#manticore armor

[spirit-meets-the-b0ne]

My girl in the Manticore armor 😤

On Twitter: (X)

Details:

[chaosdoverspike]

Another weekend ends, and another dragon emerges...

MG051 Ebketh - Custom leather dragon gauntlets, round scale variant, UV green & slate black

Yes, you can commission these, in many different styles! Details at: https://forms.gle/Tmhf9gDrCMZdSmcN7

[deadwooddross]

Putting Dag through my personal sparkledog spinner again (I never stopped), and giving Misbegotten Dag a revisit now that i've chewed on the dlc. She's the lamest leonine you've ever seen, girl where is your MANE

Outside of elden ring I think she'd make a cute little manticore, though of a more chimeric humanoid flavor than the man-faced lion variety. It would suit her Big Meaty claws Girl who loves to eat, bring her some snacks why dontcha

[edgepunk]

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (dev. CD Projekt Red) ↳ Cirilla of Cintra

[michaelhowearts]

Sir Liam Crowgar de Liutas Le Mantyger

As a peasant youth, Liam would walk by the castle of the Liutas family, the feudal lords of his village. At either side of the gate was a large statue of a winged lion. Liam also loved the bedtime story he’d heard of a lion who had guarded travelers against raiders and jackals. “If I was a Liutas, I would protect people, especially the poor people who can barely defend themselves.” Defending others, became a large part of his character. He would try to talk down bullies, and then fight them if they continued persecuting children on the street. He would negotiate between fighting brothers. One day, impressed with Liam’s spirit, Richard Liutas took him into his house as a squire. Eventually, Liam saved his lord’s life on the battlefield. In gratitude, Richard knighted him and made him part of his family. Liam now could live his dream of being a strong protector. He would always try a peaceful and gentle route to begin, but not shirk from battle. However, this became mistaken for weakness. His attempts to forestall fights brought those who thought he was weak. Personal challenges, armies of destitute soldiers. All wanted to show they could overcome the “cowardly” Liam.

Finally, an army of malcontents was able to beat him, overrun the defenses of his town, and for no good reason slaughtered and pillaged their way through his people.

Now, if enemies arrive at the gates of any place or person he has declared to be under his protection, he strikes hard and fast. he gives no quarter or chance for talk. He took inspiration from other stories he had heard - that of the Manticore, the great lion-bodied beast with a semi-human face and dragon wings, which eats men. Now all know to fear LE MANTYGER, and woe befall any who attack those under his banner.

[vodka-and-ocs]

Owen, witcher style

[horseskullman]

Some more Knights of the Black Manticore

[jerichoes]

messed with ten billion xtml files so that geralt can look pretty from the start. hopefully didn't break anything

[vexwerewolf]

If we talk about the aesthetics of technology in Lancer, we can divide each of the Big 4 along lines of form and function.

IPS-N: Pure Function

IPS-N cares only what a mech does. It doesn't need to look good or pretty doing it - it only needs to be able to do that thing well. It's notable that the Raleigh, arguably the most form-oriented of the IPS-N frames, is also considered to be the company's biggest commercial failure - they strayed from their core design principles and got punished for it.

Harrison Armory: Form Follows Function

Harrison Armory still leans pretty heavily towards the functionality side of things, but it isn't satisfied with doing a good job alone. Yes, the mechs have to perform well, but they also have to look good doing it. There's no practical application for the Sherman's sleeveless coat or the Tokugawa's dainty little tassels, but they don't hinder combat functionality and they make the mechs look dashing. In comparison to IPS-N's coarse, industrial, almost unfinished look, HA mechs look stern, austere and imposing. There's a smoothness to them that you just don't get on IPS-N frames.

SSC: Function Follows Form

SSC is where we start to plunge into aesthetics-forward mech design. The Death's Head isn't six-legged because it's a sniper - the Death's Head is a sniper because it's six-legged. SSC came up with a mech design and asked: "what would this do best?" A six-legged chassis provided a more stable firing platform for precision weaponry, so that was what it did. Shapes and appearances are invented, and then a use case is discovered for them.

HORUS: Pure Form

It might seem weird to classify HORUS as "pure form" when their mechs largely don't have a consistent visual identity outside of the examples in the book. However, if we look a little deeper at the definition of "form," the explanation becomes clear: in some ways, HORUS is in the business of making statements, not mechs.

