Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-110.33.239.213-20121226023324/@comment-5674726-20130929122112

Ongard Odin wrote: Guinevere would have gone on to lead Camelot and continue the work of Arthur, bringing together the kingdoms in her own time, Sarrum's land would have a new leader who I imagine would not dare threaten Camelot with all of its allies. Particularly when they are offering peace, Odin was a good man at heart who much like Queen Annis and arguably Morgana was clouded by bitterness so much that he made an enemy of Arthur, well now Arthur is dead and who else is there to blame for his son's death?

It is an absolutely massive stretch to assume that Guinevere would be able to unite the kingdoms of Albion.

Camelot would be weaker than it was at any point during the series, given that the kingdom's military forces would have steadily diminished over the years. At some point, they will run out of healthy men to draft for the army. There is also the expense to consider. Taxes in Camelot were already high, to the point that common people could barely get by. Even Arthur could not dispute this, he could only justify it by arguing that the level of tax was necessary to support the army and protect the kingdom. With rebuilding to do, widows and orphans to provide for and any new soldiers that can be found to be armed, trained, fed, sheltered and paid, the level of taxation can only rise. If Guinevere tries to spare the poorer citizens increases and looks to the nobility to make up the shortfall, that is an excellent way of turning them against her.

While Camelot is weak, it is an easy target for other monarchs who fancy the idea of expanding their territory, not to mention the next wave of Saxons to arrive. None of Arthur's allies were willing to support him at the battle of Camlann so it can't be assumed that they would help if Camelot was threatened again, especially as a weakened kingdom isn't as valuable an ally to cultivate.

Even if she legalises magic, that will bring problems of its own that will be more than enough to keep her occupied. It's a safe bet that there will be some who feel that it's too little, too late, particularly after the murder of the last High Priestess, and who won't be interested in what she has to say. There's also the question of what limits there are to be to magic use. Even taking it as a given that murder, theft, assault, etc, by use of sorcery are crimes, where will the law stand on the issue of those with magic using it to aid them in their daily lives, particularly their work? It's an issue that will have to be sorted out.

What happens if there are two blacksmiths, one with magic and one without? The blacksmith with magic can use spells to make the armour, weapons, etc, he crafts twice as strong and twice as light as anything the other blacksmith can make, and to finish it in less time and at a lower cost. If he is allowed to use magic, the other blacksmith will lose business and may not be able to support himself and his family. However, if he is not allowed to use magic to assist him, magic is still largely outlawed for him and a change in the law to legalise it is an empty gesture.

The same would be true of farmers with magic who can ward off diseases from their crops and increase the yield, healers with magic who can cure illnesses and injuries that conventional healing either can't heal or can't heal as quickly, etc.

The question of what ways somebody with magic may and may not use it would be a subject of debate for decades.

There's also the nobility to consider. They may have supported Uther in his quest to unite Camelot under his rule but that does not mean that they're going to be okay with the idea of Uther's son leaving his commoner wife as ruler. There is only Gaius' word for it that Arthur left the throne to Guinevere, and possibly Merlin's, but it's not like it would be difficult for anybody who wanted to undermine Guinevere's claim to the throne to argue that as commoners and friends of Guinevere's, they would have claimed that Arthur left the throne to her even if he had chosen some "worthy" noble or another.

They played nice at the coronation because only an idiot would choose that moment to show his hand but they could be ready to pounce on any mistake or unpopular decision, and could end up withdrawing their support, even seceding their ancestral lands from Camelot and pledging themselves to another monarch.

It'd be a miracle if Guinevere managed to hold Camelot together and to stay on the throne until her death. Uniting Albion is not feasible unless Merlin plans to use his magic to force the other kingdoms into submission.