Brotherhood of the Five

The Brotherhood of the Five, or simply The Five for short, are a group of five of supernaturally gifted vampire hunters, which is a term used, by Niklaus Mikaelson, to collectively describe them. They were created by a dying witch, who was a descendant of the very powerful witch Qetsiyah, who wanted them to fulfill Qetsiyah's wish, which is to cure and kill the very first immortal, Silas. Their means of accomplishing this task is via the tattoos on their bodies called the Hunter's Mark. The marks served a variety of purposes and lead to Silas and his means of destruction - the Cure for Immortality. As the Five are vampire hunters, and their main target is the immortal Silas, it can be said they hunt immortals, as both types of immortal species, vampires and immortals, are susceptible to the Hunter's Curse.
The Brotherhood of the Five originated in 1110 AD and were all killed by Klaus in 1114 AD. Even after the death of the original five hunters, the Hunter's Curse still existed due to the presence of Potential Hunters in each age. After Silas was killed by Stefan, their main objective was indirectly completed. It is unknown if there would be any more Potentials now that their main mission is complete.
Qetsiyah herself refers to them, and all of their counterparts over the centuries, simply as her "Hunters".
==History==
===12th Century===
In the early 1110's, a dying witch gathered together five men, presumably warriors, led by Alexander, and cast a spell to bind them together towards a single common goal: the destruction of all vampires. The spell, which was bound by the witch's dying breath, endowed them with peak human physical abilities which would enable them to challenge vampires and an intense desire to kill them whenever they saw one. The witch also gave them something more, a mystical tattoo that became known as the Hunter's Mark which spread all across their right arm and torso. The tattoo acted as a map and led to the what Alexander called 'the ultimate weapon' that would ensure the destruction of the vampires: a cure for vampirism. The map could only be deciphered by using their swords, which was engraved with the symbol of their brotherhood.
With these new enhancements and their goal in mind, Alexander and his brothers set out on a bloody campaign across Italy to seek out and destroy vampires wherever they found them. As they crossed several towns, they captured and killed hundreds of vampires, ruthlessly massacring them at the pyre by exposing them to sunlight. As they did so, they spread their message that the demons lived amongst the human population, with invigorating speeches at market stands.
In 1114, as the Norman conquest swept through the south of Italy, the Five became aware of the presence of the family of the original vampires who had arrived in Europe and had been turning people as they went. As their tale spread, the Five soon learned that the Originals could not be destroyed as ordinary vampires could be. It is presumably because of this that they had a witch create the White Oak Ash Daggers which could neutralize them if they were bound to the ashes of the White Oak Tree.
The Originals had also heard of the Five and encountered them as they traveled southern Italy. Although Elijah Mikaelson, the eldest of the Originals, believed that these hunters could pose a threat, his siblings did not believe they were that dangerous and the only female Original, Rebekah, even began a romantic relationship with Alexander. Elijah nevertheless attempted to grow closer to the hunters by pretending to be a nobleman who had taken up the crusade to destroy the vampires in order to learn more about them. It was then that Alexander revealed what they were after and how they intended to accomplish it.
 However, despite Elijah's caution, the Originals had underestimated the Five. One night, Alexander revealed to an unsuspecting Rebekah that he knew she was a vampire by daggering her, rendering her neutralized. That night, Alexander and his brothers invited Elijah and his three remaining siblings, Finn, Kol and Niklaus, to a 'slumber party' and they daggered the four remaining Originals, apparently ending their threat. However, they were unaware that Niklaus was not just an Original vampire; he was a hybrid, half-vampire and half-werewolf. Given his werewolf side, the daggers had no effect on him. Niklaus subsequently slaughtered the Five before releasing his siblings, ending the Five's crusade and making any map to the Cure lost because the tattoos vanished with their deaths.
===Survival===
After the death of The Five, a new aspect of the witch's spell was revealed: the Hunter's Curse. This was a fail-safe that guaranteed the killer of a hunter die, as well as to try and increase their odds of survival, so they could complete their mission to cure and kill Silas. Niklaus, who killed all of the Original Members of the Brotherhood of the Five, began to suffer from severe hallucinations which took several forms all of which convinced Niklaus to kill himself. However, as he was indestructible, he was unable to do so when he tried.
