History of Blackwell Academy
1701 - Johannes Blackwell, a young but respected and wealthy magistrate, founds the town of Highcourt and declares that it a haven for all who wish to live free of fear. He appoints his brother Caleb as an official keeper of the peace, or sheriff, but demands that every able-bodied citizen be trained in the defense of self and that all men take their turn as enforcers of the law.
1727 - Caleb Blackwell takes control of a thriving Highcourt after his brother's disappearance during a series of attacks by a group that appeared to consist of Europeans dressed as Indians. Corruption spreads through the growing community, and when an irate crowd demands that a friend of Caleb's accused of murder be properly tried he makes the mistake of thinking his men could protect him.
1801 - Highcourt, now a district of the ever-growing Empire City, sees the arrival of a man named Jonah Blackwell who claims to be the grandson of Johannes Blackwell. He explains that his grandfather was driven from the town by his brother, on threat of death, and fled to Philadelphia in order to raise his family beyond his brother's reach. A number of people in Philadelphia vouch for Jonah, though they claim to have never met his distinguished father. Jonah opens The Blackwell School for Troubled Youths, acting as headmaster even while simultaneously opening a practice as an attorney.
1830 - Jonah, not seen much in public any more, tragically falls from his ship and is lost at sea during a trip with several of the students from his school. The boys are all cleared of any suspicion due to the testimony of Jonah's old friend, newly appointed headmaster, and greatest success as a graduate; George Hilberton.
1862 - The school is used as a barracks by the Union army during the Civil War, and is burned to the ground in either an act of sabotage or stupidity.
1914 - Certain young men, and women, from across the country (or even the world in some cases) find themselves invited to attend a very select school: The Blackwell Academy. Hidden under and within the Highcourt district of Empire City, this school teaches students the skills they need to take control of their lives and improve the lot of their fellow man. There are no more than 15 graduates a year, but all who own the school ring go on to great things.
1948 - The Jape, a masked man that had been terrorizing the criminals of New York City, with everything from knowing little riddles left in places they thought safe (like their own pockets) to desperate shoot-outs, is found dead and revealed to have been a black man named Dean Jacobs. Amid the outrage and scandal in the press, the fact that he was a graduate of the mysterious academy is noticed only by a few.
1949 - After an internal investigation reveals that at least five more graduates are "masked men," the school's curriculum is adjusted to explicitly include instruction that would be useful in those endeavors. Several graduates return to give entirely "second hand" and "hypothetical" lectures on the subject.
1998 - Alexander Hilberton is elected Mayor of Empire City.
2001 - John Blackwell, a wealthy attorney, creates the Dean Jacobs Foundation to help juvenile offenders and pushes for sentencing reform. Graduates of the Blackwell Academy of all ages recognize his name, and his voice, as that of the Headmaster.
2003 - A new figure going by The Jape begins operating out of Empire City, with a similar MO (if seemingly even more detailed knowledge and intimate access) as that of the original.
2011 - A new class of students begins at Blackwell Academy.
