#mangler

Although Fury and Chirpy are the two most famous chocobos to emerge from the Age of Heroes, no chocobo ever passed so heroically as Mangler.

The black-and-red chocobo was well known for his might and viciousness, being one of the only chocobos to have ever stood taller than Fury. He only ever allowed Lightning or Sazh to ride him, at least until the final years of his life where he allowed Tajh to ride him also.

Tajh was only a boy when the Battle of Remnant was fought, but he came from a distinguished lineage. He was the great-grandson of Sazh via the eldest of Dajh’s children. When the Battle began, Tajh was visiting friends amongst the Mi’ihen with Mangler.

As Grimm began to rain down on Remnant in their millions with existing Grimm renewing their onslaught, the Mi’ihen called their banners in full for the first time since the days of long-dead Cocoon and the World Below. All five of the great families of Mi’ihen answered the call, something that was likened to the clenching of a mighty fist.

Rather than hide and seek shelter, Tajh, who dreamed of becoming a chocobo knight, disguised himself and rode to the muster with Mangler. It was the greatest gathering of chocobo knight seen in Remnant’s history, more than a hundred thousand, every warrior the Mi’ihen could call upon, the full measure of their strength.

The knights of Mi’ihen moved swiftly to crush Grimm forces across the plains and steppes before turning their attention to the rest of the lands held by the other clans. As the largest mobile force, it was left to them to reinforce the faltering lines of the other clans.

They fought dozens of battles worthy of story and song, but their finest hour would come when Arendelle called for aid. With several of its most powerful defenders drawn elsewhere, the kingdom was in danger of being swamped by hordes of lesser Grimm that were supported by four Calamity Class Grimm that had been unleashed by JENOVA.

Heedless of the odds, the knights of Mi’ihen rode across the open water with all speed. They would meet the Four Calamity Class Grimm alongside Queen Elsa, Crown Princess Eira, and several other members of the royal family, along with all the naval and aerial forces they could muster, for allowing the Calamity Class Grimm to make landfall would have resulted in Arendelle’s destruction.

It is important to note that amongst the fighters was an elderly Sazh Katzroy atop Chirpy. He had joined the chocobo knights after ensuring the lands around his ranch had been made safe. Unwilling to simply sit back and do nothing, he and Chirpy had ridden with all speed to join the force riding to Arendelle.

The battle would be called the Battle of the Winter Sea due to the complete transformation of the battlefield thanks to the Semblances of Queen Elsa and Princess Eira. The Mi’ihen would sustain tens of thousands of casualties in their defence of the queen and princess, who were their primary means of dealing with the Calamity Class Grimm. Again and again the titanic Grimm and their lesser minions charged, but each time they were repelled.

In the dying stages of the battle, Chirpy and Sazh were both wounded. It was then that Tajh revealed himself. He and Mangler rode to their defence, and Tajh was knocked from Mangler. Clinging onto a large piece of ice, the boy would see Mangler’s final moments.

With the nearby knights slain and Arendelle’s forces in disarray, one of the Calamity Class Grimm would come within inches of striking killing blows on Queen Elsa, Sazh, Chirpy, and Tajh. It would be Mangler alone who stood between them and death.

By all accounts, Mangler’s final moments were cruel. Hopelessly outmatch, exhausted himself from days of constant battle, and wounded in many places, the chocobo still stood his ground. It is said that he took not a single backward step in the fight, knowing full well that if he gave even an inch of ground, then those behind him would be slain.

His cry of defiance echoed over the battle field, and his Aura blazed like a star of black and red. The long years would fall away from him, and Mangler would fight like a chocobo in the very flower of his youth. For five minutes, Mangler dared to push the Grimm back. For five minutes, a chocobo stood against a force that could raze worlds and smash civilisations... and he was winning...

But Mangler was not a young chocobo by then, and his best years were behind him. Little by little he began to slow, until at last the great Grimm landed a blow and tossed his broken body aside. The Grimm moved to slay those Mangler had been protecting, but the chocobo’s mighty heart would not accept defeat. One last time, Mangler found his feet, and with his dying charge, he drove the Grimm back.

