Maria

Maria is the vampire who created Jasper Hale and has an army of vampires.

History
Maria found Jasper Whitlock during the Southern vampire wars. At this point, Jasper was a major in the Confederate Army, and Maria was looking for humans that she could transform into vampires to create a newborn army, using the idea pioneered by Benito. After turning Jasper, she found that he was extremely useful to her, because he was able to control the emotions of the vampires around him, and make them work together. With Jasper and her sisters, Nettie and Lucy, she was able to take over many Mexican territories previously owned by other vampire clans. Jasper was very close to Maria, and Jasper thought of her as a God-like figure. Jasper was often rewarded by Maria, especially for helping her defeat Nettie and Lucy when they rebelled. One night, Maria ordered Jasper to "purge" the newborns, which meant for him to kill all of the newborns that showed no potential to remain in her coven. It made Jasper sick and depressed to do this, and so Jasper later ran away with two other members of Maria's army, Peter and Charlotte, who he had let escape years before. It is unknown what became of Maria, although Edward mentions in the Midnight Sun draft that Maria once sought them out when they were in Calgary, and Jasper politely told her to keep her distance in the future. Jasper also asks Peter and Charlotte to tell Maria that he wishes her well if they ever come across her again, so it can be assumed that Maria is still alive. It is unknown if she is still creating newborn vampires.

Physical description
In Eclipse, Maria is described as a tiny brunette with a soft and musical voice that has a tendency to be sharp.

Film portrayal
Catalina Sandino Moreno will portray Maria in the film Eclipse.

Etymology
Maria is a variant of Mary; the meaning of which is debatable, but the most likely is "loved". Other theories include: "sea of bitterness" and "rebelliousness."

Appearances

 * Eclipse (mentioned only)
 * Eclipse (film)