Master

"Very few vampires are cunning enough to live as long as I."

- The Master

The Master was the vampire leader of the Order of Aurelius, an ancient vampire cult which has included the likes of Darla, Luke, and The Three. He was portrayed by Mark Metcalf.

The Old World
The Master's exact age is not known, by 1607 he had already lived "past the curse of human features", becoming much more demonic in appearance than other vampires. This year, the Master was present in Virginia Colony and, posing as a priest, sired a rich prostitute who was dying of syphilis. Decades later he would name her "Darla", Gaelic for "Dearest One".

In 1760, the Master met Angelus, Darla's progeny. However, the two male vampires had a violent confrontation as Angelus mocked the Master's appearance and the Order's severe dogmas of underground dwelling. Angelus was little match for the ancient vampire; however, Darla preferred the pleasure Angelus offered her and left with him. The Master did nothing to prevent the pair from leaving, and gave the couple just a century before breaking up.

By 1880, the Master welcomed Darla back to the Order after she and Angelus had a fight. However, she soon came back to the arms of her lover.

The New World
"There was an earthquake that swallowed about half the town. And him too"

- Willow Rosenberg

By 1937, the Master, moved to the New World with the hopes of opening the Hellmouth located in Sunnydale and bringing about the end of the world by becoming and releasing the Old Ones. However, an earthquake hit town in the middle of the ritual, swallowing half the town, including the church in which the Master was performing the ritual. As the ritual had already commenced, the Master was trapped within a mystical prison, like a cork in a bottle. Now all he had to do to open the Hellmouth was to break through the prison.

As the leader of the Order of the Aurelius, the Master is a ruthless overlord who expects total devotion from his followers. Minions who fail to carry out their objectives are brutalized by the Master himself or called upon to mutilate themselves in an act of penance. Despite his cold-hearted nature, the Master is prone to favoritism. His most treasured disciple is Darla, whom he views as a daughter. When she chooses to abandon him to pursue her love affair with Angelus, he respects her decision to leave and orders his henchmen to let them pass. When she dies in "Angel", the Master becomes visibly distraught and nearly loses the will to carry out his plans. Nevertheless, words of encouragement from his right-hand child, the Anointed One, strengthen his resolve to continue making preparations for his ascension.

The Return
"My ascension is at hand! My time is come! Glory! Glory!"

- The Master

Briefly, the Master is able to actually escape from the Hellmouth in the episode "Prophecy Girl", although he is shortly after defeated and killed by Buffy in combat Unlike most vampires, who turn completely to dust upon their death, the Master leaves behind a skeleton; the Anointed One later tries to use these bones in a ritual to return the Master to life, but Buffy interrupts the ritual and crushes the skeleton with a sledgehammer, ending his threat permanently.

The final appearance of the Master is in "Lessons", as a form of the First in an attempt to drive Spike completely insane.

Powers and abilities
"You're way out of your league, kid. The Master'll kill you before you can breathe -- if you're lucky."

- Angel

Due to his extremely advanced age, the Master possessed superhuman strenght, speed and reflexes far beyond those of common vampires, even those as old as The Prince of Lies or Kakistos. He also possessed psychic powers that allowed him to hypnotize his victims with the wave of a hand, thus taking control of their bodies and rendering them unable to move.== Non-Canon Appearances == In the first Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game, the Master returns as a phantom and temporarily possesses Angel with the help of a trio of demons known as the Dreamers.

Behind the Scenes

 * Joss Whedon's notes for the pilot indicate that the Master's name was Heinrich Joseph Nest and his age was 600 years. However, the flashback to 1609 in the episode Darla shows the Master already with his bat-like demonic visage, meaning he was far older than just 600 years by 1997, as this would have made the Master just 200 by 1609.
 * The Master was originally supposed to have a beard and long hair. Mark Metcalf came up with the bald, more demonic look as an homage to Nosferatu.
 * The Master is the only vampire in the series to leave behind skeletal remains.

Appearances

 * Welcome to the Hellmouth
 * The Harvest
 * Teacher's Pet
 * Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
 * Angel
 * Nightmares
 * Prophecy Girl
 * When She Was Bad
 * The Wish
 * Darla
 * Lessons