The Red Raven: Pre-History

The Origin of the Bird-People and Sky-Isle.

The origins of the Sky-Isle date back to the days when the human race was young. Untold millennia ago, the highly advanced alien Kree selectively evolved a small portion of the human population into something... Inhuman. After the aliens left, their mark remained. The Inhumans isolated themselves from the genetically inferior humanity, and evolved into a myriad of strange forms over the centuries.

3,000 years ago
During the reign of King Nestor, an increasingly large number of winged Inhumans became dissatisfied with life within the sequestered city of Attilan. Seeing themselves as genetically superior to their non-winged cousins, they demanded the freedom to fly wherever they chose.

Kylus, the most arrogant of the winged Inhumans, finally convinced Nestor to compromise. The king agreed to have a separate city built on a high pylon that would belong only to the winged ones, while remaining part of the protected city of Attilan. The new city, built by winged and non-winged alike, would be called Aerie. Aerie was held aloft by anti-gravitic engines and tethered to Attilan by a tall pylon. Although the demands of the winged Inhumans were met, peace did not last. Winged Inhumans considered it their right to dump trash and waste on the city bellow, and the non-winged Inhumans resented their cousins, and often attacked winged Inhumans on sight. To make matters worse, leaders among the winged community began to form a ruling council, with Kylus as the presumed leader. Cheiros, one of the minority of winged Inhumans who did not have white feathered wings, challenged Kylus. Cheiros (whose red bat-like wings mark him as the possibly the first Red Raven) believed that all Inhumans, no matter their shape or abilities, could live in harmony together. His dream of a peaceful coexistence was met with scorn and hatred as Kylus and his followers officially announced their intention to secede from Attilan with Kylus as their new king. Under Kylus' orders, any non-winged Inhuman found near Aerie or its pylon was to be shot and killed, and all winged Inhumans who did not have white feathered wings were ordered killed. Cheiros, the last non-feathered Inhuman to die, was crucified. Even as he hung dying, he left a parting message for the winged Inhumans: "I am not your enemy. Fear is your enemy. And love your only friend. Kill me, but remember that."

At that very moment, the ground-dwelling Inhumans let their displeasure be known. Under King Nestor's orders, the connection between Aerie and Attilan was severed, leaving the city to drift helplessly as its inhabitants were left without supplies of food or water.

In the months that followed, the Bird-People took to stealing human livestock for food, and soon they had mastered the anti-gravitic technology. They carved out a large portion of dry land and surrounded their city with it, creating a true Sky-Isle. (All of that seen in Thor Annual #12, in a back-up story)

Over the next several years Kylus softened, becoming a wise ruler, and avian scientists were able to stabilize their genetic deviations. Where the Inhumans develop into all forms of unique and sometimes grotesque bodies, all avians were given a standardized biology.