The Manticore

A preliminary note: the name manticore comes from a Roman transcription mistake of the Greek martichora. which in turn comes from the Persian, with the meaning ‘man eater.’ Hurasu and his people in the Valley of Visions use the martichora name, which has become mardagoru among the Mora.

The manticore is a large flightless avian  dinosaur that haunts the high mountains. We have encountered it only in ‘Valley of Visions,’ where a party of Mora is attacked while crossing from the Gurang valley to that of the Tez. They do recognize it avian nature. It is likely to be found elsewhere in Exura but would not be common.

It stands higher than a man, when rearing upright, but is lightly built, with hollow bones. It appears to have a short, manlike face with forward-facing eyes, but in fact has a heavy, jagged beak or snout that might be mistaken for a nose. Around the bare head is a thick ruff, dark in color, that gives the appearance of a lion’s mane. (The griffin has a similar ruff but the two are probably not closely related.) The ruff is of feathers, as is the downy, tawny ‘fur’ that covers its body.

There is a long, club-like tail, with a knob of fused feathers that can be used a weapon, delivering the killing blow to whatever prey the manticore has grasped. Hook-like claws (somewhat similar in appearance to those of a mantis) are suited both to hunting and climbing in steep, rocky environments. Rows of short, stiff, and sharp feathers run along the forelegs and the tail.

The manticore is an ambush hunter of the mountains, its typical prey being goats, marmots, and other small mammals.