Message from daw about Nilmandra by daw the minstrel
Antane · 21 December 2017 · Chapter 999
Thank you for this notice. I was thinking about her the other day. Sorry to hear of this loss but how lucky she is now to be hanging out the Professor and all those they both loved so much. I want to be there too and get all our questions answered. Thanks to them both for creating such a great, slash-free site for so many to share their own sub-creations. It is an honor to be among such scribes. Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
NotACat · 21 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I'm sorry for your loss. I haven't been around so much recently as there is so much Tolkien-related stuff out there I just can't keep up, but it's always nice to see the update alerts arrive. Thank you for all your hard work.
Lady Edlyn · 21 December 2017 · Chapter 999
Requiescat in pace, Nilmnadra. Thank you for creating this site and the family that developed around your and our love of Tolkien's works. You gave all of us a great gift. I hope that the other members of the SOA family who went before you met you with loving ambraces and you get to sit and chat with the Good Professor, free of pain and able to do all the things your illness prevented you from doing. I alsooffer my sincere condolences to your family (both by birth and by friendship) knowing you will be missed by them all.
Lady Branwyn · 21 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I am saddened by news. My condolences to her family and friends. She was so generous with her talent and time and encouragement. This site always felt like the public room of a comfortable inn where we could meet with like-minded friends for a story and a pint. That the gathering has remained civil and productive for nearly fifteen years is a credit to her tact and wisdom. What a great gift she gave to us all. I pray that she is whole and at peace beyond the gray rain-curtain of this world. Branwyn
Sunny · 21 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I am really sad to hear this news. She was a wonderful writer, and this website has been a great source of wonderfully readable fanfic for many years.
someone · 21 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I’m so very sorry to hear this. It was through Nilmandra’s stories that I found this site years ago, and it still remains the fanfiction site where I feel most at home. Her stories were so lovely and full of hope, and that same quality can be found everywhere in SoA. My condolences to Nilmandra’s family and friends.
Periantari · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
So sad to hear this. Many condolences to family and friends of Nilmandra. :( And we may forever remember her for this wonderful fanfic archive she built for us. :hugs:
demeter d · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
Oh, my! Thank you, Daw, for letting us know. I have said before, please, everyone who posts here, please let your next of kin know how to notify someone here when we lose you! It does indeed feel like a family here, more so than on any other site I have read. I believe that the thing I enjoy the most here is that shared sense of hope. No matter our individual religious slant, everyone here seems to share the hope that we will someday meet our loved ones, our Good Professor, and each other again, in the Presence of our Creator, somewhere beyond this world. May Our Father's peace be with all of you this holiday season!
elliska · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I am so deeply, incredibly sad to hear this. Like others have said, I was so thrilled and honored when Nilmandra granted me access to post here and I learned so much from her reviews (and later exchanges with her via email and LJ). I have missed her since she became less able to post. May she finally find peace.
shirebound · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
Thank you, Daw, for sharing this sad news. I discovered Nilmandra in 2003, when her angsty yet oh-so-gentle Frodo h/c story "Refuge" was posted to fanfiction.net. I was an instant fan. She and Rorrah never asked for any help running or funding SoA, and it's been a wonderful source of LOTR fanfic to which I still contribute gratefully, and read almost daily. Many of my favorite tales have been posted nowhere else. Nilmandra's contributions to this fandom, and to those of us who love Middle-earth, have been mighty indeed and greatly appreciated. She met her challenges with resilience and hope. Now that she can walk and run again, and is free of pain, I hope the shining sands are soft beneath her feet, and the light warm and gentle. I have learned how amazing the heart is, and how resilient the soul. From "History Lessons"
Laikwalasse · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I‘m so sorry to hear this. I did. not know her but I loved her stories and was most grateful for founding SOA. Ever my refuge at hard times. May she finally find rest and peace. Sorry for my bad english. Laikwalasse
Jenniem · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
Daw, I am deeply sorry to hear of Nilmandra's death. Would you please pass my condolences to her family. SOA has become my favourite site on the net, and I love what people write. Also, I feel deeply sorry that you have lost a good friend and mentor, Daw. Jennie
Matt · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
How very sad. I'd not known she was unwell, though the relatively slow flow of postings made me wonder if something might be happening of late. I only knew her through the occasional Email exchange and some reviews of some of her fics both here and on ffn. I am blind and had a problem posting reviews because of the captcha-style tool used to validate people and expressed this very strongly, in no small part because I ultimately had to express it as a review on one of her ffn fics as I couldn't figure out how to contact her here. She was understanding, polite and very helpful which, by reading others' thoughts, was her standard way of operating. My sympathies to her family and those here who knew her better than I did, she will be missed.
