Actually, I think Red was based off of some old native american entities. Given the whole Cosmo Canyon's theme, he comes off pretty close. It has, however, been a VERY long time since my native mythology was brushed up upon. But there were, in the southeastern US (navajo area), myths of a "race" of intelligent, coyote/wolf type ancestor spirits. Asking what Red is pretty much falls along the lines of asking what a Pheonix or Ifrit is.