Scholars of the First Sin

The Scholars of the First Sin was an American magical organization. The Scholars were once a prominent magical organization focused on the origins of magic, but by the end of the 20th century, its prestige had been significantly reduced. Its role in starting the Grey War resulted in the organization being placed under the effects of a Black Article.

Foundation
The Scholars was founded on 24 December 1781 in Boston, Massachusetts Bay. It started as a social group of magicians seeking to learn more about magic through the various traditions across the world.

Several members of the Scholars were instrumental in the founding of the Guild of American Magicians in 1786.

Although it started in the American colonies, it soon started fledgling branches of the organization in Europe.

Reformation
The year 1860 saw a radical shift amongst the Scholars. The publishing of The Sea of Life by the Scholar known as Anthrax revealed the existence of the Echo to the magical community, and the potential of the Echo fueled a new fervor amongst the Scholars.

The new focus of the group led to a breakdown in alliances between the American Scholars and their minor European branches. The European branches soon broke away from the American leadership and established relationships with other European magical societies. By the late 1860s, the European branches of the Scholars had effectively ceased to exist.

Peak of Power
The Scholars reached the peak of their power in the late 1940s after the Tokyo Incident. It presented itself as a prestigious organization for both Guild and Independent magicians.

Schism
By 1990, the tensions between the Red and White reverse-side Scholars had reached a fever pitch, and the death of Crass only added fuel to the fire. The longtime leader of the Scholars had held the group together by force of will and charisma, but his worsening health in the previous couple of years had forced him to take a smaller and smaller role in leadership. As such, Ulyanov was seen as a leading figure in the Scholars with Davos and Rossfeld leading their respective factions.

Crass did not declare his successor before his death, and Davos and Rossfeld almost immediately began maneuvering to position themselves as the proper successor to Crass. By now, the near-side Scholars had become a minority within the organization and wielded little influence amongst their fellow Scholars.

The departure of the near-side Scholars sparked a paper war within the Scholars. Supporters of Davos and Rossfeld published various pamphlets and documents decrying the evils of their opponents and the benefits of their own position.

Osmond Alberts was a leading opponent of Rossfeld. As the publisher of the Tidewater Papers, he held a position of high power within the Scholars, and he used that position to promote Davos as the successor to Crass as leader of the Scholars. At the same time, he began to suppress the research reports of Rossfeld's supporters, leading to some Scholars leaving the organization.

Ulyanov struggled to maintain the peace between the Reds and Whites, but his influence began to decrease in mid-1991 due to Alberts's accusations. His assassination by an unknown Scholar in early 1992 led to accusations from both Red and White Scholars of the other's guilt and sparked violent confrontations between the two factions.

Several Scholars of both factions were killed in confrontations between the factions, drawing the attention of the Crownsguard to the brewing conflict. The most public confrontation was the Easter Sunday Massacre, in which 9 members of the Red Scholars were murdered on 19 April 1992. Although the perpetrators were never identified, several members of the White Scholars were suspected of the crime.

Rossfeld found himself the target of several assassination attempts by the Red Scholars, starting shortly after Ulyanov's death. He went into hiding in early March, rarely appearing in public and only for special meetings of the Scholars leadership. With his articles being suppressed by Alberts, his influence even amongst the White Scholars started to wane.

On 4 May 1992, Davos used his influence and control over the central committee of the Scholars to formally expel Rossfeld from the organization. Having removed the last obstacle, he claimed the leadership of the Scholars for himself.

Grey War
Between 1992 and 1996, the Scholars moved their main base of operation to the outskirts of the town of Marquette in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The move to the heavily rural area allowed the Scholars to conduct their work in private, away from the eyes of both the government and the Guild. They found broad support from the Independent magicians in the area as well, gathering supplies and research materials more easily. They also established various strongholds across the region to investigate rumors of entrances to the Echo, though the success of these efforts is unknown.

The Scholars were placed under the effects of a Black Article in late 1998. This triggered a large-scale mobilization of magicians against the Scholars and effectively turned the war against the Scholars.

Extinction
Following the Grey War, many of the surviving Scholars as well as many former and expelled Scholars were arrested as part of the Black Article and put on trial as war criminals. The trials were divided into two phases: a trial of the main leaders of the Scholars and a series of smaller trials for less prominent Scholars, including those who had left the organization before the start of the war.

The trials lasted from 2000 through 2004 and resulted in guilty sentences for 37 Scholars. Many of these Scholars were imprisoned. The remaining Scholars were placed under orders of surveillance and forbidden from joining magical organizations.

The Scholars of the First Sin was banned through an act of Congress in June 2001.