Hunter

### Distinction

* Humans who possess supernatural abilities to combat vampires as a result of spells cast by witches.

**Supernatural Hunters** and **Huntresses**, also known as **Hunters, or Huntresses** for short, are humans who are endowed with supernatural abilities to hunt and kill vampires through magical means. They are considered a supernatural species despite being humans and reside on the Other Side when they die.

## Creation

### The Hunter

Template:Main
While Vampire hunting predates the Supernatural Hunters, the first group to be transformed into Supernatural Hunters are known as the Brotherhood of the Five, which existed in the 15th Century and created by a dying Bennett witch and bound in fire. They were created to oppose immortal beings, specifically to hunt, cure and kill Silas.

### The Huntress

Template:Main and *Bonnie Bennett*
The Huntress, the only known daughter of one of the Five was not born with supernatural abilities. Upon her father's death, she sought out the Shamans for vengeance. The eight shamans bestowed upon her great power using the "tea of protection" (to ward off magic), strength and their eight lives, giving her the ability to self-resurrect upon her death. It was also demonstrated that the Huntress title can be magically transferred to another, Bonnie.

## Powers and Abilities

* Supernatural Hunter
* Supernatural Huntress

As supernaturally gifted hunters, members of the Brotherhood of the Five are endowed with peak or above human physical abilities, such as strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and endurance. This includes a natural affinity with weapons combat and hunting. Klaus once hinted that they are highly skilled in vampire hunting.

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* **Hunter's Mark:** Each member of the Five possess a mystical tattoo known as the hunter's mark, located on their right arm. In its incomplete form, the mark is invisible to all save for fellow supernatural hunters or potential hunter. In its complete form, the mark is visible to all and in it is the map and key to the Tomb of Silas along with the story of the first immortal depicted on its symbols. As such, the map also leads to The Cure for immortality. Connor reveals to Jeremy that his incomplete mark expands every time he kills a vampire or hybrid. The incomplete mark appears on a potential's hand whenever a member of the Five dies. It grows upon their initial vampire kill, marking their activation from potential to supernatural hunter. Galen's Mark fully completed itself on its own once fellow Brotherhood member Jeremy Gilbert had completed his own mark by killing Kol along with every vampire made from his sireline.
* **Hunter's Curse:** Supernatural Hunters of The Five have the ability to inflict powerful and extremely realistic hallucinations onto vampiric beings who kill them. Once struck, the curse will consume said victim, tormenting them until they are driven to kill themselves. The only known way to lift the curse is to activate a potential hunter, by allowing them to kill their first vampiric creature (whether a vampire or a hybrid) and grow Hunter's Mark. Niklaus Mikaelson was once struck with the hallucinations after killing the first generation of the Five and was tormented inside his head for a period of 52 years, 4 months, and 9 days.

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* **Peak Physical Condition:** Supernatural Hunters possess bodily functions that are enhanced to the pinnacle of human conditioning.
	+ **Peak or above Human Strength:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five possess superior strength that makes them stronger than humans, but below that of newborn vampires. That said, they can still hold themselves in a fight, as both Vaughn and Connor were able to fight against Damon's strength (a nearly 200 hundred year old vampire) with the former subduing him by wrestling and snapping his neck. It is unknown if they are stronger than werewolves in human form. While no threat to the Original Vampires, members of the Five are strong enough to combat against Silas. Jeremy was strong enough to fight Elena. Connor, using leverage was able to decapitate a Hybrid with a chain.
	+ **Peak Human Speed:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five possess peak-human speed, though it is unknown if they are superhuman. They are shown to be able to draw their weapons quickly and are fast enough to catch vampires by surprise before they can react. Connor Jordan once remarked that he was "faster than the average hunter". Jeremy demonstrated being able to he move very quickly to try and stake Elena. This is also seen when Vaughn tackles Damon, appearing almost from thin air.
	+ **Peak Human Stamina:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five possess peak-human stamina. This is not largely controllable and often occurs as a burst of energy within a Hunter, but they can run for dozens of miles and not lose breath and can physically exert themselves at peak capacity for several hours without resting before showing signs of fatigue. Jeremy mentioned feeling a constant rush of energy, which he shows off in the form of enhanced strength when carrying barrels in each hand easily whereas Matt could barely move one with two hands.

