Historical discovery prompts new city symbol

A unique discovery about Eldaro’s most prominent family’s lineage was recently made public. It unveiled that there is a descendant living among us. Such heritage earns a lot of respect in our country which is why the inhabitants of one of our major cities, Fossilium, decided to honour it by naming her symbol of the city.

Recently, historians came across an important discovery while going through the possessions of late Mr. Jackson, member of The council of Elders. His daughter called in the help of a few experts to prepare her father’s collections for an auction. They found a series of personal letters from 1718 in which a woman told her secret lover that she was pregnant. Unfortunately, the man was married and therefore denied being the father and all additional responsibilities. This proved to be rather unfortunate for the woman concerned, but proves to be of great value to our historians centuries later. It has in fact helped to fill in the gaps in the family tree of our founding father Sir Edward Johnson, documenting the lineage all the way from 1147 to today. This new bit of information proves that Elenore Smith, oldest person alive and proud inhabitant of Eldaro, is a direct descendant of his. Her children moved abroad years ago which means the bloodline is preserved and continues to live globally.

The inhabitants of Fossilium, the city where Elenore lives, attach great value to our country’s history. Upon hearing the news, they unanimously decided to honour their fellow citizen by nominating her to become the new symbol of the city. After the motion was passed, the inhabitants organised a ceremony on Atunuu, the day on which the foundation of Eldaro is celebrated. This extraordinary festivity created a connection between our past and the present.

Despite having a packed schedule ever since the discovery, she took the time to do an interview:

Did you know that you were related to Sir Edward Johnson prior to the discovery?

“No I did not. I do have a family tree at home, but no one is keeping track of it. It is quite astonishing that it goes back to the twelfth century. I almost didn’t believe it – I look nothing like the man! I never really cared much about history you see but this revelation makes me wish that I knew more about my ancestors. Perhaps when I die, Inkeri and Ibis will let me meet him before I go to the promised land. My children are more excited about this discovery than I am. I feel like it doesn’t really change anything for me – except for becoming the city’s symbol of course.”

What is it like to be the symbol of Fossilium?

“I don’t feel much like a symbol yet, I’m still waiting for my statue [jokingly]! My life was rather calm before this. Now people I don’t know are asking me to visit these ‘sacred’ places linked to our founder as if I possessed some kind of ancestral magic. The people in my city already know me well. I guess they like me because I’m the oldest and they see me walking around the city, visiting and helping. Being an honorary member of society does have its advantages though. I won’t refuse any freebies!”

You’ve been living in Eldaro all your life – what is that like?

“I’m proud of my country. As a child it was like growing up in a paradise – something new and interesting around every corner. Some of my friends moved abroad with their parents but I was home-schooled. That made it hard to leave it all behind for college so I just didn’t. One of our neighbours was a retired professor and helped me get my degree so I could stay here. It was around that time that I realised I loved this country. I never told my parents, but I have an owl tattoo because Eldaro is such a huge part of me. It’s been 113 years so far and I hope that I can stay here a little longer. Thanks to the Healing Potions that I’ve been taking all my life, who knows how much longer I will last!”

A unique discovery led to an extraordinary ceremony with great symbolism. An occasion where history revived. That prompted a nationwide treasure hunt in people’s family heritage – you never know what you might find! Let us all pray that Elenore lives a long and prosperous life and that the bloodline of our founder continues for as long as Eldaro exists.