U.L.P.

The Ultimate Leadership Protectorate, or U.L.P., is an ancient organization in *Daniel Kravitz, Chosen One*, a segment of *It's All Been Done Radio Hour*, tasked with finding and looking after Chosen Ones, training them in many weapons and combat styles. At the start of the series, it had several dozen members, and was headquartered at Cambridge University. Much of the supernatural world does not regard them well, but the organization believes they are keeping everyone safe ("A Family Affair"). They have a pact with The Subworlds that keeps most monsters from invading the human world ("Mind If I Smoke?").

## **Establishment - Early 21st Century**

Three years before the start of the series, the U.L.P. was working out of an almost-abandoned academic building at Oxford University (where head Cyril Davies had an office) and had thirty-one members. This indicates they have several properties in various locations, and may have grown a bit in the intervening time ("Gather 'Round the Fire"). This is backed up by the fact that they also owned a ranch near Kalispell, Montana and took over Kravitz Antiques after its destruction, so they move around and maintain various locations ("The New Class; Punch").

The Oxford location was cavernous and completely underground, with Cyril's office within stocked with many of the most important texts of the order ("Pit of Despair"). Daniel Kravitz said it was maze-like, but given his ease in navigating it once his attackers with magic had been defeated, it is likely not too large, especially considering it only occupied the space under one academic building. It was referred to as a headquarters, but it was Cyril's HQ, not the group itself's ("Into the Darkness"). Cyril's private office had multiple doors, but no known secret entrances. The walls were reinforced with the strongest metal known to man, and fireproof ("Pit of Despair").

Throughout its history, the group had several sets of corrupt leaders, the latest being the ones in charge when the story starts, but they are not unique ("Pit of Despair").

The U.L.P. liaisons with many outside consultants who are not part of their internal politics. One such example is Calleth Penrose, who advised Cyril's leadership, but was also still trusted by the new U.L.P. ("Recall Me, Maybe").

The U.L.P. gets recruits from many places, including Kiev Pechersk Lavra. The monastery had not produced any new recruits for decades prior to 2010, but Cyril's immediate predecessor came from there ("Recall Me, Maybe").

## **Procedures**

All the active members of the U.L.P. are supposed to be privy to operational details, and together, they elect a temporary leader. Below the leader, everyone else is seen as equal. Cyril Davies broke that protocol by naming Bertram Oswalt Babbit and Rupert Pryce part of the leadership team, elevating them over the others and demanding that they stay at headquarters or near Cyril's office at Oxford.

A mentor for the Chosen One was chosen from among the active members, and typically served one Chosen One before returning to the group and a new mentor was elected for the next one. A quorum of five members must meet to elect the mentor, and the vote must be unanimous. This may seem like it contradicts the equality principle, but many members are often in the field doing various work, so gathering them for a vote every time a new mentor is needed would be cumbersome.

Rufus Reginald Rochester was elected to mentor four consecutive Chosen Ones from 2013-2016, a very unusual occurrence. Mortimer Miles McClendon was the mentor immediately preceding Rufus, and he died in the line of duty. The mortality rate of mentors is around 30% ("Gather 'Round the Fire").

All members were committed to supporting the Chosen One, and most aspired to be a mentor to at least one.

Mentors were protected with powerful anti-magic, making them immune from certain spells. They were also very politically connected, able to manipulate local law enforcement ("The Search").

The U.L.P. was far from all-knowing, though. Alexis Augustus Armentrout managed to successfully hide and wife and child from them for years, despite being a key member of their ranks ("The Safe House").

## **Pre-Fall**

The leadership in the first two volumes of *Daniel Kravitz* consisted of three people: Cyril Davies, the elected head; Rupert Pryce, a dangerous planner; and Bertram Oswalt Babbit, the muscle. They were corrupt and eliminated anyone who opposed their plans. Elimination didn't necessarily mean death, as they had assigned people out of the way as a first step, only trying to kill when they are found out ("Gather 'Round the Fire").

The biggest and last obstacles within the U.L.P. to this leadership were Rufus Reginald Rochester and Alexis Augustus Armentrout. Both were assigned as mentors, meaning they were on field duty, instead of stationed at the headquarters, and were much more likely to die. Both also assisted in trying to bring down the organization when the extent of the corruption was uncovered. The U.L.P. responded to Rufus first, trying to kill him numerous times over several years, and he didn't realize it and put together the pattern until later ("Betrayed"). They thought Alexis might actually be able to undo what Rufus had told Daniel and join them, but Alexis proved unwilling to go along with them ("Into the Darkness").

Seeking to protect themselves, the U.L.P. first tried to get Rufus to kill himself by bringing the 'ghosts' of Rufus' former mentees ("A Rufus Carol"), and when that failed, sent a group of monsters to Kravitz Antiques to stop Daniel Kravitz and his group, including Rufus and Alexis, who had become aware of the U.L.P.'s secrets. They succeeded in killing Josh Wallace, but Daniel and the rest escaped ("Attack on the Homestead").

So open were the leadership after culling their ranks, and confident in their employees' loyalty, they held a whole office pool as to when Rufus would die. Rupert lost $5 when Rufus survived an attack by the group of monsters, while Bertram bet Rufus would bite it even earlier ("Into the Darkness").

