Warlock

Warlocks are a breed of evil magical beings descendant from the first witch Neena and her mate, who gained their power from The All. Warlocks are considered the evil counterpart to witches.

Most warlocks are driven by the desire to kill and obtain the powers of witches. However, there are various sub-species with their own distinctions and desires. There are several ways for one to become a warlock, though one can also be born as such.

Warlocks rank low in the Hierarchy of Evil and are virtual second class citizens in the Underworld.

Origin of Warlocks
When the world was dark, a spiritual energy ran through everything that existed, neither Good nor Evil. The Elders called it The All. Thousands of years ago, a woman came across that Nexus. She alerted her mate of what she had found. At first they were afraid of it, but she pushed past that fear and tapped into this power. The woman was infused with more of the All than any human was supposed to possess. The woman shared that power with her mate and it changed them, making them immortal. It bonded them forever to one another and to The All. They ascended to a place of pure, utter bliss that they shared with the All, known as the Higher Realm.

However, their presence there affected the earth as The All was contained to the Higher Realm. As a result, the world started to die. The only way to save the world was for the woman and her mate to separate their powers and allow the power of The All to flow freely again. The woman and man were forced to abandon the Higher Realm, never to return again. Once back on Earth, the woman gave birth to a pair of twins that were conceived while she was in the Higher Realm. The first child was a female and had powers like her mother, just not as strong, and it was from this child that witches came.[1] The second child was a male born with the same abilities, but he used the magic for dark purposes, and that gave rise to warlocks. Their other children possessed no magic of their own, but they and their descendants could tap into The All as practitioners.[2] Every time a witch or warlock was born, he/she inherits a tiny piece of the All. Though some warlocks were born, witches can also become warlocks when they kill good witches to obtain their powers.

Significant Warlock Moments
The actions of the warlock Nigel and his witch partner Robin were what motivated Penny Halliwell to become one of the most deadly demon-killing witches in history. After Robin took the life of Allen Halliwell, Penny was consumed by rage and vanquished both evil beings. Though initially a pacifist, this event caused her to come committed to using her magic to vanquish demons.

The warlock Nicholas was the reason that the Halliwell sisters went through most of their lives without knowing they were witches. In 1975, he tricked their mother Patty Halliwell into granting him immunity from their powers in exchange for their lives. Sometime after Phoebe was born, their grandmother Penny Halliwell bound their powers and stripped their memories of witchcraft to protect them from being hunted by evil.

The first evil the Charmed Ones faced after getting their powers was warlock Jeremy Burns. He was also their first vanquish.

In 1998, it was revealed that in the near future, scientists were going to discover a virus that specifically infected all three-eyed warlocks, destroying the entire race. In order to stop this from happening, the warlock Gavin traveled from the future to kill the science team responsible before the discovery could be made. He was vanquished by the Charmed Ones, though he did kill several scientists. This leaves it unclear whether or not the vaccine will be created.

The most powerful line of warlocks of all time was the Rowe Coven. Much like the Warren line, each generation of Rowe warlocks grew even more powerful, culminating in the arrival of three brothers who would form the most powerful evil force in history. However, Prue helped the youngest of these brothers, Brendan, permanently suppress his warlock side and destroy his brothers. It was also revealed that by becoming a priest, Brendan could permanently strip his warlock half of powers.

When The Source of All Evil was wounded in battle by the Charmed Ones, a warlock faction tried to usurp the Underworld. The warlocks of the faction held many powers, several of which were stolen from demons. The Charmed Ones vanquished most of the faction’s members when recovering the Ring of Inspiration from their leader Devlin.

Powers and Abilities

 * Basic Powers
 * Spell Casting: The ability to cast spells and perform rituals. A notable example is the warlock Bacarra, who used Latin phrases as spells to achieve various effects.
 * Potion Making: The ability to brew magical potions.
 * Scrying: The ability to scry for lost objects or beings through the use of a scrying crystal and a map.


