Faramir was the younger son of Denethor, Ruling Steward of Gondor, and brother to Boromir. Where Boromir was very much his father's son, and so was always the favoured one, Faramir took after his mother, Finduilas, being more perceptive and deeper thinking than his brother, who favoured solving things with a sword than with a word. Yet for all this, the two had great love for each other, and fought side by side during many battles with Sauron's Orcs, most notably in the summer of TA 3,018 when Boromir led a successful defence of Osgiliath, even retaking a key position that had been overrun by Orcs. It was following this famous victory that both brothers dreamed of Isildur's Bane, and Boromir decided that he must ride north to try to discover the secret to this riddle. That long and dangerous path would lead him to the answer itself, but it would be his undoing. Like Boromir, Faramir had his mother's fair hair, yet it must have been some other trait that caused Denethor to turn against his younger son when his wife died. By appointing him Captain of the Ithilien Rangers he effectively banished him from the court, and no achievement however great would ever win him his father's love. During his time as Captain of the Rangers, Faramir became highly skilled in strategic command, yet was also famed for his ability with the bow and sword. He led from the front, and was much respected and loved by his men. After many hard years patrolling and fighting running battles in Ithilien, the advent of Sauron's war on Gondor meant that he withdrew all of his Rangers to Osgiliath: there were just not enough of them to mount an effective defence of its eastern border. Faramir led the defence of Osgiliath, fighting bravely to briefly stem the tide of invading Orcs, before overwhelming numbers forced him to again retreat to Minas Tirith. Faramir dressed in the same garb as his men, save that his leather tunic bore the Tree of Gondor in silver, indicating his exalted position within the Gondorian army. The above is an except from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: WEAPONS AND WARFARE book by Chris Smith, available from Houghton Mifflin (USA) and HarperCollins Publishers (international)