Elam the Duck is an image found across time and space. The image is left in materials of the time period it is left in. It has taken form as a wood carving, cave painting, spray paint, and even a carving in the wood of a school desk on Earth found in Los Angeles of 1973.
First Recorded Instance
The earliest known example of Elam the Duck was found in a painting on the Klingon home world Qo'noS dating back to the Earth calendar year of 6892 BCE. The image if painting in authentic paints derived from animal blood and various plant proteins of the time period and other than the image itself shows no abnormalities about it.
Cultural Impact
While the image has appeared several times in a variety of cultures it seems to always become a minor footnote to history. There have been some attempts to connect the dots between different occurrences and at times archeologists have posited some unknown connection between different races, though none have grown to any amount rigorous acceptance in academia or the media.
Origins
The practice of leaving this image began after a routine mission to Earth in 1981 went sour and the lead operative on the ground, Leon Gray was killed by a stray bullet in a bar-room brawl. There is no definitive record of which of the team was first to leave the image but agents returning to the bar to complete the failed mission noted it's appearance on the wall behind the stage with the words, "Elam's angry, we are all angry." written under it. The use of the name Elam remains a mystery, though the image of the duck is likely a reference to Leon Gray's nick name of Ducky. Since then Temporal Operatives began to leave the image in discrete and out-of-the-way places throughout the timeline, especially where operatives have fallen or been injured though it also appears in instances where operatives have had difficult missions in other ways.
Temporal Operatives note that seeing the image gives them hope in a very uncertain job. While regulations prohibit the leaving of any symbols or artwork which might corrupt the timeline, no one has ever been punished for leaving the symbol. Messages under the duck are rare, but have been noted as being jokes or one-liners heard locally. Solas Tempus has not released its knowledge of the meaning of the duck symbol. Leaving the symbol is frowned upon by higher level command personnel, but so far no direct attempts to stop it being left have been undertaken.