My sister and I were taking our weekly walk today, the purpose of which is essentially to have a solid 90 minutes when we can talk Legea without distraction or interruption. (The wind chill was so bad, though, that we had to turn back early) Today we mainly discussed differences in how Mordred and Berethar assert control, and when I got home, I decided to write up some of those observations.

It actually started out because I mentioned how confusing Mordred's rebellious streak can be. At times he seems extraordinarily docile... and then suddenly he's not. What governs whether he'll obey an order?

As we discussed, I figured out that the key is who Mordred trusts/doesn't trust. When he disobeys/ignores someone he trusts, it's usually because his desires are opposed to what that person wants him to do. He disregards the command because he wants something else, not out of perversity.

On the other hand, when he sees someone as a threat, that translates in his mind to someone who has power over him. He knows his own desires don't matter any more, because this person can override them. So he does what he's told. Stays where he's pushed. Goes where he's sent. But when he does disobey, it is out of pure perversity. He knows he can't win, so this is his way of telling the threat that he still controls the situation. And, because it springs from a spirit of perversity, he doesn't stop or listen until he's physically overpowered and made to stop.

And that's how Mordred asserts control in a situation where he has no control. By disobeying and resisting on his own terms, when he feels like it, and not letting them predict when that disobedience will be.

Berethar's attitude is quite different.

To begin with, Berethar is intensely rational. He may act in an arbitrary manner, but he does not act at random. Mordred's rebellious streak flashes in an unpredictable, chaotic manner; even he himself could hardly say when he'll decide to act up. Berethar, on the other hand, is much more self-aware and focused in any effort at control. He has an end goal, with predicable and achievable results.

But in the same way Mordred's rebellion against trust-figures is not to be equated with his rebellion against perceived threats, Berethar's plan for control should not be confused with his gut response to physical restraint. In a captivity situation, Berethar is liable to fight back, especially at the outset, which may appear like defiance, an assertion of control. This behavior, however, is rooted purely in instinct. Berethar fears being hurt or confined by anyone whosoever: he reacts violently to the merest hint of threat to his person, while actual constraint results in often berserk levels of resistance and repeated breaks for escape. For Berethar, physical resistance isn't about a power struggle. He's trying to get away. Rather, that desperation, once mastered by his immense willpower, segues into the actual plan.

In any situation where his personal freedom has been infringed, Berethar's unconscious response is to bolt. His conscious response is to take charge.

And he does so how?

By a refusal to acknowledge the distinction between slave and master, between captive and captor — between oppressed and oppressor. Whoever has set himself over Berethar has created a new chain of authority, one in which Berethar is at the bottom, but unless Berethar perceives this chain of authority as just, it is to him invalid and therefore nonexistent. Whatever authority the person may hold outside Berethar will defer to, yes, even scrupulously observe. But beyond that? He owes this one nothing. Mordred accepts the captivity-captor distinction as a way of life, and seeks to subvert it, to buck the terms and conditions. Berethar sets his own terms.

This does not (remember) look like physical defiance. Instead, Berethar will assert control in his attitude, his body language and word choice while interacting with others. He will look everyone in the eye. He will offer absolutely no subservience, but always the bare minimum of courtesy. He will give orders regardless of whether they will be obeyed or not. The results are immaterial; the fact remains that he has a right to give those orders.

Interestingly, this mindset would be expected to come across as cocky and insolent. On Mordred, who quite often behaves with a deliberate haughtiness toward authority figures, it does. But there the difference is that Mordred actually sees himself as better than whoever he is confronting. And there again he is engaged in a type of rebellion, if a more subtle one. With Berethar, things are severely equal. I am human; you are human. I owe you basic respect and dignity and no more. He has no interest in pursuing the little routes of insults that so delight Mordred. He is, once again, not twisting or ducking under the codes of society. He is adhering to his own rigid codes, and according to those, there is no rebellion at all.

This is not to say that Berethar is above pettiness. In fact, nowhere is he more petty than when he feels the need to assert control. The more urgent his need to assert it, the more arbitrary and imperious he becomes. Rather than equalizing the situation, he may actually flip it — behaving as though he has more power than whoever restrains him. Mordred, in essence, asserts control by saying, "You can't tell me what to do." Berethar asserts control by saying, "I can tell you what to do." The smallest concession on their part, the acknowledgment that he has a right to anything (even an answer to a question) proves his point, so to speak, and shores up his own confidence. Assuaging the trapped, panicked instincts, it makes the facade a reality.

Mordred seeks mere freedom, some showy act of defiance against whatever tyranny has imposed itself on him. Berethar craves a kind of autonomy, the knowledge that his mind is still his own, the reassurance that he is actively in charge of himself — and others, if need be. So forcefully does he project this illusion of control, so intense and threatening his persona (his stare is particularly unnerving to people), that he not only does wring these small concessions, but he truly confuses people. People who are used to either basic docility or mindless defiance do not know what to make of Berethar' menacing, controlled independence. And the more discomfited they are, the less sure of themselves they grow, the more safe and in control Berethar feels.

Berethar, naturally, asserts control in situations outside direct oppression as well. But because it showcases his mindset and the external ramifications the best, it is the one I have chosen to illustrate my exposition. I hope you enjoyed, and I have plans (kehehe) for more Mordred and Berethar comparison chapters in the future.

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In a funny turn of events, by the way, the conversation between my sister and I occurred over a year ago. Most of this chapter was written a long time later. Rip my follow-through skills