Rings?

[Faceless Woman]

I am so gonna get flamed for this, or at least called a complete idiot, but I just don't get the concept of the Rings. I know they were addictive, but apart from that, did they actually do anything? The One Ring turned you invisable, but other than that? Was there a point, not to the story, but to the bearers? Surely they must have had some reason for exepting a gift from the Dark Lord?

[Joel007]

The one ring could only be controlled by sauron, and through it he was linked to all the other rings of power that he had made. It was his way of taking over the leaders of the other races, and making himself the ultimate ruler. Quite ingenious really

The One ring turned the bearer invisible, and only the ringwraiths and sauron cold see them. This was (i think) so it would be kept safe until he could come and collect it without interference, although he never intended the ring to leave him.

The kings who took the rings didn't suspect any treachery, as sauron wasn't "the dark lord" until he did that. I think there was some power in each of the rings, and there's probably a story about that when they become the nazgul.

[HoopyFrood]

I think I heard something like the One Ring could control anyone weaker than the wearer. Thus, when Frodo or Gollum puts it on, the most they do is turn invisible. But Sauron, being the big bad guy that he is, would be able to control many, many people.
I think you'll have to wait for someone like Marky or Teresa to make an appearance about this for a thorough explanation, they're the LOTR specialists!

[Joel007]

I don't have time to read all of this, but it might be helpful

One Ring - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Faceless Woman]

Thanks, yeah, but what about the other rings? I get that Sauron wasn't the dark lord yet, but still. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I still don't get the facination with the other rings. I get the purpose from Sauron's point of view, but from theirs?

[Joel007]

All i knowis that the rings were in themselves a precious gift to the leaders of middle earth. They had no downside until sauron used his knowledge of them to make the one ring and connect them all.

[Faceless Woman]

No, he made the Rings and the One Ring at the same time, he just used the One Ring later. Right?

[Joel007]

The elves took their rings off when they heard sauron forging the one ring.

[stonStark]

He probably made all of the rings at the same time. (FW I am hunting you down, but you are here all the time (and it is fun).go to GRRM:CH)

[Joel007]

As Sauron rose to power in the Second Age, he sought to control the races of Middle-earth. In 1200, he came to the Elves of Eregion in a fair disguise and claimed to be an emissary of the Valar. He taught Celebrimbor and the other Elven-smiths many skills, and it was under his instruction that the forging of the Rings of Power began around 1500. Many Rings were made at this time, including the Seven Rings and the Nine Rings. The Three Rings were made by the Elves without Sauron's help, but they used the knowledge and skills they had learned from him to make them. Around 1600, Sauron forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor. He put the Ring on and uttered the verse etched upon it: "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." The Elves heard him and realized they had been deceived. They immediately took off their Rings so that Sauron was unable to control them.

[devilsgrin]

There was also power in the other rings. At least the Elven Rings. With The power of Nenya - not sure whether this ring counts as a Ring of Air or Earth, Galadriel was able to keep Lothlorien in perpetual stasis - strong and powerful as it had always been (best on all sides though). The Ruby Ring that Cirdan gave to Gandalf was able to support the wizard's powers, enhancing his powers over fire... Whilst the power of Elrond's ring - bestowed upon him by Gil Galad can most easily be seen in the enchantments that protect Imladris from attack - the crushing wave that scatters the Ringwraith's in FotR, it is also a ring of healing... the Ring of Water - I can't recall the names of the Gandalf and Elrond's rings tho...

[Telperaca]

They also serve as good souveniers -

I snuck into Sauron's Lair and look what I snuck back?

Okay, I'm rusty at this - There's Narya and Neyna? They have control over fire and water, I think. Galadriel had the ring with the power to control the water, and I think Gandalf eventually had the ring which gave some control over the fire elemental?

I also remember some discussion about the rings because of the ring Gandlaf was wearing in the close up of him...

::Blinks:: It's 4.14am... I'm tired...

[devilsgrin]

Cirdan gave Gandalf the ring quite some time before the events of the War of the Ring. Thinking about it some more... the three rings... one ruby - fire, one sapphire - water, one adamant(diamond) - air??? Nenya the Ring of Adamant was Galadriel's, Narya could have been Elrond's and he definitely had the blue/water one...

[j. d. worthington]

Narya was the Ring of Fire, given by Cirdan the Shipwright to Gandalf when the Grey Wanderer came to Middle-earth. Vilya was the Ring of Air, also the greatest of the Three Rings, and was given by Gil-galad to Elrond. Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, also known as the Ring of Water, was borne by Galadriel; it was also the only one of the three to be made of mithril and it bore "a white stone" (not necessarily diamond).

The Seven gave the Dwarves the power over the earth's wealth, whether gold or gems; they were the basis of the dwarvish hoards of the later strongholds, such as Khazad-dum became, or of Erebor, etc.

The Nine gave the power to sway minds, as well as preserving the bearers from death ... though they did become wraiths, undead.

And the One -- Sauron imbued it with the majority of his power, using his craft and his spells to enable him to use the ring to dominate the will of others (often en masse), and to increase the shadow his presence cast in their minds. It also had other properties, which aided him in his sorcery: his necromancy was tied to the One, for instance, making him a lord of the dead (at least, those who had fallen under his sway in life). And, being filled with a power that was itself fallen, corrupted, the Ring, powerful as it was, would inevitably corrupt anyone who took it -- the more powerful the one who took the Ring, the more quickly they would be corrupted.

[devilsgrin]

thanks for the corrections... I was always under the impression that the stone in Galadriel's ring was one of those legendary gems from some crown in the silmarillion - not one of the actual stones, but one of the same variety... silmarils perhaps - and that they were basically just fancily titled diamonds since they are so rarely if even mentioned.

I also note that of the three elven rings only one has been on only one person's finger. Only The Lady of Light has retained possession of her ring. All others have been passed on... one in foresight for the needs of another and the other at the death of its previous bearer.