Ouroboros

Ouroboros (), also known as the Society (), is a mysterious organization that operates from the shadows. A crime syndicate that has been active all over Zemuria, Ouroboros serves as one of the main antagonistic forces in the series. It is the most prominent group in the series, playing a major role in each arc with each game featuring at least one member. The true origins, nature and objectives of the organization are one of the series' largest and most long-running mysteries.
== Structure ==
Ouroboros is led by the Grandmaster, loyally supported by the seven Anguis. All seven seats of the Anguis are occupied; if one seat does happen to open up, the Grandmaster is responsible for inviting someone to take this seat.
The plans drafted by the Grandmaster and overseen by the Anguis are executed by the powerful agents known as Enforcers, in addition to the Anguis themselves. A group of knights in the society known as the Stahlritter work exclusively under the Seventh Anguis. Agents of the Society often fight along Archaisms, or use them to impede their foes.
Each Anguis and Enforcer is assigned a number, with the Enforcer numbers being expressed in Roman numerals. It is unknown how the numbers are decided on; however, the seeming highest-ranking Anguis is named the first, and the two most powerful Enforcers have been assigned the numbers I and II.
A notable thing about the organization is its lack of an enforced chain of command. Ouroboros works under a principle of willing cooperation. A potential Anguis candidate may turn the Grandmaster's offer down, but this is exceedingly rare. Enforcers themselves also have several privileges, such as being able to refuse requests by an Anguis, work against the organization, go on hiatus or completely quit without consequences. Enforcers, and presumably the Anguis, can swear to other parties under the Grandmaster's name, which is seen as a high level of commitment and a promise not to violate the terms agreed on.
The society also has an army of Enhanced Jaegers under its control, which may have included Jesters. The only named Enhanced Jaeger is Gilbert Stein, who is the leader of the 6th Regiment. Ouroboros' jaegers are not true jaegers, as they rely on biological enhancements to increase their strength, whereas a typical jaeger has years of experience in their career. Said biological enhancements also consist of mental suppression where they cannot reveal sensitive information and erasing their memories once their contracts have expired.
== History ==
Ouroboros serves as a very powerful force that tends to work from the shadows. It has many powerful agents in its roster, some of whom have been granted powers that exist outside of Aidios' bounds. It also possesses a large amount of cutting edge technology, thanks to the Thirteen Factories and the sharp yet loyal mind of the Sixth Anguis. Examples of its technology include the Glorious, its enormous fighter ship, and swathes of Archaisms - robots capable of autonomous combat that frequently fight alongside the organization's members, and can also fight independently to impede the progress of its opponents. The meeting place of the Grandmaster, Anguis and Campanella is the Celestial Globe.
Throughout the series, the organization's primary plan has been the Orpheus Final Plan. It is thus far divided into 3 phases:
* The Gospel Plan in Liberl during 
* The Phantasmal Blaze Plan in Crossbell and Erebonia during and 
* The Eternal Recurrence Plan which was announced at the very end of 
The specific ultimate objectives of the plan, as well as the origins of the organization, are largely shrouded in mystery. It is stated that the meaning behind the Grandmaster's plans is guiding and witnessing what endings await the Sept-Terrion in the hands of the man of "this possible world".
=== Before the Gospel Plan ===
It is unknown when exactly Ouroboros was founded. Earliest reports of their involvement date back to S.1192, prior to the Hundred Days War, but it is generally assumed that the organization has been around for much longer. When Sharon Kreuger described how the organization destroyed the Order of the Moonlight Horse in S.1194, she noted that it had been in its early days at that time.
Its leader, the Grandmaster, started recruiting forces from S.1185 onward. In S.1186, she offered an invitation to Lianne Sandlot. Sandlot initially rejects her invitation to continue her search for Dreichels Reise Arnor's transmigrated soul. Once she finds him living a happy life as Giliath Osborne, she is relieved to find Ishmelga has not yet transmigrated along. Reassured, but wary the darkness cannot have disappeared entirely, she considers and eventually accepts the Grandmaster's invitation to serve her at Ouroboros.
The Grandmaster, however, immediately warns her of an impending crisis. The instant she took her eyes off Osborne, the darkness reared its head again. Lianne sped to Osborne's house, but was unable to make it in time: in order to save his son's life, Osborne had made a pact with Ishmelga, who had been waiting for Dreichels' reincarnation for 200 years. On that moment, Lianne decides to help advance Ouroboros' Phantasmal Blaze Plan, absorb the strength of the five other Deus-Excellion in her Knight and slaughter Ishmelga for once and for all. She assumes the identity of Arianrhod and began serving the Grandmaster as the Seventh Anguis.
It is unknown if she was the first member to join. A number of other Anguis were recruited in the following years. One example was the ex-communicated bishop of the Septian Church, Georg Weissmann, who became the Third Anguis, and was responsible for bringing Enforcers Loewe (II) and Joshua Astray (XIII) into the organization after Weissmann manipulated them following his instigation of the Hundred Days War and Hamel Tragedy. At some point, McBurn had joined the Society as its most powerful Enforcer (I).
In S.1194, the organization's three most powerful agents - McBurn, Loewe and Arianrhod - destroyed the Order of the Moonlight Horse, at the time a rival faction to the society. Three members of the Order migrated to Ouroboros afterwards; these included Ellroy Harwood, who became the Fourth Anguis, as well as Sharon and the Golden Butterfly, who became Enforcers IX and III. In S.1197, Vita Clotilde left the Hexen Clan behind to join Ouroboros as the Second Anguis.
