White Oak Stake

The White Oak Stake was a very powerful object and the only physical weapon on Earth with the capability to permanently kill an Original vampire. By appearance, it resembles a pale wooden stake. When Esther augmented a stake with the protective magic of the Gilbert Ring, it had metal "veins" enveloping it around from the base.
The stake comes from an ancient White Oak Tree during the time of the genesis of the vampire race. Originally abundant, the last known stake was made indestructible by Esther Mikaelson with the Gilbert Ring so that it could be used indefinitely.
Being the source of the Original vampires' immortality, it was imbued with the power to destroy them permanently when driven through the heart. The process begins, first, by desiccation of said Original vampire before both the Original vampire and the stake would burst into violent flames, reducing them to nothing but ash or charred remains. It is possible if the flames were to be expunged before they could consume the body of the Original vampire, then the Original vampire's body can be spared, as seen with Klaus.
==History==
After realizing that the tree that gave them life could also be used as a weapon to kill them, the Mikaelson family burned the tree to the ground. Before they did so, however, Mikael carved a stake out of this wood just in case he would need to kill a member or members of his family, and after his wife's murder, he decided to kill Klaus with it. Mikael usually kept it on his person but also had hidden it when necessary, to avoid being staked himself. He then showed it to Damon. Mikael carved it with the intention that if it would be needed in the future for some reason, he would have it. After his wife's death, his intent changed to use it, and kill Klaus. Mikael and Damon allied and he entrusted Damon with the stake, but in a strange turn of events, Mikael was killed with his stake by Klaus and it burnt to ashes along with his body. This was thought to have been the last remaining piece of White Oak, however, saplings of the tree remained and new stakes were made from the wood.
==Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series==
===Season Three===
In Homecoming, Mikael told Damon of a weapon that can kill Klaus and showed him the White Oak Stake. Mikael passed the weapon onto Damon, as he wasn't invited in the Lockwood Mansion. Damon attempted killing of Klaus while Mikael distracted him. However, due to Stefan's intervention, Klaus used the weapon on Mikael. The stake burnt down along with Mikael.
All hope was lost as they thought that there was no way to kill Klaus, but in Break On Through, Damon found out through Sage and Rebekah that a sapling of the original White Oak Tree was planted back in the same place and was cut down and used to make the Wickery Bridge. Rebekah burnt down the wood with Sage - Sage didn't want Finn to die as she learned all the Original vampires would die if one of them were to die. It turned out that some of the wood from the bridge was also made into a Wickery Bridge sign; Damon Salvatore told Stefan that they have weapons that can be used to kill Klaus.
In The Murder of One, Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Elena, and Matt all took wooden stakes carved by Alaric, Stefan, and Damon, and tried to use them to kill Klaus. Klaus eventually got almost all of them, save for three, and burnt them. Stefan tried to use one but fails. Klaus then burns the other. The final stake was then hidden by Alaric.
In Heart of Darkness, the stake's location was only known to Alaric's dark side, which frustrated the Salvatores and the Original vampires. It was only under a death-thread that, Alaric, taken over by his darker persona, gave the stake to Esther.
In Do Not Go Gentle, Esther magically bonded the Gilbert Ring with the last white oak stake, to make it the ultimate weapon.
The stake won't burn when it kills an Original vampire. She wanted Alaric to use it to kill the rest of her children and wipe all vampires off of the face of the planet. She turned Alaric into a new enhanced Original vampire but before he completed the transition, he impaled Esther with it when she tried to kill Jeremy and Matt, killing the witch. Once he completed the transition to a vampire, he was fully taken over by his dark-side. He held the white oak stake and began his crusade against vampires.
In Before Sunset, Alaric attacked Rebekah at the high school where, with the combined efforts of her and Caroline, they succeeded in stabbing Alaric with the stake. Unlike unlike the Original vampires, Alaric didn't share their weakness and survived the stabbing. He used the stake when he was attacked by Klaus and nearly killed him with it before Elena interfered.
