Faramir belongs to J.R.R. Tolkein. I have merely borrowed him for this vingnette. Please do not sue. I'm exceedingly broke.
Warning: mild spoilers from Return of the King. If you have not read the books or seen the third film, this probably will make no sense to you at all. Inspired by the look on David Wenhem's face and Billy Boyd's incredible voice. I thank them for the inspiration.
"Your father loves you, Faramir. He will remember it before the end."
Gandalf fears I ride rashly to my death. I do not ride out seeking my death. But I no longer can hold it sacred. I have seen the shadow and it has touched my soul.
Madril told me in Osgiliath that my life would be forfeit. In truth, I already knew. From the moment I found my brother's cloven horn, I knew no less than my life would be considered proper tribute. My father demanded that sacrifice, and I must pay it.
I have seen the pain in his eyes the grief, the bitterness that these days of evil will be faced without his honored son. Boromir would have held the eastern shore. His men would have rallied around him and been victorious where I failed. But not for my father's fear of failure, Boromir would stand here now, and I would have died in his sted.
I need not look at my father's eyes to know my shortcomings. They are clear to me, as they have been my entire life. He names only what I have seen in my own soul.
My men, they follow me. They are loyal to Gondor, loyal to our cause ... loyal still to their Captain. They have seen much trial and death, and may yet see their own. The shadow of the East has overtaken this land. It hides the future, veiling the path ahead.
But I do know this. It is not the eastern shore, nor the city of Osgiliath, nor the fields of the Pelennor that will decide my fate. In the eyes of my father, there are deeper boundaries that have been set.
Whether Osgiliath holds or falls, I am doomed.