Description:
Eli is small for a space marine, barely cracking 2 meters and 500 kilos. This is the result of a less than optimal bonding with his gene seed, causing his development to stall out prematurely. He has also aged more severely than most, halfway through his second century he has the bone white hair and a deeply lined face of a much older man. His atypical development gives his motions a clumsy quality, at least to other space marines, and has led many to underestimate his usefulness in battle.
History:
Eli was raised by bandits in the forests of his homeworld and never knew his parents. Familiar with battle and death from a young age, by the time the Dark Angels came to his world he was skilled in the arts of ambush and bushwack. All this came to a head when his clan waylaid what appeared to be rich caravan of nobles passed through their territory. However, caravan was instead carrying promising youth for potential recruitment into the Space Marines, and accompanied by a single member of the Dark Angels. A pitched battle ensued, the bandits and candidates fighting for their lives as the lone Space Marine watched silently. In the end, the bandits were forced to retreat, leaving Eli and a few others surrounded by vengeful fighters. At this point Brother Cadmus intervened, having seen the ruthless fighting skills of the bandits, he ordered them spared and Eli, who had killed or wounded almost a dozen men and boys, most twice his size, brought along to the trials. Eli survived the ritual combats and deadly hunts of the Dark Angel's trials and was recruited to become a space marine. He served with distinction in the scout company and despite the irregularities of his gene seed, proved mentally and physically tough enough to become a full battle brother. He completed his combat rotations more quickly than most, proving capable in all areas of combat before being appointed a Sergeant in the Chapter's scout company, a position he would hold for almost a century. Shortly after this appointment, He was involved in in operations which culminated in the Exterminatus of Genco III, an event which irrevocably altered his psyche. Following this, he was generally relegated to less active (by space marine standards) positions, generally training and leading neonates in low threat (by space marine standards) areas. However, due to possessing a degree of subtlety uncommon for a space marine, his services were repeatedly used for infiltration missions requiring sabotage and assassination. This combat activity had the unfortunate side effect of exposing him to Exterminatus on two additional occasions, further aggravating his obsessive visions. His superiors are aware of his unusual mental state, though not the specifics, and for this reason he has not been exposed to the chapter's secrets. His most recent operation was the suppression of a Pale Throng revolt on Pyrius, which resulted in heavy casualties for the Dark Angels. During the mission, the scout's positions were overrun and they sustained over 80% casualties before they were reinforced. Among the dead were two other sergeants and Eli's entire squad. Saying he took this badly would be something of an understatement, and he was seconded to the Deathwatch to prevent his attitude from affecting the morale among the Dark Angels. He is unaware of this fact and sees his assignment as a sacred duty, a fact he believes is presaged by his visions.