Kate · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
While it is of great comfort to know that Nilmandra is safe with the Lord, it is with great sadness that I receive this news. This website, and the treasures on it, mean more to me than I can say. Knowing that such a wonderful archive of well written stories about my favourite world is always here waiting has given me a sense of consistency and reassurance for over a decade. I've been visiting this website frequently since I was a teenager, and it's seen me through dating, University, marriage, work, and most recently into motherhood. I feel regret that I never expressed my appreciation for this site while Nilmandra was here to read it. There is a lesson to be learnt there. As a previous poster wrote, this site, the stories and the community it has fostered are her legacy. I may not be the most active member, but I'm always here reading, and I am so very thankful that I can count myself as a part of this special little corner of the internet. Thank you Nilmandra. May you rest in peace.
UTfrog · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I am so very sorry for your very personal loss as well as our loss of a great writer. I try to be an active reviewer. I remember many of her stories. Much love to all who knew her.
Erulisse · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
It was Nilmandra's writing that pulled me into the world of LOTRO fanfiction and I'll be forever grateful to her for that. Rest easy on eagle's wings and angel's songs, Nilmandra. We will miss you! - Erulisse (one L)
Agape4Gondor · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
Daw, Rorrah, and all those who love this site,and its creator, my deepest condolences. I am at a loss for words. It seems cruel to lose such a spirit, such loveliness, and such generosity. SoA will always hold a dear place in my heart, as will all the authors who, because of Nilmandra and her sister, have shared their own hearts, souls, and writing with me and the world. God bless her and keep her. May his light always shine upon her. May all who knew and loved her have peace and meet, someday, in that far green country.
sheraiah · 20 December 2017 · Chapter 999
Words fail me. Intellectually, I know I'm at an age where I am beginning to lose contemporaries, but this was one I didn't expect. Deepest condolences to her family and friends. I am rereading her wonderful works as I can think of no better homage to offer than that.
ainisarie · 19 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I am so sad. The stories she wrote are among my most favorite in all of fanfiction. Her world was so close to my view of how it should be. They made me laugh and they made me cry. I still re-read them in quiet times, like visiting an old friend. Be joyful on the other side, Nilmandra. “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” (Julian of Norwich)
Celeth · 19 December 2017 · Chapter 999
Thank you for letting us know, daw the minstrel. I cannot tell you how much I love Stories of Arda. Before I found this, I often wondered what happened to the characters. I wanted more, but I felt uncomfortable with those posted in other sites. And so when I finally found SoA, whose stories seem to me as close to Tolkien's world as possible, I was so happy. For that, I thank Nilmandra and her sister. I still visit the site everyday, even though there hasn't been much activity lately. I reread some of my favorite stories when there are no new posts. Thank you to all the authors whoand posted and keep posting their stories here. It saddens me that my favorite authors seem to be going into the far green country...first Fiondil and now Nilmandra. Ai, life is so short. I hope I will be able to get to know my favorite authors before they give up the Gift of men.
MJ · 19 December 2017 · Chapter 999
My heartfelt sympathies to you, Daw, and all Nilmandra's friends and kin. She will indeed be greatly missed.
meckinock · 19 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I'll never forget how excited I was when Nilmandra granted me author access on SoA in September 2003. A month later, she was my very first reviewer. Nilmandra's legacy is the community she fostered here, which she loved so much. We had a lot of good times here, and even though many of us have drifted away, we will never forget the friends and fellowship we enjoyed here because of Nilmandra. May she find a far green country under a swift sunrise, and her Elrond waiting for her on the other side.
Molly · 19 December 2017 · Chapter 999
I’m so sorry to hear this. I spent many happy hours reading her work and others posted here. I’m grateful it and her legacy will continue on. So unfair she is gone so young. Thanks for letting us know.
sharonb · 19 December 2017 · Chapter 999
Such sad news. Thank you for passing this on to us Daw.