He would fall soon after, but the time he had bought had proven long enough. The queen, having regathered herself, was able to slay the Calamity Class Grimm, and reinforcements arrived in the form of several ancient sheep and a host of elder sheep led by Arla, the wife of Sigrid. Their arrival would tip the scales of battle, and the Grimm would be driven back with heavy losses before the Calamity Class Grimm were destroyed via the combined firepower of Arendelle’s navy and airforce, in conjunction with the queen and crown princess.

Mangler’s body would be found floating amid the ice left in the wake of the battle. According to Sazh, it would be the first time that he ever saw Mangler with a smile on his face. Tajh would later remark, as an old man, that the reason Mangler was smiling was because as a chick, he had been too weak to protect his flock, and as a young chocobo, he had not been able to save the boy who freed him.

Yet as an old chocobo, amidst the rage and fury of the battlefield, he had found the death he wanted. He had died defending the ones who taught him what it meant to be free (Sazh and Chirpy), and the boy he had taken under his wing (Tajh). He had died protecting people he cared about and fighting for a cause as noble as any other. For a chocobo like Mangler, it was the perfect death. Not for him old age and the wearying of the years. Better a death in battle, one where his strength, though fading, might serve some greater purpose.

It is for this reason that although Sazh’s descendants typically take a golden chocobo as their sigil in honour of Chirpy, those of Tajh’s line have ever taken a black-and-red chocobo as their sigil to honour Mangler.

The most famous depiction of Mangler is in a painting of the Battle of the Winter Sea. It shows the chocobo standing alone against his terrible foe with those he is protecting behind him. There is no fear or doubt on his face, only the joyous certainty of one who has found their true purpose at last.

Who are they and What do they want?

"We merely seek to collapse the space between cultures so that everyone may enjoy the arts made by anyone." -Anaveav Windleaf, an oil and canvas painter from Waterdeep

A (typically Chaotic Neutral) loosely organized group of xenophile artists centered around a muse or a deep collection of extraplanar records and remnants . The muse might be a Bard, Cleric, or Warlock NPC or Player Character. Or the muse might be an intelligent and expressive creature who has a direct connection to the cultures of exotic people, distant times/lands, or other planes in the Multiverse. Surrounding them are (more) Bards seeking inspiration or replicating and modifying source material for mass appeal. There are also Nobles hoping to invest in something that might become in-vogue and could be re-sold at peak market value. Cultists are die hard fans while Cult Fanatics are loyal assistants and bodyguards who have received a portion of the muses power. Finally, Commoners are casual enthusiasts or are hired to help the completion of larger projects by the colony.

A colony wishes to work in peace to produce art that achieves recognition. The best members of the colony are scholars who faithfully translate works by, and raise the profiles of, unknown artists. The worst members are greedy, willing to appropriate and misrepresent works to an ignorant audience for a profit. They are all united by a common interest in unknown worlds.

When it comes to self-defense, the colony of artists depends on the powers of their muse and the creatures they've learned the rituals to summon. If the colony's muse is not careful (or not present) while disseminating lore, it's members might accidently summon creatures from other planes such as celestials and aberrations. If the colony members are petty and vindictive they might intentionally summon those creatures to prematurely end the career of a rival.

A colony can be a useful resource to an adventurer seeking knowledge of art and language from other planes. In exchange, colony members might ask for more works by a specific source and that the adventurer distribute promotional posters.

Example: The House of Azathoth

Once upon a time in the Underdark a Beholder named Byxsokiltun was dreamed into existence by another slumbering Beholder. Thanks to a strong self-preservation instinct Byxso fled it's creators abode and into the dark caverns beyond. There it began crafting it's own lair and in the process learned how gravity worked. The idea that the world was so big and so heavy terrified Byx and so it proceeded to use it's disintegration beams to burrow upward and away from such a Large Thing. Byxo eventually reached the surface and saw a clear nights sky for the first time in it's life. It focused all of it's eye stalks on the starry skies above and saw an entity lurking at the center of the multiverse: Azathoth, the Greatest of Beholders. To witness such a godlike Aberration would fill the mind of a humanoid with existential dread. But Byxsokiltun saw something beautiful instead, an immortal fearless artist practicing their craft on an unimaginable scale, unaffected by the chaos that it created. And so Byxso began to emulate it's new found idol and cobbled together a studio in a remote forest. During the day it would work and during the night it would study the entity in the sky. Occasionally a woodland traveler would stumble across the studio, get enslaved by Byxso, and be made to work on adaptations of it's material. After several years of practice, Byxso decided it was time to join it's unknowing mentor, released it's slaves from their enchantments, and flew away into the heavens.

