The Rings of Men
The nine Rings of Men were arguably Sauron’s most effective. Initially, they granted their wielders great power: enhancing their strength, their ability to wield magic as powerful sorcerers, and extending their lives. But eventually the rings dominated the wills of their bearers, first inflicting them with visions of Sauron, before eventually draining their will until they were dominated by Sauron and transformed into wraiths—unperceivable spirits whose powers and existence became forever linked to Sauron’s own lifeforce, waxing and waning as the Dark Lord did.
What happened to the rings themselves after the nine became the Witch-King and his ringwraiths—Elrond assumes that they were re-acquired by Sauron by the time he forms the Fellowship in the final years of the Third Age, and when Sauron himself was destroyed with the destruction of the One Ring, the wraiths all dissipated. Given that the Elven rings simply lost their own magical abilities, if the nine rings survived Sauron’s destruction, it’s likely that they similarly too were de-powered.