For anyone who's actually played a HORUS mech in Lancer, you may have noticed how awkward they are to actually pilot. Their statlines are, on paper, often very poorly suited to the sort of work they have to do. The Gorgon is built to attract attention and draw fire but has no armor. The Manticore is meant to be a front-line fighter but is quite slow. The Minotaur is meant to be a tech platform but has a low sensor range. The Pegasus' one functional trait doesn't apply to any of the weapons in its equipment package!

This is because HORUS mechs are designed purely as a testament to a certain discipline of technology. I remember expressing irritation with a friend's NeoGeo-for-X-Box emulator once, that you couldn't reconfigure the controller mapping so that it was easier to play with the X-Box controller. He remarked that it was meant as a historical preservation tool that perfectly duplicated the functionality of the NeoGeo, and that the only reason you could even play games using it at all is because that was a function of NeoGeo arcade cabinets.

That's how HORUS mechs are - their usability as chassis is broadly a side-effect.

[clericofshadows]

CIRILLA OF CINTRA - 1/??? CIRI'S WITCHER ARMOR - MANTICORE ASHEN HAIRSTYLE WITH HEADBAND

[obsessivevoidkitten]

The Manticore's Game

Kinktober Day 11: Paralytic Venom

Male Manticore Yandere x Gender Neutral Reader CW: Noncon, nonconsensual to consensual, venom, paralysis, non-human genitals, manticore, nibbling, licking, playful yandere, sweet yandere, general yandere behavior, he fucking purrs like a big house cat y'all, happy ending, kinda fluffy Word Count: 1k (I wrote this relatively quickly just today. I hope you all love it. Someone wanted me to write happier endings and yeah I do need a few sprinkled in a bit more often.)

There were reports of a mighty beast-like man devouring sheep from the flocks of the shepherds on the outskirts of the kingdom. It was in your jurisdiction, so you sent some lesser warriors to investigate and resolve the matter, but they had retreated in terror and refused to go back.

You were the head of the lesser noble house that oversaw the region and a skilled knight, and none of your subordinates were up to the task of defeating the monstrosity. So it seemed the task fell to you personally.

Bravely, you went on your own to the mountain village and tracked down the monster's lair. You found him at the entrance to his cave. He towered above you, fangs bared. You could see why the others had retreated. He was a rare and powerful creature, a manticore!

The beast had long shaggy hair that started black but ended in red, yellow eyes, fingertips with retractable claws, massive black and red wings, and a large scorpion tail.

Unlike the others, you fought through your fear and charged. You tried bashing him with your shield. But the manticore blocked the blow with his muscular arm before stabbing its tail into a chink in your armor.

You buckled instantly, falling to the ground like a chunk of lead. You couldn't move and were completely helpless as the monstrous man crouched beside you and removed your armor piece by piece. The last one that he removed was your helmet. After he removed it, you could smell the musk practically rolling off his crotch.

He wore no clothing, though he was covered in fur from the waist down. You were sure he was going to kill you, but instead, he stung you a second time, and you woke up hours later beside the village with no weapons or armor.

It was humiliating. Of course, you had to restore your honor. But you also weren't unfair. The next time you faced him, you used a blunted blade. He hadn't killed you, so you wouldn't kill him. Though you would imprison him as a livestock thief and make him work off his debts.

Once again, you ended up on the ground after the first sting. The beast stood over you and laughed before taking your belongings to taunt you. After that came the second sting, which sent you to sleep. Once more, you woke up outside the village.

It went on like this for months. It became the manticore's favorite game and your greatest embarrassment. He must have collected dozens of sets of armor as trophies.

Once more, you tried to best the beast, and once more, you wound up on the floor. This time was different, though. After removing your bothersome armor, he hauled you into a cotton and feather lined nest.

And, for the first time, the manticore spoke.

"Azin is in rut. Need mate. You're Azin's best friend! Always play games! You're all Azin thinks about. Will make the best mate."

He didn't stop at removing your armor. He took away all your clothing and didn't administer the second sting that would put you to sleep.

Azin purred loudly as he nuzzled his head against various parts of your body. He flipped you onto your back and licked and nibbled on your chest. His cock was hard, It stuck out large and proud from his sheath. It was also much muskier than normal, the strong smell alone made your crotch tingle.

