The Forging of the Great Rings

In the waning years of the Second Age, when the shadow of Sauron first lengthened across the fair lands of Eriador, the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, the jewel-smiths of Eregion, were deceived by the fair-seeming guise of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. Under his tutelage, and driven by a desire to preserve the beauty of the world from the slow decay of time, Celebrimbor, the grandson of Fëanor, forged the Great Rings. Though they were crafted with the intent of preservation, they were bound by the craft of the Enemy, who sought to ensnare the leaders of the Free Peoples. Nineteen rings were wrought in total: seven for the Dwarf-lords, nine for Mortal Men, and three for the Elves, the latter being crafted by Celebrimbor alone, free from the direct touch of the Dark Lord, yet still subject to the Ruling Ring.

The Dominion of the Nine and the Seven

The Nine Rings were given to Men, great kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old, who desired power beyond their mortal span. By these rings, they became the Nazgûl, the Úlairi, the terrible shadow-servants of the Dark Lord, bound forever to his will through the One Ring. Their lives were stretched until they became wraiths, existing in the twilight between worlds, forever seeking the master who held their chains. The Seven Rings, bestowed upon the Dwarf-lords, proved less susceptible to the corruption of the Dark Lord; they could not be turned to shadow, nor could their bearers be made invisible. Instead, these rings served only to kindle the greed of the Dwarves, leading them to hoard gold and invite the wrath of the Dragons, who devoured or melted most of the Seven in the fires of their malice.

The Three and the Ruling Ring

The Three Rings—Narya, Nenya, and Vilya—were the fairest of all, crafted by Celebrimbor in secret. They were never touched by the hand of the Enemy, and thus remained free of his direct domination, yet they were intrinsically linked to the One Ring that Sauron forged in the fires of Mount Doom. When the Dark Lord placed the One upon his finger, the Elves became aware of his treachery and hid the Three. Narya, the Ring of Fire, was borne by Círdan and later passed to Gandalf; Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, was worn by the Lady Galadriel in Lothlórien; and Vilya, the mightiest of the Three, was held by Elrond in Rivendell. These rings preserved the sanctuaries of the Eldar from the passage of time, yet they could not be used for conquest, lest they reveal their bearers to the Eye.

The Final Fate of the Rings

The history of the Rings reached its culmination at the end of the Third Age. Upon the destruction of the One Ring in the Cracks of Doom, the power of the Three faded, and the works they had maintained began to wither or succumb to the natural decay of the world. With the fall of Barad-dûr and the dissolution of Sauron’s spirit, the Nazgûl were consumed by the void, their Nine rings rendered powerless and lost to the ruin of the dark towers. The Three, having fulfilled their purpose of preservation and resistance against the shadow, were borne across the Great Sea by the Ring-bearers, departing from the shores of Middle-earth forever as the Age of the Elves drew to its twilight close.