The Darkness We Face; The True Ascended

There are three main enemies that Mr. Oliphaunt created the Rogue Elephant Society to face. All three share one thing in common; they are all largely hidden from the hierarchy of the Ascended. Mr. Oliphaunt tried warning the Unspoken Name, leader of the Ascended, but does not feel that his warnings were given much credence. And so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

The first of these threats involves an organization called the "True Ascended." This organizations includes portions of the Shell of the Turtle, the Fang of the Snake, and the Hunger of the Jackal, as well as individual Moles (who, given their mining expertise have contributed extensively to the finances of the True Ascended), Spiders(who have contributed considerably towards keeping the True Ascended off of the Unspoken Name's radar screen), Toads, Magpies, Cockroaches, Crabs and Chameleons.

The True Ascended have two main programs that we've been able to discern. The first is something they call the Apocalypse Protocols. We've been unable to ascertain exactly what these protocols would accomplish, but, tellingly, they have involved gaining control of various weapons facilities, including some nuclear silos in the former Soviet Union.

The other project is called the Phoenix Agenda. It involves shoring up the numbers of the True Ascended through three methods. The first is rapid response to the appearance of an ascended animals. The second is the attempt to encourage more animals to ascend. The third, the most ambitious, involves taking Ascended who have reverted to their original form and, somehow, Re-ascending them. It's unclear whether this is even possible; but they are going to try.

Key True Ascended Personnel include Ms. Lauren Sidell, a turtle with a real knack for covert organization. She developed the protocols that allow them to maintain a certain unity of action, without any single cell knowing enough to be dangerous to the organization as a whole. She appears to have died about two months ago, and the circumstances surrounding her death are murky. The current head of the True Ascended is either a European Jackal named Francoise or an Australian Mole known as Reggie McKracken.

They are dangerous and dedicated to their goals, but they haven't acted against the Ascended or the current world situation yet. Mr. Oliphaunt believes that they believe themselves superior to humanity, and their long range goals may be a society akin to that practiced in 2056. One of oppression and control for regular humans, although the ascended will have things much nicer (or so the True Ascended believe).