## **Final Battle**

Following the destruction of the antique shop, Daniel and his friends crossed the ocean to attack the U.L.P. head-on. Rufus had thought that perhaps it was only the trio in leadership who needed to be removed, but it was revealed that all of other members had either joined their corrupt cause or been forced out, some terminally. At the time of the attack, all remaining members of the U.L.P. gathered at Cyril's office at Oxford University, and Bertram was said to have already died at the hands of Henri Longbottom.

Daniel's group was joined by Ragina, who secretly planned to bring the building down with magic while Daniel and the others attacked. While the U.L.P. was prepared for a strike, they were not aware of Ragina re-joining, nor that Daniel possessed ancient powers which were believed to only be rumors in the present day, and Daniel successfully reached the inner sanctum. Cyril and Rupert had one last trick, showing an alive Josh with not a mark on him. Alexis said the U.L.P. did not have technology that could resurrect a human being, but Josh claimed to be real ("Into the Darkness"). When Daniel refused to give in to their demands, the two escaped, leaving Daniel, Josh, and friends to die.

Outside, Ragina caught Cyril and Rupert and snapped their necks. She then brought the building down, as promised. This was the end of the U.L.P. as it had previously existed, and no members were known to have survived ("Pit of Despair").

## **The New U.L.P.**

Within a year of its destruction, the U.L.P. was rebuilt in Kalispell, Montana, on property already owned by the organization and overseen by the shapeshifting caretaker, Voldare, alone. It was a sprawling property with several main buildings, and the grounds included stables, forests, and caves. A Research and Development building housed The Oracle. It was near the Flathead Indian Reservation, which was just to the Southeast of the property. The boundary was marked by an old totem pole with a Thunderbird on top, placed long before the U.L.P. moved in. The U.L.P. chose the particular property about a century prior to the series because its location to the Native Americans provided a rich resource for artifacts and other items.

Several of the buildings were used as dorms by the new group, including one that looked like it was about to fall down, nicknamed The Woodchipper by its occupants. The leaders of the organization had private living quarters, as well as separate studies to work from. The trainees were tasked with helping restore and improve the property, as well as handling day-to-day maintenance and cleaning ("Mind If I Smoke?"). At some point, the place became immune to locator spells and Google maps images, likely through spells and other protections ("Cult of B.O.B.").

At first, the group was funded with whatever liquid assets they could find, but those ran out within a year. Thankfully, other stores were found before they needed to start selling off investments and properties, which were scattered globally ("The New Class"). They were flush enough to afford hotels and rental vans on field missions ("Witch Hunt").

A little more than a year after rebuilding, they had re-connected with former U.L.P. contacts all over the world, including Calleth Penrose, and set up a system to communicate with them, among other things ("Cult of B.O.B."). They also still had sway over local law enforcement ("Witch Hunt").

Abby Reynolds was appointed head by her fellows. Her Ruling Council included Daniel Kravitz, Rufus Reginald Rochester, Alexis Augustus Armentrout, Grezit the Green, Alfredo, and Josh Wallace, all of whom also served as instructors and researchers, running the administrative sides of the group. Alexis later quit and Josh was removed. This Council met weekly.

Daniel wanted to rename the group, but it wasn't a priority on their agenda, and they never got around to doing so. Many advancements were made, however, including digitizing all the old texts they were in possession of ("The New Class"). This was a suggestion made by trainee Kai Akane, who had ulterior motives ("Ready Player Chosen One").

Like the previous leadership, Abby began to become corrupted by the power. She tasked group members to serve her more than the organization ("Jant Braidley"), and made harsh decisions, willing to use violence on the innocent if it got her what she wanted (*Packer & Ratcliff* "The Pursuit of Packer").

The group has a source phone line for their most trusted contacts ("Punch").

Eventually, Monbo led an army of monsters to attack the U.L.P. on their new base. Many of the group perished in the attempt, including the trainees left but four, and Daniel Kravitz himself died. The stables were burned down, and much of the compound was destroyed ("With Great Power...").

### **Recruits**

The organization recruited about twenty new members to help them, including sorcerer Alfredo and secretary Khoo ("The New Class"). It is unknown how all of the additions were recruited, but one method was through a series of clues Rufus put out into the world. Any who figured out what the clues meant would find a video in which Rufus directed them to come to the organization's offices (branches scattered in numerous places) and apply to take a series of tests. If they passed the tests, then they could become a recruit ("U.L.P. Recruiting Ad").

Unlike Alfredo, most of the other newbies were treated like students in college, living in dorms and taking classes taught by the leadership. They were taught about Daniel's past exploits. Most were human, but 'some' were not.

### **List of 2019 Trainees**

There were fifteen recruits that were considered trainees, who lived like students at college, staying in dorms and taking classes. Here is a list:

* Corey Addison, a.k.a. Squeezy
* Stephanie Garcia, a.k.a. Frenchie
* Kai Akane
* Humphrey Jacobs
* Novir
* Dawn Vaughn
* Arnold Armstrong (first mentioned by Josh in "Recall Me, Maybe" for his alliterative name)
* Madison Maguire
* B.J. McKibben
* unnamed played by Virgil Von Hartzel
* Jeleen.
* 4 others