 * Active Powers
 * Power Absorption: The ability to absorb and gain ownership of the powers of other beings. Warlocks can absorb the powers of Witches and other beings by stabbing and killing them with an Athame.
 * Blinking: The ability to instantly teleport from one location to another by blinking one's eyes. This is a highly common power among Warlocks, though not all Warlocks are shown possessing this power.
 * Individual Powers: Due to their ability to absorb the powers of other beings, Warlocks are seen with a great variety of magical powers. The various sub-species of Warlocks are also shown possessing individual powers not displayed by other Warlocks species, such as the Dragon Warlock possessing Fire Breathing and The Collectors possessing Knowledge Absorption. It may also be possible for born Warlocks to inherit powers from their line similar to Witches.


 * Other Powers
 * Immortality: The ability to possess an infinite lifespan and an arrested aging process. Nearly all Warlocks are immortal, though there are a few exceptions. A notable example is the Familiar Warlock Shadow, who whould not achieve immortality until he had shed the last of his Familiar life. It is unknown if born warlocks such as the Rowe Coven are immortal as they do age, especially in the case of the half-warlock Brendan Rowe.

Becoming a Warlock
There are several ways in which Witches and other beings can become Warlocks:


 * For a Witch to use his or her powers to kill another witch and take his or her powers. ("Something Wicca This Way Comes")
 * For a magical Witch to be married to a Warlock in a Dark Binding ceremony. This ritual can be conducted without consent and will turn the Witch into an evil Warlock despite his or her previous moral inclinations. When the dark priestess Dantalian married Prue Halliwell to the warlock Zile, she and her sisters all became Warlocks due to their connection. This ritual also converted the Book of Shadows into a Grimoire. However, for the conversion to be complete, the new warlocks must each kill an innocent. The conversion can be reversed by vanquishing the Warlock that entered the marriage, which will annul the marriage and the conversion. ("Bride and Gloom")
 * To be born to one or more warlock parents. Two warlocks can produce a child, that will be a warlock upon birth, such as two brothers of the Rowe Coven. Brendan Rowe, however, a man born of a warlock father and a mortal mother, chose to renounce his evil nature and became a priest, shedding his warlock side.
 * For a Familiar to kill his or her Witch. The Familiar then takes on human form and obtains the powers of his or her Witch. Once this is done, the new Warlock must shed the last of its familiar nature before midnight of the next New Moon in order to become immortal. ("Pre-Witched")

Warlock Sub-Species

 * The Collectors: Warlocks who are able to drain and absorb knowledge through needle-like finger protrusions. After draining their victims information from their head, the victims may lose part of their memories or become catatonic. A Collector can also put information back in someone's head, which revives the person. A Collector's greatest weakness is his thirst for knowledge.
 * Dragon Warlock: According to the Book of Shadows, the Dragon Warlock is the twisted spawn of a dragon and a sorceress. This warlock is known to be the most feared and powerful witch killer there is. The Dragon Warlock possessed the powers of Fire Breathing, Flight and Super Strength.
 * Familiar Warlocks: When a Familiar betrays and kills its charge, it becomes a Familiar Warlock, taking on human form and taking the powers of its Witch. To become immortal, the new Warlock must shed the last of its familiar nature before midnight of the next New Moon. In the case of a feline familiar, the warlock must die nine times in order to gain immortality or be cursed to be an animal for all eternity.
 * Three-Eyed Warlock: A breed of Warlocks from the future that possess a third eye which emits a deadly beam to kill innocents.
 * Familiar Hunters: Low-level Warlocks that target and kill witches' Familiars with the purpose of leaving them more vulnerable to the attack of evil.
 * Rat Warlocks: A breed of warlocks with the power to Shapeshift into rats.
 * Hereditary Warlocks: A breed of Warlocks that is born as such, inheriting their magic from one or both parents similar to how Witches are born. The only known hereditary warlocks are of the Rowe Line, which was prophesied to bring about three brothers that would be essentially be an evil Power of Three. The Rowe Coven consisted of two pure Warlocks, Greg and Paul Rowe, and the half-warlock Brendan Rowe.

