Nidhil, Elderly Apothecary of Minas Tirith

Character Name: Nidhil

Name Meaning: honeycomb

Age: 75

Date of Birth: 2932 Third Age

Race: Woman

Residence: Minas Tirith

Profession: Eccentric Tutor

Appearance: Standing at 5'8”, she is thin and graceful. Her grey hair, always left down, takes on a notable frizzled appearance, and her eyes are pale blue. She wears intricate dresses depending on her mood for the day, and it is not uncommon for her to find a noteably interesting tapestry or cloth at the markets to have turned into a dress by the local tailors, often wearing strange and one of a kind garments as a result, oftentimes asking the local potters to make her matching jewelery and pendants to go along with her unparalleled fashions.

Once rather athletic, she now moves more slowly than the days of her youth, but still gracefully, always smiling, often laughing, sometimes at nothing in particular (at least not something anyone else might take note of).

Personality: Nidhil is optimistic and resourceful, known to snap her fingers when she comes upon a new idea; and is sometimes the only person in the room laughing. If others present do happen to be amused in any form; has never cared if someone is laughing with her, or at her, simply having no time in her busy life for such nonsensical worries.

She has never had a fear of trying new things, always taking chances which have on occasion led to mistakes which put her in a bit of trouble. She usually is able to work herself out of it just fine; though is also not afraid to ask for help when she needs it. A messy task is a fun task to Nidhil, she rarely has a care for a bit of dirt or clay or paint or anything else upon her sleeves.

She has tutored many pupils over the years, in any varied interest she has, from healing herbs to ferments, dyeing to beadmaking, beekeeping to music. Whatever knowledge she has (and it is always growing) she loves to share, though is keen on letting her students work out their own problems and come to their own solutions, giving just the bits and pieces of information that they need to solve things on their own. A fond proponent of the phrase, “Never say never!”



Parents: Maldaer (deceased) and Raengwen (long deceased)

Sibling(s): None

Spouse: None

Children: None, unless you count the bees and hens that live on her rooftop.

History:

Nidhil is the one and only child of the famed apothecary, Maldaer, a stern and resolute man with a fine skill for healing and medicines. Maldaer married Raengwen when he was already growing in age, a woman who should have been beyond childbearing years. It was with surprise that she conceived when she did, and though they were pleased for it, she had many troubles through the pregnancy.

The 'bad air' took Raengwen, and she passed of stomach pain, fever, and weakness a few days after the birth of the daughter. Still unnamed, the baby girl went into the care of a wet nurse, and afterward, an elderly neighbor. Maldaer saw that her caregiver had everything needed to raise the child, who had simply come to be known as “Babe” for her lack of name, though he left no time to give her his own attention nor affection, barely even looking upon her in her early years.

It was not until she was three years old that Maldaer had a change of heart and once again sought his daughter from her caregiver, who was then upon her death bed. Upon returning the toddler to his household, Maldaer immediately regretted ignoring the early years of her life, and named her finally, Nidhil, after the honeycomb, for her smile and laughter were sweet and infectious.

None too affected by what could have been a sad existence, losing her mother, then her caregiver, Nidhil grew happy and pleasant at the right hand of her father. She learned his trade in all ways and assisted him in the apothecary for all the rest of his years. Maldaer was never one to say 'no' to Nidhil's curiosities and invested in teaching her and sharing with her whatever she wished; and though she always asked question upon question, she never was a child of demand or greed, save for her desire for her father's attention.

Her daddy's girl to the end, from the age of three on up, she never truly left his side. She always seemed to find a friend in the people she met, and enjoyed her father's company enough that she never felt lonely in spirit. When Maldaer had taught the girl everything he knew, she began to teach whichever children on the street took a fancy to her interests. The years passed by and Nidhil lived still with her father, never seeking a husband or marriage, and quite content in life.

Maldaer is gone now some thirty years past, and around the time he passed on, she hired on a younger man to run the apothecary shop for her, still working within for quite a few years, but not having the vexations of tending completely to the business on her own. What income she still makes of it, as well as her Father's savings of many years allows her to live comfortably in her small abode, and she has no worries.

Nidhil passes many a day on her rooftop now; what could very well be the greenest rooftop in the city of Minas Tirith. The stone stair takes her up to her garden; the bees buzz and fly from their skeps back and forth to the Pelennor. Her hens peck about. Her bean plants and sunflowers grow tall. The inside of her home could appear chaotic to some, but it is simply the workings of many years and many interests.

Curtains of beads, fabrics, tapestries, incense burning, sills lined with jars of her various ferments (which she attributes to be what keeps her so energetic in her old age), and cabinets full of golden honey. Cluttered shelves of potteries that she's taken a fancy to, bearing all sorts of dried plants which she has collected upon the Pelennor, maps and inks and parchments, cloths, paints, and bags, and half finished inventions and tinkering projects. And of course, one of her favorite possessions, her gilded harp which sings out merry songs for her own enjoyment, and that of her neighbors.