In The Departed, Alaric showed the stake to Jeremy, trying to convince him that he could use the stake to kill the Original vampires and cause the extinction of vampires. When plotting against Alaric, Elijah said that the stake is a real threat and that if Alaric could be disarmed, they stand a chance against him. Alaric used the stake when he was hunting down Klaus' desiccated body and stabbed him, setting him ablaze and seemingly killing him. Alaric closed the coffin before the fire fully destroyed Klaus, unknowingly putting the fire out. Alaric wielded the weapon in his fight with Damon before his death, giving Damon possession of the stake once Alaric was gone.
===Season Four===
In Growing Pains, Damon tried to kill Rebekah with the white oak stake because she killed Elena. However, Rebekah easily overpowers Damon but gets shot by the council. Damon then fled with the stake.
In The Rager, Elena attempted to use the white oak stake on Rebekah but was convinced not to by Stefan, knowing that the stake would kill countless vampires along with Rebekah.
In After School Special, Caroline carried the stake while looking for Rebekah after she had been undaggered by April. However, Rebekah disarmed Caroline and took the stake for herself, taking Stefan and Elena hostage as well. However, shortly after, Kol stealthily took the stake from Rebekah, showing her that her defenses were down and she was not ready for the threat the possibly immortal witch, Silas, would pose. He then left with the stake in his grasp.
In Catch Me If You Can, during an argument where Rebekah drew one of the white oak ash daggers on Kol, he countered by pulling out the white oak stake and threatened to kill her if she got in his way of stopping Silas. Klaus interfered in the spat and Kol fled with the stake.
In A View to a Kill, Kol still had possession of the white oak stake, keeping it close in a pocket on the inside of his jacket. He tried to cut off Jeremy's arms and kill Elena, but during the fight, Kol was taken by surprise and Elena managed to grab the stake from his jacket. She tossed it to Jeremy who then stabbed Kol, setting him ablaze, and killing the original. Jeremy then took the stake from Kol's charred body and took ownership of the indestructible weapon.
In Into the Wild, Elena tries to kill Rebekah with the white oak stake before Rebekah pushes her back. Later, Elena gives it back to Rebekah as a peace offering.
In Because the Night, Silas reveals to Klaus that he has the stake, having gleaned its location from Rebekah's mind. After Klaus refuses Silas' attempt at a deal, Silas jabs it into Klaus' back, though not his heart, and breaks off the tip, leaving Klaus screaming in agony.
In American Gothic, Klaus deduces that Silas never broke off the tip of the stake in him, but that Silas made Klaus think he did through an illusion. He never had the stake.
In Pictures of You, Rebekah gave the stake to Elijah, who gave it to Klaus.
==Throughout The Originals Series==
===Season One===
In Le Grand Guignol, Klaus revealed that he had been keeping the stake inside of a statue inside of the compound, retrieving it so he could kill Rebekah after he had found out about her betrayal in the early 20th century. He wielded it as he tracked her down to the cemetery.
In Farewell to Storyville, Klaus attempted to use it on Rebekah but was repeatedly halted by Elijah who wielded Papa Tunde's blade, a weapon not fatal but very painful for an Original vampire.
During the skirmish, Elijah managed to retrieve the white oak stake from Klaus temporarily, having both of the weapons for himself. However, the feud ended when Klaus let Rebekah live.
In From a Cradle to a Grave, Mikael was resurrected and retrieved the white oak stake, ready to use it on Klaus. Before he got a chance to use it, however, he was stopped by Davina due to her magic tether she had put on him.
===Season Two===
In Alive and Kicking, Mikael still had possession of the stake and when he was summoned by Davina to defend her from werewolves, he kept the stake tucked in his pants as he slaughtered them. When confronted by his son, Elijah, he drew the stake and attacked him, managing to pierce him with the tip of it before being forced to leave by Davina.
