Day Walking

Klaus in the sun after he unlocked his hybrid nature

Day Walking is an ability of hybrids and immortals to walk in sunlight and function in the day without the need for protection or fear burning from UV rays. This only applies to vampiric beings who are traditionally adverse to the Sun as a consequence of their immortality.

Other beings such as witches, werewolves, humans and supernatural hunters naturally possess this ability, as they are mortal and therefore are not adverse to sunlight.

Day Walking Jewelery

Main article: Daylight Amulet

Original Vampires and non-Original vampires cannot walk in daylight without being burned by the Sun as a consequence of their vampirism. However, they can gain protection from the Sun with lapis lazuli stones enchanted by a witch, thus being able to walk in the sunlight without adverse effects.  

These stones are usually affixed to jewelry such as rings, necklaces, pendants, or bracelets to allow them to wear it at all times; as long as they have it on their body or in their hands, they will not be burned by the daylight. Vampires who possess daylight amulets are generally referred to as "Day-Walkers." The amulets are specific and cannot be transferred between vampires.  

In Original Sin, it is revealed that the 2,000-year-old witch Qetsiyah is in possession of a spell capable of enchanting a whole location to protect a vampire from sunlight. This is shown where she spells her cabin for Stefan. 

Tempered Glass

Vampires are able to withstand sunlight if they are safely inside a building with windows and doors outfitted with double-paned and tempered glass that prevents UV rays from penetrating.

The vampire Slater, who lived in Richmond, Virginia, owned both an apartment and an internet café with windows fitted with this type of glass, which allowed vampires without daylight amulets to enjoy and feel the sun without being harmed.

Hybrids

Werewolf-Vampire

As hybrids retain the powers of their former werewolf selves upon gaining their vampire powers, they retain the ability to walk in the sunlight without the need of a daylight amulet, unlike their vampire peers.  

Witch-Vampire

As hybrids, they retain properties of their former Siphoner selves upon gaining their vampire powers, they retain the ability to walk in the sunlight without the need of a daylight amulet, unlike their vampire peers as witches are by default able to walk in sunlight.

Immortals

Despite having vampiric tendencies (i.e.: immortal beings who feed on human blood to survive), Immortals are able to walk in sunlight by default without any daylight amulet. There are several reasons why this may be the case, both of which go back to the spell that created them.  

The powerful witch Qetsiyah created the Immortality Spell in the 1st century BCE, which was then used by the witch Silas and his human soulmate, Amara, to become the first true immortals, who drank the blood of humans but were still alive, which may explain why they could walk in sunlight unlike their undead vampire cousins.  

Another explanation for immortals being able to walk in daylight is that the Original vampires (from whom all vampires are descended) were created by Esther Mikaelson in the early 11th century using an adapted version of Qetsiyah's Immortality Spell, which involved her calling upon the Sun for life and the ancient white oak tree for immortality-- because the wood of the white oak is the only known way to kill an Original (aside from immensely powerful magic), it would make sense that the Sun would also become a weakness for the vampire species, since it is what gave them their second life in the first place. 

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