- Charles Gunn: “So that's what the thing inside of him really looks like?”
- Wesley: “In its purest form, I think so, yes.”
- — Charles Gunn and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce[src]
Van-Tal is the name used to describe a vampire in the hell dimension Pylea.
Origin
The Van-Tal are vampires found in Pylea. In the dimension of Pylea, both the human and demonic aspects of a vampire are greatly enhanced.
A vampire casts a reflection as a Van-Tal.
When the vampire is wearing its human face, the vampire appears to be much more human than they would on Earth; casting a reflection, having their bloodlust muted, as well as being unaffected by Pylean sunlight. However, when a vampire in Pylea "vamps out", they became a vicious, demonic beast known to Pylean's as the "Van-Tal."
Upon seeing a Van-Tal, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce theorised that the demonic form was in fact the vampire's demonic being "in its purest form."
Characteristics and Traits
The Van-Tal has green skin and rows of spines on its forehead and skin, as well as clawed hands and red eyes. It is incapable of speaking and runs like an animal on all fours.
Angel's demonic self as a Van-Tal in Pylea.
As the demon that possesses and animates a vampire's body is not the source of its personality, the demon, which Pyleans called Van-Tal, was little more than a vicious, hematophagous creature that only added the bloodlust and killer instinct to the vampire's personality; and thus, Van-Tal retained their human personalities when using their human faces, but the vampire-reanimating demon's bloodlust and savage instincts took over when the Van-Tal vamped out.
It was also stronger than a regular vampire from Earth (a regular vampire being a combination of the wild, feral Van-Tal's spirit and the human body and mind that the vampire had possessed in life). The strength of a Van-Tal was comparable to that of its Turok-Han cousins.
The Van-Tal was also immune to sunlight, although it is unknown if this was unique to Pylea's suns.