In Live and Let Die, Mikael and Davina hid in her family's cabin from Klaus, who now knew of Mikael's resurrection. Kol, whose spirit had been brought back from The Other Side before it's collapse, was put into the body of a witch named Kaleb by his mother. He had been sent to find the stake. Wooing Davina with his new persona, Kol managed to get into the cabin and found the stake in one of the drawers, but before he could take it, he was confronted by Mikael, who did not recognize his son in his new body. When Klaus arrived, Kol used magic to deactivate the Bracelet of Obedience, which freed Mikael from the control Davina had put on him. Mikael attacked Klaus with the stake in a vicious attempt to finally kill him and nearly managed to do so before being stabbed with Papa Tunde's blade in a blindsided attack from Klaus. As Klaus could not overpower Mikael, much like he did when he killed Mikael for the first time, he stabbed Mikael from his blindside. Klaus took possession of the stake from his incapacitated father.
In Red Door, shortly after defeating Mikael, Klaus turned over the stake to Camille to ensure that he would not kill Mikael permanently with it. However, Mikael had recovered from the fight from pulling out Papa Tunde's Blade, the only Original vampire able to do so, and abducted Camille, taking possession of the stake again. Klaus tracked him down and fought him. Klaus had gained the upper hand as Mikael was still weakened from Tunde's blade and werewolf venom, but he managed to stab him with the stake after Klaus was forced to save Camille from Mikael throwing Tunde's blade at her using Klaus' blindsiding tactics against him. It neutralized Klaus as a normal stake would for the other Original vampires, but didn't set him fatally ablaze like it was supposed to. Davina and Kol were magically blocking the stake's power so it wouldn't kill Klaus. Mikael found them and interrupted their spell, hoping that it would make the stake work again. Camille, though, had already removed the stake from Klaus' body, saving him. In the confusion, Davina managed to steal the stake for herself.
In Chasing the Devil's Tail, Esther again ordered Kol to get her that stake as soon as possible. As he grew closer to Davina, he eyed the stake, contemplating taking it from her. However, he was abducted by Marcel who also took the stake, giving it back to Klaus. Later, after entering Elijah's head to save his brother, Klaus provides the younger version of Elijah with a White Oak Stake which Elijah uses to kill his darker side, awakening from his coma.
In The Map of Moments, Kol requested that Klaus loan him the stake so he could earn Esther's trust. Klaus did so on the promise that Kol would return it. Kol gave it to Esther who then planned on using it on Rebekah's body once she transferred her spirit to Camille's body, thereby killing her whole bloodline. However, it was an elaborate trick and when it was through, Kol returned the stake to Klaus as promised.
In Night Has A Thousand Eyes, Mikael is killed by Klaus to get Viking ash, knowing this, Mikael allows himself to be killed as there is likely no time to find more elsewhere. He apologizes to his daughter and in his dying moments, reaches for Klaus before falling and burning up.
In Ashes to Ashes, Freya suggests using the stake to kill a daggered Klaus to kill Dahlia as they were still linked. Marcel objects, saying that he and all vampires in Klaus' sireline will also die. Freya finds the stake using a locator spell and is about to use it when Klaus wakes up and stops her. Dahlia obtains the stake and threatens to use it on Klaus, who is saved by Marcel. When the Original vampires confront Dahlia as she is about to kill Freya, she destroyed the stake and turned it into dust to incapacitate and attempt to kill the Original vampires.
===Season Five===
In The Tale of Two Wolves, Klaus reveals that he has one last white oak stake which he intends to have Caroline Forbes use to kill him after he absorbs The Hollow. Klaus explains to Caroline that the stake, which he calls the last remaining white oak stake in existence, came into his possession decades before and he planned to destroy it, but the weight of immortality had been heavier then, suggesting that Klaus had kept it in order to commit suicide if need be. Later, after absorbing The Hollow, Klaus prepares to stake himself.
In When The Saints Go Marching In, Hope stops Klaus from staking himself, and Klaus is ultimately convinced to give his loved ones a proper goodbye before he dies. When the time comes, Elijah breaks the stake in half and reveals that he intends to die alongside Klaus. After saying their goodbyes, Klaus and Elijah stake each other, killing The Hollow as well.