However, The Five had not been destroyed as everyone believed. Another effect of the spell was that Potential Hunters could eventually take up the mantle of their fallen brothers and carry on their quest. When a hunter is killed, the Hunter's Mark appears on another and he begins to feel the changes that come with being a hunter. It took a total of 52 years, 4 months and 9 days, after Niklaus killed the Original Five Hunters, for all of The Five to be replaced. This also broke the Hunter's Curse and released Niklaus from the hallucinations, which presumably happened the instant the last of the Potential Hunters killed his first vampire.
From that moment on, there has, at every point in time, been only five hunters in existence, mostly unaware of one another and even of what their purpose was. However, the more vampires they killed, the more their mark (which was now invisible to all but other hunters/potentials) grew. Many believed that this meant they would need to complete their mark to discover what they were meant to do. 
==Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series==
===Season Four===
 A soldier named Connor Jordan was serving in Iraq when he met one of The Five and was the only one to see his mark, marking him as a potential hunter. He learned of his intense desire to kill vampires and the fact that he was likely to also be a hunter. A few years later, the mark appeared on Connor's arm and he began his own crusade to kill vampires, using a vast array of weapons and his military experience to kill as many vampires as possible. In 2010, he met Professor Atticus Shane, an Occult Studies professor at Whitmore College, who told him that he could give him answers about his mark but he wanted him to grow it to completion first. To that end, he sent him to the town of Mystic Falls, where a large vampire population remained.
In Memorial, Connor arrived in Mystic Falls and, using gloves laced with vervain, identified Tyler Lockwood as a vampire, not knowing that he was actually a hybrid. Having failed to kill Tyler, he set a trap for the vampires at memorial for the dead Council members by bleeding April Young and waiting for a vampire to make a move. When he recognized Tyler, he shot him with a sniper rifle but once again failed to kill him.
In The Rager, having realized what Tyler was, he snuck into the hospital where he was being held and extracted werewolf venom from his fangs, planning to use it to destroy the Mystic Falls vampires. He also discovered that a potential in town, Jeremy Gilbert. He tried to train him into becoming a hunter himself but Jeremy had friends among the vampires and conspired with them to stop Connor. At the same time, the repeated attacks on Tyler had attracted the attention of Niklaus, now widely known as Klaus, who had lost his means of making hybrids when Elena Gilbert was turned into a vampire and wanted to protect the ones he had. Returning to Mystic Falls with what remained of his hybrids, Klaus conspired with Jeremy, Damon Salvatore, and Dr. Meredith Fell to stop Connor. They trapped him in the hospital and tried to get him to confess to his intentions. Connor tried to attack Klaus but the Original was much faster and stronger than him, and seized his stake. They had planned to blow him up with Connor's own claymore mines. He was later saved by Klaus, who realized his connection to the Five and whisked him to the Mikaelson Mansion to question him about the group.
In The Five, Klaus tortured him and forced Jeremy, the only person who could see his tattoo, to draw it for him. Connor explained to Jeremy that he got his mark after seeing it on another member of the Five, who told him that because he could see it, he was a potential hunter, too. later, he escapes after brutally killing one of Klaus' hybrids, he briefly returned to Shane before deciding to stage a last trap for the vampires.
In The Killer, he takes Jeremy, April Young and Matt Donovan hostage and he lured the vampires and hybrids to the Mystic Grill and, using his booby traps, he killed Dean, another hybrid. However, he hadn't counted on the secret tunnels that accessed the Grill which allowed Stefan Salvatore to enter the Grill. Connor held Jeremy at gunpoint and threatened to kill him if Stefan didn't show himself. Stefan tried to get him to surrender by telling him that he knew the answers that he wanted but Connor refused. Elena then arrived to save her brother and Connor was taken by surprise, not knowing that she was a vampire. Overwhelmed by her strength, Connor was almost killed. However, the explosion of another of his traps distracted Elena which allowed Connor to gain the upper hand. He failed to kill her due to Stefan's intervention who captured him and took him into the tunnels.
