(Erlend Mudd, Dragonstone)
It was currently the Hour of the Wolf, the blackest part of the night.
Erlend stood around the entrance of a rather dour cave. The very same cave where Jon convinced Daenerys of the threat of the White Walkers if he remembered correctly.
Frankly, he'd rather be in bed with Elia right now, but the location and timing at the moment made this one of the most preferable occasions to perform a ritual he'd been intending to complete.
A normal human body would never have been able to take the number of rituals he had, yet the power of adaptability when properly made use of, made any worries that he end up like Voldemort non-existent.
That didn't mean he could do it every single day or month for that matter, as there was a real danger of magic quite literally being sucked out of him and killing him. Yet, he could afford to do it more frequently in comparison to most ritualists and spell casters.
Erlend was sure those shriveled-up warlock cunts would be seething in jealousy.
Holding his hand out, a small ball of flames appeared, its golden flames lighting the cave for him.
The most noticeable object within it was the ritual circle that held three key components within it;
The Horn of a Dragon.Dragon blood.Crystalised Dragon Flames.
Its objective was to refine the control he had over his flames.
Doing it at the darkest hour created a certain contrast which would ease the effects of the ritual, preventing his body from being turned to literal ash, had he done it at the brightest hour it would mean he'd have had to deal with the heat of the sun itself.
While adaptability could've countered it to a certain extent, it would have left him not only drained but crippled to a certain extent and would also overwhelm his control over the other elements. Destroying the balance between them, which needed to be maintained for his next ritual, though that would be years off from now, one that could potentially push his control over the four elements to divine levels.
Lord of Nature gave him control over the physical plane, and that included the various elements, unfortunately, that control tended to be basic at best.
Erlend had managed to get around it through rituals and his bloodline.
Control over Earth for example was stronger than the rest due to his First Men Heritage and the Lord of Nature passive buffs.
Water was enhanced in his victory over the pirate fleet, having held a ritual after the naval battle and using it as a catalyst to power the ritual, the emotions of both joy and despair combined with the 'sacrifices' made by the pirates, even if unintentional powering it up.
Wind, ironically enough, needed no ritual, similarly to Earth it depended on itself rather than outside factors. Having increased more as his adaptability was put to heavy use and his power increased alongside it. This is mainly due to wind being a representation of nature's raw force and perseverance.
This left only Fire, hence he intended to undergo a ritual that would boost his fire attribute to the same level as the others.
Dragonstone was a nexus of fire magic, due to it having been inhabited by Dragons and Dragonlords for centuries, not to mention the Volcano and a significant amount of dragonglass located on the island.
The only other places with a comparable connection to Fire were Valyria and Volantis, but he had neither the time nor the inclination to travel there.
It was both dangerous and costly, while he would be fine, the same couldn't be said about those who came with him. Not to mention going to a land that was not only cursed and whose previous inhabitants haunted the region, seemed quite foolish.
It didn't help that those lingering spirits would hold a grudge against him for his ancestor's role in the extinction of dragonlords.
As for Volantis, it was too risky, the place held the temple of a being he'd rather not get too close to, lest he try and take control over him while he was vulnerable from the ritual's effects.
The cave itself had already been cleaned out, having previously been the dwelling of a dragon, though which one, he had no clue.
Bones had littered the grounds, many crushed into scattered pieces; he had initially intended to use them to draw the ritual circle but decided against it.
Considering the fact he had no clue which was the remains of sheep bones or dragon bones, and perhaps human bones for the occasional unlucky sod that happened to make it here.
Yes, dragon bone was a black material and thus should have made it easier to identify, but this was largely countered by mixing the crushed bones, meaning there was a high chance it could be contaminated, and that wasn't something that could be risked.
Just because he was voldy-proof, didn't mean he'd like to gain sheep or fish attributes.
Turning his attention to the carvings on the walls, he slid his hands over them.
There was something eerie about seeing drawings of white walkers with their pale blue eyes, seemingly staring at him directly,
The cave walls also depicted the children of the forest and the first men, suggesting they had worked together to fight this threat. However, the distance between all parties suggested hostility between all of them, regardless of their common goal.
Thinking of those little imps, Erlend shook his head. Yes, he understood their desperation to fight off the invading first men. Their response though quite nearly plunged the world into a never-ending night, and as a literal Lord of Nature that went against his very core beliefs, due to how abnormal it was.
You could not have day without night, life without death.
A long night meant that all plant life would wither away and all intelligent life would be trapped husks in their physical bodies unable to move on and enter the reincarnation cycle.
It was a terrifying prospect, especially to someone who was blessed by Mother Nature and so closely connected to it.
