((OOC: This is extended information about Nimlith that is not in her official bio, but which she will reveal if asked in-game. It is not widely-known information but for those who want a better idea of the character))
Physical appearance
Nimlith has long straight blonde hair shot through with single copper strands. Her face is fair, but not extraordinarily so - you can tell she is not a young elf any more, but other than that it is as ageless as any other elf. Her eyes are dark grey.
She speaks with a Nandor accent in Sindarin, but with modern Westron. She is also an adept singer, though she does not have a trained voice and will likely give the stage to a minstrel if one is available. Her singing voice is somewhat husky.
Usually she is clad in ragged, dusty and grey robes when travelling, as she prefers practicality to looks. When she is at a formal event, she will don a Tawarwaith robe from her home. She never wears shoes, and prefers walking on the soft grass to walking on stone roads.
History and names
"Those were the Nandor; and they became a people apart, unlike their kin, save that they loved water, and dwelt most beside falls and running streams. Greater knowledge they had of living things, tree and herb, bird and beast, than all other Elves."
Nimlith was born to the Nandor of the Greenwood somewhere around the end of the First Age. Her father-name is "Daughter of the Wood-crafter", as her father was indeed a skilled wood crafter who even worked for the Dwarves of Moria. She does not use this name any more these days.
When she grew to adulthood and chose a profession for herself, her mother-name was given to her. It is a prophetic name, as is custom with the Nandor. The name given to her was Nimlith - white ash.
She has not earned or chosen any more names yet.
She trained and became adept in the ways of speaking to nature and healing, choosing to separate from her village and family in favour of serving the forest proper. Since then, she lived the life of any family member who choses to forgo their family for religious reasons - she is honoured by her relatives, and certainly doing an important job, but not really close to the daily life of them any more.
In fact, she lived quite a hermitic life in the forest for a long time, only passing by villages to offer aid in ceremonies and occasional healing. She never travelled far from Greenwood, but learned the languages and magic of all the creatures living in it. From the Gauredain and other primitive peoples she learned the primitive nature magic of channeling energy into rune-stones and totems - a practice she refined and is using in her healing. But most of her non-spiritual duties still involved hard work and lore of the profane type, like healing herbs and bone-setting.
The slow decline of Greenwood into Mirkwood had not gone unnoticed by the Nandor either, who live perhaps closest to the forest of all the Elf tribes. Yet they chose not to interfere with the politics of Mirkwood and Thranduil's folk, instead staying secluded in their part of the forest. Many did not see the reason for struggle with invading tribes as the forest was big enough to house all of them. Nimlith agreed with this, as she was eager to learn more of the newcomers and unwilling to believe the evil rumours surrounding some of them.
Yet she was mistaken in some of these newcomers. Invading Orc and goblin tribes soon spoiled the forest for their own gain, burning down large stretches of it for no reason. It was then that Nimlith saw the prophecy of her mother name had fulfilled itself - the ash of the burned trees was white, and it fell like snow on the forest. Blinded by anger and grief, she took up the fight against the orcs and slew many. Soon, though, even the Nandor saw they had failed to hold back the invasion. Many, stricken by grief at the destruction of their home, perished or travelled to the west, hoping to find solace in the lands their people had never before reached.
Nimlith, appaled by the resignation of her peers and the seeming inaction of other Elf tribes, decided she had to leave her forest in order to save it - to learn about the forces controlling the orcs, and find ways of stopping the influx. She took with her her young relative Miji, a descendant of her father's brother, who she secretly thinks is very promising and capable. Miji has not yet chosen to reveal her true name and goes by an abbreviation of her father-name.
Personality and traits
Some may believe Nimlith is young or naïve if they do not know her well. Neither of the two is true, though - she strives to be free of prejudice and forgiving, but she is not easily deceived. She will forgive if you ask her to, but she will not let anything endanger her friends. She also knows the duty of a healer - to take away pain if necessary, but not to prolong it overly much if healing cannot be granted.
As a wood-elf, but even more so as a warden of nature, Nimlith is more at home with trees and nature than with people. Crowds and loud environments make her uncomfortable, though she is getting better at it since she started her quest to unite people against the Shadow. Still, she will be much more reserved at the gatherings in the Hall of Fire than when holding her own prayer meetings in the forest.