The liberated people fled the studio and warned all who would listen to stay away. But a few artistically inclined adventurers were intrigued and investigated the strange structure in the woods. There they found a treasure trove of beautifully illustrated astrophysics equations, speculative biology diagrams, and manuscripts translated from stone tablets inscribed with Deep Speech. After a bit of market research, the adventurers found audiences in a nearby city and began reproductions of the works to be sold over there. Thus started a steady revenue stream for the newly dubbed House of Azathoth art colony. This also marked the beginning of strange creature sightings, bizarre deaths, and unexplainable phenomenon within the city. Some street preachers blamed the House of Azathoth for contaminating people's homes with alien lore. Paranoid about being attacked by an angry mob, the former adventurers used their profits to fortify the studio against intruders. The mob never came as an invasion of the city by an aquatic race distracted everyone and the issue was forgotten.

“I’m not sure you should go in there,” Snow said.

Lightning turned her head and glared. “Are you questioning my decision?”

Snow made a face. “Yeah, maybe a little, as well as your sanity.” He pointed into the chocobo pen. “Because anyone who wants to go anywhere near that is insane.”

‘That’ was the largest chocobo that anyone on Team LFSC had ever seen. The male black-and-red chocobo had to be twelve feet tall. To make matters worse, he was built like a truck, and there was a mean, angry gleam in his eyes. The chocobo had been watching them ever since they’d gotten near the pen, just waiting for a chance to rip into them.

“What’s his name?” Lightning asked Sazh.

The dark-skinned man looked between Lightning and the chocobo. “You know, I was planning on having you lot spar against some of the chocobos as part of your training, but I was thinking of working our way up to this guy instead of starting off with him. But if you really want to fight him, sure, go ahead. His name’s Mangler.”

“Mangler?” Lightning’s lips twitched into something that could almost have been a smile. “It suits him.”

With the same effortless ease she seemed to do everything, Lightning vaulted over the fence and into the pen.

“Out of curiosity,” Snow asked. “But if she gets killed in there, which one of us becomes leader?”

Fang rolled her eyes. “Lightning is not going to get killed in there. She might be a jerk, but she’s a powerful jerk.”

Caius snickered. “Someone’s still mad they lost their challenge for leadership.”

“Oh, shut up,” Fang growled.

Snow bit back a laugh. From what he’d heard, Fang hadn’t lost a real fight since she was a child. Her challenge for the team’s leadership had absolutely devastated the training grounds before they’d been asked to take it somewhere else. They had done just that and had promptly devastated large swathes of Grimm-infested wilderness before they had returned. From the scowl on Fang’s face and the smug smirk on Lightning’s, it was clear who’d won.

“It’s not like you could have beaten her,” Fang grumbled.

Caius snickered again. “I know, which is why I didn’t challenge her and come back looking like a piñata.”

“Oh, it’s not like she got away unscathed either.” Fang was rightly proud of herself. The number of times Snow had actually seen Lightning take noticeable damage could be counted on one hand. In the years since they’d started at Beacon Senior Academy, they had fought gigantic hordes of Grimm, maniacal terrorists, and just about everything else that could be fought. Never, ever, had Lightning taken anywhere close to that much damage again. Fang had come back looking like a piñata, but Lightning had hardly been any better.

“Still, if something does happen to her,” Fang continued. “I’m leader.”

“What?” Snow raised one eyebrow. “No discussion?”

“This isn’t a democracy. As our glorious leader has already established, it’s a dictatorship. I’m the biggest scariest thing in the world that isn’t Lightning, so that makes me the leader. Hell, if we fought again, I think I could be beat her, now that I know what I’m up against.”

“Keep dreaming,” Caius said. “There’s a reason you haven’t challenged again. You’re not sure you’ll win.”

