Waking along the shores Cuivienen, the Noldor Elves eventually underwent a great journey
west to live with the Valar and Maiar in the Undying Lands of Aman, where they dwelt in
peace and prosperity for many years.
Yet when the first dark lord Melkor destroyed the two trees of light, killed their High
King Finwe and stole the silmaril jewels of Prince Feanor, many of the Noldor followed
Melkor to Middle-earth where they fought the war of great jewels for over 500 years until,
with the help of the Valar and Maiar, they achieved victory at the end of the First Age.
Having lost a most of their people throughout the years of conflict, many of the Noldor
who remained dwelt in the realm of Eregion, under the leadership of Celebrimbor, son of
Curufin and grandson of Feanor, considered by some as the greatest elf to ever live.
Seeking to recreate the splendour of Valinor in middle-earth, the Elves of Eregion dedicated
themselves to mastering the art of crafting and smithwork, befriending the dwarves of
Durin’s Folk who lived in the nearby Misty Mountains and shared their passion.
Yet from this desire for creation arose terrible hardship, as the Second dark lord Sauron,
former Lieutenant of Melkor who survived the War of Wrath, saw an opportunity to advance
his plans for the conquest of middle-earth.
Using the lands of Mordor as his base of operations, Sauron, the cunning, concocted a scheme to
enslave the Noldor Elves to his will, in the hopes of adding their strength and skill to
his ever growing armies.
Therefore, he took fair form and presented himself to the Elves of Eregion as Annatar,
the Lord of Gifts, an emissary of the Valar who came to impart knowledge and aid their
endeavours.
Eager to learn all they could from this wise teacher, the Noldor crafted lesser rings to
practice these new techniques, before demonstrating their mastery by forging 16 rings of power.
After Annatar departed from Eregion, their leader Celebrimbor went even further by creating
3 great rings of power, whose beauty and might surpassed the others.
With the first part of his plan complete, Sauron returned to Mordor where he crafted
a master ring in the fires of mount doom.
One ring to rule them all, imbuing it with so much of his own strength it could control
those who wore the other rings.
Yet the dark lord underestimated the elves of Eregion who immediately felt his presence
and corruption, taking off their rings to avoid his influence.
Realizing they were deceived and in danger, Celebrimbor sent the 3 Great rings to other
lands.
A wise decision, as Sauron was furious that his plan failed, and so in the year 1693 of
the second age, attacked Eregion in order to take and repurpose the rings of powers.
Defeating the Noldor in the War of the Elves and Sauron, Eregion was destroyed, its people
slaughtered and leader Celebrimbor captured.
Though Sauron took possession of 9 rings of power and many of the lesser rings, he could
not find the others and so tortured Celebrimbor until he revealed the location of the other
seven.
But even under torment, the Noldor leader refused to reveal where they held the 3 great
rings, and so the dark lord riddled Celebrimbor with arrows and used his body as a standard.
Though their elven allies in the Kingdom Lindon sent reinforcements, they were too late to
save the realm and would have been crushed by enemy forces, if not for the Dwarves of
Khazad Dum and Elves of Lothlorien under King Amroth, who attacked from behind, granting
their allies the opportunity to escape the battle and escort surviving refugees of Eregion
north, where they founded the city of Imladris, aka Rivendell under the leadership of Lord
Elrond.
Other Noldor survivors were taken in by the Dwarves, who after rescuing the Elves of Lindon
retreated into the misty mountains, where they granted their friends safe passage to
reach the realm of Lothlorien which was home to the Noldor Lady Galadriel, cousin to the
father of Celebrimbor.
While the 3 most powerful rings were hidden away from the Dark Lord, he possessed the
other 16 and with them sought to enslave great leaders of the other races, granting Nine
to men and 7 to dwarf lords.
Though the specific powers of these rings differed depending on the bearer’s race
and individual characteristics, common traits which affected all wearer’s included the
prevention or slowing of decay, preserving whatever they most loved, increased natural
skills, invisibility and the ability to see the unseen spirit realm.
Those most greatly affected by these powers were the nine men chosen by the dark lord,
who found they could use magic, influence those around them, extend their lives, turn
invisible and see the spirit realm.
Yet in addition to seeing the greatest benefits, which allowed them to become great sorcerers
and kings among their people, they also suffered the worst consequences, as they were slowly
corrupted and diminished, fading from the physical realm to become the Nazgul, ringwraiths
enslaved to the will of Sauron.
As for the rings given the 7 dwarf clans, their kings proved far more resilient to the
dark lord’s influence and did not suffer many of the negative effects which plagued
their human counterparts.
However, in the end the rings accomplished Sauron’s desires in another way, by amplifying
the Dwarven leaders natural passions and skills, making them increasingly greedy and covetous
of their wealth.
Accumulating vast treasure hordes, their realms eventually attracted the attention of Northern
dragons which destroyed their homes and people.