Her tendency to be shy around people and her Nandor heritage also increase the impression of naïveté sometimes, as she is not always aware of social protocol among the nobler elf-tribes. She is usually polite to a flaw, but just can't puzzle out why some people see a big problem in certain situations, or harbour grudges that extend through generations and to people only indirectly associated with the original reason.
Nimlith has a tendency to try to solve problems by herself instead of getting help, mainly because she has a strong protective instinct towards her friends and shies away from putting them into danger. She is not rash and not a warrior - she believes that life is sacred. But she will not only fight in defense, for if it is necessary an evil must be removed before it can cause more harm. She does not carry a weapon but uses the lore of nature and her own dexterity in fight.
Like all Elves, Nimlith will not lie or give her word or advice lightly. She is bound to answer if any friend asks her a direct question, even if she does not wish to disclose the information. She does not like to give her word without knowing what she promises, and would rather refuse the information than doing so. She is also aware of the limits of her knowledge and would rather not rush into a fight without knowing the possible implications, deferring to local knowledge.
On the Nandor and Nimlith's profession
The Nandor are either translated as "The people of Dan" (presumably by themselves) and "those who turn back" (by others). The name comes from the fact that instead of going to Valinor when the Valar commanded it, they chose to turn back during the journey. They found Greenwood and made it their home eventually.
Later, the Nandor were joined by other tribes in the forest, who they intermingled with. They are now ruled by King Thranduil, who is descended from Elves that went to Valinor and returned, as is most of the ruling class of the Middle-Earth Elves.
Nimlith's tribe however seems to be more reclusive and does not defer to Thranduil more than in name. They are somewhat less refined and more in tune with nature than the wood-elves and Laiquendi who intermingled with Thranduil's folk. Though still Elves, they are likely to have some of their own traditions and lore, not really participating in the history of the other Elf-peoples since they came to Greenwood. They trade with other forest-Elves and are reported to have been trading with Moria, so it is likely they became more reclusive the more Greenwood fell into decay.
Never having entered Valinor, "true" Nandor would likely not pray to the Valar to the same extent as those tribes who did, or descended partly from those who did. They would not deny the Valar and their authority (which is unthinkable for an Elf), but not worship them, for they do not know them.
Instead, they is expected to be more concerned with the immediate nature surrounding them. There is no specific name for a priest or religious person of their tribe - Nimlith refers to herself alternatively as "spirit-speaker", "healer" or "warden of the forest" - but they have people following the life of lore seekers and spiritual leaders. Nimlith is one of them, learning the lore of nature from her predecessor and refining it herself later.
Her duties include taking care of all creatures in her forest - or rather, the forest as a whole. This includes prayer but also basic healing and the duties of a priestess to the local community - Elves do not need a priest for marriages and other such things (which is a duty usually performed by the community leader), but they may need someone to offer both spiritual and physical healing at times. It also includes more spiritual duties (prayer, meditation, worship) and development and extension of the particular branch of nature lore the Nandor practice.
But she was also expected to be loyal to her duties before her family, and for the time of apprenticeship forgo all bonds to kin. Since her apprenticeship finished she is allowed to make her own decisions concerning her place of living, or taking a husband. Yet she never found a reason not to continue her spiritual life in the forest until the orcs invaded Greenwood. She is considered a full priestess and likely one of the few remaining, but not bound to any authority save her own in her tribe - hence why she could decide to leave Greenwood on her own.
As a spiritual leader, she would have a vote in tribe matters, if she wished to claim it. Yet it is not sure how often she has actually done so.
She has not taken an official apprentice but she is taking Miji with her on her travels. Miji is not a priestess or priestess apprentice yet, but also a student of nature magic. She is strong in the craft but has not shown any interest in being a priestess.
Present time
Nimlith is travelling Middle-Earth with Miji, finding new friends in unexpected places and learning about the politics and struggles not just against the Enemy, but also among the different factions of the Free Peoples.
She started to work in small scale, trying to initiate dialogue between the races and factions - a task hard for her who does not know much about the other Free Peoples - and fight the Shadow in any ways she is able to.
Recently, after witnessing Orc and Goblin attacks in many peaceful regions, she has taken a more direct approach to aid those who cannot fight themselves. She is trying to find allies both Elf and Man to assist her in this fight. So far, she has been witnessed to work in Evendim to protect the Shire, and in Eregion/Enedwaith to protect the civilian population there.
