Tommel Leahia

Tommel Leahia is an extremely skilled sharpshooter in the Shadow Lords chapter. After slaughtering various gangs during his teen years, he was selected to become a space marine, he now holds a high position as captain of the 10th Company (or "The Crow" as the title has been named), teaching newly initiated marines to become proficient sharpshooters and unseen assassins.
== Past: ==
=== As a youth: ===
Tommel was born on Noctis suspected to be around 919.M41 and was the son of Anna and karl Leahia. Both of his parents were murdered by a gang calling themselves the Eye of Fear, under the command of Kyval Ymitr by the time he was 8 years old. Forced to live in the streets, he eventually found a group of orphans, stalking with them through the shadows and stealing scraps to survive. He got on with most of them, mainly because the majority of kids were orphaned in the same way Tommel was. Some however were trying to take command to become a gang in their own right. Many of these, mostly in their late teens, left to join other gangs when it proved that each kid was too independent to bow to one ruler.
Tommel never lost his bitterness and hatred towards the Eye of Fear, and always told the orphaned children that everyone who ever hurt them would be made to pay, etching this teaching into their young minds, garnering respect from many. Eventually wanting to make them pay as their crimes, he became overwhelmed with jealousy and hatred. As the ragtag group of orphans grew into their early teens, they became a gang in their own right, recruiting from those who had been wronged, exacting vengeance on those it was necessarily and stealing weapons, money and food from them. Tommel was appointed the de-facto of the gang, now named the "Shadows of Vengeance", at only 14 years old. His first act was to round up any who were wronged by gangs and, raiding a munitions shop and, stealing lasguns, stub-guns, flak armour, gas masks (to give anonymity and strike fear) and knives, went to exact their revenge.
Their first strike was against a very small gang known as the "Steel Fist". Wrapping themselves in dark clothing and hiding in the shadows, Tommel's gang attacked, their members were carved apart and nailed to walls as bloody examples, working their way upwards, by the time the gang leader, a a fat balding man known as Varl Klaro, was attacked, all the petty members, sentries, guards and lieutenants were long dead. Tommel let a young gang member, a 12 year old who lost his parents to the "Steel fists", was allowed to cause the killing blow, cutting open his chest and pulling out his intestines while he still lived. It is said that his scream could be heard from miles around. When the Arbites got to the gang leader's personal chamber, all they found was his body, gutted like a fish, and on his white walls was the phrase: "Vindicta umbra sumus, et nemo securus est ira" (translated to "We are the shadows of Vengeance, and nobody is safe from our wrath") in his own blood.
The Arbites concluded this in their reports, and eventually word got to the reporters and journalists of the planet and word spread throughout. This was a blessing and curse combined, for while it helped to spread fear to those who had wronged ad even brought with it many recruits from orphaned children, it also brought retribution from gangs, not wishing to share the "Steel Fists" fate. Tommel and his gang adapted however, living in the shadowy underhives and making sure nobody saw them during their attacks and retreats (using shadows where possible and a dagger where not). Buffed with their increased numbers, Tommel and his gang struck at another gang, know as "The Eviscerators" due to several members being murdered in retaliatory strikes. Tommel took no small amount of pleasure from carving the gang's symbol into his back. Again when the Arbites reached he scene, Only the hive gang leaders mutilated corpse was present, along with a phrase written on the walls in his own blood: "Memento scimus quid fecisti nos ad te venire." (or: "Remember we know what you've done, and we are coming for you.").
After only 9 months of this practice, Tommel amassed some of the best of the gang and struck for the "Eye of fear". Using their tried and tested techniques, Tommel stalked through the gangs territory, brutally murdering gang member after gang member while leaving no witnesses to who had done it. As he struck for the head of the gang however, Tommel had been tricked. The Shadows elite, while fighting valiantly, were slaughtered, while Tommel himself was forced to flee from a battle he had no way of winning. Taking as many gang members down as he could out while he escaped, he fled through the pitch black underhives.
