Editing Ainur (section)

==Maiar==
The lesser Maiar take many different forms throughout the series, though many served under each of the Valar at some point. In comparison to the Archangel-like Valar, Maiar are generally equivalent to lesser angels.

* '''Gandalf''', '''Saruman''', '''Radaghast''', '''Rámostamó''' & '''Morinehtar''' : See Below.
* '''Eönwë''': He is the banner-bearer and herald of Manwë, and shares the chiefdom of the Maiar along with Ilmarë. Eönwë was sent to Middle-Earth, at the end of the 1st Age, to lead the Host of the West against Morgoth, and it is said that it was he that overthrew that Ainu. After the War of Wrath, he went among the Númenóreans and, with the authority of the Powers and Eru, blessed that people with longer lifespan, taught them crafts and lore and brought flora and fauna from Valinor (including a seedling of the White Tree). It is prophesied that, when Morgoth returns to destroy Arda, Eönwë and Túrin Turambar will slay him forever.
* '''Ilmarë''': She is the handmaiden of Varda and, as said before, a chief of the Maiar. Unlike Melian, she remain in Valinor in content and nothing more is known about her.
* '''Melian''': Noteworthy for being the progenitor of both the Half-Elves and the Kings of Gondor, she married the Elven king of Doriath and bore Lúthien, who would herself marry a human named Beren. As this shows, it was possible for Maiar in their physical forms to procreate with the Children of Ilúvatar, which has some interesting implications ([[Grimdark|and potentially disturbing ones, see 'Boldogs' below]]). She protected Doriath with her magic until her husband was killed by a bunch of angry Dwarves, and eventually returned to Valinor heartbroken.
* '''[[Sauron]]''': Most powerful of the Maiar. Formerly a student of Aulë but later was swayed to Morgoth's side. He is ever so slightly less of a dick than Morgoth, which still left a lot of room for satanic-tier dickishness. While Morgoth wanted to destroy the world and recreate it from scratch in his image, Sauron wanted to Dominate it and shape its peoples and societies into his own "idealized" (read:hellish) image. Whereas Morgoth was more motivated by jealousy and vengeance against Iluvatar and the Valar, and used brute strength to impose his will, Sauron was motivated by a desire for order, and favoured guile and manipulation, especially when he successfully corrupted the kingdom of Númenor and brought about its ruin, or when he used his Ring to dominate the wills of others. He's taken on other guises as well; such as "Annatar the Lord of Gifts" to deceive the Elves of the Second Age, or the Necromancer of Dol Guldur when he was in hiding. Sauron poured practically all of his power into his ring, which not only prevented his power from fading (as it did with Morgoth), but also allowed him to survive his initial disembodiment until the War of the Ring, when the destruction of it robbed him of all his power and reduced him to an angry and completely-powerless ghost floating through space.
* '''[[Balrog]]s''': Balrogs are greater Maiar who sided with Morgoth and took the form of fiery demons. The one in the Fellowship of the Ring, '''Durin's Bane''', is one of the last remaining ones; Morgoth used to field ''armies'' of these guys.
** '''Gothmog''': Lord of the Balrogs, killed in the Fall of Gondolin when Ecthelion of the Fountain charged him and they both drowned in the gigantic pools of the city. 
***In the Third Age, an [[Orc]]/Black Númenórean/[[Demon|SOMETHING]] adopted Gothmog's name for themselves and served as the lieutenant of Minas Morgul and second-in-command to the Witch-king. They were present at the Siege of Minas Tirith, but their fate after that is completely unknown. Aside from this, nothing is known about them. In the movies, Gothmog was portrayed as a Orc General with a hideously misshapen face and tumor-like deformities all along the left side of his body.
* '''Boldogs/"Orc-shaped Maiar"''': Lesser Maiar who were seduced to Morgoth's side, but instead of taking the shapes of fiery demons like the Balrogs, they took the forms of Orcs. Although less powerful than the Balrogs, these creatures were still powerful and were usually in command of Morgoth's many armies. Earlier versions of Tolkien's legendarium did not have a name for these types of creatures, and Boldog was instead the name of an Orc Chieftain killed by Thingol. Later versions removed this character and suggested in a footnote that instead it was a title or species-type for "Orc-formed Maiar", which suggests that Tolkien never got around to finalising this concept alongside the exact origin and nature of [[Orcs]]. Their presence within the lore however, could have been the set-up for one of Tolkien's many abandoned attempts at explaining the origins and evil nature of Orcs, for making them the rape-spawn of these aforementioned fantasy Fallen Angels would certainly explain just why the Orcs are so demonically twisted in both flesh and spirit; but like the many other attempts at an answer for the Orcish question, the [[J. R. R. Tolkien|good professor]] likely abandoned the idea early on due to the many uncomfortable implications of the idea and questions of faith it brought up within himself regarding how someone can possibly be born already predestined to be evil.
* '''Arien''' & '''Tilion''': these two became the bearers of the Sun and Moon, which were the last fruit & flower of the Two Trees of Light that Morgoth killed. Arien was one of the fire spirits that Morgoth couldn’t sway to his service, and she is said to be the second most powerful Maiar. Tilion is not as powerful, and more reckless, resulting in the phases of the moon and eclipses. He is said to be the Man in the Moon and Arien’s lover.