Eleazar

"Abstaining from human blood makes us more civilized—lets us form true bonds of love."

- Eleazar on the "vegetarian" diet

Eleazar (pronounced El-ey-ah-sar) is a member of the Denali coven. He was originally a guard of the Volturi due to his ability to sense the abilities of other vampires and humans until he and Carmen joined the Denali coven many years after it was established. Eleazar is a "vegetarian," although he wasn't always one. Edward said that if they had never found the Denali coven, both Carmen and Eleazar would have found another compassionate way to live, one way or the other.

Early life
"Eleazar knows everything when it comes to the Volturi... He used to be one of them."

- Edward on Eleazar

Eleazar was originally from Spain, and as such is fluent in Spanish. He was born sometime during the 1700s, but the exact date and year of his birth is unknown. The identity of his creator and the date he was changed is also unknown.

Eleazar was given a place within the Volturi guard for his ability to sense the special talents of others. His job was to detect if any threatening coven had any members with extra gifts and then pass that knowledge on to Aro. He would also be sent around the world to look for any human or vampire with useful talents to add to the coven. A gentle person by nature, he wasn't entirely happy with their methods, but he felt he was serving the greater good by working with those who would uphold the law. Eleazar eventually met Carmen and instantly became her mate. Because Carmen had no interest in joining the Volturi and vice versa, and was troubled by the violence of Eleazar's everyday life, Eleazar asked for Aro's permission to leave the coven. Aro didn't like the idea but nonetheless gave Eleazar his blessing, believing that he would return to the guard if Aro ever needed him.

Eleazar and Carmen traveled nomadically for a while, looking for a more compassionate lifestyle. They stumbled across the Denali coven, and were awed by their 'vegetarianism'. Tanya invited Eleazar and Carmen to stay with them and try out the lifestyle. They enjoyed each other's company so much that they made the situation permanent.

Eclipse
When the Cullens call upon the Denali coven to aid in their fight against a newborn army plaguing Seattle, the Denalis refuse at Irina's insistence, motivated by a grudge against the shape-shifters for killing Laurent, her mate, much to the regret of the remainder of the coven. The Cullens have felt that Eleazar and Kate in particular, would have been useful in the coming battle.

Breaking Dawn
Like the rest of his coven, Eleazar comes to Forks to attend Bella and Edward's wedding in order to make peace with the "werewolves" and the Cullen family.

Four months later, his family is asked to travel to Forks to witness for the Cullens against the Volturi after Irina falsely accused them of creating an immortal child, who turns out to be a vampire-human hybrid. As soon as he sees the child, he refuses to listen or believe anything the Cullens say. His mate Carmen, however, shows the first sign of belief and, after seeing the story through Renesmee's power, helps persuade Eleazar, Kate and Tanya.

Eleazar is the one who explains to Bella the nature of her gift, which he calls a "mental shield": a psychically defensive talent. Since most of the Volturi's members possess psychic-based powers, she can use it to protect herself from them. The information from Eleazar proves vital in the confrontation with the Volturi. In the majority of the preparation, Kate and Zafrina help Bella master this ability, while Eleazar assists in teaching her how to fight.

He is instrumental in helping the Cullens by giving valuable information about the Volturi and teaching Bella how to fight. When he hears that the entire Volturi coven are coming for the Cullens, he begins to question their motif, then comes to realize that Aro is planning to use the situation as an excuse to acquire Alice, Edward, and Bella for their powers. Remembering that similar situations have occured in the past, he realizes that the coven he once belonged to were not instrumental in maintaining order, but simply acted on gaining power, which disappoints Eleazar's view on them.

After their confrontation with the Volturi, which resulted in Irina's death, he returns to Denali with his coven, along with a new coven member, Garrett.

Physical appearance


Eleazar is described as being 5'11" tall, with black hair up to his collar and has a light olive cast to his pale skin. He has the same golden eyes of all "vegetarian" vampires that were once burgundy before he and Carmen met the Denali sisters. Eleazar's pale skin has a light olive cast, most likely due to his Spanish heritage. Spanish is his native language.

