"My father was not a monster, despite what you might think. He was a good man and a strong Steward. He wanted only the best for his people, but it drove him to despair, and that despair killed him." He smiled, but there was very little humor in it, and when he raised his head, his eyes glittered with unshed tears. "He was like the Tree of Gondor: straight, solid, unyielding. He was buffeted by storms, wind, all manner of evil. Until he broke.

"Me? I'm like the willow; I bend. But a willow is not the tree of Gondor."