Gandalf

=Gandalf= I like Gandalf.

Gandalf is the gray wizard, one of the istari who travelled across the great ocean from Valinor to Middle Earth. He was sent by Manwe, chief of the valar, mainly to combat Sauron. Other wizards include Saruman, Radagast, and the two blue wizards that have small parts in the Tolkien stories.

Gandalf is closest to the elves, but is a friend to many different people. He is known as the gray pilgrim because of his constant travels around Middle Earth. On one trip, he enlists the help of Bilbo Baggins in Hobbiton for a quest that 13 dwarves were travelling on, led by Thorin Oakenshield. In the process of that journey, Gandalf takes a detour to fight Sauron, who has been hiding out at Dol Goldur. He then leads the elves, dwarves, and men of Long-Lake in battle against the northern Orcs in the battle of 5 armies.

His greatest adventure, however, is his guidance of the fellowship of the ring and the ultimate defeat of Sauron. Gandalf discovers the identity of the ring that Bilbo Baggins has found and oversees Frodo Baggins' holding onto the ring. He then sees the formation of the fellowship to guide the ring through treacherous parts of Middle Earth, especially Moria. It is at this point that Gandalf dies fighting a balrog, Durin's Bane.

At this point, Gandalf is reborn and becomes Gandalf the White. It is said that the valar have sent Gandalf back, as he hasn't finished his quest. He then guides Aragorn, Theoden, and Rohan to a victory over Saruman's forces, thus breaking Saruman from the rank of the white istari. Gandalf then engineers the biggest battle of the 3rd age, the battle of Pelannor Fields, where a large host of Sauron's army (including his chief nazgul) are destroyed. Without a moment's waste, he and Aragorn lead forces to Mordor's gates in order to distract Sauron at the battle of Morannon. There, Frodo has time to destroy the ring and Sauron is defeated.

After the victory, Gandalf travels with Frodo, Bilbo, Elrond and others back to Valinor, departing from the world of the Middle Earth at the Gray Havens.

Gandalf has many powers and abilities, although they are more subtle powers than what other stories give to their wizards. The "magic" of Gandalf is limited. He can create light from his staff and set fire to objects he is holding, such as the projectiles from the pine trees in the Hobbit. He also has some magic in locking and unlocking doors. But he doesn't have the more theatrical magic that other wizards with wands seem to possess (a la Harry Potter). Furthermore, his power is somewhat subdued, as though he could do more, but doesn't want to arouse suspicion in Middle Earth. At any rate, his abilities include being able to see situations clearly. He is a master of lore, languages, and history. He is an excellent judge of many characters, which pays off extremely well for him.

Bibliography: //Tolkien's Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Unfinished Tales Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings// "Gandalf - Tolkien Gateway" //[|http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Gandalf] "The Grey Havens - The Ultimate J.R.R. Tolkien Resource Web Page"// //[|http://tolkien.cro.net/]//

THIS IS A NEW THOUGHT!!!!