Of the 7 rings of power, 4 were consumed by dragons, while Sauron recovered the other
3, the last of which was held by King Thrain II of Durin’s Folk, until he was captured
by the dark lord.
Fortunately for the peoples of Middle-earth, Sauron never took possession of the 3 great
rings, crafted exclusively by Celebrimbor.
Yet while the dark lord did not have a hand in their creation, they were still made with
the knowledge he bestowed and thus remained bound to the One Ring of Power.
Sending them away from Eregion, Nenya the ring of water, made from mithril and set with
a white stone, was given to Galadriel of Lothlorien, while Narya, the ring of fire which held a
large red ruby, went to Cirdan of Lindon but was later granted to wizard Gandalf the grey.
Then there was Vilya, the ring of air and most powerful of the three, made with a gold
band and beautiful blue sapphire, which went to High King Gil galad but was later given
to Elrond of Rivendell.
In addition to granting their wearer vitality and strength, the 3 great rings increased
the longevity of the region around them, allowing Elrond and Galadriel to keep Rivendell and
Lothlorien as realms of peace and prosperity for thousands of years.
They also granted hope and inspiration to nearby individuals, and while they wearer
was not able to turn invisible; the rings themselves could disappear, remaining hidden
from view.
Yet above them all, was the One Ring of Power, which Sauron imbued with part of his soul,
thereby linking it to his lifeforce.
By preserving most of his strength in the one ring, he maintained and enhanced his power,
but this great benefit also came with significant danger, for if another with sufficient will
and ability took it for themselves, they too would increase in might to such an extent
they could rival the dark lord.
Yet the worst consequence came if the ring was destroyed, as Sauron’s physical form
would be lost and his spirit diminished to the point where so he could no longer interact
with the world.
When in the possession of someone other than Sauron, the ring’s powers were greater than
all the others, allowing the bearer to augment their natural abilities, increase their lifespan,
turn invisible, see the spirit realm, influence those around them, control the will of others,
halt decay and generate prosperity in the surrounding area.
Yet the ring also had the most negative effects, corrupting the mind of its wearer and tempting
them with visions of their greatest desires to create such an obsessive attachment they
could never hope to destroy it of their own volition.
However, the ring itself could chose to abandon the wearer, slipping off their fingers to
await a new owner.
If that was not enough, the One Ring was also impervious to all forms of damage and could
therefore only be unmade in the fires of mount doom where it was created.
Although the 3 great rings were not worn in the second age for fear of attracting the
attention of Sauron, his defeat in the War of the Last Alliance, meant the three could
be freely worn throughout the Third Age.
Nevertheless, Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf did not flaunt their rings, and kept them
hidden for fear that Sauron might yet return.
After achieving victory against the Dark Lord, Isildur, High King of Gondor and Arnor fell
to temptation and took the One Ring for his own, possessing it until he was killed in
the Anduin River, trying to escape from an Orc attack in 2 TA.
With the Orcs unaware of its presence, the One Ring of power fell to the bottom of the
river where it remained for over two thousand years, before being found by the Stoor hobbit
Deagol who was fishing with his friend Smeagol.
Immediately entranced by the ring, they both tried to claim it, resulting in a frenzied
fight where Smeagol killed Deagol.
Fleeing into the mountains, the ring extended his life for nearly 500 years, transforming
him into a split personality creature called Gollom, willing to go to any length to keep
his precious prize.
In 2941 TA, the ring at last left Gollom and was found by Bilbo Baggins, a good hearted
hobbit who kept it for 60 years, but was largely able to resist its worst effects, allowing
him to voluntarily leave it for his nephew and heir Frodo Baggins.
A friend of Gandalf the Grey , Frodo soon learned this was the One Ring of power and
Sauron was seeking it out.
With no other able to possess it, the Council of Elrond sent Frodo on a journey to Mordor
to destroy the ring in the fires of mount doom, while the rest of their peoples waged
the War of the Ring against Sauron, defending their lands and distracting his armies, thereby
giving the hobbit the time necessary to complete his quest.
Though he suffered many hardships, Frodo and his companion Samwise eventually reached the
crack of Mount Doom, only for the ringbearer to fail in the final moments, growing so corrupted
he refused to see it destroyed.
Yet as fate would have it, the creature Gollum soon arrived, having followed the hobbits
throughout their journey, and attacked Frodo, biting off his finger to take the ring before
accidently falling into the fiery chasm.
With the one ring destroyed, Sauron was utterly vanquished, leaving his immortal spirit diminished
to such an extent he could no long interact with the world.
Entering into a new period of relative peace, the rings of power lost their potency and
became mere relics of a bygone age.
As for their ultimate fates, the twelve in Sauron’s possession were presumably lost
when his tower fell at the end of the war, while the three held by Galadriel, Gandalf
and Elrond were taken to the Undying Lands when they departed from middle-earth.