You were a little scared but were more embarrassed than anything else. Maybe the venom had mellowed you out a bit, or maybe you just felt that comfortable with Azin after all the non-lethal combat the two of you had engaged in. If he wanted to hurt you, he would have.

His slimy cock craved the warm embrace of your hole, but even in rut Azin had the presence of mind to stretch you out first. Using gobs of precum as lube, he carefully tended to your entrance with several strong fingers.

Once you were good and prepped, he propped your legs up on his shoulders and then slipped his entire length into you with one fluid motion.

"Ahhhh," he sighed, "You take Azin so well~"

And he filled you so well. You would have been moaning, but all the paralytic he had envenomated you with would allow were soft gasps and whimpers. Azin licked and sucked your neck, your cute little sounds of pleasure spurring him on and into a frenzy. He pushed you into a mating press, his large furry nuts smacking into you as he bred you.

Nothing in your life had ever felt so good. No, not just good, but right. Having him pounding into you just felt right. Your paralyzed managed to shake slightly in orgasm just as he emptied his cum deeply into you.

"Azin loves you so so much! Going to breed you lots and keep you safe always!"

The two of you panted a bit before going several more rounds. When it was finally over, the venom had worn off. You cuddled up to him, his loud rhythmic purring helped lull you into the best sleep you ever had.

Of course, when you woke up, you'd have to do the only thing you could... take him back, marry him, and have him live with you in your little castle. There was really no other honorable option.

Azin's kind mated for life. It would be cruel to abandon him, and you had come to see him more and more as a friend rather than an enemy. You couldn't exactly just imprison him and make him work now.

Marrying him was honestly the perfect solution. With him at the castle, he wouldn't be stealing food. And just the fact that your house had a manticore would ensure safety from political rivals. It would be a great way for him to make up for his unlawful consumption of sheep. What assassin would dare trespass into the home of such a beast?

Sure, you'd be known far and wide as the monster fucking noble, but at least the dick was amazing!

[agbpaints]

How to Paint: Glowing Heat Sink Effects

I already went over this briefly in text in the notes of the Awesome but I figured I should probably double this up and give it its own tutorial. Glowing effects are something that's extremely commonplace in a wargame like 40k but less seen in Battletech painting, despite being a great visual indicator of the effects of the game's heat mechanic. While it does take a little bit of work and some extra paints, adding these to your energy boats and pilot cooking clan mechs can be a great way to add a bit of visual flair to your forces.

Paints I Used

This is what I had on deck for this mini- substitute for your preferred colors, brands, and availability as you like

Army Painter Matt White (titanium white/pure white)

Citadel Khorne Red (dark red)

Citadel Mephiston Red (medium red)

Citadel Evil Sunz Scarlet (bright red)

Citadel Troll Slayer Orange (bright orange)

Citadel Yriel Yellow (bright yellow)

Citadel Lahmian Medium (thinning medium)

Method

Before you begin working on the heat sinks you want to complete the rest of the area around the place you want to do the glow effect. Light is an active environmental effect on a surface so you'll want to complete most of the base layers, highlights, shading, and other environmental effects before we work on the glow. Today our subject is a Manticore Heavy Tank that I used a modified pink-grey version of my weathered drab armor recipe to paint.

Once we've identified the sinks we want to paint and finished the rest of the model around them, our first step is going to be to paint the sink area white. This will increase the saturation on future layers and make the heat sink appear brighter, as well as giving us a consistent color to work up from. Try to stay within the vent area itself and avoid paining the outer frame- we want that to retain the color of the model. Once the white is dry, paint over all of it with our dark red color. Use one or two thin coats to do this.

Once the dark red is dry, go and get your medium red color. Make sure not to overthin this as we want to work this onto a pretty particular part of the model. Using the side of a small or medium sized brush, carefully paint just the ridges of the vent fins, leaving the dark red color in between. Leave this to dry briefly and then we can work on the interior of the vents.

Get your bright orange paint and thin it pretty significantly- more than you would for a normal color. Then, take a very thin brush, load it with some paint, and carefully dab/drag it in between the vent fins. Capillary action should focus this thinned paint into feeding between the medium red fins and make the impression that the interior of the heat sink is glowing. Make sure to leave some of the dark red color at the tops and bottoms of the fins when doing this.

Once the medium red and orange are dry, repeat the same process with your bright red and yellow, but make sure to only apply the paint this time where you want the glow brightest. This might be a particular side of the heat sink but in this case it will be the middle for me, to follow the curve of the turret.

