Julian's History
Early History
Julian was turned in the early 1500's by an unknown vampire and is over 475 years old. He lived in many towns in his life including Ridley Park, Old Saybrook, and Sunbury, befriending and turning many people into vampires along the way. He eventually met and fell in love with Lillian Salvatore, joining her with her family, The Heretics.
1857
Julian attacked a village in Saint Malo, Louisiana. He was confronted by a vampire hunter and member of the Brotherhood of the Five named Vicente Cruz. Julian was initially unaware of his identity and prepared to kill him but was interrupted by Vicente's daughter, Rayna Cruz, who tried to convince Julian not to kill her father, telling him that he'd suffer from the Hunter's Curse if he did. Julian, amused by nearly falling victim to it, decided to avoid it by compelling Rayna to do the actual killing, forcing her to kill her own father.
1863
Julian, along with Valerie Tulle, was sent to Mystic Falls on Lily Salvatore's orders, in order to check in on her son, Stefan, as she wanted to ensure his happiness and safety before their new family (comprised at the time of Lily, Julian, Valerie, and Oscar) left for Europe. During the Mystic Falls County Fair, Julian blended in by running a kissing booth where the profits would go to Confederate soldiers. Many women were taken aback by his charm and paid a penny for the opportunity to kiss him. He then saw Valerie sitting with Stefan and joking around with him. Julian approached them and interrupted their game. Stefan incorrectly assumed that Julian was Valerie's father before Julian pulled Valerie aside and reminded her that they were supposed to keep their distance from Stefan, only getting close enough to watch him without any direct interaction. Valerie, enjoying Stefan's company, assured him that she had everything under control.
However, Valerie continued to befriend Stefan, much to Julian's annoyance. When he tried to interrupt again, Valerie used a cloaking spell, fueled by the magic within an amulet intended for emergencies, to hide her and Stefan, allowing them to leave the fair and go into the woods to make love. That night, Julian tracked them down at Lily's grave, expecting Stefan would visit there at some point. Julian angrily took Valerie away, reminding both of them that the two of them were leaving for New York.
On the day they were preparing to leave New York Harbor for Europe, Valerie tried to sneak away but was caught by Julian. Despite Valerie not wanting to leave, Julian told her that she had to since Lily wouldn't go anywhere without her orphans and that it was imperative that he leave the United States. Julian revealed that he could hear both of the heartbeats in Valerie, asking if Stefan knew that she was pregnant with his child. When she begged him not to tell Lily, he smugly said that she had her reasons for staying and he had his for leaving before slapping her across the face and then beating her senseless until she was nearly dead, killing the unborn child inside of her in the process. After Julian brought Valerie with him onto their ship to England, Julian told Lily that he had found Valerie left for dead in the streets after she had been robbed and beaten by criminals, Lily believed his lies and Julian was confident that Valerie wouldn't tell the truth of what happened because there was no way she could expose him without also exposing herself and her relationship/pregnancy with Stefan as well.
1864-1903
In 1897, Julian was responsible for what came to be known as the Black Sea Massacre, where he wiped out an entire coastline of people on Christmas Day. According to Valerie, Lily continued to love him blindly in spite of this excessive violence.
In 1903, while spending a night with some of the Heretics, they were ambushed by vampire huntress, Rayna Cruz, who wanted revenge for when Julian forced her to kill her own father. She stabbed Beau in the throat and marked him with her enchanted sword. Julian tried to defend his friends and managed to temporarily overpower Rayna. He bought them enough time to flee, and prepared passage to flee Europe with Lily and the others. Julian came up with the idea to travel in boxes across the sea as it would be the least conspicuous, much to the Heretics' protests. However, Rayna tracked them down using the mark her sword had made. Julian again tried to fight her and nearly killed her, stabbing her in the chest.
