Murder of Crows

LEE FAMILY

Set in fantasy Boston, Massachusetts, criminals and gang members ruled the streets at the end of the 1920s. There were others as well, like revolutionists and government workers who tried to control the people. One of the most feared gangs of all was the Murder of Crows, run by the large and proud Lee Family. 

A group, or flock of crows is sometimes called a murder.

The Lee family were of Chinese-Eurasian descent. The mother side was of Tatar heritage, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups, however some of their traditions were either changed or created through generations.

Abraham Lee

Abraham Lee was the reigning leader of the gang before passing the role onto his eldest son. Abe is considered the Elder of the family and the gang. He is married to Damira Mardanshina, a nomad whose family resided in the countryside of upstate New York. They were wedded to form an alliance between the Murder of Crows and the Mardanshina Family. 

The two gave birth to: Heimeric, the eldest and first born son; Beryl, the eldest daughter; Claudius, the second born son; and Elisebeth, the youngest and second born daughter.

Full Name: Abraham Lee

Birth Name: Li Zhi Peng

Born: 1868-1938

Spouse: Damira Mardanshina (m. 1896-1938)

Heimeric “Henry” married Josephine “Josie” Bigotes, the eldest daughter of the Bigotes, a Latin criminal family that is known for smuggling various items for the black market. He chose his bride to be after she and her brother delivered the weapons to the Lee Family Home. After winning her father’s approval, promising him that the Murder of Crows will always protect any Bigotes from harm, they wedded on the beautiful fields of upstate New York. 

The two gave birth to: Elias, the eldest and first born son; Ambrose, the second son; Cain, the third son; and Lucia, the youngest and only daughter. 

Before having met Josie, Henry was already romantically involved with Marion Rees, an older woman who was from an old money family. Both families did not approve of their affair therefore Marion ended it for both of their sake.

Beryl married Elphege Maher, a World War I veteran, after the two met in a pub and fell in love. The men of the family felt that the skills and strength of a war veteran would be useful towards protecting the gang.

The two gave birth to: Aalis, the eldest and first born daughter; Eveline, the second born daughter; and Solomon, the youngest and only son.

Elphege would then be killed by one of the Pagano Family members in 1931, after the Murder of Crows came to sort some business out at the New Years party the Paganos were throwing. He was shot in the heart, causing a shoot out from both sides.

 A year later, Beryl would meet Investigator Osgard Grant, who was trying to find the whereabouts of the O’Dwyer Family, a ruthless Irish criminal family. The two eventually paired up to solve and end the doings of the O’Dwyers, before more innocents get killed. During this unexpected event, the two eventually fell in love, however they never confessed nor expressed their deepest desires. Beryl would soon say her goodbyes to Grant after finishing the case and only then would they finally express one form of their love for each other. A kiss. He left on a boat and was never seen again, though it was believed that she went to see him secretly one last time at the docks.

Many years later, the Azzopardi Family would form an alliance with the Murder of Crows to grow in both physical and mental strength. Tomasso “Thomas” Azzopardi was the second eldest of the family and therefore he was not going to become the head of the family anytime soon. He became close with Beryl and her children and they would see him as a father figure. The two fell in love and wedded shortly after, as he continued to stay by her side to the end.

Claudius “Claude” married Maisie Cameron young, after the two met during Claude’s stay in upstate New York with his relatives.

The two gave birth to: Titan, the eldest and first born son; Kronos, the second son; and Deisie, the youngest of the three and only daughter.

Maisie was a sweet farm girl who eventually passed away in 1927 from an illness, leaving him to raise his three children alone, with the help of his family. He soon met a woman named Mae Monasterio on the train home, who looked very similar to his late wife, causing him to form an attraction towards her. During a stormy night, an avalanche blocked the tracks up ahead and left the passengers to be stranded for two days before getting the train up and running again. They began a small romantic relationship that would only last those two days, as the two would realize that they weren’t ready just yet.

A few years went by and Claude would marry the French beauty, Jane Bissett, from a family that makes bullets and blades back in France. Jane would have her father secretly import the Murder of Crows these necessities and therefore the group would never be low on ammunition.

The two gave birth to: Atticus, the third son and fourth youngest; and Kyte, the youngest of the five and fourth son.

Claude tragically passed away in 1937, when the O’Dwyer family threatened the Murder of Crows for everything in the past. He was with his wife and children at their summer home for vacation when the O’Dwyer’s men came for a drive by. They shot down the defenseless Claude when he went out to get the mail from the postman, who was secretly one of the O’Dwyer’s men.

Elisebeth “Elsie” married Bram Karagiannis, son of Greek farmers in Staten Island, after the Lee family had allowed the Karagiannis Family to be a part of the Murder of Crows. They had relatives who worked in Worcester, where the connection began. They provided produce and meat for the Lee family. Two years after Bram came back from fighting in WWI, both families decided to wed him to the youngest daughter of the family, to keep the loyalty stronger.

The two gave birth to: Miles, the eldest and first born son; Theophilius, the second son; and Dinara, the youngest of the three and only daughter of Bram. 

She would lose Bram to the Pagano family in 1929, the same year of his daughter’s birth, after they kidnapped and tortured him for information. He never spilled any of their secrets and was shot in the head.

 Four years later, Henry arranged his good friend Phineas Archer, who recently joined the gang, to marry his sister who was still young and in need of someone to not only look after her but also her children. Henry brought him to his own wedding without informing him but Phineas went along with it anyway. Phineas’s parents owned a tailor shop that made the Murder of Crows clothes. The two fell in love and he stayed by her side to the end. 

The two gave birth to: Artemis, the youngest of the four and second daughter.

To be continued…