Faramir, Steward of Gondor.
"I hope that you bring good tidings. Even one piece of good news would aid us in this gloomy time."
- Faramir to Mageth upon their meeting.
Faramir was the Steward of Gondor for the early years of the reign of King Aragorn II Elessar, King of Gondor and Arnor. Faramir had been the captain of the Rangers of Ithilien during the War of the Ring, and was known throughout Middle-earth as both an excellent leader and warrior.
Before the Fourth Age
Faramir was the youngest son of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor and last Ruling Steward. He was the brother to Boromir, a member of the Fellowship of the Ring and fought alongside his brother when Boromir retook the city of Osgiliath just before he travelled to Rivendell, where he later joined the Fellowship. Faramir was known to be hated by his father, and so Faramir was forced to try and please him, sometimes by going on suicidal missions.
After the War of the Ring ended, Faramir was appointed Steward of Gondor by the new King, Aragorn, and was given the island of Cair Andros. He also married Eoywn, a shield-maiden of Rohan and sister to the King of Rohan, Eomer. For many years, Faramir helped his King rebuild Gondor, mainly the ruined city of Osgiliath.
Kashaka and the Alliance
Despite his strong will, Faramir still fell under the control of the sorceress Kashaka, and was later made by Kashaka to trick King Aragorn to come under he control as well. However, Kashaka was unable to use Faramir for much longer, as the Alliance started to march west and her other duties were too important. So, she placed Faramir and the people of Osgiliath in a dark slumber, in the hopes that they would be so used to the darkness that they wouldn't break from her spell. However, this never happened.
Faramir and the people of Osgiliath awoke a day before the Alliance arrived in Osgiliath, and he took charge amid the confusion. He later met with Mageth, Elladan and Elrohir when they came to find him within the city. The trio of Elves helped Faramir remove the last of Kashaka's influence from his mind, and later informed them of what had happened in Gondor under Kashaka's control. He told them that Minas Tirith was still under Kashaka's control, as she had a general calledMalku controlling the populace there.
Faramir marched into Minas Tirith with the Alliance after Malku was killed by Giniriel, and later took charge while the King was recovering from Kashaka's torture. He welcomed the rider Jeden to the city, and helped the Alliance learn more about both Gondor and Kashaka.
Personality and characteristics
Faramir was a very noble man, and was very popular amongst the people of Gondor. He was an excellent and inspiring leader, and his bravery against Sauron's forces in Osgiliath and Ithilien earned respect from both Gondorians and people in distant lands, such as Rohan and among the Northmen. He was a very talented warrior, making good use of a bow, a sword and even mounted combat, and he joined the King on many of his missions to defeat Harad, Khand and other areas which still rebelled against Gondor after the Fourth Age had begun.