Season 7 of The Vampire Diaries will have plenty of changes in store for longtime fans. For instance, this will be the first season without Nina Dobrev's Elena Gilbert, who parted ways with the show at the end of last season. Today, The CW released a new trailer for this highly-anticipated season. Aside from the loss of Elena, the biggest change fans will have to cope with is Lily (Annie Wersching) and her crew of Heretics, taking over the idyllic town of Mystic Falls.

This trailer comes on the heels of our report from earlier this week, that The Vampire Diaries star Candice Accola is pregnant. It isn't known yet whether the actress' pregnancy will be written into the show, but she did confirm that it won't mean fans will be seeing any less of her character, Caroline Forbes. Her character even shows up in this new trailer, calling Lily and her crew "supernatural terrorists." One thing is clear this season, that any human who steps inside Mystic Falls will likely fall victim to these nefarious vampires.

If you aren't caught up with the series, here's a brief recap of Season 6. Last season of The Vampire Diaries began with our heroes mourning the devastating loss of Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Bonnie (Katerina Graham), who turned out to be trapped in a 1994 prison world by a sociopathic magic-siphon named Kai Parker (guest star Chris Wood). Unable to cope with the loss of her love, Elena (Nina Dobrev) compelled away all of her memories of loving Damon, which meant that when he finally returned to Mystic Falls, he had to win her over again.

Meanwhile, Caroline (Candice Accola) had to come to terms with her feelings for Stefan (Paul Wesley) in light of her mother's heartbreaking battle with cancer. That battle ultimately proved fatal, sending both Caroline and Stefan down a dangerous path as humanity-free vampires. Bonnie returned from the prison world with a surprise for Damon, the cure for vampirism, which he ultimately chose to give to Elena. Damon and Stefan came face-to-face with their mother Lily (guest star Annie Wersching), who they long since believed to be dead. As the season built to a wedding between Alaric (Matthew Davis) and Jo (guest star Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), Damon used the ceremony to profess his dedication to Elena, but not without a catastrophic event that left lives hanging in the balance.

In the wake of Elena Gilbert's goodbye, in Season 7, some characters will recover while others falter. As Lily tries to drive a wedge between the Salvatore brothers, we'll still hold onto hope that Stefan and Caroline's love story is strong enough to survive. Based on the series of books by L.J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries kicks off its new season on Thursday, Octoebr 8 at 8 PM on The CW. Check out the latest trailer and stay tuned for more footage as we get closer and closer to the season premiere.