This writeup pertains to the Angel tv series character. Spoilers for Season Five await, so please be careful.
Illyria was first among the ranks of the
Old Ones, pure demons from the Primordium Age, and was the ruler of a kingdom that included California. Her power was so great that she was one of the most respected
Old Ones, and she ruled from her castle Vahla Ha'Nesh, located in what would come to be
modern-day
Los Angeles.
In time the
greed and
avarice of other Old Ones grew to the point that they decided to
murder her.
As shown in an illustration of a
monument of her true form, which decorated her castle of Vahla Ha'Nesh, Illyria used to be a truly awesome force. If we assume the monument was
life-size, it would have had to been at least six times as large as a tall and muscular
human. Her head and torso were humanoid, but instead of arms she possessed five flexible
tentacles which were ambulatory enough that
she could grasp and manipulate weapons with them. Because she had feet like an
eagle's,she was able to perch upon uneven surfaces.
Fortunately for us, and not for It, Illyria's body was destroyed and her undying
spirit was
contained within a sarcophagus guarded by
Drogyn the
Battlebrand. Drogyn was an
immortal tasked by the
Powers that Be to guard undying Old Ones within the
Deeper Well, which was fashioned to be a prison for the hateful demon gods. As was foretold, Illyria was able to escape from the Well, still confined within her
coffin. Her self-styled
priest, the wily human scientist known as
Knox quietly arranged for the sarcophagus to be sent to the science division of Wolfram and Hart.
Knox had already entered into an
arrangement with Dr. Sparrow to poach
Wolfram and Hart's clients from under their noses, though whether Knox actually would have honored their deal is
debatable at best. Dr. Sparrow held up his end, though, and bartered with
Charles Gunn to have the sarcophagus forced through
customs in exchange for making Gunn's mental
modifications permanent.
Once the sarcophagus arrived at
Wolfram and Hart, it opened in front of
Winifred Burkle, infecting her with the undying soul of Illyria.
Angel and the others rushed to find a cure for Fred before it was too late, but learned that the cure would require them to draw out Illyria and wipe out most of the human beings in between
Fred and the Deeper Well.
Spike and Angel decided that Fred would not want to be indirectly responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands.
Once awakened and embodied within Fred, Illyria was ready to restore her rule of California.
Aware that Illyria had killed Fred, but unable to destroy her shell because it looked like Fred,
Wesleyagrees to help Angel
eliminate Illyria. Unbeknownst to Angel, Wesley had modified their
Mutoid Generator to only absorb
excess power from Illyria, not kill her. Once Wesley draws off her excess power, Illyria iss greatly weakened, and is no longer as strong as a True Demon nor able to Manipulate Time or Talk to Plants. Still, considering she is able to destroy several members of the
Circle of the Black Thorn in combat, her skills are still
impressive. Illyria is infuriated by the loss of so many of her powers, and was quick to
assume that others wanted to permanently kill her to take her title away.
Illyria is well aware that she can never be what she once was. Her brutal beating at the hands and feet of
Marcus Hamilton, a
Child of the Senior Partners, was a painful reminder of that fact.