Surviving on malnourished rats and stagnant water, Tomel evaded his enemies for many days. However the "Eye of Fear" was not the only ones stalking him. The Shadow Lords watched from the shadows and spires, interested in Tommel, seeing him as a good candidate. After 4 days of constant escape, Tommel realized he couldn't go on much forther, and so hid in the shadows and planned to ambush his pursuers. As they searched for him in the dark, Tommel picked the veteran gangers off, one by one, murdering about 3 before being spotted and attacked. Realizing his life depended on this fight, Tommel fought like a man possessed, killing 4 members before being finally laid low by a frag grenade.
As Tommel lay there bleeding, the gang was slowly closing in. However before they came in for the killing blow, a chaplain, flying upon a jump pack, swooped down and carried him off, much to the "Eye of fear"'s surprise. Trying to fight and resist this shadowy figure, Tommel was no match for a marine even at the peak of his fitness, and his energy had been spent by the battle and his wounds. Eventually he lost consciousness and was taken to the Shadow Lords fortress monastery.
Waking in the apothacarium with his wounds healed, Tommel escaped from his bed and stalked the shadows of the fortress monastery for several days in a vain attempt to find a way out. Eventually he was found by the same chaplain that rescued him, revealing himself to go by the name of Branne Salliah. He spoke to Tommel of what the chapter was, putting his fears of being abducted by a gang to rest and allowed himself to be taken back without a fight.
His trails to become a marine were harsh to say the least, but being from Noctis, Tommel was a hardy sort, and quickly became a skilled infiltrator and apt shooter with a precise aim. He showed grand potential and was an extremely promising recruit. Many had attributed this to his hard won experience as leader of a viscous gang, hell bent on revenge. One notable feature of Tommel was his tenancy to revel in the fear that his enemies felt when near him, due to this he made a bargain to be allowed his industrial gas mask during his training missions to become an initiate.
=== As a Marine ===
After being raised into the ranks of the Astartes as a scout, Tommel's uncanny skills only increased. His skill with a knife was extraordinary and his aim was unmatched in the scout company. During his early weeks as a scout, he realized his gas mask would no longer fit him, so instead hid his mouth underneath a black scarf, obscuring his face except for his black eyes, hair and white skin around it. Deployed for assassination missions under the command of the Sargent Shawl, Tommel impressed the Sargent with his calm and steady personality when on the missions. This all changed when he got into close quarters, becoming a whirlwind of blades when the situation demanded it.
During the pacification of Aurae IV, Shawl's squad were tasked with the assassination of a Tau ethereal. During their final moments of the task, when the Ethereal was about to be executed from their far away position; stealth suits, cloaked by advanced camouflage technology employed by the Tau, attacked the scouts. The disruption was sufficient to sent most of the sniper's bullets astray. All except one, Tommel's bullet. Their mission complete, Tommel turned to the squad to help them engage their unseen enemies. Grabbing dust and throwing it in random directions, Sargent Shawl found stealth suits and began to rain down precise blows with his power knife, piercing the armour and sending the blood spraying out, catching another and making it momentarily visible. Tommel began to repeatedly slice at its stained form and it fell upon the ground. After this Tommel began to do the same as Sargent Shawl and throw dust to find the suits, but by then they had already began to retreat into the mist, raining down plasma fire upon the Scouts. The Scouts gave chase, the suits forms visable only through the grass they walked through.
Before Tommel and the squad could catch up, the stealth suits activated their sophisticated jet packs and flew into the sky, again firing into the squad as they did so. One of these hit Scout Sargent Shawl in the chest, burning a hole through the armour and killing him. Though it pained him to do so, Tommel activated the vox for the evac transport and made for the extraction point, carrying his Sargent's body as he did so.
Tommel was elected as the Sargent's successor after the events of that day. Given the grizzled scout Sargent's cloak, an old relic woven from the feathers of the ravens from Noctis, said to make the wearer hard to focus on. He also had his old gas mask altered to allow him to wear it. Adapting to his role like he adapted to everything, Tommel took to the task and soon rose to fame as he and his squad became renowned for their sharp aim, infiltration expertise and ambushing skills. Earning a dozen marksmen honours, he became one of the chapters most apt marksmen.
