18 August: Reykjavik

Reykjavik was granted market rights on this date in 1786. 10 things you might not know about the capital of Iceland:

1. At two degrees south of the Arctic Circle at a latitude of 64 degrees and 8 minutes north, it’s the northernmost capital city in the world.

2. The name is derived from the Old Norse words reykr ('smoke') and vík ('bay'). Steam rising from hot springs in the region inspired the name.

3. About 63% of the country’s population (236,518) live in the Reykjavík Capital area.

4. Reykjavík is believed to be the first permanent settlement in Iceland, which, according to Landnámabók, was established by Ingólfr Arnarson in 874 CE.

5. Reykjavík was designated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2011. It was the first non-native English-speaking city to receive this designation, and the fifth in the world.

6. In 1924 it was illegal to own a Dog in Reykjavik. The thinking behind it was that dogs were working animals and not suited to life in a small apartment. Plus, they might be carrying tapeworms. In 1984, Minister of Finance, Albert Guðmundsson was ordered to give up his mongrel, Lucy, and this caused a media frenzy, leading to the law being changed so people could apply for exemptions to the ban. It was 2006 before the ban was lifted completely. This might explain why there might be as many as 20,000 Cats in the capital region or one cat for every ten people.

7. Reykjavík is the only Western European capital without a McDonalds or a Starbucks.

8. The tallest building in the city is Hallgrimskirkja, a 240-foot tall Evangelical Lutheran church. It which opened in 1986, and is home to a 25-ton, 5275-pipe organ, installed in 1992.

9. There are no forests in Iceland and no lime deposits, which means that people in Reykjavík lived in turf houses into the 1960s.

10. Reykjavík is the only capital city in the world that is home to a major puffin breeding colony. They live on Akurey island, west of the old harbour in Reykjavík.

Character birthday

Oracle, aka Roma Cameron. Roma was bullied at school because of her height and her ability to predict the future, which her classmates saw as “creepy”. A misfit with no friends, she ran away and lived rough for a time. She experimented with drugs to try and dampen her predictive power, but her habit got out of hand. At his point, she came to Shadow's attention. While most professionals recommended rehab, Shadow guessed what Roma needed was an environment where her ability could be nurtured and there were others with strange powers. Shadow was outvoted and Roma was sent to rehab, but once she'd been weaned off the drugs, found she was being bullied and ostracised for being creepy just like at school. She ran away again and turned up at Ultra-Grav's mansion. She moved in there and became friends with Slime Girl, Indigo Child and Porcupine. She appears in Fire in Her Blood.

Fire in her Blood

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

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