Rough Rhinos

"fire"

- Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos are legendary. Each one is a different kind of weapon specialist. They are also a very capable singing group.

The Rough Rhinos were an elite group of Fire Nation komodo rhino cavalry. They did not seem to be under the direct control of the military, but instead worked on a freelance basis for the Fire Nation. There were five members of the group, each of whom specialized in a different type of weapon/fighting style; though each of their preferred weapons were not well adapted for close-combat.

History
The Rough Rhinos first met Team Avatar when they ambushed them in a forest near Chin Village. The three friends managed to escape on Appa, leaving Sokka's boomerang as a consolation prize. The group later invaded Chin Village during Aang's trial for the murder of the village's great leader, Chin the Great; they claimed it in name of the Fire Lord and started to destroy part of the village until Aang, Katara and Sokka stopped them. During their fight, Sokka was able to retrieve his lost boomerang. The Rough Rhinos never encountered the Avatar or his friends again.

Some time later, the team of soldiers surrounded Iroh and Zuko when the two fugitives of the Fire Nation were traveling through the Earth Kingdom, near the great Si Wong Desert. After a brief battle, the warriors were bested by the two firebenders, who were able to escape in the chaos ensuing an explosion.

When Team Avatar, Smellerbee and Longshot tried to help Jet to overcome the Dai Li's hypnosis, it was revealed that Colonel Mongke and his men were responsible for the destruction of Jet's village and the murder of his parents.

Members
Their leader, Colonel Mongke, was a talented firebender, though he was overpowered without significant effort by Zuko. He was the only firebender in the group and had served under Iroh in the Fire Nation military at some point in the past. Ogodei and Kahchi preferred Mêlée weaponry; Ogodei carried chains or "bogo" and Kahchi, a halberd. Ogodei sported a similar hairstyle to that of the hammer-and-chain wielding Fire Nation soldier who attacked Aang during the Siege of the North – the only other character to use a weapon of this type. Yeh-Lu specialized in explosives and wore armor that hid his face from view; his face was never seen in the series. Vachir wielded a bow, and frequently used lit arrows, making him the third member to fight with fire, despite there only being one firebender in the group. His facial tattoos suggested that he may have once been a member of the Yu Yan Archers.

Trivia

 * All of the riders' names are based on various Mongolians associated with Genghis Khan.
 * Their name is a pun on the Rough Riders, a horse cavalry once led by Colonel and then President Theodore Roosevelt.
 * Despite their fierce reputation, according to Iroh, they were also a "very capable singing group".
 * Kahchi, with his crescent blade pike and long beard, may be a reference to the legendary general Guan Yu of early Chinese history.
 * Each rider seemed to be related to a different part of the Fire Nation military; Mongke was a firebender, Ogodei was an engineer, Yeh-Lu was a bombardier, Kahchi was a regular infantry soldier and Vachir was a Yu Yan Archer.
 * Although a supposedly fearsome organization, they seemed to be fairly unsuccessful during their appearances in the series.