Before long Tommel was promoted to battle brother, leaving his old sniper rifle, modified extensively by both himself and sanctioned techmarines and techpriests and codenamed "Nevermore" after Corax's final words, and laying his old raven feather cloak inside his chambers, Tommel took this new role well, set to work in a devastator squadron. Despite his change in armaments he still used his tried tactics of being unseen until the time when he made his killing strike. This was seldom noticed at first, but as Tommel was told to man more and more destructive weaponry, many noticed that his habit of sniping hadn't left him, as many noticed. Times when he was set to crew a Lascannon, he often aimed to both hit a weak point on a tank and obliterate an enemies head from its shoulders on the way there, while with plasma cannons and even heavy bolters he aimed to catch many people with the least amount of bullets. Eventually Tommel, realizing his skill was with the silent "Nevermore" rifle rather than a weapon like a heavy bolter or a lascannon, whose loud recoil and large bulk made infiltration impossible, requested to be returned to the 10th company. On the verge of deciding his skill was more useful there anyway, they complied and he was left to lead Squads of the 10th Company once again.
== Appearance: ==
Tommel is a pallid man, even for a bearer of Corax's geneseed. Many have commented that he looks ill and ghostly, adding to his fearsome appearance as a vengeful spectre. As a side effect of the Raven guard geneseed Tommel's hair is pitch black. One thing of note is his hair is very long for a marine, and despite the disadvantage it presents to him he refuses to have it cut, making it fall over one of his pitch black eyes as a way to style it. Tommel is also never seen during battle without his gas mask on, taken from his days as a ganger. Many speculate it as sentimental, possibly hinting it belonged to his parents, who he wants to remember, and while it is true, its main purpose is to cover his mouth, as due to a genetic defect his canines have developed into fangs.
== Personality: ==
As a youth Tommel had been a very cool headed and unsociable child, content to learn. He was also never very trusting of people. However after the death of his parents his personality changed somewhat, more easy with others, quicker to anger, impatient and misanthropic. While these weren't very pronounced at the start, as time wore on his situation began to have a larger effect on him. His growing hatred for the gangs that killed his parents crew to the point where he led his "gang" against them. 
As a marine he is somewhat of an oddity as he is known not to be one for glory, preferring to live a life of anonymity. His psychology has always been "If you do things right, people wont be sure you've done anything at all" and that's how he likes it to be. His tactics against gangs effortlessly carried over into scout life, where he takes great pains to assassinate warlords, dictators to make sure the rest fall fast, and has been known to make these commanders into bloody examples as a reminder to all who think of straying from the emperor's light.
Due to all of this, Tommel has changed significantly, partly as a consequence of how he is viewed and treated. His misanthropy has spawned sadistic tenancies towards those he targets and his impatience has faded, now he is content to wait in ambush of his quarry to further strike terror into those who would murder, covet, steal or worship the gods of chaos. Dispite this though he only kills for the emperor, those who wrong are either torn apart with his talons or shot from afar with his modified bolter, while others who obey the law are left to walk free, be they random witnesses or friends of criminals who detach themselves. He knows he is required to do this, though some say he has lost part of himself in the process, it is uncertain if this is true. Another noticeable feature is that he disapproves of pointless war, preferring to take action when needed (though not above making examples out of people when necessary).
== Equipment: ==
As a scout Tommel has very restricted access to the chapter armoury. He is usually armoured in the durable but light scout armour, altered and personalized with details. He always wears his cloak of Noctis raven feathers, an item from his first sergeant, now deceased. As well he always wears his old gas mask, making him all the more unnerving. His most common weapon of choice is his sniper rifle, known as "Nevermore". Like his armour it has been heavily personalized to completely streamline it, making infiltration easier. Lastly Tommel doesn't have a favorite close combat weapon, he usually uses blades attached to his wrists to slash at the enemy. However he has been known to use a regular molecular blade, a power weapon and, on one occasion, Garotte wire. Regardless of his used weapon, he always seeks to silence his enemies quickly, not leaving them in pain to stop himself being found during his missions.
== Quotes: ==
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Category:Characters
Category:Tomj8937
Category:Space Marines
Category:Brotherhood of the Faithful
Category:Brotherhood of the Faithful