Ascension

The Mayor while he ascends.

“You ascend… to a higher level. Nothing will ever be the same. Nothing. And so as we look back on… on the events that brought us to this day. We… we must all… It has begun. My destiny. It's a little sooner then I expected I had this whole section on civic pride… But I guess we'll just skip to the big finish!”

―Richard Wilkins

Ascension was the transformation of a human into the embodiment of an Old One as result of a series of rituals and ceremonies.

The requirements were different depending on the demon the sorcerer attempted to become. Apparently, once a human successfully ascended, the Old One that they transformed into could not be reincarnated until the current vessel died, as in the case of Olvikan. Notably, the Books of Ascension held vital information on the process to achieve Ascension.

History

Throughout the centuries, only a few Ascensions had been recorded, due to the destruction and massacres caused by the new demons.

• c. 1200: a sorcerer in a village in the Koskov Valley became the embodiment of the demon Lohesh. Only three people escaped alive.

• May 26, 1723: an Ascension occurred in a town called Sharpsville. The town was completely destroyed and no one survived. The only record of this Ascension was the journal of Sharpesville’s pastor, Desmond Kane.

• Date unknown: in Kauai, a sorcerer became the embodiment of the demon Olvikan, but was killed in a volcanic eruption. The demon was remembered in the legend of Olukai.

• May 1999: in Sunnydale, the town’s mayor Richard Wilkins became the embodiment of Olvikan. Besides a number of demon pacts, Wilkins performed the Dedication and the Ritual of Gavrok to achieve Ascension. He was then killed by Rupert Giles with a firebomb minutes after Ascending.

Appearances

• "Choices" (Only mentioned)
• "Enemies" (Only mentioned)
• "The Prom" (Only mentioned)
• "Graduation Day, Part One" (Only mentioned)
• "Graduation Day, Part Two"
• Haunted, Part One (Only mentioned)