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Full Character Name: Vadim Vyrubov (born Artur Kazimir Grumman)
Character Birthday & Age: October 25, 1918 / 91
City & Country of Birth: Krasnoyarsk, Siberia (Russia)
Blood Purity: Pureblood
Alma Mater: Durmstrang
Job/Position: Magizoologist, Owner of Altai “Golden Mountain” Sanctuary and Reserve
Wand: 9 1/2" African Blackwood,
Firebird feather core
Physical Description: Even as he has advanced in age, Artur Grumman has maintained his intimidating physical presence, helped tremendously by his height of 6’5”. With the exception of his youth and early adolescence, his build has always made him a physically powerful man and as such, he has always walked with a certain determination and air about him. Even if he is no longer a spry young wizard, he refuses to give into the pains of his age (or experiences) and walk with any sort of lumbered gait. Luckily, his profession now allows him to roam at a more relaxed pace and he takes advantage of this whenever possible.
His face, though withered with the years of a near century of life and covered by “salt and pepper” scruff, still shows signs of the distinct Grumman features--a pronounced jaw and nose that offset a pair of dark eyes--should anyone take the time to make those comparisons.
Artur, masked as Vadim Vyrubov, has never been seen without being clothed almost entirely from head to toe. The cold locale he inhabits and the nature of those he often travels to are a welcome excuse for his attire but the real reasoning is to cover the extensive scarring all over his body, particularly his back, shoulders, arms and legs, indicative of the years of torture he endured from his father and two oldest brothers. And should anyone happen upon him with these scars exposed, his explanation is encounters with his beloved firebirds and dragons.
Personality Description: As Vadim Vyrubov, he is a notorious recluse, with stories circling in Russian society that the old wizard has lived alone with his creatures for decades because he suffers from an incurable broken heart. When he does come out into society, it is often in relation to his creatures and many others that he studies at length at his secluded sanctuary. In these moments, he is seen as an eccentric, old and cranky man who looks and speaks in a gruff, incoherent manner. But to those other older wizards who associate with him, he is revered for his knowledge of and direct experience with magical creatures.
This public demeanor is a ruse and the Artur Grumman who lies beneath is as dark and malevolent as any that Grumman family lore can depict. He is a product of his life experiences, many of which were the machinations of his father and older brothers and the tales of which have been conveniently stripped from the annals of family history. The darkness of the family has been whispered about countless times, but even that fails to accurately portray the full nature which Artur’s very existence exemplifies.
Stoic, unfeeling, cruel, calculating and at times thought to be borderline insane. How else would one describe a person who witnessed and endured years of torture and then went on to brutally kill first his closest brother and then perhaps his greatest nemesis of all -- the father who ruled his life in all manners of speaking?
For those who interact with him in a true business fashion (meaning not as Vyrubov), it is easy to become intimidated by these traits, even if one claims to be as dark as he is. For there are a pair of other traits that sit mightily with this man -- arrogance and disdain for anyone who fails to measure up to his dark standards.
History: The Grumman history of modern times began with Angus Grumman, who’s family fled Germany to Russia in order to escape persecution and scrutiny in both the muggle and wizarding worlds. They settled in Siberia where they were afforded privacy and could perform their magic away from the prying eyes of others. Angus Grumman was born in Siberia in the winter of 1885. It was one of the coldest and darkest winters in memory and seemed fitting for a man who quickly rose to become the formidable patriarch and dominating force within the Grumman Family.
He attended Durmstrang and was a classmate of Gellart Grindlewald, though unlike that famed dark wizard, he remained in school and became a prized pupil, excelling in potions, herbology and working with dangerous magical creatures. His most remarkable talent was his care of Runespoors and other serpents, primarily due to being a parselmouth, an ability that would continue in the family to the present day. Following school, he set up what has long since become the family staple: the trade and smuggling of illegal magical goods, mostly pertaining but not limited to runespoor venom. This was highly profitable and the Grumman family reaped the benefits of such dealings with dark wizards looking for goods.
The dawn of the new century also brought a romance with Maria Krukova and the birth of his four sons, whom he hoped to groom in the ways of the family business as well as provide him a means of legitimizing his work. By the 1920’s, Angus had reconnected with former classmate Grindlewald, who was in the beginning stages of his plotting to inflict his reign of terror on the European wizarding world. Angus’ position within society and access to seemingly bottomless pits of galleons made him a coveted ally in such endeavors.
At home, Angus’ four sons were actively jockeying for favoritism with the patriarch. By virtue of being the youngest son, Artur Grumman was unfortunately in the position of being everyone’s scapegoat, both for his older brothers and for his father. Expectations were high for all of the boys and Angus was unemotional and merciless when it came to upholding his standards. Physical and verbal abuse were frequent and normal in the Grumman household. And rarely did anyone escape his rath.
From an early age, Artur was expected to be the squeaky clean son, groomed to serve a legitimate profession and not get his hands dirty in the family business. But his two oldest brothers were not fond of any hint of favoritism from their father and thus they constantly found ways to show him in a bad light or blame him from their own missteps. Though his other brother, Orfeo, sometimes conspired as well, their closeness in age provided a kinship between the two. There were even times when Artur willingly took the fall for Orfeo’s transgressions.
Regrettably for Artur, with Grindlewald’s reign of terror close at hand, the punishments were often Angus’ many experimental curses meant for torture. The one causing the most damage -- the firewhip curse -- has become a staple of generations of Grummans, Artur included
Artur learned early what it meant to struggle against those more powerful and he became resentful of it. And then that resentment turned into a desire for vengeance. The one true benefit of being his father’s victim was that he gained first hand knowledge of his father’s curses or potions.