As he got back on the carriage to run with his friends, Rayna threw her sword at him, impaling him. Upon his death from her enchanted sword, his spirit was trapped inside of the Phoenix Stone in the sword's hilt. Afterward, the Heretics preserved his body with magic in hopes that they could someday regain the stone, and use it to bring him back to life. Unfortunately, when the Gemini Coven trapped Lily and the Heretics in a prison world upon landing in America, the stone was lost as it fell into the sea upon their ambush, and they were forced to put their plans to bring Julian back on hold for the time being. Julian's spirit, meanwhile, was suffering inside the hell-like world of the Phoenix Stone. While imprisoned in the stone, Julian was forced to kill Lily every day, after being given hope for escape, only to wake up and live the day over again for a century. Julian stated time loses meaning in the stone, and relieved his own hell for what felt like eternity.
Throughout The Vampire Diaries
Season 7: In Age of Innocence, Oscar revealed to Valerie that after they had escaped the prison world, Lily sent him on the task of finding where Julian was so they could reunite with him. However, he decided to take some time off before telling her, wanting freedom more than anything else. Valerie realized that Oscar was going to leverage Julian's location for his own freedom, and after she referred to Julian as "the devil," she ripped Oscar's heart out, since she couldn't risk Oscar telling Lily where to find him.
In Live Through This, Valerie informed the Salvatore brothers that Julian was actually dead and had been since 1903, after centuries of committing horrifying atrocities. She revealed that he needed to be brought back to life and refused to let let that happen, as he was the reason she lost her unborn child. After discovering his location, hidden away in a coffin, Valerie tried to destroy him by burning his body but was stopped by Lily and the other Heretics. His body was brought to the Salvatore house where he was brought back to life using the Phoenix Stone and a spell cast by Nora, Mary Louise and Beau.
In Best Served Cold, Julian was practicing fencing with Beau in the Salvatore house when Lily requested that they practice outside rather than in the house and brought up Julian's particularly good mood, wondering if he should still be resting after his resurrection. Julian scoffed at her concern, happy to finally be back on his feet after having spent over a century trapped inside the Phoenix Stone. Lillian revealed that her sons were still alive, and he realized he had some catching up to do, prompting her to want to introduce him to the modern times.
At Julian's welcome home party, that Lily threw to try and calm the violence between her and her sons, Julian met Damon and reunited with Stefan, who now knew what Julian did to Valerie and his unborn child. Unknown to Julian, Stefan planned to kill him in revenge, while playing pool with him. Damon interrupted the attempt and Julian continued to enjoy the party, meeting and insulting Enzo, and convincing Mary Louise to loosen up a little. He also asked Beau to find Oscar's car for him, stressing that it was of great importance to him, as Oscar had something that made Julian nervous, and wanted the object in his possession.
Shortly after, Stefan attempted to kill Julian, throwing him into the fireplace. Lily arrived while Julian threw off his burning jacket and healed, furious about the attack. After Damon and Stefan continued to disagree with Lily, Julian grew enraged at their disrespect, telling them of how he was tortured inside of the Phoenix Stone, being forced to live through killing Lillian everyday in his own private hell. Julian, being older than Damon and Stefan combined, brutally beat them into submission, nearly killing them before being stopped by Lily, who was shocked by his violent behavior. Later that night, she questioned Julian on what was wrong with him and he told her that she wasn't acting like the Lily he remembered, who had discarded her children. When Lily continued to show her concern, Julian conceded that it may have been him that had changed and wasn't the same as she remembered. He shared his concern that her sons wouldn't stop trying to kill him and they agreed to take measures to prevent that.
In Mommie Dearest, Julian was greeted by Enzo at his door. After throwing some sarcastic taunts at Enzo, Enzo suggested his own feelings for Lily. Julian pinned him against a wall but had promised Lily he would shed no more blood in the house. They decided to take the fight outside, Julian bringing two sabers with him. When Enzo remained steadfast, Julian stuck the two swords into the ground, told Enzo that he'd at least give him an honorable death, and to choose his weapon. Without hesitation, Enzo grabbed one of the swords and attacked. Julian grabbed his own sword and a vicious duel began, Julian laughing at the competition. After being nicked in the neck by Enzo, Julian was caught by surprise when Enzo pulled out a small sword. Julian, clearly rattled by the sight of it, asked Enzo where he got the weapon, recognizing it. When Enzo came at him, Julian threw dirt in his face and disappeared in the trees. Shortly after, he ambushed Enzo and disarmed him of his saber and shortly after, the small sword, defeating Enzo in the duel.
