Chogorian Astartes together in time.
But then the Horus Heresy happened. The Lodge members were duped (being kept in the dark about the whole Chaos and rebellion thing- as far as they were aware the only act of rebellion was the Space Wolves' smashing the Thousand Sons) into rebelling against their Primarch and trying to force the Scars into declaring for Horus. Unlike the Fallen, these traitors were overwhelmed, eventually realised Horus was messing with some seriously fucked up shit and performed suicide missions to redeem themselves.
The Chogorian portion of the legion on the other hand used to be a big bros with the Thousand Sons, having Chogorian artistic culture colliding perfectly with the Prosperian knowledge-seeking and nerdity, not to mention the high positions psykers had in both legions. The fact that space furries pretty much forced TS into turning to Chaos does not play well with Scars even to this day, which stacks with their dislike of Wolves' "barbarian and proud of it" shtick (which is ironic considering modern-day Mongolia has a drinking culture that makes Russians look like sissy lightweights).
One might imagine Imperium being on high alert against Scars, seeing as only two legions they ever get along with went traitor, but surprisingly it's not the case. May have something to do with them being the heroes of the Siege of Terra.
Their current Chapter Master, or rather, 'Great Khan' is Jubal Khan. Legends are told of his sweet mustache across the entire length and breadth of the Imperium, which the mustache also spans. The Khan's bodyguard, the Keshig, are the only White Scars known to use Terminator Armour.
They probably get along well with the Attilan Rough Riders. If they'd been the first to encounter the Interex instead of the Luna Wolves, the two factions would have probably got along pretty well except for the Interex's implied issues about psykers. Also, the Scars would've dug that cyber-centaur armour.
Clash with the Death Guard
So after the Khan had a chat with a shard of Magnus on Prospero after the furries' outing, he opted to fight a gurrellia war against the traitor Legions, but this is one on at least two(Death Guard, Emperor's Children), so around 011 M31 the White Scars rallied at the Catallus Warp Rift and set for Terra due to casaulties the Legion sustained making it impractical to continue the hunt. They were caught up with The Death Guard under ol' Morty as the Scars were studying the device called Dark Glass there. In the end, though Jaghatai wished to make a last stand against the traitors, White Scars Chief Stormseer Yesugei opened a Webway portal to Terra with the throne inside of the ruined Dark Glass, which Jaghatai and most of the White Scars then used to rush to Terra's aid in its siege. There were remaining Astartes though; suicide squads formed from ex-traitors of the White Scars then nearly got Mortarion killed on the Khan's flagship in a death trap involving ship engines that explode. From Path of Heaven, Chapters 21-27
Daily Rituals of a White Scar
04:00 - Rousing from slumber. The White Scars get up from their bikes.
04:10 - Grooming. White Scars tend to their mustaches and long, flowing hair.
05:00 - Morning Prayer. Those who have mustaches pray to the God-Emperor for the strength to defeat their enemies. Those without mustaches pray for mustaches.
06:00 - Morning Firing Rites. White Scars practice with their bike-mounted weaponry.
07:00 - Battle Practice. White Scars practice beheading a target with a single stroke of their swords during a 100 mph driveby.
12:00 - Midday Prayer.
13:00 - Midday Meal. White Scars consume the various meats they had put under their saddles during the morning exercises. Meal is now properly cooked from the heat of the bike, the metallic, promethium-like flavor is said to add to the taste. Milk mixed with promethium from their bikes is consumed as well.
13:15 - Tactical Indoctrination. White Scars are informed on which foes are the latest to elude the Chapter.
15:00 - Battle Practice. White Scars practice beheading a target with a single stroke while hanging from a Land Speeder.
20:00 - Evening Prayer.
21:00 - Evening Meal. A feast is provided by the Chapter serfs, consisting mostly of horse meat and fermented milk. Partaking in drinking songs is encouraged.
21:45 - Night Firing Exercises. The White Scars practice formations in the dark. Any marine who crashes into another is disciplined.
23:00 - Maintenance Rituals. White Scars spend time maintaining and customizing their bikes.
23:45 - Free Time. White Scars prefer to spend this time on things like poetry (about their battles), painting (their battles) and calligraphy (writing about their battles). Others opt for more time on the bike
00:00 - Rest Period. White Scars return to (or park) their bikes and sleep on them.