He is described as a "man" in the books, so it is assumed that he was changed at an age older than 20. In the Breaking Dawn films, he has short, black hair, pale skin, angular features, and stands at 6'1" tall.

Personality
"Eleazar is a very gentle person. He wasn't entirely happy with the Volturi, but he respected the law and its need to be upheld."

- Edward on Eleazar's gentle personality

Eleazar has a strong belief that laws must be upheld for the balance and safety of the vampire world, which is part of the reason he joined the Volturi, though he wasn't completely happy with their lifestyle. He is described by Edward Cullen as a very gentle man with purely good intentions and a very compassionate vampire. He becomes distraught and disappointed when he figures out the Volturi's true face; their desire to control instead of maintaining order, the latter being what he had always believed they were doing.

He is also shown as extremely protective of the things that he cherishes, for example, when he shields Carmen from Renesmee after assuming that she was an immortal child.

Powers and abilities
In Breaking Dawn, Eleazar initially discovers Bella's mental shield and helps train Bella in combat skills to prepare her for the Volturi's arrival. Because he was once a Volturi guard, it can be assumed that his fighting skills are more proficient than those of the average vampire.

Ability identification
"He has an instinctive feel for the gifts of others - the extra abilities that some vampires have. He could give Aro a general idea of what any given vampire was capable of just by being in proximity with him or her."

- Edward on Eleazar's gift

Eleazar has the gift to identify the type and strength of other gifted vampires. Eleazar thinks that it is a "haphazard practice," as no two abilities work the exact same way. His ability to read powers is, like many other gifts, weaker on humans, and so is limited in that sense and requires full concentration for him to detect their potential gifts. Eleazar is the one who helped to discover Bella's own gift, which is a mental "shield," though his power is being repelled by it. However, his power seems to run on a different frequency as he can feel it being blocked by Bella's shield, rather than not feeling Bella's gift at all.

His ability is what earned him a place within the Volturi in the first place, as Aro found it useful for determining if his enemies were gifted and for finding vampires or humans throughout the world that might be special enough to be invited to the coven.

Relationships
Eleazar is the mate of Carmen and a coven mate or brother to Tanya, Kate and Garrett, as well as the now deceased Irina and Laurent.

Carmen
"Show him, mi querida."

- Carmen to Renesmee, telling her to show Eleazar her history

Carmen is Eleazar's mate. They met when Eleazar was still working for the Volturi, and their bond was strong enough to resist Chelsea's hold on him when he later decided to leave the Volturi in order to lead a peaceful life with Carmen. They eventually relocated to Denali where they joined the Denali sisters and quickly became part of their family.

Eleazar is extremely protective of his mate, as shown when he protects Carmen from Renesmee after assuming that she is an immortal child. He also seems to have faith in Carmen's opinions and judgments; for example, when she convinces him to listen to Renesmee's story before judging her, he relents and believes her.

Tanya, Kate and Irina
"What did we miss, my friend? I want to know so that I can argue with these thoughts. You’ve never done anything worth castigating yourself this way."

- Tanya to Eleazar as he questions his former allegiance with the Volturi

Tanya, Kate and Irina are members of the Denali coven, and Eleazar's sisters. Though Eleazar is very gentle and attractive, they merely see him as a friend or brother, unlike Tanya's affections with Edward.

When Eleazar blamed himself for having worked with the Volturi for the wrong reasons, Tanya tries to comfort him saying that his intentions are always the best and that he should not degrade himself.

Irina is destroyed when the Volturi punish her for a false report of Renesmee's origins.

Film portrayal
Eleazar is portrayed by Christian Camargo in both Breaking Dawn movies. His character has been given the surname "Denali" in the films.

Appearances

 * Twilight (mentioned)
 * New Moon (mentioned)
 * Eclipse (mentioned)
 * Breaking Dawn
 * Breaking Dawn - Part 1
 * Breaking Dawn - Part 2