When Julian prepared to deliver the killing blow, Damon arrived, knocking Julian out against a tree. However, Julian quickly recovered and came at Damon from behind when Damon stabbed him with the small sword, having been told by Enzo that it may have been made for the specific purpose of killing Julian. Knowing that Julian's life was linked to Lily, Damon was happy to have killed him. Julian woke up, snapping Enzo's neck and threw the small sword into Damon's chest, pinning him to a tree. Julian then picked up his sword and saluted Damon before trying to remove his head but was stopped by the arrival of Stefan and Lily. Julian told Lily that Damon tried to kill her through her link with him, upsetting Lily, who asked Julian to take her home.
Back at the house, Julian wanted to take a warm bath when Lily asked him what he had been doing in the woods with Enzo. Julian answered that he was never one to resist a sword fight, making Lily question why he would do that knowing that her life was connected with his. Julian reminded her that he didn't usually lose. Julian promised her that she was never in any real danger. Lily, having heard the story of Valerie's child from her sons, questioned Julian on if he had known that Valerie was once pregnant with Stefan's child. Julian denied it but Lily told him that her sons had told her the whole story. Julian swore that he would never have done anything so revolting as killing an unborn child. Julian asked for forgiveness for his fight with Enzo, telling her that he'd never hurt her. Lily, however, was unconvinced of this and realized that Damon and Stefan were right about him; That she traded one monster, her former husband Giuseppe Salvatore, for another.
In Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, while Lily planned on telling the Heretics the truth about Julian so they would unlink her from him, Julian proposed that they throw an anniversary party for Mary Louise and Nora. However, in actuality, Julian was using the party as a way to make Lily a Ripper again, stockpiling humans for weeks in preparation for the event. Julian brought all of the humans to the party, having compelled them all to be there and began to feast on them with Nora and Mary Louise. Lily initially condoned his actions but allowed it to try and keep Julian and the Heretics happy. Julian continued to win over the Heretics by offering Mary Louise a beautiful diamond ring to use in her proposal to Nora. Julian then danced with Lily, telling her how she wasn't indulging in the real fun and that she was afraid of rejoining their family completely. He then told her that she couldn't keep hoping that her sons would love her and that he and the Heretics were all of the love she needed. He told her to come back, and offered her a woman to feed on. Lily fed, wanting to keep up appearances.
After the Heretics learned the truth about what Julian had done to Valerie, most of them sided against Julian while Damon and Stefan attacked Julian. Julian fought back ferociously but was subdued by them and tied up. They prepared to break the link between he and Lily so they could kill him, however, Mary Louise entered and rescued Julian, not wanting to believe the truth. Some time later, Lily entered and Julian revealed that he had bound Damon and Valerie and that Lily had to choose which one she wanted to live, to choose between her two families. Julian furiously told her she couldn't have both but Lily refused to give in to his demands, choosing to stake herself instead, believing her death would bring his because of their link. Unfortunately, as Lily lay dying, Julian revealed that he had already had Mary Louise unlink them, so was unaffected by the stake. When Stefan came, Julian fled, leaving his true love to die. Mary Louise later found him throwing a tantrum and destroying furniture in his grief. He told her about what happened to Lily, tearfully saying that she was gone.
In Cold as Ice, in the weeks following Lily's death, Julian traveled through many of the towns he had once lived and recruited his old vampire friends, wanting to find a new family now that he had been shunned from the Heretics. Grief-stricken and almost overtaken with madness, he went to Sunbury where a Santa Pub Crawl was taking place. Julian slaughtered an entire bar full of Santas before being discovered by Damon and Stefan. Julian wasn't concerned by their appearance, telling them that Lily was the only thing that kept the madness of the Phoenix Stone at bay. Julian also revealed that he was in possession of the Phoenix Stone and its shortsword, making the Phoenix Sword complete, explaining that the sword had been what trapped him inside of the stone for a hundred years, and the same would happen to them if he stabbed them with it in the heart. Julian then brought in some of his old friends to overwhelm them and the Salvatores were forced to flee, using fire to hold them off.