Damon tried to kill Connor while Stefan and Klaus wanted him alive since they knew he was the only one who could lead them to the cure. Connor escaped but was intercepted by Elena, who told him to keep away from her brother. He tried to kill her but she snapped his neck. With Connor's death, Jeremy took up his mantle as the new hunter as the mark appeared on his hand and Elena began to suffer from the Hunter's Curse, almost killing herself until Jeremy killed Chris, a hybrid, to save her, thanks to Professor Shane's advice.
With the Hunter's Mark now activated on Jeremy, the instincts of a true vampire hunter, which all members of The Five had, kicked into overdrive, and mark would now be used as a tool for vampires interested in the cure. It started with bad dreams he'd begun to have of wanting to hurt his sister now that she was a vampire along with unconsciously carving the symbol of The Five into stakes.
However, once Stefan forced him to a kill a newly turned vampire to grow his mark, Jeremy's urge to kill vampires took complete control, wanting to harm any vampire he could, starting with Elena, and quickly learning that he could no longer be compelled. These instincts nearly drove Jeremy to kill his sister but he was stopped in the nick of time. Deciding he was too dangerous to be around Elena, Jeremy went to the lake-house his family owned where Professor Shane and Bonnie tried to help him control his hunter urges. However, when Elena and Damon came to visit, Jeremy tried to kill his sister yet again. A mental test Shane tried also revealed that Jeremy's deep seeded hatred toward vampires made him no longer think of Elena as his sister, but as a monster. They managed to get control of him though once they realized he needed an emotional connection, which was Bonnie. Though he still had the now natural instinct to kill vampires, he could now recognize friend from foe.
Jeremy stayed at the lake-house where he began training to be a better hunter under the watchful eyes of Damon. He practiced physical fitness but was still nowhere near ready, as Damon proved to him personally. However, when Klaus grew impatient to grow Jeremy's mark, he turned local townspeople into vampires, one being a pizza delivery girl who Jeremy killed when saving Matt, his mark growing a bit more. When Jeremy was taken to a bar full of transitioning vampires and told by Klaus he had to kill them all, Jeremy resisted but his hand was forced when Klaus sent them after Matt.
After waiting them out through the night, Jeremy and Damon tracked the vampires down only to find they had all been killed by one of the Original vampires, Kol. Kol revealed that the Hunter's Mark did indeed lead to the cure, but also to an ancient immortal witch named Silas and that Silas would bring great destruction. Jeremy still refused him and Kol tried to chop off Jeremy's arm so the mark could never be completed. Jeremy managed to survive Kol's attempt on his life, staking the Original with the white oak stake, which killed all of the vampires in his bloodline, causing the Hunter's Mark to complete itself.
With the Hunter's Mark completed, and the rest of the necessities close-by Professor Shane led an expedition to the island where the cure and Silas were held. Bonnie did her best to try and figure out the message of the Hunter's Mark but to no avail. Jeremy was nearly killed by an islander but was saved by a mysterious hatchet wielding assailant. Later, Jeremy was taken captive by a witch under Shane's orders, who planned on secretly releasing Silas without the help of the vampires he had brought along. On another part of the island, Galen Vaughn attacked Damon Salvatore, and after Damon noticed the visible tattoo on Galen's arm, was caught off-guard and beaten by the hunter.
Vaughn took Damon captive, binding him with vervain-soaked ropes. Galen said that he'd been watching Damon and knew all about his friends, telling him that his own Hunter's Mark completed itself on its own, presumably where Jeremy had finished his by killing Kol. He explained that he was simply trying to fulfill The Five's original purpose as set by Qetsiyah's descendants: to find, cure, and then kill Silas. He chastised Damon for wanting the cure for his friends before telling him that there was only one dose of the cure, and that dose should be used to turn Silas mortal, not used to cure a random vampire. While Galen brought Damon toward the well where Silas was buried, Jeremy was already there with Shane and Bonnie. Bonnie used Expression to perform the spell on the mark, opening the pathway toward Silas' entombed body. When she did this, the mark vanished from Jeremy's body as well as Galen's(along with the other three members of The Five, presumably), and caused a partial collapse in the cave. This trapped Shane's legs and when he pleaded for help, Bonnie and Jeremy continued forward. Bonnie thought she was being led toward Silas with help from her grandmother's spirit, but Jeremy knew it was just a hallucination made by Silas to lure people to him, since Jeremy couldn't see her ghost. They concluded this was how Silas had tricked Shane into his crusade of freeing him.