Finally, we will 'extend' the glow of the sink to the area around it slightly. You could do this by applying a quick and soft drybrush before you start using lighter colors on the sink itself, but I prefer to use a glaze for this as it produces smoother results. Once the entire sink is dry, take your darkest color (quick physics lesson: reflected light will always be less intense than the source) and some thinning medium. Mix the two together at a 1:1 ratio and then add some to a medium brush with a fine tip before wiping off the excess on your pallet. The brush should be just damp and produce a thin and regular line of color when dragged across your fingernail for the best results. Once you're happy, sketch the color onto the area around the glowing heat sink with little motions. You should be building up an even, translucent layer of color over top of your base paint job, making it look like the heat and light of the sink is radiating out into the area around it.

And now are heat sinks are done! I've painted these sinks with fairly high contrast hot tones to pop on the dull purple model but you can easily change the colors around to suit your needs. If you want darker, more desaturated glow, start with a dark brown instead of a dark red and have your brightest highlight colors be medium red and bright orange. If you want to go hotter, consider trading the red/orange/yellow pallet for blues and whites. More exotic forms of glow could be rendered with greens or purples. Get weird and have some fun with it!

[horsegirlwithnoname]

okay we can all agree the Manticore is fucking weird, right?

Like, look past Castigate, which is mostly a meme (I've seen players say 'the enemy doesn't know whether it's online or not and you can play that psychologically to influence enemy behaviour' but that seems so GM dependent), what the fuck is this thing's deal?

Well, it's tough-ish. 8hp, 2 armour, 7 heat cap, 10 e-def. That's ... the same as a Tortuga??? With +1 heat cap??? 3 repcap (low, but the same as the Gorgon or Napoleon, and like them it has damage mitigation tools) so you're less resilient across multiple scenes but I think a lot of people get so caught up in Castigate they miss that the Manticore's stat line is really similar to the Tortuga's, including (unfortunately) speed 3, which means your movement/positioning needs to be pinpoint if you're planning to play up close.

Also like the Tortuga, it's got +1 tech attack but unlike the ever-popular hacktuga it actually has invade options on its license. Like ... four different invade options, which range from decent-if-niche to amazing.

So it's a hacker, then? Problem solved.

Except

all its license weapons are CQB

Charged Exoskeleton, EMP Pulse and Lightning Generator want you to be up close

Beckon is a completely absurd tool for getting close

So you're what ... a close-quarters hackerbrawler? Who wants to overheat as much as possible. Its kit likes it when enemies group up and Summon lets you force them to group up. Since it's already decent at hacking it works well with licenses like the Goblin that let you play with enemy movement to bring them into your hellzone.

People love the hacktuga but the Manticore tends to get pushed into meme territory despite being something really similar. You're a close-combat guy who's also slow as hell so you use hacking tools to bring the enemy to you.

Isn't that cool? Isn't that so much more interesting than the way the playerbase tend to treat it? Like I'm trying to figure out what A Complete Manticore looks like and it's so much weirder than I was expecting. Melee hackertank who wants to cook their own reactor and wants to bring the enemy to them, right? So:

-- HORUS Manticore @ LL12 -- [ LICENSES ] HORUS Manticore 3, HORUS Goblin 3, SSC Metalmark 3, HORUS Balor 3 [ CORE BONUSES ] The Lesson of Thinking-Tomorrow’s-Thought, The Lesson of the Open Door, Integrated Weapon, Full Subjectivity Sync [ TALENTS ] Hacker 3, Executioner 3, Hunter 3, Nuclear Cavalier 3, Pankrati 3 [ STATS ] HULL:4 AGI:2 SYS:6 ENGI:2 STRUCTURE:4 HP:22 ARMOR:2 STRESS:4 HEATCAP:9 REPAIR:5 TECH ATK:+7 LIMITED:+1 SPD:4 EVA:10 EDEF:16 SENSE:10 SAVE:18 [ WEAPONS ] Integrated: Fuel Rod Gun INTEGRATED WEAPON: Shock Knife FLEX MOUNT: Shock Knife / Shock Knife HEAVY MOUNT: Nanobot Whip [ SYSTEMS ] H0R_OS System Upgrade I, Beckoner, Lightning Generator, Scanner Swarm, Swarm Body, OSIRIS-Class NHP

Am I completely off base here?

