‘Move as swiftly as the wind and as closely formed as the herd. Attack like a raging storm and be as rigid as a mountain. Then shall victory be yours.’
Extract from Suboden Khan’s Seventy Seven Stratagems
First Khan of the White Scars, Suboden Khan captains the First Company, known as the Spearpoint Brotherhood. A consummate rider, he commands his warriors from the saddle and leads the veteran Outriders of the Chapter’s First Brotherhood into the heaviest of fighting.
Though he had achieved an impressive tally of fearless exploits during his rise to command of the Fifth Company, Suboden Khan truly forged his reputation for decisive and aggressive command in the earliest days of the Third War for Armageddon. There he served under Chapter Master Jubal Khan and earned his superior’s fierce praise after a number of hard-fought battles. It was Suboden Khan who led the defence of Dante’s Canyon and its crucial promethium drilling facilities, which were threatened by the Orks. Leading an Assault Squad into heavy fighting, the Khan decapitated the Ork leader and initiated a rout of the aliens.
Following the conflicts on Armageddon, Suboden was present on the White Scars’ home world, Chogoris, during Huron Blackheart’s invasion. In the bloody struggle that followed, Suboden’s predecessor as First Khan, Jurga, was laid low by the blade of a Lord Discordant and interred within a Dreadnought. Unable to lead the Spearpoint Brotherhood effectively, Jurga was forced to abdicate his position, and Suboden was elevated in his stead.
Jurga Khan was not the only prominent casualty of that conflict. The Great Khan, Jubal, was also gravely wounded, having been captured by Huron Blackheart’s forces and subjected to terrible torture. Though the Great Khan still lives, his body is far beyond the arts of even the Chapter’s most accomplished healers to repair. The Apothecaries have, however, managed to maintain his mind. Thus, though unable to take to the field of battle, Jubal Khan continues to lead the Chapter. He has come to rely heavily upon Suboden’s aid in this task, imparting as much of his experience on the Captain as possible before death, or internment within a Dreadnought sarcophagus, finally claims him. Suboden has been granted the title Master of the War Council, and is responsible for calling his fellow Khans to the kurultai, the gathering of commanders that occurs before most major deployments. Such is Suboden’s authority that most of his fellow Captains believe that it is only a matter of time before he is promoted in Jubal’s stead, and none would begrudge him the honour.
As befits the First Captain of a Chapter, Suboden Khan possesses a number of the White Scars’ most potent relics. His bike, Thunder, was gifted to him by Belisarius Cawl during the Ultima Founding. It incorporates similar technology utilised in the far larger Repulsor and Impulsor vehicles, fusing anti-grav plates with turbine engines and enabling the Khan to traverse terrain impassable to even the most skilled of Outriders.
Though Suboden Khan is highly skilled at fighting on foot, he – like all White Scars – is far more at home in the saddle, riding Thunder to battle at the head of a wedge of veteran Outriders. The Khan’s glaive, Stormtooth, has been borne to battle by First Khans for millennia. An expertly balanced power weapon, Stormtooth can be wielded in the manner of a lance or swung from the saddle to scythe through enemy infantry.
