Middle Earth/One Ring

The One Ring, also known as the Ruling Ring, was created by the Dark Lord Sauron in order to give him control over the other [Rings of Power]?. Forged from a mixture of gold and Sauron's blood, the Ring was virtually impervious to damage, and could only be destroyed by throwing it into the pit of the volcano in which it had originally been forged. Unlike the lesser Rings it bore no gem, but its identity could be determined by a simple test: when heated, it displayed in fiery letters? a section of poetry from part of its lore:

Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul

Roughly translated, this means:

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

The entire poem reads:

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Part of the nature of the Ring is that it inevitably corrupted its wearer, regardless of any intentions to the contrary. Whether this was specifically designed into the Ring's magic or is simply an artifact of its evil origins is unknown. For this reason the powerful, including Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel, refuse to wield it in their own defense, but instead determine that it must be destroyed.

After its original forging, the Ring was cut from Sauron's hand by Isildur?, who lost it in the Great River Anduin? after he was killed. The Ring remained hidden for centuries until it was discovered by a hobbit-like creature named Sméagol, who was changed by the Ring's influence into the unpleasant creature known as Gollum. As is told in The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins found the Ring while trying to escape from Gollum's underground lair. Following the council of his friend the wizard? Gandalf, Bilbo gave the Ring to his nephew and adopted heir Frodo.

By this time Sauron had begun to regain his power, and the [Dark Tower]? in Mordor had been rebuilt. In order to prevent the recapture of the Ring, Frodo and eight other companions set out for Mordor in an attempt to destroy the Ring in the fires of [Mount Doom]?.