The Númenóreans, led by Elendil, carried with them to Middle- earth a seedling of the White Tree, Nimloth the Fair, the sceptre of Annúminas, and the palantíri, seven seeing-stones given them by the Elves. The palantíri were crystal globes, about half the size of a man's head, which were deepest black in colour when not in use. These were distributed throughout Middle-earth in the following manner: Elendil placed one at the tower of Elostirion that looked west over the Sea, one at Annúminas and one at the watch-tower of Amon Sûl, which sat on Weathertop; Isildur and Anárion took the other four and set them at Orthanc, Minas Anor (Minas Tirith), Osgiliath and Minas Ithil (Minas Morgul). In this way they could communicate across the vast distances that separated the northern and southern kingdoms. However, by the time of the War of the Ring, only the palantíri of Orthanc and Minas Tirith were still in use, and the stone of Minas Ithil had been taken to Mordor. Once a valuable tool in the war against Sauron, they had now become one of the Dark Lord's chief weapons for gathering information and corrupting the hearts and minds of good Men. The above is an except from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: WEAPONS AND WARFARE book by Chris Smith, available from Houghton Mifflin (USA) and HarperCollins Publishers (international)