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The Fanlistings
A fanlisting is a website that gathers and lists the fans of a given subject. There are fanlistings for characters, actors, movies, foods... just about anything you can think of! This fun and addictive idea is the brainchild of the lovely Janine, and you can find out more about it here.

The Master
Born Heinrich Joseph Nest, this vampire was so ancient that even in 1609 he had already lost his human features. He was also the head of the Order of Aurelius, which according to Giles is a very old and venerated sect of vampires, and it was likely this position that earned him the only name by which he was ever called on the series, the Master.

He arrived in Sunnydale in 1937, planning to open the Hellmouth and free the Old Ones that lived within, but his plans hit a major snag: a massive earthquake struck during the ritual and buried half the town, taking him along with it. The portal he meant to open then became his prison; he was trapped there. For sixty years he awaited the Harvest, the one night each century when he could appoint a vessel to feed on his behalf. With Luke feeding on a captive audience at The Bronze, the Master's strength grew and his escape seemed imminent. Except for yet another little snag: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Warned about the Harvest by Angel, Buffy put a stop to it by staking Luke. The Master was not pleased. Then Angel dusted Darla to save Buffy's life, and the Master was even less pleased (especially since Darla was his favourite). But there was one major development that went the Master's way; despite her best efforts... actually, she was kinda slacking off that night but... even though she tried, Buffy failed to stop the "birth" of the Annointed One, who was prophecied in the writings of Aurelius to be the Master's greatest weapon in defeating the Slayer. Buffy assumed she had succeeded when she slayed a burly, muscle-bound bruiservamp who rose that night, not expecting that the 'greatest weapon' would be a vampire child who would show up to lead her to the Master's hideyhole.

This pivotal meeting between Slayer and Master was prophecy fulfilled. As was written, he killed Buffy, feeding from her, then dropping her into a puddle where she drowned. Strengthened by her blood, he broke out of his mystical prison and watched gleefully as the Hellmouth began to open. But as anyone who paid attention in lit class knows, prophecies are tricky little buggers; they never tell you the whole story. This particular one left out the part where Buffy has a friend who knows CPR. It also neglected to mention the bit where after Buffy was feeling better, she would throw him through the library's skylight to impale him on a broken, wooden table.

Possibly due to his age and power (or a plot necessity), the Master's bones remained when he turned to dust. Giles, Xander, and Willow buried them in consecrated ground, but the remaining bretheren of Aurelius unearthed them to perform a revivification ritual. But once again, Buffy spoiled their fun. With a sledgehammer, she put a final end to the Master by smashing his bones to dust.

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