The Order of Aurelius was a cult of vampires that worshiped the Old Ones.[1][2] It was founded by Aurelius[3] and commanded by the Master until his demise in 1997.[4] Its symbol was a sun accompanied by three stars.[3]
Tenets and traditions[]
- “We stalk the surface only to feed and grow our ranks. We do not live among the human pestilence.”
- ―The Master[src]
Despite considering themselves the elite of the vampire world, the Brethren of Aurelius were not allowed to live above ground among the human society. Humans were regarded by the Order as little more than animals to be preyed upon. The Order's members were expected to dwell underground, paying tribute to the Old Ones and to surface only to hunt for food or sire new vampires.[2]
Failure was punished with penance, with vampires being expected to offer their lives in case of serious offenses. The choice whether to spare the offending vampire fell to the Master, who would also choose mutilation instead of outright execution when displeased with his minions' actions. The vampire Colin had his eye gouged when he and his cohorts failed to trap the Slayer,[5] while Claw had lost a hand for displeasing the Master.[6] Meanwhile, the Three lay down their lives at the Master's will when they failed to kill the Slayer,[7] while Spike was expected to accept execution for ruining the Night of Saint Vigeous.[8]
History[]
- “We lurk below, giving tribute to the Old Ones, until that promised day when we will arise! Arise and lay waste to the world above!”
- ―The Master[src]
Origin[]
The Order of Aurelius was founded in the 12th century by Aurelius himself.[3] By 1760, the Master had became its undisputed ruler, when the Order's seat of power was located in the sewers of London. During this year, a few brethren of the Order witnessed how Darla, the Master's favorite, left the cult to be with her progeny and lover, Angelus.[2]
Attempts to open the Hellmouth[]
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 releasing the Old Ones. However, an earthquake hit town during the ritual, swallowing half the town, including the church in which the Master was. As the ritual had already commenced, the Master was trapped within a mystical prison, too weak to break free.[3] He was forced to rely on his minions, particularly Luke, the most powerful of his acolytes, as well as Darla, who returned to the Master[1] after 1900.[2]
In 1997, the Order of Aurelius attempted to free the Master from his prison during the Harvest, with Luke serving a his Vessel. However, the Master's plans were ruined by Buffy Summers, the latest Slayer, who slew several of the Order's brethren, among them Luke.[5]
Despite the Order succeeding in bringing the Anointed One to the Master,[3] he grew weary with the loss of Darla, dusted at Angel's hands. Nevertheless, words of encouragement from the Anointed One strengthened his resolve to continue making preparations for his impeding ascension.[7]
As predicted by the Pergamum Codex, the Master confronted Buffy in his prison, and he quickly defeated the Slayer, while numbers of vampires gathered around the Hellmouth to await the return of the Old Ones. Empowered by the Slayer's blood, the Master broke free of his prison, leaving her to die. As the Master left to witness the emergence of a powerful demon from the Hellmouth, Buffy was revived and confronted the Master again, ultimately defeating him by throwing him through the Sunnydale High School library skylight and impaling him on a large piece of wood. With the Master dead, the members of the Order retreated.[4]
The Anointed One's reign[]
- “From now on, we're gonna have a little less ritual and a little more fun around here!”
