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What happened to the power of the Rings once the One Ruling Ring
was destroyed?
The most widely held position is that with the destruction of the
One Ring all the remaining rings also lost their power (including
the Three Elven Rings) and became ineffectual against the passage
of time for which they were created. The reasoning behind this is
because the One Ring was embodied with the power necessary to bind
and control all the Rings of Power when the One's power was
destroyed so was the power of all the other Rings. Those who held
the Three; Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel departed over the sea
into the West and took the Rings with them.
The evidence for this position is found in several places:
"Yet many voices were heard among the Elves foreboding that,
if Sauron should come again, then either he would find the
Ruling Ring that was lost, or at the best his enemies would
discover it and destroy it; but in either chance the powers of
the Three must then fail and all things maintained by them
must fade, and so the Elves should pass into the twilight and
the Dominion of Men begin." [The Silmarillion]
"But when all these things were done, and the Heir of Isildur
had taken up the lordship of Men, and the dominion of the West
had passed to him, then it was made plain that the power of
the Three Rings also was ended, and to the Firstborn the world
grew old and grey." [The Silmarillion]
"But what would happen, if the Ruling Ring were destroyed, as
you counsel? asked Gloin. We know not for certain, answered
Elrond sadly. Some hope that the Three Rings, which Sauron
has never touched, would then become free, and their rulers
might heal the hurts of the world that he has wrought. But
maybe when the One has gone, the Three will fail, and many
fair things will fade and be forgotten. That is my belief."
[The Fellowship of the Ring]
The most melancholy reference is when the lady Galadriel explains
to Frodo the fate of the Elves upon the outcome of the quest:
"Do you not see now wherefore your coming is to us as the
footstep of Doom? For if you fail, then we are laid bare to
the Enemy. Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished,
and Lothlórien will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it
away." [The Fellowship of the Ring]
Because the primary power of the Three Rings is to slow or arrest
the passage of time, Galadriel's words clearly mean that with the
destruction of the One Ring, they too lose their power.
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