Historical
Cyantia, and all related works are copyright of Tiffany Ross.
Avistarians
Avistarians are also immigrants, having settled on one of the moons of
Cyantia. They Resemble Anthropomorphic birds.
Culture
Someone has to be at the bottom of the heap. Someone has to have the crappy jobs for little pay, someone has to live hand-to-mouth. Someone has to be the loan sharks and the usurers. Someone has to mix the drugs that the indulgent rich partake of, while punishing their suppliers to make sure they know who's boss. Someone has to exist in tenements designed for rats and built seemingly several millennia ago. Someone has to exist so even the poor can look down on them and think "I'm glad I'm not them". On Earth, this sad story has repeated itself over and over, with different nationalities playing host to the majorities ire. For example, in Europe up to the 19th century, the favorite target was the Jew, who was supplanted when international slavery really took off
On Avistery, it's been the flightless bird - not just the penguin, but any flightless bird.. And well. Just look at them, would you? They look a bit like us, walk a bit like us, talk a bit like us, but in the end, they sure as hell aren't like us. Because they can't fly. Isn't that obscene? An Avistarian who should be able to comb the skies is stuck on the ground like those disgusting foxes. Why, I wager those clippys (clipped wings) are in cahoots with god know who or what. So, you can walk into my shop, but you better keep your hands where I can see them. You can spend your dirty money, but I'm going to check twice and if I find any credit fraud, then I'll have the law down on you. Don't sit in that seat. Sit where I tell you to.
Originally, there was class distinction on plumage and form as well, so this could be a secondary level.. you're flightless, you're a penguin, you're on the bottom of the totem pole,.... right next to the Kiwi.
Oh, there are a few, carefully planned escapes. For penguins, their tough and dependable selves have always been welcomed in the military as grunts and marines. And they're lauded for it. That's right. Go fight our wars for us. Go die for us You'll never make any rank above sergeant (but we won't tell you that). In fact penguins are required to serve in the military for at least two years, or else to serve two years of community Service. (Normally this consists of heavy labor, overseen by flighted birds who generally regard the "clippys" with contempt.)
Avistarians