To draw Julian out, Stefan took Mary Louise hostage, texting Julian to meet him at the Salvatore House. Julian texted Nora about Mary Louise's abduction, hoping that it would bring her back to his side. Julian then went to the house and discovered Damon, who wasn't aware of Stefan's plan. Stefan arrived and attacked Julian but Julian once again overpowered the brothers, stabbing Damon with the Phoenix Stone sword. Damon died, his soul being transported into the stone while Julian fled. Julian then gave the shortsword to Nora, who successfully used it on Stefan, trapping both brothers inside of the stone.
In Hell Is Other People, Julian was seen talking to Damon and then burns Stefan's body, but this turns out to be a hallucination caused by the effects of the stone.
In Things We Lost in the Fire, it was revealed that while Damon spent time in the Phoenix Stone, Julian had taken over Mystic Falls with his friends and infested it almost exclusively with vampires, permitting violence, street racing, and chaos. Upon learning of Damon and Stefan's returns from the Phoenix Stone, he empathized with them over the effects the stone had on their minds, having been through it himself and for much longer. Suffering from the hallucinations from the Phoenix Stone, Damon killed one of Julian's vampires, infuriating him. He found Stefan and told him that if either of the Salvatores harmed his friends again, he'd feed them each others' entrails.
In Postcards from the Edge, Julian received a postcard from Valerie that signaled the coming of the Huntress that had originally killed Julian with the Phoenix Sword. Julian, having just gotten comfortable in his new home was visibly shaken by having to possibly flee again. Damon, on a suicidal bender after having accidentally killed Elena, arrived and murdered another of Julian's friends. Julian reminded Damon that he would kill him for harming his people and threatened to stake him with a pool stick. However, Julian, recognizing the traumatizing effects of the Phoenix Stone and how fragile Damon was, told him that Lily was his only tether to his own sanity and that when she died, was when he truly broke, so asked who Damon had lost. Damon admitted what he had done to Elena and Julian, relishing how shattered Damon was, took him to a vampire fighting ring they had set up in the town.
Julian convinced Damon to enter the ring and fight fellow vampires to the death as a way of dealing with his anger and grief. Damon accepted and threw himself into the combat with Julian's vampires. When Damon used a piece of wood that had been thrown into the ring to beat a particularly tough vampire, Julian was furious as they weren't supposed to use weapons in the ring. He told Damon that it was enough fighting for the day but when Damon persisted, Julian challenged him to fight him, one on one, knowing that his advanced age would easily give him the advantage. Damon, no longer caring about life and against Stefan's wishes, accepted, understanding that Julian would easily kill him being three times his age. Julian easily pummeled Damon once again and taunted him about what Stefan would do if he learned Damon killed Elena. Damon begged for death and Julian prepared to rip out his heart but was interrupted by the arrival of Valerie and Stefan. They fled while Julian told his vampire friends that if they came back to Mystic Falls, to kill them.
Later, after Stefan had learned about Elena's death, he blamed Julian for shattering Damon's mind when he had sent him into the Phoenix Stone. This, added with Julian's murder of Stefan's unborn child, brought Stefan to a boiling point when he confronted Julian in the grill. Stefan attacked Julian, stabbing him in the hand. Julian told him it was unwise to attack him in front of all of his friends but with the arrival of Valerie, who magically choked Julian, Stefan explained that she was cloaking them, so Julian's friends didn't even know what was happening. Julian, helpless and choking, was held at bay by Valerie while Stefan drove a stake through his heart, killing him and avenging their unborn child. Despite surrounding himself with friends for fear of solitude, Stefan and Valerie insured Julian died alone, without the aid, or knowledge of his death, of his vampire friends in the bar.
