When Elijah Mikaelson demanded his family back he didn't know of the consequences and his dear brother Klaus did not inform him until the first battle. After the first major fight with the Nephilim, Elijah demanded answers. Answers were precisely what he got.

Niklaus explained that his actions were closely watched by the Clave since the day he became the Immortal Hybrid. Of course, no matter how dangerous, as far as they knew he was immortal so the Clave let him be and tried to minimise the collateral damage.

However, when the Clave heard of Klaus' plan to undagger his siblings they decided it was time to interfere. The Clave gave Klaus simple orders. He was to keep his siblings neutralised and in their coffins. If he did not obey, the whole family would be named rogue vampires and free for hunting. Niklaus, as it was commonly known, did not like taking orders but prevented himself from bringing his siblings back. This broke Klaus' promise to Elijah so the elder brother, oblivious to the Clave's involvement, undaggered his siblings himself.

When the news got back to the Clave, war between the Nephilim and the Mikaelson family begun. The Mikaelsons were open for hunt.

At the beginning, battles and huntings were small and unsuccessful. The Nephilim knew of the power of the Originals and were wary. The Originals knew enough about the Nephilim to be alarmed by their numbers. The war was a stalemate. Until, of course, the unfortunate death of Finn Mikaelson. Finn's death angered his family and motivated them to battle but more importantly, with his death came the death of his whole bloodline. This was a great shock to everyone but the Clave. The Nephilim knew the ways of the vampires and when they prevented Niklaus from bringing his siblings back they only wanted to have peace among the Downworlders. The Clave knew the Fae and Werewolves wouldnt appreciate stronger enemies, they feared a war in the Downworld and the wiping off of the Vampire species.

The death of so many vampires caused the rest of the species to side with the Originals. A small war between the Original Vampires and the Nephilim turned into a war between Shadowhunters and Vampires. The Accords were in shreds. Vampires could now be hunted on the same grounds as demons. Other Downworlders were open to join the war and unsurprisingly they did. Werewolves sided with the Nephilim while most of the Fae and the Warlocks stayed neutral and open for services to both sides.

Because of the war, Niklaus Mikaelson got exactly what he always wanted. An army of faithful vampires just waiting for his orders. He divided himself and his family between his two main lairs; New Orleans and the small town of Mystic Falls. His siblings, Elijah and Rebekah, took care of the major vampire army in New Orleans while Niklaus himself and his brother Kol took care of the remaining vampires in Mystic Falls. It seemed like the perfect plan.

However there were flaws. Like the constant raids of the Nephilim. Niklaus knew his enemies must have a base somewhere close, but neither him, his siblings or his army were able to locate it. Little did he know that most raids were caused by the Virginia Area Conclave from the Richmond Institute..