Ethan Rayne - Character History

Character History

Little is known about Ethan's early years, although his accent suggests he is English. The first time he appears is in the episode "Halloween", when he reveals his dark nature. More information is revealed in the second season episode "The Dark Age". In the early 1970s, Ethan met and became friends with Rupert Giles, then known as "Ripper." Giles had dropped out of Oxford University and traveled to London to seek out the worst crowd that would have him. Associating with the dregs of the supernatural subculture that exist in the Buffyverse, he was in a phase later described by Xander Harris as an "electric Kool-Aid funky Satan groove."

The group practiced small magics for pleasure and gain, until Ethan and Ripper discovered something bigger: the demon known as Eyghon, or the Sleepwalker. Tattooing themselves with the Mark of Eyghon, they would take turns falling asleep, and the rest of the group would summon the demon into the sleeper. According to Giles, it was an extraordinary high, a euphoric feeling of power, but was also incredibly risky. When Eyghon took control of Randall, one of their group, the others tried to exorcise the demon, resulting in Randall's death. Giles was changed by the event, leaving London and returning to the Watchers' Council. Ethan, on the other hand, went in the opposite direction, delving deeper into the black arts. When Ethan asked, years later, why they had stopped being friends Giles replied, "When you started to worship chaos."