Mercian Peace Accord

"People of Camelot, for a great many years we have been mortal enemies, and the blood of our men stains the ground from the walls of Camelot to the gates of Mercia. And though we remember those who have died, we must not allow any more to join them."

- Bayard to the Court of Camelot The Mercian Peace Accord was a document signed by King Uther Pendragon and Lord Bayard to establish a treaty between the kingdoms of Camelot and Mercia after years of bloody warfare.

Bayard led a delegation of the Mercian court to Camelot to meet with Uther and sign the treaty. The peace was threatened soon after when, during a celebratory feast, Merlin accused Bayard of attempting to assassinate Prince Arthur Pendragon. However, the handmaiden in Bayard's entourage who had informed Merlin of the poison was in fact the sorceress Nimueh, who was plotting to kill the young warlock, not the prince.

As was Nimueh's intent, Merlin was forced to prove his allegation by drinking from the goblet he accused Bayard of poisoning. Thus, Merlin suffered from the poison in Arthur's stead.

Bayard and his entourage were imprisoned for the attempted assassination while Gaius, Guinevere, and Arthur sought an antidote to the poison afflicting Merlin. Gaius eventually uncovered the true identity of Merlin's informant and revealed to Uther that she, and not Bayard, had poisoned the goblet. Uther released Bayard, preventing an attack on Camelot by Mercian forces, and the peace accord presumably remained in effect (The Poisoned Chalice).