[running-with-kn1ves]

 Male Love Interest: Masterlist~~ (OG Work)

ADVISATORY WARNING: This list potentially deals with yandere behavior, violence, death, non/dub-con, NSFT, etc.! Please read at your own risk.

Last Updated: Sept. 25th, 2024

Male love interest

Rich! Yandere X Yandere! Reader 

Yandere! MIMIC Creature X Reader

Yandere Gym Trainer X Client Reader

Yandere! Killer Clown X Reader

Yandere Boyfriend X Insecure! Reader (Pt.2 In the Book Stacks)

Photographer X Reader

Stalker X Reader

Yandere X “I can fix them” Reader 

Satin Pillows to Cry On

Masked Intruder X Reader l Masked Intruder X Reader Pt. 2 l Masked Intruder X Reader Pt. 3

Virgin! Best friend X Reader (NSFT!)

Yandere Masochist X Reader (NSFT!)

(NSFT!) Jealous Boyfriend X Reader l (NSFT!) Jealous Boyfriend Pt.2 (Valentines day) X Reader (NSFT!) Jealous Boyfriend X Flirting Reader

Yandere Best Friend X GN Virgin! Reader (NSFT!)

CRUSH(ED)

Yandere X Amnesiac! GN Reader

Cannibal X Reader l Cannibal X Reader pt. 2

Rich! Husband X Reader

Stalker X Reader

Possessive Delinquent X Reader l Possessive Delinquent X Reader Pt. 2 l Possessive Delinquent X Reader pt. 3

Secret Admirer X Reader l Secret Admirer X Reader Pt. 2

Childhood Friend! X Reader

Yandere Soulmate! X Reader

Male! Yandere x Servant Reader (Drabble)

Christmas Intruder X Reader

Fantasy

Giant X Faerie Reader

Orc Tribal Leader X Reader

Wedding Night- Orc Warrior X Reader

Manticore X Reader

Doll X Reader

Elf(Cirdan) X Reader

Elf (Cirdan) X Reader Pt. 2 (NSFT!)

Satyr God X Human Reader

Satyr X Human Reader Pt. 2 (NSFT!)

Elf Lord X Entertainer! Reader

Orc X Guard! Reader

Werewolf Elias X Reader

Werewolf Elias X Reader Pt. 2

Naga X Reader

Naga X Reader Pt. 2

Werewolf Boyfriend X Reader

Incubus X Human Reader

Alien X Reader

Alien X Reader (Pt.2)

Wraith X Reader

Mothman X Reader

Plant Creature X Reader

Shapeshifter X Reader

Symbiote Armor X Reader

Vampire X Reader

Mermaid X Reader

AFAB! Reader

Sleepy Afternoons: Dragon Boyfriend X Reader (Period comfort)

Omega! Male Yandere X Alpha! Fem Reader

Ex-husband X Pregnant Fem! Reader

(NSFT!) Robot X Fem! Reader

(NSFT!) Kidnapper Drabble AFAB

AMAB! Reader

(NSFT!) Kidnapper Drabble AMAB

Male + Female Love Interest

Incubus + Succubus X Reader  Incubus + Succubus X Reader SMUT

Male! Yandere X GN Reader X Female! Yandere

[probablyasocialecologist]

