Originally posted by davem:
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Would there have been a spare ring?
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Actually, there might have been a few. The seven dwarf-rings were either destroyed or recovered by Sauron. We know he at least held Thrain's ring, which he captured in Dol Guldur in T.A. 2845. These rings were never specifically intended for the Dwarves, so they were probably not different in nature than the nine that ensnared the Nazgul. Certainly, these dwarf-rings were not sitting in a forgotten jewelry box in the attic of Barad-Dur. Sauron would certainly have tried to use them as he had used all the others, to ensnare powerful servants, slaves to his will. (In fact, this might explain the Mouth of Sauron, both his great age and the fact he has forgotten his own name. There's no way to prove it from what I know, however.)
But I digress from the topic of this thread. There seems to be a similar, though lesser, capacity to enslave mortals inherent in the Morgul-blade as is inherent in the Nazgul rings (or actually, became inherent when the One Ring was created. I'm sure Celebrimbor did not create the Rings with the intention of enslaving mortals.) Aside from their common inventor (Sauron) might there be any connection between them? What I mean is, the Nine enslave their bearers because they are slaves to the One. How does a Morgul-blade enslave? It's unlikely the blades were forged with the power of the One, since that was either in the Anduin, under the Misty Mountains with Gollum or in Bilbo's pocket (unless the blades date from the second age. Anyone know?) Could they have been forged with one of the Nine, or whatever are left of the Seven? or are they a seperate technology?
And what of the Barrow-wight? He is presumably the Ghost Prince of Cardolan, is he not? The enemy of the Witch King of Angmar in life. What made him a ghost, instead of passing beyond the circles of the world? Would an earlier Morgul-blade, if used, have the power to trap his spirit in his grave? Just how powerful could they be?