Cyvus Vail (Dennis Christopher) is a powerful and elderly demon warlock, recognizable by his red skin and stringy white hair, whose influence extends throughout Los Angeles thanks to his vast economic power and his membership of the Circle of the Black Thorn. Vail led the team of warlocks who performed the reality alteration that allowed Angel's son Connor to obtain a normal life. He also has a grudge against the demon Sahjhan, whom Vail was unable to fight due to his failing health, which forced him to receive continuous IV transfusions. Vail mentioned that Sahjhan had a nasty habit of trying to murder him. Cyvus Vail thus manipulated Angel to allow Connor to fight Sahjhan (Connor was prophesied to kill Sahjhan), who had been imprisoned in an urn which Cyvus had now obtained. The only way for Connor to be ruthless and skilled enough to fight Sahjhan however, was to restore his memories, which Wesley did by smashing the Orlon Window which held them. He did so, thinking he might be able to bring Fred back to life. Connor proceeded to kill Sahjhan.Vail goes underground to escape Angel's retaliation, but is present at Angel's initiation in the Circle of the Black Thorn, wearing a Venetian scaramouche mask, characterized by its long nose. The old demon paid his respects and accepted Angel's statement that he had been pretending to look for Vail. However, he remained distrustful of Angel and feared he was merely pretending to have been corrupted in order to infiltrate the Circle. He also wanted to keep close tabs on Wesley, whom Vail considered unstable and a loose cannon that would betray Angel to obtain his seat in the Circle. Wesley had more influence on Illyria than any other member of Angel's team.When Angel decided to wipe out the entire Circle, Angel chose Wesley to attack and kill Vail because he was the only one capable of facing Vail's warlock powers. Although he failed in his mission, Illyria came to his aid out of concern for his life. After he died in her arms, she proceeded to kill Vail. Show less «