In Germanic heroic legend and folklore, Fáfnir is a worm or dragon slain by a member of the Völsung family, typically Sigurð. In Nordic mythology, he is the son of Hreiðmarr, and brother of Regin and Ótr and is attested throughout the Völsung Cycle, where, Fáfnir slays his father out of greed, taking the ring and hoard of the dwarf Andvari and becoming a worm or dragon. Fáfnir's brother Regin later assisted Sigurð in obtaining the sword Gram, by which Fáfnir is killed. He has been identified with an unnamed dragon killed by a Völsung in other Germanic works including Beowulf, the Nibelunglied and a number of skaldic poems. Fáfnir and his killing by Sigurð are further represented in numerous medieval carvings from the British Isles and Scandinavia, and a single axe head in a Scandinavian style found in Russia. The story of Fáfnir has continued to have influence in the modern period, such as in the works of J.R.R Tolkien, who drew inspiration from the tale of Fáfnir in his portrayals of Smaug and Gollum.
Géza Maróczy was a Hungarian chess player, one of the leading players in the world in his time. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the International Grandmaster title from FIDE in 1950.
Mon Colle Knights, known in Japan as Six Gates Far Away Mon Colle Knight, is a Japanese manga series written by Satoru Akahori and Katsumi Hasegawa and illustrated by Hideaki Nishikawa. The original concept was made by Hitoshi Yasuda and Group SNE. The series is based on the Monster Collection trading card game.
Captain N: The Game Master is an animated television series that aired on television from 1989 to 1991 as part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup on NBC. The show was produced by DIC Animation City and incorporated elements from many of the most popular video games of the time from the Japanese company Nintendo. There was also a comic book version by Valiant Comics, despite only featuring characters from games produced by Nintendo.
In mythology, legend or fiction, a magic sword is a sword with magical powers or other supernatural qualities. Renowned swords appear in the folklore of every nation that used swords.
Blackstar is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being The Freedom Force, a segment of Tarzan and the Super 7. Blackstar has many notable similarities to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which was produced shortly afterwards.
Juuni Senshi Bakuretsu Eto Ranger is a 1995 Japanese anime television series. The Eto Rangers are based on the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
In chess, the Maróczy Bind is a term alternately used to refer to an opening or its associated pawn structure, named for the Hungarian grandmaster Géza Maróczy. When the Bind is discussed as an opening, it is defined as 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4. The Maróczy Bind opening is a continuation of the Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon, where 5.c4 is the characteristic move.
Blart III: The Boy Who Set Sail on a Questionable Quest is a 2008 children's novel by Dominic Barker. It is the sequel to Blart: The Boy Who Didn't Want to Save the World and Blart II: The Boy Who Was Wanted Dead or Alive - Or Both.
Lord Maximus Farquaad is the main antagonist of the 2001 animated feature film Shrek, as well as Shrek 4-D and the musical. He is voiced by John Lithgow. He does not appear in William Steig's original picture book of the same name. He is famous for his magnanimous statement "Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make".
Tara Duncan is the heroine of the eponymous series of bestselling novels in French written by Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian.
Gauntlgrym is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting; it is the first book in the Neverwinter Saga. Released in October 2010, it follows the continued adventures of drow elf renegade, Drizzt Do'Urden. This story is set 24 years after the end of Transitions: The Ghost King.
The Dragon in the Sword is a novel by Michael Moorcock published in 1986, the last of his Erekosë series following The Eternal Champion and Phoenix in Obsidian. The first published text is slightly abridged; the full text appears in the UK 1987 edition.
Tolkien's monsters are the evil beings, such as Orcs, Trolls, and giant spiders, who oppose and sometimes fight the protagonists in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Tolkien was an expert on Old English, especially Beowulf, and several of his monsters share aspects of the Beowulf monsters; his Trolls have been likened to Grendel, the Orcs' name harks back to the poem's orcneas, and the dragon Smaug has multiple attributes of the Beowulf dragon. The European medieval tradition of monsters makes them either humanoid but distorted, or like wild beasts, but very large and malevolent; Tolkien follows both traditions, with monsters like Orcs of the first kind and Wargs of the second. Some scholars add Tolkien's immensely powerful Dark Lords Morgoth and Sauron to the list, as monstrous enemies in spirit as well as in body. Scholars have noted that the monsters' evil nature reflects Tolkien's Roman Catholicism, a religion which has a clear conception of good and evil.
Magical creatures are an important aspect of the fictional world of Narnia contained within The Chronicles of Narnia book series and connected media originally created by C. S. Lewis. Throughout the seven books of the series, the protagonists encounter a variety of these creatures as they travel throughout Narnia and the surrounding lands and seas, including Archenland, Calormen, and the Great Eastern Ocean.
