However Faramir returned severely wounded, breaking Denethor's spirit.

Denethor therefore dispatched Faramir with reinforcements to command the garrison at Osgiliath and following the battle there and at the Causeway Forts, sent out a cavalry sortie under the command of Prince Imrahil to rescue his son's retreat. Following this news and the passage of Frodo Baggins through Ithilien he became estranged from Faramir, though Faramir still upheld his father's wishes. The death of Boromir, his eldest and favorite son, and the siege and apparent doom of Gondor drove Denethor further along the path of despair. Minas Tirith was fully provisioned for a siege and as war loomed Denethor sent away from the city the old and the women and children and had the Warning beacons of Gondor lit, dispatching errand riders to ThГ©oden to summon aid.

In TA 3018 when Sauron attacked Osgiliath, he found the strength and preparedness of Denethor greater than he had expected or feared. The effort aged him quickly, and although Sauron was not able to bend him to his will as he had Saruman, knowledge of the Dark Lord's overwhelming forces exacerbated the bitterness that had taken root at the time of the death of his wife, Finduilas, in TA 2988.Дenethor was well aware that Sauron's assault on Gondor would come during his lifetime and prepared accordingly, even though he increasingly came to believe that the struggle would be hopeless. In later life Denethor secretly used a palantГr to probe Sauron's strength, using it at the top of the White Tower in a secret chamber above the Throne room. During his stewardship,В Gandalf was less welcome in Minas Tirith, and his counsels went unheeded. He succeeded his father Ecthelion II as twenty-sixth Ruling Steward in TA 2984. A few years later, in TA 2988, Finduilas died young, leaving Denethor embittered. Together, the couple had two sons, Boromir and Faramir. In TA 2976, he married Finduilas of Dol Amroth, daughter of Prince Adrahil II of Dol Amroth. It was difficult to deceive him and dangerous to try. He was described as subtle and often scornful and could perceive the thoughts of men, including those that dwelled far off. A proud and noble man, the blood of NГєmenor ran truer in him than it had in any man of Gondor for many years. Denethor was the third child and only son of Ecthelion II.

Denethor flee for your lives