The One Ring

The hero of Gondor returns with a dark secret.

It is the 7th of March, the year 3019 of the Third Age. The land of Gondor, held together by the stern forces of proud men is falling. Regardless of the cunning and skill of Faramir, the son of the Steward of Gondor, Osgiliath has fallen to the hands of Sauron. Gondor has gathered all forces to the city of Minas Tirith. There, they will make their last stand.

Denethor, the Steward of Gondor is living in a world full of darkness and despair. Haunted by Sauron through the Palantir he possesses, he is both toyed and tortured by the Enemy. Through the accursed rock, Sauron feeds him information, but it is tainted and skewed as only a master of darkness can deliver. Thus, Denethor is but a shadow of a man, incapable of ruling his nation. And this is the desperate hour, one that would require both power and wisdom to use it.

But all is not lost. In the first, pale light of the morning a tall man arrives in the city. It is Boromir, son of Denethor who has returned from his perilous quest to Rivendell, and he carries with him the seed of salvation. It is nothing less than Isildur's Bane, The One Ring.

Boromir is a proud man, from a long line of proud men, who have always stood and defended Gondor. It was like a second nature for him not to marry, but to focus his efforts in the ways of the war. For this, he quickly became a commander in the armies of Gondor.

On the eve of Sauron's attack to Osgiliath he and his brother, Faramir, both saw a dream that spoke with riddles of the Isildur's Bane and halflings. It was only Denethor, their father, who could interpret the message of this dream, and even he only could point the way for true understanding. It was in Rivendell where this mystery could be solved, if anywhere.

So it was that Boromir took the challenge that brought him all the way to Rivendell, and from thereon into Moria and Lothlórien. And he became aware of the One Ring. Carried by one of his companions, Frodo Baggins, a halfling of legends, all the way from the Shire.

It had been the wish of Boromir that the ring would be taken to his father, to be used against the Enemy in the great war that was about to come. But the council of Rivendell was filled with fools who couldn't understand the bravery and need of the men of Gondor. If they would fall, surely, then the whole world would also.

For long he lingered with his thoughts, amidst all the perils and chaos that the company faced, and finally, in the disarray of Parth Galen he talked to Frodo, who had the ring. He hoped to reason with the halfling so that both the ring as well as the whole of MIddle-Earth could still be saved. But he refused, and Boromir's hate and need flowed overboard.

He struck Frodo heavily, and took the ring for himself. From these days forward, his travel towards Minas Tirith was full of dark thoughts: did he do the right thing or not?

But now, after all the hardships he has finally reached The White City. It is time to see, whether his choice would bring ultimate glory, or ultimate doom.