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* + **Peak Human Endurance:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five can endure more physical stress than the average person. They can tolerate large amounts of physical pain such as being shot, stabbed repeatedly, burned with high heat, and beatings than that of an ordinary person. They can remain calm through stressful and painful situations, can tolerate extreme hunger, unbearable thirst and the strong urge to sleep.
	+ **Peak Human Reflexes:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five possess peak-human reflexes. They have demonstrated superior reaction time to those of humans and can dodge offensive attacks, evade strikes from beings with super speed and dodge multiple gunfire with ease, though not fast enough to contend with the Original Vampires.
* **Invulnerable Mind:** Upon activation, a Supernatural Hunter's mind becomes immune to all mental intrusions. This includes an Immortal's advanced psychic powers, compulsion by Vampires, Hybrids and Original Vampires, and Spirit Possession by Witches.
* **Silas Detection:** Members of the Brotherhood can instinctively sense Silas, although it seems to require physical contact, seeing as their the main goal of their creation is to hunt and kill Silas. Jeremy once stated that he felt a chilling sensation where his Hunter's Mark was located when he was touched by a disguised Silas.

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* **Enhanced Strength:** Supernatural Huntresses start off possessing superior strength that makes them stronger than humans but below that of newborn vampires. That said, they are endowed by shamans to grow stronger every time they lose a life. Eventually, their strength appear to be able to match that of even the most ancient vampires in the world as Rayna was able to fight and slaughter many Strix members and even warrant Klaus' wary. Their strength also do not falter with old age, even as an old woman, Rayna was able to restrain Bonnie with one hand while attempting to strangle her.

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* **Enhanced Reflexes:** Supernatural Huntresses possess peak-human reflexes. They have demonstrated superior reaction time to those of humans and can dodge offensive attacks and evade strikes from beings with super speed. Rayna was able to wipe out numerous members of the Strix, even catching two of them off guard and immediately killing them. She was also able to shoot several of Julian's vampires, killing them without them even being able to react.
* **Immunity to Magic:** A Supernatural Huntress's body becomes immune to offensive magic directed at them which seemed to be the work of the Tea of Protection. This is proven when Bonnie tried to use telekinesis on Rayna when the latter attempted to kill her, but to no avail. However, this immunity did not prevent Nora and Bonnie from using a locator spell to find her nor did it hinder a Shaman from transferring her life and abilities to Bonnie. In addition, Rayna could not track Stefan when his scar was blocked by the disruption spell placed on St. James Infirmary.
	+ **Poisonous Blood:** Supernatural Huntresses possess blood that is poisonous to witches, even those that are immortal such as a witch-vampire hybrid. Pills made from Rayna's blood were able to block a witch's power and if taken daily for a period of time and will eventually kill said witch. This fatal effect on witches appear to come from the Huntress's immunity to witchcraft.

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* **Marking:** Supernatural Huntresses possess the ability to mark their victims. Initially, this was done through the Phoenix Sword, allowing Rayna to mark vampires by stabbing them however, it was later revealed that they are also capable of imprinting vampires mentally.
	+ **Tracking:** Supernatural Huntresses can sense and track down vampires who have been marked by them.
	+ **Link to Victims:** Supernatural Huntresses are linked to the vampires they have marked, giving them an increased urge to find and finish them. This connection can be amplified with concentration, allowing them to see their every move, and feel their every emotion. Once they are down to their last life, anyone still marked by them will die along with them upon their last death.

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* **Self-Resurrection:** Supernatural Huntresses possess the ability to continually resurrect from the dead a total of eight times, similar to users of the Gilbert Ring. Moments after their death, their body spontaneously self-combusts only to reborn from the ashes to the age when they received their abilities from the Shamans, akin to a phoenix rising from the ashes. This was achieved through the self-sacrifice of the Eight Shamans who gave their lives to Rayna with their bodies preserved but each of her deaths caused one of them to decay.
	+ **Longevity:** In each of their lives, Supernatural Huntresses age at a slower rate compared to humans, affording them an extended lifespan.

## Weaknesses

* Supernatural Hunter
* Supernatural Huntress

* **Broken Neck:** Breaking a supernatural hunter's neck will result in instant death.
* **Decapitation:** Decapitation will result in instant death for a hunter.
* **Heart Extraction:** Ripping a supernatural hunter's heart out will result in instant death.
* **Hunter Instinct:** When awakened, a hunter becomes filled with a supernatural urge to kill vampires. The more vampires a hunter kills, the stronger the urge becomes. This urge is purely based on instinct, and forces a hunter to try to kill a vampire even if he or she does not want to, including family members. However, the instinct can be overcome with hypnotism and precise training to great effect.
* **Magic:** Supernatural Hunters of the five are susceptible to the powers of witchcraft. This is inclusive of mystical objects such as Papa Tunde's Blade, and Dark Objects. Siphoners can siphon magic from the five including the spell within the Hunter's Mark.
* **Mortality:** Despite their enhanced physical attributes, Supernatural Hunters are still human and share many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, etc.)