==Appearances==
===The Vampire Diaries===
Season Three
*Homecoming
*Break On Through
*The Murder of One
*Heart of Darkness
*Do Not Go Gentle
*Before Sunset
*The Departed
Season Four
*Growing Pains
*The Rager
*After School Special
*Catch Me If You Can
*A View to a Kill
*Into the Wild
*Because the Night
*American Gothic
*Pictures of You
===The Originals===
Season One
*Le Grand Guignol
*Farewell to Storyville
*From a Cradle to a Grave
Season Two
*Alive and Kicking
*Live and Let Die
*Red Door
*Chasing the Devil's Tail
*The Map of Moments
*Night Has A Thousand Eyes
Season Five
*The Tale of Two Wolves
*When The Saints Go Marching In
==Victims==
===Mikael===
Mikael has been killed twice with the stake, first was with his stake, and the second was with Alaric's, both stakes were weapons of an Original vampire hunter. Strangely, Mikael's second death was different from his first as he didn't immediately burn up like before. Mikael was staked by Niklaus, with the help of Stefan. The stake was used on Mikael instead of the intended target, Klaus. The stake burnt up along with Mikael's body. 
*There have not been any mention of vampires turned by and descended from Mikael.
*It is possible he never turned anyone; although it was Mikael's idea to turn himself and his family into vampires, he seemed to regret being a vampire, and his self-loathing grew over time. It is assumed that this hatred of being a vampire and feeding on the innocent caused him to decide to be a vampire hunter, as well as caused him to change his diet to vampire blood instead of human or animal blood.
===Finn Mikaelson===
Finn was staked by Matt with the help of both Stefan and Elena. Initially, Stefan tricked Sage into thinking he wanted to kill Finn, but Elena and Matt appeared, who manages to distract and destroy Finn. Finn died on the steps outside the Grill, engulfed by the flames while Sage watched and cried over his body. 
*Every vampire turned by Finn Mikaelson's bloodline died shortly after Finn
*The only known vampires who died with Finn are Sage and Troy. There has been suggested that more Vampires would have died, following the 'sire' trail, but with Finn (unlike the other 4 Mikaelson siblings) he rarely wished to turn people into Vampires as he hated his existence as one. He tells Sage that turning her was putting his passion over his morals and principles, which says it all. Also, though he was alive for close to 1000 years, for 900 years Klaus had stored him in a box with a dagger in his chest, so he did not get much chance to spread his sire line. However, it is also possible that more vampires from his bloodline were spawned through Sage.
===Kol Mikaelson===
Kol was stabbed by Jeremy Gilbert with help from Elena. Elena wanted Jeremy to kill Kol so that he and his bloodline of vampires would die, which would not only complete Jeremy's Hunter's Mark, but it would also break Kol's compulsion over Damon to kill Jeremy. After a chase in their house, during which Kol attempted to chop off Jeremy's arms to keep them from not only finding the cure but to protect himself from the Hunter's Curse, Elena subdued Kol with water from the faucet that had been laced with vervain and managed to steal the white oak stake from his jacket allowing Jeremy to stake him. Kol burst into flames as his brother Klaus watched helplessly from the door. 
*All vampires from Kol's bloodline eventually died out due to Kol's death which allowed Jeremy's hunter's mark to complete a short while after he killed Kol. It is unknown how many vampires died, but from stories told about Kol, it is believed that he turned hundreds of vampires in the 1,000 years he had been a vampire.
===Niklaus Mikaelson===
Klaus was stabbed by Alaric using the indestructible White Oak Stake on his desiccated body. Alaric shut the coffin which extinguished the flames before the body burnt to ashes. As his spirit was not in his body, and the body was repairable, Bonnie placed Klaus back in his body and after some blood recovered as if nothing happened.
