During the Second Age, Sauron resurfaced and consolidated authority in Mordor. When Sauron was defeated by Prince Isildur of Gondor, his finger and ring were severed. Sauron appeared as an eye from then on. Some say this happened when he attempted to seize the throne himself; others that it occurred when he tried to regain his physical form after being banished for most of the First Age. In any case, he lost his ring finger and an eye, which was replaced with an artificial eye made by Galadriel. Even so, he continued to rule through his servants until his death about a thousand years later. After that, his spirit remained alive within Barad-dûr until its destruction at the end of the Third Age. In Tolkien's writings, we are told that Sauron was dark and terrible to behold. His skin was blackened by sinium, and his eyes red with rage. Most who saw him fled before him. It is said that only two men fought him hand to hand: Elendil, king of Gondor, and Legolas, son of Thranduil. But even they did not stand against him for long. At the end, Sauron was slain by Éomer, prince of the Númenóreans.