- **Herbs:** Certain herbs, when applied as a paste on the scars, can mask the signal that allows a Supernatural Huntress to find their marked victims.

- **Hunter Instinct:** Supernatural Huntresses appear to suffer from the same supernatural urge to kill vampires as the Brotherhood of the Five. The more vampires they kill, the stronger the urge becomes. This urge is also purely based on instinct and seems to worsen with age and begins to affect the mind. As the desire to kill vampires has had a huge impact on Rayna's mental stability in which she accidentally mistakes a supermarket cashier for a vampire, whom she stakes, leading to her being confined into a secure psychiatric hospital and became old there.

- **Eighth Life:** Supernatural Huntresses only possess a total of eight lives, and would die permanently after expending their eighth life.

- **Mortality:** Despite their enhanced physical attributes, Supernatural Huntresses are still human and shares many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, decapitation, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, etc.) however the huntress becomes reborn from said death.

- **Link to the Everlastings:** Should all of the bodies of the Eight Everlastings be destroyed, the spell that keeps them as Supernatural Huntresses would be undone and they would revert back to the state they were before.

- **Victim Connection:** Supernatural Huntresses are connected to the ones they killed using the Phoenix Stone Sword and are sometimes haunted by them; their minds.

## Former Weaknesses

* **Doppelgänger Blood Magic:** If blood from the last pair of doppelgängers are used in the Magic Purification Spell, all Supernatural Hunters will revert back to being ordinary humans.

## Tools and Weapons

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Despite being a force to be reckoned with, the capabilities of a supernatural hunters are not comparable to older vampires. As such, they employ to use of numerous skills and weapons to even the playing field.

They enough to put up a significant fight such that Klaus acknowledged on their prowess as hunters.

* The Sword of Alexander
* White Oak Ash Daggers
* Vervain
	+ Vervain Darts
	+ Vervain Grenades
	+ Vervain Coated Gloves
	+ Vervain Soaked Ropes
* Stake Firing Sniper Rifle

* Paralytics
* Bolas Shotgun
* Stake Explosive
* Wooden Bullets
* Werewolf Venom
* The Phoenix Sword
* Phoenix Stone

## Known Hunters

* Hunters
* Huntress

## Trivia

* Both Hunters and Huntresses were made by magic, however, only the huntress is protected against offensive magic.
* They are one of the youngest supernatural species in the series.
* Like Doppelgängers, the Gilbert Ring does not work on them.
* Unlike the huntress, the five are made up of future generations of potential hunter, whereas the huntress was made to ensure she would live eight lives and fulfill her obligations to destroy the vampire race.
	+ However, she could pass her hunter powers on to someone else, using the descendant of one of the shamans that originally turned her into the huntress.
* Rayna's blood is toxic to witches. It's unknown if the five's blood is toxic to witches. But it's implied that Rayna's is toxic due to her immunity from magic.
* The five grow stronger with each vampire kill, as well as to expand their hunter's mark, whereas the huntress grows stronger with each death, rivaling ancient vampires.
* Rayna's father was a member of the five and she wanted to become one too, however, the five doesn't have female members, probably because there were five male original members that originated it for future generations of potential hunters.
	+ Rayna is the only known child from a Hunter. Since she was a women, it is currently unknown whether or not the title of supernatural hunter can be passed down from generation to generation or if the next potential is mystically chosen.
	+ Instead, Rayna became the huntress, making her stronger due to having eight lives and supernatural connection to the vampire's that she marked with her sword.
* Both have hunter instincts to kill a vampire on sight, however, Rayna's could be stronger as she killed a human believing that she a vampire, implying that her instinct is uncontrollable, mostly due to her connections with the vampires inside the stone, causing her to have an unstable persona.
	+ While the instinct was a deliberate addition to the spell, the urge to kill can impair hunters from thinking rationally and may intentionally put innocent humans at risk for the sake of killing vampires.
* Both original members of the five and Rayna Cruz have met the original vampire family. Ironically, both were killed by Klaus, however Rayna was later resurrected.
* If a vampire kills a member of the five, they would experience the hunter's curse which causes hallucinations and torments of their enemies and the hunter that they killed. This would continue to grow until the activation of a potential hunter. The huntress doesn't have this ability if she died at the hands of a vampire.
* It is unknown if a hunter or huntress could be turned into a Vampire. In the case of the Huntress it seems unlikely due to her being immune to magic, and being able to revive upon death. In the case of The Five, it is a little less clear cut since (apart from their Hunter's Mark, and drive to kill Vampires) they appear to have the natural biological processes as that of a human. It is also unknown if they could still inflict the Hunter's Curse on the Vampire that turned them.

## See also

Template:VD Characters
Template:TO Characters
Template:Humans