Viktor Davidovich Ulyanov

Viktor Davidovich Ulyanov (27 August 1930 - 27 February 1992) was a longtime Scholar of the First Sin during the late 20th century. He served as the second-in-command for Daniel Crass, and he helped spur research into the Echo. His assassination sparked a purge of the Scholars of the First Sin, leading to Ryan Davos's firm control over the organization and the eventual start of the Grey War.

Early Life
Viktor Ulyanov was born to an insignificant Russian magical family on 27 August 1930. The Ulyanov family lived primarily in the village of Yona around 30 miles from the Finish border for several centuries, though the family did not become magical until the 18th century.

The family fled across the border in 1934 to avoid Soviet authorities and travelled to America the following year. They settled in New York City amongst other Russian immigrants and soon became involved with a group of Independent magicians. Ulyanov showed decent skills as a magician in his childhood.

Ulyanov spent many days in his childhood at the home of Iosef Brodsky, a prolific collector of magical documents. There he was exposed to the work of Anthrax, a Scholar of the First Sin from the 1850s who was a prominent researcher of the Echo. Iosef noted in his diary that the young Viktor had read every work of Anthrax as well as their contemporaries Furnace and Robin.

He saw combat in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He received commendations for his actions in various battles, including a Purple Heart and discharged from the military following a mortar attack in 1966 during which he lost his left eye. He replaced it with a temporary prosthetic before acquiring an artificial mystic eye in 1967.

Scholars of the First Sin
Following the Tokyo Incident in 1945, Ulyanov began to get involved with various public magic associations, but he soon left all of them when he found their goals inconducive to his own. He started to go to meetings of the Scholars of the First Sin, and he formally joined them in 1950. He became a prominent member of the Reverse-side Faction.

Ulyanov continued his research into the Echo throughout the years. Travelling to various reverse-side locations in Europe and Asia, Ulyanov spent several years investigating the border between those locations and the Echo. He published several books and pamphlets about the possibilities of the Echo, and he gained some level of fame even outside of the Scholars.

Assassination
The assassination of Ulyanov occurred on 27 February 1992 in Chicago following a meeting between Viktor and Davos. The meeting aimed to quell tensions between the moderate and the leader of the Red Scholars, which had been rising in the months following the death of Crass. By all accounts, the meeting went well, and Ulyanov left the meeting in a good mood.

After the meeting, Ulyanov walked down the steps towards his car. As he entered the car, a spell triggered, creating a large fireball that quickly engulfed both Ulyanov and the vehicle. Ulyanov was immediately killed as a result.

Investigations into the explosion revealed that the spell had triggered from a magitech device hidden in the latch of the door handle. The device was made of two parts: a steel plate with the spell etched into the metal and a small mana stone. Using the door handle would drive the mana stone against the spell plate, breaking the mana stone and triggering the spell. Despite the violence of the explosion, fragments of the spell plate survived and was traced to an Independent magic tool craftsman. However the craftsman did not know who had bought the plate (which was clean when sold) and had no connection to Ulyanov.

Aftermath
Ulyanov's assassination sparked a new phase in the feud between Davos and Rossfeld. Several reports of violence breaking out between Red and White Scholars, and several Scholars began to leave the organization. Rossfeld's departure from the Scholars ended any resistance to Davos's control of the group, and he took the title of Head Scholar by September 1992.

Education
Ulyanov received a basic magical education from his parents, showing only moderate skill in magic. Despite this, Ulyanov was a prolific reader and was fascinated with the work of the Scholars of the First Sin. His knowledge of the Echo and the nature of its border ranks him amongst the greatest experts on the Echo in the 20th century.