We may be under siege from a frightening force intent on killing us all, but at least we can take delight in one small piece normalcy: the fierce repartee of the future Steward of Gondor and his brother.
While people are dying daily from disease, hunger, despair, and wounds inflicted by the Dark Lord’s army camped outside the gates of Minas Tirith, the high-profile siblings have provided an unlooked-for source of escape from current circumstances through their entertaining, if often incisive, banter in their daily updates to the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.
“Look, I don’t want to go to Osgiliath,” Faramir said in one exchange, “but at least I’m not about to go chasing after some dream about a magic ring.”
“You mean the weapon of great power that could save us all from being overwhelmed by the unending stream of foul beings emanating from the Black Land?” Boromir responded. “Yeah, how thoughtless of me.”
“And it just happens to be in an Elvish paradise far to the North away from all the fighting,” Faramir added acerbically.
“Hey, Dad said I could go.”
“You always were his favorite.”
The fraught-but-loving relationship between the brothers undergirds the enjoyment that these daily conversations have brought to the denizens of Minas Tirith. Despite the appearance of rivalry and friction, many observers detect a certain warmth and affection below the surface.
“We know that as much as they bicker, Lord Denethor’s sons would fight to the death for each other,” said Beregond, a soldier in Faramir’s guard.
The chats have brought a daily mote of amusement in otherwise bleak conditions, and many worry that morale will wane when Boromir leaves on his quest North and is unable to participate in the briefings.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon enough,” Boromir promised when someone brought it up during a question and answer session. “And when I do, you’ll probably all be wishing I was gone again,” he added, laughing.
