Ñolyo was an elf of the Tatyar who awoke upon the shores of Cuiviénen. He held no bonds in his heart, but awoke nearby the brothers Daurin and Tórin, who became very dear to him. Ñolyo wed Silindë of the Nelyar, and they were among the first Quendi to become parents: their daughter was born in the Waters of Awakening, and named Míriel by her father, while her mother gave her the name of Þerindë.
Yet their family was only happy for a short time. While out gathering food in the Wild Wood, Ñolyo and Silindë were attacked by a monstrous Shadow, and Ñolyo was slain defending his wife. His body was cast aside into the darkness, not to be discovered for some weeks, and Silindë was taken captive in the dungeons of Angamando where Lieutenant Mairon worked evil magics upon her, transforming her into an orc.
Upon her parents’ disappearance, Míriel Þerindë was cared for by her almost-uncles Tórin and Daurin and befriended the inventor Finwë, whom she later married. When her son Fëanáro was born, her spirit was utterly drained of energy, and she laid down her life in the Gardens of Lórien, passing into the Halls of Mandos willingly as no other elf had done before. There she reunited with the spirit of her father, and learned in great horror of her mother’s fate: but there was naught to be done for Silindë, who had forgotten herself amid her torment and knew love and mercy no longer.
In Angband, Silindë was given the name Maidros for her pale glitter of her silver hair, and was known for her viciousness in tormenting captive elves. The Lieutenant often let her play with his victims between his experiments upon them, and Maidros delighted in tormenting them, letting out her hurt and rage upon the innocent. She was so lost in her pain and fury that her twisted fëa did not recognize nor remember itself—not until she saw a fragment of it reflected in the soul of her latest victim.
Nelyafinwë Maitimo, grandson of Míriel, was captured in battle against the Shadow and taken to Angband as a special prisoner. As a reward for her victory in that same battle, Maidros was granted the privilege of torturing him, but even as she laid a hand upon him some long-buried part of her awoke. She remembered suddenly her life as Silindë, remembered holding her baby daughter in her arms—and as she had in the Waters of Cuiviénen, she saw a spark of Míriel’s fëa within this prisoner, her daughter’s grandson.
In that moment of elvishness returned, Nelyafinwë recognized the orcs for what they were: captive elves twisted into something dark and evil. Throughout his long captivity he would learn much more about these horrid reflections of elvenkind and how to avoid being turned himself, but he first saw their true nature in Maidros, and at that time was yet able to reach into his great-grandmother’s fëa and commune with her. In her brief moment of clarity, Silindë Maidros wept for what she had become and begged Nelyafinwë to kill her, a mercy he granted her with a heavy heart.
The Lieutenant was furious to discover the death of his prized captain, and took out his anger upon Nelyafinwë, but to him it was worth it to know Silindë’s spirit was free to seek healing in Mandos. Later, when taking his new Sindarin name, Nelyafinwë would remember Maidros, and inspired by her memory he crafted the name Maedhros out of fragments of his essi, honoring his great-grandmother in a quiet, secret way very few would understand.
Many Ages later, Silindë and Ñolyo would at last be reborn in Aman and reunite with their daughter Míriel—and not long after, Maedhros himself would walk free again, and meet Silindë Maidros as she was always meant to be.