House Blackley

[Quest]

 

 

Years ago, before civilization took hold in South Tahoma, before the bickering of politicians in black suits and ties, top hats, and handkerchiefs, there stood founding families. These families would crumble into time, much like a leaf crumbles between one's fingers, but the most ruthless and cutthroat Houses stood the test of time. Many fell, leaving behind blood-soaked dirt trails, out of which sprouted murder trees, growing high in a time of bloody capitalist aristocracy.

During this era of prosperous trade deals, legal ethnic massacres, and patricide, one family stood out: Blackley House. What remains of this strange and mysterious house is little more than a crumbling façade of a hotel on the shore of Van Horn, used by squatters as a free-rent outhouse. Behind Van Horn, across the river, lies the old Blackley Manor. Unlike the distant hotel, Blackley Manor remained untouched. Even when old William Blackley was the last Blackley to live inside, none dared approach the crumbling corpse of a manor. Perhaps it was old Blackley and his shotgun that warded off bandits or burglars, but such a simple explanation seemed too mundane for anyone seeking excitement.

The Blackley House naturally had a strange aura surrounding it. Years of inbreeding gave the family a negative reputation, and they did not fit into the newly sprouting New Money families dominating the New World. The Blackley's kept their affairs private, barely running any monetary operations within the state besides the hotel in Van Horn, which became a local hotspot, brothel, and eventually a squatter's paradise. It is said they relied on vast wealth accumulated during the Industrial Era in England, to which they could trace their lineage. Of course, rumors spread like wildfire. One such rumor suggested the Blackley's made a fortune by eradicating Indian tribes, contracting scalp hunters to massacre entire tribes before swooping in to secure land deeds with the government, which was just settling into the State of South Tahoma at the time.

Backroom deals, clammy handshakes, and cigar-smoking built this country, and people like the Blackley's helped secure a future in the New World. Their notoriety and infamy only attracted strange rumors and queer tales, sticking to the family name like flies on cow-patties. While supposedly rolling in vast wealth of blood money, many mystics and believers in the supernatural spoke of devil contracts, demonic orgies, and human sacrifice within the third-generation Blackley House. These rumors stemmed from the belief that the long-forgotten patriarch of Blackley House made a deal with the devil, securing worldly wealth in exchange for not only his soul but the souls of anyone from the direct Blackley bloodline. In 1870, a cousin from the main Blackley line took this seriously, murdering a large portion of the family, including his wife and three children. He claimed it was for a greater good, ending the contract made with the devil. The local newspaper, the name of which long forgotten, swarmed him as a person of interest, and the story of the "Blackley Axe Massacre" reached from New York to Cascadia. However, his mission was incomplete as young William Blackley, excommunicated from the family after running away with a prostitute during his academic studies at Harvard, was forgotten. The axe-murdering cousin hung himself in his cell before his trial, leaving a blood-written warning, "STOP THE CYCLE."

With the death of most of the main-line, William Blackley returned to South Tahoma with his son but no wife. He sold off whatever he could, likely pressed by business rivals, and shut himself off from the public. He was often seen in Saint Denis purchasing strange novels, manuscripts, and ancient scrolls, shunned by the public for his family's sins. His isolation worsened matters as he stewed in self-pity.

Van Horn fell into disrepair, becoming a lawless town of debauchery. Criminals and murderers filled the area, but old William Blackley remained in his Manor, doing God knows what as he raised his son. Blackley Manor became a local tale of demonic worship, deterring those seeking answers with a shotgun aimed to the back.

The year of 1900 struck new era for the scattered and unorganized Blackley House. The son of William, Wilbur returned to South Tahoma from his alumni father's school of Harvard, to a deceased William, and a rather large inheritance of the Blackley estate land and accounts. Wilbur, although a strange man himself, would not make the same mistakes as his father, and wanted to make something of Blackley House once again. With this new inheritance, he hired private investigators to search for the displaced Blackley cousins and uncles, sending word to return to South Tahoma. 

A new era for the World, especially House Blackley.

(((If you would like to inquire about joining with a new Blackley character, or perhaps a staff working under them- or even if you'd like to get involved in ANYWAY, please join the discord with the provided link: https://discord.gg/6xHcxpw3k6)))

[Quest]

[VelmaDingus]

Dixit in Tenebris Noctibus
(... he said in darkest night...)
Composed by Amos Cole, 1826
Arranged by Victor Blackley, 1900

A family theme written by acclaimed composer Amos Cole some eighty years ago, and given new life by Victor Blackley in a re-arrangement.

Cole was an American born man who composed pieces for great families within Europe. Several scandals led him to flee back to his home country, before his tragic passing in 1826 in Van Horn.

Victor Blackley has purchased several books that mention Amos Cole, and is currently piecing together his history in its totality.

[George144]

[George144]

@ZeroPants

[Quest]

[George144]

[George144]

 

 

[Bailey]

L&A.

[Quest]

Chapter 2: A New Dawn Breaks

[NotRe]

House Blackley, after making their imprint on Saint Denis, vanished from the face of the earth, with no trace indicating where they had gone. Some claim the family's deep routes in supposed witchcraft had finally become their undoing, with Satan himself coming to collect the unpaid debt. Some claim more plausible reasons, like going into hiding, or outright being assassinated. Regardless, House Blackley began to fade from peoples minds,  the people of South Tahoma free from their grasp at last, but before those memories could fade, a dark storm loomed over the horizon.


 

The Blackley family is a rather mysterious one, their riches and fortune come from a foggy background. Many have ventured past the Blackley line, reading what was in-between, fixed with an iron resolve, but always come up with snake eyes. Even now, with their alien like appearance and attitude, one would conclude they were otherworldly, from a realm where blood was traded with silver, and organs their main currency. But where they all originate from is unknown, even today for those interested in the Blackley name. But to the people of South Tahoma, they were a passing circus act, full of freaks and ghouls. Now, they return, creeping back out of the shadows with their honoured lord, but for what purpose, who knows.....







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(((Interested in joining House Blackley as either a member or a business associate? Join the discord here and inquire as to availability: https://discord.gg/t3M5mz4q)))