Israel, pound for pound, is the best investment the US has ever made. Israel is the purest expression of Western power, combining militarism, imperialism, settler colonialism, counterinsurgency, occupation, racism, instilling ideological defeat, huge profitable war-making and hi-tech development into a manticore of destruction, death, and mayhem. From Israel’s victory in the 1948-1949 war, US planners saw the country as a regional military power that could contain Arab military and political ambitions. Amidst France’s imperial sunset in the Arab region, the country aligned with Israel – trying to deliver a blow to Nasserist Egypt through the 1956 Tripartite Aggression with Britain and Israel, and armoring Zionism for its successful 1967 war against radical Arab nationalism in the frontline states. Green-lit by the US, the war left the Syrian Ba’athist fusion of Arab nationalism and Marxist-Leninism in shambles and slammed the Nasserist national development project. Israel also became a useful assassin, eliminating Arab radical luminaries from Mehdi Ben Barka to Ghassan Kanafani. From 1970 onwards, US military aid into Israel turned the country into a unique asset: an offshore arms factory; a regional irritant to Arab peace, stability, and popular regional development; a destructive gyro of world-wide counterinsurgency; a black hole drawing in regional surpluses and devoting them to endless defensive and offensive armament, away from social-popular welfare spending and non-military development. Uniquely, the US allowed Israel to keep the military aid partially within the country, slowly and steadily building up a massive military industrial capacity. Meanwhile, US-based capital inflows accelerated, taking advantage of Israel’s highly educated workforce in the defense sector, resting upon super-exploiting the Palestinian colonial underclass in other sectors. In return, Israel armed reactionary forces world-wide: from Argentina to Brazil to Chile, helping evade Congressional restrictions on arms shipments to the Nicaraguan Contras and advanced armaments to the South African apartheid regime. On a world scale, Israel has protected the political architecture of global capitalism. And its US domestic adjunct, the Anti-Defamation League, presaged wider Zionist capitalist investment in repression by carrying out wide-ranging spying on anti-racist, anti-Zionist, Arab-American and anti-apartheid movements.

[inexplicifics]

If you're still doing snippets, I don't think we've had the Eldritch Trio one yet?

Also the Weird Omegaverse Warprize Thing is intriguing from the bits so far.... honestly I'm generally stoked for the entirety of the list.

If you feel like showing off one that hasn't been mentioned yet, blank space here!

Eldritch Trio:

The trio are all staring at Voltehre in bafflement as Lambert sits down. Well, Gweld is staring a little bit over Voltehre’s head. He never looks anyone in the eye unless he means to overpower their will. But the bafflement is still definitely there. “Hello,” Eskel says at last, a little warily. “Did you lose a bet?” “No,” Voltehre says, giving Eskel a sunny smile. “I wanted to say hello, and Lam thinks you’re fascinating.” Lambert covers his face with a hand and prays the Grasses really did destroy his ability to blush. “Fascinating,” Geralt rumbles, and Lambert shudders at the sound. It’s not fear running down his spine, though maybe it should be. “Fascinating,” Gweld lilts, sounding amused. Lambert puts his hands on the table to push himself upright - he isn’t going to stay here and be mocked, fuck Voltehre for dragging him into this - One of Eskel’s tentacles curls around his wrist. “Stay,” Eskel says. “Fascinating’s better than most of the things we get called when they think we can’t hear.”

Weird omegaverse war prize thing:

As the barbarians finish eating, they get up and leave the hall, without any ceremony whatsoever; by the time Jaskier has cleared his plate, the hall is three-quarters empty. And it’s as he’s setting his mug down empty - he has to admit he rather likes the strong tisane they were served - that a beautiful young woman gets up from one of the other tables, leans down to kiss the barbarian she was sitting next to on the mouth, and comes striding over to the omegas. She’s tall and blonde, with blue-grey eyes and a generously curved figure that suggests both strength and probable fertility, and as she gets close enough to smell, Jaskier realizes she’s an omega. He wracks his brain hastily, but he doesn’t think the young barbarian she kissed was one of those who claimed any of Jaskier’s companions, so she’s probably not coming over to assert her own prior claim to her alpha - “Hullo,” she says, sliding onto the bench across from Jaskier. “I’m Julita.”

And for the author's choice - knight!Milena

The first thing Lambert thinks when he sees the armored figure riding at the manticore is, Well shit, that’s a waste of a good horse. It is a good horse: an enormous black stallion, maybe even larger than Scorpion, with absolutely beautiful conformation. It dwarfs its rider entirely; Lambert, watching the coming catastrophe with a grimace, assumes some squire has stolen his knight-master’s mount and is trying to prove himself worthy of his spurs, and is just going to get himself eaten for his trouble. Manticores are basically only vulnerable at eyes and mouth, and the chances of the rider hitting either of those with a lance-tip from a full gallop are… Lambert’s own mouth drops open, and he stands there gaping like a complete nitwit as the rider’s lance takes the manticore squarely in its open maw, the full force of the horse’s weight behind it, and the manticore goes back on its haunches and then over onto its side, taking the lance with it. The rider reins in the horse, curving neatly away from the fallen monster, and trots around to face his defeated enemy, sensibly drawing his sword as he goes. The manticore is busy going through its death throes, though; the rider halts his horse and waits, alert but unmoving, until the creature finally breathes its last.