“Quiet,” Snow said. “I think Lightning is about to introduce our friend Mangler to her unique style of leadership.”

“You mean she’s going to beat the crap out of an angry chocobo?” Fang asked. “Well, this should be interesting.”

X    X     X

Fact #1: A sufficiently powerful chocobo with a sufficiently large quantity of Aura can temporarily reach speeds exceeding a thousand miles per hour.

Fact #2: A fully grown male black-and-red chocobo can weight upward of a thousand pounds.

Fact 3#: Mangler was both faster and heavier than most black-and-red chocobos.

Fact #4: Fact #1, Fact #2, and Fact #3 do not matter because as Snow is fond of putting it, Saviour is basically bullshit.

X     X     X

A black-and-red blur crossed the gap between Lightning and Mangler in less than the blink of an eye. Over twelve hundred pounds of pissed off chocobo moving at almost double the speed of sound shot toward the pink-haired teenager.

Lightning didn’t even move.

She raised one hand, and Mangler screeched to a halt. Wisps of white light swirled around Lightning’s body as she effortless caught the chocobo’s beak as it thrust toward her with enough force to pierce several yards of concrete.

“Not bad.” Lightning yanked Mangler’s head forward, so they could stare into each others eyes. “But not nearly good enough.”

WHAM.

Her uppercut lifted the chocobo off his feet and tossed him back like a sack of angry, startled potatoes. He hit the ground awkwardly and scrambled to his feet, eyes wide, Aura blazing around him like an inferno.

“KWEEEEEEHHHHHH!”

“Oh?” Lightning raised one eyebrow. “So you still want to fight. Fine. You thought that punch hurt, I’ve got a dozen more just like it waiting for you.” She waved the chocobo forward. “Now, stop standing there like an idiot. Are you going to attack or not?”

“KWEEEEEEEEEEEEEH -”

WHAM.

A right cross dropped Mangler again. The chocobo was a little slower to get up this time. Rather than charge forward, he began to circle warily. He’d fought humans and Faunus before. He hadn’t always won. Sazh, for instance, had beaten him in a fight, but even when he’d lost, it had never been easy for his opponent. It had always been a struggle. This... this wasn’t even a fight. But he had his pride as a chocobo. As long as he lived, he would fight!

“KWEEEEH!”

WHAM.

X    X     X

Snow turned to look at Caius. “Am I the only one terrified here?”

“No,” Caius said. “I think it’s normal to be scared of someone who is using the biggest, scariest chocobo I have ever seen in my entire life as a punching bag.”

“I don’t know,” Fang said. “Lightning’s still a jerk, but this is kind of hot.”

Snow and Caius stared at her.

“What?” Snow asked. “Are you serious?”

“Totally,” Fang said. “I like a woman who can handle herself in a fight. Now, if you could just fix her personality, Lightning would be perfect.” She smirked. “Besides, I’m not going to accept criticism about my taste in women from a guy whose girlfriend can stop time and another guy whose girlfriend can see the future.”

“Point taken,” Caius conceded. “Look. I think they’re just about done.”

X    X     X

Lightning walked over to the downed chocobo. Mangler had finally run out of steam. She had to admit that he’d lasted longer than she’d thought, and if he’d been fighting anyone else, he might have stood a chance. It wasn’t arrogance to say that with Saviour, he was never going to win. Oh, she could have beaten him without it, but it would have been a lot tougher. 

“So... you’re accepting defeat?” 

Mangler snarled and stumbled to his feet again.

“I see. You’re like that, are you?” Lightning turned on her heel. “I can respect that. There’s no quit in me, and I can see there’s no quit in you either. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be my chocobo whenever we’ve got a mission in this area.”

Mangler watched her go, but he didn’t attack.

X    X     X

Author’s Notes

And thus Lightning met Mangler. If there’s one thing Mangler respects, it’s strength. Lightning is strong, and he can respect her attitude. From that day onward, whenever Lightning needed a chocobo in that area, Mangler was her chocobo. Also, note Fang’s attitude to Lightning. This is set much earlier on in the timeline, back before Team LFSC had really become friends.

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