[Marwhini]

Originally Posted by denethorthefirst

Of course Treebeard would be tempted by the ring and after a while become enslaved to it. Why shouldnt that be the case? He is a living being with wishes and desires: he longs for the time of the first age, he misses the forests and wants to protect fangorn, he misses the Entwives and fears for the survival of his race. The ring would be able to exploit these fears and desires. Remember the delusions of grandeur Sam experienced when he whore the ring: he would turn Mordor into a garden, etc. Treebeard would probably experience something similar and i dont think that he would be able to resist. Maybe he would have the wisdom of Gandalf and reject the ring or remove its presence before it can corrupt him, but Treebeard doesnt seem to know all that much about Ring-Lore and the Politics of Middle-Earth so it could be that he wouldnt recognize the danger. Treebeard is not all knowing and has a rather limited perspective regarding Middle-Earth.

Regarding the Balrog: in my opinion he is not subservient to Sauron and probably does not accept his "Authority" in any way, shape or form. Why would he? From the Balrogs perspective Sauron is probably a Traitor and Usurper. That doesnt mean that the Balrog wouldnt be tempted by the one ring if he found it, but i dont think its likely that he would return it to Sauron.

Sam isn't an Ent.

We do not know by what Mechanism the One Ring produces the effects it produces.

Gandalf knew enough to leave the Ring alone.

As did Galadriel.

As did a lowly Man, Faramir, who was in a position to take it easily, yet said: "Not were it laying by the side of the road" would I use any device of The Enemy.

And Treebeard is a living thing who is approaching Millions of years older than even Galadriel, to say nothing of Faramir.

While he obviously has desires.... He also is very, very patient, and not at all likely to be picking up strange objects without some very pressing reason. Fangorn only picked up Merry and Pippin because he thought they were Orcs, and he had a rather long time to have gathered an opinion about Orcs, and what to do about them.

So given his outright hesitancy to act without precaution and consideration, it isn't likely he is going to pick up some alien object lying about, when he knows very well who Sauron is, even if he did not pay him much heed at that moment; given, as he says, no one, save Gandalf, or Saruman, had paid him much heed.

That does not say that he was ignorant. It only says that "I" [Treebeard] " am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side, if you understand me: nobody cares for the woods as I care for them, not even Elves nowadays."

As for being aware of Sauron and the One Ring, the latest that the Entwives could have been occupying Rhovanion of the "Lands to the East" was the middle to end of the Second Age, after which Sauron blasted the lands of Rhovanion in his War against the Elves.

And Tolkien says that in the Last Alliance all creatures fought, even on both sides (save for the Elves), including the beasts and birds. Ents happen to be among the Children of Ilúvatar. They would have been represented at the Last Alliance.

And it would be very surprising if Fangorn was not either among them, or at the very least aware of what was going on, and had discussed for days, weeks, months, or even years on end if the Ents should even have participated, and whom (the "whom" would likely be Treebeard himself, among others) should participate.

Given the length of their discussions on things being rather thorough and complete....

I'd find it rather difficult to believe that Treebeard/Fangorn (and the rest of the Ents) would not be rather keenly aware of the Greatest living Tree-slayer in Middle-earth of the Second and Third Ages, as well as the fact that he dabbled more than a little bit in magic rings.

So I continue to doubt that Treebeard would have anything to do with it.

The One Ring is not omnipotent, only very dangerous. If wary men have the power to reject it, then so too would the most wary, guarded, and cautious conscious being in all of Middle-earth likely have the power to reject it.

And it isn't likely that Fangorn is going to worry about picking up jewelry of any type, magical or no. He doesn't even seem to wear clothes.

MB