The Blood of Dawn!

In the mountains of Asgard a group of Storm Giants — Horvald, Grolf, Aslak — have been drunkenly stumbling around all night. Exhausted all they want to do is get back home. As dawn begins to rise they come upon the home Solveig, a smaller giant woman who is going about her daily chores. When they confront her they learn that she is Vidar, the bastard half-giant son of Odin. Considering Vidar a traitor to their kind, the three Storm-Giants slaughter Sloveig’s goats and when she tries to stop them she is fatally stabbed. That’s when Horvald notices a beautiful golden belt fashioned for Sloveig by Vidar and decides to take it from her body.

Moments later, Vidar returns home from the morning hunt and is horrified to discover that his wife has been murdered. After preparing a funeral pyre for Sloveig’s body, Vidar goes into his cottage and retreives his weapons and helmet.

Later that day, in the kingdom of Asgard, the gods are in the midst of a celebration when Vidar comes barging in. Thor and the others see this as an insult as Vidar is not allowed in Asgard. However, Vidar shames his father — Odin — by pointing out that he allows Loki to reside in the kingdom but not Vidar. That’s when Thor picks a fight with Vidar for insulting their father. The thunder god is surprised when Vidar’s enchanted stick is able to deflect blows from Mjolnir. Not wishing to see his sons fight, Odin quickly breaks them up and, upon hearing Vidar’s desire for vengeance, sends him off with Thor and Hoder to find Sloveig’s killers. Odin hopes that with the two Asgardians by his side, Vidar will not let his thirst for revenge cloud his sense of justice.

Meanwhile, in Jotunheim, the Storm-Giants have returned to their castle. There they are annoyed by Horvald’s wife, Thrunhilde. Hung over, Horvald slaps his wife and tells her to get them more honeyed wine to drink. As her husband storms off, Thrunhilde notices the golden belt of Sloveig hanging out her husband’s pocket and is instantly taken by it.

Not far away, Vidar and his companions are crossing the treacherous canyons into Jotunheim when they hear cries for help. While Thor and Hoder wish to aid those in need, Vidar refuses to stop and goes ahead. Thor and Hoder look around and find dwarves who made the mistake of trying to scale a sheer cliff to get at some eagle eggs. Thor saves their lives and then leaves to catch up with Vidar.

In a nearby forest, Vidar comes upon what appear to be two warriors from Asgard who are out hunting for Storm-Giants. They suggest Vidar team-up with them and lure him deep into the woods. There the two “Asgardians” drop their disguise, revealing that they are actually two wolf gods. Although Vidar is able to fight them off with his enchanted fighting stick he is wounded in the attack. That’s when Thor and Hoder arrive and, having witnessed what had just happened, Thor points out the folly of Vidar going off on his own.

Back at the castle, the Storm-Giants have drank themselves to sleep. While they slumber, Thrunhilde enters the room to clean up and sees the golden belt once more. She decides to put it on and wear it while her husband sleeps.

By this time, Vidar and the others have set up camp for the night. While Thor and Hoder quickly fall asleep, Vidar tosses and turns. Unable to get the thought of his wife out of his mind, the half-giant decides to continue his hunt alone. By dawn, he has arrived at a stream outside the killer’s castle where he finds Thrunhilde and accuses her of being responsible for the death of Sloveig. When Thrunhilde tries to profess her innocense, Vidar refuses to listen and fatally stabs her with his sword. That’s when the three Storm-Giants come outside and catch Vidar collecting his wife’s belt and attack him. Vidar tries to defend himself but he slips on Thrunhilde’s blood and knocks himself out. Taken prisoner by the giants, Vidar is taken into the castle dungeon to be tortured.

That’s when Hoder is awoken by a vision of Vidar’s predicament and he wakes Thor to tell him what has happened. They race to the castle where Thor goes in alone and rescued Vidar. In the ensuing clash, some red hot spears are knocked over into some hay and start a massive fire, prompting Vidar’s tormentors to try and flee. Thor rescues Vidar and as they make their way out, they discover that the Storm-Giants have been trapped on the castle draw-bridge by Hoder, who has kept it propped up using Vidar’s enchanted staff. Thor knocks the giants out with Mjolnir and they escape the castle.

In the aftermath of their escape, Vidar wants to slay the three giants for murdering his wife but Thor stays his hand. Thor reminds Vidar that blind revenge lead to the death of an innocent woman, Thrunhilde, and they convince him to let the Storm-Giants face Asgardian justice instead. Vidar thanks Thor and Hoder for helping him see the truth and they ride back to his home. There, Vidar finds Odin waiting at his home, having come out so that they can mourn Sloveig’s loss together.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Vidar, Hoder, Odin, Frigga, Hugin, Munin

Continuity Notes

• In this story, it is stated multiple times that Vidar is fated to have an important role in the future. This is likely in reference to Norse mythology which tells how Vidar played a central role in Ragnarok by slaying the Fenris wolf. A version of Vidar was witnessed surviving the previous Ragnarok cycle in Thor #293-294. That version of the character was allegedly merged with others to become the latest incarnation of Odin.

Island in the Sky

The Watcher looks back on a key moment in the past history of the Inhumans. Centuries ago, there was an offshoot of Inhumanity, the Avians, so called because they all had wings and could fly. They saw themselves as superior to their earthbound brothers. Their leader, Kylus, found it outrageous that they were forced to live in hiding and brought his complaints to King Nestor, the leader of the Inhumans at the time.

Seeking to placate the unhappy Avians, Nestor agreed to construct a separate city for the flying Inhumans that would hover above Attilan. Even with their new home, the Aerie, the flying Inhumans treated the others like they were beneath them. One Avian, the bat-winged Cheiros pleaded with Kylus to make peace with their brothers. Having gone mad with power, Kylus ordered all Avians without feathered wings to be put to death, only Cheiros was kept alive and tortured for daring to speak up against their king. Despite this, Cheiros still preached peace and understanding.

However, the earthbound Inhumans had enough of their Avian brothers and decided to cut the Aerie loose from Attilan. At first, the Avians were overjoyed with this newfound freedom. However, they quickly discovered that they did not have the resources to sustain themselves. For a time the plundered the world of man for food, lending to the creation of the myth of the Harpies. Eventually, the Avians cut fertile land loose from the surface and attached it to their floating island so they could sustain themselves independently. Eventually, Kylus grew to become a wise ruler but even in death, the blood that was shed to create the Aerie was not forgotten by its people.

In the year 1920, a human aircraft crash landed on the Aerie and the lone survivor was a human baby. By this time, the Avians were ruled by King Aerivar the 18th who decided to raise the child as his own and so it would become the champion of his people.[1] They fashioned bat-like wings in memory of the great Cheiros for the child to wear. This child would grow up to become the hero known as the Red Raven.[2]

Recurring Characters

Watcher, King Aerivar, Red Raven

Continuity Notes

1. This is recounting the Red Raven’s origins as they were told in Red Raven Comics #1.

2. This story states that the Avian’s fate has already been told this is in reference to X-Men #44 and Sub-Mariner #26, which saw the Aerie crash into the ocean and its people seemingly killed. Nova (vol. 3) #4-5 reveals that the Red Raven faked his death and the destruction of his people so they could go back into hiding.