Big Mystery: The Nine Rings of Power

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

It happens that once again, I had a simple question and I hoped to look it up here. I was searching the forums for some info about the Nine Rings of Power. I found out that there are about ten threads concerning the Rings of Power in general (not including the One), four or five about the Seven, and about fifteen threads named "The Three Rings", "The Elven Rings", "What were the rings that the Elves had?" and similar. Not a scratch about the Nine. Or at least not a scratch I was looking for.

My question is very simple. But I would certainly like to see an answer for it. A solid proof. My question is:

Where were the Nine Rings at the Third Age?

Now why am I asking. The question is not as simple as it might seem. We know that after the forging and assault on Eregion, Sauron took the Nine Rings of Power and gave him to the nine mortal Men. These men eventually became Ringwraith. They no longer had their other will but their master's. The Rings originally gave them might, sorcerous powers or who knows what else. Then, they left their original homes, wherever they were, and joined Sauron's ranks in Mordor.

As we know, about the Seven Sauron soon learned that the Dwarves cannot be turned to slaves by them, so he wanted to collect them back. From those he got back, he kept them to himself. Wouldn't he do a similar thing with the Nine? Or what, did he leave them to the Nazgul? But he no longer needed the Nine to control the Nazgul, why should he? Or do you say a Nazgul would "die" or something like that, had you took off his Ring? What I am sure of, is that he'd certainly not quickly turn back into a normal man and crying "hooray, I'm free" returned to Rhun (or wherever he came from).
And then there was that trouble with the fall of Mordor.

Originally Posted by LotR Appendix B

3441 Sauron overthrown by Elendil and Gil-galad, who perish. Isildur takes the One Ring. Sauron passes away and the Ringwraiths go into the shadows.

Sauron was gone, and the Ringwraith have "gone into the shadows". How do you imagine it? Was there a squad of shadowy, trembling spirits fleeing across the plains to the East, each with his own Ring on hand? Or did they just "pass into the shadow world", lurking around if it can be even said, in almost non-existence, until their master came back - but then, what about their Rings? They were material! Were they just lying in the pile of debris that became of Barad-Dur until the time came? But even then the Nazgul would have to take a long journey to Mordor to regain them and then go back to Dol Guldur to serve their master.

That's not all the questions, however. It continues:

Originally Posted by LotR Appendix B

c. 1300 Evil things begin to multiply again. (...)The Nazgûl reappear. The chief of these comes north to Angmar.

Okay, here we have the time when the Nazgul "reappear". It is of note that Sauron appeared in Mirkwood some 250 years before that. What does "reappear" mean here - that the world became once again aware of them? I don't think so - no one knew the Witch-King is a Nazgul for quite some time, and even the Wise had a clue. From what Gandalf says to Frodo, one could think that there was not much known about the Nazgul being around again until the War of the Ring, at least not among anybody besides the Wise:

Originally Posted by FotR Chapter 2: Shadow of the Past

Nine he gave to Mortal Men, proud and great, and so ensnared them. Long ago they fell under the dominion of the One, and they became Ringwraiths, shadows under his great Shadow, his most terrible servants. Long ago. It is many a year since the Nine walked abroad. Yet who knows? As the Shadow grows once more, they too may walk again.

So it is likely, based on the sources we have, that the Ringwraith actually came "out of the shadows" again some time after their master did. This really implies they were not present in the world in any percievable way. Not even to be seen (as the Nazgul without clothes are incorporeal and without form), but also, um, something as if they didn't even exist at that period. And where were the Nine rings all the thousand years? Lying somewhere on the ground, waiting for the dim siluet of a Ringwraith appearing at the time of Sauron's coming next to them? Dwarven rings were still with their masters. Elven rings we know of. The One was in the water. But the Nine...? At this point Sauron couldn't have collected them from the Ringwraith back during the Second Age, because Isildur then would just pick ten rings instead of one, as we know he didn't.

After some time then, the Nazgul came to Mordor, besieged Minas Morgul, shortly after Barad-Dur was rebuilt and everything went just fine. Whatever might have happened before, we are told that

Originally Posted by FotR Chapter 2: Shadow of the Past

So it is now: the Nine he has gathered to himself

(meaning Rings, of course.) But what should we imagine under "gathered to himself"? At this point, as much as it didn't seem likely in the previous case, I'd like to propose my theory of Sauron really collectig the Rings from the Nazgul and keeping them to himself. I have several good reasons for it:

• He had the Ringwraith totally under his control, Rings or not Rings, as I said above.
• He collected the Dwarven rings and did nothing with them; of course the situation here was a little bit different, because he already learned that the Dwarves cannot be turned to shadows (though he promised them to Dáin, but more like a bribery and actually I think as we know Sauron, that treacherous dog would probably keep the Rings to himself anyway, or just slay Dáin after he had the One back). I also presume if he got his hand on the Three, he'd also keep them.
• It's not a problem to have thirteen rings on nine fingers, you can have several rings on one finger, and if Sauron really wanted to be the Lord of Middle-Earth and the true "Lord of the Rings", this would be certainly fitting. We know he was collecting the Rings as much as he could, if only for the reason that possibly some Ring he heard about here or there might be the One.
• The Nazgul, ahem ahem, "died" at Bruinen. And we are with the same problem as above.
  

  Originally Posted by FotR, Book Two, Chapter 2: Council of Elrond

  The power of their master is in them, and they stand or fall by him. We hope that they were all unhorsed and unmasked, and so made for a while less dangerous; but we must find out for certain.
  (...)
  Three of the black horses had been found at once drowned in the flooded Ford. On the rocks of the rapids below it searchers discovered the bodies of five more, and also a long black cloak, slashed and tattered. Of the Black Riders no other trace was to be seen, and nowhere was their presence to be felt. It seemed that they had vanished from the North.
  "Eight out of the Nine are accounted for at least," said Gandalf. 'It is rash to be too sure, yet I think that we may hope now that the Ringwraiths were scattered, and have been obliged to return as best they could to their Master in Mordor, empty and shapeless.

  Nothing else was found. They probably wouldn't leave the Rings in place if they could, but "empty and shapeless" is quite well evaluating description.
• One of the Nazgul was killed by Legolas - shot down from the sky. I'd also like to know what happened to the Ring.
• And lastly, the Witch-King was killed on Pelennor. If he had the Ring on his hand at that time, then it must have been lying next to his... clothes. His spirit, however, departed, as we know. So the Ring with which his life was connected so much was now simply lying there on the ground? And what about at the time of casting the One to the Fire - did Faramir&Eowyn, looking from the walls of Minas Tirith, see a miniature explosion on the place the flying creature was buried? Or what? (I'm not saying that the Ring must have produced pyrotechnical effects when it lost its power, but it's interesting anyway).

The original idea had risen from the fact that nowhere, as far as I know, there is said that a Nazgul had a Ring on his hand. If someone finds a quote proving this, then I'd appreciate it. Otherwise... I'm awaiting opinions on the presented subject.