Silas stole the last remaining white oak stake from Rebekah, and jabbed the tip of the stake into Klaus' back to refrain from killing him, Silas told him that he didn't want to kill him yet, as he wants Klaus to get him the cure. He made Klaus think that he broke the end of the stake off, leaving just the tip embedded in the back of his ribcage. Klaus later discovered that that the tip was not in his back and that Silas had just used illusions to make him believe that. 
In Red Door, a weakened Mikael managed to stake Klaus in the heart with the White Oak Stake. However, Davina and Kol used magic to temporarily neutralize the stake of its power to kill, leaving Klaus desiccated like the effects of being stabbed with a White Oak Ash Dagger. Cami removed the stake right before Mikael knocked out Kol and Davina, sparing his life.
In The Tale of Two Wolves, Klaus reveals that he had kept a White Oak Stake hidden and a secret for decades. He claimed he was going to destroy it, but the weight of immortality was heavier then. In When The Saints Go Marching In, he and Elijah stake each other with half of the stake, killing each other and the Hollow.
===Elijah Mikaelson===
In When The Saints Go Marching In, Elijah breaks Klaus' White Oak Stake in half and reveals that he intends to die with his brother. After a final goodbye, he and Klaus stake each other with half of the stake, killing each other and the Hollow.
==Owners in chronological order==
#Mikael - Saved the last White Oak Stake from the original White Oak Tree. It remained in his possession for over 1,000 years until it was used to kill him in Homecoming.
#Stefan and Damon - Carved 12 white oak stakes from the lumber of the second White Oak Tree in The Murder of One. They were distributed among the Mystic Falls gang.
#Matt Donovan - Used one of the stakes to kill Finn during the events of The Murder of One.
#Alaric Saltzman - Kept the last remaining White Oak Stake after Klaus and Rebekah burned the other 10. It was made indestructible by Esther and remained in his possession until his death in The Departed.
#Damon Salvatore - Took the indestructible stake from Alaric after his death. It remained in his possession until After School Special, when it was taken by Stefan and Caroline and then stolen by Rebekah.
#Elena Gilbert - Was temporarily loaned the indestructible stake by Damon in The Rager, but decided not to use it. She later returned it to Stefan and Damon.
#Caroline Forbes - Was temporarily loaned the indestructible stake by Stefan, but was stolen from her by Rebekah in After School Special.
#Rebekah Mikaelson - Stole the indestructible stake from Caroline in After School Special. It remained in her possession until the end of After School Special when it was taken by her brother Kol.
#Kol Mikaelson - Took the stake from Rebekah in After School Special, it remained in his possession until Elena took it away from him and Jeremy used it kill him in A View to a Kill.
#Elena and Jeremy - After killing Kol with it, they took possession of the stake.
#Elena Gilbert - She had the stake for most parts of Into the Wild. She gave it to Rebekah as a peace offering.
#Rebekah Mikaelson - Rebekah acquired the stake. Silas fooled Klaus into thinking that he has the stake, but it was in Rebekah's possession.
#Elijah Mikaelson - Rebekah gave the stake to Elijah because if she ever becomes human, she won't need it.
#Niklaus Mikaelson - Elijah gave the stake to Klaus so Klaus would feel safe from Silas.
#Elijah Mikaelson - Elijah took the stake from Klaus in a struggle, when he wanted to use it on Rebekah. He threw it away when refused to kill Klaus.
#Rebekah Mikaelson - Rebekah found the stake after Elijah threw it away.
#Niklaus Mikaelson - Klaus took the stake from Rebekah and stabbed her with it, but didn't kill her.
#Mikael/Davina Claire - After being brought back to life Mikael found the stake and planned to use it on Klaus. It was in his possession, and as he was trapped by Davina, she extends some kind of ownership over it as well, intending for Mikael to use it against Klaus when she sets him free.
#Niklaus Mikaelson - after stabbing Mikael with Papa Tunde's Blade, Klaus took the stake back into his possession.
#Mikael - after removing Papa Tunde's blade, Mikael took off with both the stake and Cammile. Later able to subdue Klaus with the neutralized stake.
#Davina Claire - after Camille removed the stake from Klaus' chest, Davina took possession of the stake.