Although acting separately from the Bracer Guild, Ouroboros contributed to the D∴G Cult Extermination. Two surviving victims of the cult later joined its ranks; Renne, who became Enforcer XV after being saved in a raid launched by Joshua and Loewe; and Ennea, who joined Arianrhod's Stahlritter unit, which had also included Duvalie and Ines.
Several other members are known to have joined Ouroboros prior to the Gospel Plan, albeit at unknown dates and for personal reasons. These include the First, Fifth and Sixth Anguis; as well as Enforcers Campanella (0), Luciola (VI), Walter Kron (VIII) and Bleublanc (X).
=== The Gospel Plan ===
The aim of the first phase, the Gospel Plan, was to obtain the Sept-Terrion of Space, the Aureole, which was in the possession of the House of Auslese. The Aureole possesses the ability to generate infinite amounts of energy, which led its original owners to seal it away in an alternate dimension. Ouroboros used the Gospel, a terminal of the Aureole, to release the seals situated in City of Grancel's Sealed Area and the four Tetracyclic Towers. From the alternative dimension emerged the floating city of Liber Ark, on which Ouroboros retrieved the Aureole from its core.
The Gospel Plan was guided by the Third Anguis, Weissmann, aided by Enforcers Loewe, Luciola, Walter, Bleublanc and Renne. Campanella acted purely as an observer on the Grandmaster's behalf. He and Sharon were also responsible for the Assault on the Imperial Guilds in Erebonia, a ploy done to keep Cassius Bright out of Liberl as he was perceived to be a threat to the Gospel Plan during its early phases.
Ultimately, the plan ended in success as the Aureole was obtained and granted to the Grandmaster by Campanella. However, it resulted in the deaths of Weissmann and Loewe. Following the events of the plan, Renne ended up permanently leaving while Luciola was deemed "missing".
=== The Phantasmal Blaze Plan ===
The second phase, the Phantasmal Blaze Plan, was "a plan to use the Hollow Phantasm of Crossbell to awaken the blaze in the Empire". For this plan, Ouroboros was operating simultaneously in Crossbell and Erebonia. In Crossbell, they collaborated with the Crois Family to witness the completion of the man-made Sept-Terrion of Zero. In Erebonia, by assisting the Noble Alliance, they began to stage battles between the Sept-Terrion related Divine Knights until they were placed into a deadlock by Giliath Osborne who stole the plan from underneath them. Later, in pursuit of them reclaiming the plan, they decided to collaborate with him and advance his Great Twilight Plan and were involved in Operation Jormungandr.
Members of the society working on its behalf for the plan at one point or another include: Anguis Vita, Novartis and Arianrhod; as well as Enforcers Campanella, McBurn, Sharon, Bleublanc, and a newly-joined Enforcer named Shirley Orlando (XVII). Arianrhod died during the plan, Sharon permanently left the society, while Vita, McBurn, Bleublanc and the Stahlritter all did not rejoin it making their future participation in the society uncertain. However, former Ironblood and Erebonian Crown Prince Cedric Reise Arnor decided to join the Society as an Enforcer (XIX) after being freed from the Erebonian Curse.
The plan ultimately culminated in the Sept-Terrions of Fire, Earth and Mirage all destroyed and unattainable.
=== Eternal Recurrence Plan ===
The third phase, Eternal Recurrence Plan, started after completion of the Phantasmal Blaze Plan. No information about this plan is known. It was announced by the Grandmaster at the very end of following the end of the Great Twilight. When this plan was announced, the Grandmaster stated that the "nothingness of all" would come about in 3 years.
F. Novartis's actions during the events of concerning Elysium were stated by him to be his own personal project, and not on behalf of the Society. As he described it, the conclusion of the Rivalries marked the end of the Society's plans in Crossbell and Erebonia.
Half a year after the declaration of the Eternal Recurrence Plan, following the destruction of Elysium, the Grandmaster held a private communcation with Calvard Republic's new president, Roy Gramheart. The two made a mutual agreement that, for the next two and a half years, neither party would interfere in the others plans.
Harwood, Walter and Lucrezia were active in Calvard during the events of . They were involved in the multifaction effort to defeat Almata, but what relevance this has to Ouroboros's greater plots is as yet unknown.
==Rivalry with the Septian Church ==
Like Ouroboros, the Congregation of the Sacraments of the Septian Church, in particular the Gralsritter, seek artifacts. There are, however, some differences in their approaches to artifacts.
The Septian Church has dedicated its chivalric order to retrieve 'live' artifacts to subsequently seal them away in Primal Grounds underneath buildings of the Church, believing man to be corruptible by the power of such dangerous objects. Ouroboros, however, seeks the Sept-Terrion for a greater purpose aimed to guide "the souls of all"Trails of Cold Steel II. Finale, 12/31. and hands Artifacts to people to witness how they will come to an end in human's hand.
== Trivia ==
* A core tenet of Ouroboros is that its members must join of their own free will. However, they accepted Joshua as an Enforcer. An argument can be made that the new rewritten personality technically had free will, although one predisposed to being an assassin.
== Gallery ==
Celestial Globe.png | The Celestial Globe which acts as a meeting place for Ouroboros
Celestia Globe (3rd Evo).png|The Celestial Globe in the evo OP
Anguis.png | Art of the Seven Anguis found in 
Banquet of Snakes - Key Visual (Sen III).png | A key visual depitcing Enforcers, Stahlritter and Anguis
Ouroboros Emblem (CS IV).png|Ouroboros Emblem in OP
Ouroboros (NW).png | Depition of several enforcers and anguis from The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel: Northern War
Enforcer (Kai Web CM).png|Enforcer ??? in Kai Web CM
== References ==
Notes
Sources
Category:Organisations
Category:Ouroboros