Magic in Middle-earth

[Nar]

There was elvish blood in Imrahil, and perhaps something of a tradition of elvish lore left over in the people of Dol Amroth. Finduilas, Faramir's mother was from Dol Amroth, and probably brought some of her household with her. They might have taught Faramir some elvish lore even after he lost his mother. Also, I imagine men of Dol Amroth, particularly those with elvish influence or heritage, would have made excellent scouts and been resistant to shadow, therefore very likely to be selected by Faramir for his company in Ithilien, along with those native to Ithilien. Any of them could be a source for that reference.

Did the staffs really have this virtue, or only hopefully? Weren't they lost in Mordor after all? There's probably a thread on this somewhere-- I'll have to go look. I think the virtue probably consisted of some hopeful elvish words said over them or carved into them, rather than the sort of magic that alters events. Faramir would hope it would work, but I doubt he'd be sure. Another possibility is that the staffs were minor heirlooms originally made by elves or dwarves who knew how to imbue magic into things, like Merry's horn.