Battle of the Alphas (Uther and Cenred)

[kinguthersqueen]

The peace talks were well underway, and aside from King Olaf, most of the parties involved got along fairly well with Uther. There were naturally a lot of different viewpoints, and some arguing did break out now and then, but Uther still felt that things were going to go fairly well. The only king making things difficult was the same one who ALWAYS made things difficult for Uther: Cenred.

Cenred was cocky and overconfident in Uther's opinion. He was fairly young and thought he was so great with his black horse and leather clothes and foreboding castle. He was always getting his men into border clashes with Camelot's troops, and anyone who crossed the border did so at their own peril. Uther had been extremely worried when he found that Arthur AND Morgana had gone into Cenred's lands to help Ealdor after Cenred's refusal. They'd been lucky that he hadn't captured both and either executed them or demanded a high ransom for their return.

Cenred had been doing a lot of the arguing at the actual talks, and even between times, he didn't hesitate to butt heads with Uther when he could. Uther wasn't pleased whenever he crossed paths with him. They were always like two male animals, sizing each other up, both more than willing to take each other out if given the chance. They didn't dare do it here, but it didn't stop them from verbally sparring.

[Deleted]

Peace talks and Cenred didn’t really go together. For a start it would involve talking about a subject that Cenred wasn’t exactly the least bit interested in and secondly…Uther Pendragon would always have something to say or argue about whenever the Kings met with one another, and he’d never see eye to eye with anyone he took a dislike to, especially Cenred.

Cenred thought of Uther as being a very old fashioned king with outdated methods, as well as being a tyrant and murderer. Uther’s reputation nor history with his family didn’t exactly do him justice and anyone trying to cross the boarder into Camelot would always be caught and made an example of by Cenred. The subject of Magic was something that Cenred could always provoke Uther with – not only did Cenred affiliate himself with people of that kind, Uther was the opposite and executed anyone who so much as breathed the word.

As well as Uther being present, King Olaf and King Alined were the only other two who Cenred really knew. Olaf being the overprotective father of his only daughter Vivian and Alined…well, he just had his jester.
It had already been a long day and Cenred knew he’d need a very strong drink after having to endure Uther drone on about boundaries and war. It had mainly been himself and Uther that had done all the arguing today and still these talks didn’t seem to be getting anyone further.

Cenred sat back in his chair. He could be doing something more productive right now, such as testing out his newly fixed sword on an unsuspecting lawbreaker. He wondered how many more hours or minutes he’d having to sit face to face with Uther for, because if it were any longer than one, he’d go mad.

It was time to add some fuel to the fire, he'd had enough of Uther and his whining for far too long. "Is this really worth it?" he finally spoke sending the room into silence. Excellent, now time to heat it up.
"What good is saying we're going to achieve peace when we're only just signing our names on the dotted line? We all know that none of us will heed any of the rules of the treaty and don't try to deny it".

Cenred knew Alined wouldn't anyway. He was like him and craved war - except that he was a poorer king than Cenred. "We're wasting precious time and ink on words that are obviously passing through deaf ears" at this point he shot a look at Uther.

Time for it all to kick off.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther was inclined to agree, for once, although he'd readily dispute whose ears were the truly deaf ones. He could easily maintain peace with the other kings, there were only rare wars as it was. He did not hold the same views as all of them, but he was willing to deal with the differences if it kept the kingdom from going to war. Cenred, though, was another story.

Uther stayed out of Cenred's kingdom when possible, but he knew full well that Cenred wanted to conquer Camelot. And, he often showed that he'd use magic to do it.

"You speak truth, for once in your life. Although it is not me who is always waiting for a chance to attack. You have long wanted Camelot, and will do much to conquer it. I care little about entering your kingdom, but your men look for any chance to cross the border and harrass Camelot's knights." he said."And yes, they are falling on deaf ears...mostly yours"

[Deleted]

Uther was talking. Yawn.

Uther was agreeing with him? Double Yawn.

Now Uther was turning the tables and saying that he would be the one to not follow the rules. True. But Cenred wanted to make everyone see that it wasn’t just him who wouldn’t be bending over backwards to secure any kind of peaceful future for the kingdoms. He was pretty sure that half the men that were sat in this room all hated one another for a reason. Not just him and Uther.

“and yours are not deaf already?” Cenred looked at him surprised, “I really thought at your age they would be by now”

he sat back in his chair and took another swig of his drink. “If I didn’t know you any better Uther, I’d say that you were trying to turn this whole conference into a personal matter between us both?” he stated coolly, “No matter what accusations you may make against me – if I really wanted this wreck of havoc that you call your kingdom, then you’d be on the floor with a sword in your back by now”.

He wasn’t about to stoop to Uther’s level. He was here for a reason; time to prove just which side was the stronger. If he were here (as much as he didn’t want to be) to ‘negotiate’ with these kings then he would do just that (sort of) – not have some kiddish argument with a man who had no idea just how to rule his own kingdom or even control his own people.

“Now gentleman, are we going to actually find a way around this? Or do you want to sit here for the rest of the evening listening to how much Uther Pendragon detests me?” he raised at eyebrow at Uther on this and raised his glass.

“How about we save the childish behaviour for another war?”

