[Azrakhor Akallabeth]

In regards to Curinir's ring, the only indisputable reference is made by his own mouth, and that it was seen upon his hand...

Gandalf says later in the chapter:
"But I rode to the foot of Orthanc, and came to the stair of Saruman; and there he met me and led me up to his high chamber. He wore a ring on his finger."

Saruman says later in the chapter:
"For I am Saruman the Wise, Saruman Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colours!"

My assumption that it is at least an "attempt" at a Ring of Power comes from his very own nature. And while it is largely circumstantial, it can reasonably predict a likely course that he took...

1. He was a Maia of Aule, that troublesome Vala whose own aggressive thirst for Lore Knowledge led him to create the Dwarves-

Just like Gorthaur in the beginning, Curunir was a Maia of great power and knowledge from the people of Aule, and was almost certainly privvy in Valinor to the knowledge of the Noldor, such as it was in it's infancy. So he had, at least, some background in great Lorecraft, and almost undoubtedly watched the work of Feanor with great interest. Their collective weakness against the lure of great artifacts of power and the will to create them no doubt sprang from this allegience which was crafted through a kinship of spirit.

2. He searched out the crafts and secrets of the enemy in order to, at first, defeat him-

He was found to have possessed some of the great artifacts of Isildur's day when Orthanc was later thrown open. He undoubtedly knew the Ring was lost by Isildur in the Anduin. And in his pursuits over thousands of years, almost certainly rifled through the ruins of Barad-Dur, delved deeply into the knowledge of the Elves of Eregion, such as had been saved, on the pretext (honestly at first) of discovering a way to undo the ring or its maker.

His search into the Arts of the enemy are supposed to be the thing which, at the very least, sparked his desire to imitate some of those methods for his high purpose as leader of the White Council.

3. He was a Maia, in human form-

The greatness of his noble spirit was ensnared by the weakness of his mortal form, a constant danger to such beings. His true innate power, while limited by the Valar in this quest in order to spare themselves the problem of sending out another potential Dark Lord, was most certainly as great as any High Elven Lord.

And it was Elven Lords, most specifically Celebrimbor of Hollin, who created the greatest of the Elven Rings. But in the very least case he was surely a match in his limited capacity, even for Elrond or Glorfindel, who recognized the Wizards as Maiar spirits and constantly revered and deferred to them.


So while it is unlikely that he got himself enough information to forge a competitor to the One Ring, and more unlikely because he was unable to draw on his full power as had Gorthaur, he could certainly have forged a series of lesser rings, or even a Ring of Power on par with the Three Elven rings whose maker was a mere elf. It's purpose then would be to help him, first of all, find the One. Second, to rule his hoardes, and third to enhance his own limited strength to these ends.

It can be seen by the Dwarves whose own magic was small, or non-existent that certain materials had magical properties in and of themselves, and didn't require a great magic user to forge an Artifact of Power. So even in the enhancing of his own power, Curunir had available a host of useful information. But his ultimate goal was to supplant Gorthaur, now Sauron, and take his place. So the only thing stopping him from pouring his innate power and essence into a ring attempt would only be the lack of information on how to do so.

Therefore I find it reasonable to conceive of the idea that he probably got 'somewhere' in his effort, and based on the thread subject, likely spent himself to the verge of nothingness, rather than his fate being some judgement of Eru or the Valar, because in the Silmarillion, even Gorthaur the Cruel got the chance to repent and go back to Valinor to the ghastly and terrible sentence of "Community Service" like Melkor had at first. And Curunir of Valinor, while fallen and most certainly guilty of many crimes, still hadn't commited the kind of acts from which Gorthaur was given the opportunity to repent.

All things being even, it's hard to argue that the Valar would suddenly become more harsh with Curunir than they had ever been with Gorthaur, or even Melkor, whose crimes against Middle-Earth were abhorrent and horrible in the extreme. No, I believe Curunir of Valinor, or Saruman the Wise, got his fate by doing the dangerous self-jeopardizing things which Sauron did, and in the same way reaped the same result. And even if at first the Valar were innocent and ignorant of the ways of evil, and therefore a bit more hopeful of their repentance, and an argument made for their becoming justly less tolerant of evil, it's still very difficult to discover on all of his doings where Curunir warranted a random dissipation of his essence. Rather, he would have been taken to Mandos to serve a sentence that lasted until the last battle, at most, and neither did the Valar have the authority, even if they had the power, to dissipate a fellow Ainu in judgement of anything.

The way that his shadow looked Westward for pardon may have been a plea to the Valar to assist him or entreat Eru to assist him against this fate of endless nothingness, and sought for a restoration to his original Maia status.

Of course, this is only pure speculation on my part.