Removing his Robe, Erlend laid himself bare on the ritual circle. Feeling the pure magic in the air that seemed to encompass the whole Island.
Slowly he began to inject his aura into the ritual, activating it.
The air stilled within the cave, silence permeating the area, like the calm before the storm.
Erlend could feel the magic of the Island being roused as it focused its attention on the cave.
The buildup began slowly, as if testing the fringes, curiosity mixed with apprehension. Like a child discovering a new item.
It began to gain traction, as what started as mere trickles, turned into a stream of magic, slowly shifting and growing larger.
That stream turned into a great flow that rushed to his position, in response he merely lay still as he allowed the magic to surround his body.
It didn't take long for it to begin merging with his magic, his body like a container that was ready to be filled with pure raw magic.
He felt completely energized by it and it didn't stop there, the magic continued to come, overflowing around him, as it turned its attention to his body.
He could feel his skin burning with raw power, this time there was a near-unbearable heat that cocooned itself around him. It felt like pure unadulterated magma was poured all over his body. Enough for a normal human to have their mind break down just from the pure feeling.
He could feel his body break up and build itself, adapting to the great heat, to Erlend it seemed no better than having jumped straight into the volcano naked.
Not giving an inch he persisted, he would not simply wield the flame, he would become it, refusing to let it overwhelm him.
This would continue for hours on end. It was almost unbearably long.
Had Erlend not warned his men that he would be gone for a while, search parties would've already been sent looking for him.
Eventually, the magic began to slow down, having fulfilled its purpose.
Erlend lay there breathless and more than a bit exhausted, it seemed that he'd somewhat underestimated the process.
That didn't matter to him, what mattered now, was his fire.
Like he'd done so many times, he willed the flames to appear on his hand, instead of the bright golden flame that he'd grown accustomed to, it was now pure white color.
Staring at it, he felt something odd with the flame, it was hotter than before, but there was also a spark in it.
As if wanting to show off, the flame began to move, gliding around his arm and exploring his bare upper torso.
Erlend could feel basic emotions coming from it, yet he also felt if he wanted, he could snuff at any time, but he allowed it to continue. Unbothered by its actions, for it could not harm him.
It was an interesting situation, he instinctively knew that if he wanted he could make the flame as harmless as a ray of light, or as deadly as the magma within the volcano.
Truth be told it felt like a familiar, one fully capable of melting everything in sight, but so adorable.
"You'll quite be interesting." Voicing his thoughts.
With the ritual now done, his thoughts shifted to his children.
It had been a while since he'd seen them and for good reason.
Due to his connection to them and his abilities, they were vastly different from their Valyrian counterparts.
For one, their abilities meant they could quite easily kill any of their counterparts with ease. Jinhua herself could take on a thunder of dragons and wipe them out, turning their greatest strengths into their biggest weakness.
As for why he hadn't brought them onto his conquest, it was relatively simple, due to their unique circumstance and birth, they were deeply connected to him and primal magic as a whole.
This meant during key periods of their lives, they would have to undergo a transformation/maturation stage to grow magically. Erlend as their bonded, would benefit greatly from this.
For example at the moment, with his power, he'd be able to destroy an Island the size of Tarth easily. He could do the same with all the Iron Islands, but that would leave him exhausted and worn for a few days due to the varying distances between all the Isles that make it up.
This is of course if he just does it with raw power alone. There are numerous ways by which he could destroy or at least devastate them, for example, he could artificially create a tsunami, one large enough to swallow the whole lot of them.
Why waste his power, when he could simply create a situation that could do the same and cost him far less?
Once his Dragons finish their maturation, which should be soon, Erlend's power levels would skyrocket, to the point he could sink the Iron Isles at ease rather than go into a full-blown coma directly after.
Truthfully, he had no idea at what point they would stop undergoing these pseudo-evolutions, as while he was their father. Their mother could technically be none other than mother nature, meaning they were born from a personification of creation and hence were limitless.
Even if he sat on his ass doing nothing, just relying on his dragons, he'd eventually reach beyond the gods of this world.
So yes, it would be somewhat overkill if his dragons got involved in the conquest, to say the least.
======
Note: So there you go, the dragons weren't brought into the conquest for a good reason, since it would be boring if he curb-stomped everyone using them. Not to mention they won't be all that important to his dynasty, more along the lines of 'Oh and he had Dragons'. Westerosi respect military might the most, right after blood claims, and Erlend is serving it to them on a platter. Think Prussia but the King could just wipe them all out if he gets bored. I intend to make House Mudd a self-sufficient militaristic dynasty, long after Erlend fucks off.