Vilya

From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.

Vilya, the Ring of Air, was one of the Rings of Power made by the Elves of Eregion. Along with Nenya and Narya, Vilya was often referred to as one of the Three Rings of the Elves, the mightiest of the Rings of Power. Celebrimbor, lord of Eregion forged all three independent of Annatar, a guise of the Dark Lord Sauron. As a result of this, none of the Three were stained by his evil. However, like all the Rings of the Elves, Vilya was still under Sauron's influence when he wielded The One Ring, which held dominion over all the others. When Sauron laid waste to Eregion, Vilya was sent to the Elven-King Gil-galad far away in Lindon, where it was later given to Elrond, who bore it through the later years of the Second Age and all of the Third.

Like the other Rings of Power, Vilya was jeweled: it contained a great blue stone set in a gold band, which contributed to its title as the Ring of Sapphire. A lesser-used title of Vilya was the Ring of Air, signifying its preeminence even over the other Rings of the Elves; it was generally considered that Vilya was the mightiest of these three bands. The exact power of Vilya is not mentioned; however it is reasonable to speculate that it also possesses the power to heal and to preserve (it is mentioned in The Silmarillion that Celebrimbor had forged the Three in order to heal and to preserve, rather than to enhance the strengths of each individual bearers as the Seven, Nine, and the lesser rings did). There is some speculation that the ring controlled minor elements, considering the event where Elrond had summoned a torrent of water as the Nazgûl attempted to invade Rivendell.

Upon Sauron's destruction, the power of Vilya faded and it went over the sea along with Elrond at the end of the Third Age.