I did run this character by the DM ahead of time and specifically asked him if he would be okay with me playing this character. At the time he seemed okay with it.
I know less than dick about D&D. Are eladrin archers some insanely broken bullshit, or from some asspull supplement that spoil the game for other players? Either way, if the DM okays it, it's in.
I decided to play a six-hundred year old Eladrin soldier.
only for the DM to claim that I gave him nothing to work with
You give that nigger half a millenium of history to work with and he's got nothing? Shit gm, end of story.
From the top of my sleep deprived head - five fucking hundred years ago your dudeman was campaigning in Randomcountrystan, he was in a besieged city. Some man was found hoarding food while everyone was starving, his house was stormed by an angry mob. Your PC resolved it in some manner - hanged the hoarder, flogged the mob, confiscated the food for the army - you name it. 70 years later you wander back to the same city and reap what you've sown.
Or you gave your hip flask full of water to a merchant whose camel died when he was crossing the desert, along with your name when he asked for it. The flask became a family heirloom and you meet his descendants 300 years later.
Or half a goddamn millenium ago your dude was a sorry ass spearman straight out of boot camp, and his unit by a stroke of luck managed not to break under a heavy cavalry charge, turning the tide of a battle, with that even marking the end of one empire and the rise of another, with all the implications that carries.
If anything he could've complained that he's spoiled for choice.
Even discounting all of that - any GM that has this 'me vs them' mentality is shit. When you run a game, you're a facilitator, not an opponent.