Eli Lightwood

File:EliLightwoodAesthetic.jpg

Bex Lightwood (younger sister)

Gina Lightwood (younger sister)

Alec Lightwood (uncle)

Magnus Bane (uncle)

Max Lightwood-Bane (cousin)

Rafael Lightwood-Bane (cousin)

Maryse Lightwood (maternal grandmother)

Robert Lightwood †(maternal grandfather)

**Elijah "Eli" Jordan Lightwood** is the oldest child and only son of Isabelle and Simon Lightwood as well as the older brother of Gina and Bex. He is currently at the New York Institute in training to become a Shadowhunter. He is the *parabatai* of Stephen Herondale.

## Name & Etymology

Simon and Isabelle chose the name Elijah for their firstborn. Eli's middle name, Jordan, is from Simon's good deceased friend, Jordan Kyle, who protected his father when he was a vampire.

Elijah is of Hebrew origin, and is also a biblical name. The name means "the lord is my god."

The origin of the name Jordan is Hebrew ירדן (Yarden), meaning "one who descends" or "to flow down". The form found in Western names comes from its Greek form Ἰορδάνης (Iordanes).

## Early Life

Eli was born two weeks before Stephen and Emmy Herondale to Isabelle and Simon Lightwood. He was raised alongside his future *parabatai,* Stephen, and his twin sister, Emmy, as well as Max and Rafael. He is two years older than his sister, Bex, and six years older than his other sister, Gina.

## Physical Appearance

Like his dad, Simon, he is messy, both in housekeeping and physical appearance. Emmy describes him as having “dark, messy hair that looks like he rarely combs it, light brown coppery eyes that were actually pretty, and was pretty handsome, except for the annoying smirk on his face that made me want to punch him constantly." Eli is also noted to be half a foot taller than Emmy, which he uses to his advantage.

His Voyance rune is on his right hand. He has a Soundless rune on his left shoulder that peeks out from underneath his shirts, while his parabatai rune rests over his heart. His Angelic Power runes are on the inside of both wrists, and he has a Stealth rune on the right side of his neck. Eli also has a long scar on his right forearm where he tripped and fell on a sword when he was nine.

## Personality

Eli is very stubborn and fierce, like his mother. He is also somewhat socially awkward, especially around girls. He enjoys reading, and one of his favorite past times is teasing Emmy (especially about her height). He is also very protective of his family, and good at fighting and weaponry. He can be somewhat brooding, like his uncle Alec.

## Skills and Abilities

* **Nephilim Physiology:** Being Nephilim, Eli possesses a variety of enhanced physical and mental abilities granted to him by the angel blood of Raziel running in his veins and also by the angelic Marks of the Gray Book. This includes enhanced strength, speed, agility, stamina, and coordination, which continue to improve over time and with practice.
	+ **The Sight:** As a Shadowhunter, Eli is naturally and easily able to see through most magical illusions and layers of glamour over reality.
	+ **Runic Magic:** Due to the angel blood in their veins, all Shadowhunters are able to apply runes on their skin without any real danger. These Marks, in turn, give varied effects that serve to benefit the wearer.
	+ **Use of Heavenly Weapons:** As a Shadowhunter, Eli is also able to perform tasks unique to their species, such as the ability to use and call on the power of angels for their seraph blades, as well as to handle any heavenly weapons or objects with effect, which would normally not work for other species. In particular, these are tools made of *adamas* and forged by Iron Sisters.
* ***Parabatai* Bond:** Due to his *parabatai* bond with Stevie Herondale, Eli is able to call on more strength in battle. The runes drawn on him by Stevie also give a considerably stronger effect.
* **Archery:** Eli is particularly skilled in archery.

## Trivia

* He is named after Jordan Kyle.
* He hates spaghetti.
* Originally, Eli was going to be an only child.
* He is allergic to tulips, something he shares with his mom.
* He plays guitar, a trait he shares with his dad and sisters.
* He hates spiders.
* He wears a Lightwood family ring on his left hand, and he wears a Herondale family ring on a chain around his neck because his *parabatai's* family are Herondales.
* He takes his role as Stevie's *parabatai* extremely seriously, according to Emmy. He upholds every part of the oath, including protecting and loving Stevie's family as though they were his own, which they practically are.
* He is part of a band with Gina, Emmy, and Mina. Mina plays violin, Emmy plays piano/keyboard, he plays guitar, and Gina plays drums.
* He speaks eight languages, including Italian, French, Latin, Greek, Japanese, Welsh, Russian, and English. He can also somewhat understand demon languages, and can read all three.
* According to Emmy, she will sometimes talk with Rafael in Spanish and Eli gets very frustrated because he can't understand what they're saying and he knows that Emmy's only doing this to get on his nerves. But it doesn't help because it feels like they're teasing him (which they are).