A Manta convoy being led by Rohn and some of his other fellow Burners in Serpent Strait.
Mantas are airborne beasts of burden used by both Mokai and Asylians. They are the equivalent of today's aerial bomber, only much more immense and vulnerable. Mantas could be recognized from a distance by their size, paleness, "wings", and by their giant, grotesque jaws.
Appearance[]
Mantas are huge in stature; it is unknown how immense they really are, but we know that they must have be humongous compared to humans considering how big they look in comparison to dragons, who, by themselves, are much bigger than humans.
Mantas also appear to be quite bony. In fact, it is believed that they are mainly skin and bones, with very little muscle. This would partially account for why they are so weak even though they are so huge.
Mantas are also very pale in appearence, so pale in fact that a human could probably see a Manta from miles away in broad daylight. At night or early morning, however, it is slightly harder to see them, and only a trained eye would be able to spot them.
At first glance, Mantas appear to have no eyes. However, if you look closely at them, you will see that Mantas do have eyes, only not where most humans would imagine. These eyes are located directly on the side of their heads, under the slits near their throats.
Mantas also have multiple tails. It seems that evolution is to blame for these multiple tails, but their possible uses are quite speculative at best. In fact, they might have just been for show to attract females; the more tails a male has, the more attractive he would be. This is the most logical and reasonable use of these tails, though it is still speculation and subject to change at any time should a Lair II be released.
Mantas also possess a kind of "wings" which allow them to remain aerial-borne, with the help of inner gases contained in somewhat of a "gas bladder".
Physical Characteristics[]
A Manta exploding from taking too much damage.
Despite being huge in stature, Mantas are actually some of the weakest creatures you can find in the world of Lair. Their skin is very thin; one stream of fire from a dragon could make them bleed excessively to the point of extreme pain (you can tell they are in pain when they make a kind of distressing, almost roaring noise). In fact, their skin is so vulnerable that it only takes two big fireballs from any kind of dragon to finish them off in a massive explosion. The only reason Mantas explode from two big fireballs is because of the gases that keep them afloat in the air; the fireballs ignite the gases, blowing up the Mantas.
Mantas are also very quiet when they move about (unless they utter their characteristic almost-roaring sounds). This is due to the fact that their gases keep most of their weight in the air, allowing their wings to have so little weight to hold up that Mantas can flap them very gently without making much sound.
There is a disadvantage to having such small wings, however: Mantas can only fly very slowly, and when they are coaxed into an extremely fast dash (which has been seen happening only once in Lair), it seems to almost kill them, due to the effort they put out to fly that fast (even with the aid of their "gas bladder"). Though there is relatively little weight for the wings of a Manta to support (due to their "gas bladders"), a Manta's wings are still not very efficient at holding up the remainder of their weight. While flying fast, many Mantas would be strained to flap their wings hard enough to keep the remainder of their weight in the air, while flying slow offers an advantage to Mantas by allowing them to exert as little effort as possible into making sure they remain airborne. Mantas have evolution to thank for this weird, yet in some ways sensible, adaptation.
Uses[]
Mantas were used by both sides in the Great Reformation War as beasts of burden, and they looked as if they had been utilized in that way for centuries. Therefore, it is safe to say that they have been used for war for hundreds of years.
Rohn hurries to protect his Manta convoy during the Skirmish of Serpent Strait.
Mantas are used as bombers by both Asylians and Mokai, and they are very advantageous to have in that field for several reasons. First, they can carry huge amounts of bombs due to their giant stature. Second, not only can they drop bombs, but they can also carry bombs for dragons to drop, which is very advantageous should a dragon be able to reach a place that needs bombed that a Manta cannot possibly go, like a small, narrow cave. Finally, Mantas are usually used in large numbers, so with the amount of bombs they can carry, these groups of Mantas can decimate entire cities within minutes.
However, there are disadvantages to using Mantas; firstly, their extreme vulnerability. Two hits from large fireballs and they're done for; a huge drawback if you are trying to destroy a city with an extensive dragon rider protection system. The other disadvantage is the fact that Mantas are so incredibly slow unless coaxed (or forced) to move fast, which sometimes makes them sitting ducks for enemy ballistas, catapults, and flak cannons. However, these are the only disadvantages to using Mantas, and when used in great numbers, one Manta lost is worth hundreds upon thousands of enemy troops and/or much siege equipment lost (unless the Mantas are taken out quickly).
Mantas are also given their own special armor which allows them to carry and drop bombs. To drop bombs, Mantas have a special stomach bomb-dropping bay, in which men specially trained to drop the bombs open a large door in the center of the bay and unload their cargo upon the enemy. This stomach dropping bay is connected to the armor at the top of the Manta where the dragon-guided bombs are held. These bombs are located here to give the dragons an easier time with retrieving them, allowing dragons to just grab and drop. This adds much speed to dragon bombing, allowing the tide of battle to turn much more quickly for one side than the other. This armor offers little protection to the Mantas, though. In fact, the "armor" is more of a weapon; however, considering that in groups Mantas can cause extensive damage to enemy fortifications within minutes, this is no problem to the side which holds these Mantas.
Behind the Scenes[]
Mantas are named and modeled after the real life stingrays and manta-rays of our world. Of course, I would hope that you had figured this out sooner.