[kinguthersqueen]

"I may be aging, but my physical shape is still excellent."Uther retorted. It was one of the drawbacks of being an older king-his age was a frequent target for his enemies. He was feeling the effects on his body, true, but overall, his health was still good, and he could still fight, and that was what mattered. He refused to consider the fact that Arthur had beaten him not long ago-he reasoned that he'd been trying not to harm his son while convincing the prince not to harm him.

"It's in better shape than yours. At least my people know they can be assured of their safety."Uther was not bringing up the fact that his son and several others had ventured into Cenred's lands to go to Ealdor-if the other man didn't know it already, he'd be angry to learn of it. Uther was a stern man, and hated by many, but at least Camelot's people were safe and grateful for it. Not so with Cenred. "You only care for riches and power. That is a benefit of being king, yes, but it is not the only thing."

Negotiations started up again, and Uther had to agree with Cenred, alarming though it was."Yes, let us continue, before we both decide to end this in a duel. Which I would quite like in his case. But that will not bring peace, so it will not happen."

[Deleted]

Cenred could only give a little ‘ha!’ at Uther’s comment about how well in shape he was. “The servant girls are still keeping you young I see” he mused, “tut tut sire”.
A few of the other kings look on amused as Cenred was. He loved to wind Uther up – he didn’t even like coming face to face with the man but when he got the chance to it was always worth it.

He narrowed his eyes at Uther’s next words, “Why my dear friend, I have no idea what you’re talking about?” He, of course, knew exactly what it was about. The whole Cenred being a stereotypical tyrannical king – Uther was one to talk! “I make sure that my people are fully aware of just how I run my kingdom, and how they should be kept as loyal subjects” he replied coolly,

“And I suppose your people are assured by watching as their friends heads roll off that little block I saw in your courtyard? A fine and promising example of both safety, and just how much your subjects mean to you”.

He snorted as Uther listed the only things he cared about. Cenred sat back and studied his dagger blade, “I care for other things you know – like whether my people abide by my rules, and which king I can overthrow in the future” he rolled his eyes. “You may think that your kingdom is a place where everyone around you dances in fields of gold filled with puppies and rainbows – but infact, Uther, when I rode in this morning – I saw only dark clouds and people with –low and behold – no smiles on their faces.”
His eyes caught the ones of the older king, “Now what does that say about your methods of ruling?” Uther lived in ancient times. The end.

He slammed his dagger onto the table.

“Noooow, onto the subject that we came to listen to, and not the 99 problems of Uther Pendragon – so……peace……talking – what is to be done gentleman?”

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther listened to Cenred's ramblings, but tried not to get provoked. He'd expected the barb about being a tyrant-he did not see himself as one, but he knew that many, including Cenred, did. In Uther's mind, he was at least doing the right thing, rather than looking to get rich like Cenred.

"The only ones executed are Camelot's enemies, those who pose a threat. I do not act rashly, I ensure that they are truly guilty before giving any orders." he retorted.

"I have no illusions about the dangers I face, and no kingdom is without its problems. The people may not have perfection, and there aren't constant smiles, but when times grow tough, that is when it is obvious they are loyal."

Cenred finally shut up, and Uther was glad, for the moment. He spoke up in agreement.

"Yes, let's. I've had enough of his ramblings. Making a peace accord with him is taxing, to say the least...as is anything else with him. We need to decide something soon."

[Deleted]

It was so easy to wind Uther up that it was almost hilarious. Cenred just sat there with a small grin daring to tug some more at his lips. He couldn’t laugh during peace talks though. It wasn’t very gallant – then again gallantry didn’t exactly matter to him.

"I have no illusions about the dangers I face, and no kingdom is without its problems. The people may not have perfection, and there aren't constant smiles, but when times grow tough, that is when it is obvious they are loyal."

“Im surprised that you actually have any people left in this town” Cenred replied smoothly, “and as for finding them truly guilty before giving orders, I doubt that you delve too much into it – you only have to look any sorcerer you catch and deem them guilty from the off” he cocked his head slightly to the side, “does it not bother you though? Executing people who are also innocent in the process? Im sure you’re very well loved by your people” he added at the end, a slight tinge of sarcasm in the words.

anyway onto the talks. He growled slightly on Uther’s words, “don’t keep turning this personal Uther, both of us know that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant meeting but lets just keep things mutual shall we? I’ll agree with you by saying that we need to decide something very soon, after all – that is what the aim of these talks are aren’t they? To all come to mutual agreement of the running of our kingdoms and allegiances?”

Allegiances his eye! Cenred would never be an ally of Camelot, He and Uther would both end up at one another’s throats if that should ever happen. But for now he’d keep up the pretence. All the better to see Uther’s face on him saying this.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther's temper was quickly getting the better of him with Cenred's last comment. He loved irritating Uther, and the king found himself walking a fine line. He felt like having it out with Cenred, but did not want to do anything to make him gloat more either. The other king would only enjoy it more the angrier Uther got.

He glared at Cenred, the fire showing in his eyes, but he spoke carefully. The anger was there, but barely reined in for the sake of the procedings.

"I execute only the guilty. Magic is dangerous, and those using it would eventually use it against Camelot. Magic corrupts, and I will not give its users a chance for that to happen. Even those who are not evil now would be corrupted eventually, and I am dealing with threats before they can strike at us."

"However, I am doing my best to remain calm. I will not allow anything to sabotage these proceedings, no matter how you may be attempting to incite me to. Because, as much as it pains me to admit it, you are indeed right in regard to making decisions soon."