Warlock Form
Much like certain upper-level demons have a demonic form, certain warlocks possess limited shapeshifting abilities allowing them to assume a more monstrous form. In this form, warlocks have a disfigured appearance with sharp teeth, long earlobs and bright blue eyes. It is unknown if this form has additional benefits, such as an increase in power.

The only warlocks to display this form were the Rowe Coven, suggesting this might be hereditary in nature. This form is triggered by anger and be controlled by regaining control over one's emotions.

Speculation
"Actually, a witch can be either good or evil. A good witch follows the Wiccan rede. 'An it harm none, do what ye will.' A bad witch or a warlock has but one goal: to kill good witches and retain their powers."

- Phoebe telling Prue about warlocks.

The term warlock has caused some confusion throughout the series, due to the term not being well defined. Warlocks have been described as simply evil witches, being a separate species and resembling demons. This issue was eventually addressed properly in the comics. Here it was revealed that both witches and warlocks came from Neena and her mate, who gained their powers from The All.

The relation between warlocks and witches is further established by the fact that warlocks share the same basic abilities of spell casting, potion making and scrying. However, not all warlocks are known to use these powers, as most seem to prefer using their (potentially stolen) active powers.

"Wait a minute, we're warlocks, right? We should be able to blink wherever we want."

- Phoebe to Piper.

Initially, it was believed that warlocks are witches who have betrayed the Wiccan Rede. However, the statement all evil witches become warlocks is disproven later in the series when antagonists as Tuatha are clearly mentioned to be evil witches. It was also shown that one can be born as a warlock, as with the Rowe Coven.

It is clearly established that witches can indeed become warlocks through several means. When Dantalian used her dark magic to marry Prue to the warlock Zile, she and her sisters were turned into warlocks. The most basic way for a witch to become a warlock is to kill another witch and steal her powers.

The fact that most demons show a disdain for warlocks suggests they are not demonic in nature either. However, they are also described as not being human due to their inability to bleed. Witches, on the other hand, do bleed and are considered human. This further suggest that, although related, witches and warlocks are not the same species.

Notes and Trivia

 * According to Prue Halliwell, there are 19 specific Warlock vanquishing spells in the Book of Shadows, as mentioned in "They're Everywhere".
 * It was originally believed that warlocks could not be found through scrying. However, it is possible to track warlocks by scrying for the powers they have stolen, as a witch's power technically remains alive even after its user dies.
 * While some warlocks are so powerful they require vanquishing spells, others can be simply vanquished by potions or strong powers, like Piper's molecular combustion power.
 * Warlocks were featured more often in the earlier seasons, being the primary type of enemy in the first two seasons, only to be overshadowed by demons into the later seasons.
 * The word warlock is derived from the old-English "waer logga", which means "oath breaker". The word was used by the Christian church as a derogative way to label Pagans. This origin could also be linked to Charmed's definition, since warlocks have acted against The Wiccan Rede, which could be considered an oath.
 * Although warlocks are said not to bleed, this was not the case with certain warlocks, such as  Jeremy Burns and the Familiar Hunter. Presumably half-warlocks will be able to bleed due to their human side.
 * Although warlocks are second class citizens in the Underworld, some of them seems to possess connections to high members of the Demonic Hierarchy, like in the case of Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster. Also, in the Alternate Reality of future Bacarra where Cole Turner became the ruler of the underworld, the class system changed under his rulership. Warlocks and demons were united as equals, giving evil one of its greatest triumphs in decades.
 * In "Muse to My Ears" it was mentioned by Cole and Leo that there was a law against warlocks stealing the powers of demons. It is considered treason and punishable by death.

Appearances
Warlocks have appeared in a total of 25 episodes and 5 comic issues throughout the course of the series.