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- “Come now Rupert... I know what you were once like! You know exactly how incredible this power is -- How uselessly restraining the stupid Council's rules are!”
- ―Willem Bryardale[src]
Willem Bryardale was a Watcher who, in 1996, was a candidate, alongside Rupert Giles, to take the place of Merrick as the Watcher of Buffy Summers, the Slayer. Unfortunately, Bryardale had become corrupted by the knowledge obtained at the Council and began practicing the dark arts, which were forbidden by the Watchers Council, obtaining magical power from demons.
He was exposed to be practicing dark magics, which were forbidden by the Council, by Giles himself. After being exposed, Bryardale attacked Giles, as well as Quentin Travers and a number of other older Watchers. However, after obtaining a magical item from Barnaby, Giles used a forbidden reversal spell to turn Bryardale's power against him. The magic was sent back to its true source, taking Bryardale with it.
Powers and Abilities
- “Can you really pretend not to revel in the power?”
- ―Willem Bryardale[src]
As a Watcher, Bryardale had extensive knowledge in demonology and magic. However, his lust for more power led him to dabble into dark magic, which was forbidden by Council policies, becoming a powerful Warlock. He had created an altar, which he kept concealed through a glamour, within his own dormitory in which he practiced ritual sacrifices and other manifestations of the dark arts.
Personality and Traits
- “Why should I watch when I can do?”
- ―Willem Bryardale[src]
To most of his fellow Watchers, Willem Bryardale seemed like a charming and gentle individual, though still not up to Quentin Travers' expectations of the ideal Watcher. Yet, beneath his exterior lied an extremely ambitious, ruthless soul with no qualms of killing other humans in order to achieve his own goals. Like Giles, Bryardale considered the Council's regulations to be outdated restrictions to a path for true power.
Willem had blonde hair and blue eyes, though the use of black magic caused his eyes to become solid black and his hair to darken.