Galen and Damon arrived at the entrance to the well where Damon resisted the hunter. Rebekah also showed up, having learned that there was only one dose of the cure. Galen was prepared for such a confrontation though, acknowledging that despite not having the white oak stake, he could still bring down Rebekah. He attached an explosive with stakes protruding from it to her chest before pulling the pin. The blast embedded the stakes into Rebekah's chest immobilizing her for the time being. Damon continued to fight back but Galen pulled out a shotgun which fired a bolas that wrapped itself around Damon's neck. When Stefan came, Galen descended down into the well. Jeremy and Bonnie reached Silas' fossilized body only to see that he was holding the cure and the only way to get the cure free was to get Silas moving.
Noticing the similarity between the immortal's appearance and a desiccated vampire, they concluded that he needed blood to move. Jeremy refused to go through with it, not thinking it was worth Silas awaking but Vaughn appeared, stabbing Bonnie and cutting his own hand to give Silas his blood, wanting to get the cure and shove it down the immortal's throat. Jeremy intercepted but after a brief struggle was beaten. Despite being a fellow member of The Five, Galen decided he had to get rid of Jeremy but Katherine Pierce suddenly showed up, knocking Galen out. She cut and bit Jeremy before shoving him onto Silas' forcing his blood into Silas' mouth. The immortal began to wake up, his eyes opening and his hands beginning to move. Katherine took the cure and ran while Silas drank Jeremy dry before breaking his neck, killing the young hunter.
After using Jeremy's blood to rise up, Silas left his tomb, leaving his mask behind. When Galen woke up from his being knocked unconscious, he found the mask and put in his bag, annoyed to have failed his mission to kill Silas. Jeremy's body was taken home by his sister while Damon and Rebekah remained on the island, something Galen took full advantage of. He tried to attack Damon again, using his crossbow to shoot an arrow at him but Damon used Rebekah as a shield before Vaughn fired another shot which Damon caught. The hunter grabbed his bag and fled but Damon caught up. After a brief struggle with Galen trying to use his knife against Damon, he was again knocked out, this time took hostage by Damon and tied up with his own ropes. Rebekah and Damon interrogated him and learned that Katherine was the one who had found Galen and orchestrated the whole endeavor to get the cure. Galen, still bound, had Rebekah go through his bag to show her Silas' mask as proof that he had awakened and that they were all doomed if they couldn't cure and kill him.
When Bonnie Bennett brings down the wall to the Other Side, the ghosts of the Five reappear with Rebekah and Matt being surrounded by three members of the Five: Alexander, Connor Jordan, and Galen Vaughn. The Five intend to reclaim their supernatural destiny by finding both Silas and the cure, and using it to kill him once and for all.
They split up, each trying different methods to get what they wanted. Alexander captured Rebekah and Matt, pressing them for information by holding Matt hostage with an explosive. Rebekah managed to free Matt and set off the explosive, blowing up herself and Alexander but knowing she'd survive the blast. Connor threatened residents of Mystic Falls who were eating at the Mystic Grill along with Elena but the ghost of Alaric Saltzman stopped him from hurting anyone. Vaughn managed to get the cure from Damon Salvatore and had Damon lead him to where Silas was supposedly being kept but was simply being stalled. When he discovered this, he shot Damon with werewolf soaked bullets before Alaric arrived and broke his neck, tossing him off the cliff. The ghosts of the vampire hunters were all presumably sent back to The Other Side when Bonnie re-sealed the veil.
==Members==
===12th Century===
*Original Brothers: Alexander along with 4 other original members, they lived in the 12th century and had the symbol on their swords.
