LogFAQs > #986070121

suchiuomizu posted...

No they were not. When he first put the Ring on, the elves had all the Rings. They realized what Sauron was up to, took them off. This started the War of the Elves and Sauron. Which led to Eregions (where the Rings were made) destruction and taking all the Rings, except the three which were hidden. The elves would have lost that war, if Gil-Galad had not asked for help from Numenor and got it. Numenor drove Sauron back, but he stilll had the rings and gave out the 7 and 9. 9 worked, as I noted the 7 did not. The 3 went unworn for something like 2000 years, until he lost the Ring to Isildur.

The elves, even if weakened over the ages were probably his greatest enemy. He wanted them defeated. He wanted to control everyone. The point of the rings was to control powerful lords who could help him conquer everything.

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

The Three had the ability to "stave off the weariness of the world", i.e. prevent immoratality from becoming a burden (where you just exist, with no purpose). That's how Galadriel and Elrond were able to maintain Lothlorien and Rivendell for millennia.

But when The One was destroyed, The Three lost their power, which was why nearly all the elves left around the time Gandalf, Bilbo, and Frodo did.

Thank you for the in depth explanation!