Tohru Honda comes to live with the mysterious Sohma family. She discovers a terrible secret about them - 13 members of the family turn into twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, and the cat who was left out of the Chinese Zodiac. Whenever they are hugged by members of the opposite sex or become weak, they turn into each animals.
Middle-earth characters
This article is about the fictional characters from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe.
Manwë Súlimo is the leader of the Valar. He is the lord of air and sky. His wife is Varda. He lives on the mountain of Taniquetil in Valinor, which is far west of Middle-earth.
Melkor was originally the most powerful of the Valar, but he became evil. He was then named Morgoth (Sindarin: "Black Enemy"), and "Morgoth Bauglir" (Sindarin: "Oppressor"). Morgoth was the greatest enemy of all the peoples of Middle-earth during the First Age. He is the main villain of "The Silmarillion".
Sauron is a Maia who became evil. He became the Dark Lord Morgoth's chief lieutenant. In the Second Age he disguised himself as Annatar and told the elves how to make the Rings of Power. He created the One Ring in the volcano Mount Doom, in his land Mordor. Since then he is the Lord of the Rings.
He was killed in the Downfall of Númenor, but again took form in Mordor. He was again defeated by the "Last Alliance of Elves and Men". Later in the Third Age, Sauron again came to life, searching for the Ring, and starting the "War of the Ring". Sauron was later defeated when the One Ring fell to the fires of Mount Doom with Gollum. Sauron is mentioned as the Necromancer in "The Hobbit".
The Istari (Quenya: "Wise Ones"; singular: Istar) are a group of five Maiar. They came to Middle-earth in the Third Age, in the form of old human men. The names of the Istari are (in order of rank) Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, Radagast the Brown, Alatar the Blue and Pallando the Blue. The peoples of Middle-earth gave them many names, and called them "wizards".
Gandalf the Grey is a main character in the books "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". In the Third Age Gandalf came to Middle-earth as one of the Istari (or wizards). He worked much to help in the destruction of the One Ring, and in the War of the Ring. Later in the Third Age during the War of the Ring, he was later reborn as "Gandalf the White"' and succeeded Saruman as the head of the Istari order. Gandalf is also known by other names: Olórin, Mithrandir, Tharkûn, Incánus, Gandalf Stormcrow, Gandalf Greyhame, Láthspell, White Rider, The Grey Pilgrim, Old Greybeard, Gandalf the Wandering Wizard. Círdan gave Gandalf the Elven Ring Narya, the Ring of Fire, which he had been given by Gil-galad. At the end of the Third Age, Gandalf left Middle-earth for Valinor, together with the bearers of the other two Elven Rings and the Ring-bearers of the One Ring.
Saruman the White is a character in the book "The Lord of the Rings". In the Third Age Saruman came to Middle-earth as one of the Istari. Saruman is also known as Curumo, Sharkey, Curunír, Saruman of Many Colours, The White Wizard and Saruman the Wise by Gandalf the Grey. Saruman was the leader of the wizards and the White Council that opposed the Dark Lord Sauron. Saruman allied Isengard with Mordor and created an army of 10,000 Uruk-hai and many Isengard who bore his white hand on their faces and armories. Saruman was later expelled from the Order of Istari as its head by Gandalf who broke his black staff of power leaving him powerless. He later managed to convince the Ents who held him captive into letting him leave Isengard after he met the conditions of handing over the Keys of Orthanc. He then went to the Shire, which his ally Lotho Sackville-Baggins had brought under control. He spent his final days as a small-time criminal master in Hobbiton known as Sharkey (from the Orkish Sharkû, meaning "old man"), until he was overthrown in the Battle of Bywater. In the aftermath of that battle Frodo confronted Saruman and exiled him from the Shire, but before he could leave, Gríma killed him by slitting his throat with a dagger, on the very doorstep of Bag End.
Radagast the Brown is a character in the book "The Lord of the Rings". In the Third Age Radagast came to Middle-earth as one of the Istari. Radagast is also known as Aiwendil, Bird-Friend, Tender of Beasts, "the Birdtamer", "the Simple", and "the Fool". Radagast was a dweller in Rhosgobel with his animal friends. But, by the time of the War of the Ring, he was not a Rhosgobel dweller anymore. Later on Midsummer's Day, Radagast was sitting on the side of the Greenway with his horse near Bree when Gandalf found him on his way to the village. Radagast warned Gandalf that the Nazgûl were abroad, disguised as riders in black, and that they were seeking news of the Shire. He also gave him Saruman's invitation and agreed to help Gandalf by getting beasts and birds to send news to Orthanc. With that he rode away back towards Mirkwood. By sending Gandalf to Orthanc, Radagast unwittingly had him captured. Saruman's message proved to be a trap for Gandalf who was imprisoned in Orthanc, but still he did not believe that Radagast was also a part of Saruman's plans. Indeed, it was thanks to Radagast that Gandalf was able to escape from the pinnacle of Orthanc upon the wings of Gwaihir. Radagast's actions during and after the rest of the War are not recorded. After the Council of Elrond, many scouts were sent out from Rivendell to many different locations. Some passed over the Misty Mountains and eventually came to Rhosgobel, but they found that Radagast was not there.[6] His fate after the War of the Ring is not known.