Alexander-Member.png|Alexander † (Leader)|link=Alexander
Fivemember01.png|Original member #1 †|link=
Fivemember02.png|Original member #2 †|link=
Fivemember03.png|Original member #3 †|link=
Fivemember04.png|Original member #4 †|link=
===12th—19th Century===
*Unnamed Hunters in late 12th Century: Niklaus says: "For 52 years, 4 months, 9 days. I was tormented in my dreams, my every waking moment. Eventually, it just stopped." This reveals that five other hunters (as Klaus had killed five of them) appeared and stopped the curse that Niklaus had for half a century.
*Vicente Cruz: In the early 1800's, Rayna Cruz's father was one of the Five. He traced the tattoo on his arm so Rayna could see it, as she was not a Potential Hunter, then trained his daughter for years to be a vampire hunter. Julian attacked Saint Malo, where Vicente kept the area safe from vampires, but Julian killed many locals and mortally wounded Vicente. When Rayna found him and revealed her father was one of the Five, in order to persuade Julian to spare him lest he suffers the Hunter's Curse, Julian, realizing if he did spare him, Vicente would never stop hunting him, compelled Rayna to kill him instead.
Male silhouette.jpg|Many unknown hunters †
Vicente.jpg|Vicente Cruz †
===21st Century===
*Connor's friend from Iraq: A man who told Connor since he can see the mark, he's a potential hunter. The two served in Iraq together. Connor lost track of him, and suddenly he got the tattoo, implying his friend had died.
*Connor Jordan: After receiving the tattoo, Connor had an incredible urge to kill vampires and became quite skilled at it, using stealth tactics to his advantage. He was sent to Mystic Falls by Professor Atticus Shane, where after his failed attempt to clean out the town of monsters, he was killed by Elena.
*Galen Vaughn: He is a member of The Five who doesn't mind being on top of the food chain and knows a lot about Damon Salvatore but doesn't understand how strongly Damon feels for Elena Gilbert. Unlike Connor, Galen knows all about The Five and their true mission of killing Silas, accepting his duty to complete it.
*Jeremy Gilbert: After a hard day, Connor ended up being killed by Elena and his mark was passed on to Jeremy. Jeremy also developed the hunter instincts but thanks to his friends, had some limited control over them. He began training and became a tool for vampires who were interested in the cure. He was forced to train and grow his mark though it did not complete until he staked the Original, Kol. In Down the Rabbit Hole, Jeremy was killed by the awakening Silas. But is later resurrected by Bonnie in Graduation. Thus, his is the last remaining member of the Brotherhood.
Male silhouette.jpg|Connor's friend †
Connor-Member.png|Connor Jordan †
Jeremy-Member.png|Jeremy Gilbert
Vaughn.jpg|Galen Vaughn †
===Potentials===
Potential Hunters refer to those who can become part of the Five once a current member dies. Pre-requisites to become a Potential are currently unknown. However, they are identified by their ability to see the Hunter's Mark on the bodies of any current Hunter. Potentials obtain the Mark themselves when an active member of the Five dies and will become "awakened" after they commit their first Vampiric entity kill. It is unknown if females even get chosen as Potentials.
==Prey==
*Rebekah Mikaelson: She is the youngest of the Originals and was in love with Alexander, a member of the Five over 900 years ago. They lived in Italy during the 12th century, where Elijah, Niklaus, Finn, Kol, and the other members of the Five were together without suspecting each other for a short time. One night, Alexander and Rebekah had an important conversation about the mark, the daggers, and future. Sadly, Alexander neutralizes Rebekah, along with her brothers, Elijah, Finn, Kol, leaving only Niklaus to fight against the vampire hunters. Finally, Rebekah was the only one who knew the cure and how to decipher the Hunter's Mark.
*Tyler Lockwood: He is a hybrid who was attacked by Connor after the initial greeting, which revealed his vampire nature due to the vervain in the glove of the hunter. Connor decides to kill Tyler, to the extent of risking his stay in the town, when he decides to shoot him at the memorial of Pastor Young.
