Sauron and his ability to "seem fair" - question...

[Alcuin]

Sauron, like the other Maiar, could appear in a form appealing to Incarnates (Elves and Men, but also Dwarves, I think), or he could appear in a form repellant to them. He could also shape-shift, as he did when battling Huan the Hound of Valinor in First Age Beleriand at the original Minas Tirith: He shifted his shape to an enormous wolf in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Huan, then several other shapes in unsuccessful attempts to escape, then finally to a vampire bat to leave after surrendering the tower – and the imprisoned Beren – to Lúthien so that Huan would not disembody him.

This encounter with Huan might have been the original impetus for Sauron to forge the Ruling Ring: So long as he had his Ring, his native power could not be severely dissipated. Moreover, the Ruling Ring allowed him to see into the minds of those who wore the other nineteen Great Rings of Power, controlling weaker users (such as Men) and even the Eldar who wore them. (All the Rings were originally made for Elves in Eregion: Sauron just repurposed them after the War of the Elves and Sauron, when their makers and original bearers were killed or scattered.) Nor was shape-shifting unusual among the Maiar: it seems that even as an Istar or Wizard, Radagast the Brown retained that ability, because Gandalf says,

“Radagast is … a worthy Wizard, a master of shapes and changes of hue.�

For Sauron’s appearance in Eregion as “Annatarâ€�, or “Lord of Giftsâ€�, he made himself appear physically and intellectually attractive to the Eldar. It is true that Gil-galad and Elrond denied him entry to Lindon, and Galadriel denied his claim to having been an Maia of Aulë in Valinor (he was, in fact, a Maia of Aulë, though long before Valinor he shifted his allegiance to Morgoth), but his appearance and demeanor tricked the MÃ*rdain of Eregion, the Elven-smiths. It was in this form that he surrendered himself to Ar-Pharazôn and the Númenórean invasion force, and so he remained in Númenor, poisoning the minds of those who would give him heed.

But in the destruction of Númenor, his body was destroyed, too. Eru, not the Valar, destroyed Númenor and changed the shape and nature of Arda, and so Sauron’s subsequent inability to again take on a form pleasing to Elves or Men was probably due to Eru: how, we are not told how, though “why� can be easily surmised. I suspect that he also permanently lost the ability to shape-shift at this point. Sauron was deposed again soon after, when Elendil and Gil-galad beat him senseless on the slopes of Orodruin and Isildur cut and took the Ruling Ring from his hand. When Sauron again assumed a physical body, his third in Arda, he could not generate a finger to replace the one Isildur cut off. Again, we are not told why, only that Gollum, who had seen him, reported this.

Gandalf told Frodo that Sauron placed the greater part of his native power into the Ruling Ring, and that as long as it lasted, he could not be vanquished. (A good example of this is the Wizard-king Koschei of Russian folktales, who places his soul into a physical container and guards it so that he might not die.) In this respect, Olmer is correct. However, this was at great risk to himself as matters developed: the Númenóreans did not recognize his Ring of Power, nor is it likely they knew about them at all, for their nature and indeed their very existence was a secret among the Elves until the War of the Last Alliance, when Gil-galad at last revealed to Elendil what enabled Sauron to return. (That’s speculation on my part, but I think it fits the narrative very well.) The driving purpose behind Sauron’s taking such a risk was to subdue the Eldar to his will, and in this respect, Landroval is correct.

I doubt Sauron ever imagined that his precious Ring could be taken from him until Isildur cut it from his hand and took it. The end of Númenor, the end of the Second Age, and the end of the Third Age must all have been great shocks to him. I suppose that could be Eru’s way of saying, Three strikes: you’re out!