A/N: Despair and Hope. I own nothing. Un beta-ed.
1 - "Denethor has gone to the tombs," said Pippin, "and he has taken Faramir, and he says we are all to burn, and he will not wait, and they are to make a pyre and burn him on it, and Faramir as well. And he has sent men to fetch wood and oil." – The Pyre of Denethor, The Return of the King
2 - "Come!" he cried, and drew his sword, and it flashed in the twilit hall of the Burg. "To the stone of Erech! I seek the Paths of the Dead. Come with me who will!" – The Passing of the Grey Company, The Return of the King
Beyond All Doubt?
Despair is only for he who sees the end beyond all doubt, and Denethor has seen it, seen it flicker and burn in the orb beneath his fingers, heard it in the mournful horn-call drifting from the north, felt it in the feverish skin of his second son.
For Denethor, unerringly proud even in the depths of his grief, there is no hope. Gondor will fall, Sauron has made certain of it, and even now the Corsairs sail upon his city, sail to stain the stones with blood and tear down all that was right and fair. The Dark Lord has stolen his sons from him, will rape and pillage his city and spread ruin amongst his people, but Denethor, Denethor will choose his own end.
Let them burn, he and Faramir, let them burn on a pyre of their own making, because for Gondor, as for Boromir, there will be no sunrise.
"Fetch oil and wood!"
Despair is only for he who sees the end beyond all doubt, and Aragorn has seen Gondor's doom in the flickering orb beneath his fingers, seen the fires and the black ships and The Eye, tasted the fear that sours in every gut from the Westfold to Minas Tirith itself.
And he has reeled from that encounter, felt his knees buckle and his strength wane, seen his own terror reflected in Halbarad's eyes, and choked back his own tears in the pale morning that seems as much like an end as a new dawn.
But still the company holds true, if only for a time, and no matter his own pain and his own weakness, Aragorn will not let the White City fall. The Great Battle of the Age may be looming, but the Grey Company have horses swift and a prophecy to guide their footsteps, have bonds of fellowship to overcome all hardship, and while feet move and arms hold, they will have hope.
For Estel he is named, and Estel he shall have, until the fight is over, or death takes him. That is his oath.
"To the Stone of Erech!"
A/N: Please read and review. I have several others LoTR stories posted if you enjoyed this one.