KNIGHTS OF BYZANTIUM. Buffyverse Term/Concept/Idea/Intratext.

An ancient order whose monomaniacal purpose ("The Key is the link. The link must be severed.") is to secure and destroy The Key (now incorporated in Dawn) in order to prevent Glory from obtaining it and using it to open the door between dimensions and return home. They first appear in "Checkpoint" and challenge Buffy's protection of Dawn in subsequent episodes. In "Spiral," they mount a full-fledged attack on the Scooby Gang when they flee Sunnydale in a Winnebago, later surrounding them in an abandoned store. There, Gregor, their general, explains for the first time not only the Knights' purpose but Glory's scheme. The entire order is slaughtered by Glory after she captures Dawn.

--David Lavery