#Niklaus Mikaelson - Marcel stole the stake from Davina in Chasing the Devil's Tail and returned the stake to Klaus.
#Esther Mikaelson - Kol took the stake to Esther after it being lent to him by Klaus to trick Esther into trying to jump Rebekah into Camille with the promise that he would return the stake to Klaus afterward.
#Niklaus Mikaelson - After Esther's ritual failed, Kol returned the stake to Klaus as promised.
#Freya Mikaelson - Freya, using a locator spell, found the stake in a fireplace in the The Abattoir, intending to use it on Klaus to kill Dahlia.
#Dahlia - Dahlia took the stake from Freya after she woke and attempted to use it on Klaus, but he was saved by Marcel. She later destroyed the stake and turned it to ash to incapacitate and attempt to kill the Original vampires.
#Niklaus Mikaelson - Klaus revealed that he had secretly kept a White Oak Stake for decades despite claiming to have destroyed them all. After taking the Hollow into himself, Klaus attempted to use the stake to commit suicide, but was stopped by Hope.
#Niklaus and Elijah Mikaelson - Having taken possession of Klaus' stake, Elijah broke it in half, intending to die alongside his brother. The two each used half of the stake to kill each other and with them, the Hollow.
==Known stakes==
*Original stake aka Mikael's stake: Mikael made this stake before burning the white oak tree, presumably to keep the other Original Vampires in line should the Immortality Spell leave beyond Mikael's control. He had it for at least a 1000 years, and even carved intricate designs around it, unaware that the Stake could only kill one Original vampire before burning off into oblivion. When he teamed up with the Salvatores, he gave the stake to Damon so that he could use it on Klaus. Damon was close to killing Klaus but Stefan saved Klaus and Klaus used the stake on Mikael. It killed him and was destroyed when it burned in Mikael's body. The hilt of Mikael's stake was carved into the same shape as the White Oak Ash Daggers.
*Twelve stakes: These were made by Stefan, Damon, and Alaric by using the old Wickery bridge sign, which was made of the white oak tree sapling.
**One was used to kill Finn.
**Stefan found out that Klaus didn't die as all Original vampires were unlinked. When he realized that killing an Original causes all vampires in the bloodline to die he gave Klaus eight of the stakes so he would free Damon.
**Klaus compelled Damon to tell him how many of the stakes existed; he replied "11". Stefan gave Klaus one stake he had. Later he gave him the last stake in his possession.
**The Indestructible stake: It was one of the 12 stakes made from the white oak sign. Alaric's alter ego took the stake and hid it in the cave. Esther later made the stake indestructible using Alaric's ring. It is currently the last remaining White Oak Stake. Jeremy Gilbert used the stake when he killed Kol Mikaelson. The stake was used successfully by Mikael to kill Klaus but the stake was neutralized before it could be fatal to his step-son. In Night Has A Thousand Eyes, Klaus kills Mikael with the stake, who surprisingly did not fight back or attempt to defend himself. In Ashes to Ashes, Dahlia takes possession of the stake. When confronted by Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah, as she could only use it on one Original vampire before being overwhelmed, she destroyed the stake into dust to poison and kill the Original vampires from the inside out. Esther and Freya stopped the process.
**Years after the destruction of the indestructible stake, Klaus revealed that he had possession of one last white oak stake, what he described as the last stake in existence. Klaus and Elijah later broke the stake in half and used the pieces to kill each other, sacrificing themselves to destroy The Hollow.
==Trivia==
*It is capable of weakening Original vampires just like vampires with normal pieces of wood when struck non-fatally for example, Damon stabbed Klaus with the stake and was able to physically overpower him and pull the stake out of Klaus' grip. 
*Each Original vampire's death has not been identical.
*The stakes were never used on non-Original vampires.
==Gallery==
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==See also==
Category:The Vampire Diaries (series)
Category:The Originals (series)
Category:Weaknesses
Category:Original Vampires
Category:Objects
Category:Enchanted Objects