*Elena Gilbert: She is a new vampire at the time of Connor's arrival, causing Connor to suspect her due to her behavior. During Memorial, Connor doesn't know if she is a vampire, or only if she is going through hard times. Eventually, Elena kills Connor to protect Jeremy from hunters and because of her Sire Bond to Damon.
*Damon Salvatore: Damon tries to kill Connor after he shoots Tyler at the church. Connor shoots Damon and tries to stake him, but hears Stefan close by and flees.
*Nate: He was one of Klaus' hybrids who watched over Connor until Klaus came back from Italy, Connor breaks free and decapitates Nate with a chain.
*Dean: He was one of Klaus' hybrids and Hayley's close friend. Dean obeys Niklaus' orders to help Stefan, and to prevent Connor's death. He is killed by Connor.
*Chris: He was a hybrid that managed to overcome the Sire Bond. He was killed by Jeremy in order to become a full member of The Five, and save Elena from the Hunter's Curse.
*Kol Mikaelson: Kol was a powerful Original vampire created in the new world. Kol wanted Silas to remain undiscovered at all costs. During this time, he destroyed many beings to prevent the return of Silas as he feared Silas would unleash hell on earth. After a brief fight with Elena and her brother, Kol was finally destroyed by Jeremy, along with anyone he ever sired.
*Silas: Silas is the Brotherhood's main target to hunt and kill. Galen Vaughn was the member who came the closest killing Silas in his tomb by feeding him blood to wake him. However, Katherine knocked him out before he could shove the Cure down his throat and kill him.
==Physical Attributes==
Once a potential hunter has "awoken" by killing either a vampire or vampire-hybrid, the hunter is imbued with the same supernatural enhancements shared by the other members of the Brotherhood, making them noticeably very muscular, strong, agile, dexterous, and dangerous — the pinnacle of human physical abilities. Despite their newfound physical abilities, they are not on par with those of a vampire, but are enough to put up a much more significant fight than a human. Even Klaus, an Original, acknowledged their prowess as hunters. Members of the Five possess enough power to decapitate a supernatural species with only their raw strength and even with a blunt object, provided they have some form of leverage. Connor used his chains and position to decapitate a hybrid. Jeremy, on the other hand, was able to carry two metal barrels of alcohol in each hand whereas Matt couldn't lift one with both hands.
==Tools and Weapons==
*Swords of the Five
*White Oak Ash Daggers
*Vervain
*Vervain Darts
*Vervain Grenades
*Vervain Coated Gloves
*Stake Firing Sniper Rifle
*Enhanced Wooden Bullets
*Claymores
*Paralytics
*Bolas Shotgun
*Stake Explosive
*Vervain Soaked Ropes
*Werewolf Venom
==Trivia==
*Jeremy is the the only hunter to have killed an Original vampire.
*If a hunter is killed by that which it hunts, the person will be cursed to walk the earth in torment until a new hunter is awakened and the legacy is passed on.
*It is implied that at least one potential had awoken fifty-two years after Klaus murdered the originals members, as that is when the Hunter's curse and hallucinations came to an end.
*With the Hunter's Mark being used to open Silas' Tomb and disappearing from the Hunter's bodies, it is unknown if any more Potentials can be chosen. It is likely that the Five's legacy ended with Silas' death, as their purpose was to locate and destroy him.
*Spirit magic was used in the creation of the Five. When Jeremy was taken into the anti-magic spell that covered Mystic Falls, he lost the supernatural urge to kill vampires until he had left the perimeter. However, this did not strip him of his supernatural abilities.
==Gallery==
404VampireDiaries0614.jpg
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Huntersmark54.png|Connor Jordan's tattoo seen in episode 4x03
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Alex's sword base.png|Alexander's sword
tvd-recap-402-memorial-22.jpg|Wooden bullets marked with the five (group) symbol
Dying witch.png|The Witch of The Five
official look.jpg|Connor's tattoo
Vlc 2013-02-02 21-25-42-19.png|Jeremy's tattoo
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==See also==
Category:Groups
Category:The Vampire Diaries (series)
Category:The Vampire Diaries Characters
Category:Humans
Category:Vampire Hunters
Category:Supernatural
Category:The Brotherhood of the Five