Three vs. One

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by AragornII

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure. However, if he had power over the Three, how were they hidden from him in the Second Age? Actually, I guess it would work the same as the One. Sauron and the Nazgul knew exactly where the Ring was when someone actually used ut, so if someone actually tried to use the one of the Three, instead of just hiding them, he would probably know where they were and, as you said, have power over them.

Ahh, that clears that up.

They're like robots, in a way. If you don't turn them on, they don't work. In a similar way, the Three Rings had to actually be in USE for Sauron to control them. All the Galadriel, Gil-galad, and either Círdan or Elrond did in the Second Age was keep them hidden- as long as they weren't used, they weren't harmful.