History is not the past, but a map of the past, drawn from a particular point of view, to be useful to the modern traveller.
- Henry Glassie, US historian (1941- )
Grace Anne Poe was born into a world where she didn’t belong. Her mother was never home, leaving her older brother, Jonathan, to tend after her while she worked long hours as a nurse at the local hospital. Her father had never learned of her existence, once again leaving that role to be filled by her big brother.
She had always felt like she was in the wrong town, the wrong country, the wrong day, the wrong year. She took the first plane out of Buffalo, New York a week after she graduated from high school. She enrolled at the King’s College in London, entering her first year with a major in journalism.
After interning her last year of university with BBC News, she gained an offer of employment upon graduation. She spent the next few years traveling the world to report on assignments near and far. But, that all came crashing down when her older brother died suddenly in a drowning accident, trying to save a young child. Her mother had passed several years prior, and everything to the Poe name was being left to her.
So, she packed her bags and returned to a town she had never felt truly comfortable being in. She began to write freelance, still jetting all over the globe for jobs, but returning to the grand ol’ state of New York when she had down time. Trying to figure out her next move.
Until she got that letter…
Jonathan Poe
Two days after Derrick Poe’s death, a letter arrived at Jonathan Poe’s home. In it was the keys to a cabin that was located deep in the forests of Canada, telling Johnathan that the property belonged to Martin Poe when he needed to get away.
However, Jonathan was not there to receive the message and it was delivered to Grace, instead. The letter would cause her search her home - which she inherited from her brother. She eventually found a journal, with letters from the one and only Derrick Poe. The correspondence went back years between the two men. They spoke of hunting and life in general, but Derrick also mentioned a place called Rhy’din, giving Jonathan detailed instructions on how to go about getting there should the need arise.
Derrick Poe
She also learned through the letters that Jonathan had two siblings; Derrick and Simon Poe. Jonathan’s mother, Janice, had married Martin Poe. After they welcomed their first baby boy, Janice couldn’t bring herself to accept the dangers of what Martin did, and the marriage ended in divorce two years later. Janice kept the last name Poe, so as to keep the same family name as her child. Martin couldn’t be the father he needed to be to Jonathan, so he agreed to cut off all contact to keep the family safe.
Twelve long years later, Grace was born. The newest and quite unexpected addition was the product of a very unhealthy and extremely short lived relationship. Janice never informed the father of the conception. So, the baby girl was also given the family name Poe, just like her elder brother.