This helped him immensely throughout his school years as one learned early not to provoke or challenge Artur, even if he appeared to be an easy target for bullying. He spent much of his time at Durmstrang alone, not particularly the social politics of the strata. He was only made an Oberteil due to his name and reputation. Those he associated with at length were primarily class related and the only person that was considered a friend was the Zufreiden, Vadim Vyrubov. Both boys excelled in the Tangibles, even as Artur was expected to be an overachiever across the disciplines.
By the time he left Durmstrang, Artur was a proficient dark wizard but when he returned home to Siberia to join the family business affairs, it was clear that he was no longer the Artur of his youth to be pushed around as he towered over his father and brothers. But for the most part, the Grummans had turned their attention to Grindelwald’s reign of terror, with the two older boys becoming trusted right hand men of the dark wizard. As for Angus, though he was often in alignment with Gellert, he refused to submit entirely and demanded his own autonomy. Gellert left this unchallenged, perhaps because he still had Angus’ older boys still working for his cause, even believing that he was the greater wizard to their father. This soon tore the Grumman family apart as Angus refused to have such dissention.
So he callously killed his two older boys, stripped their memory and record from the family history and retreated to Siberia.
But Artur could never forget, having watched the entire ordeal with his brother Orfeo. They never dared to voice any opposition to Angus for fear of the same fate.
When the war was over, the Grummans resumed business as usual. Orfeo and Artur both married and began families of their own. Artur was happy to live in Orfeo’s sadow and even named his son after his beloved brother. He was content to do the work of one blessed to talk with creatures and directly work with them and the goods which made the family wealthy.
But Angus saw their close bond and resented it, mainly because he believed it might pose a threat to his rule. For years, he tried to pit the brothers against each other with no success. But in 1963, he finally struck nerves with them. To Artur, he contrived a story about how Orfeo was trying to keep him out of the family affairs and he was just using Artur’s abilities to further his own. And to Orfeo, he fed lie about how dangerous Artur was-- how much darker and stronger he was, thus making him a threat. Orfeo confronted Artur and a great duel ensued with Artur emerging as the victor. But it came with the price of killing his own brother.his father’s lies, he turned his wand on Angus and in one night, the Grumman family and the wizarding world lost two powerful wizards.
The killing of his father and brother tormented Artur, who retreated to the family home of Tyen Manor. Remorse and rage plagued him and in an effort to do right by the brother he had brutally killed, Artur vowed to care for Orfeo’s children as if they were his own.
That next generation was heading off to Durmstrang, with Caspero and the younger Orfeo sharing a brotherly bond reminiscent of the one Artur had severed. Both boys displayed exemplary skills in dark magic. They left school ready to care for the family affairs. Caspero enjoyed his socializing and the diplomatic intrigues amongst the ministry, thus attempting to further legitimize the family affairs. Orfeo, on the other hand, displayed talents like Artur, with a more sinister darkness and affinity for working directly with the creatures and goods.
For his children and his nephew and nieces, Artur sought impeccable marriages with other pureblooded wizarding families and when the last was married off, he felt it was finally time to fade into the proverbial darkness.
Artur staged his own death and went into seclusion. Unbeknownst to anyone, years later he would resurface under the guise of his old Durmstrang friend, Vadim Vyrubov, who after their school years, had faded into obscurity. Whether Vadim’s death was from natural causes or at the hands of Artur may never be known.
But slowly Artur began to bring Vyrubov into the spotlight, showcasing their combined talents and expertise in the field of Magizoology. Vadim’s home also became a well known sanctuary for rare and injured magical creatures, including one of Russian lore, the Firebird.
Though Artur strategically kept himself clear of any Grumman dealings, he followed his family from afar. He took pride in watching their rise and dominance. And he became similarly livid at what felt like their demise when his son, Orfeo, was killed in 1998.
And so Artur revealed himself to his nephew, Caspero, even proving his might after years of seclusion and relatively mild dark activities. He resumed his place as the true head of the family affairs, albeit many to this day believe that Caspero and his granddaughter, Melanthe, are in charge.
The younger generation of Grummans may have an inkling that Artur is still alive, but Caspero has never confirmed or denied the possibility. And none of have ever met him face-to-face.
Describe your job duties and how you go about them: Vadim owns and operates his own sanctuary and reserve for magical creatures, many of which are rare, endangered or simply too dangerous for less skilled wizards to care for or handle. Though it is open for the public to tour as muggles might a zoo, typically only the most curious and dedicated wizards venture into his world, which is how he likes it.
Elaborate on your expertise in your field: Both Artur and Vadim were considered top scholars in the study of Tangibles at Durmstrang and this knowledge and expertise was utilized after their schooling. Artur worked directly with creatures like Runespoors as part of the family business and Vadim traveled extensively during his younger years to study and work with a vast array of magical creatures. He ultimately dreamed of owning his own sanctuary where he could study his beloved creatures more closely and care for any who had been rescued.
Writing Sample: see Myrni Levartian
Sum up your character in one paragraph: In his masquerade as Vadim, he looks quite harmless, really. An idle, old wizard who has nothing to do but twiddle his thumbs or contemplate his next contribution to the world of magizoology. If only that was the whole of it. Though he may not always be a visible entity in the current Grumman family business matters, he most certainly is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. And given the right circumstances, he may finally make his presence known.
Vadim Vyrubov: Magizoologist