men of middle-earth ☀ misc. dúnedain ☀ headcanon disclaimer
Baranor was a man of Gondor, originally descended from the people of Ithilien who then settled in Lossarnach when that land was overrun by orcs. He was a soldier, his work bringing his family to Minas Tirith, where he and his wife Pethriel had two sons, Iorlas and Beregond. Iorlas became a merchant in the city, while Beregond followed his father’s footsteps and joined the ranks of Gondor’s soldiers as part of the Third Company of the Citadel. When the periannath Peregrin Took arrived in Minas Tirith and swore his service to Steward Denethor II, Beregond was assigned to show him around the city. Beregond’s young son Bergil quickly took a liking to Pippin and took him to the Great Gate to watch as warriors from the Outlands gathered to reinforce the city’s defenses against the impending siege. During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Beregond was stationed as the sentinel at the gate of the Citadel when Pippin rushed to tell him that Denethor was attempting to burn his catatonic son Faramir alive. Beregond, who greatly admired Faramir, was distraught by this news and knew at once that his duty to protect his liege-lord was more important than remaining at his post. He ran to save Faramir and was forced to kill three of his fellow guards who would have prevented him from his noble task. When Mithrandir came to the rescue, Beregond warded off any attackers as Faramir was pulled from the pyre, and blocked Denethor in his attempt to kill his son with a knife. After Faramir was at last out of immediate danger, Beregond elected to stand guard over him in the Houses of Healing, and was present when he awoke. Beregond served under the command of Imrahil of Dol Amroth at the Battle of the Morannon, where he was nearly killed by a troll, but Pippin killed the monster before he could be slain. Upon the coronation of King Elessar, Beregond was brought forth to receive judgement for leaving his post and killing Denethor’s guards upon hallowed ground. The usual penalty would have been death, but the new King showed mercy as his deeds were done out of love for Faramir, and instead Beregond was exiled from the White City. Yet though he could not return to his home, Aragorn granted him the position of Captain of Faramir’s Guard, the White Company, and Beregond brought his family with him to Ithilien, the land of his ancestors where Faramir now ruled as Prince. In Ithilien, Beregond’s wife Fondil bore him a second son, Borlas. In his adulthood, Borlas married the orchard-worker Orosser, and together they had two children of their own: a daughter, Sammareth, and a son, Berelach, who served in the King’s Ships under the rule of Elessar’s son Eldarion.