+ inload: The White Scars arrive on Dwell +

+ Legionary Dawasrung, Brotherhood of the Nine Winds +


+ The White Scars are rarely seen, both in the 40k universe and the real world. A combination of an intimidating colour scheme and, until recently, fairly vague background, gave them less appeal than other armies. +

+ The author Chris Wraight [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+], in particular, has gone a long way to describing a fantastically interesting and sympathetic culture for the Legion, and generally shedding some light on the White Scars. His books Brotherhood of the Storm and Path of Heaven are wonderfully evocative examples of the best of the Horus Heresy series. I'm sure they've gone a long way towards inspiring many hobbyists and starting new projects. +

+ Dawasrung definitely owes a lot to Chris' background, though the direct inspiration for this model comes from Dan Abnett's Little Horus. The build is covered in a previous inload [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+] on posing. +


+ A member of the Brotherhood of the Nine Winds, Legionary Dawasrung deployed on Dwell under the command of the Iron Hand Bion Henricos – himself a lieutenant of Shadrak Meduson – against the Sons of Horus. Henricos' force was made up mainly of Army regiments, though he could deploy a significant force of Astartes from a number of Legions; notably the Salamanders, White Scars, and Raven Guard, though the bulk were Tenth Legion. Dawasrung was involved in the attack on 'Little' Horus Aximand, part of an ambushing force led by the Sagyar Mazan Hibou Khan. +


+ Not a member of that penitent group himself, Dawasrung held certain reservations about being led by Hibou; but was pragmatic enough to recognise the necessity of subsuming such hesitation. His armour thus remains unmarked by the distinctive calligraphic script of the Sagyar Mazan. +


+ The symbol on his banded left pauldron is a brotherhood mark – roughly equivalent to a Chapter numeral. This example simply means '9'; a reference to the Nine Winds after which the Brotherhood is named. In this, the Brotherhood is unusually prosaic for the Vth Legion: the style is conventionally Terran. +



+ Less conventional is the blade, charged with power. An example of the White Scars' wilful non-conformism, examples of the curved blade he carries are difficult to pinpoint to a single forge world owing to their non-standard nature. They are likely part of a shipment favoured by the Brotherhood of the Nine Winds – who became infamous for 'intercepting' shipments rather than communicating with their supply lines. +



+ Besides the Brotherhood symbol, Dawasrung bears a squad pictograph (on the fore of his right pauldron), but scant few other markings. Of these, the broad vertical stripe on his knee – a symbol of his unwillingness to kneel – marks homage only to his Brotherhood Khan. His right bracer has the distinctive red dagged decoration common to the 5th. This is likely a personal detail, added as much for aesthetics as any specific action or philosophy. His ostentatious belt buckle – a common location for the Vth Legion to mark out heroism – shows a lightning strike in imitation of the Legion symbol; another common mark of honour. +