Lenore Delamore

**Lenore Delamore** is played by hayleeeri.

## Early Life

*How shall the ritual, then, be read?—the requiem how be sung*

*By you—by yours, the evil eye,—by yours, the slanderous tongue*

*That did to death the innocence that died, and died so young?*

Little Anna Delamore always had the ravens to keep her company; her very own treachery when her real family could not be there for her.

As an only child, she was left to her own devices and kept in the dark as her parents, James and Emma, lived their busy lives in a powerful London gang. They had a shotgun wedding when they learned Emma was pregnant, forcing them into a connection that neither was prepared for. Anna grew up anticipating the next fleeting, loving moment she had with her parents, before they were whisked away to their duties yet again. They were simple times, such as sitting on her mother’s lap as she knit, or playing in her father’s office by the grand fire, but fleeting nonetheless. This unpredictable atmosphere upset Anna, but she didn’t let it show - it’s as if she was always the one to stay silent when others needed their time more. She was vaguely aware of her parents’ activities, and was kept far away – not necessarily from a place of protection, but from their attention being elsewhere. They forgot her birthdays. They were unaware that she was bullied by other children. They simply paid for her schooling and left her be.

Luckily, Anna was a voracious learner, becoming enraptured by literature, and feeling drawn to darker works. She eagerly read any tawdry penny dreadful she could get her hands on, and quickly developed a love for what became her favorite author of all time, Edgar Allan Poe. She poured herself over his macabre stories and poetry, devoting hours to reading in the park, close to her ravens. And when she was separated from them, she would write stories of her own that allowed her to be anywhere she could imagine, far away from this cold, dangerous city, wishing for another tomorrow. It didn’t take long for her to develop a reputation as the odd, creepy girl, which only increased the bullying, one encounter leaving her with a scar down the right side of her face and affected vision.

Anna’s solitary life away from her family’s business was shattered one day during a gang war that broke out in London. In a risky move, James Delamore betrayed his own gang and leaked information to his rivals, the Rippers – information that resulted in the death of his former boss on what was usually a bombastic night of celebration in London. Stepping up to the plate was the boss’s son, Carver Crowley, ready for his first act in the role to be one of vengeance.

It didn’t take long for Crowley to find the Delamores and comfortably slither into their lives, appearing on their doorstep one day to shoot Emma in cold blood. There wasn’t the slightest hesitation on Crowley’s part as he began his relentless torture of James, savoring every moment of agony before killing him as well, all in front of an eighteen year old Anna, tied up in the corner. He left her unharmed, letting her serve as a reminder to those who dare to betray him. Anna had lived adjacent to gangs and violence, but such a personal and gruesome encounter made her swear away ever living in a nightmare like this. She will not draw blood. She will not be like him.

The last Delamore felt a watchful presence, an evil eye, haunting her every step as she navigated a life truly alone, or so it only seemed. Wary of what could appear around every corner, what intentions could be behind the suspicious glances of every stranger on the street. For five years, Anna kept as low-profile as possible, but still failed to avoid the intermittent terror of Crowley. He made her fears a reality as he paid a visit to Anna ever so often, claiming that she owes recompense in order to ensure her already precarious safety. He spared her once. He wanted her to remember that kindness. It was only a matter of time until she became a detached soul, floating on the river, with a calm demeanor to cover her pain and distress - before she took the plunge and disappeared from London. It was no longer her home; there was nothing left for her but suffering.

She renamed herself Lenore, after the Edgar Allan Poe poem - a name that, despite being seeped in grief and loneliness, also holds a promise of a new life, floating weightlessly away from her fraught past.

Armed with perseverance and a new identity, Lenore makes her way across the Atlantic.