"The Galadrim," said Celeborn, "also recognize Gil-galad as High King of the Exiles. We will not shirk our duty."
"My lord Isildur," said Súrion, "the men of Cair Andros will also serve you."
"And of the Harlond," shouted Halgon.
"And Linhir!" "And Calembel!" "And Emyn Arnen!" "And Minas Anor!" Then all were shouting, calling out their support. Isildur stood smiling at them. Gradually the shouting ceased.
"My friends, my heart is moved by your loyalty and trust. We have a difficult task before us. I have sworn to slay Sauron and throw his Tower into the abyss. But now with your help we will surely have the victory at last and I will fulfill that oath."
Then a great cheer broke out from many throats: "Isildur! Isildur! Isildur!" There were also many shouts of "Elendil!" and "Gil-galad!" Isildur acknowledged the cheers with a smile, but then he raised his hand for quiet.
"My friends," he shouted, "with such allies, how can we fail? We are armed and ready. We should move as soon as possible."
"A moment, Isildur," said Galadriel, rising, her soft voice cutting through the many voices in the room. "One more tale needs to be told here today. If these good folk are risking their all to fight with us, they should be aware of all the forces that will enter the field. Do you not agree?"
Isildur's smile faded. He looked at her seriously, then at the watching faces.
"Aye, my lady, it is meet. The time for secrecy is now past. Will you tell the tale, since you know it best?"
She bowed gracefully in acceptance, then turned to the hall. "My friends," she began, "what I will now relate is known to many of the Elves here but probably to few of the others. The tale begins long ago, but if you will bear with me, I think you will see that it has great import to our enterprise now.
"Long ago as Men reckon the years, in Ost-in-Edhil, the city of the Elves of Eregion which is no more, one of the greatest of all the Noldorin smiths, Celebrimbor son of Curufin, labored at his forge. After many yén, he found a way of forging gold and incorporating into the metal the powers of the great Eldarin arts, those with which we create and maintain the wonderful beauties that surround us in our own realms and which remind us of our home in the immortal lands across the sea. These are arts only partially understood even by those of us who practice them. Most Men call them magic. Celebrimbor discovered the means of distilling the essence of these powers and mixing it with the molten metal. With this process, Celebrimbor forged many rings of power, rings which gave their bearers the power to alter the world around them. With each ring, his skill increased, until he created the greatest of all, the Three Great Rings: Nenya, Narya, and Vilya.
"Using the Three, the Noldor built many fair places in Middle-earth and imparted them with some of the eternal beauty of Valinor. Great works were done and much good was accomplished. Many places fouled by Morgoth in the Elder Days were cleansed and made fair again. But always Celebrimbor sought to make even greater rings to accomplish even more.
"Celebrimbor sought also for other great smiths with whom he could share his knowledge and from whom he could learn and improve his skills. Many master smiths came to his workshops and foundries in Eregion. The dwarves of nearby Khazad-dûm especially sent many to learn from him.
"Then one day a strange figure appeared at Celebrimbor's foundry. He gave his name as Annatar, which means Lord of Gifts, and he was a great smith in his own right. He became Celebrimbor's ablest student and chief assistant, then his colleague, for his skills were nearly equal to the master's. Together they worked in the smithy, day and night, year after year, their skills always increasing. Together they forged other Great Rings designed especially for the use of Men and Dwarves, as the Three were for Elves, and Celebrimbor gave them freely to the kings of those races, that they might use them for the good of their peoples.
"Then one day Annatar could not be found. He had left without a word, and none knew whence he had gone or why. Celebrimbor was much affected, for he felt that Annatar was close to achieving great success, even beyond his own. Then a few months later, Celebrimbor in a dream suddenly perceived his former student surrounded by flame. He was holding up a plain gold ring, his face transformed by triumph into a twisted mask of evil. Annatar held up the ring and spoke a dire spell. Though the language was harsh and horrible, Celebrimbor understood its meaning: 'One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them!' Then Celebrimbor knew Annatar's mind and will, and all his treachery was revealed at last.
"Then he knew his former student to be Gorthaur, called also Sauron the Enemy, who had been Morgoth's most powerful servant — a Maia from the origins of days, but turned entirely to evil. All had thought him lost in the downfall of Thangorodrim when the world was changed. And Celebrimbor knew also in that terrible moment that Sauron had succeeded in his desire to forge a Great Ring of Power. Working in the Sammath Naur, the Chambers of Fire within the volcano Orodruin in Mordor, he had forged a ring not only more powerful than the Three, for it contained much of his own great powers, but it gave him the ability to perceive the minds and doings of those who bore the other rings. Like a fisherman drawing in a net, the One could draw to it those who wielded the other Great Rings.
"Horrified, Celebrimbor immediately sent the Three into hiding and forbade their use. They were sent far away, for he knew that when Sauron learned that his betrayal was known he would attack Eregion to acquire the Three by force. And so it came to pass. Eregion was attacked and Celebrimbor himself fell in its defense. I am sure you all know of the war which followed, in which Eregion was destroyed and all of Eriador overrun, though all of us Exiles fought in its defense. We were hard-pressed even to defend Lindon itself, and we sought the aid of Tar-Minastir, mighty king of the Men of Númenor. He came with thousands of great ships full of warriors and together we swept across Middle-earth, driving the hosts of Sauron before us. Sauron fled into the east and was not seen again for many long yén. In the end he got his revenge upon Númenor by tricking its king Ar-Pharazôn into assailing Valinor, and all the land of Númenor was destroyed, though Sauron himself nearly perished in the deed.
"Now he is risen once more, and still he bears the One Ring, seeking always for the other Great Rings. Of the Seven given to the Dwarves, some were consumed by dragons, but the others have all been drawn at last to Sauron and their owners slain. Of the Nine given to the kings of Men, all are now in his power. The kings who bore them were once bold and mighty warriors, using their rings as they saw fit, some better, some worse. But one by one they were drawn to leave their own lands and ride into Mordor. We can but guess at their motives. Some no doubt sought their fortunes, others power or fame. Some perhaps in their folly even thought to contend with Sauron and bring him down, that like Beren of old they would be sung as heros. But all were brought down by their own vain pride and found only eternal slavery in Sauron's service.They are become undead things, living long past the normal span of years given to men, but they no longer are their own masters, for they are now Sauron's most powerful slaves. They are the Úlairi, that now rule in Minas Ithil."
There was murmuring in the hall at this.
"My Lady," said Barathor. "If we are to face these Úlairi we must know our enemy. What manner of powers do their rings give them?"
"We do not know the full extent of their powers, Lord Barathor," replied Galadriel. "Even Celebrimbor who made the Nine knew nothing of the incantations with which Sauron must have secretly enchanted them. But the souls of those that bear them have been stretched and drawn until they are bound to bodies that should have long since mouldered into the soil."