- ―Spike announces the end of the Order of Aurelius[src]
Unlike most vampires, who turned completely to dust upon their death, the Master had left behind a skeleton, which Giles buried in consecrated ground.[9]
Months after the Master’s death, the remaining Order gathered around the leadership of the Anointed One and moved their lair to the Bric & Broc abandoned factory. The young vampire, with the aid of his leading acolyte Absalom, had the Master's skeleton unearthed as part of an attempt to resurrect him through a ritual that involved the people that were around the Master at the time of his demise.[9]
The Aurelian vampires then kidnapped Giles, Willow, Cordelia, and Jenny to sacrifice them. However, Buffy, Angel, and Xander managed to stop the ritual before their friends were killed. In the resulting fight, Buffy slain some members of the Order, including Absalom, and destroyed the Master's bones.[9]
A few weeks later, the Order gathered to discuss their new situation, the Anointed One's new second argued that whoever took the Master's mantle would become a target for the Slayer, prompting another Aurelian to propose that whoever killed the Slayer would become the Master's successor. To ensure their success, they planned on attacking during the Night of Saint Vigeous. However, the newly arrived Spike changed their plans by taking a large group of the Order's members on an attack on Sunnydale High two nights before that event.[8]
With their numbers depleted, and the feast ruined, the Anointed's second demanded Spike to lay down his life in penance. Instead, Spike killed the Anointed One and took control of the surviving vampires, announcing the end of the Order's rigid traditions and rituals.[8]
Wishverse[]
In 1999, Cordelia made a wish to the vengeance demon Anyanka that Buffy had never went to Sunnydale, creating an alternate timelime. Without the Slayer, the Order of Aurelius reigned free throughout Sunnydale for two years. They kept Angel chained in a prison, and the vampires Xander and Willow were the leading acolytes of the Order.[10]
Giles led the White Hats, which provided scarce protection for humans in town. The Watcher eventually summoned Buffy to Sunnydale, who went after the Master in the night the Order debuted a blood-draining machine. Angel, Xander, Willow, and Buffy died in the ensuing battle between the Order and its human prisoners. Meanwhile, Giles summoned Anyanka and destroyed her symbol, restoring the original timeline.[10]
Members[]
Wishverse[]
Behind the scenes[]
- The Order of Aurelius returned in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Xbox) game, set during the show's third season. Under orders from the Old One Laibach of the Abyss, Spike returned to Sunnydale and regrouped the remnants of the Order of Aurelius, along with new shapeshifting members Malik and Scylla. With help from the necromancer Matereani, they brought the Master back in a ghostly form, and he then possessed Angel to regain a physical presence before going about reuniting the Dreamers, a trio of powerful psychic demons who could warp reality. However, Buffy intervened once more, destroying the Dreamers, exorcising the Master's spirit from Angel's body, and then having the other Scoobies recorporealize the Master long enough for her to stake him once again.
- In the comic miniseries Spike: The Devil You Know, Tansy Fry, a member of the Order who was thrown out because her methods kept drawing unwanted attention, attempted to regroup the Order in Los Angeles, but was thwarted by Spike and Eddie Hope.
- Despite their limited amount of appearances in season 2, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Encyclopedia lists the Order as the Big Bads of the season along with Angelus.
Appearances[]
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1 | |||||||||||
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" Appears |
"The Harvest" Appears |
"Witch" Absent |
"Teacher's Pet" Appears |
"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" Appears |
"The Pack" Absent |
"Angel" Appears |
"I Robot, You Jane" Absent |
"The Puppet Show" Absent |
"Nightmares" Appears |
"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" Absent |
"Prophecy Girl" Appears |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2 | |||||||||||
"When She Was Bad" Appears |
"Some Assembly Required" Absent |
"School Hard" Appears |
"Inca Mummy Girl" Absent |
"Reptile Boy" Absent |
"Halloween" Absent |
"Lie to Me" Absent |
"The Dark Age" Absent |
"What's My Line? Part One" Absent |
"What's My Line? Part Two" Absent |
"Ted" Absent | |
"Bad Eggs" Absent |
"Surprise" Absent |
"Innocence" Absent |
"Phases" Absent |
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" Absent |
"Passion" Absent |
"Killed by Death" Absent |
"I Only Have Eyes for You" Absent |
"Go Fish" Absent |
"Becoming, Part One" Absent |
"Becoming, Part Two" Absent |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3 | |||||||||||
"Anne" Absent |
"Dead Man's Party" Absent |
"Faith, Hope & Trick" Absent |
"Beauty and the Beasts" Absent |
"Homecoming" Absent |
"Band Candy" Absent |
"Revelations" Absent |
"Lovers Walk" Absent |
"The Wish" Appears |
"Amends" Absent |
"Gingerbread" Absent | |
"Helpless" Absent |
"The Zeppo" Absent |
"Bad Girls" Absent |
"Consequences" Absent |
"Doppelgängland" Appears |
"Enemies" Absent |
"Earshot" Absent |
"Choices" Absent |
"The Prom" Absent |
"Graduation Day, Part One" Absent |
"Graduation Day, Part Two" Absent |
Angel: Season 2 | |||||||||||
"Judgment" Absent |
"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" Absent |
"First Impressions" Absent |
"Untouched" Absent |
"Dear Boy" Absent |
"Guise Will Be Guise" Absent |
"Darla" Flashback |
"The Shroud of Rahmon" Absent |
"The Trial" Absent |
"Reunion" Absent |
"Redefinition" Absent | |
"Blood Money" Absent |
"Happy Anniversary" Absent |
"The Thin Dead Line" Absent |
"Reprise" Absent |
"Epiphany" Absent |
"Disharmony" Absent |
"Dead End" Absent |
"Belonging" Absent |
"Over the Rainbow" Absent |
"Through the Looking Glass" Absent |
"There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb" Absent |
Other[]
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